This trend bears out in secondary market data: Shipments of used smartphones increased nearly 10 percent, to 309.4 million shipments, in 2023, up from 282.6 million units the year prior, according to research firm IDC. For a lot of people, a good phone really is just good enough.
Apple is also selling privacy as part of its generative AI package, saying that Apple Intelligence “is integrated into the core of your iPhone, iPad, and Mac through on-device processing.” Apple’s AI tools use Apple-developed large language models, instead of relying on another entity’s models or a patchwork of LLMs, as confirmed by Axios. In instances where an iPhone isn’t capable of processing a user’s actions or queries on their device, Apple Intelligence will send the user’s data to a server running on Apple silicon, which will keep that user’s personal data secure, the company says.
Which raises the question: If Apple is already planning to offload some of the processing to its cloud, then couldn’t a slightly older iPhone—like the iPhone 14 Pro, which is powered by a slightly older chip—also get the AI glow-up?
Michael Gartenberg, a consumer technology analyst at Flash Advisory & Research who previously worked at Apple, says he can’t technically say at this point whether Apple “is being disingenuous about what devices can run this. But I do know iPhones can already run ChatGPT and an awful lot of Google’s AI features, so I suspect this is the opportunity Apple has been waiting for to tell you that the iPhone 13 really isn’t good enough anymore,” he says.
Another question the introduction of Apple Intelligence raises, pertaining to iPhone sales, is whether it gives consumers a reason not to buy an iPhone before this upcoming fall, Gartenberg says, which stalls the current iPhone buying cycle. (And that’s assuming buyers want the generative AI features at all; Pew survey results suggest Americans are slightly more concerned than excited about generative AI.)
And, since Apple Intelligence will be available only in US English to start, it’s unlikely to immediately boost iPhone sales elsewhere—like in China, one of Apple’s most important markets—unless Apple does some critical “futureproofing,” says Carolina Milanesi, founder of the research firm Heart of Tech.
“It depends on how they roll out experiences to other countries,” she says, like if AI-generated Genmoji are offered as a feature before text editing or other language-based features. “The bigger update cycle will happen next year, when more languages are added,” Milanesi predicts. And in China specifically, Apple has to not only develop language support but determine how it will handle data storage, she says.
Either way Apple now has a new way to compel iPhone buyers to upgrade come September. This time it’s not just selling them on a new camera jammed into the same container; it will undoubtedly try its hardest to convince customers that any newer iPhone is a much smarter smartphone, one that offers a flavor of generative AI much more palatable than the AI chat platforms still in search of application.
At WWDC 2024, Apple unleashed a blitzkrieg of software updates to put AI, or “Apple Intelligence,” front and center in your iPhones, iPads, and Macs. After Samsung and Google pushed AI on phones, it’s now Apple’s turn to try and flip the script to make smartphones, tablets, and laptops “smarter” by introducing an AI of its own.
Apple Unveils Its iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9
If you woke up this morning hoping for some big hardware announcement, or hell, even a hint or teaser for a new phone or Mac design, it’s best you return to your comfortable cave and hibernate until the next big Apple showcase. Regarding software, Apple Intelligence will be available in most user-end apps with automatic summarizations and AI-enhanced photo editing. ChatGPT is coming to the latest iPhones as the Cupertino, California tech giant is set to make the chatbot accessible anywhere on the phone without needing the app.
WWDC 2024 — June 10 | Apple
If you have no interest in AI, there are a few new updates to get excited about. iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are incoming, promising some long-awaited features. One is the iPhone lock screen update, which allows users to place their widgets and icons where they want. Another is the update to Messenger that will finally enable it to use the RCS protocol. Say goodbye to those green bubbles forever.
Meanwhile, iPads and Macs are getting a few new, unexpected features, like a full-on Calculator app that supports scribbling and iPhone mirroring on macOS Sequoia. Many of these updates are slated for fall of this year, though the betas should start rolling out in the next few months.
What’s Up With ‘Apple Intelligence’
Apple Intelligence is Apple’s Big AI Product for All of its Ecosystem
Screenshot: Apple
First on the list is “Apple Intelligence.” The Cupertino company’s AI is just what it says on the tin: an entire ecosystem for navigating users’ lives. There’s a lot going into it, but—eventually—the software should be able to include multimodal AI vision capabilities and work within all the apps on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The only problem is that we still don’t know exactly when any or parts of these features should be available.
Apple Intelligence can Rewrite or Proofread Text
Apple promises the new AI writing tools can summarize your text and add an easy “TLDR” to the top of emails. Like Google’s Gemini, the rewriting feature could include different text styles to make it sound more “Friendly” or “Concise.” You also have the option to add tables, lists, or summaries to the text. This should work in pretty much all Apple apps and some third-party apps.
Apple’s Emails Will Summarize Important Points Before You Open them
The Priority feature in the Mail app will show you your most important emails or messages for when you have a lot of them coming in at once. These condensed notifications will show this right on the lock screen of your iPhone. This works with a new Focus that cuts down on the number of notifications and only shows the most important ones.
Apple Will Let You Create AI Images, Including ‘Genmojis’
Screenshot: Apple
Of course, Apple wouldn’t stay its hand from the AI image generation game. The new Image Playground is built into Pages, Messages, Freeform, and several other apps.
You have three styles on offer: animation, illustration, or sketch, but you have the regular prompt bar to make it create whatever (somewhat disturbing) images you desire. There are also new AI-generated emojis called ‘Genmoji,’ which will come out as a sticker or Tapback. You can also create one of your friends if you trust it enough. Apple promises all its images are generated on-device.
There’s also a new Magic Eraser-like tool in Photos to remove unwanted elements from an image before filling in those missing pixels.
The Apple Intelligence Can Pull Up Your Files and Photos
There’s a lot of big promises coming about thanks to AI. Apple claims their new AI system will eventually let the AI perform rather complex actions, like pulling up photos and files from any of your apps. It should be able to work between apps so that it will know when your meetings are and what your plans are for that day when you ask it to send a text that helps you work around your schedule.
Apple Promises Its AI Won’t Save Your Data
Some of the AI running on Apple’s devices are on-device, but those are supposed to run through Private Cloud Compute. Apple promises to maintain your privacy by determining if a request needs any off-device AI. Then, it will only send parts of the request to the cloud. Apple promises outside agencies will be able to look at Apple’s servers to verify the big privacy claims.
Siri Has a New Look and a Whole Lot More Capabilities
Screenshot: Apple
Poor, beleaguered Siri is finally receiving those long-rumored AI upgrades, but we may need to wait a long time to see them in action. The Siri updates will allow the assistant to interact with iPhone and iPad apps far more than it currently can.
For one, Siri now has a new logo and look, making the borders of the screen wavy whenever the assistant gets called up. Siri will maintain conversational context and will be able to work off your previous requests. Now you can type to chat to Siri as well. Double tapping on the bottom of the screen allows you to communicate with Siri directly.
Siri can also take actions happening on-screen. It can also take actions across apps, like adding a photo from the Photos app to the Notes app. Eventually, the idea is that Siri can take specific actions in more apps over time.
The digital assistant should also become more engrained with users’ “Personal Context.” Siri should know your emails, plans, calendar events, and texts to find all the necessary information.
Siri Will Be Your Best How-To Machine for Apple Products
Siri should be able to send you a how-to guide for anything related to your Apple products. This comes baked into Siri and will work with all the most commonly asked questions about Apple products.
Siri Can Use ChatGPT ‘Seamlessly’
Screenshot: Apple
While we don’t have a good idea when Siri will receive its most important updates, we know that the current stopgap will be ChatGPT integration directly on users’ devices. The app will be accessible straight from Siri and the new compose feature. You can use the chatbot to generate DALL-E images as well. Apple promises this integration will be powered by GPT-4o for free without paying for an account.
Apple promises your activities won’t be logged, and you can access the ChatGPT paid features if you link your account. ChatGPT integration will be coming to all the Apple ecosystem’s new updates later this year.
iOS 18 is Promising some Long-Awaited Customization Features
iOS Now Supports RCS
Screenshot: Apple
As a last-minute note to end its talk about iOS 18, Apple confirmed that the next version of iOS will support RCS protocol. There’s no word yet exactly what form this will take, though Android Authority first recognized that it could be RCS Universal Profile 2.4. This could be the true end to green bubble tyranny, but we’ll learn more as we get close to release.
iOS 18 Lets You Finally Rearrange Your Home Screen Apps
Screenshot: Apple
iOS 18 will be a big one for folks who have long demanded Android-like customizability on the iPhone. Now, you can rearrange all your apps and widgets on the home screen however you like, so you can finally frame your background wallpaper without having an app covering up your kids’ faces. Apple goes further by allowing users to set the tint and tone of the app’s icons themselves.
You Can Soon “Lock” Any App in iOS 18
The next iPhone update will allow users to lock and hide apps so anyone using your phone won’t have immediate access without biometric scanning or a PIN. Similarly, you can now hide away apps into a select hidden folder if you don’t want visitors to your iPhone to get into some of your more sensitive apps without a passcode.
Messenger Includes Full Emoji Tapbacks
Screenshot: Apple
Are you annoyed you can’t do full emoji reactions to texts like you can on Android? The iOS Talkback feature is receiving full emoji support, so you can respond to your friend’s queries with as many poop emojis as their messages require.
Messenger Text Effects Will Let You Emphasize Certain Words
The Messenger app in iOS 18 is expanding the ability to emphasize words. Now, instead of just emphasizing the names of people or other words, users can use Text Effects to make certain words blow up or jiggle. The app will automatically suggest specific effects for certain words. There are new effects, and you can add them to any text you want.
Messages are also gaining the ability to use text formatting, allowing you to underline, bold, or italicize words or phrases.
Game Mode on iPhone
Mac’s Game Mode is getting a version on iPhone. The mode should automatically kick in while in a game. This minimizes background tasks to put as much processing power into the game. It should improve latency with controllers or AirPods.
Messages Via Satellite
If you find yourself without cellphone service, Apple will let you use your iPhone to text friends and family when off the grid on Messages. You can still send emojis and Tapbacks, and Apple claims its E2E encrypted. This will only be available with the iPhone 14 or later, which comes with satellite support.
Apple Maps Now Allows You to Get Hiking Trail Info
Screenshot: Apple
Apple Maps now has access to topographic trail maps, allowing hiking loops on your phone. This will show the overall length and elevation gain of the trail or loop and the various entry points on the app.
Tap to Cash Allows You to Pay Your Friends With Your Phone
Those iPhone users keen on Apple Cash will soon be able to send money to each other using the same action you can use to send folks your contact information. Hovering both phones with the active cash app will send and receive money from your wallet. Additionally, event tickets are being redesigned to show you details about the venue and other essential information.
Photos App is Gonna Look a Hell of a Lot Different
The Photos app now has a new design that shows all your photos in a single grid. You can find different photos based on months or years and filter your photos to eschew screenshots.
The new Collections will let you section different photos into topics like People & Pets or Recent Days. This will let you see your photos in a collage. In selections like Trips, you can find your vacations or travels by date. You can also pin different collections.
The Favorites carousel now shows you a slideshow of photos from various favorite collections.
iPadOS 18 Promises Some New and Unique Features for Apple’s Tablets
Floating Tab Bar on iPad Might Make it Far Easier to Use
Screenshot: Apple
Apple is introducing a new floating tab bar for iPadOS 18. It essentially works as an easy-to-access menu that can morph into a sidebar for even more fine-tuned controls. It should work with most Apple apps on the iPad. There are also new animations to accompany this update. Apple added it’s working to make browsing through documents easier on Apple’s tablets.
SharePlay Tap and Draw Will Let You Remote Control Another iPad
The new SharePlay update will let you make annotations on a foreign device and act as a remote control for another person’s iPad. So, if you’re trying to describe to your mom how to access her iPad photos, you can use SharePlay and draw an arrow straight to them. Once you get frustrated enough, you can take control.
Calculator on iPad (‘Yay’)
Screenshot: Apple
Finally, the iPad is getting a calculator app, but it’s far more interesting than that. It may look like It also works with Apple Pencil. Math Notes comes up from the calculator button, and if you write out an equal sign, it solves it for you, updating it live depending on your different functions. It also works with lists that let you tabulate numbers rather quickly. Notes also have the same math capabilities as Calculator.
Notes’ Smart Script Will Fix Your Chicken Scratch as You Write
The AI will make your writing more legible as you go. The on-board AI should be able to take your loose handwriting and make it a bit more legible while keeping your writing “style.” You can paste it directly into the Notes app, which should mimic your handwriting style.
So, What’s New in macOS Sequoia?
macOS Sequoia Will Allow You to Mirror Your iPhone on Your MacBook
Screenshot: Apple
macOS Sequoia is getting a lot of the features you can find on Apple’s other products. Continuity will let you access universal apps on the rest of the Apple ecosystem. More importantly, it will let you mirror your iPhone on a Mac. Users can then select and work on any of the iPhone’s apps. The audio also comes through Mac.
The iPhone stays locked while you mirror it and works with Standby mode. When your phone is connected to the laptop, iPhone notifications will also appear on Mac, and when you click on them, your iPhone mirror will open up.
You Can Place Your Mac Windows into Tiles, Like Windows 11
Screenshot: Apple
macOS Sequoia is adding a few new tiling features to make organizing your desktop more seamless. Bringing a window to a corner of the screen should automatically reorient and morph to fit a clean style.
You Can Preview Your Camera When Doing a Facetime
Before hopping into a video meeting, Macs will let you preview what you look like on camera. It is better to help you fix your makeup or remember to put on a shirt. There’s also a built-in background replacer if you can’t access one in whatever app you use.
Passwords App Will Show All Your Stuff
There’s now an all-new Passwords app to act as your one-stop shop for your keychains and important, sensitive information. It should be present across the entire Apple ecosystem. This should contain everything from WiFi passwords to verification codes to Passkeys.
Safari Reader Function Summarizes Text
Screenshot: Apple
The new updates to Safari introduce several new AI functions. At the top of the list are AI-generated summaries for the content on web pages. The Reader mode changes the website’s look and brings up a table of contents. There’s no look whether it also removes ads while it’s at it.
Game Porting Toolkit 2 Adds Better Windows Compatibility
Apple first announced its Game Porting Toolkit last WWDC, and now there’s a sequel that promises to make porting more hardcore titles easier to Apple’s framework. The company detailed several new games coming to Mac, including Frostpunk 2 and Control. Assassins Creed: Shadows is also coming to iPad, and Prince of Persia: Shattered Crown is coming to Mac.
How About watchOS 11 and AirPods?
AirPods Can Sense Your Head Nods For Saying Yes to Siri
Screenshot: Apple
If you’d rather not be that asshole in the elevator talking on your Bluetooth headset, AirPods will soon get a feature that should track your head movements. If there’s an incoming call, you can nod or shake your head to respond yes or no to taking it. After it rolls out to AirPods, we’ll have to see what other uses this gesture has.
Apple Watch’s watchOS 11 Gets Training Mode
There are a few new features on the Apple Watch for those fitness fans. With Training Mode, an AI algorithm tells you what kind of effort you made during your recent exercise. This might tell you if you were going too soft or too hard on your recent workout. Plus, you can customize your Fitness app to see what kind of data you want to see at a glance.
The Next watchOS Update Includes a Vitals App
Screenshot: Apple
The Vitals app will look at your entire health data to check all your health metrics and even tell you whether your drinking has impacted your health. This might show your heart rate and tell you whether that’s in your typical range. If it’s not within normal levels, the app should give you a rundown of what’s happening and what could be causing the issue.
Apple Watch Will Open Up Different Widgets Depending on Context
Apple’s smart stacks will automatically add weather or translation widgets to your main screen if it thinks you need them. This might come up when it looks like it’s about to rain or if you’re traveling around a foreign country.
The Apple Watch Will Determine Which Photos Work Best for Your Home Screen
Screenshot: Apple
Like its new TV update, Apple Watches will look through your photos and select those with enough blank space to fit the time. It should also be able to stick the time in front or behind certain photo elements, making it look far more like the photo belongs on the home screen.
If you’d rather not be that asshole in the elevator talking on your Bluetooth headset, AirPods will soon get a feature that should track your head movements. If there’s an incoming call, you can nod or shake your head to respond yes or no to taking it. After it rolls out to AirPods, we’ll have to see what other uses this gesture has.
AirPods Pro Now Have Voice Isolation and Spatial Audio in Gaming
AirPods Pro is getting an update that will add voice isolation to remove background noise for the sake of whoever’s on the other end. Additionally, developers can access an API to add spatial audio for games. This will add a surround-sound type experience to the game, first coming to Need for Speed Mobile.
Is There Anything New Coming to Apple TV+ and Vision Pro?
AppleVision OS 2, the Squeekquel, Will Let You Project Your Mac Screen Into nearly 180 Degrees
Screenshot: Apple
Apple released Vision Pro in February, and its first major update of the year is a sequel to the first visionOS coming down the pike just a few months later.
The big new update includes several new spatial photo updates. The Vision Pro can turn 2D images into 3D-ish Spatial photos. You can share those spatial photos with SharePlay. Apple is adding a few new gestures to tap to open the home view or open the control center by turning your wrist. Later this year, Apple plans to update the OS to add better Mac screen integration. This will expand the total view of your projected Mac screen, and with dynamic foveation, it can create a wraparound screen that travels nearly 180 degrees.
InSight on Apple tvOS Will Offer a Few Details on What You’re Watching
Apple’s new InSight feature on Apple TV+ is essentially Amazon’s X-Ray. It lets you get a quick summary of the content you’re watching, plus information about the actors on screen and perhaps a little trivia about the scene as it plays. Plus, there are a few new screensaver animations, like one from Peanuts’ Snoopy, but your photos will now reframed to fit with a timestamp and look like they belong on-screen.
Yep, the Galaxy S24 Ultra.Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Oh, the irony of the National Security Agency suggests that smartphone users turn off their phones occasionally. But the NSA is right: you do need to restart your phone regularly to rid it of demons. Some phones even let you schedule the restart, so you don’t have to think about it.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: 3 Things We Love and Hate
Forbes uncovered a seriously dated NSA document outlining the best practices for keeping your phone safe from bad actors in the digital space. The phones depicted are a 2010s-era iPhone with the original push-button Home button and a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Over a dozen tips are included, ranging from “considering using Biometrics” to “only use original charging cords.” It’s all fundamental stuff you’ve seen before, but the advice that’s got everyone’s ears perked up is the NSA’s suggestion to power your device off and back on weekly. It isn’t a failsafe but could help reduce zero-click exploits and malware via spearphishing.
For those of you who are only hearing this for the first time, you can rest easy knowing that this is already a common practice among smartphone wielders.
It’s a simple way to either force a waning software update or clear any background apps and memory leaks that might contribute to a too-hot-too-handle metal phone. I’m a frequent restarter because I have cell signal issues in my area—a quick reboot usually does the trick, though not without my heart beating rapidly as I wait to see those mobile service bars return.
A hefty number of manufacturers have already built in the functionality to restart your phone periodically. This includes Samsung’s Galaxy devices and the latest OnePlus devices. The Google Pixel doesn’t have a scheduled offering, but there is an option you can toggle on to have the device automatically restart once it receives an over-the-air (OTA) software update. iOS users can craft an Automation that will restart the iPhone every few days.
Sadly, people aren’t always as nice as they could be, and that’s where you need to turn to the various blocking and reporting features on the digital platforms you frequent. Overall, these features work well and effectively put up barriers between you and those you don’t want to hear from.
Video Chat – From Sci-Fi to Sci-Fact
But what happens when you want to unblock someone? Maybe you’ve had a change of heart—perhaps enough water has gone under enough bridges to make you ready to think again. Or maybe you think you might have accidentally blocked someone you didn’t mean to. Whatever the reason, it’s worth reviewing your block lists once in a while.
This is quite a significant undertaking, considering all the different accounts you’re probably signed up to, but it only takes a few minutes each time—and you don’t need to do it all that frequently.
Social apps
Blocked contacts on Instagram.Screenshot: Instagram
On the Facebook website and inside the Facebook mobile app, you can click your profile picture (top right), then Settings & privacy, Settings, and Blocking. You can view and edit lists of people you’ve blocked outright or just asked to see less of in the news feed.
Instagram
When it comes to Instagram, in the app, tap your profile picture (bottom right), then the three horizontal lines (top right), then Blocked. If you’re using Instagram on the web, click More (bottom left), then Settings and Blocked.
Twitter/X
On the social network formerly known as Twitter (now called X), if you load up the website, you can click the three dots on the left, then Settings and Privacy, Privacy and Safety, Mute and Block, and Blocked Accounts. In the mobile app, tap your profile picture (top left), then Settings & Support to get to Settings and Privacy.
Snapchat
Head into the mobile app, and tap your profile picture (top left): Then it’s the gear icon (top right), then Blocked users. While there is an official Snapchat interface on the web you can access with your account, it does have its limitations—and you can’t access your blocked Snapchat contacts from a web browser.
Tiktok
In the mobile app, tap Profile, then the three horizontal lines (top right), then Settings and Privacy, Privacy, and Blocked accounts. As with Snapchat, while you can get at your TikTok account on the web and access a limited number of settings, you can’t see a list of people you’ve blocked in a browser.
Messaging apps
Finding blocked contacts on WhatsApp.Screenshot: WhatsApp
iPhone and iPad
If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, it’s the same block list for the Phone app, Messages, and FaceTime. Open up Settings in iOS, then choose Phone and Blocked Contacts, Messages and Blocked Contacts, or FaceTime and Blocked Contacts. It’s the same list in each case, and you can add new people to it as well as take people off it.
On Android, the situation varies slightly depending on your phone, but on Pixel devices, the blocked list is synced between the Phone and Messages apps. You can tap the three dots (top right) from the Phone app, then Settings and Blocked numbers. From Messages, you can tap your profile picture (top right), then Spam and Blocked to see messages you’ve blocked; tap the three dots (top right) and Blocked numbers to view those as well.
WhatsApp
When it comes to WhatsApp, even after all these years, the mobile app interface is still different depending on which type of phone you have: If you’re on Android, tap the three dots (top right of the Chats tab), then choose Settings, Privacy, and Blocked contacts. On iOS, it’s Settings, then Privacy, and Blocked.
Signal
As for Signal, you can get to your list of blocked contacts by tapping on the three dots in the top right corner of the Chats tab, then picking Settings, Privacy, and Blocked. The next screen lets you add another contact to your blocked list, or unblock a contact that you’ve previously put there.
Telegram
The last messaging app we’ll cover is Telegram, which, like WhatsApp, has a different interface on different platforms. On Android, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Settings, Privacy and Security, and Blocked Users. On iOS, you switch to the Settings tab, then pick Privacy and Security and Blocked Users.
Email apps
You may have blocked contacts in your email app, too.Screenshot: Apple Mail
Your email clients are the final group of apps you want to check for blocked contacts. In Gmail on the web, click the gear icon (top right), then See all settings and Filters and blocked addresses. Scroll down to see email addresses that have been blocked and unblock them if needed.
Gmail
Strangely enough, you can’t get to these email addresses through the Gmail app on mobile—you can only get to the contacts blocked through your Google account, which covers services such as Google Chat, Google Photos, and Google Maps. These blocked users are separate from Gmail, and you can also find a list in your Google account on the web.
Apple Mail
If Apple Mail is your email service of choice, in the macOS client you can open the Mail menu and choose Settings, then switch to the Junk Mail tab and click Blocked to see email addresses you aren’t receiving messages from. On iOS, this list is actually shared with the Phone, Messages, and FaceTime apps—you can see it if you tap Mail and then Blocked from iOS Settings. The list isn’t available via iCloud on the web.
Outlook
In the default Outlook app for Windows, you need to click on the gear icon (top right), then choose Email and Junk email to find your blocked senders and domains. The layout is exactly the same if you open Outlook on the web to get to the same feature, but the list of blocked email addresses isn’t available through the Outlook mobile app.
Suppose you’re using a different email application. In that case, whether through a desktop client or a web interface, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find the options for blocked senders or junk emails—if there’s a regular correspondent who you haven’t heard from for quite some time, this might be why.
If Apple did drop the “i,” it would hardly be the company’s most significant makeover. Segall points out that the company is familiar with overhauls, and he believes Apple CEO Tim Cook wouldn’t lose any sleep over dropping the Jobs-era prefix. Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this article.
“Apple has done some amazingly bold, rash, risky things in the past,” says Segall. “Every time they changed processors or transformed the OS, experts were like, ‘Oh my, seriously? You’re gonna rebuild the operating system, or you’re going to transition to a whole new hardware platform?’ But Apple did it.”
He acknowledges that today’s Apple is far bigger than the Jobs-era Apple—with more cash at stake and more jobs on the line—and, therefore, it might be more risk averse. However, it also still wants to be known as an innovator, and sticking with a product name for brand equity reasons alone isn’t a very Apple way of doing things.
“Think Different,” ran Apple’s legendary, Emmy-winning 1997 advertisement, a campaign worked on by Segall. He cowrote the copy for the 60-second TV ad that grouped several pre-Apple geniuses—from Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Martin Luther King Jr. to Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, and other “misfits, rebels, and troublemakers”—flagging that the “people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.”
The campaign was a holding one; Apple had no new products to sell, and as Jobs was fond of telling people at the time and afterward, the company was just 90 days from bankruptcy, with his return to the company that he’d cofounded in 1976 a considerable risk for investors.
MacMan iMac
Mere weeks before launch, the original iMac had no official name.
Photograph: JOHN G. MABANGLO/Getty Images
The Think Different campaign improved Apple’s brand awareness, but it took the launch—and mega sales—of the iMac in 1998 to transform the company’s profitability. This “Bondi Blue” blob was make or break for Apple, and Jobs made no secret of this fact to his outside advertising agency, TBWAChiatDay.
Initially codenamed C1, the relatively inexpensive, consumer-oriented computer was to be marketed as a machine that could easily connect to the internet—a task now ubiquitous, but a rarity back in the 1990s. The iMac was bright, fun, easy to use, and wildly successful, setting Apple on the way to becoming the behemoth that became the world’s richest company in 2011. (Earlier this year, Apple was overtaken by Microsoft as the largest global company by market capitalization.)
Weeks from launch, the original iMac still had no official name. Apple’s in-house marketing and product teams toyed with “Rocket Mac,” “EveryMac,” and “Maxter” before favoring “MacMan,” a riff on the Walkman, the influential and top-selling portable audio player manufactured and marketed by Sony since 1979.
“[Jobs] liked that MacMan sounded like Walkman, which was the world’s most famous and profitable electronic device at the time,” says Segall.
“He was happy with the association. He gave a speech to the marketing team, saying Sony was such a successful consumer electronics company that Apple might one day want to be like that, and if we get a little rub-off by going with MacMan, he would be fine with that.” That’s not very “think different” of Jobs, agrees Segall.
It might be a good time to finally upgrade your iPhone if you’ve been hanging onto an older model — according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will be offering a little more than usual for some trade-ins starting next week in the US and Canada. The company itself hasn’t said anything about the promotion, but according to Gurman, it’ll be offered in-store to customers who’ll be using the credit toward any model in the iPhone 15 lineup. This will reportedly be in effect starting this Monday and last until June 3.
Starting Monday in the U.S. and Canada, you’ll get an iPhone trade in value boost at Apple retail stores if you use the credit towards an iPhone 15/Pro/Plus/Max. This will last till June 3rd.
Apple lists trade-in values on its website for all iPhone models going back to the iPhone 7. Something that old currently goes for something in the ballpark of $50, while a more recent model like the year-and-a-half-old iPhone 14 Pro Max has an estimated trade-in value of up to $630. Of course, the online estimates aren’t always what you end up getting, but it gives you an idea. Since Apple hasn’t said anything about a temporary value boost, it’s unclear by how much these numbers may go up.
The deadline is approaching to register to receive a piece of Apple’s $35 million settlement with iPhone 7 or 7 Plus users who experienced audio issues with their device’s microphone. Those eligible to make a claim can be awarded $50 to $349 from the tech giant.
The settlement is restricted to United States residents who owned one of those phone models between September 16, 2016 and January 3, 2023, and reported a covered audio issue to Apple or paid the company for repairs.
The deadline to submit a claim is June 3 via the settlement website.
Those who paid for repairs can receive a maximum of $349, while people who reported the issue but didn’t pay for repairs can receive up to $125. The minimum payout for eligible claimants is $50.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2019 by plaintiffs Joseph Casillas and De’Jhontai Banks, who both purchased iPhone 7’s in 2017 and claimed they began experiencing issues the following year.
“Plaintiff Casillas noticed that his phone’s sound was distorted with audible static while attempting to play a video on his phone,” the complaint reads. “Plaintiff Banks noticed that she was unable to hear callers unless she used her iPhone’s speaker function. These are common indications of the Audio IC Defect.”
The suit describes the audio chip issue as a result of inadequate casing on the phones, further claiming that Apple has “long been aware of the Audio IC Defect” and routinely refused to repair affected phones free of charge.
In the settlement agreement, Apple denied the phones had any audio issues and said it did nothing improper or unlawful.
If you are using iOS 14 or earlier, go to Settings and tap on your name, then tap Find My and turn off Find My iPhone. Tap Apple ID at the top left, go back and scroll down to the bottom to tap Sign Out. You will have to enter your password and tap Sign Out again.
Now you’re ready to wipe the iPhone. Go to Settings > General and scroll down to Transfer or Reset iPhone. Tap Erase All Content and Settings. You’ll be asked to confirm, and it may take a few minutes to complete the process.
How to Factory-Reset Your Android Phone
Start by backing up your Android phone, then remove any MicroSD cards and your SIM card. Remember to use the backup function in specific apps (like WhatsApp) and to transfer codes from apps like Google Authenticator.
Android has an anti-theft measure called Factory Reset Protection (FRP). It means that even after you wipe an Android phone, you need the last Google account login to set it up again. It should only kick in if you use the recovery menu to wipe your phone, but here’s how to disable FRP anyway. Remove your Google account (we recommend removing all of your accounts at the same time). Different Android manufacturers have slightly different menus, so your options may vary.
On a Google Pixel, you can do this in Settings by tapping Passwords and accounts. Select each one in turn and tap Remove Account. On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings and select Accounts and backup, then Manage accounts. Select each one in turn and tap Remove Account.
Now you can wipe the Android phone, but this process is also slightly different depending on who made your phone. On a Google Pixel, for example, go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset) > Erase all data (you will need to enter your PIN), and finally Erase all data again.
On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings > General Management > Reset, and choose Factory Data Reset. Scroll to the bottom and tap Reset, then Delete all (you may need to enter your Samsung account details).
Other Android phones will have similar options to what we have listed here, but if you can’t find them, head to the manufacturer’s website to find a guide.
Apple’s chief financial officer Luca Maestri challenged investor worries over an 8% drop in China revenue, by noting that sales in other emerging markets are growing.
“When we start looking at places like India, like Saudi, like Mexico, Turkey, Brazil…and Indonesia, the numbers are getting large, and we’re very happy because these are markets where our market share is [currenttly] low,” Maestri said Thursday during Apple’s second-quarter earnings call.
Revenue declined to $16.37 billion in China during the second quarter
“The populations are large and growing, and our products are really making a lot of progress within those markets,” continued Maestri. “The level of excitement for the brand is very high.”
One thing Maestri said there is verifiable: the populations in emerging markets are, in fact, large and growing. But Apple’s growth in those regions isn’t as rosy a picture as the executive attempted to paint, according to available data.
Net sales in the Americas — which would include places like Brazil and Mexico — were down slightly year-over-year from $37.8 billion to $37.3 billion, according to Apple’s Q2 2024 report. Sales in the “rest of Asia Pacific,” which would include emerging markets like India and Vietnam, were down 17% from $8.1 billion in the second-quarter of 2023 to $6.7 billion as of March 31.
To play devil’s advocate, Apple’s falling sales in those regions may have more to do with pricing than hype for the product.
Maestri noted that Apple has introduced several financing solutions and trade-in programs that “reduce the affordability threshold,” so that customers can buy in the top product range.
“That is very valuable for us in developed markets, but particularly in emerging markets where the affordability issues are more pronounced,” said Maestri.
Still, pointing to the beacon of hope that could be emerging markets may not be enough to settle down investors. China is Apple’s third-largest market, and it’s become a battleground of steep competition with domestic companies like Oppo and Xiaomi dominating the market. According to Counterpoint Research, Huwaei has has seen a massive swing in the country after being completely sidelined by U.S. sanctions. The firm’s phone sales increased almost 70% from the previous year, while Apple’s fell 19%. In September 2023, Beijing imposed bans on the iPhone for government officials in the workplace, echoing U.S. action against Huawei.
China and emerging markets aren’t the only downers on Apple’s balance sheet this quarter. The company also reported a 10% drop in iPhone sales across all markets. Apple’s slow adoption of AI versus competitors like Google and Microsoft have also potentially played a role in slowed down iPhone sales.
Despite unimpressive hardware figures, Apple still managed to beat Wall Street expectations. It also summoned a stock hike of more than 10% in after-hours trading, fueled by both an increase on services revenue and a massive $110 billion stock buyback — a jump over last year’s $90 billion purchase.
Investors on the call tried to get Maestri and Apple CEO Tim Cook to divulge some more details about its upcoming generative AI launches, which Apple has teased over the last few months, but the executives would only reveal that announcements were imminent.
We’ll be keeping our eyes out for Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference for more news.
A few representatives from smaller browser companies also expressed that they wanted more information included with Apple’s choice process, like definitions of what a browser is for less tech-savvy users and descriptions of the different browsers’ specialties. “Giving people information about the choice, and also information about what they’re choosing is really, really important,” says Kush Amlani, a global competition and regulatory counsel at Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser.
Sophie Dembinski, a head of public policy and climate action at Ecosia, mentioned how Apple’s pop-up appears for all iPhone users even if they’ve already gone into their phone’s settings and set an alternative browser as their default. In comparison, Google’s browser choice screen for Android users won’t show up if you’ve already gone through the steps of setting a preference for a third-party option.
While many developers are unhappy with Apple’s implementation, not every company with a browser on the choice screen expressed frustration. “We believe that Apple’s approach to presenting the browser choice screen is fair and acceptable,” says Andrew Moroz Frost, the Aloha Browser founder. He pointed out the randomized order of the browsers shown on the pop-up as one example of Apple designing it in a fair manner.
Richard Socher, the founder and CEO of You.com, seemed more encouraged by there being a browser choice screen that includes the search-focused startup rather than frustrated by Apple’s implementation. “I think it’s great that there’s not the default already preselected,” he says. Socher highlighted the randomized order as a positive sign as well.
Is this choice screen a true turning point for alternative browsers to grow their user base? “We’re expecting to have a clear picture on user uplift within months, not weeks,” says Dembinski. While some browsers reported initial upticks in downloads, it still seems too soon to make sweeping generalizations about the long-term efficacy of Apple’s choice screen.
“We would like to encourage platform providers to also level out the playing field for app developers around the world, not just in the EU,” says Jan Standal, a vice president of product marketing at Opera. Some of the companies WIRED spoke with remain hopeful that the precedent of browser choice screens set by the DMA will inspire international software changes.
Shortly after Apple’s choice screen launched, the European Commision announced that the screen would be part of its wider investigation into how Apple, Google, and Meta might be breaking these updated regulations: “The Commission is concerned that Apple’s measures, including the design of the web browser choice screen, may be preventing users from truly exercising their choice of services within the Apple ecosystem, in contravention of Article 6(3) of the DMA.” In keeping with its slow-moving tradition, this investigation may take up to a year to complete.
A mother in South Carolina is warning others after getting a series of threatening messages. Elizabeth Sebring said last week that she started getting the messages after losing her iPhone and getting a new one. Sebring said the messages came in the form of texts and videos, one of which shows a man waving a gun. The texts contained information about her family, her name, address, and threats to physically harm her and her family. The person also stated the personal information would be released to the black market if she didn’t erase the lost device from her Apple account and all tracking abilities on the old phone.”It was very threatening and very concerning because it was a video they sent of a man holding a gun, and I have two young children,” Sebring said. “Some of the things they said they would do to us, it was just vulgar. It was just bad.”Sebring said she eventually discovered online forums where other people who almost fell victim to the same exact scam posted similar messages received from scammers. Sebring said she wants people to be aware, especially those who are older in age, to help them avoid falling victim to this scam if it happens to them.
A mother in South Carolina is warning others after getting a series of threatening messages.
Elizabeth Sebring said last week that she started getting the messages after losing her iPhone and getting a new one.
Sebring said the messages came in the form of texts and videos, one of which shows a man waving a gun.
The texts contained information about her family, her name, address, and threats to physically harm her and her family. The person also stated the personal information would be released to the black market if she didn’t erase the lost device from her Apple account and all tracking abilities on the old phone.
“It was very threatening and very concerning because it was a video they sent of a man holding a gun, and I have two young children,” Sebring said. “Some of the things they said they would do to us, it was just vulgar. It was just bad.”
Sebring said she eventually discovered online forums where other people who almost fell victim to the same exact scam posted similar messages received from scammers.
Sebring said she wants people to be aware, especially those who are older in age, to help them avoid falling victim to this scam if it happens to them.
If you’re looking to fill your life with more sound, there’s nothing like a good speaker. After thorough testing, we have a reliable list of the best speakers you can buy in 2024. Our list includes everything from $60 portable ones to $450 lounge speakers. It also covers a variety of use cases — from music production to easy listening in the shower.
The editorial staff of Gizmodo independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyer’s Guides. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, G/O Media may earn a commission. Affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.
If you’re new to Sonos and unsure about committing to this pricey speaker ecosystem, I’d say the Roam is the best option to see if the whole Sonos thing is your vibe. The $169 Roam may be the cheapest Sonos speaker. Not only is it relatively affordable, but even if the smart features aren’t your jam, at least you still have a great portable Bluetooth speaker.
At 6.6 inches long and 2.4 inches wide, the Roam is small enough to fit in your hand easily. Its triangular shape and matte finish also feel natural when you’re toting it around. It weighs in at slightly less than a pound, which feels substantial enough in your grip, but it’s not so heavy that you’re tempted to leave it at home. When you’re not moving around, you can stack it either vertically to save room or horizontally for more stability.
In terms of durability, the Roam is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance. I stuck it in a bowl of water for 30 minutes, and while it sprayed water all over my kitchen counter, it still worked afterward. It’ll be fine if you get caught in a downpour or accidentally knock it into a pool. Just don’t dilly dally when retrieving it. Read More — Victoria Song
The criteria for portable Bluetooth speakers are not complicated. They’ve got to be easy to carry, sound decent, and not get trashed if you have butterfingers or get caught in the rain. The Sony SRS-XB13 ticks off all these boxes. It’s not without flaws, and you’ll have to compromise. But considering it’s only $60? It’s easy to forgive its shortcomings.
The XB13 is actually portable. It’s a tiny, squat lil guy, measuring 3.43 by 3.43 by 4.41 inches. In-person, the speaker is way tinier than I thought it would be when Sony initially sent over the official images. It also weighs a mere 11.7 ounces, which is noticeably lighter than the Sonos Roam (15 ounces). It also has a removable strap so you can easily hook it onto a bag or off a tree branch—whatever, I’m not judging. Also, it fits in a cup holder for road trips!
It has an IP67 rating and did not die when I purposefully dropped it into a pool. So there’s that. Long story short, this speaker is ideal if you’re on a budget, spend a lot of time outside, or are particularly clumsy. Read More — Victoria Song
Considering this is the first-ever speaker to feature both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s probably the smartest speaker you can get your hands on. Not only does it feature both assistants, it does it incredibly well. It’s impressive how seamlessly the Authentics 300 manages to juggle both while some speakers struggle to get even a single assistant to work flawlessly.
This speaker is gorgeous and justifies its $450 price tag. You get a premium leather-coated body with subtle golden accents on the front. There’s also a helpful handle for easy portability. Though, at around 11 lbs, it’s better suited as a lounge speaker that lives in one place. It lasts around 8 hours on a full charge, though, so if you ever need to move it for an event briefly, you can do that without having an ugly cable sticking out of it.
This speaker means it when it claims that it will fill your space with music. Its sound carries immense power and is always more than enough for my two-bedroom apartment. It never sounds muddy, even at higher volumes, and retains that strength regardless of how much pressure you put it in.
I saved the best for the last. You can (low-key) DJ on this by tweaking your music in real time. Thanks to a pair of huge bass and Treble dials on the top of this speaker, you can customize exactly how much low and high end you want and on which track. My friends and I sometimes like to constantly play around with them during tracks for a fun and hands-on listening experience. I can promise you that the dials work and aren’t just a marketing gimmick. In fact, maxing out the bass will make your entire floor vibrate.
These speakers scream that they’re studio monitors. They have an 8-inch woofer and standard tweeter ensconced inside an unusual oval cone that works to shape the sound. Bass response is excellent and the resulting stereo projection of having two of these in a close position to your mixing desk or computer is amazing. They are big at 15.5 inches high and 13 inches deep and weigh a hefty 21.38 lb.
I tested it using a number of song genres, from techno to jazz. Playing these songs through the VM-80 was like running a DJ booth in my attic office. I had excellent reproduction through most volume levels, and even at max volume, the sound wasn’t muddy or confused. Read More — John Biggs
The Sonos Era 300 is an impressive speaker, even at its eye-popping price point. But don’t think about it unless you’re in an Apple-dominant household.
It has one forward-firing tweeter routed through what the company calls a “custom waveguide” and one tweeter firing upward so that sound bounces off the ceiling. There are also two side-firing tweeters, one on each side, plus two woofers underneath those. I was impressed by the speaker’s ability to thump through deep bass while listening to techno with the volume up high.
I compared the Sonos Era 300 to the discontinued Google Home Max. I also listened to it against the second-gen Apple HomePod, which is not as loud as the Era 300, though it has similar specs (five tweeters and one woofer vs four tweeters and two woofers). In almost all cases, I preferred the way the Era 300 sounded to the aging Home Max and the second-gen HomePod.
But with no Google Cast integration, this speaker doesn’t make a lot of sense in a Google-led household. I would have to rebuild my entire smart ecosystem to integrate the Sonos Era 300—and even then, it would only work with the few AirPlay-capable devices rather than the mass of Google cast devices I have throughout my abode. Read More — Florence Ion
Suppose you’re willing to splurge just a little bit or can split the cost with roommates/a significant other. In that case, the Kohler Moxie is actually a convenient way to get a nicer showerhead and a good quality shower speaker in one easily installed package.
Initially, I was nervous about installation, but it was so easy that even a disaster-prone klutz could do it. All you have to do is unscrew your current showerhead and screw this one on. That’s it!
The speaker’s sound quality was also pretty good, which, in retrospect, shouldn’t have been super surprising as it’s the result of a partnership with Harman Kardon. Once I enabled Amazon Alexa, asking Alexa to play a certain artist or playlist was very easy. Sometimes, it struggled with less common names, but for the most part, Alexa got the job done. It was also nice that I could ask what events were on my calendar or opt for a little news update.
However, if it creeps you out that some Amazon stooge is listening to you in the shower, know you can use this speaker without ever enabling Alexa. Read More — Victoria Song
This list is updated regularly with new recommendations and product forecasts.
To screen record on your iPad, you must first add the feature to your Control Center.Navigate to Settings > Control Center > click on the green plus icon next to Screen Recording. This will add the feature to your Control Center.
To access it, swipe down on your display and tap the icon with two circles on it. There will be a three-second countdown, and your screen recording will start.
When you’re done, swipe to your Control Center and hit the icon again. Or you can tap on the red screen recording icon at the top of your screen and hit ‘Stop.’
You will get a notification informing you that your recording has been saved. To view it, head to your Photos app.
For a more detailed explanofion on how to screen record on an iPad, check this guide out.
I never thought I’d see the day I’d become a “wearables” person, and it’s because I’ve spent so long on the Android side of things. For years, Android users waited in vain for manufacturers to make smartwatches that fit nicely and didn’t peter out after a mere eight hours off the charger. It wasn’t until these last few years after Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 4 that Android-based wearables offered feature parity to one of the most popular wearables, the Apple Watch.
Hands-On With Meta Quest 3
Thankfully, there is plenty more choice for wearables, not just between Apple and Android. Although some companies have left the connected wearables game—RIP Fossil and your delightful hybrid watches—plenty more remain, including mainstays from the fitness industry. Here’s a look at some of the latest smartwatches we’ve covered and which ones are worth buying if you’re shopping for one. iPhone users, you already know which one we’re going to suggest.
The Apple Watch Series 9.Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it: you should have an Apple watch if you use an iPhone. Other smartwatches work with the iPhone, particularly for those of you who want more of a training device rather than a remote accessory for your smartphone. But for everyone else wielding an iPhone, the Apple Watch is it.
The Apple Watch has maintained a consistent price point throughout its lifetime. The Apple Watch Series 9 currently costs $400 for the 40mm size and $430 for the 45mm size. There’s also the Apple Watch SE, a pared-down version of the flagship Apple Watch, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, meant for rugged types who spend time outdoors or don’t mind wearing a bigger watch for the battery life.
The battery life of Apple Watches and the best ones for Android users is about the same. You’ll almost get two full days of notifications and time-telling, mainly if you use energy-saving modes. Apple has also done some work between generations of the Apple Watch. Siri’s common commands are available offline on the Series 9—something Google is still working on with Wear OS.
It took two generations, but Google finally delivered on its smartwatch promises with the Pixel Watch 2. The watch is comfortable for most wrists and pairs well with any of the dozens of available Android devices. Google also offers several different watchbands and finishes. The only downside is that the watchband employs proprietary connection mechanisms. Finding quality third-party watchbands is not as easy, and some of the Google Store’s offerings are pretty pricey.
The Fitbit app is what makes the Pixel Watch 2 a worthy wear. Its robust offerings include a daily readiness score, overnight body temperature tracking, sleep coaching, and stress monitoring. (Some features require a Fitbit Premium subscription, though they can be bundled in with Google One if you’re an all-in Android user.) The only drawback is that even with Health Connect, Fitbit doesn’t sync up with many popular third-party wellness suites without the help of a few other additional apps. I’m still trying to figure out how to count my Peloton workouts toward my weekly stats on Fitbit without manually entering the data.
Battery life is pretty average among most smartwatches available right now. Most of today’s Android-compatible smartwatches last as long as the Apple Watch—about a day and a half with the always-on display off. You can set the watch to a power-saving mode to eke out more time with it. But generally, smartwatches the size of the Pixel Watch 2 won’t make it two full days off the charger.
I used a Galaxy Watch 4 with a Pixel smartphone and the OnePlus 8, which was fine. However, the latest Galaxy Watch 6 has exclusive capabilities available only to Samsung smartphone users, including blood pressure and ECG monitoring, facilitated by apps available only through the Galaxy app store.
Like the Pixel Watch 2, the Galaxy Watch 6 can detect irregular heartbeats, track your sleep, measure your skin temperature as you sleep, and track your sleep patterns. It offers a larger display than the Pixel Watch 2—1.3 inches on the Galaxy Watch 6 versus 1.2 inches on the Pixel Watch 2—with less bezel. The Galaxy Watch 6 also uses a universal clasping mechanism so that you can buy watchbands anywhere.
My favorite part of Samsung Health is the new medication reminder offering, which simultaneously blasts the phone and smartwatch to hold me accountable for my pill. It’s louder than Apple Health and the Apple Watch’s quieter medication notifications. It functions like an alarm, and if you don’t take a second to mark whether you’ve taken your medication, it will nag you until you dismiss it entirely.
The OnePlus Watch 2 is a decidedly better smartwatch than the first-generation OnePlus Watch. But it is a big watch, and it is only available in one size. If it looks too big for you from the picture featured here, that’s because it is. However, if you think this honker of a wearable is something you’d sport after all, let me tell you the best part of the OnePlus Watch 2: it has the best battery life I’ve seen in a Wear OS watch in a long time.
With the always-on display off, the OnePlus Watch 2 lasts up to 100 hours off the charger. OnePlus employs two processors: one to handle the smartwatch’s lighter loads, like step counting and touch input, and one to take on the heavier loads, like apps and workout tracking. OnePlus’s health suite isn’t as robust as a Pixel Watch 2 with Fitbit or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 with Samsung Health. But at least it syncs up with Health Connect.
Here’s the low-down on the MagSafe standard and MagSafe power banks.
What is MagSafe?
MagSafe is the name of Apple’s accessory system that’s integrated into the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and iPhone 15 range. A ring of magnets on the back of the phone (and in MagSafe-enabled cases) lets you attach various magnetic accessories, like a battery pack that recharges the iPhone wirelessly, so you don’t need to hold it or carry a cable.
Does MagSafe reduce battery life?
There isn’t much evidence that MagSafe charging negatively impacts battery health, but it is less efficient than wired charging and can sometimes generate heat, which may degrade your battery faster. But other factors are more important if you want to preserve battery health (such as never fully draining your battery).
What rate can MagSafe power banks charge at?
Most MagSafe power banks we have tested wirelessly charge at a rate of up to 7.5 watts, but Anker’s Qi2 power bank can charge at up to 15 watts.
Is USB-C better than MagSafe?
Wired charging is faster and more efficient than wireless charging, so if you plug your phone in via cable to any of the power banks above, you can expect to get more power more quickly than you will using MagSafe or Qi2. MagSafe is simply more convenient.
What are the downsides of MagSafe?
Only some of Apple’s iPhones (12, 13, 14, and 15 series) support MagSafe, and it’s not officially compatible with Android phones. MagSafe is also less efficient than wired charging. Lost energy during wireless charging generates heat, which can have a negative impact on battery health.
Why do MagSafe power banks get hot?
MagSafe is not as efficient as wired charging, and power lost during wireless charging generates heat. MagSafe’s magnets reduce this problem, compared to Qi wireless charging, by ensuring the charging coils are aligned.
Can’t get enough of the Samsung Galaxy S24? The company’s latest phone release may be its most diverse offering yet, with major differences between the regular S24, S24+, and Ultra variants thanks to the most expensive version’s titanium frame. There’s a lot of information to parse, so we’re here to help make your buying decision a little easier.
This is the Coolest Galaxy S24 AI Feature That Few Are Talking About
How to Order the Samsung Galaxy S24
The Galaxy S24 series should be on stores starting Wednesday. You can nab it from Samsung’s website, Best Buy, or anywhere else where phones are sold.
Pretty much all U.S.-based carriers are offering S24 deals, though, as usual, it’s best to read the fine print before jumping onto a new plan for the sake of a phone. Xfinity and Comcast are telling their customers they can get up to $800 off on any of the S24 variations with trade-in, though that will depend on the age and state of their current device.
T-Mobile is advertising you can get some money off your bill with trade-in for a Galaxy S24+ or Ultra, though only if they’re on the Go5G Plus or Next plans. These are applied as bill credits going on the next two years. They can also get up to $800 off a S24 through their bills when adding a line on those plans. Remember, studying any of these plans’ cost benefits is best before jumping in.
Verizon offers 0% APR monthly payments on all the new Galaxy variants. In addition, those on Verizon Unlimited plans are being offered a trade-in on any Samsung phone model in any condition for a new Galaxy S24 or S24+. You could get some money off your monthly payments over time.
Meanwhile, AT&T is advertising credits on your bill when you trade-in for the S24+ and Ultra variants, or up to $800 off the regular S24 so long as you have the telecom company’s unlimited plan.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Specs and Price
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Now for the important part, AKA what you should actually know about the latest Galaxy before slamming the buy button. The regular Galaxy S24 costs $800 for the 128 GB version and storage caps out at 256 GB. The S24+ is $1,000 with 256 GB and more storage up to 512 GB.
The regular S24 remains at the comfortable 6.2-inch screen size with its FHD+, 120 Hz display. The S24+ bumps up to 6.5 inches with a Quad HD+ display. It comes stocked with 8 GB of integrated memory and the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, Qualcomm’s latest flagship chip. You can expect the usual camera array from the Samsung lineup, including a 50-MP main sensor, a 10-MP telephoto, and a 12-MP ultrawide. Don’t forget the 12-MP selfie camera up front. Otherwise, its looks, size, and weight are very reminiscent of last year’s Galaxy.
As for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, things are switched up a fair bit. This is the most expensive version of the company’s mainline phone, starting at $1,300 for 256 GB of internal memory. There are also options for 512 GB and 1 TB of storage.
The Ultra variant now costs $100 more than the S23 Ultra did last year, and that’s mostly due to the new titanium frame that’s supposed to be more durable than the previous aluminum. The Ultra’s 6.8-inch, 120 Hz flat display also sports Corning Gorilla Armor for screen protection and glare reduction. As far as the camera goes, its zoom function has been boosted with a 5x optical zoom lens on the 50 MP telephoto lens. That’s in addition to the 12-MP ultra-wide, 200-MP wide, and 10-MP telephoto with 3x zoom.
The titanium build hasn’t added much heft compared to the S23, but the S24 isn’t lighter either. It weighs just a little over .5 pounds and is still only .3 inches thick. The Ultra variant packs 12 GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.
What Colors are Available for the S24?
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Samsung really went back to matte for its color selection on the regular S24. The cheaper variations of Samsung’s latest smartphone, including the S24 and S24+, come in a deep purple Cobalt Violet and a muted Amber Yellow, alongside a dark and light gray in the form of Onyx Black and Marble Gray.
On the other hand, the S24 Ultra’s new titanium frame has made the colors of the cheaper phones a bit shinier, even with the same hues. The Ultra comes in Titanium Gray, Titanium Black (a variation of light and dark gray), Titanium Violet, and Titanium Yellow.
What Do We Think About the Galaxy S24 So Far?
Gizmodo’s own Florence Ion has been using the S24 Ultra extensively over the past few weeks, and she already has thoughts you can find here. Suffice it to say, the new $1,300 phone is a step up from last year’s model thanks to its titanium frame, better and brighter screen, and all the new generative AI software packed floor to ceiling inside Samsung’s latest phone. Its new zoom capabilities are also nothing to scoff at, thanks to the 5x zoom on the telephoto lens.
You can be sure we’re working on the full rundown of Samsung’s latest S24 slate, so stay tuned.
How Capable is the Galaxy S24’s AI?
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Like the Google Pixel 8 before, Samsung wanted to mark its latest phone release as a true “AI phone.” Whatever that truly means, Samsung spent most of its time at its Galaxy Unpacked event talking up the new phone’s generative AI features.
Many of these new features are things we’ve seen before, but the Seoul-based tech giant is promoting them all in one place. As noted in our ongoing review, the Instant Slow-mo feature works quite well, which adds AI-generated frames in videos to add the slow-motion effect artificially. The Generative Edit, akin to Google’s Magic Eraser, also works well enough to remove objects from images and fill in the leftover space.
There’s also the much-advertised Circle to Search feature that’s also coming to Pixel 8 phones. When you hold down on the navigation bar, you can then use a swipe or circle gesture to highlight an image or text on the screen. The feature will then search for that image or text akin to how Google Lens works.
The AI images also come with a watermark and metadata tag made to identify an image of AI. Of course, you can modify an image’s metadata and crop out the watermark, so it’s not like Samsung is promising it will save the world from deepfakes. Hell, you can use Samsung’s own AI to remove the watermark added to modified images.
Plus, Samsung has effectively confirmed its AI might not stay free forever. Samsung’s head of mobile T.M. Roh said that the company is looking into paid premium AI features after the end of 2025. We still don’t know what that will look like, and apparently, neither does Samsung. It’s just something to note considering how AI seems to be the next big push for the mobile market.
How Durable is the Galaxy S24 Ultra?
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
It’s still early, and folks will need to put all the new phones through their paces. Still, we have a fair idea about how strong titanium can be in phones thanks to the iPhone 15 Pro. Whereas Apple’s premium device was lighter than its past Pro devices, the S24 Ultra variant and its new titanium shell are essentially the same as last year’s, likely due to some swapped internals. The Corning Gorilla Armor on the Ultra should also be stronger and more scratch-resistant than the Victus 2 shield on the regular S24.
Just because it’s now cloaked in a stronger material doesn’t mean you should eschew a case or screen protector. That said, the device may be a fair bit easy to repair should things go horribly wrong, at least based on the most recent S24 teardowns. Videos also show the new phone has expanded its cooling capacity with a larger vapor chamber, which will likely deal with greater heat from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Need help?
Need some help with your new Samsung smartphone? Check out our how-tos on turning off the pesky Samsung advertising you’ll inevitably encounter. And if you’re trading in a Samsung device for credit on a new one, factory reset it before you send it off. Or, if you’d rather save money on the last generation’s Galaxy series, the good news is that all that fancy new AI software is coming to older Samsung devices.
Your iPhone is so much more than just a screen for texting. Smartphones are how we get work done, stay on top of the crazy news cycle, rock out, keep in touch with friends and family, and capture life’s most important moments. Carrying all of that information in our pockets is incredibly powerful, and it makes getting through our days a little easier. It also means that your most important data can get lost when you forget your phone on the train or have an unfortunate spat with the sidewalk.
If you want to avoid frantically trying to recover the best shots from a friend’s wedding, you must back up your iPhone. It’s an especially good idea if you plan on updating to a new iPhone. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your needs and habits. After you’re all backed up, check out our guide to choosing the Best iPhone.
Updated March 2024: We verified the steps for the latest version of iOS, added screenshots to illustrate, and updated for the steps for MacOS.
Backing Up to iCloud
Apple via Simon Hill
Screenshot
Your easiest option, and Apple’s first recommendation, is to back up your iPhone to iCloud.
The process is pretty simple:
Connect to Wi-Fi.
Go into Settings and tap on your name, then iCloud.
On the iCloud page, scroll down and tap on iCloud Backup. Make sure the switch is toggled on so you’ll get automatic backups when your iPhone is charging, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. Then tap Backup Now to force a backup.
Check things like Photos that you want iCloud to back up (you can uncheck other categories).
Apple gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but that’s probably not enough to cover all of your data. You can always buy more iCloud storage, though that will draw you deeper into Apple’s ecosystem. Luckily, in iOS 15 Apple introduced a temporary way to back up your data to iCloud, even if you are out of storage, to allow you to switch iPhones. If you prefer not to use the cloud, there is another way.
Backing Up to Your Mac
If your phone is loaded with pictures, songs, apps, and years of text messages, you might want to make a local backup. If you have a computer with some gigs to spare, you can plug in your iPhone and click a few buttons to make sure all your phone’s data is safely tucked away. But the exact method depends on your version of MacOS.
If you’re not sure which Apple operating system you have, click the little Apple icon in the top left corner of your Mac desktop and select About This Mac. Another window will pop up, telling you what version you’re running.
Backing Up to MacOS Catalina 10.15 or later
The upgrade to MacOS Catalina (2019) did away with iTunes, replacing it with three separate apps for music, podcasts, and TV. The backup option is now located in Finder, where you can search folders and other drives. The steps to back up your iPhone are almost the same as with iTunes:
Connect your iPhone to your computer with a cable.
Open Finder and select your iPhone in the sidebar.
Click on General and choose Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
If you want to encrypt your data and password protect it, select Encrypt local backup.
What if you scored a free trial of Apple TV+ for three months, or you have six free months of Apple Music through an offer you redeemed? Unfortunately, Apple One will cut those free trials down to the standard one-month period, after which you will start to pay the Apple One plan price you chose. Note: You don’t get any free trial allowance back if you cancel your Apple One plan.
Apple One Services
Courtesy of Apple
What exactly do some of these services offer? Here’s a closer look:
Apple Music
Apple Music appears in our Best Streaming Services guide because the entire library of more than 90 million songs is available in lossless format, and you get immersive 3D sound with albums tuned in Dolby Atmos. It has an excellent iPhone app and Siri support, but the Android app is just OK, and we’re not fans of the desktop app. Social playlist sharing and curation don’t quite match up to our favorite service, Spotify, but the gap is closing. If you want to switch from Spotify to Apple Music, you can also take your playlists.
Apple TV+
With a focus on quality over quantity, Apple TV+ isn’t competing with the enormous libraries offered by Netflix, Disney+, and Hulu, and it deserves its place in our Best Streaming Services guide. It’s light on movies, though there are highlights, like Killers of the Flower Moon, Wolfwalkers, and Finch. But the real appeal of Apple TV+ is unmissable hit shows like Severance, Foundation, Ted Lasso, and The Morning Show, and it boasts excellent music documentaries, too. Everything is offered in 4K with HDR, and no, you don’t need an Apple TV to watch content in Apple TV+.
Apple Arcade
Closing in on three years since its release, the impact of Apple Arcade on mobile gaming is still unclear. What isn’t up for debate is the fact it offers some of the best mobile games without ads or in-app purchases. There are more than 200 titles in the Apple Arcade now, many of them exclusive. Some of our favorites include Mini Motorways, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Sneaky Sasquatch, Bloons TD6, and Assemble With Care.
iCloud+
Everyone gets 5 GB of storage space in iCloud for free, but that soon fills up with device backups, photos, and videos. You can upgrade to iCloud+ to get 50 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB, and each option supports family sharing. There are several alternative cloud storage services that work well with Apple devices, but iCloud is tightly integrated. Aside from the extra space, another reason to upgrade to iCloud+ is for HomeKit Secure Video. It allows HomeKit security cameras and video doorbells to record 10 days of activity, viewable in the Home app. The 50-GB plan supports a single camera, the 200-GB plan covers up to five cameras, and the 2-TB plan supports unlimited cameras. These HomeKit videos don’t count against your iCloud storage limit. Every iCloud+ subscription also includes Private Relay, which encrypts your Safari web browsing, and Hide My Email, which gives you unique, random email addresses to use when you’d prefer to keep yours private.
Apple News+
If you love to read great magazines like (ahem) WIRED, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, People, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Popular Science, or newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, you can find them and many more, cover-to-cover, in the News app with an Apple News+ subscription. The service saves you from paywalls, features slick presentation, and offers curation based on your interests. On the downside, it doesn’t include everything—The New York Times and The Washington Post are famously unavailable. It also only works on Apple devices.
Apple Fitness+
Workout subscription services grew popular at the start of the pandemic, as people could no longer visit the gym. Apple Fitness+ offers various workout types, from yoga to strength training, audio-guided walks and runs, and meditations, along with plenty of real-time metrics. It works via the Fitness app on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, and it requires an Apple Watch Series 3 or newer. You can read more about it in our review, but the service has since expanded. (Apple adds around 30 new workouts and meditations every week.)
How to Subscribe to Apple One
If you are sold on Apple One, signing up on an Apple device is easy. Go to Settings, Account (tap on your name), Subscriptions, and you will see Apple One with the option to Try It Now. That’s it!
Rich communication services (RCS) is already a big deal on Android phones with more than a billion users. Those numbers might be going up by the fall, as Google claims Apple will be joining the RCS party.
Apple Unveils Its iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9
A page for Google Messages lists the benefits of RCS, and it also just happened to have a slide saying the feature will come to the iPhone, as first spotted by 9to5Google Thursday.
“Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024,” the now-deleted slide said.
Google and Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on this deleted slide.
Apple already began work on implementing RCS compatibility with its upcoming iPhone last year, but this is the first mention of when this momentous occasion would happen. The timing does seem appropriate as Apple routinely releases its new iPhone in the fall. This could be one of the many announcements of new features for iOS 18 happening in June at Apple’s WWDC.
As for what this means for Android and iPhone users, it could be the end of the green and blue bubble drama. Now this doesn’t mean that the different color bubbles will go away or that Android phones will now have access to iMessage. Android users will still have the green bubble when texting someone with an iPhone. However, things like emoji reactions, message receipts, and high-resolution pictures and videos could be available between the two devices.
Texts were one of the points the Department of Justice focused on when it decided to file a lawsuit against Apple for creating a monopoly on the iPhone. In the suit, there was an interaction CEO Tim Cook had with an individual who said how it was tough for him to send her photos as she was on an Android phone. Cook then told the person, “Buy your mom an iPhone.”
Back in 2022 at the annual Code Conference, where tech luminaries submit to on-stage interviews, an audience member asked Apple CEO Tim Cook for some tech support. “I can’t send my mom certain videos,” he said, because she used an Android device incompatible with Apple’s iMessage. Cook’s now-infamous response was, “Buy your mom an iPhone.”
Cook’s remark and Apple’s recent decision to block a third-party app from bridging the Android-to-iMessage interoperability chasm are two of the many examples of allegedly monopolistic behavior cited in the US government’s antitrust suit against Apple. Central to the case is Apple’s practice of “locking in” iPhone customers, by undermining competing apps, using its proprietary messaging protocol as glue, and generally making it challenging for people to switch to other phones.
Those accusations are backed up by lawyerly references to the Sherman Act. But the complaint also shows the Department of Justice crafting a cultural narrative, trying to tell a technology tale with a clear message—like an episode of crime drama Dragnet, says antitrust expert William Kovacic, who teaches at George Washington University and King’s College, London.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the DOJ and more than a dozen state attorneys general, claims that in addition to degrading the quality of third-party apps, Apple “affirmatively undermines the quality of rival smartphones.” Because messages sent between iPhones via Apple’s proprietary network appear in blue bubbles, but those from Android phones appear in green and are excluded from many iMessage features, Apple has signaled to consumers that rival phones are of less quality, the suit alleges.
The suit includes references to the negative cultural and emotional impact of the restrictiveness of some Apple products. It ranges beyond the typical antitrust case, in which investigators might focus on supracompetitive pricing or the conditions of corporate deals that restrict competition. The core of US antitrust cases has long been proving consumers paid higher prices as a result of anticompetitive practices. But a few key paragraphs within the 88-page filing mention the exclusion and social shaming of non-iPhone users confined inside green chat bubbles, distinguishing this case from some of the more recondite explanations of tech market competition in recent years.
“Many non-iPhone users also experience social stigma, exclusion, and blame for ‘breaking’ chats where other participants use iPhones,” the suit reads. It goes on to note that this is particularly powerful for certain demographics, like teenagers, who the Wall Street Journal reported two years ago “dread the ostracism” that comes with having an Android phone.
The DOJ argues that all of this reinforces the switching costs that Apple has baked into its phones. Apple is so dominant in the smartphone market not because its phones are necessarily better, the suit alleges, but because it has made communicating on other smartphones worse, thereby making it harder for consumers to give up their iPhones.
Legal experts say this social stigma argument will need much stronger support to hold up in court, because it doesn’t fit with traditional definitions of antitrust. “What is Apple actually precluding here? It’s almost like a coolness factor when a company successfully creates a network effect for itself, and I’ve never seen that integrated into an antitrust claim before,” says Paul Swanson, a litigation partner at Holland & Hart LLP in Denver, Colorado, who focuses on technology and antitrust. “This is going to be an interesting case for antitrust law.”
Regardless, the DOJ’s complaint builds a powerful message from the cacophony of consumer voices that have vented frustrations with iMessage’s lack of interoperability in recent years. And it’s part of a broader, democratizing theme introduced by Jonathan Kanter, the Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, says Kovacic, who previously served as chair of the Federal Trade Commission. “Kanter basically said, ‘We’re trying to make this body of law accessible to ordinary human beings and take it away from the technicians,” Kovacic says. “Storytelling is overstated in some ways, but my sense is that a lot of work went into this filing.”
