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European lawmakers have voted by a margin of 602 to 13 in favour of a long-planned directive that will oblige makers of phones, tablets and cameras to use a common charging standard, USB-C, by the end of 2024. The news was announced recently in a European Parliament press release (fave.co/3CPgF1L). The law also applies to headsets and headphones, satnavs, e-readers, mice, keyboards, and portable game consoles and speakers. And to laptops, for that matter, although laptop manufacturers have more time to implement the change: for that category, the law doesn’t take effect until spring 2026. This has been coming for a while. Provisional approval was announced back in June, but the European Parliament was advocating for a common charger standard as long ago as 2014. It’s worth noting that technically…

We’re used to Apple’s products holding their value for longer than other devices, but it’s not often that one appreciates in value by 5,000 percent. But that’s what happened here: an unopened original iPhone from 2007 sold at LCG Auctions (fave.co/3ggyjUm) for a cool $39,339.60, roughly 50 times its original $599 retail price. For those who don’t remember, Apple’s first iPhone had a 3.5-inch display, 8GB of storage, and 2.75G EDGE networking. Assuming this model works, it would be nigh unusable as has no App Store and can’t be updated beyond iOS 3. However, as a piece of Apple history and nostalgia, it’s priceless. The iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs at Macworld San Francisco in January 2007, and it instantly changed the landscape. Where previous smartphones had small keyboards…

At a time when people are trying to avoiding spending more than they need, there’s an interesting dilemma for those thinking about upgrading an old iPhone. Instead of buying the iPhone 14 you can save £100 and buy an iPhone that, while a year old, shares the same look, a very similar processor, and many of the features of the newer handset. But there are still meaningful differences that justify the difference in price. We’ll help you decide which one to buy. PHOTOGRAPHY We don’t usually jump straight to the cameras in these comparisons, but that’s by far the biggest difference between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 has two cameras on the back, just like the iPhone 13, but the newer model includes a faster aperture…

A new iPad Pro has launched for 2022. Apple last updated the iPad Pro line in April 2021, bringing the M1 processor to the platform for the first time and Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED technology to the 12.9-inch model. Now we have an M2 iPad Pro that supports ProRes video recording, but not much else has changed. RELEASE DATE It’s available to buy now. PRICE 11-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi: From £899 (was £749) 11-inch iPad Pro Cellular: From £1,079 (was £899) 12.9-inch iPad Pro Wi-Fi: From £1,249 (was £999) 12.9-inch iPad Pro Cellular: From £1,429 (was £1,149) DESIGN The iPad Pro had quite a significant redesign in 2018 when it was the first iPad to gain Face ID and a full-screen thanks to smaller bezels and the removal of the…

With iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura here, we’ve seen the arrival of one of the biggest new features added to the iPad and Mac in recent years: Stage Manager. For Mac users, Stage Manager is an optional feature that might or might not improve productivity and organization. No big deal. Use it, or don’t. Meanwhile, for the iPad, the feature is an existential crisis. Put simply, Stage Manager is a big deal for the iPad because it gives it windows for the first time, while the Mac has been a window-based computing device since Steve Jobs first took it out of that bag in early 1984. And that contrast gets to the core of why putting Stage Manager on the iPad is a much bigger job than adding it to…

There’s one very obvious reason why you’d pick/not pick the Apple Watch Ultra over the Apple Watch Series 8: the Ultra is a much bigger watch. But there’s a reason for its size, and it’s a very different watch from the Series 8. Let’s take a look at the differences between the Apple Watch Ultra and the Series 8. They are two watches with a lot of the same features, but then the Ultra takes it to the next level – so much so that some users may want to consider switching from a Garmin watch – see page 73. SPECIFICATIONS Apple Watch Ultra Entry price: £849 Size: 49mm Weight: 61.3g Display: Always-on Retina LTPO OLED display Brightness: 2,000 nits Case Materials: Titanium Colours: Natural Display cover: Sapphire crystal Durability:…

There’s no doubt that the second-generation AirPods Pro are superior to the original model. They cost the same, and look the same, but three years of technology advancements have found their way into Apple’s top-tier wireless earbuds. They sound a lot better, have better noise cancellation, and a superior transparency mode. Oh, and the battery lasts longer. But are they good enough to warrant a re-purchase? If you’ve already got AirPods Pro, should you run out and get the updated model? We’ll help you come to a decision that makes sense. WHY YOU SHOULDN’T UPGRADE FROM THE 1ST‑GEN AIRPODS PRO Fundamentally, the 2nd-gen AirPods Pro don’t do anything the originals didn’t, they just sound better and last longer. Find My works on the case level, so you can find it…

Price: £89 from fave.co/3fUHcmD Generally speaking, well-known vendors make attractive, sonorous audio products. Indeed, that’s usually why they become well known. Well, if Anker keeps this up, it will be a name you may soon be very familiar with. DESIGN Let’s face it – there’s only so much variation in the basics of earbuds. They fit in your ear and make noise. Shopping is mostly about sound quality, comfort/fit, and looks. Battery life also carries weight to some degree. Speaking to looks, though the £89 Anker Soundcore Space A40 don’t sport a sexy brand name like Apple, Bose, or Beats, but they look like they do. The logo is first class by modern standards, not something you often see from lesser-known vendors. The earbuds we reviewed are rendered predominately in…

Apple’s paid fitness service, Fitness+, is a pretty good collection of workout videos in a variety of styles, lengths and difficulties. From the beginning, it was conceived as a way to increase the value of the Apple Watch – specific workouts are automatically synced with Apple Watch, and live metrics from the watch are shown on your TV, iPad, or iPhone to keep you motivated. With the release of iOS 16.1, Apple has officially dropped the requirement to own an Apple Watch. ALL YOU NEED IS AN iPHONE When you upgrade to iOS 16.1 (available now), you’ll find Fitness+ in the centre of the bottom tabs in the Fitness app. From this tab, you’ll be able to subscribe to Fitness+ in any of the 21 countries where the service is…

Every year Apple sends several of its products to the great Genius Bar in the sky as they age out of repair and upgrades, but this one hit a little differently: the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which brought the iPhone into the world of large screens and was Apple’s biggest selling model of all time, is officially vintage. It seems like only yesterday when Apple unveiled the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, but it was actually eight years ago. And since Apple stopped selling the phone five years ago, it’s now been officially declared vintage, the first step before it becomes obsolete in two years. When Apple declares a product as vintage, parts and repair become more difficult but not impossible. Once a product reaches…

For the first time ever, Apple is selling two very big phones. There’s the iPhone 14 Pro Max starting at £1,199, and there’s the iPhone 14 Plus for £849. And while there are obvious differences between the two phones, they might not be as major as you think. Here are six reasons to save £350 and pick the iPhone 14 Plus over the Pro Max. 1. THE DISPLAY IS STILL EXCELLENT Like the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, the iPhone 14 Plus and 14 Pro Max have identical 6.7-inch screen sizes. However, they’re not exactly created equally. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, you get several features that aren’t available on the Plus: ProMotion with 120Hz refresh rate (versus 60Hz) and an always-on display. Those are fantastic features that…

A pple has announced an allnew version of its entry-level iPad with a slew of dramatic improvements: a new Home button-less design, significantly larger screen, improved processor and cameras, and a USB-C port. However, all that newness also brings a new higher price starting at £499. A SERIOUS SCREEN Measuring 10.9 inches, the screen of the new iPad matches that of the current iPad Air. Gaining 0.7 inches on the previous 10.2-inch model, this is the largest jump in screen size Apple has ever announced for its baseline iPad. The 7th through 9th generations measure 10.2 inches, and all previous models were 9.7 inches. Impressively, the larger screen doesn’t come with a corresponding increase in chassis size, because Apple has removed the Home button and put Touch ID in the…

Of all of Apple’s major product lines, it seems like none has been the subject of such intense debate and scrutiny over the last decade as the iPad. Can one do ‘real work’ on it? Is it a computer replacement? Will it some day replace the Mac for all our computing needs? While products like the Mac and the iPhone have always had a clear role in our technology lives, the iPad’s place has been more ragged around the edges. It fits into the gaps in our lives, solving problems that neither the iPhone nor Mac are quite equipped to, but without supplanting either. Still, for all of that, the iPad has continued to live under the shadow of its two progenitors. And as it embarks upon its second decade,…

The Apple Watch Ultra was designed and built with someone like me in mind. I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max, a 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro with a Studio Display, three Apple TV 4K boxes, and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard. In other words, I’m deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem – but on my wrist I alternate between two Garmin smartwatches – an older Tactix Delta and an Epix (Gen 2). I tried the Apple Watch back when it launched in 2015 but haven’t worn one in many years, mainly because I wanted something larger that lasts longer and is more fitness focused. Whenever a new Apple Watch model arrives I debate the pros and cons, but Garmin always wins – in a nutshell, I…

Over the past two years, Apple has gone from selling one AirPods model to four. You can currently buy three earbuds – the 2nd-gen AirPods, 3rd-gen AirPods, and 2nd-gen AirPods Pro – or the AirPods Max over-the-ear headphones. Let’s set that last aside for a moment. If you’re willing to spend £500 or more on a pair of cans, you’re making a whole different buying decision than if you want true wireless earbuds. But that still leaves three relatively similar-seeming earbuds to choose from. So which is right for you? FEATURES AT A GLANCE Maybe the best way to make a buying decision is to see how the three current AirPods stack up side‑by-side. AirPods (2nd Gen) Price: £139 Weight (earbuds): 4g Weight (case): 38g Battery life: 5 hours +…

Last year, Google surprised us all with a new feature that improved the iMessage experience on iPhones. Instead of ugly text strings that cluttered iPhone-Android conversations with ‘Mike laughed at’ or ‘Karen loved’ messages, Google mapped its own emoji to Apple’s tapbacks so a pleasing icon showed up instead. The feature is so good, Apple took steps to make sure it works for everyone in iOS 16. Now Google is taking it a step further. Instead of limiting tapbacks to RCS/iMessage conversations, it will begin allowing emoji reactions for SMS texts from iPhone users as well. In a thinly veiled dig at Apple, Google writes: “While RCS is the ultimate solution, we’re doing what we can to help Android users have a way to consistently react to messages.” This will…

Price: £849 from fave.co/3sg6Hla The iPhone 14 is basically an iPhone 13s. It features a very similar processor and has a very similar appearance as the previous generation, but like the S iPhones of old offers a bunch of new camera features that improve photography in impressive ways. Starting at £849, the iPhone 14 costs £70 more than the £779 iPhone 13. This bump in price means the standard iPhone is less affordable than it was, and when you consider you could save £100 by buying a new iPhone 13, the question is: do the new features justify the price? WHAT’S NEW (AND WHAT’S THE SAME) With the arrival of the iPhone 14, Apple has increased the gap between the standard and Pro iPhones. This year nearly all the headline…

Ever since Apple dumped the Home button on the iPhone and implemented Face ID with the iPhone X, there have been rumours that the tech will come back in some way to the iPhones. Now it looks like that might not happen. The fingerprint-scanning biometric tech, which first appeared in an iPhone in 2013 but was replaced by Face ID facial recognition in the premium models in 2017, is of course still available on the iPhone SE. But that has always seemed like a throwback: a reflection of the fact that the SE still has a Home button rather than the more modern all-screen design of Apple’s flagship phones. However, according to the respected leaker-analyst Mark Gurman, writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter (fave.co/3DhI7qd), Apple has…

The first release of iPadOS 16 for the iPad, iPadOS 16.1, is here, and it’s a big update. Along with iOS 16 features including editing sent Messages and Passkeys, many new iPad-only features are coming as well to help Apple’s tablet progress from being a bigger version of the iPhone to its own device. That progress comes with some compromises, however, the main one being that some of the new features will work only on iPads that use an M1 or M2 chip instead of an A-series processor. In other words, you’ll need one of the newest iPad Pros or the latest iPad Air to run several new iPadOS 16.1 features – and some have even more stringent requirements. Here’s a look at the features that require an M1 or…

Price: £419 from fave.co/3VZavVp For its autumn 2022 releases, Apple made a conscious decision to focus on its elite product lines: the iPhone 14 Pro, AirPods Pro and Apple Watch Ultra. In each case, more effort was made than ever before to persuade customers to spend extra for the premium experience. This is a risky strategy, however. Some customers will be upsold, but given the choice between a denigrated standard model and a costly premium one, others may be dissuaded from buying anything. Which brings us to the Apple Watch Series 8. In a world where cheaper alternates exist (including Apple’s own new SE), the most interesting new features and design decisions have been confined to the Apple Watch Ultra, and there are very few changes from last year’s Series…

Price: £249 from fave.co/3MYGv7Y The original AirPods Pro were the right product at the right time. AirPods weren’t the first true wireless earbuds, but they were certainly the ones that popularized the category, and in 2019 the time was right for a beefed-up version. Combining active noise cancelling, decent sound quality, and Apple’s signature ease-of-use into a relatively affordable pair of earbuds was a slam dunk. But times have changed. Three years later, the competition from Sony, Bose, Samsung, and Google is stiffer than ever. Everyone’s got little comfy earbuds, and most offer better sound quality, noise cancelling, or battery life. Even Apple’s instant pairing and other ease of use features aren’t so special any more. The second-generation AirPods Pro may not look like much of a change, but Apple…

Price: £699 from fave.co/3rFzbEG The Focal Bathys are the world’s best-sounding wireless headphones. They’re also among the most expensive and luxurious. But I can’t say they’re the best noise-cancelling headphones. And having said all that, I’m sure some audio purists will greet Focal’s digital accomplishment with all the enthusiasm folk purists displayed the day Bob Dylan ‘went electric’ at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. But before we get too deep into this evaluation, let me answer the two questions I’m sure are at the front of your mind: first, how the heck did Focal come up with ‘Bathys’ as a name for a high-performance headphone? The company says the name is based on ‘bathyscaphe’, the first self-propelled, deep-diving submarine. It’s an ironic choice, given that I never experienced that…