Mobile Devices - Page 6

Apple's new budget-focused iPhone 16e was announced earlier this year, packing the company's first in-house 5G modem called the Apple C1.

Apple's new C1 modem is the most power-efficient baseband chip inside of an iPhone according to the company, with the new in-house 5G modem seeing a combination of TSMC 4nm and 7nm process nodes. The new Apple C1 modem is fabbed on TSMC's newer 4nm process node, while the transceiver is made on TSMC's last-gen 7nm node.

The new iPhone 16e costs just $599 with the new Apple C1 subsystem inside, with this subsystem containing key components including the processor and memory. Apple's new iPhone 16e features the same A18 processor as the rest of the iPhone 16 family, and has the best battery life of all of the 6.1-inch iPhones thanks to its new C1 subsystem.

Apple's new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air has been spotted in some juicy new renders, with a tease of the same camera bar as the Pro models, and more. Check it out:

The new Apple iPhone 17 Air smartphone has appeared in a new video from YouTube channel Front Page Tech, with Jon Prosser telling us the new iPhone 17 Air will measure in at 5.5mm thin at its thinnest point, making it only slightly thicker than both of the iPad Pro models with OLED displays.

Apple's new iPhone 17 Air smartphone will feature a new camera bar on the back, housing all of the required components that you find on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max handsets. This means we can expect a single-lens camera sensor on the left side of the camera bar, with a mic and LED flash placed on the right.

In another case of Samsung giving its best OLED screen to its competitors, rumor has it Apple's new iPhone 17 family of smartphones will use the latest M14 OLED panel provided by Samsung.

This means that Apple's new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphones will all use Samsung's new M14 OLED panel, which is a big change over only the higher-end iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max using the high-end M14 OLED display. Now the entire range of iPhone 17 handsets will use Samsung's latest M14 OLED panel.

Samsung's latest M14 OLED panel is the company's most advanced display technology, when compared to the previous generation M13, the new M14 OLED is 20-30% brighter, improved energy efficiency, and longer service life. Apple is expected to roll out 120Hz refresh rate goodness to all of its iPhone 17 handsets.

Apple has been rumored to be working on a new ultra-thin iPhone model that will lack some of the high-end features seen in other models but concentrate purely on aesthetics.

We have been hearing about the rumored iPhone 17 Air for quite some time, with analyst Jeff Pu saying back in August that if Apple were to release a new iPhone variant, it wouldn't be focussed on performance at all but instead visuals, with the main attraction being the thickness of the device. More rumors about the elusive device slated its thickness to be 6mm, which, when compared to Apple's latest iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max at 8.25mm, makes for a stark difference that only can result in praises for Apple's engineering team (depending on the concessions made to achieve this thickness).

The rumors continued, and we began hearing about potential specifications for this iPhone 17 Air, and according to reports, a 6.6-inch display paired with an Apple A19 processor made on TSMC's current 3nm process is what is in the works. Moreover, Pu stated in October the device will feature an aluminum frame, presumably with the titanium coating as seen on the current iPhone line-up, a single 48-megapixel rear camera, and a 24-megapixel front camera. Furthermore, the device would come with support for Apple Intelligence, which means at least 8GB of RAM.

In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, known Apple insider Mark Gurman claimed Apple is preparing to launch a new iPhone "this week."

Gurman writes that Apple is preparing to launch a new iPhone next week, and that hasn't changed, with the Apple insider seemingly being very adamant about the prediction. Notably, Gurman has been spot on with Apple's plans in the past, with the analyst correctly calling the date for Apple's last WWDC, and other Apple-related announcements. As for what new iPhone will purportedly be announced this week, Gurman says Apple will be unveiling a redesigned iPhone SE 4, which will be priced below the $500 mark.

Furthermore, Gurman says that's not all Apple has up its sleeve, as the company is also planning on unveiling a new M4 MacBook Air and its iPad Air lineup. The Bloomberg reporter also states in the Power On newsletter the new iPhone SE will come with a larger screen and look reminiscent of the iPhone 14. Additionally, the new iPhone SE is slated to be the device that features Apple's first in-house cellular modem chip, which will be paired with the A18 processor and Apple Intelligence. Moreover, the home button will be replaced with FaceID, and there will be the inclusion of a USB-C port over the now-outdated Lightning port.

Apple is half a decade behind its competitors in the foldable smartphone race, with the iPhone giant expected to make its move into the foldable market sometime in 2026.

In his latest PowerOn newsletter, Mark Gurman writes on Bloomberg that a foldable iPhone is an "exciting concept" and that if you haven't seen a tri-fold smartphone in the flesh, explains that instead of the device opening up into a full-sized iPad, it can turn into a full-sized tablet.

Samsung is working on one, with Gurman writing that he has used one of Huawei's tri-fold smartphones, saying that "this form factor is incredible, and I wish Apple would make one".

Samsung has not been conservative with using the tech world's favorite acronym. 'AI for All' was the theme of CES 2025, and Galaxy Unpacked teased 'a new era of AI integration'. However, the early reviews of Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are in. And while the overall consensus is generally positive, many of the common criticisms are directed towards the phone's AI features.

Engadget's Sam Rutherford spent some time with the handset. Throughout his experience, he noted the iterative, rather than innovative, nature of the AI tools:

"A lot of what Samsung focused on in this generation feels more like a bonus rather than a must-have feature," Sam wrote.

Samsung officially teased its first triple-folding smartphone at its Unpacked event late last month, and now we have begun to hear rumblings of a possible name for the device.

Samsung didn't provide any details of its tri-fold smartphone at Unpacked 2025 and only showcased a silhouette that revealed a device capable of folding horizontally. According to South Korean tipster yeux1122, the upcoming device is reportedly launching in Q3 2025 and will be called the Galaxy G Fold. Previous rumors indicate the tri-fold will feature a monster display of 9.96-inches, which would make it approximately 30% larger than the 7.6-inch panel on the Galaxy Z Fold 6

As for when it's folded, reports indicate it will measure 6.54 inches, making its height in line with traditional smartphone sizes. As for weight, we can expect the Galaxy G Fold to weigh approximately the same as the Huawei Mate XT, the only other triple-fold smartphone on the market.

Samsung has showcased its new line-up of smartphones for 2025, which include the S25, S25 Plus, and the S25 Ultra, and the latter has undergone a thorough durability test, revealing some questionable design choices.

The tester is none other than popular YouTuber JerryRigEverything, who has managed to get his hands on an S25 Ultra and run it through its durability paces ahead of its full tear down. The YouTuber points out the S25 Ultra is very similar to the S24 Ultra, with very minimal physical design changes. One of which is the camera lenses, where on the S25 Ultra the camera lenses aren't actually attached to the base of the phone, versus the S24 Ultra being wholly connected to the backplate with no gaps.

The YouTuber highlights the metal rings around each of the lenses, which may at first look like they are part of the lens itself, but as we learn, aren't assisting the lens at all besides providing protection from scratches while it's lying on its back. The YouTuber begins the durability test by sliding a razer blade underneath the metal rings, eventually popping them off, and saying they appear to be "glued into place like fake eyelashes."

A foldable Apple product only seems inevitable at this point, but officially, the device, or devices, have only been rumored.

However, with foldable devices being proven to be a viable form factor for smartphones, it seems like a no-brainer that Apple will release a foldable iPhone. But why hasn't the company done it already? In Apple fashion, the company is never early to a new market, and when it does finally jump in, it makes sure its version of an already established product has that Apple shine. In the instance of a foldable smartphone, Apple won't release that device until the dreaded crease problem in the display has completely been solved.

A new report from the Korean blog Yuex1122 states Apple is close to selecting the display supplier for its foldable display, and this supplier will need to "adhere to the technical requirements," which includes impact resistance and crease prevention. Moreover, previous reports indicate Apple is trying to make an extremely thin device that's half as thin as current iPhone models -- so when the device is folded it's the same thickness as a standard iPhone.