Table of contents for 194 in iPad & iPhone User

An original 2007 iPhone, still in its box and cellophane wrapping, is up for auction. The starting bid is set to $10,000, and LCG Auctions (fave.co/44am53X) estimates that it will fetch between $50,000 and $100,000. Apple sold around six million 2007 iPhones, but 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 configuration was discontinued after a few months in favour of a new 16GB edition. That rarity value explains the unusually high valuation. Last October an unopened original iPhone with 8GB of storage sold for a (still respectable) $39,339.60; a few months before that another sold for $35,414. Whoever wins the auction would be…

Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, announced at WWDC, is still a long way from launch: the company has said only that it will become available in the US at some point in 2024, with unnamed countries to follow later that year. But it looks like the first hardware element of the Vision Pro launch could appear as soon as this autumn. According to the prolific and widely respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (fave.co/3JLUf5E), the iPhone 15, expected to launch in this autumn, is likely to feature an upgraded ultra wideband (UWB) chip designed to ensure seamless integration with Vision Pro. Apple introduced the U1 chip in 2019 with the iPhone 11 and has subsequently included it in all iPhone models since as well as the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, and…

Apple’s Vision Pro may be the most intriguing new Apple product in years, but at $3,499, very few people are going to actually buy one. But fret not: Apple is reportedly already working on a cheaper model to be announced in 2025. In his latest Power On newsletter (fave.co/44nLlTQ), Gurman claims that a “cheaper” version of the Vision Pro is in development, likely with “lower quality screens, either an iPhone-grade chip or an older Mac chip and fewer cameras”. Dubbed Apple Vision or Apple Vision One, the headset is expected to launch in 2025. We’ve heard this rumour before, but now that we know what Apple’s high-end headset looks like, does, and costs, it puts the less-expensive model in a bit more context. The headset is packed with very high-end…

For a product that isn’t debuting until 2024, Apple has said a lot about the Vision Pro, its mixed reality headset. Apple spent nearly an hour in the WWDC keynote discussing it. It has rolled out developer tools for visionOS, which has given us even more clarity about what visionOS can and can’t do. And yet I remain firmly convinced that Apple hasn’t told us the whole story. The WWDC keynote was the time to make a first impression, but there’s half a year to go before the final story is told. As a result, Apple emphasized the features of the device that it felt would best represent the device. It emphasized the fact that it’s an augmented-reality product that keeps you connected with people around you as a way…

There are two main reasons why someone might want to install a VPN on an iPhone. One important reason is to protect their privacy and increase their security. Another key reason is that a VPN can be used to make it look like you are based in a different country, which can unlock content that wouldn’t be available where you actually are. If you are concerned about how secure the data on you iPhone is a VPN may be a solution that could give you peace of mind. We have a selection of VPNs for iPhone that we recommend below. But first we’ll quickly address why you might, or might not, want an VPN to protect the data on your iPhone. Apple talks a lot about how secure iOS is…

Price: £289 from fave.co/447Caao Final Audio has delivered one of the best-sounding noise-cancelling earbuds you can buy: the ZE8000. Buy a set and you’ll also get one of the more outrageous designs in the earphone market, a look that will enchant some and completely turn off others. Final is based in Japan, a country that embraced the Brutalist architectural movement that seems to have inspired the sharp corners and concrete-textured finish of the ZE8000. They’ve created an earphone that has no real parallels in the consumer audio world, so buyers will stand out from the white earbud hordes. AUDIO QUALITY The ZE8000 have an impressive soundstage and excellent detail, comparing favourably to the Astell&Kern AK UW100 and Campfire Audio Orbit earbuds, two models that ditch active noise cancellation in pursuit…

I’m sure this sounds familiar: You’re trying to install the latest iOS release, upgrade to a new iPhone, take photos or record video, or just download that cool app everyone’s talking about, and your iPhone says the storage is full. You’ve already deleted every app you don’t think you need, and there’s still not enough space on your iPhone. So you open Settings, tap General, then iPhone Storage, and, sure enough, your iPhone is full. Worst of all, a huge chunk of it is just listed as Other (renamed System Data in iOS 15). What’s that supposed to mean? How do you get rid of it? The Other/System Data storage sections are mysterious and confusing, and there’s no one answer that works for everyone, but hopefully, this guide will help…

The first iOS 17 Developer Beta was released on the first day of WWDC, as is tradition. While it is meant for developers to begin building apps using new frameworks and APIs, and to test and send bug reports if their apps don’t work with the new software, it is technically available to anyone with a developer account. In fact, the Developer Beta used to require a paid membership to the developer programme, which costs £79 a year. With iOS 17, Apple changed its policy to allow even those with free developer accounts (which otherwise only provide access to the developer forums and Xcode) to download the iOS 17 Developer Beta. Still, we recommend waiting for the Public Beta to begin, likely in July; the third or fourth Developer Beta…

Apple’s Vision Pro headset, unveiled at WWDC last month, is only the first step on the company’s journey into the mixed-reality market, and it clearly isn’t perfect. It’s understood that Cupertino’s design team recommended that the project be pushed back until the available technology caught up with the sort of product they wanted to make, but CEO Tim Cook overruled them and insisted on announcing something this year. Real artists ship, after all. One of Vision Pro’s obvious physical limitations at this stage of evolution is its relatively high weight, which some early testers have suggested is likely to make it uncomfortable when worn for long sessions. But Apple is aware of this issue, and working to solve it. Indeed, when my colleague Roman was able to spend an hour…

While the $3,499 (around £2,760) Vision Pro won’t be available for sale until next year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is already working on a cheaper version. The news isn’t exactly surprising – Gurman himself previously reported on Apple’s plans to initially introduce the pricey mixed reality headset meant for developers, with a device meant for the masses released sometime later. He covers some of the ways Apple could cut costs – lower-quality screens, an older chip, and fewer cameras among them – though much of the core Vision Pro features, including the EyeSight eye tracking, will likely remain. The projected release date for this other headset is late 2025, only two and a half years from now. Gurman doesn’t mention a smaller design, but it’s hard to…

If you’ve downloaded iOS 15, you might have noticed something different about your iCloud account. Apple is upgrading all paid iCloud accounts to something it calls iCloud+. It includes several interesting new features on top of the existing iCloud storage, sync, and cloud features, but the most interesting might be something Apple calls iCloud Private Relay. At first, it sounds like a VPN: your web-browsing traffic is encrypted and sent through a relay to hide your exact location, IP, or the contents of your browsing traffic. It’s not a VPN, though. Not quite. There are important differences, which we’ll describe here. But iCloud Private Relay may be enough for most people, giving the most obvious benefits of a VPN to millions of users who would never consider signing up for…

iPhones have a long-held reputation for being safe and secure when it comes to viruses and malware. While this is well-earned, no electronic device is completely safe from hackers and other digital ne’er-do-wells. So here’s how to find out if your iPhone has a virus and what you can do about it. HAS YOUR iPHONE GOT A VIRUS? First things first: it’s very unlikely that your iPhone is infected with a virus. The App Store vets all submitted software for potential threats, and while mistakes are occasionally made (there are literally millions of apps to check), this mostly keeps iOS free from nasty agents. In fact, the majority of successful malware attacks on iPhones have been directed at models that have been jailbroken, which gives the owner access to software…

Wireless headphones are essentially the standard now, with Bluetooth not only being convenient but Apple removing the audio jack on the iPhone range. For most people, the sound quality difference to wired isn’t noticeable anyway. The market is huge, but here are the best wireless headphones we’ve tested for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. If you’re wondering why the AirPods Max don’t appear on this list, rest assured that we gave them due consideration, but while audio quality is exceptional, their very high price and ill-judged case design kept them out of this competitive chart. 1. SENNHEISER CX PLUS TRUE WIRELESS Price: £99 from fave.co/3NLWA1Y Sennheiser recently updated its popular CX True Wireless earbuds with this new model called the CX Plus, which adds noise cancellation and support for AptX,…

Forgetting your iPhone’s passcode (or alphanumeric password) is a serious situation, and certainly an inconvenience. But it isn’t necessarily a disaster. In this tutorial we explain how to ‘hack’ or bypass the passcode on both iPhones and iPads, and change it to something else that’s hopefully more memorable. You’ll have to restore your device, wiping the contents, but at least you’ll be able to use it again. For those with a bit more confidence – and a legitimate reason to want to access an iPhone for which you haven’t got the code – then there are other options available. We discuss the use (and limitations) of the sophisticated forensic software used by law enforcement agencies to ‘crack’ iDevices. Finally, we cover the basics of removing or resetting the passcode once…

Whenever a new iPhone comes out, Apple makes a big deal about the new colours and design to make everyone want one – and then everyone slaps a case on it. But based on a new patent (fave.co/3XAYwic) Apple just won, that might not be the ‘case’ much longer. As reported by Patently Apple (fave.co/3psqKz7), Apple was recently granted a patent for “an abrasion-resistant back panel made of glass or metal” that could be used in iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. The trick is using ‘more than one material for the chassis’. The patent specifically deals with metal and ceramic, though the method could presumably be used on other materials as well. According to the patent, Apple has developed a “moldable matrix” consisting of “abrasion-resistant members” that are harder than the…

Along with the second beta of iOS 17, Apple has released the very first beta visionOS, giving developers who weren’t lucky enough to try Vision Pro at WWDC their first glimpse of the company’s mixed-reality vision of the future. (Without wishing to repeat the F word too often, Apple describes the software as its “first spatial operating system”.) You don’t need an actual Vision Pro headset to explore the software, which is fortunate since they won’t go on sale until sometime next year. You only need the latest Xcode beta. It’s still early days, but a few interesting titbits have emerged already. For instance, there are several Environments present in the beta, which can be used to shut out the outside world by turning the headset’s Digital Crown. “Environments let…

I have spent the past couple of decades writing about new features in Apple’s operating systems. Tens of thousands of words about new items, large and small, that enhance the experience of using a Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices. And yet this past weekend, I was reminded that most users simply don’t notice new features, even when they’ve been available for years. If you’re reading this column right now, you’re one of the most well-educated people on the planet about Apple stuff. But your friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances? They might never know about flashy new operating-system features unless you personally show them off. It’s one of Apple’s most vexing problems: keeping devices relatively simple while also trying to make complex new features discoverable. LUNCH OF DISCOVERY My…

A VPN is an essential tool for iPad users wanting to watch streaming services in other countries, such as Disney+, Netflix or BBC iPlayer, with some content not being available at every location. This is handy if you’re travelling abroad, but missing out on your favourite shows, as you can connect to a server in your own country and carry on watching as if you were at home. Plus, when you’re browsing the web using your iPad, your online activity is visible to your Internet service provider (ISP), your government, and potentially others. But because a VPN changes your real IP address for a different one and encrypts the data going to and from your iPad, it makes it practically impossible to spy on you. The new IP address can…

Price: £179 from fave.co/3PCEG4d In our review of the original Beats Studio Buds, we found they outclassed AirPods Pro in several ways but lacked some Apple-specific features. That, along with mediocre noise cancelling, made them less desirable for Apple enthusiasts. The revamped version, Beats Studio Buds +, improves on the original in many important ways. But Apple also has a new model – the second-generation AirPods Pro – that seriously raise the stakes. Again, I enjoyed the design and usability of these Beats earbuds but find the latest AirPods Pro easier to recommend. These are earbuds made for both Apple and Android users and lack Apple’s home-grown H1 or H2 chip that enables certain features within the Apple ecosystem. I’d take them over AirPods any day, but they don’t match…

You can use your iPhone to find your car – if you remember to drop a pin in Apple Maps or Google Maps when you leave your car. Just park, grab your iPhone and open your maps app. But, if your iPhone is connected to your car via Bluetooth or you use a CarPlay system, it can automatically drop a pin in your Maps app that you can find on your iPhone. Below we will explain how to Find your car with Apple’s handset. If your iPhone is connected to your car’s Bluetooth or a CarPlay stereo you can set this up to happen automatically. If that isn’t the case you can still record your parked position, but you’ll have to remember to set it up yourself. GET YOUR iPHONE…