Table of contents for 195 in iPad & iPhone User

Apple has announced (fave.co/43ZvjyU) the financial results for its fiscal third quarter of 2023 and there were few bright spots. While the company still made $81.8 billion in the period, that represented a 1 percent decline over last year’s Q3 results, and all major product categories – iPhone, iPad and Mac – were down as well. While revenue was down, an increase in margin means that profit was up to $19.9bn from $19.4bn in the year-ago quarter. The lone bright spot was Services, which posted a year-over-year jump of 8 percent to an all-time record of $21.21bn, higher than Mac, iPad, and Wearables/Home/Accessories combined. The iPhone is still Apple’s largest category by far, raking in just under $40bn in the quarter. Here’s how Apple’s quarter broke down: iPhone: $39.7bn (down…

Apple has warned that it will shut down services such as FaceTime and iMessage in the UK if the government goes ahead with controversial legislation. A proposed update to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 is currently in open consultation. Members of the public are invited to offer feedback on the amendments. These include a requirement for messaging services to notify the Home Office – a department of the British Government that handles immigration, security, and law and order – of new security features before they are rolled out, and the right for the Home Office to privately demand that security features be disabled immediately. Under current legislation, the latter can be requested, but there is an independent oversight process and room for appeal before action is taken. “As it stands,…

Apple’s business has done so well for so long that it’s been a little unusual to watch the company produce financial results that aren’t setting all-time records. But the huge jump in growth Apple made in 2022 has proved to be a bar too high for the company to leap over in 2023, and so its recent report of third-quarter fiscal results (see page 4) were once again down – but down with a huge asterisk. When you make nearly $20 billion in profit in three months, how down can your quarter really be? THE EXCUSES From a pure revenue standpoint, Apple’s quarter was down 1 percent from the same quarter a year ago. But as Apple’s executives were quick to point out, not only is that number lower than…

Students, teachers and those who work for an educational institution can save money on a new iPad or Mac via the Apple Education Store, which offers discounts all year round. Apple throws the education net quite wide, so if you think you may not qualify, there’s a good chance you might. We explain who qualifies and how much the Apple education discount is before explaining how to shop at Apple’s Education Store (fave.co/3QB6C53). HOW MUCH IS THE APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT? Apple doesn’t offer a single, universal discount to students. It sets different prices for each product range. The discounts are only currently available for iPads and Mac computers (iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini). Education discounts are not available for the iPhone, Apple TV, Apple Watch, HomePods, accessories…

Here we list and explain the battery capacities of every iPhone from 2007’s original iPhone to the very latest iPhone 14 series. Measuring iPhone battery life in straight hours of real-world usage (as Apple likes to do) is not an accurate metric for comparison purposes as so many use and environmental factors play a part. We can, however, rely on straight technical specifications to tell us the battery capacities of each iPhone. Apple is notoriously secretive about these battery specifications, mainly because smartphones from rivals such as Samsung boast much larger battery capacities. These are measured in either Milliamp Hours (mAh) or Watt Hours (Wh). Milliamp hours are a measure of electrical charge, while a watt-hour is equal to one watt of energy consumed for one hour of time. And…

Even for what is reputedly a somewhat smaller-than-usual annual update, iOS 17 still brings with it a host of new features. As the beta process begins, there’s plenty to investigate and try out ahead of the software’s full release this autumn. But as I perused the capabilities that are part of this latest upgrade, something interesting struck me: an older technology appears to be having its moment in the sun, as Apple embraces its utility in a bunch of new ways. That’s great not only because it means new features, but also because – as it’s something that’s been around for a while – those new features will be available on any iPhone that runs iOS 17. I speak, of course, of the iPhone’s near-field communication (NFC) chip. PAY TO…

Price: £349 from fave.co/3KpH2zP Some of Apple’s best AirPods aren’t AirPods, they’re Beats. The company’s other headphone brand regularly breaks out products with nearly all the same features and technology as AirPods but with better style, compatibility and pricing. If you’re in the market for a set of over-the-ear headphones and considering AirPods Max, you now have a better option. The new Beats Studio Pro may not be made of aluminium and steel with a fancy mesh headband, but they cost £200 less and deliver better sound, broader compatibility, and most of the important AirPods features. Oh, and they come with a real carrying case. EXCELLENT APPLE SUPPORT The main reason to get AirPods over other headphones is their seamless integration with your Apple ecosystem. They pair just by holding…

iPhones are usually very reliable when it comes to updating software or transferring your data from an older model to a new one, but now and again you can experience a few problems. One of the most confusing is when the device only shows the Apple logo on the display and refuses to boot into iOS What can you do when this happens? We show you how to fix an iPhone stuck on the Apple logo. HOW LONG HAS YOUR iPHONE BEEN STUCK ON THE LOGO? First up, it’s worth seeing if your iPhone is merely progressing slowly through an update, rather than stuck. Apple recommends checking that the progress bar under the logo hasn’t moved for at least an hour before becoming worried about a potential issue. If it…

While we’re busy collecting exciting iPhone 15 rumours ahead of the expected launch this September, we read some news you might not like. According to an analyst at Bank of America (fave.co/3Y1ktHm), the iPhone 15 will arrive a little late this year. Wamsi Mohan, a global securities analyst at Bank of America, claims in an investors note (fave.co/3OoTEK8) that the iPhone 15 won’t launch until the fourth quarter, which begins 1 October. Mohan says Apple’s usual supply chain checks indicate that production is running a “few weeks” behind schedule, and the launch could slip into the fourth quarter. Mohan was among the people to predict back in early 2020 that the iPhone 12 would be delayed due to the impact of Covid-19 and was correct. That year, the iPhone 12…

A pple has been all-in on AI for years now, using it to improve your photos, recognize and interpret your voice, lift subjects out of images, and more. But the hottest trend today is with generative AI, as exemplified by services like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Bard and Microsoft’s new Copilot feature in Office 365, and Apple is largely absent. There are loads of third-party apps that give access to these generative AI services, but Apple didn’t seem to be interested in creating its own generative AI the way Meta and Google did or partnering to integrate someone else’s tech into its product as Microsoft has done with Open AI. A new report from Mark Gurman (fave.co/43zsLHM) at Bloomberg claims that Apple hasn’t been ignoring this exciting new field of…

For years, I’ve written articles warning people away from installing pre-release versions of Apple operating systems. Sure, beta season is exciting, what with Apple unleashing brand-new features that promise to transform your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. By downloading a beta, you can live in the future – today. But the price… is bugs. And incompatibility. As iPad & iPhone User’s Michael Simon wrote recently (fave.co/3YlEV64), if you’re patient, you’ll get what you want this autumn, and without spending a summer complaining about bugs and bad battery life. But I’ve changed my tune about public betas. You might not want to throw caution entirely to the wind, but it’s the summer of 2023, and I think if you want to install an Apple beta, you should just go ahead and do…

We’ve rounded up the best MagSafe and MagSafe-compatible chargers, from the plain to the multi-functional (up to six devices charged) and even the most colourful – from snap-on chargers and modular stands to a full desk mat. Apple’s MagSafe technology presents a more efficient way of wirelessly charging compatible iPhones. MagSafe is the ring of magnets around the iPhone 12, 13 and 14’s internal charging coil, which senses compatible accessories and magnetically snaps securely into place with the right accessories. MagSafe is supported by all models of iPhone 12, 13 and 14. It allows certified and compatible accessories to magnetically clamp to the back of the iPhone, creating a strong and less wasteful connection. MagSafe charging can be twice as fast as standard Qi wireless charging for a number of…

In his regular Medium update ahead of Apple’s recent Q3 earnings (see page 4) – which saw a year-over-year decline in iPhone sales – analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported (fave.co/3OM4TMO) that “demand for iPhone 15 is lower than that of iPhone 14”. He doesn’t give a specific reason, but it’s likely that there are several contributing factors, including waning smartphone demand and rumoured higher prices. Before it even arrives, the iPhone 15 is facing tough headwinds, and if customers on the fence start reading about the iPhone 16, they might climb off it entirely. That’s right, rumours for the iPhone 16 are already trickling in, and the first round suggests next year’s device will bring some upgrades that will make it one of the most desirable handsets in years and could…

Apple’s 4th-generation AirPods and 3rd-gen AirPods launch is approaching, and a major leak has revealed some new details about the next version of the company’s hugely popular wireless earbuds. These include new health features (covering both hearing and body temperature monitoring) and a switch from Lightning to USB-C. The leaker-analyst Mark Gurman focused on the next generation of AirPods in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter (fave.co/3rIl6t7), and while some elements have been mentioned before by Gurman and others, the article is a useful summation with some new titbits and further detail in certain areas. We already know, for example, that Apple is deeply interested in hearing health and how AirPods can help with this. It’s been shown that current AirPods Pro models can double as cheap hearing…

Apple has made it simple to take a picture quickly with your iPhone: swipe left on the lock screen and the Camera app appears. (You can also set the Camera icon to appear on the lock screen in Settings > Siri & Search > Camera, and then flip the switch for Show on Home Screen. And you can also swipe to reveal the Control Centre and tap the Camera icon if you’ve enabled that in Settings > Control Centre.) But what if you want to make it more difficult to trigger the camera, especially after you’ve wound up taking too many photos of your pocket lining? I recently captured an amazing series of lint action shots during a visit to the Palace of Versailles in France, for instance. Apple doesn’t…

Having an unlocked iPhone – without so much as a fourdigit barrier between you and some subway snatcher – is asking for trouble. Four-digit passcodes or PINs were the only way to secure the earliest iPhone models. Today, 16 years after the iPhone’s debut, we have progressed to a six‑digit standard passcode accompanied by fingerprint or face recognition biometrics. Consider that a four-or six-digit numerical PIN facilitates up to one million possible combinations. That’s not much in an era of speedy hacking tools – or compared with a potential 50 million possible letter-number-special character combos available from the iPhone’s built-in keyboard. Face ID is great, but you can always skip it, and it’s been welldocumented that thieves are spying on people who type in their passcode and snatching their phones.…

Analysts have long been calling on Apple to get on with launching its first foldable iPhone, but patent activity suggests the company has more ambitious plans. As spotted by Patently Apple (fave.co/3Q1do7L), Apple has applied for a patent (US-20230221766-A1) for a rollable display with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Inventors Que Anh S Nguyen and Christopher Jones describe a flexible display that can be rolled up from one or both sides in various scenarios. The screen will be based on either OLED or micro-LED technology, with the LED printed on a flexible polymer base. In another variant, flexible glass is used for this purpose; the inventors envisage that the thickness of the glass coating on the inside will taper from the edge to the centre, making the glass…

An original 2007 iPhone with just 4GB of storage, still in its box and cellophane wrapping, has wrapped up its 14-day auction and sold to the highest bidder for a whopping $190,372.80. The bidding began at $10,000 and LCG Auctions had estimated that it would fetch between $50,000 and $100,000 – half of what the auction ended up at. Last October an unopened original iPhone with 8GB of storage sold for a (still respectable) $39,339.60, and a few months before that another sold for $35,414. However, while Apple reportedly sold around six million iPhones in 2007, units in their original packaging are relatively rare. Even rarer are units like this one specified with 4GB of storage. At launch, the device was available with either 4GB or 8GB but the lower…

Preparing for student life can be exciting and stressful. To make things easier, it’s good to know that you have the right tech to help you write your essays, take notes in lessons, and be able to kick back with Apple TV+ or Apple Arcade when all the work is done. The iPad has evolved in recent years to something that can now act as a laptop replacement for many students, with accessories like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil making it one of the most versatile devices you can buy. Choosing one can be tricky though, as Apple currently offers a wide range of models with different prices and features. No problem, here’s our guide to buying an iPad for your student days. Before you decide, you should also…

Portable power banks that charge your phone are popular, but wireless battery packs using Apple’s MagSafe technology offer a simpler and smarter cable-free solution for iPhone 12, 13 and 14 users. Phone batteries are prone to run dry just when you’re heading away from a power source, so having a portable charging source is one of today’s necessities. Annoyingly, most power banks require you to carry around a cable, too. Wireless power banks do away with cables but come with their own major limitation – the inefficiency of wireless charging means you need a high-capacity power bank to fully charge a drained iPhone. I use one as a quick bedside iPhone charger so I can charge and use the phone at the same time without having to worry about cable…

When Apple launched iOS 15 back in 2021, the updated software included a new feature in Photos called Visual Look Up. This neat AI-powered tool can recognize animals, plants, and landmarks in your photos, and provide information about them when tapped. Here’s how it works: When you open a picture of some greenery in Photos, for example, you’ll notice a couple of small stars next to the information icon in the bottom bar, which means iOS has spotted something it recognizes. Tap the icon and you’ll quickly be told what the nearest plant is. Very handy, albeit within a relatively small number of spheres. But two years on, Apple is expanding the usefulness of this previously niche feature. iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, which were demoed at WWDC 2023 and…

Spending some time with the Beats Studio Pro has been enlightening (see page 79). I’ve long known that Sony, Bose, and other headphone makers have offered more features than AirPods Max but without the great integration into the Apple ecosystem that AirPods offers. But Beats? Now Apple’s other headphone brand has come around and shown what’s possible, and it has seriously raised the bar for the next AirPods Max. I once expected the next AirPods Max to be a relatively minor upgrade, with an H2 chip, with improved audio, noise cancellation, and active transparency. Perhaps they’d throw in a U1 or U2 chip so the Find My app can use Precise Location. That might have been enough, but no longer. Apple needs to go beyond mere AirPods Max (2nd-gen) and…

Notifications for phone calls, texts, and alerts may be critical, but sometimes all that buzzing, pinging, and vibrating can be a pain. Conversely, you may be in such a noisy environment that you miss a call or text even with your phone’s ringer at full blast. And constantly checking your screen is not great. Recently, I discovered a brilliant solution: my iPhone’s LED camera flash. Even if you never use it when taking photos, there’s a simple setting that lets the flash alert you to notifications instead of a distracting noise or annoying vibration. And it has the added advantage of being viewable when my iPhone is locked and lying face down. Setting up LED Flash for Alerts, which is designed for the hearing impaired who struggle with audible alerts,…

Everyone wants their iPhone battery to last longer. The good news is, Apple has been steadily improving battery life, and an iPhone made within the last couple of years has some of the best battery life of any mobile phone. The bad news is, it seems like that’s never enough, and your battery life gets shorter as your iPhone ages. There are a million ways to save battery life on your iPhone. Nearly every feature uses some energy, and you could spend all day in Settings turning things off to squeeze out a few more minutes. But a lot of the iPhone batterysaving tips from yesteryear just don’t apply anymore. The efficiency of many different features and functions have gotten good enough that turning them off has an almost negligible…