Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 57

If you're in the market for a new iPhone and don't want to be tied to any specific carrier, Best Buy is now the place to go. Depending on which model you want to pick up, that is.

Best Buy will now sell you an unlocked iPhone, allowing you to use it on any carrier you choose. That's the first time that Best Buy has offered an unlocked phone, but you won't be able to buy an unlocked iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro, unfortunately.

That's because Best Buy is only offering specific models as part of this change. The unlocked phones available include the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, and third-generation iPhone SE. That means that those looking to get their hands-on Apple's latest and greatest models will still need to go to Apple if they want to get an unlocked handset.

Apple is getting ready to give the iPhone 17 one of the best features of the iPhone 14 Pro, according to a new report. It will be the first time that the feature has been made available on a non-Pro iPhone if the report turns out to be accurate.

There's a very good chance that will be the case as well, with display analyst Ross Young being the one responsible for it. Young has a great track record for these kinds of display-related things, with the report being that Apple will bring 120Hz ProMotion to the non-Pro iPhone in 2025.

Apple's ProMotion technology allows for a variable refresh rate all the way to a maximum 120Hz. It means that iPhones with ProMotion are capable of smoother animations and transitions thanks to the faster refresh rate of their LPTO displays. Those displays also support a refresh rate of just 1Hz, making them able to offer an always-on display with minimal battery life impact.

Apple is reportedly getting a new software update ready that the company hopes will deal with a couple of niggling issues that it has so far been unable to deal with.

The new software update, set to be called iOS 16.4.1, is said to be in the works. That's according to a Twitter leaker who has a reasonable track record when sharing details about unannounced software updates. They have a protected Twitter account, but MacRumors reports that they believe that iOS 16.4.1 is incoming, although no hard release date has been shared.

With that being said, given the relatively small software number change and the nature of the update we expect Apple to release iOS 16.4.1 sooner rather than later. The update will likely arrive later this week or next week, but Apple and iPhone users will no doubt want it to be the former.

Owners of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max can now make use of the potentially lifesaving Emergency SOS via Satellite feature in a number of new countries as of today.

Apple's release of the iOS 16.4 update brings with it additional support for the important feature. Now, people in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Portugal can all call for help even when they don't have access to a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

Normally people in those situations are left with no way to summon the help that they need. Maybe they're at the top of a mountain or out in the wilderness. Now, they can use Apple's integration with Globalstar satellites to send information to emergency dispatchers that allows them to send help.

Owners of older iPhones that don't support iOS 16 should download a new update to make sure that they aren't at risk from an actively exploited security risk.

That new update is iOS 15.7.4 and it's available right now as a free download for anyone whose iPhone is a little long in the tooth and isn't supported by some of Apple's latest releases. That includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, and the first-generation iPhone SE. There is also a version of iPadOS 15.7.4 that has been released for the iPad Air 2 and fourth-generation iPad mini. Amazingly, the seventh-generation iPod touch is also impacted.

Who remembers the iPod touch?

Apple has released iOS 16.4 to the public after weeks of beta testing. The new update adds a number of features and fixes a few bugs, one of which Apple will hope is a problem that caused emergency services to receive unneeded calls.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices support something called Crash Detection. It's a feature that should call emergency services when a car crash is detected similar to the way Fall Detection works when someone takes a tumble. But since the phones went on sale in September 2022 emergency workers have reported that they get calls when they shouldn't. This update might fix that.

With the release of iOS 16.4, Apple hopes to have fixed the issue. The update's release notes don't specifically say that's what is going on, but they do say that the update includes Crash Detection optimizations for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. With that in mind, it seems pretty clear what Apple is doing.

Have you ever turned on your Android phone and been immediately blinded because the screen brightness was set too high? We're willing to bet that you have, but now it looks like Google is working on a fix for that infuriating problem.

According to a new report, Google has a fix in the works via a future Android software update but it will be a while before you can actually install it on your phone.

The problem comes when you first wake your phone because it doesn't yet know how bright the room is. The ambient light sensor doesn't kick in until after that point, meaning it doesn't have time to turn the brightness down if you're in a dark room in the middle of the night, for example.

Apple's iPhone 15 Pro could get a new design for its volume and mute buttons, and many folks aren't happy about it - though we should bear in mind, this is just a rumor at this stage.

The speculation comes from ShrimpApplePro on Twitter, a solid Apple source who has been right in the past (although the leaked CAD images of the purported new button design originate from the Chinese equivalent of TikTok).

Apple is apparently changing the iPhone 15 Pro's buttons (and Pro Max - but not the base iPhone 15 or Plus model) so they aren't physically pressed in any longer. Rather, they'll be flat and use haptic feedback (with two Taptic Engines inside the smartphone) to simulate the feeling of pressing the buttons.

A new patent application filed by Apple shows the company is looking for new ways to prevent iPhone screens from being damaged when the device is dropped.

The new patent application details a new self-retracting technology that would be capable of detecting when the device is dropped and immediately initiating the closure of the screen to protect it from any potential impact. This drop detection technology, paired with what the patent describes as a release mechanism that can "automatically retract the foldable display," would give iPhone users an increased chance at keeping their phone screen from being damaged as the screen wouldn't be exposed to any surface.

Apple releasing a foldable iPhone has been rumored for several years now, with swirling's of the unconfirmed product being first reported back in 2016. Since then, Apple enthusiasts have speculated that the company is inching closer to the release of its first foldable device, especially after Samsung proved there is demand for such devices in the mobile market with its now growing range of foldable smartphones.

When Google's Pixel 8 smartphone rolls around, it might just come with a feature that lets you unblur videos, which would be pretty nifty.

As you're likely aware, the ability to unblur photos is something Google has provided to buyers of its latest handsets, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro.

It's a logical step, then, that such a feature might be extended to cover video, despite that being a clearly more complex endeavor - and clues unearthed in a freshly released APK for Google Photos suggest this ability could be inbound.