O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: iPhone

  • Apple releases iOS 12.4, watchOS 5.3 updates, addresses Walkie Talkie audio vulnerability

    With iOS 13, watchOS 6, and macOS Catalina just around the corner, Apple has released iOS 12.4, and watchOS 5.3, both of which see significant improvements, such as a fix for the Walkie Talkie audio bug issue.

    Other changes include refinements to Apple News, with downloaded issues of publications now showing up in My Magazines and all News+ publications appearing in the catalog at the top of the feed.

    With iOS 12.4, users can now wirelessly transfer data from an old handset to a new one without having to restore from iCloud or iTunes.

    The watchOS update could be more vital depending on where you live. It finally enables the ECG app on Series 4 Apple Watches in Canada and Singapore, providing a sign of possible heart trouble. Also, Walkie Talkie functionality is back after Apple fixed a vulnerability in the voice chat app.

    Other fixes include standard changes to performance and security, as needed.

    If you’ve tried iOS 12.4 or watchOS 5.3 and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via Engadget

  • Rumor: TSMC could switch to 5-nanometer production process for 2020 model iPhones

    The rumor mill currently has it that Apple supplier TSMC could switch to a 5-nanometer process for its chip manufacturing on the 2020 model iPhones.

    The change is thought to be influenced by demands for 5G smartphones. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei told investors on Thursday that the company is a bit more aggressive on its move to a 5-nanometer process and that its on track to produce them by the first half of 2020.

    The current generation A12 Bionic chips are created via a 7-nanometer process, which is expected to continue with the 2019 model iPhones and their A13 processor. The 5-nanometer process would begin with the A14.

    TSMC is said to have already provided its design infrastructure for creating the 5-nanometer process chips to clients, and Apple is thought to be among the first companies taking advantage of the 5-nanometer process when it becomes available.

    Via The Mac Observer and AppleInsider

  • Apple, Google to bring dozens of new, more inclusive emoji to devices via iOS 13 and Android Q

    World Emoji Day took place on Wednesday, complete with Apple and Google unveiling a slew of new emoji based on the approved characters in Unicode 12 that will be arriving in iOS 13 and Android Q later this year.

    The theme for this year seems to be inclusion, meaning users of any race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability will find something with which to express themselves. For example, the Holding Hands emoji has been expanded to include more than 70 combinations and sex, gender, and race, allowing you to express your relationship to others.

    Android phones will see gender-ambiguous emoji for symbols such as construction worker, police office, genie, and vampire. Other new diversity-themed emoji will include symbols for people who are blind, deaf, or paralyzed, as well as guide dogs, prosthetic limbs, and hearing aids. Users will also see new emoji for animals, food and objects, including a yo-yo, felafel plate, skunk, garlic, flamingo, and yawning face.

    All said, there will be 59 new emoji on iPhones and 65 on Android phones, not including the various skin tones and gender options.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via PCWorld

  • iPhone 2019, 2020 rumors surface, focus on camera changes, new screen sizes, and 5G modems

    Even though the 2019 iPhone models have yet to be officially announced, the rumor mill is buzzing with details as to what to expect from the 2020 iPhones.

    Granted, these are to be taken with a hefty grain of salt, but there’s some interesting speculation to be had at present.

    As of now, the cool cats at Digitimes claim that Apple plans to use VCSEL time-of-flight (ToF) sensors on the rear camera of the 2020 iPhone.

    VCSEL stands for Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser. This functions a type of semiconductor that emits a low-power laser (usually infrared) that is used in a lot of consumer devices today for simple range-finding. The general notion is that this will assist in augmented reality, Apple would use a more complex chip that fires a big grid of lasers, then measures the time-of-flight for that light to determine distance. Effectively, this would produce a low-res “image” where each pixel has depth info rather than color.

    In short, this would allow the device to receive a much more accurate 3D representation of the scene in front of the camera, which could help with both computation photography as well as augmented reality.

    According to generally-very-accurate analyst Ming-Ching Kuo, Apple will stick with the three-model lineup it introduced with the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR in 2018, but will switch to 5.4-, 6.1-, and 6.7-inch OLED screens.

    Finally, and as expected, Apple is thought to be adding 5G modems to the 2020 iPhone. Kuo stated that the faster connectivity will be limited to the XS and XS Max, with the XR retaining LTE 4G for at least a year. He also notes that Apple is working on its own 5G modem, which the company hopes will be ready by 2022 or 2023. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via Macworld, MacRumors and Digitimes