iPhone

Last November, we explained how the UK government was working to convince Apple to open up the iPhone NFC chip to allow EU citizens to scan their passports post-Brexit. Now, the UK government says it has reached a deal with Apple to access the iPhone’s NFC technology.

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Piper Jaffray today published the results of its semi-annual “Taking Stock with Teens” survey. The survey questioned 8,000 high school students in the United States, and as usual, Apple came out atop in the smartphone category.

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In yet another abuse of the enterprise distribution program, security analyst Lookout has identified apps (via TechCrunch) that were pretending to be published by cell carriers in Italy and Turkmenistan. The apps were available for iPhone users to download through Safari as they were signed by an enterprise certificate. These apps used carrier branding and pretended to offer utilities for the users’ cell plans when in reality they would ask for every permission they could to track location, collect contact, photos, and more, and had the capability to listen in on users’ phone conversations.

Apps using enterprise certificates are not available through the App Store, but malicious criminals can target iOS users through Safari (perhaps with a phishing attack-esque email) and get people to download the app over the web, outside of the purview of the App Store review process.

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Apple was widely mocked when Phil Schiller used the term ‘courage’ to describe its decision to drop the headphone socket from iPhones, starting with the iPhone 7/Plus – a likely callback to a Steve Jobs comment on the decision not to support Flash on iOS devices.

The reason to move on: courage. The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us.

But two-and-a-half years on, does the decision now seem to have lived up to the word?

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It’s looking like Apple chipmaker TSMC is on track for being able to produce 5nm A-Series chips for 2020 iPhones.

We heard as long ago as the beginning of last year that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was gearing up for that target, and a new report today says that the firm has just hit a major milestone along the way …

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According to a report from The Oregonian, two Chinese engineering students allegedly scammed Apple out of nearly $1 million worth of iPhone replacements. The two are now facing criminal charges in federal court, the report says.

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Suggestions that Apple would release a triple-camera iPhone this year have been circulating for almost a year now. And a photo posted today on Chinese social network Weibo claims to show a part from one of this year’s iPhones with cutouts for the three lenses.

An early claim suggested that the third lens would be a 5x telephoto one, as well as being used to provide enhanced augmented reality capabilities …

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Following an analyst this morning saying Apple may not release a 5G iPhone until 2021, a report from Fast Company this evening sheds more light on Apple’s modem efforts. The report details the company’s increasingly strained relationship with Intel, and the growth of its in-house modem team.

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It has been common knowledge in the rumor mill that Apple is not ready to debut an iPhone in 2019 with 5G radios. Apple has never been early to adopting new cellular standards and 5G deployment in 2019 is very scarce anyway.

However, general consensus has indicated that Apple wants to release a 5G iPhone model in 2020. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri released a report today that says there is an increasing likelihood that Apple will not be able to launch a 5G iPhone next year.

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Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is out today with a new investor note. Kuo reiterates that all three new iPhones in 2019 will add support for bilateral wireless charging, building on what he said in a separate investor note earlier this year. To accommodate two-way wireless charging, however, all three new iPhones will also get bigger batteries.

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In China, Apple has lowered prices across its lineup in response to a lowering of VAT (sales tax) in the region from 16 to 13%, which went into effect today, reducing the entry price of iPhone and its other product lines. The changes were first reported by CNBC and 9to5Mac has seen documentation that confirms the new pricing.

The Chinese Apple Online Store went down for maintenance yesterday as the company rolled out the price changes across its product lines.

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A rumored Japan Display rescue plan has been confirmed by the company, providing the funding it needs to move into OLED production. The company, which already makes LCD screens for Apple, hopes to do the same for OLED iPhones …

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In a Friday afternoon announcement, Apple shared today that AirPower is officially dead. The news came as a surprise as support for the special wireless charging mat was found in a recent iOS beta and other evidence was pointing to an imminent release. Now that Apple’s advanced wireless charger is off the table, let’s take a look at some of the best AirPower alternatives you can buy today.

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After announcing the upcoming Apple Card at yesterday’s “It’s show time” event, I got to thinking about how Apple has never offered a non-folio wallet case for its iPhones. While I’m eager for a truly wallet-less future, we’re not there yet and I think a lot of folks will opt for a physical Apple Card to go along with the digital default. Here’s my pitch for a slim first-party wallet case from Apple.

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Retailers and analysts say that it’s not just price that has driven disappointing iPhone sales in China: consumers are also switching to Chinese smartphone brands because they feel some features are better.

Apple last year saw its market share of the $500-800 segment in China plunge from 81.2% to 54.6% …

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I’m not sure whether there’s a typical lost iPhone story, but the tale of how I came to leave my iPhone behind on Monday evening, outdoors, several miles from home, is a slightly convoluted one.

I should like to note that no alcohol was involved – only tea …

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