Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 7

Apple continues to change the way that it works and produces its many different products, with the latest news being that it has started to expand its presence and operations in Vietnam. The move comes as Apple continues to work with its supply chain partners to reduce the company's reliance on China.

According to a press release shared by the company, Apple has announced it will increase spending on suppliers that are based in Vietnam as well as progress an initiative to support clean water for local schools. The company says that it first started to operate in Vietnam more than a decade ago and is currently supporting more than 200,000 jobs across the country. Not all of those people are employed by Apple directly, however, with Apple also including supply chains and iOS app developers in the figure.

9to5Mac notes that Foxconn already produces a number of Apple products in Vietnam including iPads and AirPods, while there is also talk of Mac production moving to the country as well. Foxconn isn't the only Apple supplier with a presence in Vietnam either, with the company's other AirPods suppliers having been told to move production out of China with Vietnam one likely destination.

If you're buying a new flagship smartphone and want to be able to boast the fastest 5G connection around, you probably don't want to rush out to buy an iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Pro. That's the news after the speed test experts at Ookla shared details about the fastest 5G smartphone speeds achieved by users of its speed test service.

According to that report, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have been bested by none other than its biggest rival, the Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup including the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra models.

The stats were conducted across February 1 - March 24, 2024, with Ookla saying that the Samsung Galaxy S24 family showed a statistically significant lead for median 5G download speeds in seven out of 15 countries in which the study was conducted. The S24 family managed to record the lowest median 5G multi-server latency in 10 of 15 countries. That's particularly notable when you read that the iPhone 15 family of devices was only able to manage the highest median 5G latency in 10 markets.

Apple's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models have now been on sale since September of 2023 and a new report suggests that they might not be selling all that well, especially compared to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro that came before them. According to that report, Apple has lost almost 10% of its global smartphone market share with some surprising companies picking up the slack.

That report comes via the analysts at IDC whose figures say that while global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year over year to 289.4 million units in the first quarter of 2024, Apple's iPhones weren't to thank for the boost. In fact, the iPhone went from a 20.7% market share in the first quarter of 2024 to just 17.3% this year, a fall that equates to a reduction in shipments of more than five million iPhones.

Samsung now sits at the very top of the smartphone market in terms of mart share, but it's actually Xiaomi and Transsion that benefited from Apple's fall from grace the most. Xiaomi saw its market share increase from 11.4% to 14.1% while Transsion's figures are even more impressive - up to 9,9% from just 5.7% a year ago.

Apple has long been rumored to have plans to preview a big new iOS 18 software upgrade during the WWDC on June 10, with many reports claiming that there will be a new AI focus for the iPhone update. What that will look like in terms of features and capabilities still isn't clear, but a new report now suggests that whatever Apple's software does, it won't use cloud servers to do it.

That's according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing via the paywalled version of his weekly Power On newsletter that was then reported on by MacRumors. According to Gurman, the first wave of new features will be limited to on-device processing rather than using server-side compute as is often the case. That's how generative AI apps like ChatGPT work, for example, but Gurman says that there will be no cloud server component for Appl'es fledgling large language model.

Apple had been rumored to be in discussion with OpenAI and Google about integrating their own services into iOS 18, but it now appears that such a feature will miss the iOS 18 release window. It isn't clear whether the integrations will still come further down the line, however.

Apple is expected to announce a raft of new iPhones later this year and a new report has shed further light on its plans for the very top of the lineup. According to the report, buyers of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max can look forward to a camera upgrade, but it won't be all about increasing megapixels or improving zoom capabilities.

Instead, we're told, the upgrade will be designed to fix an issue that iPhones have had for years and one that has been a problem for photographers both professional and amateur. The issue, lens flare, is caused by light hitting the lens and creating an effect that can sometimes appear to be a light orb floating throughout photos and videos. But now it's thought that Apple's best phones of 2024 will finally fix that problem.

MacRumors, reporting on a leak by a user on the Naver blog, says that Apple's supply chain believes that it will make use of new atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment when creating the cameras that will be used in the new high-end iPhones. ALD is designed to make it easier for companies to add super-thin layers of material to semiconductor devices, including camera components.

Apple may give iPhone buyers much more choice when it comes to picking the color of their new device, according to a recent rumor.

A leak posted on the Chinese site Weibo and reported by 9to5Mac claims the new iPhone 16 Plus will arrive in seven different colors, with new shades being offered to consumers. Notably, the iPhone 15 Plus is available in pink, yellow, green, blue, and black shades, and the leak claims Apple will offer two new colors this year - white and purple.

It should be noted that the leaker doesn't have a healthy track record with being right about the internal workings at Apple, and Apple has never previously offered so many color options, which means to take this news with a healthy amount of skepticism. The leak only mentions the iPhone 16 Plus model, and if there is any truth to it, Apple would likely follow in the same pattern as they have previously - offer the same color variants for all iPhone models.

The Google Pixel 7a has proven to be a popular Android phone, just like the Pixel 6a that came before it. We can likely expect something similar from the Pixel 8a as well, and while Google hasn't yet officially confirmed the device we're seeing it leak more and more in recent weeks. Now, a new leak appears to have shared a number of renders that show the Pixel 8a in a variety of different colors.

The Google Pixel 8a is set to take its place in Google's budget lineup this year, with the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro sure to sit above it for people who are willing to spend a little more to get additional features, performance, and capabilities. However, the Pixel 8a is expected to cost around $50 more than the Pixel 7a does which itself cost more than the Pixel 6a before that.

In terms of features, the Pixel 8a is sure to be a capable operator. The device is expected to sport a 6.1-inch FHD+ 90Hz display while processing is set to be handled by a Google-designed Tesnor G3 chip - likely the same as the one that debuted with the Pixel 8 last fall. A main 64-megapixel camera is expected, while a 13-megapixel ultrawide camera has also been touted. Given the improvements that the Google Pixel 7a offered in terms of camera capabilities last year, it isn't thought that any big upgrades will be offered this time out.

Apple has long been on the receiving end of controversy and discussion surrounding the way that it allows its iPhones and other devices to be repaired. Right-to-repair advocates argue that Apple goes out of its way to make its devices harder to repair, and Apple's parts pairing process is part of that. The process meant that only supported, genuine parts could be installed in devices but a new change to that policy will allow used parts to be installed - so long as they are genuine.

Apple announced the move in a press release posted to its website, saying that the change will enable customers and independent repair providers to install used Apple parts in repairs. The change will affect iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models starting this fall, with the new process designed to ensure iPHone users'' privacy, security, and safety are preserved.

That's a key aspect of Apple saying that the pairing of components to devices is critical to ensuring that iPhones remain secure. Apple says that while people will be able to reuse Face ID and Touch ID components, so long as they're genuine, and then calibrate them as if they were brand-new. However, third-party alternatives will not be supported because of the security implications.

The Apple Pencil has long been a great accessory for iPad owners who want to take notes on their tablets. It's also perfect for artists who want to sketch on their iPad as well, but it can always be improved. The lack of iPhone support has also long been an annoyance for some, especially given the popularity of the Samsung Galaxy Note line of phones followed by the Galaxy S24 Ultra and similar devices. But a new patent suggests that things could be about to change.

Whereas the current Apple Pencil requires to be charged, a new patent suggests that Apple is working on a new version that is battery-free which could open the door to a new, smaller version that would work with other devices like the iPhone and even the Apple Watch.

The patent, which was filed to protect a design invention back in September 2023, was only approved on April 11, 2024. It's called 'Photo-sensing enabled display for stylus detection' and describes a non-powered stylus similar to an Apple Pencil.

As part of the European Union's Digital Markets Act, Apple is now required to offer iPhone owners in the territory the opportunity to pick a new browser option rather than Safari and a new report shows that the move has seen a surge in downloads of third-party alternatives.

According to a Reuters report, independent browser companies have seen a spike in downloads within the first month of the DMA's existence.

Following the launch of the DMA, Apple's iPhones must offer users the chance to choose their own browser with Apple offering a random list of alternatives. One of those third-party browsers that Apple has suggested is the Cyrpsu-based Aloha Browser and Reuters says that it has experienced a 250% jump in downloads for March alone. Aloha says that before the DMA change, the EU was its fourth biggest market. Now, it's all the way up to the second spot.