Mobile Devices - Page 34

Apple's latest flagship phones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Por Max, are both powered by the brand-new A17 Pro chip. The even newer Google Pixel 8 Pro features the equally new Tensor G3 chip, so which is faster? That's what YouTuber PhoneBuff set out to discover by putting both phones through their paces using so-called real-world tests.

Those tests consisted of opening the same apps on both devices and then timing how long it took. The result matches with the early Geekbench scores we'd seen - the iPhone 15 Pro Max used in the test toasted the Pixel 8 Pro. And then some.

Those Geekbench scores show that the iPhone 15 Pro manages a single-core score of 2890 and a multi-core score of 7179. Compare that with the Pixel 8 Pros single-core score of 1860 and multi-core score of 4442, and it perhaps shouldn't be all that surprising that it's Apple's phone that comes up trumps.

Apple has admitted that owners of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max phones might find that they have an issue if they try and wirelessly charge them in some specific cars. The issue was first reported by some people not long after the new iPhones went on sale last month, but Apple has now posted a bulletin to its Apple Authorized Service Providers to warn that some people might have an issue.

That issue, it seems, is that the new iPhones might have a problem with a "small number" of wireless phone chargers that are built into some recent BMW and Toyota Supra models. The issue isn't so much that they won't charge, but that if they do they'll temporarily break the NFC capabilities of those iPhones. That issue could be a big one if you rely on your iPhone for Apple Pay, for example.

MacRumors says that there isn't any indication that Apple provided a specific reason for what's going on, but users report that after charging their new iPhones in those cars they receive an error stating that the device "Could Not Set Up Apple Pay" when trying to use it. The same issue would also likely affect other NFC-based features such as digital car keys and home keys.

Last month it was reported that a bug in iOS 17 was causing an important location services permissions setting to change of its own accord, with users having no way of knowing that it had happened without manually checking themselves. Now, it seems that the upcoming iOS 17.1 update will fix the issue for those affected.

The bug in question is related to the Significant Locations feature. That feature allows iOS to keep tabs on frequently visited locations and then use that data to recommend things like apps, photo Memories, and even predict traffic routing requirements.

In some instances, iOS 17 was re-enabling the feature even if people had explicitly disabled it previously. That's a privacy problem because some people might not want their location to be tracked in such a way for a variety of reasons. Apple has now acknowledged that there is indeed an issue, saying that the bug appears to be related to the Apple Watch. In particular, it seems to be that the Significant Locations setting is being reset for some people when they transfer an Apple Watch to a new iPhone or pair one for the first time.

We might only have had the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro for a few weeks, but the attention is already starting to turn to what comes from the next round of iPhone updates. Those updates will most likely be the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, with the silicon to be used in the former of particular interest.

That's because a new report suggests that Apple will use new A18 chips in the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus when they arrive in September of 2024. However, while the new models will reportedly get new chips, those chips won't be the best Apple can muster. That special silicon will instead be reserved for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

This is all according to analyst Jeff Pu from Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities. Pu was writing in a research note seen by MacRumors which explains that Apple will use A18-series chips across the board next year. Those chips will all be based on TSMC's next-generation 3nm manufacturing process, dubbed N3E. The current A17 Pro, used in the iPhone 16 Pro models, is based on N3B, the current 3nm process.

Apple's 10.9-inch iPad Air could be about to get an iPad Pro-like screen upgrade, according to a report by the industry-watchers over at DigiTimes. The report, first picked up by MacRumors, claims that Apple is getting ready to increase the size of the iPad Air's display to a whopping 12.9 inches.

The current iPad Air ships with a 10.9-inch display with only the iPad Pro sporting a display as big as 12.9 inches diagonally. If this report is accurate, that could be about to change. However, the report doesn't make it clear whether Apple is planning on replacing the current model with the larger one or if there will be a new two-size approach moving forward.

Citing industry sources, DigiTimes says that the 12.9-inch iPad Air won't use a miniLED display with Apple choosing instead to go with the more traditional LCD panel approach. That would reportedly mean Apple using the same technology as is currently employed in the iPad Air, albeit with larger measurements.

Apple has released a second Release Candidate version of the iOS 17.1 update for beta testers to put through its paces. But while the first release was made available for all iPhones compatible with iOS 17, this second iOS 17.1 RC release is aimed squarely at owners of the latest and greatest iPhones only.

That means that this RC update is only currently available for owners of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max devices. Those who own older models are currently only able to download that initial RC that arrived last week.

With Apple expected to release the iOS 17.1 update to the public next week, this RC update is only likely to be in testing for a limited time period which could prove problematic if any new issues are discovered. Apple will no doubt hope that won't be the case.

Apple normally has something to announce towards the end of any given year, but that doesn't look set to be the case in 2023, according to various reports. That's after it was reported that Apple would launch new iPads as recently as last week.

That leak proved to be wide of the mark, with Apple choosing instead to simply announce a new $79 Apple Pencil. The lack of a new iPad in October is a disappointment for potential buyers, to be sure, while there had previously been plenty of noise suggesting that Apple would launch new M3-powered Macs, too. The 24-inch iMac in particular is overdue some love, but it now seems increasingly unlikely that will happen.

That's according to the normally well-connected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and a series of reports he has made in recent weeks. With the October release window now almost gone, MacRumors has collected together a list of devices that are overdue an update as well as some that were only refreshed less than a year ago - like the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, for example.

A scratched smartphone screen is a bit of a downer, because as such marks accumulate, your device loses that fresh out of the box look, and it can be annoying to constantly notice these blemishes.

The good news is that Apple has a plan to keep the scratches and screen chip marks at bay, or at least there's a patent out there that suggests a 'self-healing' iPhone of the foldable variety might arrive at some point in the future.

Patently Apple spotted the patent that just emerged via the US Patent & Trademark Office (hat tip to The Verge here, too).

Since the iPhone 15 launched, you can't have missed the controversy around the screen and reports of 'burn-in' - or more accurately image retention - with some models.

This has been a pretty worrying episode as the provided pics from those suffering the gremlin in question have showed some quite nasty looking image retention indeed.

Amidst theories that this was a hardware problem, and a fault in the OLED screen, it turns out that it's an issue that can be fixed on the software front.

From structural integrity issues to overheating, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro line-up has had a somewhat rocky start to its launch, and now we have can add one more problem to the list - screen burn-in.

A small group of users are reporting severe screen burn-in on their iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, with a few of these users taking to Reddit to ask if anyone else is experiencing the same issue. Judging from the images shared to this thread, the screen burn-in is by far the worst problem Apple has faced so far, with the panel of the phone almost turning completely white with app icons burned into the display.

Notably, OLED panels are prone to screen burn-in, but it's not common with mobile devices and is an issue that is typically found on TV's or monitors. However, the reports from these users clearly indicate there is some type of issue with the iPhone 15 Pro Max's panel, especially since this isn't an isolated issue happening only to a select ground of users performing the same tasks, according to reports.

When Apple announced the iPhone 15 it brought with it the USB-C port that many had been expecting. But that means that everyone who uses a USB-A to Lightning cable for their CarPlay setup needs a new cable to be able to use their iPhone in the car. Now, for the first time, Apple is selling a cable that will do the job.

That cable isn't one that Apple makes, however. The cable is a Belkin offering, dubbed the snappily-named BOOST↑Charge Pro Flex USB-A to USB-C Cable. It comes with a 1m length and is braided, just like Apple's own cables. It's also one that comes with a cool cable tie which also makes it perfect for use in the car where you might not always need that extra cabling.

There are other options for those who want a similar cable, with Lightning and USB-C versions offered for people who don't need that USB-A connector. It isn't a cheap option, though. At almost $20 it's a costly option, especially if all you need is a cable for use in the car.

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the newest flagship phone to have been announced and it'll be on sale soon enough. But some people are already putting the phone through its paces and the initial benchmark results don't make for great reading if you plan on playing some of the heavier games on the device.

That's based on figures shared by one X user who puts the phone's new Tensor G3 up against some of the other chips out there, especially some of the older ones from the likes of Apple, MediaTek, and Qualcomm. The results also include Apple's M1 and M2 chips which isn't necessarily fair, although they do ship in tablets as well as Mac laptops.

The X post above includes a number of tables that show how the Pixel 8 Pro stacks up when running different tests including 3DMark, and GFXBench. The upshot? The Google Tesnro G3 is faster than the Tensor G2 that came before it. But when it comes to the competition, it still lags behind competing chips like the Apple A16 sold in the iPhone 15. The A17 Pro, part of the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, wasn't included in the tests.

Apple might have only released the iOS 17.0 update to the public a few short weeks ago but it's been beta testing iOS 17.1 for around the same amount of time. Now, it seems that the iOS 17.1 update will be released to the public within a couple of weeks, and the source of that information might be a surprise to some.

The iOS 17.1 update will bring with it a few changes which we'll get into soon, but it isn't as big a refresh as the main annual updates. But Apple does normally release an x.1 update around the end of October each year, and now we know that will be the case this year as well - if the leak is true, the iOS 17,1 update will roll out to everyone who wants it on or before October 24.

That's according to a report by iPhoneSoft which spotted the date on the website of the French regulatory outfit ANFR. The date was in relation to an ongoing situation around the iPhone 12 and the RF radiation it emits, but that's by the by. The real interest here is the date because it says that Apple will release iOS 17.1 to all users no later than October 24.

Following months of rumors it now looks like we might finally be about to see a refreshed iPad or two, with a new report claiming that a pair of tablets will be announced within the next week.

That report claims that the iPad mini 7 and iPad Air 6 are set to be unveiled within a matter of days, possibly even on Tuesday, October 17. If that's the case it will bring an end to rumors about whether or not there will be updated tablets before the end of 2023, with reports seemingly unable to agree on Apple's plans. Now, it seems we are as close as ever to knowing what's going down.

This report comes via Supercharged which cites unnamed people with knowledge of Apple's media plans and says that the company will unveil new iPad mini and iPad Air tablets with upgraded internals. The tablets won't get a big unveiling event, however, with Apple instead choosing to announce the upgrades via press releases and updated videos on the company's YouTube channel.

If you're the proud owner of an iPad mini 6 and have noticed that it has a strange scrolling issue that causes one side of the display to move at a different rate than the other, you aren't alone. But the good news is that the iPad mini 7 could be about to fix it.

The jelly scrolling problem is one that was immediately spotted by people when they started to receive their iPad mini 6 back in September of 2021, and it isn't something that Apple has been able to fix in software. The screen tearing problem is something that Apple says is normal, and is just something that can't be avoided when you use the type of LCD display used in the iPad mini 6. However, as true as that may be, it's now been reported that the upcoming iPad mini 7 will fix that unfortunate behavior by changing the way the display is configured.

That's according to Instant Digital, an account that posted the news to the Chinese social network Weibo. They say that the idea is that Apple will change the orientation of the display assembly to make screen tearing less obvious, especially when scrolling down content in portrait mode.

Samsung is very much expected to announce a trio of new smartphones in January of 2024, with the entire Galaxy S24 lineup starting to leak with increasing regularity. We already saw the Galaxy S24 Ultra's new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip work its way through a Geekbench CPU test and pass with flying colors, and now the Exynos 2400 has made an appearance as well.

While the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip will be the only one used in Samsung's upcoming flagship, those buying a Galaxy S24 or Galaxy S24 Plus will have to hope that they live in the right part of the world if they want to get the Qualcomm chip - it'll only be used in phones destined for the United States and Canada. Everyone else will get Samsung's own Exynos silicon - and while the early benchmarks show that the Exynos 2400 is an improvement over other chips from Samsung, it still can't quite keep up with Qualcomm's finest.

This news comes after a Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus European variant carrying the model number SM-S926B popped up in new benchmark scores, managing to achieve 2067 points in the single-core benchmark and 6520 points in the multi-core run. To put that into comparison, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 scored 2234 points in the single-core test and 6807 in the multi-core test.

After months of rumors it's now official - OnePlus will announce the OnePlus Open foldable phone next Thursday, October 19. The phone has been teased a fair bit of late and is clearly seen in the OnePlus event announcement posted on social network X. Now we just need to wait for the full spec sheet to be announced, too.

The OnePlus Fold is a phone that we've heard a lot about over the last few months and it'll be good to see it finally made official. It promises to be a solid folding phone for people who prefer tablet-like foldables rather than flip phones, and it has some impressive specifications to go with that popular form factor, too. The phone itself will be announced on October 19 at 7:30 PM IST/4:00 PM CET/10:00 AM EDT at an event held in Mumbai, India.

While we haven't yet seen OnePlus confirm all of the new phone's specs, we do have some ideas about what we can expect based on previous leaks. Assuming that they turn out to be accurate we can expect the OnePlus Open to ship with a 7.8-inch foldable display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip paired with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The 4,800mAh battery will be charged by a 67W fast-charging USB-C port while Hasselblad-tuned cameras will include a 48-megapixel primary camera and a 48-megapixel ultrawide. The optical zoom camera will feature a 64-megapixel sensor.

It's still a few months before we expect that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but that hasn't stopped the phone from making its benchmarking debut. A phone that is thought to be the Galaxy S24 Ultra has now popped up in online Geekbench results, complete with the rumored Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

That chip is now roundly expected to be the only one offered inside Samsung's next flagship model, while the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus will both only use that chip in some markets. In others, it's thought that Samsung's in-house Exynos 2400 will be used. We don't know how fast that chip will be just yet, but the signs are looking good for the Galaxy S24 Ultra and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

That's after SamMobile spotted the phone's Geekbench scores online, complete with a number of interesting tidbits. The phone is listed as the SM-S928U and scores 2,234 points in the single-core CPU performance test and 6,807 points in the multi-core CPU performance test. To put that into perspective, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip managed a score of 1,895 points in the single-core CPU performance test and 5,062 points in the multi-core CPU performance test.

Have you ever taken your iPhone 15 Pro out of your pocket and found that your Action button has been triggered by accident? If the answer is a resounding and enthusiastic yes, you're in luck because Apple seems to be on the case.

While activating the Action button requires a long press, it seems that some people have found that it is still surprisingly easy to activate by accident. That's happening in pockets and bags around the world, but a new MacRumors report notes that the iOS 17.1 update appears to have made a change that will fix that. The change is already available in the third developer beta of the iOS 17.1 update that is now available for download. With that installed, the iPhone 15 Pro prevents accidental Action button presses by disabling it whenever it's in a pocket or a bag.

However, as the report notes, the change only seems to apply to some of the action options and not all of them. For example, the Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Focus, and Magnifier functions are all disabled. But if you have the Action button configured to launch a shortcut, for example, long pressing it in a pocket will still trigger the action. The same applies to enabling and disabling the mute function, too.

Following ongoing rumors that the M3 iPad Pro will gain a new OLED display as soon as early next year, a new report suggests that you might not have to buy it to get one of those displays. If that report is correct, the iPad mini and iPad Air will also benefit from an OLED display upgrade.

The report doesn't go into great detail about what other upgrades we should expect from those new OLED-powered displays, so we don't know if we should expect 120Hz ProMotion to also make its way to those non-Pro iPads as well. If it does, it'll be the first time that the feature has rolled out to an iPad lineup that isn't an iPad Pro.

The report comes via a post on the Korean social media network Naver and from a user who has a relatively successful track record with getting these kinds of reports correct. The post was first spotted by MacRumors and suggests that the new OLED iPad Air and iPad mini will arrive in 2026.