WebProNews

Category: MobileDevPro

MobileDevPro

  • Microsoft May Launch Mobile Game Store Next Year

    Microsoft May Launch Mobile Game Store Next Year

    Microsoft may launch a mobile game store next year in one of its most ambitious attempts to take on Apple and Google.

    In an interview with Financial Times, via CNET, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer said the decision is contingent on the company’s Activision Blizzard acquisition being approved.

    “We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,” Spencer told said. “Today, we can’t do that on mobile devices but we want to build towards a world that we think will be coming where those devices are opened up.”

    Microsoft plans appear to line up with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will require Apple and Google to allow third-party app stores on their platforms. Once the legislation goes into effect in March 2024, Microsoft will be able to compete on far more level ground.

  • PSA: Disable Wi-Fi Calling, VoLTE on Pixel & Samsung Phones IMMEDIATELY

    PSA: Disable Wi-Fi Calling, VoLTE on Pixel & Samsung Phones IMMEDIATELY

    Google has discovered 0-day vulnerabilities in Samsung’s Exynos modems that impact the most recent Pixel and Samsung devices.

    Samsung’s Exynos modem chipsets are used in a variety of devices, including Google’s Pixel 6 and 7 line, as well as a wide range of Samsung’s devices. Unfortunately, Google’s Project Zero has discovered 18 0-day vulnerabilities in the chipset, four which can be executed remotely with no user interaction.

    Tests conducted by Project Zero confirm that those four vulnerabilities allow an attacker to remotely compromise a phone at the baseband level with no user interaction, and require only that the attacker know the victim’s phone number. With limited additional research and development, we believe that skilled attackers would be able to quickly create an operational exploit to compromise affected devices silently and remotely.

    While still serious, the remaining 14 vulnerabilities are not as severe, since they require physical access to the device or a malicious network operator.

    Google recommends turning off Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE on all impacted devices, including the list below:

    • Mobile devices from Samsung, including those in the S22, M33, M13, M12, A71, A53, A33, A21, A13, A12 and A04 series;
    • Mobile devices from Vivo, including those in the S16, S15, S6, X70, X60 and X30 series;
    • The Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series of devices from Google;
    • any wearables that use the Exynos W920 chipset; and
    • any vehicles that use the Exynos Auto T5123 chipset.

    Google says patches should be issued to address the vulnerabilities permanently, with the March 2023 update for Pixels already including at least one fix:

    We expect that patch timelines will vary per manufacturer (for example, affected Pixel devices have already received a fix for CVE-2023-24033 in the March 2023 security update). In the meantime, users with affected devices can protect themselves from the baseband remote code execution vulnerabilities mentioned in this post by turning off Wi-Fi calling and Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) in their device settings. As always, we encourage end users to update their devices as soon as possible, to ensure that they are running the latest builds that fix both disclosed and undisclosed security vulnerabilities.

    To be clear, this is about as bad as it gets, in terms of mobile vulnerabilities, and users should take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

  • Google Pixel Fold Reportedly Slated for June

    Google Pixel Fold Reportedly Slated for June

    A reliable leaker has revealed details about Google’s upcoming foldable Pixel phone, saying it will be available in June.

    Roland Quandt, from WinFuture, tweeted the news:

    Google’s recent changes to the Pixel line of phones, beginning with the Pixel 6, have helped the company make major headway in the smartphone market. Foldable phones are the next big thing in smartphone design, with Samsung being the current leader in the space.

    If Google is able to successfully break into the foldable market, the company’s upward momentum could be just beginning.

  • Google Brings a Slew of Features to Its Pixel Phones

    Google Brings a Slew of Features to Its Pixel Phones

    Google has released the first Feature Drop of 2023, bringing a slew of updates and features to its Pixel line of phones and watches.

    Google Pixel users are in for some nice upgrades, with the company expanding features to more devices and improving existing ones. One of the biggest features is expanded Night Sight support:

    With the latest Feature Drop, Night Sight can now capture low-light photos faster on your Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, too, thanks to new algorithms powered by Google Tensor.

    The company has also expanded Magic Eraser to the entire line of Pixel phones, making it easier for users to eliminate unwanted elements from their photos.

    Direct My Call is now available on all devices from the Pixel 4a and up:

    Skip the headache of sitting through long menu options when you call a business. Now with Direct My Call on Pixel 4a and newer phones, you’ll see the menu options ahead of time so you get to the right extension even faster when you call many of the most popular toll-free numbers in the U.S.

    Google has also brought improvements to Health Connect and added the ability to see timers across all connected devices, without unlocking your phone.

    The Pixel Watch has received a major update, with fall detection added to its repertoire of features.

    Your Pixel Watch now has fall detection which can detect if you’ve taken a hard fall and connect you to emergency services. Once connected to emergency services, your Pixel Watch will play an automated message to request help to wherever you are. You can also speak to the emergency operator yourself, if possible, to let them know whether or not you need help. Thanks to built-in motion sensors and on-device machine learning, your Pixel Watch can accurately differentiate a hard fall from things like performing vigorous physical activity or recovering from a small stumble to minimize accidental emergency calls.

  • Samsung Called Out for Using AI to Enhance Photos

    Samsung Called Out for Using AI to Enhance Photos

    Samsung is once again in the spotlight over the authenticity of photos taken with its smartphone cameras.

    Samsung’s flagship phones include a feature called “Space Zoom,” designed for taking pictures of the moon. According to a user on Reddit, the feature appears to be using AI to artificially alter and enhance photos. In the post, ibreakphotos took photos of the moon and compared that with what Samsung displayed. The results were surprising.

    Interestingly, Samsung does admit to using AI to enhance photos. On the company’s CamCyclopedia site, a moderator explained the process:

    The moon recognition engine was created by learning various moon shapes from full moon to crescent moon based on images that people actually see with their eyes on Earth.

    It uses an AI deep learning model to show the presence and absence of the moon in the image and the area (square box) as a result. AI models that have been trained can detect lunar areas even if other lunar images that have not been used for training are inserted.

    The end result is a more complete picture of the moon:

    To overcome this, the Galaxy Camera applies a deep learning-based AI detail enhancement engine (Detail Enhancement technology) at the final stage to effectively remove noise and maximize the details of the moon to complete a bright and clear picture of the moon.

    While it’s nice to see a Samsung rep clearly explain what is going on, it still raises questions about the authenticity of photography using a Samsung phone. It’s also disappointing that this revelation is on the company’s community site rather than more openly revealed in the company’s marketing.

  • iPhone Under-Display Face ID Postponed

    iPhone Under-Display Face ID Postponed

    Users looking forward to a notch-less iPhone are in for a disappointment, with the feature postponed till 2025.

    Apple has been rumored to be working on an under-display version of Face ID that would eliminate the need for the much-maligned notch. Unfortunately, according to well-known leaker Ross Young, Apple is experiencing issues with the necessary sensors:

    While the news is sure to disappoint many fans, at least Apple has not abandoned the feature.

  • Facebook Is Integrating Messenger Features With Its Mobile App

    Facebook Is Integrating Messenger Features With Its Mobile App

    Facebook is integrating Messenger features with its mobile Facebook app, potentially reducing the need to have Messenger installed.

    Until now, users have needed to have Messenger installed on their mobile devices to chat with their Facebook friends and family. The company is looking to unify the experience, incorporating some of Messenger’s functionality within the core Facebook app.

    Tom Alison, Head of Facebook, made the announcement in a blog post:

    We’re also seeing more people turning to messaging as a way to build community. We started introducing community chats to some Facebook Groups last year as a way for people to connect more deeply with their online communities in real time around the topics they care about. And, the early results are promising. Across Facebook and Messenger, we saw the number of people trying community chats increase by 50% in December 2022.

    Over the coming year, we’ll build more ways to integrate messaging features in Facebook. Ultimately, we want it to be easy and convenient for people to connect and share, whether in the Messenger app or directly within Facebook.

    The news will likely be welcome by most users, especially if it saves the trouble of switching back and forth between apps.

  • Fitbit Is Axing Popular Community-Focused Features

    Fitbit Is Axing Popular Community-Focused Features

    Fitbit is angering users, announcing it will kill off a number of community-focused features toward the end of March.

    According to XDA, Challenges and open groups are both being removed, effective March 27. Both features were aimed at bolstering community engagement and were massively popular with users.

    Challenges allowed users to compete and compare progress with friends who also had a Fitbit. Open groups were a way to connect with people around the world who had similar interests. Fortunately, closed groups will continue, but open groups’ days are numbered.

    According to XDA, Fitbit says the changes are to “enhance the Fitbit app with Google technology” and “develop new features, deliver faster load times, and improve your experience.”

    The move is not necessarily surprising, given the fact that Google now owns Fitbit. Unfortunately, Fitbit is swapping out social and community features that work, to integrate technology from a company with one of the worst social and community engagement track records in the industry.

  • Samsung Is Reportedly Developing a Custom Mobile CPU Core

    Samsung Is Reportedly Developing a Custom Mobile CPU Core

    Samsung is reportedly developing its own custom CPU core in an effort to better compete in the mobile space.

    Samsung is one of the world’s leading chipmakers, but its own Exynos chips have lagged far behind Apple’s offerings. According to a report in South Korea’s Pulse News, the company is stepping up its efforts to develop its own CPU core, the central component of the application processor (AP) that powers a mobile device. Samsung even recruited a senior CPU developer from AMD to further its goals.

    Samsung’s current Exynos AP has an Arm CPU core, but the company wants to reduce its reliance on the British chip designer. Using its own CPU core will also give it more opportunity to customize and optimize performance, much as Apple has done with its chips.

    Pulse News believes the first of these new chips, dubbed the ‘Galaxy Chip,’ could be available as early as 2025. Because Samsung’s CPU core development has just started, the first generation of the Galaxy Chip would likely still have an Arm CPU core. This would be replaced in later generations by Samsung’s own core.

    “Samsung Electronics will be able to boost completion level of its Galaxy Chip if it successfully develops a CPU core,” an unnamed industry official told the outlet. “It will be able to load its own CPU in 2027 if development is carried out as planned.”

    Interestingly, the 2025 release data coincides with earlier reports that Samsung was assembling a semiconductor design ‘dream team’ to tackle Apple’s dominance. Dubbed “Dream Platform One,” the team’s goal was to surpass Apple’s M1 by 2025.

    While Pulse News doesn’t specifically mention Dream Platform One, it’s a safe bet the team is responsible for the upcoming Galaxy Chip.

  • Microsoft Is Bringing iMessage to Windows

    Microsoft Is Bringing iMessage to Windows

    Microsoft plans to bring iMessage support to Windows 11 via Phone Link for iOS, although it will have some limitations.

    Apple’s iMessage is a defining characteristic of the iPhone experience, one that has caused no small amount of frustration for users of other platforms. Given the number of features iMessage includes, Apple is aggressively protective of the messaging platform, viewing it as one of its most valuable elements that keep customers locked into its walled garden.

    Microsoft plans on bringing one of the best features of iMessage to Windows. Apple customers have long been able to send and receive iMessages from their Macs, and now Windows users will be able to as well.

    Microsoft is rolling out the feature to Windows Insiders, although it will have some major limitations in its current form.

    Once the guided installation completes and your iPhone is paired to your PC and the right permissions given, Phone Link will deliver basic iOS support for calls, messages, and contacts. This means you will be notified directly through your Windows notifications. Phone Link does not support replying to group messages or sending media in messages.

    Apple has been under increasing pressure to adopt RCS messaging for iPhone-to-Android communication, a measure that would have no impact on iPhone-to-iPhone communication, but would significantly improve cross-platform messaging.

    Unfortunately, Apple has no interest in pursuing such a course, but other companies are working to solve the issue without Apple’s help. Sunbird is working on a messaging app that will bring full iMessage support to Android, and now Microsoft is bringing at least some support to Windows.

    Hopefully, Microsoft and others will be able to address this issue sooner rather than later and eliminate a major pain point in the mobile world.

  • Google Play Now Warns Users About Buggy Apps

    Google Play Now Warns Users About Buggy Apps

    Android users may be spared some headaches, with Google Play now warning them before installing buggy apps.

    First spotted by Android Police, Mishaal Rahman tweeted screenshots of a Google Play dialog that warns users when an app they’re about to download has not been performing well on similar hardware.

    The feature is a nice addition to the Play Store and should save users some irritation.

  • Apple Is Not a Fan of ChatGPT Apps

    Apple Is Not a Fan of ChatGPT Apps

    Developers looking to incorporate ChatGPT into their iOS apps are in for a rude awakening when they submit them to the App Store.

    Companies large and small are embracing ChatGPT, with app developers looking for innovative ways to use the AI tech. According to The Wall Street Journal, however, Apple is proving to be a major impediment to that innovation.

    The developer behind the BlueMail email client incorporated ChatGPT to help users write emails. Unfortunately, Apple rejected the update, saying the new version needed content warnings.

    “Your app includes AI-generated content but does not appear to include content filtering at this time,” Apple told the developer last week in a message seen by the Journal.

    Whereas BlueMail’s age restriction is currently 4 years old, Apple told the developer the restriction would need to be increased to 17.

    “Apple is making it really hard for us to bring innovation to our users,” said Ben Volach, BlueMail co-founder.

    To make matters worse, Volach says there are many other apps featuring ChatGPT functionality that have not been slapped with the 17-year-old age restriction.

    “We want fairness,” said Volach. “If we’re required to be 17-plus, then others should also have to.”

  • Qualcomm CEO: Apple Will Use Their Own Modems in 2024

    Qualcomm CEO: Apple Will Use Their Own Modems in 2024

    Qualcomm isn’t holding out any hope of continuing as Apple’s primary modem supplier and is expecting to lose that business in 2024.

    Apple and Qualcomm have a contentious relationship, one filled with alternating deals and lawsuits. For the time being, Qualcomm is the primary provider of the modems Apple uses in its iPhones and iPads, but the Cupertino company has been working hard to build its own modems and end reliance on Qualcomm.

    It appears those plans are closer to reality than ever before, according to Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

    “We’re making no plans for 2024, my planning assumption is we’re not providing [Apple] a modem in ’24, but it’s their decision to make,” Amon told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Apple bought Intel’s failed modem division after the latter exited the business, accusing Qualcomm of creating a “a web of anticompetitive conduct designed to allow Qualcomm to coerce customers, tilt the competitive playing field and exclude competitors, all the while shielding itself from legal scrutiny and capturing billions in unlawful gains.”

    While there’s no love lost between Apple and Qualcomm, the latter is sure to feel a financial hit from losing the lucrative iPhone business.

  • Former App Store Editor: ‘Apple Doesn’t Care About Games’

    Former App Store Editor: ‘Apple Doesn’t Care About Games’

    Former App Store Editor Neil Long has disappointing news for mobile game developers, saying, “Apple doesn’t care about games.”

    Long served as an App Store Editor, giving him a behind-the-scenes look into how Apple’s processes work. Unfortunately, the picture he paints in an article in The Guardian is less than flattering, saying Apple is pocketing billions without making the necessary re-investment in the App Store.

    Long lists a number of early game hits and then makes the case that Apple was unprepared for its newfound success:

    So what did Apple do next? Nothing really. It seemed to create a whole new games ecosystem by accident, and ever since has presided over it like a contemptuous landlord. It takes a tasty 30% cut of almost every in-app purchase while doing next to nothing to earn that fee. Recent privacy policies – including the introduction of that “ask app not to track” pop-up you will have seen again and again – have even actively harmed the mobile games business.

    Apple’s issues are especially apparent during the app review process:

    The woefully understaffed team of app reviewers couldn’t handle the volume of games coming through – and seemingly still can’t today. Ask any staffer at a mobile game studio and they’re guaranteed to have an app review horror story involving their game being repeatedly rejected for an arbitrary reason, or removed from sale entirely. Developers are being treated with contempt.

    Long also takes aim at the plague of copycat apps that so many game developers have to deal with, arguing that Apple could and should have improved the situation through further investment:

    Apple could have reinvested a greater fraction of the billions it has earned from mobile games to make the App Store a good place to find fun, interesting games to fit your tastes. But it hasn’t, and today the App Store is a confusing mess, recently made even worse with the addition of ad slots in search, on the front page and even on the product pages themselves.

    App developers have increasingly grown tired of Apple’s stewardship of the App Store, pushing for more freedom regarding how they publish their apps and make money off of them. Reading Long’s take on the condition of the App Store — especially for game developers — one comes away understanding developers’ plight a little more.

  • Details Emerge Regarding Google’s Upcoming Pixel Fold

    Details Emerge Regarding Google’s Upcoming Pixel Fold

    New details have begun emerging regarding Google’s upcoming Pixel Fold phone, and it’s definitely a mixed bag.

    Google has been rumored to be working on a foldable version of its hit Pixel phone. According to 9to5Google, the upcoming phone will be heavier than any existing fold on the market, including its biggest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.

    According to the outlet, the upcoming phone will be approximately 5.5 inches tall by 3.14 inches wide. This puts it roughly the same height as the Oppo Find N2, the closest existing phone, but the Pixel Fold will be a bit wider. As a result of the phone’s size, the Pixel Fold will be closer in weight to a small tablet than a traditional smartphone.

    On the flip side, however, the new phone will have a substantially larger battery than many of its competitors. The Z Fold 4 comes with a 4,400 mAh, while the Oppo comes with a 4,520 mAh battery. In contrast, the Pixel Fold will have a battery closer to 5,000 mAh, although sources said it will still come in below that number.

    The Pixel has already helped Google make major headway in the smartphone market, and it looks like the Pixel Fold could help it build on that success even more.

  • Users Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 16.3

    Users Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 16.3

    Users can no longer downgrade to iOS 16.3, a result of Apple no longer signing the iOS 16.3 update.

    Apple released iOS 16.3.1 in mid-February and has stopped signing its immediate predecessor. As a result, any users who may be experiencing issues in 16.3.1, no longer have the option to downgrade, according to MacRumors.

    The move is not at all uncommon, as Apple routinely stops signing older versions of its operating systems. This ensures users stay on the latest editions, which in most cases is a good thing.

  • Google Has Abandoned Fastlane App Automation Tool

    Google Has Abandoned Fastlane App Automation Tool

    Google appears to have abandoned yet another project, with the open-source Fastlane app automation tool the latest in a long list.

    Fastlane is an automation tool for building and releasing iOS and Android apps. Google acquired the company in early 2017 and supported its continued development for several years.

    Peter Steinberger, PSPDFKit founder, noted on Mastodon that the Fastlane project no longer has any active maintainers on GitHub:

    Good luck. Google abandoned Fastlane, it has no maintainers currently.

    RT @testableapple Ridiculous and long-lived nightmare. CI is especially scared.

    @FastlaneTools, what if I say this tiny PR might mitigate this issue?”

    Josh Holtz, Fastlane’s lead maintainer, chimed in, saying that he was still involved but had been struggling with his schedule to find time for the project:

    @jesusfdiaz @steipete Still working on it! Just been struggling schedule wise with a new addition to the family in October 🤷‍♂️

    But almost back to a new normal over here which should make things easier

    In response to a question about Google no longer sponsoring the project, Holtz confirmed that has been the case for more than a year:

    @steipete @jesusfdiaz This is facts ☺️ Have not been paid/sponsored since November-ish of 2021

    Holtz said Google still owns the copyright for Fastlane, but is not contributing anything toward its development, making the project a labor of love:

    @leohidalgo Yup, Google owns the IP… the community just does all (majority) the work these days 🤷‍♂️

    Edit: I think I meant copyright instead of IP but… hello Hackernews 👋

    Google has a long history of abandoning projects after they gain traction. In fact, the company has such a notorious reputation for doing so that it had to reassure cloud customers that they could, in fact, depend on the company long-term.

    It’s a shame to see Fastlane join the list of Google abandonware.

  • iOS 16.4 Brings ‘Web Push,’ Enables Web App Push Notification

    iOS 16.4 Brings ‘Web Push,’ Enables Web App Push Notification

    The first beta of iOS 16.4 has been released, bringing a major new feature in the form of push notifications for web apps.

    Notifications are an everyday occurrence on mobile devices, but they normally require a traditional app to support them. Apple announced “Web Push,” a way for developers to bring push notifications to web apps, at WWDC 2022.

    With the arrival of the first iOS 16.4 beta, Web Push has made an appearance. In a blog post on the WebKit site, Apple highlights the long-time importance of web apps to the iOS ecosystem:

    Since the first iPhone, users could add any website to their Home Screen — whether it’s a brochure site, a blog, a newspaper, an online store, a social media platform, a streaming video site, productivity software, an application for creating artwork, or any other type of website. For the last ten years, users of Safari on iOS and iPadOS could do this by tapping the Share button to open the Share menu, and then tapping “Add to Home Screen”. The icon for that website then appears on their Home Screen, where a quick tap gets them back to the site.

    Apple then goes on to tout the benefits of Web Push:

    Now with iOS and iPadOS 16.4 beta 1, we are adding support for Web Push to Home Screen web apps. Web Push makes it possible for web developers to send push notifications to their users through the use of Push API, Notifications API, and Service Workers all working together.

    A web app that has been added to the Home Screen can request permission to receive push notifications as long as that request is in response to direct user interaction — such as tapping on a ‘subscribe’ button provided by the web app. iOS or iPadOS will prompt the user to give the web app permission to send notifications. The user can then manage those permissions per web app in Notifications Settings — just like any other app on iPhone and iPad.

    The notifications from web apps work exactly like notifications from other apps. They show on the Lock Screen, in Notification Center, and on a paired Apple Watch.

    Web Push comes at a time when Apple is facing increasing pressure to open up iOS and allow third-party app stores and sideloading on its platform. By bringing web apps closer to native apps, in terms of feature parity, the company may be trying to prop them up as a viable alternative to native apps in its bid to fight regulatory attempts to crack open its walled garden.

  • Poor iPhone Battery Life? You’re Not Alone & iOS 16 Is to Blame

    Poor iPhone Battery Life? You’re Not Alone & iOS 16 Is to Blame

    There appears to be an issue with the latest versions of iOS 16, with users reporting significantly less iPhone battery life.

    Battery life is universally one of the biggest selling points for manufacturers when releasing new models. The iPhone 13 Pro Max was one of Apple’s best phones, in terms of battery life, but even that model doesn’t appear to be able to overcome iOS 16.

    Writing for Digital Trends, Prakhar Khanna outlines the trouble he had upgrading from his iPhone 13 Pro Max to the iPhone 14. When the battery life didn’t compete, he went back to his old phone, only to find the upgrade to iOS 16 had destroyed its battery life as well.

    Khanna described his findings:

    I realized later that the problem was not the 14 Pro’s battery size, but it was iOS 16’s poor battery optimization. I only realized this when I noticed that the latest OS updates had compromised my iPhone 13 Pro’s battery life as well.

    Khanna says there doesn’t appear to be any method or madness to the battery drain:

    In my experience, there is no consistent battery life behavior to be pointed out. Sometimes, Spotify drains the battery, while other times, it is Twitter (two of my most used apps). But the battery drain on any app using location services is the worst on iOS 16. These apps include Maps, commuting services, dating apps, and the Camera app (if you have the location tag feature enabled).

    Unfortunately, Khanna’s experience is not an isolated one, with Reddit posts and discussions on Apple’s own support forums confirming the issue. Some users have had success downgrading to iOS 15 but, until Apple provides a fix for iOS 16, there doesn’t appear to be a viable, long-term fix in sight.

  • Mozilla Prepping a Non-Webkit Version of Firefox for iOS

    Mozilla Prepping a Non-Webkit Version of Firefox for iOS

    Google isn’t the only company prepping a non-Webkit version of its browser, with Mozilla taking similar action.

    News broke last week that Google was working on an iOS version of Chrome that used its own Blink rendering engine instead of Apple’s Webkit. App Store rules currently require all iOS web browsers to use Webkit, meaning that front-end features are the only thing that differentiate the options.

    According to The Register, Mozilla is also working on a version of its browser that runs on its own Gecko rendering engine instead of Webkit.

    Interestingly, while Mozilla and Google are not officially confirming it, it appears both companies may anticipate a future where regulation forces Apple to allow third-party browser engines on iOS. If such an eventuality occurs, both companies will be able to hit the ground running.

  • Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Has Become the Definition of ‘Bloatware’

    Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Has Become the Definition of ‘Bloatware’

    Samsung’s Galaxy S23 has become the definition of mobile bloatware, with a base install taking roughly 60GB.

    Operating systems growing in size is an inevitable trade-off of new features, improved support, and the addition of new technologies. Unfortunately for S23 users, Samsung seems to be taking OS growth to all new heights.

    Mishaal Rahman, Senior Technical Editor for Esper, asked his Twitter followers how much of their phone’s space their system installs were taking:

    Some users reported the S23’s Android install taking almost 60GB:

    Shockingly, one user even reported a 75GB install:

    With the S23 topping out at 256MB, and the S23+ topping out at 512, it’s hard to imagine how or why Samsung can justify taking up 60-75GB of space just for the OS.