The European Commission has been trying to introduce legislation to standardize ports on mobile devices for almost a decade. Despite many false starts, its latest efforts are seriously making their way through the commission process.
A draft proposal was presented today that would require USB-C to become the standard port across smartphones, tablets, headphones and more devices sold in the EU.
Germany now lets people save their driver’s license on the iPhone
September 23, 2021
If you live in Germany and don’t want to carry your driver’s license everywhere anymore, there’s an app for that. Starting today, you can store your license with the governmental app “ID Wallet.”
As spotted by the iPhone Ticker blog, German iPhone users can…
A chart showing iPhone performance gains over the years shows that diminishing returns have largely set in, but the overall gains are still impressive.
In particular, if you upgrade every three to four years, as the average smartphone user does these days, you’re going to…
Hands-on: Here’s how Background Sounds work in iOS 15
September 23, 2021
Ahead of WWDC in June, Apple announced Background Sounds would be coming to iOS to help users find focus, calm, and rest. Now in the new iOS release, the feature is available to use. Read along for how to use iPhone Background Sounds in iOS 15, what you get, what you don’t, how it works while listening to music, and more.
Backgrounds Sounds comes with six options: balanced, bright, or dark…
Popular iPhone apps are using sneaky techniques to identify you even if you say no to tracking
September 23, 2021
Some popular iPhone apps are using some sneaky techniques to uniquely identify you, even if you refused permission for app tracking. The data they are gathering includes everything from your iPhone’s Last Restart Time to your screen brightness setting measured to 15…
Apple explains how it created the iPhone 13’s Cinematic Mode
September 23, 2021
One of the greatest additions to the iPhone 13 line is the new Cinematic Mode. Reviewers have mixed feelings over whether it’s only a gimmick or a revolution in mobile cameras, although all of them have been impressed about this first-gen feature.
Now, Apple VP Kaiann…
Google improves Spanish support on the Nest Hub, Hub Max in the US
September 23, 2021
An update to the Nest Hub and Hub Max improves how the Assistant Smart Displays handle Spanish by providing a more immersive language experience in the US.
This involves more queries and displayed text appearing in Spanish, including the top navigation tabs and various cards. Google says this will let you “do more in Spanish,” and touts the following available commands:
“Hey Google…
Google TV app expanding to 14 countries, officially launches in-app Android TV remote
September 23, 2021
After leaving its original Android TV remote app to waste for years, Google is finally remedying the situation. Following a false start yesterday, the Google TV app remote is now available, and the app is coming to more countries too.
Launching today, the Google TV app for…
Apple tells Epic that Fortnite isn’t welcome back on iOS yet
September 23, 2021
A new GamesBeat event is around the corner! Learn more about what comes next.
Fortnite is probably not going to return to iPhone or other iOS devices any time soon. Apple made it clear in a statement it sent to Epic that it does not want to work with Tim Sweeney’s…
Buying an iPhone 13 in some countries requires more than 3 months of work, research shows
September 23, 2021
The iPhone 13 lineup is finally here, and it comes at the same prices as last generation depending on where you are. As reported last week, iPhone 13 prices can go up to almost $3000 in some countries. Now a new Money SuperMarket research shows how many hours (or months) people need to work to buy the brand new iPhone 13 in different regions around the world.
Instead of just considering the full…
