Mobile Devices - Page 38

Apple might be ready to announce a new iPad mini before the end of the year, according to a new report. That's despite a report by a well-connected supply chain analyst who claimed that there would be no new tablets before 2024.

This latest report comes via the supply chain watchers at DigiTimes and claims that there have been orders for a new small-size iPad for the fourth quarter of this year. That would presumably be the seventh-generation iPad mini, with the last model having been released way back in 2021.

Little is known about the new tablet and it wasn't even expected to be in the cards for a 2023 unveiling. While Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had suggested that it wasn't out of the question that there would be a new iPad mini this year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo poured cold water on that idea by saying that there would be no new iPad mini until 2024. In fact, Kuo said that he didn't believe that there would be any new iPad models at all this year.

After Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro and said that it would be able to run a console port of Resident Evil Village, that's something that a ton of gamers have been waiting for. The new iPhones went up for sale on September 22 and now we also know when they will get their flagship new game, too.

It's now been confirmed that Resident Evil Village will come to the App Store on October 30, complete with the Winters' Expansion. It'll be available to play on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max as well as the iPad Air and iPad Pro so long as yours happens to have the M1 chip or later inside.

The new game will be a free download in the App Store, but that'll only act as a demo version of sorts. If you want to play the full game that's going to cost you. With this being a console game, it's perhaps no surprise that its pricing also reflects that. The Resident Evil Village game will set gamers back $40, while the Winters' Expansion DLC will go for another $20.

Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models are now available to buy and people have been doing that since the September 22 launch last week. Those who got their preorders in quickly will already have their new phone in their pockets. And it turns out that there's one person picking up Apple's latest phone that you might have heard of.

The new models are the best iPhones that Apple has ever sold and now it appears that the owner of X, the social network previously familiar to us all as Twitter, would agree. Elon Musk took to Twitter to confirm that yes, he is picking up a new iPhone this year.

Musk was replying to a tweet by Apple CEO Tim Cook who was saying that the new iPhones were officially on sale on Friday alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Series 9, and updated USB-C AirPods Pro 2. Musk replied to say that he's buying one and we have to imagine it's that fancy new iPhone that he was talking about.

With Google's big Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro unveiling now just a week or so away there is more attention than ever on what the company will announce in terms of features and specifications. We can surely expect some big camera upgrades and Google's use of AI tools should make for an interesting list of features. But how much will all of the new hotness cost when it becomes official?

That's a question that we might now be able to answer after a leak of what appears to be a Google pricing chart appeared on X, the social network previously known to the world as Twitter. That post comes via leaker Kamila Wojciechowska and seems to have all of the information we could possibly want to know - including further confirmation of specifications across both devices.

Starting with those all-important prices, the leak suggests that the Pixel 8 will start at $699 this year, an increase of $100 over the current Pixel 7 price of $599. That'll get you a Tesnor G3 chip, just like the Pixel 8 Pro. The difference is that the Pixel 8 comes with 8GB of RAM while the Pixel 8 Pro has an upgraded chip with an extra 50% memory, taking it to 12GB.

The Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are set to be announced very soon indeed but we might not need to wait all that long to know what the new models will offer in terms of cameras. A new leak claims to have outed all of the new specifications a week or so ahead of time.

With all of the attention now on Apple and its recent iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro releases it's leaks like this that continue to remind everyone that there are now Google phones just around the corner. Apple might have launched four new handsets but Google is being much more conservative with just two new models on the horizon; the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro.

This new camera leak comes courtesy of the folks at 91mobiles and tipster Kamila Wojciechowska. According to them, there are a few things that buyers of the new models should be looking forward to.

In classic Apple fashion, the iPhone 15 Pro Max's tetraprism telephoto camera is expected to make its way into the next-generation iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max next year. However, there will be some changes, according to one industry analyst.

It's typical of Apple's flagship Pro Max model to debut a new technology that eventually ends up in its cheaper models of iPhone once manufacturing and cost of that new technology reaches an appropriate level. According to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a new Medium post, he has heard news that Apple has asked its supplier of the iPhone 15 Max's new tetraprism telephoto lens to increase specifications for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max in order to keep up with demand.

The analyst says that Apple is asking its supplier to increase specifications in order to boost yields, but there is a problem that may fall back on consumers. This purported increase in specifications is said to come with a price increase of about 30%, taking the original cost of the telephoto lens from $6 to $6.50. It's unclear if this price hike will fall back on consumers.

A YouTuber has taken apart Apple's recently released iPhone 15 Pro Max to see exactly how much titanium is present in the new chassis.

Apple announced that its latest generation of iPhone Pro models will feature a new and improved titanium chassis that the company describes as an "aerospace-grade titanium design" that uses "the same alloy that spacecraft use for missions to Mars." Notably, Apple also states that due to the adoption of titanium, the latest Pro model devices are the lightest iPhone Pros ever released.

JerryRigEverything has put those statements from Apple and others to the test by completely dismantling a new iPhone 15 Pro Max. After removing the front glass and the myriad of tiny screws, the YouTuber uses an angle grinder to cut the chassis in half. The cross-section of the chassis reveals that Apple has used approximately 1mm of titanium to overlay an aluminum chassis. The titanium is on the outside, while the aluminum is on the inside.

It's no secret that Google is getting ready to announce its new phones in the coming weeks and while the models have never been a secret, they're starting to leak more and more. The latest leak comes via MySmartPrice and a number of high-resolution images that appear to confirm the colors of the unannounced handsets.

We're already pretty sure that the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will be announced in October and now this leak gives us our best look yet at what those phones will look like while confirming the colors that people will get to choose from. And those colors are a sight for sore eyes for anyone who doesn't like the rather muted look of Apple's new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro lineups.

As the report notes, it now looks like the Google Pixel 8 will sell in Peony Rose, Grey, and Obsidian Black color options while people going for the Pro models can expect to choose between Sky Blue, Porcelain, and Black Obsidian.

When Apple announced that there would be no new first-party leather iPhone cases or Apple Watch bands it said that the new FineWoven accessories would replace them. But those who have already got their hands on those accessories have so far been left unimpressed and it seems that there might be a reason for that - the FineWoven fabric is indeed woven and finely so, but it has its problems.

People with early iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro case deliveries have been noting for the last few days that the cases are easily marked by fingernails and other items likely to be found in pockets. What's worse, those marks don't seem to be self-healing in any way and they can't even be removed by rubbing, either. Now, the teardown experts at iFixit have taken one of the new iPhone's cases apart to see what gives. And it turns out that the material is indeed a good one, but it might not be suited to what it's being asked to do.

The iFixit people put the new material under the microscope and found that each individual fiber measures around six microns thick which is around 1/12 the width of a human hair. They're very finely woven together to create the finish that we see on the cases and watch bands, and there is little doubt that the FineWoven name fits. But when stress testing the case iFixit found that it was very easy to damage.

It's now been around a day or so since early adopters managed to get their hands on the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, not to mention the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. But it's the Pro and Pro Max that are proving particularly controversial right now after people started to realize that they have a new icon in their status bars that they really, really don't like.

Now that the new Pro iPhones don't have a traditional mute switch it's harder to tell if your phone is in silent mode or not. To help with that, Apple has added a new bell icon to the status bar, just beside the clock. When silent mode is turned on, the bell with a strike through it appears to warn people that they won't receive audible alerts when they receive notifications and calls. But some people seem to really dislike it. Thankfully, and very unlike Apple, there's an option to disable the bell altogether.

The good news was provided by YouTuber Marques Brownlee who shared the details in a post on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. Brownlee, better known as the MKBHD YouTube channel name, says that there is an option in the Settings app that removes the bell for good. It can be found in the Sounds & Haptics portion of the setting and is well worth checking out if you're someone who wants the icon gone from their status bar.

We're firmly in the middle of new iPhone hysteria right now with people lining up at Apple Stores around the world to get their hands on the new hotness. The iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max are all now on sale and early reports are that people are loving their new handsets. But it seems that some models might be proving more popular than others.

While it was already likely that the iPhone 15 Pro Max would prove the most popular of the four new models given its new 5x tetraprism camera and people's leaning towards bigger handsets, a new report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that there are two models in particular that aren't hitting expectations in terms of demand. And they both have 6.1-inch displays.

Writing in part of a larger Medium post discussing Apple's supply chain situation, Kuo said that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are falling short of expectations with there being the likelihood that Apple will cut orders for those models unless it slashes prices. The latter is extremely unlikely, suggesting that the former is the way Apple will go.

So you're picking up your new iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro from the Apple Store or a courier just dropped it on the doorstep - however you got the thing, you're going to want to make sure that it's running the latest software before you try and set it up.

We aren't talking about iOS 17 of course, that'll be preinstalled on every iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro that comes out of Apple's factories. Instead, we're talking about iOS 17.0.2, a new update that was rolled out yesterday and targets only Apple's newest iPhones. Those with iPhone 14 models, for example, can't install it. And now we know why - the new iPhones have a bug that prevents them from being properly set up.

Specifically, Apple's latest iPhones won't let you restore from another iPhone in order to keep all of your data. You have to either do it via an iCloud or computer backup instead which is less than ideal. Apple knows that, and there's already a fix - that fix is iOS 17.0.2, and we'd suggest that you let your new iPhone install it before you try and migrate away from your old iPhone.

While most people are still waiting for their new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models to arrive on their doorsteps, some people have been lucky enough to get their hands on them already. And one of those decided that they wanted to see what was going on inside. In this case, it was the iPhone 15 Pro and PBKreviews took the handset apart to see what makes it tick.

The video was actually in the name of repairability - they wanted to see how easy it would be to repair the iPhone, especially given Apple's claims that it is easier to replace the back glass this time out. And, it turns out, Apple was right.

You can watch the full video above but the gist is that replacing the back glass on an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max is much easier than doing it on an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max. PBKreviews explains that all a repair shop would need to do is heat the back of the iPhone and then pry the back glass off before disconnecting a single flex cable. The back glass itself also includes the MagSafe charging coil and other connectors.

Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models will go on sale in just a few short hours and people are eagerly awaiting their preorders. And while they'll come with iOS 17 preinstalled, that won't be the software that they run for all that long after Apple today released an iOS 17.0.2 update.

The new update arrived alongside iOS 17.0.1, a release that is available for all other devices compatible with iOS 17. Interestingly, this new iOS 17.0.2 update is only available for the new iPhones and it isn't yet clear when we can expect it to roll out to older models.

We have to imagine that the iOS 17.0.2 update includes the same fixes as the iOS 17.0.1 release but with some iPhone 15-specific tweaks. With that in mind, we can expect the new iPhones to also benefit from the same bug fixes and security improvements that the iOS 17.0.1 update makes available to all other handsets.

A YouTuber has decided to test the gaming capabilities of Apple's iPhone 15 Pro following the device unveiling event, including an example of it running AAA titles such as Assassin's Creed and Resident Evil.

The significant leap in mobile gaming capabilities can be attributed to the A17 Pro chip, which, according to Apple, will be able to play games such as Assassin's Creed Mirage, Resident Evil Village, and Resident Evil 4 by early 2024. Another addition to the iPhone 15 Pro is the adoption of USB-C, which has enabled the possibility of connecting your iPhone to an external monitor via a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. YouTuber Vincent Zhong shared footage of him utilizing this exact setup, and the footage that is shown in the above video is incredibly impressive.

Resident Evil Village appears to be running very smoothly, with no noticeable frame drops at a decent resolution of 1560 by 720. Notably, the framerate is locked at 30FPS, and while many PC gamers would be yawning at the resolution and framerate, they should consider what is powering this gaming experience. This is all powered by a small mobile device and is fully achievable through the use of one cable with no extra hardware required - a monumental achievement in the world of mobile gaming.

When Apple announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models during that September 12 event, it mentioned that their new USB-C ports will be able to charge AirPods Pro and Apple Watches when the need arises. But what about other things?

It isn't immediately clear why Apple chose to mention the Apple Watch and AirPods Pro specifically, beyond those products also being updated at the same event, but the obvious question was whether anything else would charge when plugged into the USB-C port on those new iPhones. It made plenty of sense that they would, but we didn't see any confirmation from Apple either way. Now, we're starting to learn that yes, you can basically plug anything into that iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro in a pinch.

We know this after YouTuber MKBHD shared details of his testing of the new iPhones. That testing included plugging all kinds of things into the new models, including other iPhones and Android devices.

When Apple finally releases the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro on Friday, September 22, there are plenty of new features and capabilities for people to look forward to. But there's one new feature that Apple never mentioned during its event and we're only now learning about if after reviewers were allowed to start sharing information about their handsets earlier this week.

That feature is something that a lot of people are going to love, but others might find it more anxiety-inducing than it's worth. We're of course talking about a feature that will finally bring a battery cycle count to the iPhone, and it's sure to be something of a double-edged sword.

The news was shared by Ray Wong, a reviewer who posted the information to X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. The new battery cycle count is available in the Settings app alongside information about the manufacture date of the battery and when it was first used.

When Apple released the iPhone 14 last year, the repair specialists at iFixit gave it a solid repairability score of seven out of 10, saying that it was recommended. That was a big deal for iPhones which normally fare pretty badly due to the way repairing them can often cost a lot of money or require removing multiple parts to get to relatively common ones that could need to be replaced. But iFixit now says that it has made a change to its score.

That new score is a rather poor four out of 10, with iFixit saying that the iPhone 14 is no longer recommended. Why? It turns out that the iPhone 14's repairability isn't quite as solid as it was once thought to be.

In a new blog post, iFixit says that when it gave the iPhone 14 such a good score last year people were surprised. Those within the repair industry have since reached out to say that actually fixing these devices isn't as easy as first thought, with official Apple parts often required and their costs being prohibitively high. What's more, some repair shops say that they are on the verge of collapse due to Apple's repair practices. Ships often use third-party parts or harvest them from other devices - something that Apple no longer makes possible.

Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max during its September 12 event and the new models will finally go on sale on September 22. When they do they'll be the first phones with a 3nm chip installed, bringing improved performance to people who pick those handsets up. But it seems that Apple is already working on what comes next and one analyst believes that it might arrive sooner than you'd think.

This is all according to the supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo who is normally pretty good at predicting things based on what suppliers tell him. In a larger Medium post Kuo says that TSMC is already working on what will be the next big upgrade to its chips, with Apple being one of the two companies that will benefit greatly from the move.

Kuo says that he expects that Apple and NVIDIA will be the two companies most likely to make use of TSMC's chips first. For Apple, Kup expects the iPhone to switch to new 2nm chips as soon as 2026 while Intel is set to do the same for its own next-generation AI chips.

Apple's iOS 17 update was announced during the WWDC event on June 5 and it's been in beta testing ever since that time. But despite various betas throughout the last couple of months, Apple made a change in the final version and it's causing a few people some problems.

That change might not seem like a huge one for some people, but for others, it seems to be causing some big problems. The change? Apple has done away with the familiar Tri-tone message alert sound, replacing it with a new Rebound one. And it appears that the new tone just isn't going to pass muster for some people. Perhaps this is why Apple should have made the change earlier in the beta cycle so that it could get some feedback - the kind of thing betas are actually for, of course.

The new tone change was made in the iOS 17 Release Candidate update that was made available a week before the update was rolled out to everyone who wanted it. Now that iOS 17 is available to the public there are more people than ever falling foul of the new tone, and boy are they complaining about it. Some say that the new tone simply isn't loud enough for them to hear it, while others lament the change in vibration pattern that the new tone has - making it harder to feel when in a pocket, for example.