Mobile Devices - Page 29

If you're already casting your eye forward and waiting for Apple to announce the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, you aren't alone. There ar plenty of iPhone owners who skipped the iPhone 15 Pro models with an eye to what will come next, but there's some bad news if you're also someone who likes to get as much storage as possible after it was claimed that the 1TB model will be slower than normal. And the reason is a strange one.

While the 1TB iPhone 16 Pro will have the same A18 Pro chip inside - assuming previous reports and leaks are correct, of course - that particular model could be slower than those with less storage. That's according to a new DigiTimes report which claims that Apple will potentially switch that model to Wuad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND flash memory. Such memory is cheaper than the Triple-Level Cell (TLC) NAND memory that is currently used in Apple's 1TB models.

The move to the different memory type will not only make the chips cheaper but also smaller which will likely help with the limited space available in the iPhone 16 Pro. It's also possible that the switch could open the door to a future 2TB model, too.

Podcasting has gone through something of a golden era thanks in part to the incredible success of shows like This American Life and Serial. The COVID-19 pandemic saw listener numbers boom as well, all thanks to global lockdowns that saw people seeking ways to fill the time. But since then we've seen reports of slowing advertising demand and smaller fees, and things look likely to get worse. Not because the podcasts have changed, nor because advertisers aren't as interested in podcasts as a whole. It's because podcasts around the world have seen their episode download figures plummet, and it turns out they were never right in the first place.

That's following the news that one simple change made in iOS 17 has had a profound impact on the number of episode downloads globally, but it isn't a bug nor is it something that Apple broke as such. It was intentional, and it's better. But it also means that the download figures podcast companies are now receiving are more accurate. And they're much, much smaller.

Semafor reports that prior to the release of iOS 17 Apple's Podcasts app would automatically download all new episodes of any podcast that a user was subscribed to. That meant that if someone subscribed to a podcast three years ago but only ever listened to one episode, their automatic downloads would have counted against download figures regardless. That, multiplied by the millions of iPhone owners, makes for quite the figure of episodes that simply were never being listened to but were being counted. What's more, anyone who started listening again would see all of the prior episodes automatically downloaded which again meant they were counted - whether they were ever heard, or not.

Apple has a long history of being very much convinced that the only way people should be allowed to install apps on their iPhone is via the App Store. Web apps are also allowed, but real iPhones apps can only be downloaded via the App Store. Over on Android, apps can be sideloaded from just about anywhere with third-party app stores also available to companies who want to run them. Now, it appears Apple is closer than ever to allowing the same thing on the iPhone - but it isn't quite that simple.

With the European Union's Digital Markets Act set to force Apple to allow sideloading, the company is gearing up to do exactly that. However, reports suggest that anyone who had hoped Apple would open the door to all iPhone owners around the globe will be left disappointed. Instead, it looks likely that Apple will only offer sideloading to those in the EU, meaning iPhone owners in countries around the globe will have to make do with the App Store instead.

That's something that Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes, reporting in his weekly Power On newsletter that Apple will split the App Store in two. ONe version will be offered in EU countries, while the other will be used everywhere else.

Apple has long been rumored to have a big update in the works for the iPad Pro in 2024, and now a new report suggests that not only will device shipments begin in April, but work to make that happen is already underway. Reports of new OLED iPad Pros have been circulating for months now, and a new industry report claims that those OLED displays are now in production with an eye on that April window.

The report comes via the Korean-language outlet The Elec and claims that LG Display recently began building the thin film transistor (TFT) for the new 13-inch iPad Pro. As for the smaller 11-inch model, it's reported that Samsung Display will start its own TFT production so that it's ready for the same launch. The TFT is reportedly the component that switches on and off the individual OLED pixels and is a key component as a result.

It's then reported that completed iPad Pro models will be in production around March time which fits well with an expected April release timeframe. That's also a timeframe that matches with other claims by analysts including supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, someone who is normally well-connected in terms of this kind of thing. It's also a timeframe that matches one provided by Bloomberg which suggested that Apple might announce its new tablets in March. If that happens towards the end of the month it's very likely that the tablets will actually begin shipping to customers in the early days of April.

When Apple launched the iPhone 15 Pro it became the first iPhone with an Action button. The customizable button lets you configure it to do all kinds of things, and it's going to be part of the iPhone 16 Pro lineup as well. However, reports suggest that Apple is yet to really decide what that will look or work like with multiple prototypes having been worked through.

MacRumors had previously reported that Apple is testing a solid-state Action button alongside a new Capture button, although it isn't clear what the latter will actually be. Now, the same outlet reports that Apple has been working on different sizes of Action button but after multiple tests, it's back to where it started.

Writing in a new report, the MacRumors claims that Apple has ditched plans for a larger Action button and will instead stick with the smaller one that we're familiar with on the iPhone 15 Pro. It also appears to suggest that Apple is sticking with the old button design, although it seems that the Capture button will be capacitive.

If you're someone who uses an Android phone or tablet and wishes that you could put your home screen widgets on the lock screen, you probably aren't alone. Now that iPhone and iPad users can do that, people might wish they could do it on Android - and back in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean that was a possibility. But the feature was pulled as part of Android 5 Lollipop, and a new report suggests it might be back with Android 15.

Writing for Android Authority, Mishaal Rehman says that he has been able to get the lock screen widgets working on a Pixel Tablet in what appears to be a new so-called communal space. Here, widgets can be added assuming that they have the right configuration - something that only seems to be the case for a limited number of Google widgets right now.

The testing was done on a Pixel Tablet running Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 and it's thought that Google is still in the early days of working things out, something that might explain why things aren't working so great at the moment. But that isn't the most interesting thing here - the report suggests that Google might be about to limit the new feature to devices with larger displays, like the Pixel Tablet.

For a few years now Apple has offered developers a way to make apps that live within the Messages app on iPhones and iPads. The so-called iMessage apps allow people to interact with apps and content from within the Messages app and messages threads without having to open the app proper. YouTube was one company that offered an iMessage app but that seems to have changed, with the app no longer available.

YouTube hasn't confirmed the change but the latest version of its iPhone and iPad app has removed support for the iMessage app, 9to5Mac reports. There is no mention of the move in the App Store release notes, with YouTube simply saying that the new update is about bug fixes and performance improvements.

YouTube originally launched its iMessage app back in October of 2017 and it allowed people to watch YouTube content within the Messages app while using the native player. The app also made it easier for people to find and then share YouTube videos without having to leave the Messages app to search for them.

If you're a heavy user of the Find My app you're going to be pleased to know that you can add more items than you thought you could. While Apple previously limited people to just 16 items for tracking via Find My, that number has been doubled to 32. And what's more, it was doubled more than a year ago when iOS 16 shipped.

This news comes after Apple updated one of its support documents to confirm that there is now a 32-item limit in the Find My app, a limit that it seems unlikely most people are going to find themselves reaching any time soon. However, the way that Apple counts items might be a surprise to some people with some items actually counting as three.

Those items, Apple says, are AirPods and AirPods Pro. In an example posted in the same support document, Apple said that AirPods and AirPods Pro (1st generation) are both counted as two items, whereas AirPods Pro 2 (2nd generation) are counted as three items. The reason? Find My can track individual earbuds and in the case of Apple's updated AirPods Pro, the Wireless Charging Case is included in that, too.

The march of progress with smartphone batteries is undeniable, with innovations like fast charging making a real difference, but phones get more powerful and demanding too - meaning battery life is a constant battle for something acceptable.

The future, however, is a nuclear battery that can keep supplying power for 50 years with no need for it to be charged. At least that's the case if the claims of a Chinese tech startup, Betavolt, become a reality.

Betavolt's nuclear battery is a compact disc, smaller than a coin, that contains 63 nuclear isotopes, and their decay provides the energy that's made into electricity to power a device.

AirDrop, the wireless file transfer protocol that is supported by Apple's iPhones, iPads, and Macs, has long been a great way to quickly and easily send files, photos, and videos between people and devices. But it's a protocol that's had its privacy problems, with people sending images to unknowing recipients. It's also a problem that the Chinese government has been dealing with in terms of pro-democracy protestors sending information to others without their knowledge. The Chinese government has been trying to stop that from happening and Apple has tweaked AirDrop to default to only accepting transfers from known contacts as a result. Now, it seems China has gone a step further and can proactively identify the people who sent the images, too.

That's according to a Bloomberg report based on a Chinese post by the Beijing Judicial Bureau which claims that it has now been able to crack AirDrop in such a way that it can extract the contact details of the people who send files over its peer-to-peer network. Those contact details include phone numbers and email addresses, with police adding that they have been able to identify multiple people suspected of sharing pro-democracy content with others. It hasn't been confirmed if any of those people have been arrested, however.

China claims the move is a technological breakthrough, and it's one that could prevent the sharing of pro-democracy material via AirDrop in the future. The method of sharing posters and other media was used heavily during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong and China has been trying to crack down on AirDrop ever since.

The success of Valve's Steam Deck PC gaming handheld was immediate and surprising, showcasing there's a large market and desire for portable PC gaming. It wasn't the first handheld PC gaming device, but it arrived at the right time for technology and software to come together.

One of the big reasons for Steam Deck's success was the seamless integration of SteamOS. And now, one of the first non-Valve gaming handhelds to adopt the OS is the new AYANEO NEXT LITE.

The Linux-based operating system was designed for PC gaming using Valve's popular platform. After multiple updates and improvements, it's now one of the best computer gaming interfaces on a handheld.

Having a gaming phone means you have to make some sacrifices in other areas of the device; one of those main areas was the camera in ASUS's line-up of gaming phones.

At CES 2024, the company announced two new iterations of its ROG Phone line-up, the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro, and both of these devices feature the upgrade that users of previous generations have been asking for - a good camera. ASUS has seemingly listened to the criticism of its previous ROG Phone, which was widely praised as an overall very high quality and affordable device, and added a 50-megapixel f/1.9 main camera that's powered by a Sony IMX 890 sensor, which is used by the OnePlus 11.

Additionally, ASUS has integrated the Zenfone line's 6-axis hybrid gimbal stabilizer that enables better low-light performance and a "Super HyperSteady" video mode. Furthermore, ASUS has placed a 13-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, along with a third 32-megapixel telephoto shooter. The front-facing camera is a 32-megapixel selfie camera that is now under a punch hole in the display.

When it comes to finding your lost wallet, bag, keys, or just about anything else, you really can't go wrong with using an AirTag. The little item tracker lasts for a year or so on a single battery and connects to Apple's own Find My network for quick and accurate locating. So why would Apple go through the work of launching an updated model?

That's the question that everyone has been asking and the simple answer might be that it isn't going to. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, claims that Apple is now in "no rush" to release a new version of the AirTag, which means that we might be waiting until 2025 at the earliest. The AirTag 2 is something that will surely happen eventually, but 2024 now seems increasingly out of the question.

Writing in a paywalled response to a question in his weekly Power On newsletter that was then reported on by 9to5Mac, Gurman suggested that there are no standout new features that Apple could add to the AirTag 2 and that the current model still does most of the things anyone could want from such a device.

There have been ongoing rumors of Apple launching new OLED iPad Pro models in 2024 for some time now, and it's looking increasingly likely that it will happen within the next few months. But a new report suggests that anyone looking to buy one of them might want to start saving a little more quickly.

That's according to a new report on the Naver blog by the account yeux1122, someone with a hit-and-miss track record to date. But taking it at face value, the news isn't great for anyone who had planned on buying a new iPad Pro in 2024.

The report claims that the new OLED iPad Pro will start at $1,500 and rise to anything between $1,800 and $2,000, figures that are much higher than the current entry-level offerings. MacRumors notes that these price increases represent an 80% hike on the 11-inch iPad Pro and around a 60% increase on the 12.9-inch model.

Apple has begun sending out payments to iPhone users affected by the notorious "batterygate" throttling controversy, where the company was accused of consumer fraud for silently and deliberately slowing down the performance of iPhone's in conjunction to aging battery within the iPhone's.

The payouts, which around $92.17 for each claim have begun being sent out to iPhone users that filed a claim. Apple is rolling out these payments to users as part of its $500 million settlement that it agreed to in March 2020, and of that $500 million, $310 million is allocated to consumer reparations. Notably, if you didn't file a claim it's unfortunately far too late for you to do so, as the deadline for claims was back in October 6 2020.

Additionally, if you had one of the following iPhone models you were eligible to file a claim; iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or iPhone SE. Furthermore, depending on how many claims a user has filed, Apple could pay nearly $1,000 per user. Apple users are beginning to share screenshots of their payments to social media. Above is an example provided by Michael Burkhardt.

If you're an iPhone owner who has iOS 17.2.1 installed, you're going to have to live with it until Apple releases iOS 17.3 to the public. That's likely to happen later this month, but if you're suffering from any iOS 17.2.1-specific bugs you're just going to have to wait.

That's the news after it was confirmed that Apple is no longer signing the iOS 17.2 software which means that it is no longer possible to install it on any iPhone.

Apple released iOS 17.2.1 in December, just before Christmas, and it was a release that brought with it bug fixes rather than new software features. For that reason, it's perhaps no surprise that Apple would rather that people didn't install the older software.

Japan is the latest company to consider forcing Apple to open its iPhone to sideloading and third-party payment systems, according to a new report. Installing an app on the iPhone currently requires for it to be available via the App Store, while all payments for digital goods made via those apps must be processed via the App Store also, allowing Apple to take a 30% cut.

That could all change if Japan decides to regulate Apple in a way that the European Union has been working to, allowing people to install apps outside of the App Store for the first time. The move would also allow apps to offer payment options when selling digital goods, something that could open the door to cheaper prices depending on how the system is implemented.

Nikkei Asia reports that Japan is preparing regulations that are designed to prevent Apple from abusing its dominant position in the Japanese market. Google is also in the firing line, although it already allows apps to be downloaded outside of its Google Play Store and always has done.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max might have only been on sale for the last few months, but the rumors are already very much flying as to what the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have to offer. We've been hearing tidbits for weeks now, and a new report adds a series of new renders to the mix as well.

The new renders, shown by MacRumors and based on a look at prototype versions of the iPhone 16 Pro, give us a new look at what the updated versions of Apple's best iPhones will look like. The renders show the two iPhones in a Natural Titanium colorway, the go-to for iPhone buyers since September, although it's possible that it will see a change in hue by the time Apple officially announces these new models.

According to previous rumors the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will have slightly larger displays of 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches, respectively. Those figures are bumps over the 6.3 inches and 6.9 inches of the Pro iPhones that you can buy from any Apple Store today. It's been suggested that the size increase is to allow Apple to squeeze the 5x tetraprism lens into the iPhone 16 Pro having been unable to fit it into the iPhone 15 Pro, but time will tell on that one.

When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 14 years ago one of the biggest things that he made a point of reminding people of was the fact that the switch to an on-screen keyboard was a game-changer. Previously, phones like the BlackBerry models offered physical QWERTY keyboards and that was seen as a real selling point over the dumb phones of the time. Apple said that software keyboards allowed more flexibility, letting the on-screen keyboard change and adapt to whatever was needed at the time. That was all very true, but there's still something about clicking away on a physical keyboard that has its merits. And now you can do that on your iPhone, too.

That's thanks to Clicks, a new typing accessory that adds a physical QWERTY keyboard to the bottom of your iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, or iPhone 15 Pro Max and includes additional features Those features include keyboard shortcuts for quickly returning to the Home screen, opening Spotlight, and more. Apps that support physical keyboards will also have their own shortcuts as well, especially if they have an iPad counterpart. On top of that, the Clicks accessory is also backlit so that you will be able to easily see your keys as you type in the dark, too.

Buying a new Clicks accessory will start from $139, and the iPhone 14 Pro model is already available for February 1 delivery. Those with an iPhone 15 Pro will see their new keyboard in mid-March. while iPhone 15 Pro Max owners will have to wait until early spring, unfortunately. Two colors are offered; BumbleBee (yellow) and London Sky (gray) although we're told that more colors could well be on the way depending on feedback.

Minisforum has just announced its new V3 tablet, a new 3-in-1 slate that is powered by AMD's new Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" APU and will hit pre-sale in Q1 2024. Check it out:

Inside, the new Minisforum V3 features a 14-inch display with a 2.5K resolution and smooth 165Hz refresh rate, with 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage to boot. Minisforum says that its new V3 tablet features the "Ryzen 7 flagship chip" with the Ryzen 7 8840U featuring 8 cores and 16 threads of Zen 4 processing power, 16MB of L3 cache, 8MB of L2 cache, a base clock of 3.3GHz and boost clock of 5.1GHz.

Since the Minisforum V3 tablet has the latest Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" APU, it means that it features the beefed-up XDNA "Ryzen AI" NPU, because AI is important moving into the new year. We've also got an integrated Radeon 780M GPU with 12 Compute Units clocked at 2700MHz, while the NPU has 16 TOPs of AI performance, and a default TDP of 28W that can be tweaked between 15W and 30W if needed.