News - page 123

No, Apple didn’t change the Lightning connector on the iPhone 15 to make more money selling you new cables and dongles. It’s a common conspiracy theory that Apple switches the connector all the time for lining their pockets, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

First of all, Apple changes the connector very rarely; this is only the second occurrence in 16 years. Secondly, Apple is actually giving up money to make the switch happen. Not that there’s much money to be made selling Lightning cables, anyway. And all that aside, it’s out of Apple’s hands — USB-C is European Union law.

Apple’s transition away from the old Lightning connector includes a USB-C version of EarPods, and these can now be purchased online for under $20.

The wired earbuds that come with iPhone are surprisingly good — audio quality is closer to AirPods than you might realize. And there are other advantages for Mac and iPad users, too.

You might not have time to watch the full Wonderlust keynote, where Apple spent two hours talking iPhone 15 and Apple Watch. You may not even have time to read the highlights from our coverage. Just for you, we’ve edited down Apple’s keynote to just 90 seconds.

The USB-C port in the two iPhone 15 Pro models offers data transfers 20 times faster than any other iOS handset, including the base iPhone 15.

However, early rumors that some of Apple’s new 2023 iPhones would support Thunderbolt did not prove correct.

The new Apple Originals podcast Magnificent Jerk tells the unbelievable story of an eccentric uncle who plays at acting and screenwriting but turns out to be a Chinese gang leader whose life ends up on screen in a low-budget action flick starring Rob Lowe in a fake mustache, according to a new trailer dropped Wednesday.

Former Washington Post journalist Maya Lin Sugarman — the guy’s niece — hosts the podcast. It debuts September 18.

Should you buy the new iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9 (or Ultra 2) or AirPods? The new iPhones brought big changes this year. The Apple Watch and AirPods… not so much.

Now that the products are available to order, you might be wondering if it’s time to upgrade. That depends on what devices you have, so I’ve put together a buying guide with charts and a video to help you decide.

Trying to decide if you should buy iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max? After a few years of feature parity, this year’s lineup once again makes a marquee feature exclusive to the Pro Max model. And for photographers, it’s a doozy: iPhone 15 Pro Max gets a new 5x optical zoom, thanks to its tetraprism periscope lens.

Bigger display and longer battery life aside, this key camera improvement alone could make it worth upgrading to the larger iPhone Pro this year. Here’s how iPhone 15 Pro compares to iPhone 15 Pro Max.

At this point, considering the cinematic chops of iPhone cameras — especially in the new iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max — we expect to see full-length feature films. But we’ll take another “Shot on iPhone” pop music video like the one Apple’s pushing for Olivia Rodrigo’s song “get him back!”

The sassy music video, shot entirely on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, dropped Tuesday along with the arrival of the new iPhone 15 lineup.

The alternative-history sci-fi series For All Mankind returns to Apple TV+ in November, according to the streaming service. And Apple also released a teaser trailer for the upcoming season 4.

In these future episodes, the colony on Mars is fully established so the focus moves to mining the asteroids.

Anyone unhappy that the iPhone 15 series dumps Lightning in favor of USB-C should consider a just-released adapter from Apple. With it, an old Lightning cable can be plugged into a USB-C port — and for more than just power.

That said, there are cheaper options.

Apple added two tiers to iCloud+ online storage, allowing Mac and iPhone users to keep as much as 12 terabytes of data on the service. That’s six times as much as before.

The storage plans also come with additional features, many of which are focused on privacy.

The iPhone 12 can no longer be sold in France. The handset reportedly emits more electromagnetic radiation than is allowed in that country, and retailers have been ordered to take it off its shelves.

The order applies to only one model that Apple released in 2020. And the problem is fixable with a software patch.

Although tipsters worked overtime spoiling the new Apple products, revealing most of the details of the iPhone 15 series and the new Apple Watch models, Tim Cook and Co. still managed to surprise us here and there during Tuesday’s “Wonderlust” event.

Fortunately, most of the surprises were good ones.

Here are three ways Apple gave us more than we expected, but two where the tipsters steered us wrong.

Shortly after today’s announcements, Apple pushed out the release candidates for iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10. These operating systems will all be available on Monday, September 18.

macOS Sonoma has a later release date of September 26 and did not receive a release candidate today. Update: The macOS Sonoma release candidate is now out.

There are two important PSAs for developers: The release candidate of Xcode 15 does not support the visionOS SDK. App submissions for the new operating systems are now open, though.

Tim Cook and a surprisingly stone-cold Mother Nature had a staring contest at Apple Park during the Wonderlust event Tuesday. And in Apple’s telling, Tim Cook won.

He played himself in the keynote segment while Octavia Spencer, star of the canceled Truth Be Told on Apple TV+, played a feisty Mother Nature taking executives to task on environmental-initiative progress.

But in the end she chilled out, because Apple had some progress to show, including its first carbon-neutral products.

The new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets feature a lightweight titanium design with contoured edges, a new Action button, powerful camera upgrades and the A17 Pro chip to jack up mobile gaming, Apple said at its Wonderlust event Tuesday. And surprisingly, only the Pro Max’s price went up.

 “This is the most pro lineup we have ever created, with a state-of-the-art titanium design, the best iPhone camera system yet that enables game-changing new workflows, and the A17 Pro chip, which ushers in a new chapter of performance and games never before seen on iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a press release about the new models. To know more, read why the iPhone 15 might be Apple’s cheapest since 2007.

To make its products more eco-friendly, Apple introduced a new material it calls “FineWoven” today. This material, which Apple says has a “suedelike” feel, will replace the company’s existing leather accessories for the iPhone and Apple Watch.

The move is another step in Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The just-launched iPhone 15 and 15 Plus include the Dynamic Island previously reserved for Pro models. And they’re enhanced with another previously Pro feature: a 48 megapixel camera.

What they don’t have is a Lighting port or screen notch. These have been replaced with better options.

“iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus represent a huge leap forward with exciting camera innovations that inspire creativity, the intuitive Dynamic Island, and features like Roadside Assistance via satellite that make a real difference in users’ lives,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing.

The handsets were unveiled Tuesday at Apple’s Wonderlust event, along with two iPhone 15 Pro models andnew Apple Watch iterations.

At Apple’s “Wonderlust” event today, the company released an updated version of AirPods Pro 2 and EarPods with USB-C connectors. The earbuds themselves are largely unchanged from before, but the AirPods Pro 2 charging case and wired EarPods have switched from the once-inescapable Lightning port to the universal USB-C standard. Minor improvements to the former include dust resistance and lossless audio when paired with Vision Pro.

The new earbuds were announced alongside iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which also come with a USB-C port. Both pairs of buds are available to order today at the same price as before and will be available on September 22.

Apple Watch Series 9 brings a faster S9 chip that the company says will boost performance, make Siri more usable, and enable an entirely new “double tap” gesture.

The new Apple Watch, introduced Tuesday during Apple’s “Wonderlust” event alongside the second-gen Apple Watch Ultra, also adds Apple’s updated Ultra Wideband chip, which the company says will make the smartwatch work better with Apple’s Find My network, among other things.

“Apple Watch Series 9 has been redesigned on the inside with the all-new S9 chip, giving it a big boost in performance and capabilities,” said Deidre Caldbeck, director of Apple Watch product marketing. “It’s our most powerful Watch chip yet.”

Aside from the impressive internal updates, the 2023 Apple Watch lineup looks much the same as last year’s models.

iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS Sonoma finally have a release date. The OSes have been in beta testing since WWDC23 this year.

Apple announced the official release dates of the next major iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS releases at its ‘Wonderlust’ event.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is here. And it builds on the original model in all the right ways.

Announced today during Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 packs a faster S9 chip, a newer Ultra Wideband chip and longer battery life.

Today at Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, while people tuned in to hear about iPhone 15 and Apple Watch, Cupertino had just one piece of news to share about Vision Pro. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the event saying the device is still “on track to ship early next year.”

The new oval-shaped EpicBoom Bluetooth speaker joined Ultimate Ears’ lineup Monday, promising loud, bass-driven, 360-degree portable sound, the Logitech subsidiary said.

You can preorder the $349 boomer now for September 15 shipping.

Those working with very large files should be pleased that Intel keeps improving the Thunderbolt standard. The newly announced Thunderbolt 5 doubles the speed of its predecessor, and can even go up to three times faster for video connections.

It’s virtually certain Apple will build support the system for high-speed data transfers into future Macs.