Table of contents for 189 in iPad & iPhone User

Apple has released iOS 16.3 to all users with several new features, fixes, and security updates for all iPhones running iOS 16. Users can update to the latest version on their iPhone and iPad in the Software Update tab in the General section of the Settings app. iOS 16.3 isn’t a huge release, but it does bring a few notable features, including support for security keys for Apple IDs and the expansion of Advanced Data Protection to users outside the US (see page 61). It also adds support for the new 2nd-generation HomePod, as well as a few new features for the first-gen HomePod (see page 68) and HomePod mini, such as temperature sensor readings (mini only), remastered ambient sounds, a new Siri confirmation sound and new audio tuning for…

With about four months to go until WWDC, the rumours are starting to give a clearer picture of iOS 17. And from what we can tell, it looks a lot like iOS 16. Following a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (fave. co/3RnG3Cv) that claims iOS 17 would have fewer features due to resources shifting to the AR/VR headset (see page 12), LeaksApplePro (fave.co/3RjhgPY) claims that: “This version of iOS will focus more on stability and efficiency” and “there won’t be many visual changes.” That doesn’t mean iOS 17 will be a carbon copy of iOS 16. According to the report, Apple is working on updates to several of its apps, including Music, Mail, Reminders, Files, Fitness, Wallet, Find My and Home. LeaksApplePro has few details to share, but says the…

Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports on Twitter (fave. co/3Jv4X1c) that Apple will launch an “all-new design foldable iPad” next year with “a carbon fibre kickstand”. According to his supply chain sources, Kuo says he is “positive” about the launch of the next-gen tablet, a rare proclamation from the analyst who usually errs on the side of caution. Kuo offers few details about the new device, but there are already rumours that Apple is working on an iPad larger than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, possibly as large as 16 inches. It’s not clear how Apple would market the device or how small it would be when folded. Thus, I’m taking a cautious approach to iPad shipments for 2023, predicting a YoY decline of 10-15%. Nevertheless, I’m positive about the foldable iPad…

Apple’s higher-end iPads have used the universal USB-C connector port rather than Apple’s own Lightning connector since 2018. Now the iPad Air, iPad mini and even the 10th generation iPad feature the USB-C port instead of Lightning. In fact, the only iPad Apple sells without USB-C is the 9th generation iPad. What many people don’t realise is that the USB-C port is good for more than charging or plugging in wired earbuds. Apple’s tablets can also be used with other peripherals that transform it into a versatile computer. As such, iPad owners have a wide range of USB-C accessories available to them unless their iPad still uses the Lightning connector. Some of the USB-C hubs connect directly into the iPad. Others require a cable connection; some come with both, which…

We’re still about seven months away from the unveiling of the iPhone 15, and if the rumours are to be believed, everyone will be talking about one thing: the iPhone 15 Ultra. Like the Apple Watch Ultra, the iPhone 15 Ultra is rumoured to have the best of everything Apple has to offer in an iPhone. As an iPhone Pro Max replacement, it’ll have a 6.7-inch display that’s likely very similar to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but everything else will be upgraded. Among the rumours we’ve heard about the iPhone 15 Ultra are: A titanium body: Apple has been rumoured for years to be working on an iPhone that uses a different material than stainless steel or aluminium, and after the Apple Watch Ultra, smart money is on lightweight…

A day after unveiling updated Macs with M2 processors, Apple surprisingly announced another refreshed product: the return of the full-size HomePod. The original model was discontinued in March 2021 and was assumed to have sold poorly, making the decision to make a new one surprising, to say the least. Design-wise, the new speaker appears largely unchanged from its predecessor: there’s no sign, for example, of the widely rumoured screen upgrade, which a colleague points out would have made a lot of sense with Apple Music’s recently added karaoke feature. It’s 4mm shorter than the original model, and roughly 200g lighter and Apple says it’s now made from “a seamless, acoustically transparent mesh fabric”. Apple hasn’t even added any new colours. Like the original model, the new HomePod comes in either…

There are lots of different types of speakers out there to choose from, but Apple users are likely best off getting one with AirPlay support. We’ve tested out some of the best ones you can buy. Multi-room speaker systems are more popular than ever – especially as mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad allow us to carry our entire music library from room to room, or connect to music streaming services such as Apple Music or Amazon Prime Music with a quick tap. There’s a lot of choice out there, offering a wide variety of features, specs, designs and price tags. But we’re here to guide you through the complexity and help you find the best speaker equipped with AirPlay 2 for optimal performance with your Mac and iOS…

When iOS 16.2 arrived, it brought several new features, including Apple Music Sing, iCloud Advanced Data Protection and the Freeform app, as well as a less-obvious upgrade to a new Home architecture that’s ‘more reliable and efficient’. However, in January, Apple has pulled the option in the Home app to upgrade. When opening the Home app in iOS 16.2, users were met with a ‘Home Upgrade Available’ in the Software Update tab in the Home Settings. Now that option is gone. A support document (fave.co/3Y8l6xv) outlining the new feature still says the option has been ‘temporarily removed’ and doesn’t affect users who have already updated to the new architecture. In a statement, Apple said it is “aware of an issue that may impact the ability for users to share the…

Extensive details of Apple’s upcoming ‘Reality Pro’ headset, which looks set to be the biggest release in years, have been revealed in a lengthy new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (fave.co/3JiTNwi). Apple’s AR headset project has been the tech industry’s worst-kept secret for years, and it’s widely assumed that 2023 will be the year we finally get to see it, probably at a dedicated spring event. But until now the details of the product have been relatively vague. Gurman discusses what he refers to as Reality Pro in considerable depth. Presented as a summation of everything we know about the device, it necessarily covers some familiar ground: aside from the likely branding, we already expected the price to be somewhere in the vicinity of $3,000, around £2,425 (with a $1,500,…

While we’re all waiting for Apple to unveil its long-rumoured AR/VR headset (see page 12) to take on Meta and Sony, a new report claims Apple is silently targeting another competitor with a less-obvious effort. According to the Financial Times (fave.co/3HIZrGP), Apple is making a considerable effort to separate its main smartphone services from Google, including Maps, online ads, and the biggest prize of all, search. In its story, the FT sources two former Apple engineers who have knowledge of Apple’s “grudge” against Google. Apparently, Apple has never forgiven Google for its iPhone-inspired Android operating system, and executives have taken up Steve Jobs’ ‘thermonuclear war’ against the company. Apple is reportedly concentrating on three areas that are dominated by Google: Maps: Apple Maps’ bumpy start didn’t help in its competition…

So you just unboxed your brand-new iPhone. Maybe it’s the first one you’ve ever had. Maybe you’re replacing an iPhone 8 that has seen better days. Maybe you get an iPhone every year, but you’re just super casual about using it. Whatever the reason, you will enjoy your time with your new phone so much more if you spend a little time learning some new tips and tricks. Some of these you may know, others you may have never heard of, but they all make life with an iPhone a little nicer. 1. CHANGE SIRI’S VOICE Siri’s voice is quite iconic, but did you know you can change it? There are multiple varieties (American, Australian, British, and so on) to choose from, each with several voices, including different genders. Just…

2023 was supposed to be the year of smaller chips. However, a recent report in Digitimes (fave.co/3RmKs8G) claims that Apple’s chief competitors in the smartphone processor business, Qualcomm and MediaTek, are likely not to move to TSMC’s new 3nm fabrication process this year. Reportedly, TSMC is charging quite a hefty sum for products made using the cutting-edge process (a figure of $20,000 per wafer has been thrown around), and recent economic uncertainty has meant that fewer high-end Android phones are expected to be sold this year. For these companies, who have to make a profit on the chips themselves instead of the entire final product (as Apple does), the tight margins and lower sales volume makes the 3nm process a hard sell, at least until prices come down. This means…

Last month was a busy one for Apple. As we’ve already reported, we got new chips, Mac minis and MacBook Pros, and January brought the surprising return of the full-sized HomePod, with a similar design as the original model as well as the same £299 price tag, about two years after it was discontinued. And when you dig into it, things get even weirder. The new HomePod isn’t a carbon copy of the original model, but in subtle and confusing ways that won’t be all that noticeable to anyone buying one. Here are six facts about the new HomePod that have us scratching our heads: 1. APPLE REDESIGNED IT TO LOOK THE SAME At first glance (and second and third), the 2nd-gen HomePod seems to be identical to the original…

If you own an iPhone 6, iPad mini 2, or some other older Apple device, you’re unfortunately shut out from the latest iOS 16.3 update. But there’s still an update waiting for you to install in Settings. Apple pushes important security updates to older phones from time to time (the last was in August 2022) and this is one of those times. The iOS 12.5.7 update contains just a single patch that fixes a zero-day WebKit vulnerability that could allow a hacker to execute arbitrary code on your Mac: WebKit Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPod touch (6th generation). Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report…

After the iPad Pro, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro all gained support for speedier Wi-Fi 6E with their latest releases, it’s all but certain to come to the iPhone 15 in the autumn. However, those chips won’t be made by Apple. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (fave.co/3RlaB7R), Apple has “halted the development of its own Wi-Fi chip for a while” as it focuses on the development of 3nm processors for the Mac and iPhone. Apple had been working on a standalone Wi-Fi chip to replace Broadcom’s version in its device, but Kuo says “investors should not be worried about Apple’s own Wi-Fi chip affecting Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chip business in the foreseeable future”. Apple has halted developing its own Wi-Fi chips; Broadcom is the biggest winner of the iPhone 15’s upgrade…

Apple’s latest iPad Pro is a high-end tablet targeted toward professional users. For the most part, it’s the same tablet that was released in 2021, but it has a couple of key new features. Over the following pages, we’ll take a look at how the iPad Pro (M2) compares to what it replaced, the iPad Pro (M1). DESIGN Apple didn’t change anything about the iPad Pro’s construction with the 2022 update. The company still offers two sizes: 11-and 12.9 inches. The 2022 and 2021 iPad Pros have the exact same dimensions, the same bezels, the same buttons, speakers, and microphone, and the same Silver and Space Gray colour options. As with the old model, the iPad Pro does not support Touch ID in the power button. Instead, it is the…

Congratulations. You’re now the proud owner of a new iPhone 14. Or maybe you’ve got an another iPhone, like the iPhone SE. You probably want to dive right into the phone the moment you get the box in your hands, but try to contain your excitement and do a little prep first. Before you start playing with your new iPhone, we have a little set-up advice you’re going to want to heed. Sure, it seems like an unnecessary drag, but this stuff is going to really save you a lot of time and frustration later. 1. BACK UP YOUR OLD IPHONE That’s right, you’re going to want to back up your old iPhone after you have your new iPhone in hand, so the backup is as up-to-date as it can…

In early December 2022, Apple announced a significant change to iCloud data encryption. Previously, Apple split the way it protected your data synced via iCloud: • Some of your data (photos and other media, reminders, and notes) relied on encryption keys held by Apple to protect your data when at rest–that is, while stored on its servers. You could access all of this via iCloud.com by logging in. When Apple syncs this data, it relies on encrypted HTTPS and similar secured connections between your devices and apps and its servers. • Other parts of your data, an increasing amount over the year, relied on end-to-end encryption (E2EE), in which the keys for encrypting and decrypting your data are only stored on your devices and only accessible by your action on…

There may be a new HomePod speaker, but existing HomePod owners aren’t getting the silent treatment. Alongside iOS 16.3, Apple has pushed HomePod software version 16.3 to all HomePod and HomePod mini devices and it includes way more than the usual ‘general performance and stability improvements’. In fact, not since version 14.1, which added Intercom and several new Siri features, has the HomePod received so many new features in one update. Most notably, HomePod 16.3 will activate the temperature and humidity sensor in the HomePod mini for measuring the climate of the room. The dormant sensor was discovered in the HomePod mini during teardowns, but it took more than two years for Apple to do anything with it. Additionally, the update contains the following new features: • Remastered ambient sounds…