Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 49
Apple stealth-confirms when iOS 16.5 will ship
While it is absolutely fair to say that iOS 16.5 probably isn't the most hotly anticipated software of the next few weeks, we do now at least know when it'll be released. Or at least, we have a much better idea than we did before today.
Apple has confirmed at least which week will see iOS 16.5 ship to the public, although it still left us guessing as to which date we should be keeping our eyes peeled for. But regardless, iOS 16.5 will be available to everyone next week.
How do we know that? Because Apple mentioned it in a Newsroom post announcing its latest Pride Apple Watch and Pride iPhone wallpapers. Both of those things were shown off in that Newsroom post, but the bit we're most interested in for the sake of this post is the bit right at the very bottom which confirmed that the new Pride Celebration watch face and iPhone wallpaper will be available next week. And guess what? They both require watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5 respectively.
Continue reading: Apple stealth-confirms when iOS 16.5 will ship (full post)
iPhone 16 Pro models might have the biggest screens ever for Apple's phones
Apple's iPhone 16 Pro smartphones - yes, the models set to arrive in 2024 - are set to increase the size of the display, a new rumor reckons.
This comes from a trusted source for Apple leaks, Ross Young, who is CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) and has informed us with accurate info in the past.
Young asserts that the iPhone 16 Pro will have a 6.2x-inch screen and the iPhone 16 Pro Max could offer a 6.8x-inch display, with that final digit of the size to be revealed in a couple of weeks (at a talk he's giving).
Ford says it's sticking with Apple CarPlay no matter what GM does
Apple CarPlay is a great feature for connecting your iPhone to a vehicle and then having its display projected onto a big in-car screen, but not everyone sees it that way. GM has famously declared that it won't be putting CarPlay support in its future electric vehicles - but Ford says that it has no intention of doing the same thing.
Ford CEO Jim Farley was speaking with The Wall Street Journal when he noted that around 70% of the company's customers in the United States also use iPhones. With that in mind, it's his belief that taking CarPlay away from them would be a bad idea. And he's probably right.
It seems that GM believes that it can reinsert itself between content and the customer, however. It'll be making apps for services like Spotify available via its new Google-based in-car entertainment system and that's how it expects people to listen to music and whatnot. But Ford's CEO has a different approach, saying that carmakers can't make a ton of money from controlling that experience and that it's all about safety and productivity instead.
Continue reading: Ford says it's sticking with Apple CarPlay no matter what GM does (full post)
Samsung's 4nm chips could be a boost for Google's Tensor G3
With Samsung and Google being silicon bedfellows it sounds like the latter could be about to benefit from a bit of a breakthrough that the former has had. That breakthrough is an improvement in its 4nm chip manufacturing process with the company thought to have seen the yield increase to the point where it's almost as reliable as its existing 5nm process.
If Samsung really can make its 4nm chips work then we can probably safely expect that the next Google chip will be based on that manufacturing process. That chip will likely be the Tensor G3, a chip that will surely power the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
While the move to a smaller manufacturing process doesn't necessarily automatically mean that the chips will be faster, that is often what happens thanks to a couple of things. Chips built on a smaller manufacturing process often use less power, which in turn means that less heat is generated when they are working. Both of those things often mean that the chips themselves can be clocked higher, improving performance as a result.
Continue reading: Samsung's 4nm chips could be a boost for Google's Tensor G3 (full post)
Nothing teases its new premium smartphone and it's coming to the US
The Nothing Phone (2) is coming and while we still don't exactly know when it'll arrive, we do now have more information than we did before. Like the fact that we can expect an announcement this summer.
That's what Nothing is saying on a teaser webpage that also shows us a little bit of a look at what the phone will look like. Not that we can see all that much, it's a severe close-up of what is likely the phone's back panel. We do see what appears to be a red notification light as well, but knowing Nothing it's possible that the light could do more than just tell you when you've got a new unread email.
As for the phone itself, we're expecting a premium device based on what we've been told so far. That's going to start with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, which is as much as we have learned about the specs of this thing so far. There are some out there who remain disappointed that Nothing isn't using the latest flagship chip in the form of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but the chip being used here should still be more than enough to make apps and games fly.
Continue reading: Nothing teases its new premium smartphone and it's coming to the US (full post)
Full Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable specs leak
Whether or not foldable phones are the future of the smartphone is a matter for debate another time. But if there's one thing that we can all surely agree on it's the fact that there are more and more of them launching seemingly every month. Now, we've been treated to a leak of the specs for another, this time the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is in the crosshairs.
The Razr 40 Ultra is expected to be joined by a budget-oriented Razr 40 Lite version, but it's the flagship that we're the most interested in for obvious reasons. Now, a leak by XDA Developers appears to have given us our first real look at what the device will have to offer in terms of specifications.
Kicking things off we're told that the Razr 40 Ultra will ship with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip inside with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage wrapping up the main internals. There will also be dual-SIM and eSIM versions of the phone, while NFC and a fingerprint sensor are both table stakes at this point.
Continue reading: Full Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable specs leak (full post)
Gargantuan 14.1-inch iPad leaks and you won't believe what chip it'll have
Have you ever looked at the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and thought that it looked just a little bit too small? Not many people have, but for those that do want something bigger there could be something on the horizon. That thing could be a 14.1-inch iPad.
We say iPad and not iPad Pro because that's the way leakers have been describing it so far, but in reality it seems highly likely to sit at the top of Apple's lineup. Whether it'll be called something like iPad Ultra or not remains to be seen, but it does seem to be coming whatever it winds up being called. Now, a new leak has suggested that it'll also come with a special chip to go along with that special screen size.
According to Twitter leaker Revegnus, the 14.1-inch iPad will come with an Apple-designed M3 Pro. That perhaps tells us when we should expect this thing to ship - some point in 2024, most likely - but it also suggests that this will be quite the beast of a machine.
Leaked: All the Google Pixel 7a details you could ever need
Do you remember when a company like Google would announce something and it would take us completely by surprise because we hadn't seen anything about it leak on the internet. Those days are long gone it seems, and the Pixel 7a is the latest Google product to be leaked into oblivion before its big day on stage.
The Pixel 7a was already expected to debut during the Google I/O developer conference on May 10 and then go on sale on May 11. We've seen leaks upon leaks pointing to that. Now, we've also seen all of the marketing materials relating to the phone also leak, posted to Twitter by Roland Quandt.
There really isn't all that much left to the imagination after taking a look at a series of Quandt's tweets. We get to see a list of specifications as well as what's in the box and more.
Continue reading: Leaked: All the Google Pixel 7a details you could ever need (full post)
Confirmed: Google says when the Pixel 7a will ship
The Google Pixel 7a is the hot topic right now and with the budget phone set to be announced during the Google I/O event on May 10, we now know exactly when the phone will go on sale as well.
That's because Google itself has confirmed as much. To be exact, it was the Google India account which teased the upcoming Pixel 7a without actually saying that's what it was talking about. However, based on the image shown in the tweet there's little left to the imagination.
This news does a couple of things of course. First, it confirms what we'd already expected - Google will announce the Pixel 7a during the Google I/O event on May 10 and then it'll go on sale the day after on May 11. Pre-orders are expected to begin right after that announcement, however, at least that's the plan on Google's store. Third-party retailers and carrier partners might have to wait until May 11.
Continue reading: Confirmed: Google says when the Pixel 7a will ship (full post)
The Google Pixel 7a might be the last of its kind
With Google very much expected to announce the Pixel 7a during its Google I/O developer event on May 10 it now sounds like this might be the last of the "a" lineup. That's according to a new report, at least.
The Pixel 7a is just the latest in a line of budget-oriented devices that are meant to give customers the chance to get much of the Pixel experience without having to pay for the mid-range or premium options. In the case of the Pixel 7a that means people don't need to pay for the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro just to get in on the Pixel fun.
But that might not be the case anymore, according to leaker Yogesh Brar. Writing on Twitter Brar said that the Pixel "a" series is coming to an end, with Google choosing to ditch the budget phone to make room for the Pixel Fold. The Pixel Fold is a very different device of course - for starters, it folds, and it'll cost around $1800 if the rumors are true.
Continue reading: The Google Pixel 7a might be the last of its kind (full post)