Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 2

As we've already reported, buying a new iPhone 15 Pro Max for the September 22 launch date is essentially impossible right now. Apple clearly knows that it has an availability issue and it's already a problem that it's trying to fix - by throwing money at it.

There are thought to be a couple of key issues for Apple, not least the fact that production of the iPhone 15 Pro Max started the latest but the model also happens to be proving extremely popular with buyers. But supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also notes that the company's new tetraprism 5x zoom camera is proving to be an issue. So Apple is taking action to fix that to allow it to build more iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets more quickly.

Writing as part of a larger Medium post discussing the current iPhone 15 Pro Max situation, Kuo says that the iPhone 15 Pro Max's new tetraprism compact camera module (CCM) is the main bottleneck for production. To improve the production yield of the CCM by supplier LGIT, Apple is thought to have told lens supplier Largan to increase the specifications of its wares - to counter the issues LGIT is experiencing.

When Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro Max it also took the wraps off of the new tetraprism camera lens that makes the new 5x optical zoom possible. The iPhone 15 Pro doesn't have the same camera because of a lack of space, we're told, but a new report suggests that will all change when the iPhone 16 Pro arrives next year.

A new report by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that Apple is getting set to bring the same 5x optical zoom capability to the smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 16 Pro next year. Apple previously hinted that the iPhone 15 Pro Max's larger 6.7-inch display meant that there was enough internal space for the special light-bending lens.

Kuo was writing as part of a longer Medium post when he claimed that both the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro are expected to feature the new tetraprism telephoto camera.

All of the attention might be on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro family of devices right now, but it sounds like we should already be starting to look forward to what will come next. The 2024 iPhones will likely be called iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max and the rumors are already starting to gather pace. Including the fact that there will be a slight size increase in terms of the displays that will be used.

Writing in a wider piece about Apple and its plans, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that the Pro iPhones will get slightly larger displays next year, although it isn't clear how slight those display improvements will turn out to be. Gurman says that new displays are a major driving factor behind iPhone hardware upgrades, suggesting that it could be a good reason for iPhone buyers to pick up a new model.

The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max were only announced last week and won't go on sale until September 22. But with the overall size of the new Pro models shrinking thanks to smaller-than-ever bezels, it's possible that Apple is getting ready to increase the size of the displays next year. Whether that will mean smaller bezels or a return to slightly larger chassis remains to be seen, however.

Apple put the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max up for preorder last Friday, September 15. But if you weren't particularly quick when placing your order you're going to have to wait weeks for delivery. The reasons? It's complicated.

In a post to Medium, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that there are a few reasons why picking up a new iPhone 15 Pro Max is going to be harder than you might think. Delivery windows are already stretching into October or November, depending on the model that you might choose. Some colors and storage combinations are worse than others, but no iPhone 15 Pro Max can now be ordered for launch day - September 22.

Writing on Medium, Kuo notes that demand for the iPhone 15 Pro Max has been robust, as had been expected, and that it's already outpacing demand for last year's iPhone 14 Pro Max. Wait times for the iPhone 15 Pro Max are already significantly longer than other new models announced by Apple last week, but Kuo believes that strong demand can't be blamed alone.

Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models will finally go on sale on September 22 but one heavily rumored feature won't be present when that happens. We'd been told to expect new and upgraded charging speeds for at least the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max but now a new report suggests that isn't the case at all.

For its part, Apple hasn't made any suggestion that the new iPhones can charge more quickly which suggests that they can't, despite rumors prior to the event that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max would gain new 35W USB-C charging. Now, a Mac Otakara report claims that the new models remain limited to the same 27W wired charging that was offered on the iPhone 14 models.

The original rumor dates back to August and it was thought that some of the new models would benefit from slightly increased charging capabilities. However, it's now been reported that all four models will top out at 27W when paired with the correct USB-C charger. One that's rated 30W or higher would be our recommendation.

Apple pointed out during its Wonderlust event that repairing the glass back plate on the iPhone 15 Pro will be easier and cheaper due to a newly implemented design change to the smartphone's chassis.

Continuing on with the efforts made with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which were removeable glass back panels, Apple has announced that iPhone 15 Pro will be getting an even bigger upgrade in the repair department. During the presentation the company announced that "new internal chassis architecture" will enable the back glass to be "easily replaced".

As you can imagine, the new design change has impacted the price of Apple's official repairs on its support website, and according to the repair listing costs, the iPhone 15 Pro will cost less to repair than previous iPhone Pro models. Comparatively, the iPhone 14 Pro back glass replacement costs $499, while the iPhone 15 Pro costs $169. Notably, users that have opted in for the AppleCare+ plan will only need to pay $29 to replace the back glass.

Apple has announced that its newest iPhone, the iPhone 15, will be arriving with a USB-C port, which confirms the official departure from the iconic, yet annoying, Lightning port.

Apple has only changed its ports twice in its mobile devices, from the long 30-pin connector to the Lightning port, which first appeared in the iPhone 5. During its recent Wonderlust event, Apple debuted the inclusion of USB-C in the iPhone 15, and the change doesn't just mean you can now carry one less cable to charge all of your devices - it also means much more possibilities for iPhone accessories. Here's why.

Lightning ports in previous generations of iPhones were limited in terms of electricity output, meaning they weren't able to power many accessories. Specifically, Lightning ports were capped at 0.3 watts of output, which isn't enough to charge/power devices such as AirPods, or portable storage devices. Comparatively, the iPhone 15 with its USB-C port will be able to output 4.5 watts, which is enough to power storage drives, charging an AirPods case, and much more.

Apple's iPhone 15 announcement event might have seen the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 unveiled alongside those new iPhones, but one of the more interesting announcements was the switch away from leather accessories. The replacement, something Apple is calling FineWoven, is a new material that has replaced leather across Apple's lineup.

That doesn't mean that there are just new FineWoven iPhone cases, of course. There are now FineWoven Apple Watch bands and MagSafe Wallets, too. And some of the new iPhone cases have started to arrive in the hands of prospective iPhone 15 owners. And the early reception has been a mixed one, with some surprises along the way.

The biggest surprise is perhaps the fact that FineWoven cases appear to have some sort of faux leather material around the outside, something we hadn't realized until just now. That makes for a dual-material finish that, frankly, appears cheap. It's an odd decision, and we'd love to know why Apple made it.

When Apple announced the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices last year they became the first iPhones to ditch the familiar SIM card tray, although only in the United States. Those buying the newest iPhones internationally still have a physical SIM tray because carriers weren't ready to offer eSIMs to all who wanted them. We thought that might change by the time the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro rolled around a year later.

It did not change, dear reader. And the international iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max continue to have a physical SIM card whether you want one, or not. And it seems that we can thank international carriers for that.

Physical SIM card trays have been around for years of course, getting smaller every so often. The nano-SIM is all well and good but eSIMs are so handy it's hard to argue that they aren't the better option. All iPhones do support eSIMs thankfully, and they can be used to add second lines where required. But with some carriers refusing to support eSIM entirely, some people are still left with that little piece of plastic.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are now official and as we expected, they're going to come with a new chip inside. That new chip is going to be called the A17 Pro and if these new Geekbench scores are any indication, it's going to be one fast big of silicon.

The new iPhones were announced during a streamed event on September 12, and they look mighty impressive. Apple said that we should expect GPU performance to be around 20% faster than the A16 Bionic, while the CPU should be around 10% faster than the same chip. And that's pretty much exactly what these early Geekbench scores show us.

These Geekbench scores were first spotted by MySmartPrice, and they're pretty good. In these tests the A17 Pro scores 2908 and 7238 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. To put that into perspective, the iPhone 14 Pro scores 2642 and 6739 in the single-core and multi-core tests respectively.