iPhone

Jason Snell has published his annual Six Colors report card covering Apple’s 2019 performance, and this year it includes responses from me and my 9to5Mac colleague Benjamin Mayo. Go read it now and come back!

Final grades are based on ratings from 65 participants that Jason describes as “writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple.” Apple’s Wearables category ranks highest (4.6/5) while Software Quality and Apple TV tie for worst (2.7/5).

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The European Parliament is moving forward with its push for a standardized connector for all smartphones. TechCrunch reports that the parliament is requesting the European Commission to adopt “beefed-up” rules by July. This comes after Apple publicly spoke out against this idea just one week ago.

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I have to admit that this has never occurred to me as something to test in an iPhone review, but it’s reassuring to see someone has apparently tried it.

According to a new Wired profile on the kinetic space launch system firm SpinLaunch, Apple’s iPhone can survive extremely fast rotations when physically tethered.

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The new emoji that will arrive in 2020 on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, and other devices have been officially set. Additions in Emoji Version 13.0 include “Italian Hand,” ninjas, the Transgender flag, anatomical body parts, smiling face with tear, disguised face, new animals, food, parents feeding baby, and much more.

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It’s tough out there, people. Thousands have been infected with the novel Coronavirus in China, millions are under lockdown, airplanes are grounded, and borders tightened. It’s like we’ve gone back to the bubonic plague — or more accurately, gone back to the iPhone 5s!

Let me explain… I know it’s not too common for people to be out and about wearing masks in public in the United States, but it’s fairly common over here in Asia. The thinking behind it is actually to prevent you, the mask-wearer, from spreading your diseased germs to other, healthy, happy people. So if you show up in Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur or Taipei or any other Asian city and begin sneezing without a mask on, there’s a good chance you’ll get a nasty side-eye from a local.

The Coronavirus, obviously, is different: doctors are recommending people wear masks to prevent coming into contact with the “novel” virus, thus keeping yourself safe. But the masks cover a huge portion of your face (even a big face, like mine) basically invalidating Face ID. I know, I know, this sounds very trivial, and it is. But trivial and annoying have long conspired together to cause great anger and frustration.

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Commenting on Apple’s record-breaking 2020 Q1 performance, CEO Tim Cook shared an update on how many active devices are now in customers’ hands and we’ve also got fresh numbers on how iOS 13/iPadOS 13 adoption is coming along.

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After some users complained about the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro tracking location data even when the location services are turned off, Apple has added a new option in iOS 13.3.1 that disable the new Ultra Wideband U1 chip.

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Apple’s reported turnaround in India seems to be continuing, as iPhone assembler Wistron says that its third Indian iPhone plant is now ramping up for full-scale production after an earlier successful trial.

Wistron was Apple’s first iPhone assembler in the country, and initially began production with the iPhone SE — still sold there — before adding the iPhone 6S and iPhone 7…

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Kicking off 2020, security and privacy is a hot topic between the latest standoff between Apple and the FBI over the Pensacola incident as well as Apple reportedly abandoning its plan to bring end-to-end encryption to iCloud backups. With an in-depth report on what a robust iPhone cracking operation looks like from the inside, Fast Company shares some fascinating details and photos of NYC’s $10 million cyber lab.

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iPhone growth is usually depicted in charts like the one on the above left. It looks impressive, but chartmeister Jason Snell argues that it underrepresents the true rate of growth …

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US president Donald Trump and Chinese vice premier Liu He are due to sign a US-China trade deal later this morning that formally eliminates the threat of tariffs being applied to iPhones imported into the US.

The planned 15% tariffs, which would have applied to iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, were suspended last month pending the agreement, along with even higher tariffs on desktop Macs, AirPods, Watch, and more…

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The concept of cryptocurrency can be an enigma, but buying cryptocurrency for yourself can be even more confusing. Should you use Coinbase? Or Cash App? Is there another app that’s even better? Is buying Bitcoin on your phone safe at all? Have no fear — here’s how to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Litecoin directly from your iPhone.

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Popular accessory maker Nomad has taken the wraps off of its latest wireless charging accessory. The Base Station Stand is an updated and redesigned version of Nomad’s Wireless Stand with two 10W charging coils, USB-C, and more.

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Way back in 2014, European lawmakers made a broadly sensible proposal that could have hurt Apple. The European Union’s Radio Equipment Directive called for a European charger standard asking all smartphone manufacturers to use compatible chargers.

There were two key elements to the proposal. First, a common voltage and amperage. Second, a connector to plug a charger into a smartphone…

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