Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones News - Page 1

Apple is set to hold a streamed event on May 7 and while it hasn't yet confirmed what that event will be about, the rumors heavily point to some sort of new iPad unveiling. We've been expecting updated iPad Air and new OLED iPad Pro lineups for months now, and now a new report suggests that we can expect something big in the way of accessories as well.

There have been hints that a new Apple Pencil is on the way with Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that people should pencil the date in on the X social network. Now, a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, has added further fuel to the fire by saying that the new Apple Pencil will have something no Apple Pencil has been able to boast to date - haptic feedback support.

Gurman didn't offer much in the way of details but he did say that the stylus would have feedback for the first time. It isn't yet clear what that will look like in terms of new features, but it's possible that the vibration motor could be used to simulate the experience of writing on a piece of paper rather than a glossy piece of glass.

Apple is expected to announce the iOS 18 iPhone software update in June with the annual WWDC event normally the place when new updates are previewed to the world. We've been hearing various things about what that update will offer for months now, and it's believed that there will be a big focus on new AI features. However, there's an expectation that there will be some updates to apps that people use every day as well, and it's those apps that could be the biggest improvement for people who use iPhones on the daily.

Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the paywalled version of the Power On newsletter, has shared details about what he expects from the new iOS 18 software update. He was asked by one reader what would be new in iOS 18 beyond the heavily rumored AI focus, and Gurman said that he believes there will be improvements to a number of Apple's core iPhone apps.

According to Gurman, we can expect that Apple will overhaul the Photos, Mail, Notes, and Fitness apps this year which means that some of the apps people use the most will benefit from whatever Apple has in mind. It's possible that the AI focus could bring new features to those apps as well, with Apple previously rumored to have plans for a new Notes feature that ties in with the calculator app as well.

With Apple set to stream an announcement event on May 7, many are expecting that the company will announce not one, or even two, but four new iPads. Two of those will sport OLED displays for the first time, and a new report says that we should expect some of the best displays in the business when they arrive.

The iPad Pro has long been tipped to be getting new OLED displays this year, and that's now expected to happen next week. The switch to OLED has the potential to bring improved colors and contrast to the best iPads, and a new report by the display supply chain watches at DSCC says that we can expect the displays to be particularly impressive. In fact, the report says that the new iPad Pros will feature the best OLED tablet panels available on the market, including support for a 120Hz refresh rate.

The report goes on to say that the displays will use a tandem stack and glass construction which will result in ultra-thin and light displays with a high brightness rating. Despite that, the new displays will reportedly offer extended battery life for those who use their new tablets heavily. The display will also last for a long lifetime, we're told.

You don't need to be the biggest Apple fan in the world to know that the company, generally, announces new iPhones every September. And this coming September Apple is expected to announce four new handsets in the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The four handsets have all been leaking in recent months, and now a new leak has given us our best look at the new iPhones yet.

That leak comes via the leaker Sonny Dickson in a couple of posts on the X social network. Those posts show photos of dummy iPhone units that appear to show all four new iPhones in all their glory. And assuming they're legit - and we've no reason to suspect otherwise - these new dummy units confirm almost everything that we've been told to expect in previous leaks.

The first thing that most will notice is the redesigned camera layout of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, something that has been rumored for some time. The cameras will move to a vertical orientation rather than the diagonal one that has been used since the iPhone 13. That change isn't all about cosmetics, either, with Apple's switch allowing the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to capture spatial video for the first time. Those spacial videos will then be played back on the Apple Vision Pro.

Apple is strongly expected to debut the iOS 18 iPhone software update at an event that will take place in June and that WWDC 2024 event will likely also see Apple take the wraps off a ton of new software updates for its other hardware platforms, too. But it's iOS 18 that most people are interested in, and the software is tipped to include some big new AI features. As part of the plans for those features, it seems that Apple is increasingly likely to turn to another company to provide some of its smarts.

Apple was reportedly previously in discussions with OpenAI and Google about using their respective chatbot technologies in iOS 18 and now a new report suggests that OpenAI's talks are once again underway. Apple is also thought to continue to be talking to Google about its own Gemini chatbot technology, too. This news comes following the claim that talks between Apple and OpenAI had been slow since the turn of the year, but they now appear to be back underway.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, says that Apple is yet to make a decision as to whether it will work with OpenAI or Google for its upcoming AI features. The report goes on to say that Apple may choose to work with both of the partners, while there is always the possibility that a third party could be added to the mix as well.

While the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro might be the flagship Google phones that everyone turns to and the Pixel Fold is the one that captures a ton of attention, the Pixel 8a could be the most important of them all. It's a phone that will offer a budget option for people who want a solid Android experience without spending huge sums. And it's leaking in a big way of what is expected to be a release next month.

In a leak shared via Android Headlines that detailed a number of different aspects of the new and as-yet unconfirmed Pixel 8a, we learn that Google has plans to make sure that the phone lasts as long as possible. According to what appears to be marketing material for the phone, the Google Pixel 8a will come with seven years of security updates, ensuring that the phone remains as safe and secure as possible for a long, long time. That isn't something that people have always been able to say about Android devices at all.

That is of course excellent news, although there is one question left open. The leak doesn't appear to confirm how long Google will offer Android OS updates for this particular device which means that it could end much sooner than those seven years. For comparison, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro now come with seven years of Android updates, so it would stand to good reason that the Pixel 8a will as well. We'll await confirmation one way or another.

Apple announced the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro in September of last year and now we expect it to announce their replacements in September of this year. There are likely to be four new iPhones when they are all announced and we've been hearing various leaks here and there ever since the iPhone 15 launched. Now, we've been treated with a new leak that shows some of the features that we've been told to expect from this year's iPhone refresh.

The leak comes in the form of a post on the X social network, with leaker Majin Bu sharing three different CAD renders of what appears to be cases for the new phones.

The cases show one of what is sure to be the biggest addition to the new iPhones in the form of the Capture button, as has been rumored for months. It's going to come in the form of a new button that will reportedly be used as part of the camera setup, allowing people to more quickly and easily capture photos and videos, hence the name. The button is also expected to have pressure sensitivity which means that it will allow people to perhaps press slightly to focus and then press further to take the shot.

If you received a strange email earlier today saying that your Apple Store trade-in has been canceled, panic not - you can safely ignore it. The whole thing seems to have been an unfortunate glitch.

When buying a new iPhone, via the iPhone Upgrade Program or any other way, trading in your old device is a good way to save money. Buyers mail off their old handset and get a credit for the correct amount and everything normally goes well. But that hasn't been the case today, it seems, with Apple sending emails to people saying that their trade-ins have been canceled even if they haven't.

In some examples, the trade-ins took place months ago. One user took to the X social network to say that they traded in an old iPhone in September and have the receipt to prove it. But that didn't stop Apple from sending them an email today saying that their trade-in had been canceled because they didn't send their old iPhone in.

There once was a time when the iPhone could do no wrong and Apple couldn't make them quickly enough to keep up with demand, but those times are now few and far between. According to a new report by the researchers at CIRP, Apple's share of the US smartphone activations has taken a tumble despite the fact that the report believes that Apple's installed user base is still higher.

The number of smartphone activations for Apple topped out at 40% in the first and second quarter of 2023, the report notes, But Apple experienced a new smartphone activation decline to 33%, a full third of all smartphone activations, in the United States during the first quarter of 2024. You don't have to be too great at maths to know that the figure means that two-thirds of all smartphone devices are not iPhones - and that means that they're all running Android.

The reason for that isn't always easy to come up with, but CIRP believes that Apple may be a victim of its own success. The latest iPhones are so good and they last for so long that people simply don't see the need to update so often.

With Apple having already confirmed that it will be holding a new event on May 7 we were already pretty sure that we knew what the company intended to show off. Now, it seems increasingly likely that all of the rumors were right - the event will focus on new iPads and yes, a new Apple Pencil.

That's the assumption that we can now make after Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a post on the X social network that hinted as much. The post, embedded below, mentions the Apple Pencil and includes a gif of of one, essentially confirming the news.

The rumors over the last few months had told us to expect a raft of new iPads and accessories to be announced within weeks, and those rumors had started to settle on May being the big month. Now Apple has confirmed that it will stream ane vent on May 7 and while it hasn't said what it will be about, there are surely few doubts as to its content.