Mobile Devices - Page 11

Have you ever wondered how big a smartphone could be and still be working? Neither have I, but luckily, that strange question has been answered by two YouTubers who have recently made it into the Guinness World Records book for a 440-pound replica smartphone.

YouTubers Matthew Perkins and Arun Maini undertook the colossal challenge of creating the world's largest working replica smartphone, and the smartphone they chose to supersize was the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The YouTubers ended up with a 6.74 feet tall device that weighed 440 pounds, which got them into the Guinness World Record book under the "Largest smartphone replica" title.

So, how'd they do it? The duo converted an LG Signature 88-inch OLED TV into a responsive touchscreen, which was then placed into an aluminum frame. The frame had all of the respective cutdown for components such as cameras, power button, function button, volume buttons and speakers. The massive iPhone 15 Pro Max was equipped with a Canon EOS R5 and a Sony RX10 Mark 4 to mimic the telephoto lens on Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Devices with foldable screens are nothing new, but a tri-fold display is, and we now have a name for Huawei's incoming smartphone of this nature.

The official name is the Huawei Mate XT, as shown in a new teaser clip (see above). It's hardly an exciting name and not something that reflects the tri-foldable nature of the device - though the 'T' could stand for tri-fold, perhaps - but at any rate, it's in line with the existing naming conventions for Huawei.

The phone was spotted being used by Huawei's CEO Yu Richard recently, and has been teased several times since then. When fully unfolded, the three displays (connected by a pair of hinges) essentially form a 10-inch tablet.

Update - Meta has provided the following statement in response to the 404 Media report, "Meta does not use your phone's microphone for ads and we've been public about this for years. We are reaching out to CMG to get them to clarify that their program is not based on Meta data" - More information here.

Have you ever been talking about something with someone and then picked up your phone and saw whatever it was you were talking about as an advertisement?

Sometimes, the timing of tailored advertisements on social media platforms, particularly Meta-operated platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, can be incredibly jarring, especially if there is only a matter of seconds between the conversation ending about that product and then it suddenly appears in the middle of your feed. The consistency of this has begged the question for some time - "Do social media companies use the microphone in your smartphone to listen to conversations that are then used to feed tailor advertisements?"

The Google Pixel 9 series hasn't been out for very long at all and users are already reporting battery problems and "odd behavior".

Outlets such as Android Central and 9to5Google are reporting users experiencing charging problems with the Google Pixel 9 XL's wireless charging capabilities. According to reports the new smartphones are experiencing "odd behavior" when placed in wireless charging, with one user reporting they attached a MagSafe puck with a Mous MagSafe case on their device and the smartphone failed to charge. Moreover, the MagSafe Qi charge resulted in sporadic charging and the device generating an uncomfortable amount of heat.

Notably, one user tried their device with five different wireless chargers, and all produced the same results with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, which was compared to the Pixel 8. This isn't the first time a new generation of smartphone from Google has been hit with problems immediately after launch, as the Pixel 8 Pro owners suffered from strange charging port issues related to the USB-C port in their device. These problems lasted a few months after launch.

An infamous leaker has suggested Samsung is currently working on its biggest foldable smartphone yet, and it's reportedly called the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.

The leak comes from Even Blass, who is known as an industry insider that has accurately called previous rumors. Blass wrote in an X post that the previous rumored names of "Galaxy Z Fold Slim" and "Galaxy Z Fold Ultra" are incorrect and the correct name for the upcoming Samsung device is "Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition" and it will be an improvement of the company's current flagship Z Fold 6.

The rumored device is expected to come with a bigger screen and will take the crown as Samsung's biggest display on Galaxy Z device, with the screen size increasing from 6.2 inches to 6.5 inches. As for the inner screen, it will increase from 7.6 inches to 8 inches. Thickness is on the Special Edition is reportedly decreasing from 6.1 mm to 5.6mm. To achieve this level of thickness Samsung has decided to remove the S Pen port.

Apple has sent out invitations to press for an event its holding on September 9, 2024 at 10:00 a.m PT. The event will be livestreamed and will be hosted at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park.

Known Apple insider and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman shared an image of the Apple invitation on his personal X account, writing that this invitation is for Apple's anticipated iPhone event where it will unveil the iPhone 16 line-up. Gurman writes the announcement has come a day earlier than anticipated, which references his previous prediction of a September 10 announcement event.

Apple Intelligence will be a key part of the overall sales pitch in Apple stores to customers, as the new AI-powered software is a main selling point of this next-generation of devices. The Bloomberg reporter wrote on August 25 employees at Apple retail stores have already started receiving training on the Apple Intelligence features. Apple Intelligence will debut with the release of iOS 18, and we can expect some further examples of Apple Intelligence being used on the iPhone 16 line-up.

Apple has been quiet about when it plans on officially unveiling its new line-up of iPhones, but now we a leaked date from a known, and very credible Apple Insider Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Gurman recently wrote that Apple will be hosting its iPhone 16 launch event on September 10, which is in-line with Apple's previous iPhone generation launch events which for the past five years have fallen sometime within the first two weeks of September. Additionally, Gurman revealed that Apple is planning on making its iPhone 16 line-up available in-store and starting to send in the mail to buyers on Friday, September 20.

It isn't just the new iPhone line-up that is being announced as the Cupertino company will also unveil its new Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods 4. On top of all that hardware there will undoubtedly be some further explanation into Apple Intelligence and how its debuting with the release of iOS 18.

It will be quite some time before every device that is commonly found in a household features a USB-C port, and that also doesn't fix all the old devices that have previous-generation ports. This means we will be stuck with the various rogue cables, each dedicated for different devices.

What if you could get rid of all those cables, and have one cable that you can swap the male end off for different generations? Magnetic cables are the answer, but seemingly haven't taken off in the way that one would expect at such a convenient idea. Nonetheless, I managed to get my hands on one and I have been using it for the past week, I can say that the convenience is truly there, but at some costs.

The Connect Pro magnetic cable from Chargeasap is capable of 100W fast-changing, and comes with three magnetic adapters for USB-C, lighting, and Micro-USB, along with the in-built MagSafe charging. This collection of adapters covers all of my devices, and having it cut down the number of cables on my desk significantly as I was able to place all of the adapters on my respective devices and connect them to charging cables when needed, versus already having each of the respective charging cables already on my desk.

Apple hasn't officially announced anything regarding the new iPhone 16 line-up. The only thing known is that Apple Intelligence is going to be a big part of the new generation.

It's highly anticipated that Apple will officially unveil the new iPhone generation in September. Ahead of the purported unveiling, we have gotten a leak of what appears to be dummy units of the new generation. Leaker Sonny Dickson shared a new image, which shows what appears to be iPhone 16 Pro Max models, and what jumps out is the gold-bronze color.

Previous reports mentioned white, black, and the Natural Titanium model, but this is the first look at a gold or a sandy-brown iPhone. Additionally, rumors previously stated Apple is planning on removing the Blue Titanium color. It should be noted that since these are dummy units there is still the possibility none of the color variants seen in the above images will make it to final production.

The iPhone 16 line-up isn't even out yet, and rumors are already starting to fly about Apple's iPhone 17 line-up, which is slated to introduce another iPhone variant, the iPhone "Air" or "Slim".

Analyst Jeff Pu has informed 9to5Mac of the reasons why an iPhone 17 Air could boost sales for Apple and be a welcomed addition to the range of iPhone offerings available to customers. According to the analyst, the iPhone 17 Air would give Apple an opportunity to create a brand new iPhone design that isn't at all focused on performance but on aesthetics.

The Air wouldn't feature the best components as they would be reserved for the Pro models, but it could still be priced equally to the Pro models, as the design changes/appearance would warrant the price, according to the analyst. Pu points out the Air could even be priced higher than the Pro models, as its contrasting design would pique the interest of many buyers that are tired of the seemingly ever-so-slightly-changing iPhone design.