Mobile Devices - Page 39

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models are set to go on sale on September 22 and expectations are already pretty high for the new models thanks to some improvements across the board. And one of the interesting things to come out of the first round of early hands-ons and reviews is a new charging option that will be available on the new models.

As noted by The Verge's Alison Johnson, the new iPhones all have an additional battery charging option that will limit their charging to just 80%.

This new 80% limitation will of course prevent the iPhone in question from being charted beyond the 80% mark. Johnson does note that the option to have the iPhone charge to 100% as normal remains, as does the option to enable Optimized Battery Charging feature. That feature charges the iPhone to 80% and then waits at that point before it charges to 100% closer to the time that Apple believes you're likely to wake up or use your new iPhone next.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a phone that has had a strange history and it isn't even on the market yet. Now it's closer than ever to a release and it's leaking once again.

The Galaxy S23 FE wasn't even sure to be a thing a few months ago with some reports claiming that there wouldn't be one. That now seems to be a long time ago with more and more leaks showing that yes, the phone is real. And yes, it probably isn't going to be all that much longer before it goes on sale.

The latest leak comes courtesy of leaker Evan Blass and shows a 3D version of the Galaxy S23 FE spinning around. The video is of a dark gray device so it isn't all that easy to see the display or its bezels, but we do get a good look at a device that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Galaxy S23 proper.

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.

Apple announced iOS 17 way back on June 5 as part of the WWDC event that also saw the Vision Pro announced. But while it's been available in beta form ever since, we're somehow still learning about it. Like the fact that the update will offer more than 20 new ringtones when it arrives on September 18.

The news comes after Apple released the first Release Candidate version of iOS 17 to developers immediately following the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro unveiling earlier this week. And while Apple hasn't yet confirmed that the ringtones are coming, that beta does indeed have them available for people who have installed it.

The new ringtones were spotted by people on the X social network, while MacRumors detailed which new ringtones we can look forward to trying out. Those new ringtones include Arpeggio, Breaking, Canopy, Chalet, Chirp, Daybreak, Departure, Dollop, Journey, Kettle, Mercury, Milky Way, Quad, Radial, Scavenger, Seedling, Shelter, Sprinkles, Steps, Storytime, Tease, Tilt, Unfold, and Valley. However, the existing Reflection ringtone remains the default one.

Apple announcing that its next-generation iPhone 15 will feature a USB-C port in replacement of the Lighting Port opens up a world of new possibilities for iPhone users.

A new report from Mac Rumors, which dove through the specifications sheet released by Apple, has found the USB-C port in all iPhone 15 models comes with support for DisplayPort up to 4K HDR video mirroring, along with video output to external displays or TVs. This unlock in capabilities can be attributed to USB-C having support for DisplayPort connectivity, and means that all iPhone 15's will be able to output video at 4K/60Hz natively.

Users will need a USB-C to DisplayPort cable to achieve this, or Apple's $69 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter that supports HDMI. However, this connection alternative doesn't come with HDR support. Comparatively, previous generations of iPhone that all featured Lightning Ports capped video output mirroring to 1080p. Furthermore, people wondering if the iPhone features extended display mode. It doesn't, per Mac Rumors.

Apple has lifted the lid on the latest iPhone 15 generation. Regarding the flagship iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, there are some major upgrades on the way, most notably in the form of the 3nm A17 Pro chip that Apple claims can play modern AAA games with hardware ray-tracing.

Yeah, and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will see versions of Assassin's Creed Mirage, Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, and Death Stranding arrive - which is remarkable when you factor in that we're talking about smartphones. However, there will be a big difference in the capabilities between the Pro variants and the baseline iPhone 15.

In addition to the non-Pro iPhone 15 featuring the last-gen A16 Bionic chip, its USB capabilities will be limited to USB 2 versus the USB 3 on the Pro and Pro Max. And before you conclude that this sounds like a ploy to get customers to shell out for the more expensive and premium models, the USB limitation looks to be due to the last-gen chip.

With Apple's latest iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max announcement, the company has lifted the lid on what will surely be the world's most powerful smartphone thanks to its new 3nm A17 Pro chip. This 19 billion transistor beast sitting at the heart of the new iPhone is the first major 3 nanometer-powered release from the company, and it's reportedly a gaming beast.

The CPU has seen a redesign to feature 6-cores, two of which are high-performance, with Apple noting that this leads to 10% faster performance than the previous generation iPhone.

In addition to this, there's a 6-core GPU in the A17 Pro chip, based on what Apple is calling the biggest GPU redesign it has made to date - and with that, you've got features like mesh shading, hardware-accelerated ray-tracing, improved efficiency, and up to 20% faster performance than the previous generation. It can run Resident Evil 4 and Ubisoft's highly anticipated Assassin's Creed Mirage.

Apple is currently showcasing its next-generation line of Apple products, revealing the Apple Watch Series 9, new iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro.

Many of the previously mentioned rumors surrounding Apple's now officially unveiled iPhone 15 Pro, such as the inclusion of a new titanium shell, the thinnest borders ever on an iPhone, sizes between 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches. Additionally, the rumors pointed to the removal of the vibrate/ring switch that has been present on iPhones for quite some time.

The rumors suggested that Apple would opt for the inclusion of an action button, a new programmable button that allows users to select what the button imitates. These rumors were true, as Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 15 Pro will have an action button that seemingly has a limited number of programmable options. As with the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Pro will feature a USB-C charging port, along with the inclusion of Ray Tracing capabilities, thanks to the rumored, and now confirmed A17 Pro Bionic chip, the world's first 3-nanometer processor.

Apple has officially launched the next generation iPhone, which as rumours suggested is a steep upgrade from the previous generation, with a few notifiable key differences.

Leading up to the Wonderlust event rumors suggested that Apple was going to release a new smartphone with a reduction in bezels, an adoption of USB-C for the charging port, an improved camera, the A17 Bionic chip (world's first 3-nanometer processor in a smartphone), and much more. Now, the official event is underway and as I'm currently writing this Apple is finishing its event, unveiling its next-generation line of products.

Apple's presentation that it's currently conducting as I'm writing this article has confirmed many of the previously listed rumors and many more that weren't listed in this post. The next-generation iPhone will include a Dynamic Island, a Super retina XDR display that features OLED display technology, has an increased brightness of 2,000 nits, which is 2x the iPhone 14, a 48MP main camera that features a variety of improvements, thinner bezels, and sizes between 6.1 inches and 6.7 inches. The biggest confirmation so far at the time of writing, is the adoption of USB-C.

As the minutes count down towards the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro unveiling we continue to hear more and more about what the new phones will offer. Now, a new report claims that buyers can look forward to faster wireless charging than is currently available.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro support MagSafe today, as has been the case since the iPhone 12. But that maxes out at a rather pedestrian 15W and that pales beside some of the competition. Now, a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman claims that Apple could be about to improve matters with its new handsets.

Unfortunately, Gurman didn't go into details about what new speeds we can expect the updated iPhones to wirelessly charge at, but any increase is sure to be well received by those who like to ditch their cables wherever possible.

While all of the attention right now is understandably on the iPhone portion of Apple's mobile lineup, a new report claims that fans of another lineup entirely are set to be left disappointed by Apple's plans for the rest of this year.

While we've heard rumors of a new iPad Air launching before the end of the year, possibly as soon as next month, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that's unlikely to happen. In fact, Kuo doesn't expect there to be any new iPads before 2024 rolls around.

That isn't a huge surprise in the case of the iPad Pro of course. Apple is already heavily rumored by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman to have new OLED iPad Pros penciled in for a big 2024 unveiling, while the iPad mini isn't thought to be ready for a refresh any time soon, either. But it was Gurman who had suggested that an iPad Air refresh was on the way, saying that it could arrive "soonish" previously.