Mobile Devices - Page 32

A new report based on the LinkedIn profiles of people working in the technology industry claims that the most likely place that former Apple employees will turn up is Google. That's news that will no doubt be music to the ears of those working in Mountain View, but those who ply their trade over in Cupertino will no doubt find the report less promising.

The numbers were put together by Switch on Business and then picked up by 9to5Mac, with the research team searching how many employees currently worked at companies like Google, Amazon, Apple Meta, Microsoft, IBM, Tesla, Oracle, Netflix, NVIDIA, Salesforce, Adobe, Intel, and Uber. The work then saw them look at those companies as well as which companies they worked for previously. From there they calculated the count and percentage of current employees at each company that previously worked at the others.

The results show that Apple most likely gets its new hires from Intel, which would make sense given the company's buyout of its modem business in 2019 and a focus on producing its own chips. Microsoft and Amazon were the second and third most-sourced for Apple.

OnePlus has already confirmed that it plans to announce a big new update to its phone lineup to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the company. For that celebration we can expect the OnePlus 12 to be announced, likely bringing an end to the big flagship phone unveiling for 2023. Now, a new leak appears to have given us a good look at what that phone will look like in terms of what colors buyers will be able to choose from.

The leak comes courtesy of what appears to be three teasers posted to the X social network after originating on Weibo, the Chinese social network that is often the source of these kinds of things. The teasers show three different colors in the form of white, black, and a rather lovely green.

OnePlus is set to unveil the OnePlus 12 at an event in China on December 4, with leaks suggesting that we can expect a global launch in January 2024. That means that we won't have to wait too long not only to see what OnePlus has in store but also get our hands on it in countries beyond China's borders.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is already a pretty stunning piece of kit and you'd surely have to admit that even if you aren't a huge fan of foldable phones. But while we're big fans of the base model there is a whole new limited edition version for us to drool over. And it's pretty gorgeous.

The new phone is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Maison Margiela Edition and while that's quite the mouthful, we'll let everyone involved off. The phone was announced via a press release and comes with a number of accessories. This is the second collaboration between Samsung and the Parisian haute couture house after a similar one related to last year's Galaxy Z Flip 4.

The new phone comes in a striking new white package which itself is covered in a paper-based woven fabric. Inside, buyers will find a Flap Leather Case, a Flipsuit Case, and two different Splatter Flipsuit Cards that can be used to further customize the phone. On the software side, this special Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with custom icons and wallpapers, too.

Casetify is a company that makes some pretty solid cases for phones of all shapes and sizes including some collabs with various companies, including some pretty huge ones. So when it started to sell cases that look like X-rays of the devices that they're protecting nobody really thought too much about it. Except Dbrand did. The company that sells skins and cases for phones and other consumer electronics thought the new Casetify cases looked familiar.

As well they should because it turns out that Casetify's new cases are basically carbon copies of Dbrand's own products which were created in collaboration with YouTuber JerryRigEverything. And it's that collaboration that outed Casetify's copying.

As Dbrand's thread shows, its own products have a nod to one of the YouTuber's catchphrases, "GLASS IS GLASS AND GLASS BREAKS." And can you guess which phrase also makes an appearance in Casetify's cases? You guessed it.

If you'd been hoping that Apple would bring Touch ID to the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro in 2024, it looks increasingly likely that you are going to be left disappointed. That's what we're learning today if a new report by MacRumors is anything to go by.

The report cites an integrated circuit expert who has posted to the Chinese social network Weibo with information about Apple's plans moving forward into the next 12 months. MacRumors says that this leaker has a track record for sharing information about Apple's future plans, but it's always important that we take these kinds of leaks with a pinch of salt. However, a good track record isn't for nothing.

In terms of this report, the post says that most of the equipment used to manufacture the chips required for an iPhone's Touch ID system has been permanently shut down, suggesting that there won't be the capacity to bring Touch ID to an iPhone any time soon. The only remaining units are currently used to produce the Touch ID hardware that is used in the iPhone SE, suggesting that Face ID is going to be the iPhone's biometric security system for a good while yet.

Following reports of people being able to steal an iPhone's passcode or passphrase by watching someone enter it over their shoulder before stealing the phone itself, it appears that Apple might have the answer. The issue with iPhones stolen in that way is that the owner's iCloud account could be compromised as a result of the unlocked iPhone but Apple's plans seem to be designed to ensure that nobody can snoop at your iPhone's screen in the future.

That's according to a new report by AppleInsider that looks at two different patents that could potentially fix this issue for good.

One of those patents appears to relate to a privacy film that could be applied to a curved display, putting a protective layer on the screen to ensure that people can't read it when they are standing at an angle to it. This sounds similar to the privacy screen protectors you can buy online, and they're less than ideal. We have to imagine that Apple will have something better up its sleeve though.

If you own an Oura Ring you're no doubt already well aware of what it's capable of, and it's very similar in functionality to an Apple Watch. It sits on a finger, like a normal ring, and is capable of monitoring your temperature and heart rate, among other things. And now the company that makes it has a new hire - straight out of Apple.

The hire is Apple's Jason Oberfest, an executive who has been a key part of the health team at Apple since he joined the company from Mango Health back in 2018. That's according to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman who was writing in the weekly Power On newsletter this past weekend.

Speaking to Tom Hale, Oura's CEO, Gurman was told that the company is rapidly expanding its network of parents and that with the hiring of Oberfest, the company is now poised to take a deeper dive into the wider healthcare world. It isn't yet clear what that means, or what Oura has planned in terms of future projects, but Hale did reportedly say that Oberfest's arrival is the beginning of a new chapter for the company.

If you thought that the launch of the Apple iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro as well as the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro signalled an end to the flagship phone releases for 2023, you were very much mistaken. We're now expecting the OnePlus 12 to be unveiled within the next couple of weeks and now we also have an idea of when we'll be able to buy it, too. And that includes those of us who don't live in China.

We'd already been told by OnePlus to expect a big unveiling to celebrate the company's tenth birthday and now that looks to be the OnePlus 12. An event is to be held on December 4, 2023, and it's a safe bet that this will be the next big thing in the company's lineup. The OnePlus announcement of the event came via the Chinese social network Weibo with the promise that the new phone would be the "flagship of the decade." But that unveiling is sure to be for the Chinese market only, so what about the rest of us?

Now, leaker Max Jambor has shared details on the X social network which suggests that we won't be waiting too long for a global launch. After initially posting to say that we can expect a worldwide release in early January, the leaker followed that up with clarification that the "early" part was an error which suggests that a release will take place towards the end of that month instead.

Ever since Apple released the first iOS 17 update in September iPhone owners have been reporting various bugs with their devices. Those bugs have steadily been fixed with subsequent updates, and it now appears that another one is on the horizon with yet more bug fixes in tow. However, Apple hasn't confirmed the update and we don't know quite when it will be released. That doesn't mean that we can't make a calculated guess, however.

According to a new MacRumors report Apple is currently testing the iOS 17.1.2 update as seen in the outlet's analytics software. The software version started to appear in the last few days, we're told, which means that people within Apple are likely running it on their own devices by way of a limited beta test.

As for what the update includes, that's difficult to tell for certain until it is released to the public. However, there are a couple of bugs that people continue to struggle with and it's possible that this update is coming to try and fix those for once and for all.

When Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro Max in September of 2023 it brought with it the first tetraprism zoom lens to the iPhone, allowing for a much improved zoom lens capability than anything that had come before it. However, that improved zoom didn't make its way to the iPhone 15 Pro but that could all change with the iPhone 16 Pro according to a new report.

It was thought that the iPhone 15 Pro simply wasn't big enough to accommodate the tetraprism lens required to make the 5x optical zoom possible, which is why it was only available in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, according to the well-connected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we should expect the smaller model to get the same camera capabilities as the big one in 2024.

Ming-Chi Kuo was writing as part of a larger Medium post when he said that it's expected the 5x tetraprsim lens will also be available on the iPhone 16 Pro next year. For reference, the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro before it only have a 3x optical zoom, meaning anything beyond that has to resort to digital zoom which results in a far worse photo.

Apple only announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro a few weeks ago, but it's already working on what comes next - and likely what comes after that, too. In terms of the iPhone 16 Pro, expectations are already high, and now a new leak claims to have shared information about what will go inside that high-end model. Specifically, it appears to have leaked the battery that will power the iPhone 16 Pro.

While we can likely expect a different part to be used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the smaller iPhone 16 Pro is now rumored to have a larger battery than the iPhone 15 Pro that is on sale currently. However, the difference in size isn't going to be a huge one which means we shouldn't expect any huge improvements in how long iPhone 16 Pro buyers can go between charges.

The leak itself comes via a post to X by an account called Kosutami which has had a relatively solid track record when it comes to sharing accurate information about Apple devices in the past. However, it's important to remember that this doesn't necessarily mean that we can guarantee that this leak is legitimate. We might have to wait until September next year before we can know for certain.

In news that will surprise just about everyone reading it, Apple has confirmed that it is going to add support for RCS to the iPhone starting in 2024. And early 2024, at that.

While iMessage is an Apple-only instant messaging service that allows for rich messaging features like high-quality media, reactions, and more, it means that iPhone owners can't use it to communicate with those who have Android phones. It's been a bone of contention for years, with Google choosing to use the RCS standard instead. That offers much of what iMessage is capable of, but it works across all devices that support it. The iPhone was the last holdout - until today.

Speaking to TechRadar, Apple says that it will start to support the RCS messaging standard from early 2024 thanks to a software update that will enable the RCS Universal Profile. That will ensure that people will be able to send and receive messages with others no matter what device they have, all without having to use a third-party app like WhatsApp or Telegram.

When Apple announced the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro in September of 2022, it also announced a new feature that had the potential to save lives. Emergency SOS via Satellite allows people to call for help even when they don't have a cellular signal and Apple said that it would give everyone two free years of coverage when they bought a new iPhone. That continued when the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro arrived in September of 2023. Now, Apple has announced an extension to that program for those who bought an iPhone 14 family of devices.

The extension, Apple says, gives everyone who bought one of those iPhone 14 family of devices before 12am on November 15 2023 an extra year of coverage. That means that the normal two years will be extended to three years for those who already have an iPhone 14. Those who bought an iPhone 15 still only get the two years, however.

Apple's iPhone 15 event also saw Apple add support for the Roadside Assistance via Satellite feature which builds on the previous feature and allows people to contact the AAA if they need to get help due to a breakdown. That could be vital if you're in the middle of nowhere with no signal of course, and it's a feature that will hopefully expand beyond the United States once Apple signs deals with the relevant roadside repair companies around the globe.

Apple Pay is a great way for people to pay for items and services using their iPhone or Apple Watch, but it isn't a feature that lets you accept payments. It's purely designed for paying for things - unless you have Apple's Tap to Pay feature enabled, that is. That feature allows iPhone owners to receive payments either via Apple Pay or contactless cards like those from Visa and Mastercard.

The Apple Tap to Pay feature isn't available in every country that has Apple Pay, but Apple has now announced that it's come to France for the first time. The feature is live for businesses who want to make use of it so long as they have an iPhone X or newer and are using one of the supported platforms.

Those platforms include the BPCE Group (Banques Populaires, Caisses d'Epargne, and Payplug) and the companies Adyen, myPOS, Revolut, SumUp, Viva Wallet, and Worldline at launch while BNP Paribas, Crédit Coopératif, Market Pay, Stancer, and Stripe will all come on line soon. What's more, Tap to Pay is already available in Apple Stores in France while retailers including Christian Dior Couture, belonging to the LVMH group, Dyson, Rituals, and Sézane are also online.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max sits at the very top of Apple's iPhone lineup, so ordering one isn't a cheap endeavor. But receiving it from the courier should be a good day, not one filled with hassle - unfortunately, that isn't always the case. Especially if the iPhone 15 Pro Max that you receive isn't even an iPhone.

There have been reports of iPhones being swapped out for nondescript items by couriers for years, with the buyer receiving something they didn't order and then having to take the matter up with the courier and store they bought from. But this latest tale of woe from one UK-based Redditor hits different, because this iPhone was ordered from Apple. And what they received was something we haven't seen before.

That's because Reddit user /theEdmard says that they received what appears to be an Android-powered fake iPhone 15 Pro Max. The box that it was received in appears to be genuine, but it looks like it was unsealed and then resealed with the fake device inside. When powered on, the iPhone is clearly running Android with an iOS-like skin over it, and it's a good job that the buyer noticed before entering any details like their Apple ID credentials. The fake iPhone even had a screen protector preinstalled - the wrong one, at that. It also seems that the display had been replaced with one that has a chin, unlike the real iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro take some of the best photos around right now, but they can still require a little post-processing depending on how you like your images to look. In those cases, your best bet is to take photos in the RAW DMG format, and if you do you can now edit those files in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

That's thanks to the news that Adobe has added support for those two particular phones to its list of Adobe Camera Raw devices alongside other handsets like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro.

The RAW DNG files capture more information than a standard JPG file while appearing more flat and muted before processing. However, because of the additional information collected that processing can be used to create an altogether more impressive photo than might otherwise be possible. Professional photographers shoot in RAW to give them the most possible flexibility when editing in apps like Photoshop and Lightroom. And now owners of the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro can do that as well.

When Apple announced the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max in 2022 both phones ushered in a new era for Apple's phones. The notch was gone for the first time since its introduction with the iPhone X in 2017, replaced with a new Dynamic Island. Now, a new report claims that Dynamic Island could be about to get its biggest refresh yet.

While Apple brought the Dynamic Island down the lineup to the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus in 2023, it's still the setup that includes a hole + pill configuration to house the camera and Face ID technology. However, a new leak claims that Apple is now testing a change that could come to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

That leak comes via Majin Bu in a post to X, the social network previously known as Twitter. According to them, Apple is testing a new iPhone 16 Pro hole punch setup that would presumably place the Face ID technology beneath the display for the first time. The hole would remain for the selfie camera, however.

If you've been watching helplessly as your Google Pixel phone continues to reboot itself since installing Android 14, you aren't alone. And thankfully, Google seems to have a fix ready and waiting for you.

That's the good news, although the bad news is that you're going to have to get your USB cable out and connect your phone to a computer. Google will walk you through what needs to happen, so that's good, but it's still far from ideal.

Google shared details of the fix in a post to its community forum, saying that there are a couple of issues in play. The first is that some impacted devices are unable to access media storage and for those people, the November Android update should get things back up and running without any issue. But for those who have restarting devices, it's a little more complicated.

We've been hearing talk of a new OLED iPad Pro arriving as soon as 2024 for a long time now, and with the tablet having not been updated since 2022, it's only a matter of time before a new version arrives. Now, a new report claims that one of Apple's key supply partners is getting ready to begin mass production ahead of the big unveiling.

That company, LG Display, will be tasked with building the OLED displays that will be part of the iPad Pro's next big refresh. The report, by the Korea Herald, claims that LG Display intends to begin mass production of the new OLED panels as soon as February of 2024, suggesting that we might see a tablet arrive sooner than was previously thought. Manufacturing will apparently kick into gear at LG Display's production factory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

The move to an OLED display technology will offer improved contrast and color reproduction while also potentially allowing Apple to make the iPad Pro thinner and lighter. LG Display is thought to be the company that will provide the majority of the displays although Samsung Display will be tasked with producing the rest. The report also notes that LG Display will be able to charge more for iPad Pro displays than those that are used in smartphones, something that will help a company in need of a cash boost.

Anyone who owns an iPhone knows that the only way to install an app on it is to do so via the App Store, something that has long proven to be an issue for both users and developers. But that could be about to change, with a new report claiming that Apple is working to enable the sideloading of apps for the first time - although it's likely that will only apply to users who happen to have bought their iPhone in the European Union. The report, in Mark Gurman's weekly Power On newsletter, claims that Apple will enable sideloading in the first half of 2024. Gurman is well-connected and could well have information not normally in the public domain.

Sideloading is installing apps outside of the App Store, something that is currently impossible. But an EU ruling means that Apple will be forced to open the iPhone up to sideloading as part of the Digital Markets Act, or DMA. That act requires that so-called gatekeepers, like Apple, must make their services and devices more interoperable than they otherwise might be. One instance of that is to allow apps to be installed via means other than Apple's App Store. It's argued that will give users more choice, while developers will be able to offer their apps without having to give Apple a cut of their income. Currently, Apple takes 15% or 30% of all App Store transactions, something that previously saw Epic Games and the popular Fortnite game kicked out of the store.

Epic Games famously bypassed Apple's in-app purchase system by allowing V-Bucks to be bought via the game's in-app web browser. That was against Apple's rules and Fortnite was banned as a result. However, once sideloading is allowed Epic Games will be able to offer Fortnite via its own Epic Games Store on iPhones and iPads.