One of the main reasons I didn't keep my iPhone 13 mini and upgraded to the iPhone 14 Pro was because the iPhone 14 series was when Apple added Emergency SOS via satellite to its flagship smartphone. Now, Google is ripping that feature off for the Pixel.

Today, the company held its latest Made by Google event and announced the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the bizarrely named Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It also announced the Pixel Watch 3 with a new 45mm size as well as the Pixel Buds Pro. With the Pixel 9 models, the company also revealed that they would be the first Android phones to support Satellite SOS.

In a press release, Google said "Our newest Pixel 9 devices are the first Android phones to include our new Satellite SOS, so you can contact emergency responders via satellite and share your location, even without cellular service. Satellite SOS will be available first in the U.S. on Pixel 9 devices, regardless of your carrier plan. And for the first two years on Pixel, it will be available at no extra cost."

Like Apple, Google has not yet announced how much its Satellite SOS feature will cost after the two free years of service are up.

This feature should be standard on every phone

So, one point for the Apple fanboys, right? Let's all jump on Twitter and dump on Google for ripping off a feature that has been on the iPhone for almost 2 years, right? Wrong!

While iPhone and Android users can dunk on each other (have at it) for stealing certain features from each other — like adding widgets to the Home Screen — we shouldn't be angry at all when these companies rip off safety features from each other.

Whether it's Emergency SOS via Satellite, detecting a car crash and automatically calling emergency services, fall detection, and irregular heart rate detection, Apple, Google, Samsung, and everyone else should rip all of these features off of each other. These features aren't trivial — they help save lives. They shouldn't be exclusive features to one particular brand but instead standard features across all of these brands.

I just went backpacking in West Virginia last weekend and having the iPhone 15 Pro with me gives me extra peace of mind, knowing that if something serious happened, I could contact emergency services using Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature. I still carry a Garmin inReach as well — Garmin's satellite communicator — but having the iPhone as a backup is a fantastic thing. I also know that most people don't have something like an inReach, so having a phone with that kind of capability built in is so important.

So, while some Apple fans will point to the fact that SOS satellite communication has existed on the iPhone for the last couple of years and taunt Google over that, I'm glad that Google is bringing the feature to the Pixel. That equates to even more people who will be able to get help in emergency situations when there is no cellular signal available. Hopefully, this feature will continue to roll out to even more Android phones over the next few years until it becomes ubiquitous.

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Having the latest and greatest iPhone can be a bit of a status symbol amongst your peers. And what, you’re going to slap on a $10 case from Amazon? Well, you certainly can protect your investment that way, but some people find themselves going in the other direction. At the extreme end, you can even spend far more on the case than on the iPhone itself. 

Custom cases like those from luxury brand Caviar run well into the six-figure range. That’s not a typo; their cases range from just under a grand to over half a million dollars for the diamond-encrusted version. Certainly a $100-ish case isn’t all that extravagant in comparison.

But why would anyone in their right mind spend over $100 on an iPhone case? There are a number of reasons why a person might feel inclined to do so. 

When it comes to more down-to-earth luxury, a high-end case might be a doable splurge. Who doesn’t love to treat themselves now and then? I’ll fess up to indulging in a bit of retail therapy now and then. It’s easy to be, well, influenced by an influencer on YouTube or other social media. I certainly have. You follow people on social media because you admire their taste and trust their advice. You can feel a bit of FOMO when something you want is going viral without you. So, when influencers show off a fancy new case, it can be tempting to click that “buy” button regardless of the price tag.

And then there is Apple itself. Apple is considered to be at least a mid-tier luxury brand. Apple tech never comes cheap, and even Apple’s most basic accessories carry an upmarket price tag. The current iPhone Pro models start at $1,000. Why not spend a tenth of that to protect your iPhone securely, fashionably, even sumptuously? You’ve got a premium phone, don’t you need a premium case as well?

Yet the short answer to the question of whether you need to spend $100 on a case to properly protect your iPhone is no. You certainly do not. Not in a million years. I’ve tested out hundreds and hundreds of iPhone cases in my many years in the tech reviewing space, and my favorite cases over the years have covered a wide price range. You can do a good job protecting the edges of your phone for ten bucks, let alone with a case ten times the cost.

But if you are looking to spend some serious dough for something out of the ordinary to protect your precious, there are some very nice ways to do so. Each of these premium cases offers something special that might feel worth the extra coin. Here are some cases I’ve tested that go for at least $100, and might just come close to justifying that eye-watering price tag — if not quite making it to our best iPhone cases guide.

Carved Live Edge case

Looking for a one-of-a-kind artisan case? Turn your iPhone into art with a Carved case. Carved handcrafts each case from wood and epoxy in their Indiana studio. You can choose from dozens of gorgeous styles; no two cases will be exactly the same. The Live Edge case is the most expensive, running $189 for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Live Edge refers to the bumper being wood and epoxy as well. The case is quite solid but it has enough give that it’s not too hard to put on and take off. The wood and epoxy are very smooth but there is added texture along the side to give you some grip. The slightly raised lips give you some screen and camera lens protection. I find the volume, Sleep/Wake, and Action Button covers to be satisfyingly clicky. The MagSafe ring is nice and strong, making it fully compatible with all of your favorite MagSafe accessories. 

If you like this look but not the price tag, you can choose their standard iPhone case, which is mostly rubber with a wood/epoxy back panel for $64. Carved also sells a number of other accessories with their signature look, including a MagSafe charger.

Atom Studios Alara case

Atom Studios claims that their $100 Alara case offers much more than protection for your iPhone: it offers EMF protection for you. 

EMF, or electromagnetic field radiation, is commonly known as cell phone radiation. Exposure to cell phone radiation may have negative health effects, particularly on brain function, sleep, and fertility. According to Atom Studios, the Alara case has been tested and proven to reduce cell phone radiation exposure by up to 75%. Unlike some cases that block radiation, the Alara is designed to divert it away from your body. 

I can’t speak to the radiation claims, since I don’t have equipment to test it myself. But I can say that it’s a very nice case, at least. It’s quite lovely and feels pleasant to the touch. The Alara has sort of a futuristic look, blending plastic and silicone on the outside and soft microfiber inside. The button covers work well, and it does have an Action Button cover. It’s fully MagSafe compatible and has raised edges that give you some screen and camera protection. The Alara case protects your phone from drops of up to 10 feet. Atom Studios offers a less expensive and similar-looking case without the EMF protection for $60.

UAG Urban Armor Gear Monarch Pro Kevlar

If ultimate iPhone protection is your goal, how does “drop-tested to 25 feet (7.6 meters)” sound? That’s what you’re paying for when you buy UAG’s Monarch Pro Kevlar. Every time I see a UAG case, I am half expecting the case to unfold into a robot or something. It’s a very particular look, you either love it or you don’t. This is a case that feels super-solid and heavy-duty. Yet the case is surprisingly lightweight and not overly bulky. The button covers are nice and clicky, but note that there is a hole rather than a button cover for the Action button. MagSafe compatibility is nice and strong despite the shape of the case. There’s texture along the edges for added grip. If you want to spend even more, there’s a special forged carbon limited edition of this case for $150. There is also a cheaper version without the Kevlar for $80.

CASETiFY Ultra Bounce

For the ultimate in both protection and customizability, you can’t beat the CASETiFY Ultra Bounce. We’re talking drop-it-off-a-building protection. The six-layer case with ultra-bounce corners and integrated camera lens protection promises protection from up to 32.8-foot (10-meter) drops. Now this is a bulky case. And you’ll still need a screen protector. But it seems unlikely your iPhone could sustain damage (other than to the screen) ensconced in the Ultra Bounce. The MagSafe magnets are nice and strong. The button covers aren’t clicky but they work just fine and there is indeed a button cover for the Action Button. 

But besides being super protective, the coolest thing about this case is how you can customize it to your own taste. Besides the thousands of available designs (including collaborations with artists and licensed characters) you can upload your own design if you prefer. CASETiFY has a big lineup of case styles ranging from slim to heavy-duty; the Ultra Bounce is the most protective and the priciest at $112.

Harber London Wallet Organiser for Smartphones

Harber London handcrafts high quality full-grain leather goods in Spain. While they don’t have phone cases, per se, they do have a variety of gorgeous phone sleeves at different price points. The Wallet Organiser for Smartphones holds up to an iPhone 15 Pro Max (without an additional case on it) along with cards and cash. There’s an outer zippered pocket for coins and six slots of different sizes on the inside. The whole thing zippers around for security and there’s a carrying handle along one edge. Obviously your iPhone is only protected while it’s inside this wallet. But for people who can’t stand using their iPhone with a case on it, this is an elegant way to fully protect your phone when you’re not actively using it.

Spigen Enzo

The $150 price tag on this one was surprising, given that Spigen is generally known for its reasonably-priced lineup of iPhone cases. But unlike Spigen’s popular plastic cases, the Enzo is a vegetable-tanned Genoma Leather. If you miss Apple’s real leather cases and don’t consider the FineWoven case to be a suitable replacement, the Spigen Enzo might be one to consider. I reviewed a previous version of the Spigen Enzo and found that while it’s a sumptuous case, the raised metal logo on the back interfered with some of my MagSafe accessories. It appears from photos that the newest version may have remedied that with a flatter logo, but I don’t have my hands on the current model to confirm that.

Arc Pulse

Yes, I’m sure the stylish two-piece metal sculpture offers some drop protection, but I personally couldn’t rely on the Arc Pulse. I tried it on a previous model iPhone but couldn’t bring myself to go out of the house with it on. The case does look stunning and it certainly doesn’t interfere with the functioning of the iPhone itself. It just reminds me of wearing a bikini while snow-skiing. I know people do it, and they look darn cool doing so, but it wouldn’t be my preference. Different colors of this aerospace-grade aluminum case go for different price points; they range from $65-$120. 

OtterBox Frē

For your watery adventures, the OtterBox Frē might be worth the $100 price tag. While modern iPhones are water resistant in up to six meters of water for 30 minutes, this waterproof iPhone case gives you more time in the water. The OtterBox Frē is labeled waterproof up to six feet (two meters) for up to one hour. Gaskets seal the case and built-in screen protector together as well as covering the charging ports. Yet the phone is still fully functional while in the case, including MagSafe compatibility. While the case was too bulky for me to use every day, I can see having a case like this handy for beach days. I’m a big fan of OtterBox cases generally, most of which are much cheaper than the Frē.

That posh life

While I can’t recommend to you that you ought to spend $100 for a decent iPhone case, there are some extremely appealing options out there at that price point and beyond. Whether you’re looking for ultimate protection, some special functionality, or a unique artistic statement, you might find one of these cases well worth its price tag. It’s your money, you decide!

• The best iPhone cases: The ultimate guide

Apple has been accused by lawyers working for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of using blood minerals in its products. The lawyers have reportedly written to Apple CEO Tim Cook to ask questions about fears that Apple's supply chain uses minerals "pillaged from the country."

Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP alleges that “year after year, Apple has sold technology made with minerals sourced from a region whose population is being devastated by grave violations of human rights”. Apple has reportedly argued that it verifies the origins of the minerals that are used in its best iPhones and other products, but Amsterdam says that "those claims do not appear to be based on concrete, verifiable evidence."

The lawyers have also written to  Apple subsidiaries in France to ask for answers.

Answers demanded

A press release shared by the lawyers details concerns and uses a slogan that has been made popular by Congolese soccer players — “Everyone sees the massacres in eastern Congo. But everyone is silent.”

"The world’s eyes are wide shut: Rwanda’s production of key 3T minerals is near zero, and yet big tech companies say their minerals are sourced in Rwanda," Amsterdam added.

The press release goes on to make multiple worrying allegations about companies working in the country including "numerous schemes that underpin and enable an extensive money laundering enterprise through the illegal trade in conflict minerals sourced from Congolese territory."

Apple has been asked for comment and we will update this piece if and when we receive a response. Apple issues an annual conflict minerals report, most recently in March 2024. In the report, Apple notes its plans to one day only use recycled and renewable materials in its products. Meantime, it says "As we make progress toward these ambitious goals, we continue to source 3TG and other minerals, such as cobalt and lithium, responsibly while working to improve conditions in and around mining communities, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) and adjoining countries." Apple says it does not directly purchase, procure, or source primary minerals, but remains committed to meeting and exceeding "internationally accepted due diligence standards."

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When Apple announced the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro in 2022 it also announced a new feature that would go on to save lives. Emergency SOS via Satellite is now also available on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, and now a new report claims that a similar feature is coming to Google's next flagship phone as well.

According to the report, Google's upcoming Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 phones will add support for satellite connectivity similar to Apple's, with text messaging supported. Like Apple's implementation, the new Pixels will not support satellite calling, however.

The system, which is thought to be based on SpaceX technologies, will reportedly allow Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro owners to use satellite connectivity to summon help when they need it, potentially helping to save even more lives in the future.

Satellite safety

According to an Android Authority report, citing a source, the new Pixel phones will sport a modem that supports satellite connectivity while the same part is also expected to be included in the next-gen Pixel Fold and an unknown 5G tablet.

Android Authority was also able to report that an Emergency SOS feature will be provided by a special Satellite Gateway app which will see users asked a series of questions to ascertain their needs.

"First, you will be asked a few basic questions, to narrow down the situation," the report explains. "You will also be given a choice to notify your emergency contacts, after which you will be able to message with emergency services to get the help you need. Many of the questions will also have predefined answers to choose from to make the process quicker."

None of this is likely to be available soon, though. The new Pixel phones aren't expected to be announced until later this year, most likely in or around October — weeks after the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are expected to go on sale.

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The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro lineups might have only been on sale for a few months, but Apple's attention has already turned to what will become the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. Set to be announced this coming September, the new phones are beginning to leak as Apple's supply chain partners begin to learn more about what they will be building over the coming months. Now, a new render has shown us what the best iPhone of the bunch could look like.

Rumors surrounding the new iPhones have been cropping up for a little while now, with one capturing the attention more than most. That rumor claims that the iPhone 16 Pro will be the first to switch away from the Dynamic Island configuration we're familiar with today, replacing it with a new design that will see the Face ID technology placed beneath the display for the first time.

If that does indeed happen, the only hole in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays will be for the front-facing camera, creating a hole-punch design the likes of which we have only seen on Android phones so far. This new concept created by X user @concept_central imagines what that might look like.

A smaller Dynamic Island

The concept, created in collaboration with AppleTrack, sees the familiar iPhone 15 Pro design replaced with something new. The central hole-punch design is a more minimalist approach to matters, although we can still expect the Dynamic Island's software magic to remain — albeit with more physical space available for Apple and app developers to work with when creating their software.

Rumors of the iPhone 16 Pro switching to a hole-punch camera have been floating around for a while, especially since leaker Majin Bu claimed as much back in November of 2023. However, display analyst Ross Young had previously suggested that we would have to wait until the iPhone 17 Pro for such a change, so it's currently up in the air as to which route Apple will take.

All the buttons you could need

Another aspect of the rumor cycle that this concept shows off is claims of a new, unconfirmed button being added to the mix. Rumors of a so-called "Capture Button" have suggested that both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models will gain it, while the iPhone 15 Pro's Action Button is also likely to remain. What the button will be for remains to be seen, and it's also possible that it will be canned before the new iPhones arrive on store shelves later this year. If it does arrive, the button could well be used to quickly and easily capture videos and photos — hence the name.

Overall, the look of the iPhones shown in this concept is something that will no doubt appeal to plenty of people, including the slightly warmer Natural Titanium finish that is more yellow than the one currently offered on Apple's Pro iPhones.

With 2024 only having just gotten started we can expect to see much more in terms of rumors and leaks relating to the new iPhones as the months progress. Apple has bigger fish to fry before we get that far, however, with the Vision Pro headset now rumored to be ready for market as soon as the end of January. We're also expecting Apple to launch new iPads before the iPhones debut in September, too.

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When Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in September it understandably spent quite a bit of time telling everyone how great their cameras were. Focusing on camera performance is nothing new for phone companies in general of course, and Apple specifically has a history of doing just that. So it was no surprise when its new best iPhones saw a bump in camera performance.

But it's one thing when Apple tells everyone how great its cameras are, it's a completely different kettle of fish when it's a third party waxing lyrical about what those cameras are capable of. So when YouTuber Marques Brownlee crowns the iPhone 15 Pro as the best camera in his annual smartphone awards video, it's worth taking notice.

The video covers a whole range of categories including Best Big Smartphone, Best Value, and Best Battery, but the biggie is undoubtedly the Best of the Year — a category that iPhone's cameras weren't enough to win for Apple.

Winner winner photo taker

The iPhone actually managed to win a couple of different categories this year, and you might be surprised about the second one. But let's start with the iPhone 15 Pro's camera win.

You can watch the full awards video below, and I'd suggest you do just that because it's always great to see what other phones are doing well. But Brownlee says the iPhone's camera gong was deserved because of its ability to take great photos and videos repeatedly and in different situations. While there are other phones out there that can take better photos in specific situations — especially zoom shots — it's the iPhone's ability to take top-notch photos across a range of situations that stand out.

On top of that, the iPhone still rules the roost in terms of videography, too. Apple added ProRes Log support this year while recording directly to an external SSD is a huge deal for pro videographers. With the iPhone 15 Pro in particular, Apple added a new 48-megapixel main sensor, an improvement over the iPhone 14 Pro's offering.

The other category that saw Apple come up trumps was the Best Battery award. That was given to the iPhone 15 Plus, a move that might have been a surprise to those expecting the iPhone 15 Pro Max to win out.

The better battery performance can likely be put down to the slower 60Hz refresh rate of its display and the older A16 Bionic chip when compared to the higher-end iPhones, but it's still an interesting result to note.

The best of the rest

As much as Apple will be pleased with its awards, the Best of the Year gong is the one everyone wants. In 2023, that goes to Google with the Pixel 8 taking the top award for its solid all-around performance. It might cost more than the Pixel 7 that it replaced in the lineup, but it has improvements that make it worth it.

The Pixel 8 is of course a camera champ in its own right thanks to Google's AI smarts, and with Google now offering seven years of software updates it's fair to say the phone has plenty of life in it.

Other notable wins went to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, picking up the Best Big Smartphone award, while the Best Value award was presented to the Samsung Galaxy A54, a phone that can often be found for less than $400 and offers plenty of features at that price point. Will the iPhone SE 4 be able to win that award further down the line, perhaps?

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So, you need a smartphone that is capable, and long-lasting. I mean, you never know when you’ll have to make the Kessel Run, or evade Imperial ships in your Naboo Royal Cruiser in low-power mode, unable to charge your phone for a few cycles. 

As a result of one of my trips to Disney's Galaxy’s Edge where I went on a Smuggler’s Run and witnessed the Rise of the Resistance, I’m convinced now more than ever that the iPhone 15 Plus is the best iPhone for most inhabitants of this universe. Yes, even those in the outer systems. This is the way!

These are my experiences after a demanding trip to Disneyland in California, with the iPhone 15 Plus.

If you’ve read Stephen Warwick’s detailed iPhone 15 Plus review, you’re already aware that the iPhone has the big camera sensor from the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s 48 megapixels to get you larger and more detailed photos but most importantly a larger sensor equals better low-light imaging.

We’ll dive into that more in a bit. In addition, you will now have USB-C for charging, cable included. The display is brighter, coming in at 1000 nits max brightness, 1600 nits peak viewing HDR content, and 2000 nits peak outdoor brightness. And, of course, this year the non-pro models get Dynamic Island.

Taking the iPhone to the most magical place on Earth

All of those “on paper” details are important, but what does using the iPhone 15 Plus look like in real life? Well, with those details out of the way, let’s explore Star Wars World, or as it is officially called at Disneyland, Galaxy’s Edge. 

My day began around 8AM, but I didn’t take my phone off of the charger until around 10AM. That’s an important piece of information because the iPhone 15 Plus has more stamina than the Energizer Bunny, and is quite capable of cutting through any task you throw at it like a lightsaber, with its 4,383 mAh battery and the A16 Bionic processor found in last year’s 14 Pro. I’ll deal with that a bit more in detail at the end of this article as I wrap up my day and experience using the phone at the Mouse House. 

One of the immediate highlights of using the iPhone 15 Plus over last year’s iPhone 14 Plus is the redesigned body. It features more rounded edges, a departure from the sharper edges of last year’s model, making it more pleasing in hand. And the new “color-infused” glass back features a frosted, matte-feeling finish which doesn’t soak up fingerprints like before. A plus when you’re going to be eating some potentially greasy food, including my all-time favorite Disneyland fried fare, CHURROS. 

Splash Mountain wasn’t running this year but it’s good to know that I can come back when they’ve renovated the ride to feature Princess Tiana and I don’t have to worry about soaking the phone because it’s IP68 rated.

With a pocketable device as powerful as the Millennium Falcon, it might seem “small” to say that the camera is the most important aspect of a smartphone, but for many people it is. So what do you miss out on if you don’t choose one of Apple’s premium “Pro” models with their three camera systems? For the average user? Not much, to be honest. Let’s get into some photo samples I took on dark rides, and at night while visiting the “spookiest happiest place on earth” during their Halloween-themed season.

From the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, this is a dark, terribly lit shot. Not one I would post, even to social media. That said, I wanted to show that in extreme low light conditions on the Pirates of the Caribbean, the shots were pretty close in quality. Again, I qualify the poor quality by telling you that I was on a moving boat ride, in very dark conditions.

Difficult for any camera because the lower the light, the more steady you need to be holding the camera. Try doing that on a boat that isn’t just moving forward but is also rocking a bit, side-to-side.

Here we have pirates at the dunking well. Even in the low light, the cameras did a decent job capturing the colors and many details but the iPhone 15 Plus had sharper details than the 15 Pro Max. I chalk that up more to movement than camera quality.

Now, in better lighting conditions you can see how the cameras stack up. Blowing these up on my Mac, when pixel peeping, the differences are obvious in the sharpness and contrast. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is superior. But again, not so much so that sharing these to social media you’re going to see a significant difference.

Here’s how the front cameras do in low light. When I zoom in on the teacups, the 15 Pro Max is sharper and has more detail, but again… you have to pixel peep to see it. Also, contrast is a bit better on the Pro Max but this isn’t frightfully different.

And I’ll end this brief photo comparison with one of my favorite captures from the evening. This shot of the jack-o-lantern outside of the Haunted Mansion. Again, another instance of shots which aren’t that significantly different in quality. Pixel peeping shows the difference, but again, it isn’t night and day and I don’t think anyone would call you Goofy for thinking the 15 Plus looks as good as the 15 Pro Max.

Looking over the iPhone 15 Plus and how it handles daylight photos, you’re going to be just fine. They’re beautiful, the colors and contrast are solid, and the details are great! That’s from both the front and rear cameras.

The main thing you’re going to be missing is the inclusion of the third dedicated telephoto lens that the iPhone 15 Pro devices have. And you have the higher resolution, but most folks will be shooting in the default setting more than likely so no huge loss there in terms of overall quality.

Beyond the camera

Another thing to note since we’re discussing theme parks: Both phones feature the new U2 Ultra Wideband chip so that you can now find other iPhone 15 users in a crowd, with pinpoint accuracy. It's called Precision Finding. This is great if you split up and hit different rides and want to reconnect later.

Now, getting back to that battery life! Because I was busy enjoying the day, I didn’t get as much screen time as usual, but I did take more photos and videos than I usually do in a day. Over 100 to be exact. Additionally, I used Apple Maps to get me there and back home again, so that was a combined 3 hours of GPS navigation streamed to the Bluetooth dongle in my car. 

And at the end of that day, which lasted from 10AM to 2AM, I had 8% battery left on the iPhone 15 Plus. Now, I have no comparison to the Pro Max for that day because I didn’t use it equally, but over the last two weeks that I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Plus, the battery life is definitely better than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. At the end of my workday, that’s the time I wake up and take my phone off of the charger, until the time I get home from work, the 15 Pro Max usually has around 20% battery left. In the last two weeks using the iPhone 15 Plus, with the same screen on time, averaging around 5 plus hours a day, I’m sitting at around 40% battery left.

Plus vs Max? 'Good enough' is good enough for most

For me, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a “no-brainer", if you can afford it. Log profiles, camera options, the latest Apple technology in the camera systems, and AI in the photographic mix gives me the best options for content creation, specifically video recording. 

But those things come with a steep price tag, especially when considering the larger storage options available. For most people who want long battery life and capable cameras, I think the iPhone 15 Plus is the obvious choice, with relatively minor compromises. For those users, an $899 base cost, and long battery life are the deal makers. You’re going to get a lot for $300 dollars less than the iPhone 15 Pro Max whose base price is $1199, and if you’re a content creator, that price shoots up two to four hundred dollars for the 512GB and 1TB options.

If you can't wish upon a star for that top-tier Pro Max upgrade, the iPhone 15 Plus is more than good enough to make your dreams come true.

Apple is on the receiving end of a new lawsuit brought by users of the Venmo and Cash App apps accusing the company of abusing its market power to inhibit competition in the peer-to-peer payment market.

It's claimed that the lack of competition means that crypto transaction prices have increased, with a class action lawsuit brought by four crypto fans in New York, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Georgia.

The four believe that Apple's blocking of crypto wallet apps from the App Store prevents healthy competition, allowing transfer feeds between digital wallets to be increased due to the lack of that competition. 

Crypto conundrum

Reuters reports the class action lawsuit is being brought by law firm Bathaee Dunne, but the outfit has so far refused to comment on the litigation.

"Apple's agreements limit 'feature competition' within peer-to-peer payment apps, including prohibiting existing or new platforms from using "decentralized cryptocurrency technology," the report notes. The lawsuit "seeks an injunction that could force Apple to divest or segregate its Apple Cash business."

Those involved in the suit argue that by allowing decentralized technology, like crypto, Apple would give iPhone users a way to send payments to each other without having to use an intermediary — an intermediary that adds high transaction fees.

It's argued that Apple, Venmo, and Cash App "have repeatedly raised prices for transactions and services with no competitive check," although it isn't clear what input Apple has in the running of either of those two services to warrant that claim.

Two examples of Bitcoin wallet apps that have been prevented from appearing in the App Store are Zeus and Damus, Reuters notes. Block founder Jack Dorsey — the company behind Cash App — is involved in the latter.

As for what comes next, we'll have to wait and see but with neither Apple nor the law firm commenting it's unlikely that we'll hear much any time soon.

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Chinese iPhone owners might not be able to download some of the world's most popular apps next year. That's if Apple is forced to remove them from the Chinese App Store following the implementation of new laws.

While the use of apps like Facebook, Instagram, and X is already blocked in China, the apps are available for download via the iPhone and iPad App Stores. That means that people can use them if they employ a VPN, something that is increasingly common among the younger population — but a new law could soon put a stop to that.

If Apple's discussions with the Chinese government don't come to a positive conclusion, all of those apps and more will be removed from the App Store in China, preventing people from downloading them.

The Chinese Firewall

China has long blocked access to Western websites and services in an attempt to better control the information its populace can access. But VPN use allows people to get around the so-called Great Firewall. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that a new law could prevent the apps from even being made available with Apple already in discussions with the government about the impact that will have on its users.

The report notes that "officials told Apple that it must strictly implement rules banning unregistered foreign apps, people familiar with the discussions said." It goes on to say that "Apple employees expressed concern over how the rules would be implemented and affect its users."

If Apple does have to remove unregistered apps from the App Store, the companies behind them will have the option of becoming registered in order to be reinstated. However, some apps simply won't be allowed through the registration process which amounts to an outright ban.

China outlined its plans to prevent unregistered apps from being used two months ago, with the law kicking in by July 2024.

With iPhones currently not allowing apps to be sideloaded — installed outside of the App Store — Chinese users might have to switch to Android devices if they want to continue to use their favorite Western services including Facebook, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

LG Electronics has successfully tested transmitting and receiving data using 6G technology at a distance of over 500 meters in an outdoor, urban environment, marking the longest such test to date. 

In a press release sent to iMore on Tuesday, the company revealed that the test was conducted at LG Sciencepark in Seoul earlier this month. It builds on the previous leading test conducted at a distance of 320 meters in 2022. 

LG says the test is significant not just because of the new distance record set, but because “it verified the usability of 6G in various ‘real world’ communication scenarios, including building-to-building, building-to-ground terminal and ground-to-ground terminals.” LG says it is now “one step closer to commercializing 6G THz communications.”

5G plus one 

As you’ve probably guessed, 6G is the successor to 5G, the data standard that powers all of Apple’s best iPhones including the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. 6G is expected to “enable significantly increased data rate as well as ultra-low latency, high-reliability data transmission, and the combination of communications and AI, and communications and sensing.” 

With testing in its earlier stages and network standardization discussions not expected to begin until 2025, the jury is very much out on just how fast 6G could be. It’s likely that speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second could be achieved, which would make it around 900-1,000 times faster than 5G. However, some experts, such as the University of Sydney’s Mahyar Shirvanimoghaddam, have touted potential speeds of up to 1TB per second. A gigabyte is worth eight gigabits, so that would constitute an eye-watering 8,000 gigabits per second. 

5G has plenty of time, however, as LG notes in today’s release, commercialization is not expected until 2029, and even then a rollout is likely to take years.

Following some reports that Apple is winding up for a big AI announcement as soon as 2024, one analyst has poured cold water on there being any huge advancements that soon.

With generative AI very much in the news right now thanks to OpenAI and its ChatGPT work, all eyes are on Apple to see when it will make its own move into a market that has the potential to change the way people live, work, and play.

But anyone hoping for Siri to take big leaps in functionality as soon as next year looks set to be left disappointed, according to well-respected supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

2024 will come too soon

Kuo was writing in a new Medium post outlining Apple's plans ahead of its impending quarterly earnings call when he laid waste to hopes of new AI-powered iPhone 16 improvements in 2024.

Writing in that post, Kuo says that "the progress of Apple’s generative AI is significantly behind its competitors, so I don’t expect Apple to talk too much about AI on the earnings call." Vision Pro is sure to be key to Apple's future plans and while generative AI might well be, 2024 now might come too soon.

This is despite Bloomberg's Mark Gurman having previously suggested that "people familiar with the [generative AI] work believe Apple is aiming to make a significant AI-related announcement next year."

That comment came as part of a wider discussion of the work Apple is already doing in generative AI, although it did note that the company is yet to decide what form that work will take once handed over to users.

Now, it appears that Siri is about as good as it's going to get whether you're using an old iPhone SE or choose to pick up the best iPhone has to offer this September. And in a world where Siri continues to fall behind the competition that's bad news indeed.

Apple has reportedly removed more than a hundred ChatGPT-like apps from its Chinese App Store amid changes to local laws that would impact them.

The new law, which comes into force on August 15, requires that apps promote healthy content and “adhere to core socialist values,” while generating false information or anything that could endanger national security is also not allowed.

Apple frequently removes apps from the Chinese App Store to appease lawmakers and the country's government, and this is sure to be far from the last time it does it.

'Content that is illegal in China'

The South China Morning Post reports that regulation on generative AI has already impacted dozens of apps that offer services similar to that of ChatGPT and other generative AI services. Spark, one of those affected, only launched on June 29. Another, ChatGAi Plus, offers translation and writing services as well as chatbot functionality and was previously ranked 9th in the paid apps chart. That's now no longer available for download.

Apple emailed affected developers to warn them of the impending removal of their apps, saying that they were no longer allowed “because they include content that is illegal in China.” The email went on to blame new regulations on generative AI and similar technologies.

As for the real ChatGPT, that's still available in the App Store around the world. You can even replace Siri with ChatGPT if you really want to, although Apple is said to be working on its own large language models to improve its ailing digital assistant.

The rumored launch of both iOS 17 and iPhone 15 next month will come far too soon for that new and upgraded Siri, but don't let that dampen the excitement around Apple's best iPhones. A new titanium construction, a periscope camera for improved zoom, and an Action button could make the iPhone 15 Pro a worthy upgrade once it's official.

Apple says that it will remove features like FaceTime and iMessage from devices sold in the United Kingdom if it is forced to abide by proposed security laws.

Those changes to an existing law, dubbed the "snooper's charter" by some, would require that companies like Apple more quickly react to the U.K. government's demand that security features be disabled to allow it to access people's data.

Apple employs end-to-end encryption across a number of services and this potential law change could see the government demand that it be given a back door into those services.

Privacy matters

Apple says that it will not make changes to security features for a single country that would then weaken security for all users. The BBC reports that Apple also warns that the new U.K. proposals "constitute a serious and direct threat to data security and information privacy" that would impact people globally, not just in the U.K.

Under the proposed law changes companies like Apple must act immediately if the Home Office demands security features are disabled — and do it without telling members of the public. Apple says that wouldn't be possible anyway because a software update would be required in order to remove its encryption technology. The U.K. Home Office can already make such demands, but they must first get past an independent entity and Apple can appeal any decision. That would no longer be the case if this amendment goes through.

Apple isn't the only company to have threatened to remove services from the U.K. if forced to compromise security. Instant messaging platform Signal has also said that it will "walk" from the U.K. should its encrypted messages be impacted.

Apple of course finds itself in a tricky position here. It's made a big thing about the iPhone offering strong privacy features including encryption. Effectively unlocking iMessage in particular would go against that "privacy is a human right" stance that Apple has become so famous for.

The best iPhone is, in Apple's eyes, a secure and private one. It's increasingly clear that the U.K. government would disagree. Its argument is that it needs access to users' data and communications so as to help prevent child abuse material from spreading online.

The U.K. government is now running an eight-week consultation on the proposed amendment to its Investigatory Powers Act.

Twitter might not be the social network it once was but it's still the one that a whole load of people spend their time on and now they have a new feature to enjoy.

Video support has been around on Twitter for years and Apple even shared an entire episode of the Apple TV Plus hit Silo as a freebie recently. But watching on your iPhone is no fun, and using screen sharing via AirPlay didn't always work well. Now, that workaround is no longer needed.

That's because Twitter has now added the ability to AirPlay videos right from within its app, making it easier than ever to watch longer videos on a big screen.

Must-watch Twitter content

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 he's been trying to turn it into an everything app, similar to WeChat in China. That includes having it be the go-to place for video content and he's now one step closer to making that happen — even if there's still a ways to go.

Things took a step in the right direction when Apple TV Plus made the entire first episode of Silo available to stream on the platform at the end of June.

Musk alluded to being able to watch the episode on the big screen but at the time that required using Control Center's display mirroring, a workaround that didn't always make for the best experience. But by adding support for AirPlay viewers can be sure that the content they're streaming to the big screen is in the correct aspect ratio, for example.

All that's required to use AirPlay is a compatible TV or an Apple TV box. The Apple TV 4K is the best around, although even with Amazon Prime Day deals it still isn't cheap. Thankfully, there are tons of Apple TV alternatives out there if you're looking for something that won't break the bank.

From the very beginning I have always been an iPhone fanatic. 

I was lucky enough to be there, in the room, in 2007 when Steve Jobs launched the original iPhone. Ever since then, I’ve been on a constant cycle of upgrading to a new iPhone once my current model has been flogged to death.

Nowadays I don’t automatically upgrade each year — I usually leave it a few years between purchases, but I’m so heavily invested in the iPhone and iOS ecosystem, both emotionally and spiritually, that I’ve never felt the need to so much as cast a sideways glance at an Android phone. Until now that is…

After an initially rocky launch in 2019, in which the folding phone’s longevity and durability were rightly questioned, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold has matured, and the latest incarnation, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 looks so delicious that even a you-can-take-it-from-my-cold-dead-hand iPhone owner like me has to sit up and take notice. But could I really live with it instead of an Apple flagship like the iPhone 14 Pro? Would it turn my head away from the incoming iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro? And what could Apple learn from it for a foldable iPhone Flip phone?

The only way to know for sure was to see if I could survive for a week using only the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. There were bound to be a few things that surprised and delighted me about a folding phone, as well as a few frustrations, so let’s see how I got on.

First impressions

Out of the box, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 looks effortlessly stylish, consisting mainly of smooth Gorilla glass curtained off by a rose-gold aluminium trim. Even for a device that’s more chunky than an iPhone it somehow seems to retain a feeling of elegance. In folded mode it looks long and slim, and slightly narrower than a standard-sized iPhone. I really like that look, since most of what I do on my iPhone — Twitter, Facebook, Messenger, email — consists of a vertical scrolling interface. It becomes apparent very quickly that long and thin is essentially the shape of the Internet, and my iPhone was starting to look a bit short and stocky in comparison.

The one thing you notice when switching phones is just how many apps you have to install, and what a slog it is. Not only do you have to install them all, you also have to log in on them all, which is time consuming, especially if you have no idea what your Facebook password is since you last changed it back in 2015. But the upside here is that I still haven’t really found a crucial app that I had on my iPhone that I couldn’t get on the new Samsung. I could even install Apple Music and keep my subscription going.

Android vs iOS

Like a lot of people, I get used by my parents as free technical support all the time, and being an iPhone owner I used to hate having to try and navigate their Android phones to find that one elusive setting for that annoying thing they wanted to change. But using the Galaxy Z Fold 4, I was surprised to find that now, once you get over the initial hump, Android is actually pretty simple to navigate. Since Apple ditched the Home button in 2016 (something I still haven’t forgiven it for) Android phones are just as easy to use as iPhones. 

Or should I say, they are both equally frustrating? On both systems I occasionally lose myself in a confusing mass of swipes up, down or sideways that are almost the same but also just subtly different enough to create a different outcome. At least Android has a software home button that floats at the bottom of the screen and stays there when you are in different apps, along with an easy to understand back button. I wish Apple would reinstate something similar. Even after all these years, I still feel a bit adrift on an iPhone without a Home button to anchor me.

iPhone design vs Galaxy Z Fold 4

The raison d'etre of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is that you can use it in three different positions: Folded, as discussed already, unfolded, where it pops out to form a mini tablet, or in a flexed, half open, half closed, position. Flex actually turns out to be a useful way of using the Galaxy Z Fold 4 because in this position you can sit it up on your desk like a mini laptop. It’s a great way to use your phone as a kind of companion device for keeping one eye on Facebook or messages whilst using your laptop for your work, and it makes the iPhone look a bit underpowered in comparison. 

Forget picking up your phone to read your messages, now you can just glance down and read things perfectly easily. Some apps, like YouTube make clever use of the fold, so that the video stays in the top half, and the comments remain, quite literally, below the fold. Gmail also shows some design flair, keeping the keyboard below the fold when you are writing an email and the text above. 

A lot of engineering has gone into getting the folding mechanism just right. It requires just enough force to prise open that it never accidentally opens, but it’s not so stiff that it’s an effort to get into it. When you unfold the Galaxy Z Fold 4 into its tablet form, the fold mark disappears from view completely when you are staring straight at the screen, it’s only visible from the side, which means it genuinely functions like a mini tablet in this mode, which is great for video or games. Then when you fold it back again it shuts with a satisfying click as the two sides come together.

I’m always told that the cameras on Samsung devices are better than the ones on the iPhone, but I don’t tend to obsess over photos to the extent that I can notice the difference. They both take great pictures as far as I’m concerned, but I prefer the layout of the lenses on Samsung phones — all in a vertical line — to the arrangement on the iPhone.

Key takeaways for Apple

So, after going cold turkey on my iPhone for a whole week and using nothing but the Samsung, I’ve come to the realizaton that there was really nothing that I could do on my iPhone that I couldn’t also do on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It fitted into my life so easily that the once great rivals of iOS and Android are pretty much interchangeable now. I could listen to all the same podcasts, I could use the same websites, and apps. Email was the same, and so on. Even my AirPods Pro worked just fine with it! But I had added two extra phone positions to my life, and I’m going to miss them when I have to go back to my iPhone. I’ve got to say, I really enjoyed the geeky fascination of being able to fold and unfold a phone. What was also fascinating to me was that my family, who are also die-hard iPhone users, didn’t share my enthusiasm for folding phones at all, and I think that’s when it hit me — folding phones are for geeks. And I’m a geek!

When I look back to that hallowed auditorium at MacWorld in 2007, it’s easy to forget how revolutionary, but also geeky the first iPhone was. It was the first time most people had ever seen a touch screen device that could fit in their pocket and we just couldn’t believe our eyes. 

The people who brought the original iPhone weren’t a mainstream audience — they were geeks and early adopters excited by the technology. Even more so once they later found out there was going to be an App Store and that anybody who signed up could code their own apps. This was geek heaven. 

As the iPhone got more popular it became cooler to own one and it slowly moved into the mainstream taking up its place alongside big name brands like Nike, Disney and Coke. Now it’s the safe choice when it comes to buying a smartphone, and sadly that has led to a stifling of innovative features like folding technology, that has let Google and Samsung slip into the position of disruptors in the market.

For too long now Apple has been playing it safe with the iPhone. In fact, until it announced the new Apple Vision Pro, it had been playing it safe across the board. Before Vision Pro, its last big product, the Apple Watch, was hardly revolutionary, but with its bold step into headsets, Apple is showing signs that it might not be afraid to take a risk or two again. Perhaps Vision Pro can be the spark of inspiration that ignites the iPhone again, because at the moment it looks like Samsung and Google are ahead of the game.

Two U.K phone networks are on the verge of merging to become one new super-carrier, assuming they're allowed to.

Following months of rumors Vodafone and Three have both announced their intention to merge, creating what would become the U.K.'s largest network as a result.

However, the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will no doubt take a long hard look at what such a merger would mean for customers — and it has the power to block the deal if it believes that competition will suffer as a result.

"Building the UK’s Digital Future"

As part of the merger, and possibly as a way to try and grease the wheels of the likely CMA investigation, the two companies confirmed that they intend to pump £11 billion into upgrading the U.K.'s 5G infrastructure.

"The combined business will invest £11 billion in the UK over ten years to create one of Europe's most advanced standalone 5G networks, in full support of UK Government targets," a joint press release says.

However, Alex Tofts, broadband expert at Broadband Genie notes that the deal might never get off the ground. “There is still a way to go on getting this merger over the line, and as Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority tend to be wary of mobile-only mergers, we may still see these efforts come to nothing," Tofts told iMore via email.

Despite this, Vodafone and Three claim that their merger would actually increase competition — in the world of MVNOs. An MVNO is a company that piggybacks off another provider's network, with many using BT EE or Virgin Media - O2. If the merger goes through, Vodafone and Three say, MVNOs will have a new alternative that also happens to have the largest network in town.

Whether that's enough to appease any CMA concerns remains to be seen.

All of this is unlikely to happen in time for anyone to choose the new company as their iPhone 15 service provider, but the U.K. still has plenty of options regardless — something those in other countries can't boast of.

The Watergate scandal was one of the biggest political events of the 1970s, but it was nothing compared to a slightly bendy iPhone. Or at least, that’s how it’s seemed over the last decade or two, with relatively minor Apple design flaws and business decisions given the “gate” suffix and turned into global scandals.

Some of those scandals were entirely Apple’s fault, but others were massive overreactions - and when some outlets saw the attention anything Apple-gate gathered, there were some pretty blatant attempts to create scandals over things that really didn’t matter.

But which were which? Let’s discover the history of Apple’s -gate scandals from the biggest to the most ridiculous.

1. Antennagate (iPhone 4)

This was the big one, and it happened over ten years ago now. The 2010, $199 iPhone 4 was a massive redesign of Apple’s world-conquering phone, and it was a beautiful bit of design – which is why it was still essentially in production a decade later in the form of the iPhone SE. But that design had one slight flaw: the iPhone 4 wasn’t great at making phone calls. If you held it in your left hand, your signal bars disappeared and your call might drop altogether.

Steve Jobs didn’t exactly help: he told reporters that the people complaining should “just avoid holding it that way”. Jobs saying “You’re holding it wrong” soon became an internet meme, usually used to indicate arrogance. And Jobs was being arrogant, because despite his dismissal and Apple’s claims that this was an issue with every phone it really wasn’t; it was a design flaw that Apple had been warned about and would later fix.

As an interim measure, Apple offered full refunds or a free case that solved the problem, but while Jobs said that only 0.55% of buyers had contacted Apple with complaints Apple still had to pay out big sums to settle a class action suit. 

2. Bendgate (iPhone 6/6 Plus)

Another big iPhone redesign, another big iPhone scandal. This time it was 2014 and the then-new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and thanks to a court case we know that Apple was well aware that its new design was 3.3 to 7.2 times more likely to bend than the iPhone 5S: just putting your phone in your back pocket could turn it into a banana.

I know this firsthand because that’s exactly what happened to mine. I’ve kept my iPhones in cases ever since.

2½. Hissgate (iPhone 7)

File this one under “Mountains from molehills.” Hissgate was given much more attention than it deserved because Antennagate and Bendgate had driven so much traffic to news sites.

It affected a small number of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus buyers who noticed a slight hissing sound when restoring their apps and settings from iCloud, a fairly processor-intensive task; Apple swapped the phones that hissed for ones that didn’t and the problem went away. 

It’s unclear whether there was a faulty early batch of iPhone 7 devices or if it was just a few isolated quality control issues, but whatever the explanation it really wasn’t a big deal.

3. Batterygate (iPhone 6/7, iOS 11)

In 2016, Apple released iOS 10.1.1 and some users of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S – presumably ones whose phones hadn’t bent like paperclips – reported that their phones would shut down without warning when their battery percentage dropped below 30%. Apple issued an update, iOS 10.2.1, to fix it – but that introduced a new issue. Now, the developers of the Geekbench performance monitoring app found that iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 models running the update were demonstrating a pattern of performance degradation. That is, they weren’t running at full speed anymore.

It didn’t take long for an old conspiracy theory to return: Apple was deliberately making older iPhones slower in order to make you buy a new one instead. And while in the past that was most likely nonsense because new OSes typically did more and consumed more system resources with each new version, this time Apple really was slowing down phones. Apple said it was to prevent battery shutdowns, but not everyone believed them. 

Apple would go on to deliver a whopping 11 million cut-price battery replacements and promised that it had never, and never would, “do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades”. With iOS 11, Apple completely revamped iPhone battery management to improve battery longevity without compromising iPhone performance.

4. Beautygate (iPhone XS/XS Max)

With the launch of iOS 12.0.1 on the iPhone XS and XS Max, some users noticed something distinctly odd: themselves. Photos of people suddenly looked odd, with visibly smoother skin – not just magazine-cover smooth, but scary-robot-face smooth.

It turned out that the culprit was a bug in the Smart HDR feature, which was designed to intelligently analyze and adjust photos for the best possible results; the bug made it choose the wrong base frame (a long exposure rather than a short one) and make you look like your own waxwork. The bug was corrected in iOS 12.1.

5. Flexgate / Displaygate (MacBook Pro)

Flexgate sounds like another Bendgate, but it was a different problem: in 2016 Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro with a new flex cable, which is the cable that connects the display to the display controller. Unfortunately, some MacBook Pros, particularly Touch Bar versions, were made with flex cables that were too thin and too flimsy; they would catch, jam, and create weird backlight issues or stop the display from working at all. 

Apple changed its design and introduced a free repair program for the two affected models, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and it’s still in operation today.

5½. U2gate (iTunes)

U2Gate happened in 2014 but Bono is still apologizing for it: in what was supposed to be a cool bonus for Apple owners, every single iTunes user was gifted U2’s then-new album Songs of Innocence. There were just three problems with that. One, it wasn’t U2’s best album by a long shot. Two, not everybody wanted it. And three, it was added to your library whether you wanted it or not. 

The stunt apparently cost Apple $100 million and it definitely backfired badly: Wired called it “worse than spam” and Salon said that it made U2 “the most hated band in America”. Writing in his 2022 memoir Surrender, Bono put his hands up: “Mea culpa,” he wrote. “I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves.”

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and Twitter owner and CEO Elon Musk have both taken it upon themselves to complain about Apple's App Store rules once more.

While neither man has been complimentary about Apple's App Store rules in the past, the latest discussion came after Twitter launched a new subscription feature that allows users to sell subscriptions to their content. But it appears that creating those subscriptions can take a little longer on iPhones because of Apple's rules.

Replying to the reasoning, Ek called the move "absurd" and suggested that Apple's approach simply wasn't scalable.

'This is absurd'

The discussion kicked off when Musk told Twitter users that "it takes a few days longer for subscriptions to go active on iPhone vs web" because "all subscriptions currently have to be approved by Apple." That would suggest that each Twitter creator's subscription is being turned into an individual in-app purchase in the App Store, meaning Apple must check each subscription every time one is created.

That's something that could prove problematic if a lot of people create subscriptions — something not lost on Spotify's CEO.

"This is absurd," Ek started. "How would this scale with every creator on every platform on the internet? And what about if a platform thought the right fee was 0% or 10% instead of Apple's 30%?"

The 30% cut Apple takes from App Store transactions has long been a bone of contention for Spotify and others, so it's little wonder that Ek took the opportunity to mention it here. Musk is also no stranger to complaining about Apple and the App Store, having previously also made his feelings about that 30% cut clear.

As for Apple, it believes the best iPhone is one that's protected by the App Store which means no sideloading and no payments outside of its walled garden. But with those walls starting to crumble as global governmental pressure mounts it remains to be seen where Apple will go from here.

In the meantime, Twitter subscriptions are going to take a little while to go live and you can blame Apple, apparently.

When Apple first launched App Tracking Transparency (ATT) as part of its iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 updates in 2021 there was much concern among ad companies. They worried that Apple had just singlehandedly ended their businesses, but two years later that doesn't seem to have been the case after all.

ATT is designed to help iPhone and iPad users choose whether they want to allow ad companies to track them between apps. With ATT and if users choose, ad companies no longer know when you use a gambling app and then also use a dating app, for example. That's vital information the ad agency loses, and that's a problem.

How much of a problem? Well, it's worth noting. But it isn't the end of the ad game.

Slowing growth

As DigiDay reports, a new Interactive Advertising Bureau’s 2023 report explains that internet ad revenue grew almost 11% year over year to $209.7 billion. That's definitely not the same as ATT killing the ad business. Although ad companies will point to the fact that internet ad revenue grew by a massive 35% the year before.

That suggests that while people are still buying ads, they might not be doing it at the breakneck speeds that they might otherwise have been. But growth is still growth. And the opposite of ATT being the end of ads as a whole.

It's also reported that people are choosing to actually allow themselves to be tracked more than was expected.

"Opt-in rates of users have been higher than the industry originally expected, said Brian Quinn, U.S. president and GM of AppsFlyer, reports DigiDay. "However, the average opt-in rate across all industries has ticked downward from 46% after the first year to 45% after the second. Some industries have seen more success, with shopping apps having an 82% opt-in rate."

It's also been suggested that people are more willing to be tracked if the app does a good job of explaining why it wants the data. If iPhone users see value, they'll allow it. Perhaps not the same kind of value you'd see from a great iPhone deal, perhaps. But some sort of transactional nature to the whole thing seems to be in play.

Even with ATT, however, some say that apps are finding new ways to track users even if they don't give them permission. And if that's the case, perhaps there's an argument that ATT isn't doing what it was supposed to anyway — give people control of their data.

Apple has issued a note to developers to explain a new feature that will make it easier for people to deal with App Store payment issues without having to delve into the Settings app to do it.

Currently, people who have a billing problem when making a subscription payment are left with no option but to go and find the issue and fix it themselves in the Settings app. That's all changing so long as those people are using iOS 16.4 or iPadOS 16.4 or later.

Apple also says that there is no need for app developers to do anything to implement the change.

Issue resolved

Apple shared details of the tweak in a post to its developer website, saying that people will soon be able to fix their own billing issues right from within the affected app.

"Soon it will be easier than ever for your customers to resolve payment issues, so they can stay subscribed to your content, services, and premium features," Apple says. "Starting this summer, if an auto-renewable subscription doesn’t renew due to a billing issue, a system-provided sheet appears in your app with a prompt that lets customers update their payment method for their Apple ID."

Right now the same payment fix involves opening the Settings app and spelunking through the Apple ID section.

The iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates are already available for download — iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 are the latest available at the time of writing — so developers can be relatively sure that this mechanism will be available to their users.

The feature will of course also be part of the iOS 17 update that is expected to be announced at WWDC23 in June. That's the software that will power Apple's best iPhone of the year, the iPhone 15 Pro, as well as the rest of the iPhone 15 lineup when it goes on sale this fall.

Following the news that the biggest carmaker in the United States is ditching Apple CarPlay you might have been worried that others might consider following suit. But that needn't be a concern, it seems.

GM says that it won't offer CarPlay — or Android Auto, for that matter — on future electric vehicles and will instead use a Google-based in-car entertainment system full of dedicated apps. But a new report says that other carmakers are quick to reiterate their commitment to CarPlay because people, predictably, seem to like it.

“We continue to offer Apple Carplay and Android Auto because customers love the capability that enables easy access and control of their smartphone apps — especially our EV customers because some EVs currently do not offer the features,” said a spokesperson for Ford.

Out on its own

That quote came about after The Verge reached out to multiple carmakers to see where they stand on the subject of CarPlay and Android Auto. And Ford isn't the only one.

Volvo simply replied with a LinkedIn post from its CEO following Apple's iOS 16 CarPlay announcement. Jim Rowan said that the company wants its cars to fit customers' lives and devices, suggesting CarPlay is sticking around.

Perhaps most notable is Honda, a company that is apparently using Google's built-in software for its future Accord. It responded to The Verge by saying that it has no plans to ditch either CarPlay or Android Auto. It said that customers "find value in our support of CarPlay."

Hyundai said it'll be keeping CarPlay around, which suggests that Kia will as well. BMW? It's keeping CarPlay, but it does understand GM's thinking. “Although there are intrinsic benefits to using the native navigation system particularly in [battery-electric vehicles], BMW currently has no plans to restrict the use of Apple CarPlay or Android Auto,” Jay Hansen, product and technology spokesperson for BMW reportedly told The Verge.

GM and perhaps BMW aside, there's a good chance your next car will connect to Apple's best iPhones for years to come, it seems.

Apple is adding a new feature that will make it easier for people to hear each other when they're on cellular phone calls. The new Voice Isolation feature will arrive with iOS 16.4 and is currently available in the latest developer beta.

The feature will be available on all compatible devices ranging from the very best iPhone money can buy today to the iPhone 8. And no matter which device you're using you can expect improved audio separation when on a phone call.

If Voice Isolation sounds familiar, that's because Apple added it to iOS 15, but only for calls made via internet-based services like FaceTime and WhatsApp. Now, Voice Isolation is coming to old-fashioned cellular calls as well.

Sounds good!

Apple confirmed the addition in its iOS 16.4 Release Candidate release (RC) notes, MacRumors reports. It's said that Voice Isolation will block background noise in an attempt to make sure that voices can be clearly heard when on a call.

Making a call in a noisy area can make or break the conversation, but this new feature could change all of that. Voice Isolation is likely to be enabled via Control Center, with that being the mechanism currently used.

The iOS 16.4 update will bring with it bug fixes and improvements alongside a number of new emojis and support for push notifications for web apps. Those web apps must be added to the iPhone's Home screen in order to receive push notifications, and permission must be granted for them to work.

As for when iOS 16.4 will be released to the public, that isn't immediately clear. But Apple's recent RC release suggests that we might not have to wait too much longer before iOS 16.4 is rolled out to everyone.

Beyond iOS 16.4, attention will soon turn to iOS 17 which will likely be announced during the WWDC23 event that is expected to take place in June.

You really can't take more than three steps across the internet today without falling over someone shouting about how great ChatGPT is. A few steps further and someone else will tell you that Siri could learn a lot from OpenAI's new tool. And they might both be right.

But just how good is ChatGPT and, on the other side of that coin, how bad is Siri? Is it worth the hassle to replace Siri with ChatGPT, as many people have recently been experimenting with? As is so often the case with these things, it might not be as clear-cut as you thought. Both are great, good, bad, and terrible at a variety of things. But there are some things that one is much more suited to than the other.

I wanted to find out which things Siri excelled at, and which things ChatGPT would be the clear winner. So I set out to find out.

Two very different AI

Before we get into the questions and answers, it's important to remember that Siri and ChatGPT are two very different things. They might seem the same because you're talking to a computer when using them both, but the way they work is fundamentally different.

Take Siri, for example. Apple designed Siri to be good at answering basic questions, starting timers, turning on HomeKit lights, and doing it quickly to boot. We can agree or disagree on how well it does those things. but that's the aim.

To make that happen, Siri effectively has a giant database of things that it can respond to, with Apple telling it how to do it. If you ask something that it can't find an answer to, and the database fails it, Siri is a bit lost. It'll give you a website to read in the hope that'll help. But that's about it.

ChatGPT, on the other hand, is very different. ChatGPT is "a large language model developed by OpenAI," it told me when asked. "I am designed to understand and generate human-like text based on patterns and relationships in the vast amounts of data that I have been trained on."

That data runs up to September 2021, "which means that any information or events that have occurred after that date may not be included in my knowledge base." Still, ChatGPT says that it is still capable of adapting to new information we give it and plans to continue to learn and improve over time.

Siri? When asked what it was, Siri told me that it was indeed Siri. And that was the end of that conversation. See the difference?

With that said, let's dive into a trio of examples that highlight those differences (and similarities) the best.

Current affairs

The differences between how Siri and ChatGPT work are never more obvious than when asking questions about recent events or something that is either happening right now, or will happen in the future.

In the case of Siri, this is where it can excel. Chat GPT just isn't cut out for such things, however. Because it was trained on data up until September 2021, Chat GPT isn't aware of anything after that date — much less anything that's happening right now.

One easy example is to ask about today's weather. Siri (surprisingly quickly) offers up an answer that's about as accurate as these things can get. The same for a future forecast, for that matter.

But ask ChatGPT and it's a no-go. It'll remind you that it doesn't have real-time access to the current weather conditions. It does, at least, give you some tips on where you can go to get some answers — it recommended the Met Office, BBC Weather, or AccuWeather when I asked it to tell me what was going on outside. But it'd lose this fight even to simple weather apps.

Historical events

When it comes to asking for information on events of the past, both Siri and ChatGPT were capable of getting the job done, albeit in different ways.

You could ask both all kinds of things so long as it happened before September 2021, but I chose to ask who the tenth President of the United States was. The answer, I'm told, was John Tyler. And both Siri and ChatGPT got it right.

But where things differ is in the additional information the pair provided.

Siri was quick to tell me it was John Tyler and that was all it offered up. I asked a question and it gave me an answer. I could get more information if I wanted it, but the response was short and sweet. But accurate, at least.

Over in ChatGPT land, things got more interesting. Did you know that President Tyler served from 1841 to 1845 and that he succeeded Willian Henry Harrison? Did you know that Harrison was only in office for a month? How about that Tyler was the first Vice President to assume the presidency because of the death of a sitting President?

I only know that because ChatGPT told me. And there was more, too. Context. And lots of it made the ChatGPT response more useful, as if being spoken to by a person, not a robot answering a question and nothing more.

Open-ended questions

This is where things really get interesting and when Siri shows that it's little more than software for specific answering questions and turning on lights. That's great if you need it, of course. But ChatGPT is on a whole other level.

Here's an example. I asked both Siri and ChatGPT "If the world's biggest bank collapsed tomorrow, what would happen?"

Siri simply had no idea and did what Apple told it to — it offered up a collection of websites that it thought might be helpful. It effectively Googled the problem and gave me the results. Useful, sure. But I could have done that myself.

ChatGPT by contrast set about answering the question across five paragraphs of text, walking me through the three stages of what would happen should the world's biggest bank meet its maker. It makes for grim reading to be sure, but ChatGPT offered it up and that's much more than Siri could manage.

And with that, we have the real difference between Siri and ChatGPT. Apple's digital assistant is designed to respond to expected requests and commands and then farm everything else out to a Google or Wolfram Alpha query. From there, it's up to the user to do the donkey work.

By contrast, ChatGPT felt like asking the question of someone knowledgeable on the subject matter. Except that subject could be almost anything so long as it happened before that data cut-off. Or is based on a theoretical situation — like my banking question — that could be conceived of, at least.

Siri vs ChatGPT — Who wins?

Ultimately, both Siri and ChatGPT are tools, and they're both pretty good at what they do. The thing is, Siri wasn't built to do quite what ChatGPT was and it doesn't have the data it needs to behave that way regardless. Apple wants Siri to respond in a predictable way each and every time and that isn't what OpenAI built ChatGPT to do. ChatGPT doesn't think for itself, of course. But at times it sure does feel like it is doing just that.

Siri, on the other hand, feels like your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch is following a script. And if the answer isn't on that script, it shrugs and throws up its hands.

That might improve in the future, though. Apple is reportedly testing giving Siri support for natural language generation, possibly giving it the ability to provide answers in new and interesting ways. But it'll still be hamstrung by the way it was built, and the things it was expected to do.

Thankfully, you can get the best of both worlds — it's possible to replace Siri with ChatGPT right now whether you're using the best iPhone money can buy, or something a little older. Just don't expect the latter to be able to turn on your lights or tell you whether you'll need an umbrella.

Apple is reportedly testing a newly upgraded version of Siri that could use ChatGPT-like natural language generation.

The current test version of Siri is reportedly only available on the Apple TV  thanks to the latest tvOS 16.4 beta, but it's thought that the technology could eventually be rolled out to other devices. Further, Apple seems to only be testing natural language generation with jokes. And jokes delivered by the Apple TV at that.

While the Apple TV is the device that Apple has chosen as the initial testbed for natural language generation, it's reported that there is similar code found across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and HomePod software betas.

Siri, but better

Natural language generation would allow Siri to sound more human when responding to requests and questions, but it's important to note that this isn't an indication that Apple is going to upgrade the digital assistant to ChatGPT levels of capability.

9to5Mac notes that Apple instead is seeking to roll the updated technology into the existing Siri system.

The current Siri that we know today is designed to take questions and then respond based on a database of known answers or retrieve data from specific sources. That has left Siri to struggle in some instances, often being unable to deal with requests that it might be expected to. ChatGPT by contrast can call on a much larger source of information having been trained on data from across the internet and allowed to respond based on its learnings.

However, that isn't to say that this natural language news isn't notable. Anything that improves the way Siri interacts with people is sure to be better than the assistant we use today.

It isn't clear when Apple will roll the new Siri out, given the fact it's only in limited testing right now. We also don't know if it will require specific devices — will you need Apple's best iPad, iPhone, or other device or will it work on existing and older hardware as well?

There have been endless debates about whether Apple's iPhone cameras are better, or whether Samsung does cameras better. While the talk over the years has been about the sensors themselves, computational photography has also come to be a major part of mobile phone imaging. While we know that nearly all smartphones have some sort of computational photography, it appears Samsung could have been using it a bit more than previously expected.

A new Reddit post claims that the "super zoom" moon photos we see from the higher-end Samsung phones may be fake, using image replacement over the actual picture users click. 

Too much computational photography?

It's safe to say that Samsung's moon photography had some post-processing going on, but the post claims that the detail in the images might be more from the computation than the captured details. 

Redditor u/ibreakphotos says they downloaded an image of the moon, blurred it to get rid of the details, and put it up on their monitor. They then used a Samsung phone to photograph the image on the monitor. The final image came out with a bunch of detail, which makes it look like the prost-processing is doing all the heavy lifting on the details in these images.

To be fair, Samsung has explained how moon photos are processed in a blog post before. To simplify, the phone's camera will recognize the moon, keeps focus on it, and take a picture. The post-processing is done using a convolutional neural network trained with a lot of high-resolution images of the moon. The algorithm will use the detail learned from those images and apply it over the moon recognized in the photos.

In this new example, however, the phone took an image of an image and went ahead with the processing anyway. It seems like you can't quite fault the phone, as you should temper your expectations when it comes to smartphone photography. Regardless this seems to have sparked the debate about whether the cameras on the best iPhones should be considered superior to those on Samsung phones.

Apple's latest iOS 16.4 beta appears to suggest that Apple is getting ready to remove NFC support from its Car Key technology.

Apple Car Key allows people to lock, unlock, and start their compatible cars using nothing more than an iPhone or an Apple Watch. But some of those devices will lose support for the feature in the future if code found in iOS 16.4 beta 3 is any indication.

If true, NFC-based Car Key support will be removed, leaving only devices with Ultra Wideband (UWB) chips working.

No NFC for you

9to5Mac reports that it has discovered code in IOS 16.4 that suggests a future software release will drop support for NFC further down the line. "More specifically, new strings added to the iPhone operating system say that a 'car is not compatible with this iPhone/Apple Watch model' for devices that are NFC-only compatible," the report says.

If this comes to fruition it will mean that a number of devices will be cut off from Car Key support if they update to the new software. Only the iPhone 11 and newer and the Apple Watch Series 6 and newer have UWB chips inside, and they're the ones that will be needed for continued Car Key functionality.

That also means that the iPhone SE won't be supported, a phone which is rumored to be getting a refresh of its own — possibly with a UWB chip built in. If that's the case, buyers won't need to pick up Apple's best iPhones or Apple Watches just to unlock their cars.

It's important to note that this doesn't appear to suggest that iOS 16.4 will be the cut-off, and the change isn't live in this latest third beta. But the groundwork is there for the change to take place in a future update, possibly iOS 17. If all goes according to previous calendars we can expect Apple to announce iOS 17 during WWDC in or around June.

Alongside the release of a new, yellow iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, Apple has also released a slew of new colors across its Apple Watch band and iPhone case collections.

Apple often refreshes its colors across various accessory ranges and the yellow iPhone now has some bright accessories to go with it. Want to make sure your phone and your watch are color-coordinated? Apple has your back.

All of the new colors are available to order now, and carry the same asking price as the others. All you have to do is choose the one you like best.

A rainbow of colors

Starting with the iPhone cases, Apple has launched a new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro silicone case in Canary Yellow which is really rather fetching. That's priced at $49 and will look extra gorgeous on that yellow iPhone 14. Iris, Sky, and Olive have also been added to the mix.

Next up are the watch bands, with plenty to choose from.

The always popular Sport Bands are now available in Bright Orange, Olive, and Sky, while the personal favorite Braided Solo Loops come in Bright Orange, Olive, and Purple Fog. Solo Loops now have Canary Yellow, Olive, Purple Fog, and Sprout Green color options to choose from.

You can order a Solo Loop for $49, while the Sports Bands cost the same. Choosing a Braided Solo Loop will cost a little more, but at $99 they're still stunning watch bands.

Unfortunately, there are no dedicated Apple Watch Ultra bands here, but the other bands will work just fine with Apple's very best Apple Watch.

Fans of Hermes bands can also check out new options, with prices starting from $319.

Again, all of these new bands and the Canary Yellow case are available to buy starting today and should be landing in stores soon enough. You might want to see some of these Apple Watch bands in the flesh before making a purchase decision.

Apple's focus on ensuring that its AR/VR headset doesn't suffer any more delays is reportedly impacting the software releases for its other products.

Every year, Apple releases big new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and other device operating systems. But this time around, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple's updates will see fewer new features due to the headset focus.

All the updates

In his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says that the iOS 17/iPadOS 17 and macOS 14 will be impacted. In addition, Apple is thought to have "roped in resources from several hardware and software engineering departments" for the headset release, reducing the number of engineers available for Apple's software updates.

It's also thought that bugs stemming from the migration from iOS 15 to iOS 16 have given Apple pause in terms of piling new features into iOS 17.

"Apple's focus on the xrOS operating system — along with iOS 16 snags — has also cost it some new features in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the next major iPhone and iPad software updates," Gurman says. "That software, codenamed Dawn, may have fewer major changes than originally planned. The same goes for macOS 14, which is codenamed Sunburst."

If Apple follows its previous release cadence, we can expect the new software updates to be announced during a WWDC event in June. They'll then go through a months-long developer and public beta program before being released to the public in September or October.

As for that AR/VR headset, Apple reportedly intends to announce it this spring ahead of giving it to developers at WWDC to allow them to work on getting their apps ready for a final release to the public later this year.

Apple’s iPhone 14 supply chain is once again under threat, as one of the company’s key production centers is hit by a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases.

The Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, otherwise known as ‘iPhone City’, is seeing the virus sweep through its workforce once again, according to a report from The Times.

More than 200,000 people work at the factory, with insiders at the plant claiming that Foxconn bosses are forcing those with the virus at the live-in production center to continue working despite being ill. It’s understood that previous production targets have been missed, and so the ailing workers are being made to work in order to make up the shortfall.

Combined with general unrest at the factory city, which saw violence erupt between workers and police in protests over pay and living conditions just weeks ago, already-reduced iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro shipments could be delayed even further.

Worse to come?

China is on the cusp of one of the worst resurgences in Covid-19 infection rates since the pandemic began. An estimated 250 million people have tested positive for the virus in China in the past 20 days, following the lifting of restrictions due to nationwide protests against the strict measure put in place by the Beijing government.

For Apple it’ll be another problem to overcome in what has already proven a difficult financial year for the company. It's seen its share price drop 27 percent to $131.86 at the time of writing, despite managing to hit a 14th successive quarter of revenue growth.

The disruption to the supply chain is making Apple rethink its approach to global production. Where once its manufacturing efforts were focussed predominately on China, the pandemic years have made clear the dangers of putting the majority of production in one nation — not to mention navigating the geopolitical tensions associated with working with America’s biggest economic rival. As such, the company is expected to begin transitioning some iPad production to sites in India, while Vietnam will take some of the MacBook production load. 

Not only that, but Apple is also thought to be making cust-cutting adjustments to its future product line-up, too, with the next iPhone SE, previously on track for a major design overhaul, now potentially being canned altogether.

Apple's iPhone assembler Foxconn reportedly flat-out refused to get involved with helping Nothing build its first phone, despite similar companies having used the phone maker in the past.

Nothing's Carl Pei says that Foxconn didn't want to get involved, saying that past failures put it off, giving his company a chance. Pei also says that Nothing plans to launch a phone in the United States, possibly going up against Apple's high-end iPhones.

Nothing to see here

Pei, co-founder of Chinese phone company OnePlus and now leading Nothing, says that Foxconn was worried about a previous track record of working with startups.

"Every startup manufacturer has worked with Foxconn," Pei told CNBC. "But when it was our turn, they said no because every startup that worked with them failed. And every time a startup failed, Foxconn lost money on it, they were not able to recoup their costs."

There's no suggestion that Apple had any say in this, with the Nothing Phone (1) only competing with the iPhone SE — and even then, only in some markets. But that could be about to change, with Pei saying that his company is now ready to enter the U.S. market.

"The reason why we didn't launch in the U.S. is because you need a lot of additional technical support, to support all the carriers and their unique customizations that they need to make on top of Android," Pei explained. "We felt that we weren't ready before."

Foxconn might not be the company that builds that or other Nothing phones — they're all made in India — but more competition for Apple's iPhone is always a good thing for consumers. Whether it will be able to compete with Apple's best iPhones is another matter, but time will surely tell.

However, the iPhone isn't the only product that Nothing is competing with. The Nothing Ear (1) earbuds compete with AirPods, with NBC reporting that 600,000 have been sold.

So that monster Verizon deal that we thought would be over by not isn't quite finished with us yet - there is now one day left before you've missed your chance to grab over $1,900 in free stuff and savings. Yeah, you can read that again if you'd like, but it's not going to change. It's a stonker of a deal. There are also slightly smaller variants of the deal on other iPhone handsets, but bear in mind that this one is for the iPhone 14 Pro. Here are the details:

• You can save up to $1,000 by trading in an old device on select unlimited plans, and you'll get $200 when you switch.
• You can get up to $800 off another iPhone 14 Pro on select 5G unlimited plans, and another $200
• Then, you'll ge a free Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation
• And a free Apple iPad 9th generation
• You'll get $70 off Beats Fit Pro headphones, and Verizon will reimburse you for the rest of the cost by way of a Virtual Prepaid Mastercard. 

Four stunning free gifts thanks to Verizon and the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

This deal is only available on the iPhone 14 Pro, and you need to pick up a 5G unlimited plan to take full advantage of the offer.

Google has agreed to hand over $391.5 million to put a stop to an investigation that spanned 40 states and considered whether the company was tracking people without their knowledge across its services including Google Maps. 

The investigation, stemming from a 2018 report, said that Google was tracking the location of people using iPhones as well as Android phones between 2014 and 2019 despite giving the impression that all tracking had been disabled.

Payday

The Verge reports that the settlement also means that Google must now alert users when location tracking is enabled while also making it clear how people can disable the feature from next year.

Despite handing over the cash, Google's blog post notes that the investigation was looking into "outdated product policies" that have already been health with. That doesn't mean that it won't be making changes — Google says that it will be making it more obvious to users that their location data is being collected. A new hub “highlights key location settings to help people make informed choices about their data," the company says.

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum accused Google of prioritizing "profit over their users’ privacy" in a statement on the subject yesterday.

This isn't the first time that Google has been forced to cough up money in relation to location tracking. Just last month the company paid $85 million to the state of Arizona over similar allegations. In that instance, it was claimed that Google was tricking people into thinking that location tracking was disabled.

While Apple often does its best to tell potential customers that privacy is the best iPhone feature of all, it's important to note that this Google settlement includes the company's apps installed on Apple's phones. Perhaps driving home the point that Apple's App Store can only protect its users' privacy from so much.

Several users report that they can repeatedly make Safari crash on their iPhone and iPad just by typing a few letters into the address bar.

The issue appears to affect iOS 16 and iPadOS 15, with one video showing someone typing "wal" into the Safari address bar and having the app instantly crash. They don't even get as far as entering the rest of "walmart" or tapping the button to search.

Strange goings on

MacRumors reports that people are experiencing the issue when typing a range of things, including "tar," "bes," "old," "wel," and others. In addition, the issue presents itself when they try to search for or visit the site of companies like Starbucks, Best Buy, and Walmart, for example.

Users report that the issue can happen on both Wi-Fi and cellular connections and can be repeated at will, making it easier to show to Apple when asking for support.

Unfortunately, no support has been forthcoming, and there isn't a pattern for which versions of iOS are affected. However, even the latest iOS 16.2 beta appears to be involved, suggesting that this isn't an issue related to the version of iOS or Safari.

Instead, it seems most likely that this is a server-side issue which should also mean that Apple will be able to fix it fairly quickly. It will also mean that no software updates will be required, too.

Since Safari is arguably the best iPhone web browser available, and it comes pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad that ships, this is one bug that Apple would do well to get fixed ASAP.

According to a new report, the App Store might be the only place that iPhone and iPad owners can get their apps, but there are fewer to choose from today than at any point in the last seven years.

That report claims that Apple also wiped over 540,000 apps from its App Store in the last quarter alone as the company works to remove older apps and those that break its guidelines.

App Store shrinkage

The Finbold report says that the "number of apps in the Apple App Store hit a seven-year low during 2022 Q3 to stand at 1,642,759." That number "represents a drop of 541,697 or 24.79% from the 2,184,456 registered during Q2 2022."

The last time the App Store had this number of apps available for download was in the third quarter of 2015.

Removing apps from the App Store isn't new, although the sheer number that has gone AWOL in the last few months is notable. Seemingly aware that there were too many apps available for download that were untouched by developers, Apple said earlier this year that any app found not to have not received an update within 30 days risked being removed.

"Previously, Apple had not set any timeline for removing apps, but the recent update stressed that cleaning the App Store is an ongoing process and will evaluate apps, removing apps that no longer function as planned, don't adhere to reviewed guidelines, or need to be updated," Finbold notes.

Apple's policy of removing old apps has come in for criticism, not least because there is no other way to install apps, and anything removed from the App Store is lost for good. From a historical point of view, that's a terrible shame.

While the App Store might be at a seven-year low in terms of apps, there's no doubt that there are still plenty of choices available for anyone picking up a new iPhone 14, for example. They won't install any of the favorite apps and games of yesteryear when they do it.

Previous rumors of Apple's iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max getting an 8P camera might have been wide of the mark, according to a new report.

The camera upgrade, rumored for a while now, would see the new Pro models getting an upgraded camera setup to differentiate them from the non-Pro models further. But now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that might not be the case.

iPhone 15 Pro camera

The 8P references the number of elements inside the cameras and would have seen the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro have an extra element over the current models. That would, in turn, theoretically at least allow for images with less distortion.

While rumors of the 8P construction have been knocking around for a little while, Kuo now says that the "rumored iPhone 15 Pro series's adoption of an 8P lens won't likely come true," although he didn't go into details as to why that would be.

While disappointing, the news wouldn't likely affect the biggest upgrade we expect next year's iPhone 15 Pro Max to get. Rumors have that device being called the iPhone 15 Ultra, adding an all-new periscope lens to the mix.

The addition of a periscope lens would allow Apple to increase significantly the level of zoom offered by the flagship iPhone. The current iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models only provide a maximum of 3x optical zoom — the move to a periscope lens could see that extended to 10x. That would undoubtedly make the iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra the best iPhone for photographers to date.

If Apple follows its usual release schedule,, we can expect Apple to announce its new iPhones in September of 2023, likely with USC-C offered rather than Lightning. for the first time.

Apple claims the iPhone 14 Pro series are the best iPhones ever made, and with the addition of Dynamic Island, groundbreaking safety features, an always-on display, the A16 bionic chip, a new camera, and video features, we must agree. The tricked-out iPhone 14 Pro Max is large and in charge — feature-packed with the best Apple has to offer, and as such, comes with a high price tag to match. Protect your investment and shield your display from drops, scrapes, and cracks with one of the best iPhone 14 Pro Max screen protectors.

Keep that screen clean with the best iPhone 14 Pro Max screen protectors

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Safeguard your iPhone

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the best iPhone ever created, so you’ll want to safeguard your investment with one of the best screen protectors. Be sure to grab the best prices on these and other products you want this season with our Black Friday deals. 

Our favorite is the OtterGlass Amplify Glass Glare Guard. This screen protector was designed specifically for iPhone to deliver long-lasting, high-strength, glass protection for superior scratch resistance and premium anti-glare performance.

If you’re looking for something more budget-friendly, NatuBeau Tempered Glass Screen Protectors are a great option. You get three screen protectors for under $10 that will protect your iPhone 14 Pro Max from drops, scratches, and general wear and tear.

If you're like most of us, and spend quite a bit of time on your phone everyday, consider protecting your eyes with the Speck Shieldview Glass Blue Light Blocking Screen Protector. Not only does it promote eye health, it's also fingerprint and scratch resistant, ultra-thin and touch responsive, and antimicrobial. 

Choose one of the best screen protectors for iPhone 14 Pro Max so it takes the hit, rather than your iPhone. And be sure to stock up on the best iPhone 14 Pro Max cases for even more protection.

If you have an iPhone 14 and want to try out Emergency SOS via satellite without actually calling emergency services, Apple has an upcoming feature for you.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, code within the latest developer beta of iOS 16.1 hints at a new "Satellite Connection Demo" feature that will allow users to test out Emergency SOS via satellite. According to their findings, it will instruct users on how to use the feature without actually needing to go out into the wild, outside of cellular signal.

Satellite Connection Demo can be accessed at any time via the Emergency SOS menu within the Settings app once it becomes available. Users will need to be outside and have a clear view of the sky to find the satellite connection.

"Try Satellite Connection Demo. Learn how to connect to a satellite in an emergency. You can always go to Settings > Emergency SOS to try the demo."

Emergency SOS via satellite is exclusive to the iPhone 14

Emergency SOS via satellite is a new feature that is exclusive to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models. The feature, which will launch in November in the United States and Canada, will be available to iPhone 14 owners for free for the first two years:

The iPhone 14 lineup also introduces Emergency SOS via satellite, which combines custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Satellites are moving targets with low bandwidth, and it can take minutes for messages to get through. Since every second counts, with Emergency SOS via satellite, iPhone front-loads a few vital questions to assess the user’s situation and shows them where to point their phone to connect to a satellite. The initial questionnaire and follow-up messages are then relayed to centers staffed by Apple‑trained specialists who can call for help on the user’s behalf. This breakthrough technology also allows users to manually share their location over satellite with Find My when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi connection, providing a sense of security when hiking or camping off the grid. Emergency SOS via satellite will be available to users in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be free for two years.

The iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max are all available now. The iPhone 14 Plus will launch on Friday, October 7.

After months of speculation as to the future of Apple’s smartphone line-up, the iPhone 14 is here!

As well as introducing the new phones, Apple's Far Out event revealed new wearable devices in the shape of the Apple Watch Series 8 and ruggedised Apple Watch Ultra, and revamped AirPods Pro 2 earbuds alongside the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro launches.

Read on for our ongoing coverage of the latest Apple devices, from our thoughts and reactions on what was shown, to the specs, prices and pre-order details you need to get the near gear into your hands, into your ears and onto your wrists

Apple launch event: Everything Announced

• iPhone 14: everything you need to know about Apple's next phone
• iPhone 14 Pro: the confirmed specs and features of this year's top phone
• Apple Watch Series 8: from temperature tracking to crash detection, all the details
• Apple Watch SE 2: a modest upgrade for the entry-level wearable
• Apple Watch Ultra: Perhaps the biggest reveal of the show? Apple's rugged wristwear
• AirPods Pro 2: everything we know about the long-awaited AirPods update

Apple launch event: How to watch the keynote

Watch and read along thanks to the marvels of modern streaming technology! The event will be replayed at the YouTube embed below for your convenience!

And we're off! Editor in Chief Gerald Lynch here, guiding you through the first few hours as we countdown to the launch of the iPhone 14. It's been a busy week for rumors, but the most active discussion has involved leaks around the so-called Apple Watch Pro. 

According to prolific leaker Sonny Dickson on Twitter, freshly-found images regarding cases for the Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 8 are seen in their usual 41mm and 45mm sizes. But there's also a look at a new 49mm casing size for the rumored Apple Watch Pro, with space for a revamped digital crown.

That digital crown is one of the key differentiators to be expected between the Apple Watch Series 8 and its Pro-level cousin, if the early leaks are to be believed. Take a look at the alleged-leaked CAD images, courtesy of 91mobiles, above. As well as that larger, flatter watch face, the entire area next to the crown protrudes more, with the dial sitting in an oblong enclosure that houses the usual right-side button too. In addition, the CAD images reveal an all-new additional button on the left-hand side. 

The intention it appears is to make workout triggers more accessible – you'll have a larger screen to watch your metrics on, while more pronounced buttons will be easier to reach in the heat of an exercise session. That additional button could even act as a specific (perhaps even customisable) event trigger – anyone that's tried to toggle an exercise on and off while swimming will know that an additional button is far more useful than a touchscreen when underwater, for instance.

But we all know what the main event this year really is: iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. And perhaps more than ever, the differences between the two devices will be truly pronounced.

Usually, with a new iPhone launch, both the standard and Pro models get an all-new processor generation or update. But that's seeming unlikely to be the case with the iPhone 14 line up. Instead, all the rumors so far are pointing to the iPhone 14 sticking with what essentially remains the A15 chipset of the 13 phones (though it may get renamed), while the iPhone 14 Pro gets the genuine processor upgrade in the shape of something like an A16 Pro or similar.

While that's great news for those opting for the pricier Pro model, it leaves a lot of heavy lifting to be done by iOS 16 and any revised camera specs for the rest of the iPhone 14, in terms of justifying the upgrade.

That chipset serves double-duty in the iPhone 14 Pro, if the rumors are to be believed. This will be the first iPhone handset to feature an always-on display mode, according to rumors, and so a more energy (and heat) efficient chipset is required to keep the phone from buckling under the stress of its on ever-ready display. There's the suggestion that the iPhone 14 Pro will pack in an additional 200mAh to its battery capacity over the iPhone 14 in order to keep the always-on feature an attractive option in the feature-to-battery-life ratio race.

And if you thought the discourse around the MacBook's notch was a bit much, wait till you get a load of what's coming to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro. Again, it's the Pro where we're expecting to see the most change. 

Take a look at the concept shot above from @ianzelbo (a great follow if you like to see pre-release concepts ahead of official unveilings). On the left is the iPhone 13 Pro with its, let's say, "integrated" notch, at one with the border of the screen. On the right is what's expected from the iPhone 14 Pro – a floating duo of pill-and-dot.

As with the earlier iPhone, the idea here is to expand screen real-estate while still embedding cameras and sensors. Is it more or less distracting than what came before? The iMore team is torn. But what's interesting is the potential use of the space between the notches...

For instance, I LOVE this idea from anonymous-A.S over on the MacRumors forums. According to the post an Apple "engineer-buddy" has revealed that the two notch dots will be united by a software layer.

"There will be a elongated pill shape, in between the camera and sensor housing the display will show notification dots (similar to Mac’s LED camera status indicator) for things like active microphone (orange), active camera (green), etc," states the poster.

This seems like a far more innovative use of what would otherwise be essentially negative, unusable space on the devices. If Apple doesn't find a meaningful way to use the space between the two cutouts, it's hard to imagine developers filling the cap with anything other than background color. Here's hoping the posts' alleged source proves accurate.

There's a lot of noise out on the socials right now around iPhone 14, so why not get some certified great follows on your feed by checking out the iMore team?

Check out our senior editor / iPhone boss Christine Romero-Chan: @christyxcore
There's our news editor Stephen Warwick: @StephenWarwick9
Our Apple Watch and iPad guru Luke Filipowicz: @LukeFilipowicz
And our Mac maestro Bryan Wolfe: @bryanmwolfe

There's me too (@geegeemidnight), but I'll be living in this blog except for eating meals this week, so it'd be more of a pity follow for me really...

What are you most interested in seeing at tomorrow's Apple event? Is it the new iPhone? Perhaps Apple Watch takes your fancy, or maybe you're more interested in AirPods Pro 2. What about an Apple VR headset? It's unlikely, but you never know! 

Is there anything Apple won't announce tomorrow?

While we're expecting new iPhones, Apple Watch models, and AirPods Pro to be unveiled this week. There are some things we can say almost definitely won't make an appearance. Apple is not expected to unveil any new Macs or new iPads, so if it's those you're after then you should temper your expectations. Apple is also unlikely to unveil any major new home devices like Apple TV or HomePod, however it could have some exciting services news. With AirPods Pro slated for launch tomorrow, any other AirPods such as AirPods Max are likely off the table. We also wouldn't pin any hopes on Apple VR or any kind of headset. 

With rumors stating that a new Apple Watch Pro could be a much larger device than previous models, how will Apple handle new bands?

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is going to offer a "pretty wide-ranging" set of bands that play into the extreme sports theme of the watch. 

However, despite its rumored larger size of up to 49mm, Gurman believes the new Apple Watch Pro could still support older bands, although he says its possible they may not fit "as well or look as seamless" because of the Watch's new design. 

Some interesting color choices popped up on a new iPhone accessory today.

Anker, a popular charging accessory maker, released their Nano 3 USB-C GaN charger and showed off just how well it pairs with the current iPhone 13 Pro lineup. The charger comes in a shade of green and blue that seem to match the iPhone 13 Pro Sierra Blue and Alpine Green colorways; however, the charger also comes in purple.

There's been a ton of speculation leading up to the iPhone 14 Pro launch that purple will be a color available on the new pro model iPhones this year. Of course, the iPhone 12 did have a purple colorway, and it looks like Anker's new charger could be made to match that.

Whether it's Anker just jumping on the hype of a new iPhone launch or inadvertently giving us a big clue before tomorrow's event, you have to give the company props for taking advantage of the moment. 

Could these renders be what the Apple Watch Pro looks like? If so, I would say kudos to Apple for the design and Ian Zelbo for these solid renders of what might come down the pipeline tomorrow.

Zelbo is known for making 3D renders of upcoming Apple products based on rumors and speculation. According to his tweet, these recent renders showing the Apple Watch Pro were made with help from Parker Ortolani.

We've heard lots about the potential for an Apple Watch Pro with a more rugged and flat design leading up to tomorrow's event. 

New design for the AirPods Pro 2?

Reports have indicated that Apple is at least testing a new design of AirPods that will get rid of their trademark stem, making them smaller and reflecting a design more similar to Apple's Beats Studio Buds. However, more recent leaks and renders suggest that the buds themselves actually look set to retain a design much the same as the old pair. That means we can expect the same white, stemmed design with silicone tips. Apple might change the design of the AirPods Pro 2 case, but more on that later.

Apple is ramping up for its big Far Out event tomorrow, as its website has changed to include a new banner animation for the event.

Youtuber and Apple beta program guru, Aaron Zollo, remarked on just how neat the animated Apple banner on the website can look. But, it's not the only change we expect to see to the website.

Expect the Apple website to go down before the event

If you've been following Apple events for a while, you'll know that the Apple website can go down leading up to the event. This is usually to ensure that when any new products are announced, the website can go live again right after the event with all the new information. 

Apple made headlines a few weeks ago when the battery percentage feature returned to the iPhone in the iOS 16 beta. With rumors of the iPhone 14 Pro design moving away from the notch to some cutout, we've been wondering if the battery percentage could return to exactly how it was before the iPhone X was launched.

Well, if a report from Macrumors earlier this week turns out to be true, we could be looking at the glory days of old where the percentage and battery icon were separate and both visible in the top right corner.

Will there be an Apple Watch SE 2 at the iPhone 14 event?

Even though it's the day of Apple's big Far Out event, there's still one product we think will be announced that we don't know much about.

The Apple Watch SE 2 is rumored to be announced later today, but when it comes to what features it might have, the rumor mill has been quiet. We don't expect a design change, nor do we anticipate a lot of new features. After all, the original iPhone SE was made as an entry-level watch. Much like the iPhone SE, it's not supposed to be the star of the Apple Watch lineup.

Still, if Apple launches a second generation today, a processor bump would likely be included, perhaps even something as powerful as the S7 that powers the Apple Watch Series 7. 

Back to the iPhones, and there's a new rumor to wake up to, direct from sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal. It is corroborating lots of what we've heard about the internals of the new iPhones, and has what it believes is accurate word on what's going on inside the standard iPhone 14.

It's saying that an 'enhanced' A15 chip will sit inside the iPhone 14, improved slightly over the iPhone 13 line as we've previously discussed, rather than wholly-new chip architecture. 

What will be interesting here is how Apple decides to market it, should the rumors prove true. Does it stick to the A15 moniker, and pop "S" or "X" or some similar modifier on the end? Or does it call the modest bump up the "A16" anyway, and leave "A16 Pro" nomenclature for the iPhone 14 Pro, where the real major changes are said to exist? Popping the A16 name alongside the standard iPhone 14 might make it sound more of an upgrade than it actually is – a cheeky move in my opinion.

There's a lot of talk about the possibility for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro to feature satellite communication features – and we're not talking about GPS here. Instead, it's been suggested that in the case of emergencies, a new iPhone will be able to tap into satellite connectivity to place calls and send messages. But has Apple been beat to the punch with this feature?

Over at the BBC, UK phone manufacturer Bullitt, which makes branded rugged phones for Cat and Motorola, is preparing a phone that will connect to one of two global satellite networks for back-up coverage when regular networks aren't accessible. And, whereas Apple's equivalent is anticipated to only work in North America, Bullitt's would work worldwide.

Bullitt's service, initially based around SMS messaging, will launch in February 2023. The race is on, it seems...

So how about the cameras in the new phones? Again all the rumors so far are pointing to the iPhone 14 Pro being the device of choice when it comes to camera upgrades. It's in the Pro models where we're anticipating a jump from the 12 megapixel sensor standard to a dramatically-larger 48 megapixel array.

What is Apple doing to accommodate that dramatic jump? Well, if early case leaks are to be believed, like the above shot from 'Yeux1122' as seen on Naver, it'll pull it off with a much larger camera bump on the rear of the device. The new iPhone may stay slim, but that bump is bulging larger by this account, with everything from the flash to the LiDAR sensor getting a bit more breathing space.

Could this affect existing MagSafe accessories configured to fit snugly against the smaller surface area of the previous Pro bump? I wouldn't be shocked to see it...

Want to see a rundown of Apple's iPhone sales over the past few years? Some really interesting numbers from Counterpoint Research have just been sent iMore's way, looking at the annual and quarterly sales of iPhones across the globe since 2015. So, in millions of units since 2015, how has the iPhone fared?

2015: 232m
2016: 215m
2017: 216m
2018: 206m
2019: 196m
2020: 201m
2021: 238m

It's interesting to see how strongly Apple performed at the back end of the (ongoing) COVID-19 pandemic – its customers were clearly enamoured with the iPhone 13 line, and were willing to invest in those premium personal devices after a couple of years of uncertainty. But the recent quarterly numbers tell an ever-so-slightly shakier story as the knock-on financial effects of the pandemic start to kick in, and anticipation for the new models (and slower sales of the outgoing models) start being reflected in the stats.

Q4 2019: 72m
Q1 2020: 40m
Q2 2020: 38m
Q3 2020: 42m
Q4 2020: 82m
Q1 2021: 60m
Q2 2021: 49m
Q3 2021: 48m
Q4 2021: 82m
Q1 2022: 59m
Q2 2022: 47m

Still, even the recent months have been relatively strong, given global market conditions.

Ooo, here's a cheeky move from Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei. Remember how earlier we were talking about the possibility for satellite connectivity in the new iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro model? Well, Apple has been pipped to the post for that announcement.

The newly-revealed Huawei Mate 50 range will be the first handsets in the world to offer the feature, making use of China's BeiDou satellite to enable connectivity where regular network infrastructure fears to tread. While it won't likely make a huge dent in Apple's plans – Huawei's reputation has been dragged through the mud thanks to allegations of Chinese state surveillance which has seen it come into conflict with everyone from US Presidents to Google – it'll sting Cook and co that they can't claim to have got there first. The timing of this announcement will have been no accident.

Now here's a thought – all this talk of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro but... what about the iPhone 14 mini? Why the radio silence on Apple's smaller handset range?

If you're the owner of small hands or small pockets, we'd encourage you to brace for bad news. It's been thought for some time that the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 12 mini handsets represented poor sales against Apple's estimations for the range, and it appears that, as a result, the plug's been pulled on the mini. From as far back as April last year analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo have been predicting the end of the road for the iPhone mini range, and with not a single worthy leak to speak of in the run up to iPhone 14, it looks like its game over for iPhone mini.

It was fun while it lasted, eh? Read Palash Volovoikar's love letter to the iPhone Mini to soothe your sorrows.

We're pretty comfortable with the idea of having our handsets tied to network contracts, effectively renting them from a carrier over the length of their lifespans. But what about subscribing to an Apple iPhone device plan?

It's been hinted at by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman for some time now, with the Apple tipster suggesting that the Cupertino company is looking to offer subscription access to its phones "before the end of the year", or just in time for the iPhone 14, in other words.

There are benefits to be had here – depending on Apple's approach to a subscription, you could feasibly rent a handset through its launch year, and then upgrade to another one as soon as the new model is revealed. You wouldn't own it to sell it on later, and you'd have to be extra careful not to damage it or breach terms in a contract, but you could always be on top of the pinnacle of iPhone technology, without having to save mountains of cash each year.

For Apple, it is steady, reliable revenue – Apple is increasingly moving into subscription services like Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ for this very reason – while returned phones can make secondary income as refurbished models. Where carriers get involved in this set up remains to be seen. But as we have moved away from physical ownership with media thanks to the likes of Netflix and Spotify, could ownership of devices be the next major change?

Wondering how to tune in to today's 'Far Out' Apple Event? If you're an Apple TV subscriber, Apple has now added a cool 15-second preview to the front of its Apple TV box interface, as you can see above in the tweet from Sigmund Judge. In 4K with Dolby Atmos, no less!

If that's not an option for you, be sure to check out our How to watch Apple's 'Far Out' iPhone 14 event guide, which talks you through all the options, from within apps to YouTube to inside your Safari browser. There's something there for everyone.

It's not all roses for Apple today though – it's taken a knock from Justice Ministry regulators in Brazil who are fining Apple $2.38m for not supplying charging bricks with new handsets – and suspending the sales of any iPhone that does not ship with a charging brick going forwards, from the iPhone 12 up. That fine is pocket change for Apple, but the sale halt is a bigger concern, one that Apple is set to appeal.

The Justice Ministry calls it a "deliberate discriminatory practice against consumers," while Apple claims the move is an environmental one with its power adaptors accounting "for our biggest use of zinc and plastic," the removal of which "helped reduce more than 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions – the equivalent of taking 500,000 cars off the road a year," as told to TechTudo (translated).

While the Brazilian market leaders in smartphone sales have historically been Samsung and Motorola, with Apple trailing in third, Apple will need to rectify the situation if it aims to take any market share from the Android leaders in the territory.

Ready to ramp up the excitement? The Apple Store webpage is now down! If you're a long-time follower of Apple events, you'll know this is standard practice for the company ahead of a major launch like the iPhone 14.

It gives time for Apple to clean up its landing pages for its new devices, and helps to direct would-be customers who aren't on the pulse with Apple news to its livestream, informing them that new gear is incoming.

Expect service to resume as per usual after the conclusion of today's event, with the page updated with all the new goodies to drool over.

Our very own Bryan Wolfe is one of the biggest Apple Watch fans that I know and is hoping that in the next few weeks we'll be able to update the top-spot on our best Apple Watch page with an all-new device – be that the Apple Watch Series 8, or rumored Apple Watch Pro. I asked him for his thoughts on today's potential announcements.

“I’m most excited about seeing what Apple has planned for the Watch this year and whether any of the current models remain by the end of the day. We already know we’re getting a traditional model in the Apple Watch Series 8 and an all-new Pro model. Is an Apple Watch SE 2 also arriving, or will Apple bring back an older model (Apple Watch Series 6, for example) to serve as the cheaper model? Three new Watches announced at the same time would be huge.

"Regarding the Apple Watch Pro, I’m most interested in hearing what it’s all about beyond its durability. What justifies the higher price if it doesn’t do anything 'special'?”

As a PSA, there's never been a worse time to buy the Apple Watch SE – whatever happens after today, current Apple Watch prices are likely to drop, whether a new SE is introduced or not.

Will there be anything for audio fans today? The latest rumors point to the unveiling of brand new AirPods Pro 2 earphones at the event...but what about the poor little ol' HomePod? Could we get a HomePod 2 at today's event?

That's unlikely today, but there's lots to suggest Apple is indeed cooking up a new smart speaker at the moment. We've heard everything from a revised OG HomePod with multitouch top screen, improved Siri response and an even greater focus on audio quality, to a crazy-sounding Apple TV 4K / HomePod combo – a real "one device to rule them all" home cinema solution. That second idea, what with the popularity of Apple TV Plus and upcoming shows like Severance Season 2, sounds really attractive to me (I'm a bit of a home cinema nerd). I've seen similar devices in the past, like Roku's Streambar, and think that'd be a great way to revamp not only the HomePod, but the under-performing Apple TV box too. Two smart home birds, one HomePod stone.

Excited for AirPods 2 ahead of the iPhone 14 event later? Here's our own Tammy Rogers with her thoughts on what we're hoping for:

"If you’ve seen other stuff I've talked about, you know how much I love Apple Lossless Audio. Now, while I'm not holding out much hope for lossless support over a wireless connection, there are rumours that bring a little light to this audiophiles crossed fingers. Even then, the AirPods Pro have a really lovely sound signature that I like a lot, so any improvement on them is welcome. As long as it's not more spatial audio nonsense. Please Apple, no spatial audio nonsense."

Tim Cook is excited for the iPhone event, are you?

A new report just hours ahead of the event from Business Korea indicates that Apple has added a fresh NAND flash supplier for iPhone 14. YTMC is reportedly a new name amongst the usual suspects Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Kioxia. Reports indicate some models could come with up to 2TB of capacity and QLC memory. 

Not only should we get to see the new iPhone 14 today, we should also learn the release dates of iOS 16 and watchOS 9, likely to be next week sometime, as these iterations always ship on Apple's latest and greatest devices. iOS 16 brings big lock screen changes to take advantage of the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display. 

Whoopsie daisy Tim! The ALT description of Tim Cook's recent Twitter post ahead of the iPhone event doesn't actually match the image. The one he posted to Weibo does, however!

The press are starting to arrive at Apple Park!

Our friends at TechRadar have boots on the ground inside Apple Park. Check it out!

OK! So we're about an hour away from show time now so let's do a quick recap. On a scale of "HELL YES!" to "NO WAY, DUDE!" how likely are we to see Tim Cook and co reveal the following Apple gear?

iPhone 14: HELL YES!
iPhone 14 Pro: HELL YES!
iPhone 14 Mini: NO WAY DUDE!

Apple Watch Series 8: HELL YES!
Apple Watch Pro: HELL... yeah sorta! Some sort of premium Watch device will be revealed, but we can't say for sure what it'll be called yet, be that 'Pro', 'Explorer', 'Rugged' or something else.
Apple Watch SE 2: HELL...maybe?

AirPods Pro 2: I'm putting my neck on the line, but I'm going to go HELL YES!
HomePod 2: NO WAY DUDE!
M2 iPad: NO WAY DUDE! (Chill, that October event will be all about this)

And the wildcard... Apple VR?: HELL... maybe? We know it's in the works, and likely will be fully revealed in January. But I'd love for today's "one more thing..." to be some sort of glimpse into Apple's VR future.

Want a glimpse inside the Steve Jobs Theater building? Here's the scene from Apple analyst Neil Cybart on Twitter, inside the rotunda that leads down into the auditorium and theater. See if you can spot any famous faces in there...

Having visited Apple HQ back in June for WWDC, I have to admit – there's something special about that campus on event days like this. Not only is it architecturally stunning, but there's a real buzz and excitement in the room. To all iMore's buddies out there, soak it up and enjoy!

The livestream for today's event has started! Check out our How to watch Apple's 'Far Out' iPhone 14 event guide to watch along live.

We're digging this spacey-chilled out vibe on the livestream...

It's looking pretty likely that the Pro model is going to have some sort of astro-photography option going by this, right?

I'm reliably informed that this banger of a tune is Let's Live by FKJ (Fresh Kiwi Juice), for those that are wondering...

Just minutes to go now and the Steve Jobs Theater is filling up. Look at all those MacBooks! It's great to see the in-person events coming back after a few wilderness years of stream-only events. Nature is healing!

Sit tight folks the show is about to begin! Grab that coffee, rearrange that cushion, we're going to be here for a while...

Tim Cook takes to the stage 'We're so glad you can join us... we're here to talk about three products... iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch'.

AirPods Pro 2 look to be on the way!

Cook's kicking off by talking about the interoperability of Apple's devices. "This kind of integration is something only Apple can do," as Cook moves straight onto Apple Watch talk.

First up then, some stories about people living with Apple Watch, and how its changed lives around the world. We're regularly hearing how its health features are saving lives, and this video is focussing on that. Heart attacks, people falling through ice, people getting caught in garbage compactors. This is intense!

It's time for the first new device and it's the... Apple Watch Series 8, as presented by Jeff Williams, Chief Operating Officer. "It has all the things you love about Apple Watch, plus even more."

Always on display? Check. Edge-to-edge display? Check. New watch faces? Check. Swimproof, dust proof and crackproof.

Sleep tracking, cycle tracking and mindfulness, ECG and Blood oxygen, it's also getting the long-awaited temperature sensor, aimed at improving women's health. Temperature tracking will use "scientifically validated insights" to help track ovulation, and get a retrospective estimate of when a wearer ovulates.

Series 8 can sample your wrist temperature every five seconds, which is good for illness tracking and even jetlag (!), but the key here is about ovulation cycles. This will be great for those trying for a baby. Series 8 will track the dates for you, and be notified of any deviation from a wearer's usual cycle. These can be good indicators of broader health scares.

Privacy is obviously a concern here, so cycle tracking data is encrypted on device, and can only be accessed by you via password, Face ID or Touch ID. Excellent.

Safety features next. Car crashes tend to occur in rural areas with a single vehicle according to Apple. So Apple Watch Series 8 will detect if you're in a serious crash – it'll notify emergency services, provide a location and get in touch with your closest contacts. A new, more sensitive accelerometer is what makes this possible.

Front Impact, Side Impact, Rear End Collision and Rollover style crashes were monitored alongside machine learning algorithms to make sure the Watch is accurate in its crash-detection estimations.

"We truly hope you'll never need it". Us too, Apple!

18 hour battery life coming to Series 8, boosted by a new Low Power Mode that can extend that to 36 hours. It keeps on activity tracking and fall tracking, but switches off the always on display and other less-vital sensor features. International roaming is also coming to all Apple Watch cellular models from Series 5 up, provided you've got watchOS 9 running.

Four colors incoming, midnight, starlight, silver and red.  Silver, gold and graphite options on the way for the stainless steel models, while partnerships with Nike and Hermes continue.

$399 for GPS, $499 for cellular, with orders opening today and availability kicking in from September 16. That's soon! And also suggests the iPhone orders could open today, too. Get those wallets ready...

Apple Watch SE is up next, and is getting "even better". Apple Watch SE 2 (as we'll call it for now) will be available in silver, midnight and starlight with a new nylon composite back case, and a new production cycle that reduces its carbon footprint by 80%. Crash detection makes the cut, with a 30% larger display than Series 3, and is 20% faster than the original SE.

$249 for GPS and $299 for cellular . Again, orders open today and get it ships September 16.

The Watch Pro is coming...

"Years in the making", it's the Apple Watch Ultra. That's a very cool launch video to go with it. The most rugged wearable ever! This is some serious gear...

With the biggest and brightest display ever, a new "high contrast, international orange" action button, and side and digital crown buttons designed for use when wearing gloves in harsh environments. Cellular is built in, as is a 36 hour battery, with a 60 hour low-power mode coming later this year, plus improved, dual speakers for better audio when in the wild.

Wayfinder compliction watch face too - compass in the dial, customised for mountain, ocean or trail adventures. There's a night mode too, turning the contrast into a high red-on-black look.

In terms of durability, there's titanium casing, which extend beyond the sapphire display to protect it. There's a new band style too - Alpine Loop - which has a buckle and stretchy fit for going over a wetsuit. This thing's going to be expensive...

Ready for freezing condition or desert heat, there's a really cool compass that works with the new Action button to make waypoints on a localised map on your Watch Ultra. Get lost, and it'll help you retrace your steps along a trail. There's even a high-frequency siren if you get lost and need the support of a search party nearby. Neat!

GPS is improved to work more accurately in the wild or around tall buildings, and that Action button can be used to quickly transition through triathlon stages. Scuba-diving support through a new Oceanic+ app will let you calculate depth, time, gas levels, water currents and more. 

Essentially, if you're the outdoors type, you're going to want the Apple Watch Ultra.

Right Apple Watch Ultra pricing... deep breath: $799, available for order today, shipping September 23.

That's a lot of money, but, to be fair, actually way less than I was expecting. I was braced for $999. So, not affordable, but definitely more attainable than anticipated. Nice!

So far so good? AirPods next we're guessing...

Yep, AirPods time. We're looking at the AirPods Pro 2, "our most advanced AirPods yet", according to Tim Cook.

So what's going into our ears this year? A brand new H2 chip, that's what, with high bandwidth connectivity, "exceptional" sound quality thanks to a low-distortion audio driver. More detail, more clarity across a wider range of frequencies.

And Spatial Audio is back "making you feel like you're onstage with your favourite band performing around you." Using a the iPhone True Depth camera, it'll be a personalised experience this time around, by taking a snap of your ears.

Active noise cancellation is improved, using advanced computational audio alongside  better acoustic vents and mic placement to double the amount of sound blocked.

"Adaptive Transparency" processes external audio at 48,000 times a second, so you won't be deafened by a sudden siren or workplace drill. THAT'S great. It's the sort of problem that turns me off of transparency modes on other headphones.

Longer battery life (6 hours from a charge, with a total of 30 hours with the case) and touch-sensitive buttons on the stems are also on the way. If you lose the buds and the case, a speaker on the case will help you find it by sending out a little beep. That beep will help identify when charging is taking place too, with new support for the Apple Watch wireless MagSafe charger, too.

Available from September 9 at $249, they'll ship on September 23. A solid, if not revolutionary upgrade there, but some smart additions on the way.

It's iPhone time! Here we go!

"We're going big with iPhone 14, and even bigger with iPhone 14 Plus" says Tim. Plus not Max!

6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones on the way. Great for the gaming, watch shows and for squeezing more webpage and fitness info. 1200 nit brightness and 2,000,000-1 contrast ratio – perfect for supported Dolby Vision content.

Purple, Blue, Midnight, Starlight and Product Red colours coming.

Onto the chip, the A15 chip returns from the iPhone 13, 8-core GPU, 6 core CPU, 6 core Neural engine, with the custom Image Signal processor. So yep, as expected, only a modest change for the internals of the standard iPhone 14 model.

iPhone 14 camera next - new 12MP main camera on the rear with larger sensor and larger pixels, faster f/1.5 aperture. 49% improved low-light performance (though we're not sure how that's calculated). Front facing camera is a new True Depth offering, 12MP with autofocus for the first time, f/1.9 with better low-light performance thanks to its hybrid system. A "Photonic Engine" dramatically improves low light photography thanks to software image processing on device - more than 2x better than on iPhone 13.

Action mode coming to video too for smoother motion at high speeds – complete with Dolby Vision HDR recording.

Connectivity next - talking about eSIM, the ability to have multiple plans and phone numbers built into your device, rather than on that removable card. All US models no-longer have a physical SIM tray. That's a big change!

Crash detection from Apple Watch is coming to the iPhone 14 too thanks to an improved accelerometer. The two devices will work together in the case of emergency. There's a clip now about emergency situations, but... back to the eSIM while things are quiet for a moment – what's that mean if you're a SIM-only user, moving between multiple devices? That's a small slice of the Apple user base, granted, but that's a headache there.

Anyway... Emergency SOS, via satellite, as we mentioned much earlier in this live blog, is confirmed. Custom components and software allow iPhone to connect to the unique frequencies of a satellite miles up in space. The software (a bit like a compass) will help you to identify the invisible satellites in the sky, and point your phone in the right direction to make the most of the limited bandwidth they offer as they speed above your head. It's more complex than just connecting to a cell station. This isn't an option for sending a selfie to your 'Gram then. This is solely for emergency messaging, with Apple working at an infrastructure level to get emergency services out to you. It'll be handy for sharing your location while trekking remotely though.

Free for two years with every iPhone 14 purchase, and launching in the US and Canada, from November. I wonder how much it will eventually cost?

That seems to be it for iPhone. It starts at $799 (same as iPhone 13), with iPhone 14 Plus at $899. You can order both from September 9, but only the iPhone 14 will ship on September 23, with the iPhone 14 Plus following October 7. Shipping delays that were rumored appear true then.

Next up, iPhone 14 Pro...

Goodby notch, hello pill! With surgical grade stainless steel casing to the phone, ceramic shielding screen and a new purple look, the notch is indeed gone, with now a small floating front facing camera and sensor array hovering below the border. 

What's it called? The 'Dynamic Island'.

Lol.

But it does look cool! That pill section will expand and contract across the system to show notifications and alerts, making that pill seem to be alive in its own way, dynamically changing if a call comes in, or showing album art when listening to music. It's animated and always live and active – tap it, and you can get quick access to handy features without leaving the app you're in. I like it, even if that name is a little overblown.

Two sizes for the iPhone 14 Pro: 6.1 inch and 6.7-inch, with peak brightness of 2000 nits when outside, and 1600 nits with HDR content. And with that comes Always-On Display, another much-rumored feature.

At a glance information will be offered at a refresh rate as low as 1Hz, with the entire lockscreen intelligently dimming. You'll be able to see time, notifications and more on the lockscreen at all times, without needing to power the whole phone and display on.

A16 processor, as predicted, makes the cut, with 16 billion transitions, using a 4nm process. It's the fastest chip in a smartphone ever. It uses one-third the power of the efficiency cores of the competition, making its battery way more efficient, useful for keeping that always-on screen ticking over.

48MP camera confirmed too as we move onto photography, making use of a quad-pixel sensor set up. 2x improvement over iPhone 13 Pro in low-light situations.

CPU, GPU, neural engine and image software processing working in tandem – those 48Mp sensors are bigger by 65% over the iPhone 13 Pro, with a 24mm focal length. That quad pixel sensor combines four pixels together to hit that low-light target. And there's a 2x telephoto zoom here too, using larger pixels to grab more visual data at higher zoom levels without losing clarity. New Ultrawide camera with larger pixels is incoming too, but it's keeping the 12MP standard seen in the 13 Pro. Flash is improved thanks to 9 LEDS – twice as bright as previous models, with more uniformity in the light they produce.

Battery life is rated at "all day" though Apple hasn't put a figure against that, frustratingly.

So what about the price and release...?

(Nearly there folks, thanks for sticking with us all day long!...)

iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999, with iPhone 14 Pro Max at $1099. Same as last year, that's good. Storage up to 1TB.

Pre-order from September 9, hitting stores and shipping September 16.

Back to Tim. Time for one more thing...?

OOO! Severance Season 2 teaser at the end there. Literally a second-long clip! But with that, it's a wrap! I'm going to quickly wrap my blistered fingers in plasters... and then its debrief time!

What was missing? What was shown? What was great? What was groan?

(There's Helly from Severance out in the wild about to get on a subway, for those wondering! That was literally all we saw from Apple TV Plus at the event, but hey, we'll take it!)

OK let's recap. First up, Apple Watch!

Apple Watch Series 8: Always-on, edge-to-edge display | Crack, Dust and Water Resistant | Temperature sensor (primarily for ovulation tracking) | Sleep Tracking | ECG | Emergency SOS calling and car crash detection | Customisable workouts | International roaming for cellular models | 18 hour battery and 36 hours in new low-power mode | 45mm or 41mm.

From $399, pre-orders open today, shipping September 16.

Next...

Apple Watch SE 2: Green-conscious build| Crash detection | 20% faster chipset | 30% larger display than Apple Watch Series 3 | 44mm or 40mm.

From $249, preorders open today, shipping September 16

The big guy...

Apple Watch Ultra: Ruggedised titanium build| Larger digital crown and extended side button for use with gloves| New left-side Action button | 100m water resitance suitable for diving | IP6X dust resistance | 2000 nit peak brightness display with high-contrast night mode | Compass with waypoint and route-tracking | Dual speakers for better audio outside, plus a siren loudspeaker to aid search and rescue | Crash detection | Three mic array for comms in windy conditions | 36 hour battery life and a "coming soon" 60 hour low power mode | Three new bands (Alpine / Trail / Ocean) for cold weather, trekking and diving respectively | - 20c to 55c temperature support | 49mm only| Plus everything else Apple Watch already does!

From $799, pre-orders open now, shipping September 23

Next, onto the audio gear!

AirPods Pro 2nd Generation: H2 chip | Inward facing mic for more natural sounding calls | Custom built driver and amp for low-distortion playback | "Deeper bass and crisper highs" | 2x more active noise cancellation | Improved acoustic seal for passive noise isolation | Adaptive transparency to minimise volume spikes of ambient noise | Capacitive touch controls in ear stems | Personalised spatial audio |  MagSafe charging with support for Apple Watch charger | Speaker in case for locating lost AirPods | 6 hour battery in earbuds, 30 hours total with case | 

$249, available to order Friday 9 September, shipping 23 September.

Next up, it's iPhone recap time!

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro: Four models: iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max | 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes |Pill-shaped cutout replaces notch on Pro models called the 'Dynamic Island', featuring dynamic animations and functionality across iOS |48MP primary cameras on Pro models | A16 Bionic chip for Pro models, A15 for the non-Pro models | OLED panels across both devices | Purple,  Blue, Midnight, Starlight and Red for iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, while Pro also gets Dark Purple, Gold, Silver and Space Black, too | "All day" battery across the range

- Pricing starts at $799 for iPhone 14, available to pre-order from September 9, with iPhone 14 shipping on September 23, and iPhone 14 Plus shipping October 7
- Pricing starts at $999 for iPhone 14 Pro, available to pre-order now, shipping September 16

The media scrum to touch the devices is on! Here's a selection of tweets from our favorite correspondents on what's going on with each device:

TechRadar's lovely Lance Ulanoff has hands on the iPhone 14 Pro:

Mikah Sargent is surprised at how light the Apple Watch Ultra turns out to be despite its size...

That "Dynamic Island" though...

In action it actually looks great. Having a reactive zone on every screen for intuitively responding to out-of-app settings and features is a great idea – like an ever-ready but hidden notifications drop down. The animations are really cool and building in 'now playing' audio features is a great touch too. But that name is... well, let's say very Apple.

And that's a wrap from the live blog for tonight folks. Thanks for tuning in. I've been Gerald Lynch, iMore Editor in Chief (@geegeemidnight), and you've been amazing! This isn't the end for the live blog just yet though – check back soon for our full reaction posts, and pre-order details, soon.

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride!

Hard to believe that the sun is setting on what was another great Apple event day. There's so much information to review, with numerous products announced and shipping days for the new devices only weeks away. So, while Apple's Far Out event may be over, the iMore team is still working hard. Missed the event or just want to even more information on everything announced today? Here's just a fraction of the important stuff we've covered that's worth your time to read.

• Put it in your pocket: iPhone 14: Everything you need to know
• Slap it on your wrist: Apple Watch Series 8: Everything you need to know
• Blast it in your ears: AirPods Pro 2: What's new with AirPods Pro?
• Take it to the extreme: 4 reasons the Apple Watch Ultra outshone everything
• Leave it to the Pros: iPhone 14 Pro has the upgrades we've wanted for years
• Buy what's best for you: iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Which is better for you?
• Protect that new phone: Best iPhone 14 cases

Over the coming days and weeks, we will be sorting out new details about the upcoming products and giving you analysis, opinions, and general buying advice concerning all the new goodies Apple revealed today. Plus, when we get our new devices, we will have many reviews and even more in-depth analyses for you, so make sure to keep checking iMore for your Apple fix!

Thank you for following along!

 

With Apple's Far Out event now behind us, the iMore team is hard at uncovering as many details about the devices as possible. We've already got some great information for anyone considering buying or ordering any of the new products.

• Apple's infomercial: Apple's 'Far Out' event felt more like an infomercial
• Dynamic Island: Awesome feature; terrible name
• iPhone 14 battery: Stay powered up longer with the iPhone 14
• Get a deal on a new iPhone: iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max preorder deals
• New bands; old watch: Apple Watch Ultra bands will fit your 45mm Apple Watch

There's plenty more to come, so be sure to stick around and see all the great coverage the iMore team has to offer.

Labor Day is here, and while barbeques are covered with sausages and burgers, houses filled with family and spirits are high, there are some incredible deals to be had. All your favorites are here, with the likes of Amazon, BestBuy, and Walmart bringing the heat with some stellar reductions to tempt you to spend some money on some new tech. This live list will tell you all the best deals as they happen - we’ll be updating it throughout the day to keep you up to speed.

Today is when we're going to see the best deals. Watch out for some excellent discounts on smartphones, smartwatches, TVs, laptops, and most importantly, Apple products. Labor Day deals can often be as good as Black Friday deals, so make sure you're looking out for those products you've been after for ages.

So get stuck in! Join us for labor Day as we let you know about all the best deals as they appear. This page is live, and we'll keep it updated throughout the day with each new deal we see. If you don't see a deal that catches your eye, make sure you check back later to see what we've added.

Where to find the best Labor Day prices

• Amazon: deals on laptops, headphones, and tech
• Samsung: savings on TVs, phones, and monitors
• Apple: Student deals with $150 voucher
• Lenovo: big tech savings
• Dell: save big on Monitors and more
• Walmart: deals on TVs, accessories, laptops, and more

The best Labor Day sales today

• Samsung HW-Q600B 3.1.2 sound bar | $599 now $399

Samsung knows its sound, and this sound bar gives you incredible sonic performance for a low price. You’ll get Dolby Atmos support, along with a subwoofer to bring some extra dimension to your movies. Did we mention it was $200 off? Well, it's $200 off.

• Amazon Echo 20% off |$99 now $79

If you’ve already got Amazon’s Alexa in the house then you know how helpful she can be. This deal makes it easier to jump into the Amazon smart home system, or cheaper to add another Echo to the house. Either way, a great deal.

• HP M32f FHD monitor | $310 now $235

It’s always worth adding another monitor to your workspace, and this HP full HD monitor is a great option. Well made, with a nice stand and a pretty screen. That, and $75 off - not too shabby.

• Skagen Falster 6 | $295 now $199

One of the most attractive smartwatches on the market, the Skagen Falster will connect up seamlessly with your iPhone and do all the bits and bobs you could want. There are plenty of useful sensors on board, and even a luscious leather strap to keep it on your wrist. You can currently save $95 on one at Amazon.

• iRobot Roomba i3 EVO | $349 now $249

It may not be the most glamorous gadget in the world, but it is uncommonly useful. It’ll make short work of pet hair and the like, mapping out the floor plan of your apartment as it goes. It’s also currently $100 off - a pretty hefty saving.

• Samsung S95B OLED 4K Smart TV | $2999 now $2099

Samsung makes some stunning TV sets, and this large 65-inch is no exception. 4K best resolution that most of us can afford, and this one takes it to the max. It's thin, and the OLED panel provides ridiculous black levels. Save $900 on one of these beasts today. 

• Google Pixel 6 | $599 now $499 at Amazon

We're told that the Pixel 6 is an excellent smartphone - in fact, our colleagues over at Android Central called it the best 'Android Phone under $600' in their review. It's true - we can't help but look at the Pixel line with some jealousy - incredible specs and cameras for less than an iPhone 13. You can currently grab one for $100 off at Amazon - an incredible bargain.

• Apple Watch Series 7 GPS + Cellular Green | $499 now $360 at Amazon

This is the biggest Apple Watch saving at the moment - a nice $130 off the GPS + Cellular 41mm aluminum model in Green. The cellular connection means you'll be able to take the watch wherever you go, and the 41mm size makes it nice and compact for any wrist. $130 off is a pretty good deal, bringing it down to $360.

• Apple AirPods Max | $549 now $429 at Amazon

The biggest and most impressive AirPods are on sale on Amazon, bringing all their aluminum and weight to bear. This current price matches their previous lowest price and chops a monster $130 off their full price. Unless you want the black ones - they're still $479.

• Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor | $1599 now $1199 at Samsung

Yes, this one may be made for gaming, but I speak from experience when I tell you that an ultrawide does wonders for productivity. I've found its like having two screens mashed together, without the gap you usually get with a dual display setup. This one is massive - 49-inches massive. It's also $400 off.

• Amazon Echo Buds | $139 now $99 at Amazon

Amazon makes its own version of pretty much everything now - tablets, ereaders. Even headphones. The Echo Buds are Amazons entry into the in-ear wireless earbuds scene, and they're a pretty decent option at very good prices. There's noise-canceling on board, and they case will even charge wirelessly. You can currently find them for $40 off on Amazon.

• Hisense A6 Series 65-Inch 4K TV | $799 now $419 at Amazon

Hisense is known for making some excellent budget TVs. Currently, many of their products have been reduced for Labor Day at Amazon, and this 65-inch TV is no different. You'll find the big, 4K screen for $419 instead of $799 over Labor Day, saving you big. Take it from me, movies never look better than when they're on a massive screen! In addition, they're offering a 100-day money-back guarantee to go with it.

• Get up to $800 of an iPhone 13 with a new line and trade in at Verizon

Take out a new line with Verizon and get up to $800 off an iPhone 13 when you trade in your old device. If your trade-in meets that $800 max it'll mean your new handset will effectively be free - saving you a bundle over the course of your contract. Verizon even gives you an extra $200 if you switch from another provider so that you can save even more money on a new phone.

• Apple iPad 10.2 | $329 now $279

This is the lowest ever price of Apple's cheapest iPad, chopping a grand $50 off full price. This makes the iPad 10.2 one of the most compelling tablet deals out there right now, bringing all the slickness of iPad at a budget price. You'll get a Retina Display, Touch ID, and a pretty decent front camera at a price that rivals the likes of Samsung and even Amazon.

• 15% off sitewide at Otterbox

Otterbox cases are some of the best around - and at the moment, you can get 15% off sitewide over the Labor Day period. For cases that often cost over $40, this deal could save you a bunch on something that will protect your phone for a long time to come. There're cases and screen protectors available, so you're fully equipped and ready to go while saving a chunk.

• Splatoon 3 Special Edition Switch still in stock at Walmart

Switch special editions very rarely stay in stock, and the same could be said for the Splatoon 3 Special Edition console. It comes with a snazzy, Splatoon 3-themed dock, a wicked set of joy-cons covered with Inkling art, and it's all attached to the latest Switch OLED. It's only in stock at Walmart as well - so make sure you get in there quickly.

• Kindle with built-in front line | $89 now $64 at Amazon

Kindle's are great - I love mine. They'll let you carry more books around than you know what to do with, and their lit screens make reading in the dark a doddle, and the Kindle store is jam packed with great reading material. At the moment, the base model Kindle with front light has a $25 saving, bringing it down to $65.

When you make your first prepaid data purchase through Mint Mobile, you'll receive a welcome package in the mail that will include your required SIM card at no additional charge. You can also pick up a SIM starter pack at retailers such as Amazon and Target. These packs, available for around $5, offer limited functionality for testing purposes only.

Getting your SIM card through Mint Mobile

1. Go to the Mint Mobile website.
2. In the box provided, type in your Zip Code and click Let's Go!.

3. On the next screen, input your street address (you can enter multiple by clicking Add Another) to check coverage in your most frequently visited places.
4. Click Continue.

5. Next, if you have a phone that you want to bring over to Mint Mobile, you can check by providing the brand and model of your device or search by IMEI number.
   • If you don't have a phone and are going to buy a new one, just click Skip in the upper right.
6. Click Continue.

7. The next screen tells you the level of coverage in your area and whether you have a compatible phone or not. You can click Coverage Map to check other areas.
8. Click View Plans.

9. From here, select the Mint Mobile plan you want and make your payment.Source: iMore

Once you've selected your Mint Mobile plan and have ordered, you'll receive a welcome pack that includes your Mint Mobile SIM card in the mail, along with step-by-step directions to install.

Note: Mint Mobile works with unlocked GSM phones only; you can use your existing unlocked phone or purchase one of the best Mint Mobile phones online from Mint. If you plan to stick with Apple and want a recommendation for the best iPhone, we would definitely pick the iPhone 12 for most people.

Mint Mobile SIM starter kits allow you to try the service without committing to a monthly prepaid play. Each kit includes two three-in-one SIM cards (standard, micro, and nano sizes). You use the first SIM card to activate the trial on your device using a new phone number that Mint Mobile provides. However, you could also activate the 7-day free Mint Mobile trial through an eSIM-capable iPhone. Use the second SIM card if you decide to sign up for the service.

The trial includes 250 minutes of talk, 250 texts, and 250MB of 5G/4G LTE data.

Ready to go?

If you'd rather ditch the Mint Mobile trial, order your prepaid package from the company website. Packs are also available at retailers like Best Buy.

With Mint Mobile, there's built-in flexibility that allows you to change your plan and add data on the fly. Because there isn't a contract, you can stop using the service at the end of your prepaid time.

You can try the service through a Mint Mobile trial by picking up the 3-in-1 SIM Starter Kit at select retailers.

Try Mint Mobile risk-free with no commitment.

T-Mobile and SpaceX have this week announced plans to provide "truly universal coverage" for smartphone customers using the Starlink satellite network. 

At an event on Thursday T-Mobile CEO and President Mike Sievert and SpaceX's Elon Musk announced a new 'Coverage Above and Beyond' service. A plan to bring almost complete cellular coverage to the U.S. using Starlink. 

"SpaceX and T-Mobile share a vision where these uncovered areas are a relic of the past, and today, the companies are taking a first step to make that vision a reality," T-Mobile stated. 

Universal cover

T-Mobile and SpaceX state they have a vision "to give customers a crucial additional layer of connectivity in areas previously unreachable by cell signals from any provider" on the smartphones already in your pocket. T-Mobile says the "vast majority" of smartphones on its network will be compatible, hopefully including Apple's best iPhones, the iPhone 13, and the upcoming iPhone 14. 

While the announcement initially pertains to the U.S., Elon Musk says that connecting phones to Starlink "means there are no dead zones anywhere in the world for your cell phone," looking ahead to a world where cell service is universal thanks to satellite technology. 

T-Mobile says that to provide the service, they're creating a new network broadcast from Starlink's satellites using T-Mobile's mid-band spectrum nationwide, bringing coverage "almost anywhere a customer can see the sky." This will begin with text (not voice) coverage "practically everywhere in the continental US, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico, and territorial waters." Betas of the technology will begin by the end of next year, and there are plans to pursue voice and data coverage in the future. 

Apple is reportedly working on some form of emergency satellite communication for future devices, possibly the iPhone 14 which will be unveiled next month. However, it seems T-Mobile and SpaceX may have beaten Apple to the punch with an even more comprehensive satellite-powered solution. 

Not sure if you're ready for 5G? Visible Wireless will give you a meaty free trial, commitment free. You'll even be able to use your old plan at the same time to compare the two, and see if you think Visible Wireless is the carrier for you.

Visible mobile free trial for all (iPhone users)

So how does it work. You're going to need a compatible device; in this case, a best iPhone after the XS or XR (sorry android users, this one isn't for you). If you're not sure if your device is compatible, hop over to the Visible Wireless free trial page and hit the 'check compatibility' button - although if your iPhone was made after late 2018, you should be good to go.

Then you're going to follow the setup instructions on Visible's website, after which they'll send you an eSIM with a temporary number you can use for two weeks, letting you decide if you like the service that Visible offers.

That eSIM will give you unlimited 5G data, so you can stream to your heart's content. Just be aware that after the trial, you'll no longer have access to the trial number or the Unlimited 5G. That's when you'll decide if you want to switch over, carrying your old number (not the trial one) over. The 5G plan that you'll sample is $40 full price, but with extra members in a 'party plan' you can pay as little as $25 a month.

New Boost Mobile customers will get unlimited 5G data for $5 over the first three months of their contract, giving them a massive 66% saving over what they'd typically pay.

Boost Mobile will only charge you $5 monthly for the first three months of service. They'll even toss in some nice extras, like a free SIM kit, mobile hotspot, and then they'll send it to you with free shipping. You'll save over $100, making it a great way to get a cheap cell phone plan and dip your toes into the 5G water if you haven't already (they're lovely and fast, I promise).

Boost Mobile uses the AT&T network to get excellent coverage and incredibly quick 4G and 5G data speeds depending, of course, on where you are. You'll need to bring your own phone for this deal, so make sure your phone is 5G ready. It'll also need to be unlocked, otherwise, you'll stick your shiny new Boost Mobile SIM into your phone and find that you won't be able to use those 5G speeds - or much else for that matter. If you need a new handset, Boost Mobile has you covered, with some great deals on iPhones as well.

This Boost Mobile deal is currently only for brand new customers - if you're already signed up to Boost Mobile, I'm afraid you're out of luck with this one. You should also note that as soon as the first three months are up, it's going straight back up to $45 a month - so don't sign anything until you're sure you want to go all in.

Of course, you're going to want one of the best iPhones to go with your new plan, and maybe even a shiny new best iPhone 13 case if you're opting for the latest model.

Stop overpaying for unlimited data

What you need to know

• Verizon is increasing the price of its wireless plans as part of an "economic adjustment charge."
• Some plans are increasing by more than $2 per month.

Verizon is hiking the price of its wireless plans from June in what it calls an "economic adjustment charge," according to reports.

The move will see people spend more on the plans that they already have at a time when inflation continues to bite hard. The news also comes two weeks after competitor AT&T made a similar price alteration.

Bloomberg was the first to confirm that the price hike was taking place, with business customers set to pay $2.20 per month more than they are now. Notably, bills will see individual prices remain the same with a new charge being added.

While the change might not kick in until the middle of next month for some, Verizon began warning customers of the price change this week. And even though customers will be less than thrilled by the news, the same can't be said for Verizon shareholders — Bloomberg reports that the company's stock price increased by 1.2% at one point following the news — erasing a price decline that was previously seen.

Verizon is of course far from the only company increasing prices at a time when people are feeling the pinch throughout the United States. Verizon will remain one of the best iPhone carriers around regardless of the price increase, but it will still be a bitter pill to swallow for its customers.

What you need to know

• AT&T has announced location-based routing for 9-1-1 calls in the United States.
• Emergency calls were previously routed based on the location of cell towers.
• Calls can now be routed using the GPS on the device that is making the 9-1-1 call.

AT&T has announced that it has become the first carrier in the United States to introduce location-based routing for emergency calls placed with a cell phone.

In a press release, the new "Locate Before Route" feature will now use device GPS information to more accurately route a 9-1-1 call to the correct call center. AT&T says that the new feature will be able to locate where an emergency call came from within fifty meters, a huge improvement over the previous system which used the closest cellular tower.

The feature is already available in the following states and territories:

• Alaska
• Colorado
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Montana
• Oregon
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Kansas
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Minnesota
• North Dakota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• South Dakota
• Guam

Chris Sambar, executive vice president at AT&T, called the new feature an "industry-leading public safety solution."

The company says that the rollout will be nationwide and complete by the end of June.

What you need to know

• T-Mobile has launched "Internet Freedom."
• The program attempts to make it easy to switch to T-Mobile's home internet from other providers.
• The company is launching a ton of incentives for customers to make the switch.

T-Mobile is done with the carriers and wants to go up against the...un-carriers?

In a press release, the company announced "Internet Freedom," a new effort by the company to get you to switch from your current internet provider to T-Mobile's 5G home internet. In addition to launching the consumer-focused program, the company also said that its T-Mobile Business Internet is now available nationwide.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that the company created the new side of its business to "fix a stupid, broken wireless industry."

With Internet Freedom, customers can try T-Mobile's home internet for 15 days and, if they choose to keep it, the company will cover switching costs from their current provider and also lock in your price.

• Cheat on your Internet Provider with Test Drive. Customers can try Home Internet for 15 days, worry-free. If they like it, great! If not, return the gateway and owe nothing. It's 100% On Us. And because it's totally wireless, they can even keep their old provider while they try it.
• Break up with your provider and T-Mobile will cover the cost. When customers are ready to switch, they can break their contract and break up with their internet provider, at no cost because T-Mobile will cover all early termination fees up to $500.
• Rest easy with Price Lock. Now, Home and Business Internet plans come with Price Lock, so a customer's price is locked in at just $50 per month, period, because there are no monthly taxes or fees. And it's not locked in for one or two years, but for as long as they're a customer. Only they can change what they pay for broadband.

The company has also revealed that, if you have a T-Mobile Magenta MAX family plan, you'll get the service for $30 per month. T-Mobile treats it simply as another line on your plan.

To go even further, the company is offering $50 off a streaming device. 50% off YouTube TV for a year. Customers who are interested in seeing if T-Mobile's home internet is available in their area can find out on the T-Mobile website.

What you need to know

• Carl Pei's startup Nothing is launching a phone.
• Phone (1) is going to be announced this summer.
• It promises a distinctive design and Nothing OS, which is based on Android.

Carl Pei's startup Nothing has confirmed it plans to announce a new phone later this year.

At its event today, the company announced that its phone (1), its second product following the Nothing ear (1) earbuds, will debut in the summer. Details about the device are scarce, but Nothing says the new phone will help build its ecosystem with seamless connectivity and an "iconic" design.

Nothing has revealed that the phone will run on Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile platform, a processing favorite of rivals to Apple's best iPhones. It will also feature Nothing OS, the company's own operating system built on Android. The company said in a press release:

Staying true to Nothing's founding mission, Nothing OS is built on an open and seamless ecosystem that will effortlessly connect and integrate Nothing products and products from other world-leading brands.

It further says that Nothing OS "OS captures the best features of pure Android, distilling the operating system to just the essentials, where every byte has a purpose," and is designed to deliver a fast, smooth and personal experience:

At its event on Wednesday Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the company was building "the most compelling alternative to Apple."

What you need to know

• T-Mobile has refreshed its Connect prepay plans.
• A new $10 per month plan includes 1GB of 5G data.
• The new $35 per month plan includes 12GB of 5G data.

T-Mobile has refreshed its Connect prepaid plans and added a new tier that is the company's "lowest price smartphone plan ever" at just $10 per month.

While the entire lineup of Connect plans has been updated, it's the addition of that $10 per month plan that will understandably capture the eye. For your $10 you'll get 1,000 minutes of talk time, 1,000 text messages, and 1GB of data each month. That data is 5G as well, so keep in mind that a single speed test will probably blow right through that cap. That being said, these could be some of the best iPhone plans out there for those who want a prepay connection

T-Mobile announced the plans via press release with Connect plans now ranging from $10 to $35 per month.

• $10 per month plus tax, the lowest price smartphone plan ever from the Un-carrier, that includes 1000 minutes of talk, 1000 texts and 1GB of high-speed smartphone data.
• $15 per month plus tax for unlimited talk and text, plus 3GB of high-speed smartphone data.
• $25 per month plus tax for unlimited talk and text, plus 6GB of high-speed smartphone data.
• $35 per month plus tax, for unlimited talk, text and 12 GB of high-speed smartphone data.

One thing to note, as pointed out by The Verge, is that none of those prices include local tax so you're probably going to be paying a little bit more for your coverage.

T-Mobile's new plans come into play on Friday, March 25 and there is sure to be one there that will hit the spot for iPhone 13 and iPhone SE buyers alike.

What you need to know

• Verizon is expanding its mid-band 5G coverage to 30 more cities.
• It also plans to expand its 5G coverage from 100 to 175 million people by the end of 2022.

Verizon is expanding its 5G technology to more cities next year.

In a press release, the company announced that it will be deploying 5G Ultra Wideband in at least thirty new markets in the United States inlcuding Atlanta, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Denver.

The company says that it plans to expand its coverage from 100 million people to 175 million people by the end of this year. Kyle Malady, EVP and President of Global Network and Technology, said that Verizon has been able to expand 5G coverage ahead of its original schedule because of "driving more efficiency and coverage from the C-band spectrum."

With the expansion, customers with the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and new iPhone SE will be able to access the new speeds. Just keep in mind that Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G actually falls into the mid-band speeds rather than the highest mmWave speeds.