The latest version of iOS, version 15.4, finally brings support for Face ID with masks.
Despite the security benefits of Face ID, the pandemic has shown a spotlight on its biggest limitation: using it while wearing a mask. Apple has finally brought support for unlocking an iPhone via Face ID, even with a mask on.
iPhone production has been halted at Foxconn factories in China as a result of soaring COVID cases.
Foxconn is the primarily manufacturer of Apple’s iPhone, and any factor impacting that company has a profound effect on Apple’s production. According to Gizmodo, China reported 1,437 new COVID cases Monday, prompting Beijing to shut down all non-essential business operations in Shenzhen, where Foxconn has two factories.
“The operation of Foxconn in Shenzhen, China has been suspended from March 14 onwards in compliance with the local government’s new covid-19 policy. The date of factory resumption is to be advised by the local government,” a Foxconn spokesperson told Gizmodo.
“Due to our diversified production sites in China, we have adjusted the production line to minimize the potential impact. Meanwhile, we have required all the employees to have covid PCR test on top of existing prevention measures to ensure the health and safety of our employees,” the spokesperson continued.
With Apple just announcing the new iPhone SE, it remains to be seen how much this development will impact orders.
Samsung’s Exynos chip was lauded as one of the best chances for the Android world to challenge Apple’s performance on smartphones…but that hasn’t happened.
Apple has long held the performance crown in the smartphone market. While all of the major smartphone makers rely on Arm-based chips, Apple’s long history of semiconductor design has paid dividends, allowing it to dominate performance benchmarks, and real-world performance.
Samsung’s Exynos 2200, which is one of the options in the company’s flagship Galaxy S22, was thought to be one of the best chances of dethroning Apple, or at least giving it a run for its money. Unlike Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, the Exynos 2200 chip is Samsung’s own design, giving it the ability to control “the whole widget,” much like Apple does.
Unfortunately, the Exynos 2200 simply doesn’t deliver the goods, according to MacWorld and its sister site, Tech Advisor. In benchmark after benchmark, the Exynos 2200 was only able to seriously challenge the iPhone 11, with its outdated A13 processor. Compared to the more recent A14 and A15, the Exynos 2200 doesn’t even come close.
Ultimately, with the poor showing of Samsung’s home-grown chip, it seems Google’s Tensor line of chips, may be the best chance of eventually challenging Apple.
Some users are not happy with Google’s decision to stop supporting the Pixel 3, and there appears to be no technical reason for the decision.
Google has been working to build support for its line of smartphones, with the recently released Pixel 6 and 6 Pro sporting the company’s Tensor chip. One of the benefits Google touted about the Tensor was the five years of security updates and support the company would provide, something very uncommon in the Android world.
Earlier versions of the Pixel, however, still run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon line of processors, and Google only ever committed to three years of updates for those devices. With Android 12, the 2018 flagship Pixel 3 and 3 XL reached the end of their life, and did not receive the update.
According to Ryne Hager, over at Android Police, there’s no technical reason why Google needed to abandon the Pixel 3, and it appears the company simply decided it had met its minimum obligation and didn’t want to extend it.
“With these options for updates available, there’s only one conclusion to draw: Google just doesn’t want to keep updating the Pixel 3,” writes Hager. “That three-year promise has been satisfied, and it’s not making more money from Pixel 3 customers. Why go above and beyond?”
Google went all-out with the Pixel 6 in an effort to grab more market share. Perhaps the company would also do well to listen to the feedback it’s receiving about the Pixel 3, and compare its policies to Apple’s. Apple recently released iOS 15, including support for devices as old as the iPhone 6S from 2015.
If Google really wants to be a serious hardware player, it needs to appreciate that customers remember when companies go above and beyond, as Apple has done in its support for older models, instead of doing the bare minimum to make a buck and move on.
Apple is working to address issues with AirTags, specifically bad actors using them in ways the company never intended.
AirTags are a recent Apple product designed to be put on objects to more easily keep track of them. AirTags can be placed on keyrings, phones, in bags and backpacks, all in an effort to find them using Apple’s Find My app.
Unfortunately, soon after their release, reports emerged of people using AirTags for creepy and illegal purposes. The devices have been used to track cars that criminals want to steal, or to stalk an individual. Needless to say, this is not what Apple had in mind when they released the product.
The company is now making some changes in an effort to thwart such behavior. Apple says its discussions with law enforcement have revealed the instances of AirTag misuse are rare.
Based on our knowledge and on discussions with law enforcement, incidents of AirTag misuse are rare; however, each instance is one too many.
Apple will be working to improve privacy warnings during setup, reminding users of the intent behind AirTags and that misuse of them is a crime.
The company has also explained that the “Unknown Accessory Detected” message some users have reported does not indicate that an unknown AirTag is present nearby. Instead, that message refers to a set of unpaired AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, or some other third-party Find My accessory. Apple will improve those notifications to explicitly say it is a set of unpaired AirPods, a far less scary notification than the current one.
Apple is also significantly improving the iPhone’s ability to find unwanted AirTags, adding Precision Finding to help users quickly find the small device. Users will also be able to force the AirTag to play a sound to make it even easier to spot them.
The new measures will hopefully help protect users, while allowing legitimate users to continue using the devices as intended.
Foldable phones may be all the rage, but Apple is still not convinced they’re the future.
Despite that, one notable holdout is Apple. According to leaker Dylandkt, Apple is testing multiple foldable designs, but remains unconvinced about the future of the market.
Numerous companies are working on foldable phones, most notably Motorola and Samsung. In fact, Samsung’s foldable phone shipments quadrupled in 2021 and the company expects the market to grow tenfold by 2023.
Apple seems to want to make sure the foldable market is a lasting trend, not a passing fad.
Apple also wants to avoid the pattern other companies have fallen into, where they release a subpar phone and then spend the next couple of revisions trying to fix it.
Dylandkt may not be one of the most well-known leakers but, according to AppleTrack, he’s ranked 7th on the list of Apple leakers, with an accuracy of 77.5%.
Apple has alerted 11 US diplomats that they are among those hacked by the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.
The Washington Post broke a story in July that NSO Group’s Pegasus software was being used to hack iPhones and spy on journalists, diplomats and human rights activist around the world. The reaction was swift and severe, with AWS banning the NSO Group, US lawmakers blacklisting the company and Apple suing it.
According to The Washington Post, Apple has now informed 11 US diplomats that their phones were among those hacked. The NSO Group says it sells its software to government and law enforcement agencies for the purpose of fighting terrorism, but the revelations put the company’s actions in an entirely different light.
NSG Group says it has suspended the accounts of clients who used Pegasus to access US diplomats’ phones, although the company declined to name which clients were responsible.
Industries throughout the market are experiencing supply chain problems and Apple hasn’t been spared from this issue. Shortages for iPhone 13 and its varieties have caused customers to give up their search for the phone with no end in sight for the turmoil in the market.
According to Apple component suppliers the company has told them demand for iPhone 13 and its varieties have weakened and decreased their production target by 10 million units, down from a 90 million due to lack of parts.
Fortunately, there’s some good news for Apple and their investors… despite the component shortages they are expected to have record holiday sales. Analysts project a sales increase of 117 billion in the 4th quarter of 2021, a 6% increase, due to incentives from partners and notable hardware improvements.
The iPhone 13 appears to contain more than its usual incremental improvements with the addition of a significant upgrade to their camera and improved processing. Along with the improved hardware, some carriers are offering aggressive promotions up to allowing for free upgrades from iPhone 12 to iPhone 13. However, due to the shortages consumers may continue to wait until (presumably) iPhone 14 arrives next year.
Google’s upcoming Pixel 6 Pro has good news for Google phone fans, offering flagship performance much better than the Pixel 5.
When the Pixel 5 debuted, one of the biggest disappointments was the chip Google chose to power it. Instead of being the latest and greatest, Google choose a middle-of-the-road chip that impressed virtually no one, in terms of performance.
The company appears to be rectifying that with the Pixel 6 Pro, using its custom Tensor System-on-Chip (SoC). According to BGR, it features an unusual configuration:
Pixel 6 series will feature an unusual 8-core SoC arrangement. The Tensor will have a 2-2-4 core design, featuring two Cortex-X1 chips, two Cortex-A76, and four Cortex-A55 chips.
In contrast, the Snapdragon 888 features a 1-3-4 core design, only sporting a single Cortex-X1 core.
According to BGR, however, the good news is that Google’s Tensor should rival the two leading flagship processors used in Android devices, the Snapdragon 888 and the Samsung Exynos 2100.
The bad news is that the benchmarks show the Pixel 6 still solidly behind the new iPhone 13, a common theme in the mobile market. Despite advances in processor design, no company has managed to catch up with Apple’s custom silicon, leaving iOS devices the undisputed speed demons.
The EU is following through on its interest in a unified smartphone charging interface, preparing to pass legislation requiring the use of USB-C.
One of the more frustrating aspects of modern smartphones is the different chargers and cords that different manufacturers use. While many have already adoped USB-C, Apple still uses its Lightning port for most of its iPhones, as well as some iPads.
The EU sees this as harmful and wasteful, not only to consumers, but also the environment, according to SFGate.
“Chargers power all our most essential electronic devices. With more and more devices, more and more chargers are sold that are not interchangeable or not necessary. We are putting an end to that,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner. “With our proposal, European consumers will be able to use a single charger for all their portable electronics – an important step to increase convenience and reduce waste.”
Apple pushed back, saying the move would potentially stifle innovation, a claim Breton dismissed.
“If Apple wants to continue to have their own plug, they will have the ability to do it. It’s not against innovation, it’s just to make the lives of our fellow citizens a little bit more easy,” Breton said.
Apple already provides a USB-C charging brick that can be used with USB-C to Lightning cables.
Companies will have two years to implement the changes once the legislation goes into effect.
T-Mobile is preparing to update the icon they display for iPhone users when they’re on 5G, showing them when they’re using the fastest flavors.
T-Mobile uses three different varieties of 5G: low-band for long-range, widespread coverage; mid-band for the best combination of speed and coverage; and mmWave for providing the fastest speeds in dense, urban areas.
Together, the mid-band and mmWave are what T-Mobile refers to as its Ultra Capacity 5G. Without doing a speed test, however, there has been no easy way to know which flavor of 5G a phone was using.
According to T-Mobile’s President of Technology, Neville Ray, the company is updating their 5G icon with a “UC” to indicate when the iPhone is connected to Ultra Capacity 5G.
The new icon will initially show up on iPhone 12 and 13 models, but will also rollout to Android devices in the near future.
It seems motorcycles and iPhones don’t mix, as Apple is warning the vibrations motorcycles cause can damage iPhone cameras.
The issue is the result of some iPhones’ optical image stabilization (OIS) and closed-loop autofocus (AF). Both features work with the gyroscope to ensure the quality of a photo, even if it’s taken when the iPhone is moving. In some cases, these features even alter the lens position to compensate for camera movement.
Evidently, these two features are susceptible to certain frequencies of high amplitude vibrations, such as those caused by high-performance motorcycles. Apple posted a support document detailing the issue.
The OIS and closed-loop AF systems in iPhone are designed for durability. However, as is the case with many consumer electronics that include systems like OIS, long-term direct exposure to high-amplitude vibrations within certain frequency ranges may degrade the performance of these systems and lead to reduced image quality for photos and videos. It is recommended to avoid exposing your iPhone to extended high-amplitude vibrations.
High-power or high-volume motorcycle engines generate intense high-amplitude vibrations, which are transmitted through the chassis and handlebars. It is not recommended to attach your iPhone to motorcycles with high-power or high-volume engines due to the amplitude of the vibration in certain frequency ranges that they generate. Attaching your iPhone to vehicles with small-volume or electric engines, such as mopeds and scooters, may lead to comparatively lower-amplitude vibrations, but if you do so a vibration dampening mount is recommended to lessen the risk of damage to your iPhone and its OIS and AF systems. It is also recommended to avoid regular use for prolonged periods to further lessen the risk of damage.
Following a record-breaking quarter, Apple CEO Tim Cook says 5G rollout still has a long way to go and will continue to drive iPhone sales.
The iPhone 12 was the first model to support 5G. Wireless carriers around the world are racing to deploy the next generation of wireless technology, although different countries and carriers are proceeding at drastically different paces.
A key element of Apple’s success this last quarter was a 50% growth in iPhone sales, long-considered Apple’s biggest cash cow. Cook doesn’t see that changing for some time, as 5G’s relative infancy still leaves plenty of room for growth.
“We’re in the very early innings of 5G,” Cook said during Apple’s earnings call, according to AppleInsider. “There are only a couple of countries that are in the double digits.”
“We feel really good about the future of the iPhone,” Cook added, in regard to its future growth.
Apple reported its third-quarter results, turning in a record quarter and smashing expectations.
All eyes were on Apple, especially given how much the company has been impacted by the global semiconductor shortage. It appears the company has managed to navigate the shortage better than expected, and has the results to match.
Apple reported $81.4 billion, up 36% year over year, representing $1.30 per share earnings. In comparison, the company was expected to turn in $73.3 billion, or $1.01 per share.
iPhone sales grew 50% from last year, something analysts look for, given how important the iPhone is to the company’s bottom line. The company’s services business — which analyst have been watching as a way for the company to diversify its income beyond the iPhone — grew 33% to $17.49 billion. The growth was driven by the company’s 1.65 billion installed devices.
“This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re continuing to press forward in our work to infuse everything we make with the values that define us — by inspiring a new generation of developers to learn to code, moving closer to our 2030 environment goal, and engaging in the urgent work of building a more equitable future.”
“Our record June quarter operating performance included new revenue records in each of our geographic segments, double-digit growth in each of our product categories, and a new all-time high for our installed base of active devices,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We generated $21 billion of operating cash flow, returned nearly $29 billion to our shareholders during the quarter, and continued to make significant investments across our business to support our long-term growth plans.”
A new report says Apple’s Mac computers could gain Face ID “within a couple of years.”
Apple’s Mac lineup currently uses the older Touch ID biometric security. While still offering a high degree of security, Touch ID is not as secure as the Face ID technology currently used in high-end iPhones and iPads.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, via Apple Insider, Apple is preparing to bring the newer tech to the Mac lineup as well. Gurman believes the more expensive Mac models may even move the camera underneath the display, eliminating a notch or dedicated place in the display’s frame.
Gurman has a well-earned reputation for being one of the more accurate Apple prognosticators. Should his latest information be correct, the Macs will finally gain one of their most requested features.
After exiting the smartphone market, LG is burying the hatchet with its one-time rival Apple and will sell iPhone in its stores.
Once one of the top smartphone makers, LG announced it would exit the business by the end of July. The company’s smartphone division had fallen on hard times, eclipsed by Apple, Samsung, Huawei and others.
According to reports by Herald Economic Daily, via MacRumors, it appears Apple and LG have reached an agreement for LG to sell iPhones in its 400 stores in South Korea.
The National Mobile Communication Distribution Association originally was opposed to the deal, but it appears LG exiting the smartphone market may activated a clause that allows the deal to proceed.
Qualcomm has its sights set on Apple, with plans to take on the company’s M1 processor.
Apple rocked the computing industry last year when it announced it was transitioning its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, the M1. The company previously relied on Intel to power its computers, but the M1 offered major advantages.
Apple’s custom silicon is based on designs from Arm Holdings. As one of the original founders of Arm, however, Apple has the broadest license available, giving the company freedom to create truly custom chips. An evolution of the processors Apple has used in the iPhone and iPad for years, the M1 has unrivaled energy use, combined with stellar performance that rivals and exceeds Intel’s best offerings.
The move has put tremendous pressure on PC makers to deliver a competitive product. Similarly, Microsoft has been migrating Windows to Arm processors to help pave the way for adoption by the PC industry.
Qualcomm’s new CEO believes his company may have the answer to Apple. The company already creates Arm-based chips, much like Apple does, but Cristiano Amon told Reuters he believes the company needs its own line of custom silicon to help his customers better compete with Cupertino.
Amon’s efforts are aided by a number of former Apple engineers, including ones who worked on Apple’s chip, that now work for Qualcomm. The engineers came onboard when Qualcomm purchased chip startup Nuvia, a company that was founded by ex-Apple employees.
If Qualcomm is able to deliver on Amon’s vision, it could find itself in a strong position in the PC industry, building on its already enviable position in the smartphone market.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has weighed in on Apple’s foldable iPhone plans, saying the company will introduce one in 2023.
Foldable phones are the next big evolution of modern smartphone design. Foldable designs promise to deliver current screen sizes in smaller packages, or much larger, tablet-size screens in phones that are comparable to current phones when folded.
Several companies, such as Samsung, have tried to make foldable phones, but have had issues with them being as durable as necessary. Others, like Microsoft, have opted for a dual-screen design, joined with a hinge. It’s unclear what approach Apple will take, although the company is well-known for arriving late to the party with designs that improve on the existing offerings of other companies. Many believe the iPhone maker may be able to leverage its hardware design expertise to deliver an unrivaled foldable experience.
According to Kuo, via 9to5Mac, Apple is expected to sell 15 to 20 million foldable iPhones in 2023. Kuo believes the phone will have an 8-inch screen.
At present, the product position of foldable smartphones is mainly to integrate the smartphone and tablet. But we believe that the foldable smartphone is only one of the applications of the foldable design. We predict that foldable devices will blur the product segmentations between smartphones, tablets, and laptops in the future. With its cross-product ecosystems and hardware design advantages, Apple will be the biggest winner in the new foldable device trend.
Apple has reported its quarterly results, delivering an astounding 54% year-over-year revenue growth.
The March quarter is not traditionally one of Apple’s strongest. This year, however, the company had a number of factors in its favor. The iPhone 12, with 5G support, was expected to cause a “super cycle” upgrade as individuals traded in older phones for the revolutionary new feature the 12 offered. Similarly, Apple’s move to its own custom silicon for its Mac line of computers have led to renewed demand.
The company also benefited from the transition to remote work, as Macs, iPhones and iPads saw increased demand among remote employees and students.
These factors resulted in a quarter that exceeded analysts expectations across the board, and accounted for revenue of $89.6 billion. The iPhone accounted for $47.9 billion, a 66% increase. The Mac saw a 70% increase, coming in at $9.1 billion. The iPad accounted for $7.8 billion, or a 35% increase.
“This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Apple is in a period of sweeping innovation across our product lineup, and we’re keeping focus on how we can help our teams and the communities where we work emerge from this pandemic into a better world. That certainly begins with products like the all-new iMac and iPad Pro, but it extends to efforts like the 8 gigawatts of new clean energy we’ll help bring onto the grid and our $430 billion investment in the United States over the next 5 years.”
“We are proud of our March quarter performance, which included revenue records in each of our geographic segments and strong double-digit growth in each of our product categories, driving our installed base of active devices to an all-time high,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “These results allowed us to generate operating cash flow of $24 billion and return nearly $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter. We are confident in our future and continue to make significant investments to support our long-term plans and enrich our customers’ lives.”
Apple has opened its Find My service to third parties, making it possible to track third-party devices via the app.
Until now, Apple’s Find My app has allowed a user to find their Macs, iPads, iPhones and AirPods. With Apple rumored to be working on AirTags, small devices that can be affixed to other items for tracking, AirTags will also likely be accessible via Find My.
In the meantime, new products from Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof will be available for tracking beginning next week.
“For more than a decade, our customers have relied on Find My to locate their missing or stolen Apple devices, all while protecting their privacy,” said Bob Borchers, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Now we’re bringing the powerful finding capabilities of Find My, one of our most popular services, to more people with the Find My network accessory program. We’re thrilled to see how Belkin, Chipolo, and VanMoof are utilizing this technology, and can’t wait to see what other partners create.”
As one of Apple’s more useful, everyday services, it’s good to see the company opening Find My to other companies and products.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has his sights set on regaining Apple as a customer, thanks to Intel’s planned factories in Arizona.
Apple made headlines when it announced it would be transitioning its Mac platform to its own custom silicon, based on Arm designs. Previously, Apple used its own custom silicon in iPhone and iPads, but relied on Intel’s chips for its Mac computers.
Unfortunately for Intel, the company was no longer able to meet Apple’s needs. Intel’s chips increasingly started falling behind rival AMD’s semiconductors, and failed to keep up with the power savings and performance Apple was able to achieve with its custom silicon.
To make matters worse, Intel had some high-profile issues with quality control. In fact, according to former Intel engineer François Piednoël, at one point Apple was finding almost as many bugs in Intel’s chips as Intel’s own team — not a good way to convince a company to stay with your products.
“The quality assurance of Skylake was more than a problem … It was abnormally bad,” said Piednoël. “We were getting way too much citing for little things inside Skylake. Basically our buddies at Apple became the number one filer of problems in the architecture. And that went really, really bad. When your customer starts finding almost as much bugs as you found yourself, you’re not leading into the right place.”
Despite losing Apple, Gelsinger is intent on getting them back, if not as a customer of Intel’s in-house chips, then as a manufacturing customer.
Intel’s new factories are being built in Arizona with the goal of challenging TSMC, the company Apple currently uses to manufacture its chips, and bring more semiconductor manufacturing to the US. As a result, Intel is positioning itself as an alternative manufacturing partner, giving companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Nokia and Microsoft another option and a way to diversify their supply chain.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Gelsinger laid out his hope.
Apple is a customer, and I hope to make them a big foundry customer because today they’re wholly dependent on Taiwan Semiconductor. We want to present great options for them to leverage our foundry services, as well, just like we’re working with Qualcomm and Microsoft to leverage our foundry. We’re going to be delivering great technology, some things that can’t be done anywhere else in the world.
In an interview with BBC News, Gelsinger emphasized it wouldn’t be an easy sell, and Intel would have to demonstrate that it could successfully meet customers’ needs.
Everybody wants multiple suppliers. So we think there’s very real potential. But I have to earn that business. I have to be able to go to my competitors and be able to say: “I want you to become my customer.”
And that also includes Nvidia, Qualcomm and Broadcom, in addition to Microsoft and IBM. I want all of them to say: “I need more technology… and I trust that Intel is going to become one of my key suppliers.”
And that includes Apple as one of the biggest users of advanced semiconductor capabilities.
Gelsinger certainly doesn’t lack for ambition in his efforts to turn Intel’s fortunes around. It remains to be seen if he and Intel can deliver the goods.