mobile phones
It seems as if retailers and Google are playing a game of chicken about who can leak the most information about the company’s two upcoming flagship phones: the Google Pixel…
Fairphone adds a 5G smartphone, touting software support until at least 2025
Dutch social enterprise Fairphone has announced its first 5G smartphone, the Fairphone 4. The “greentech” mobile maker differentiates from almost the entire smartphone industry through a promise of sustainability via…
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How Apple built the iPhone 13’s Cinematic Mode
The Cinematic Mode on the iPhone 13 Pro models had a marquee spot in Apple’s presentation about the devices last week. The reviews so far this week have people acknowledging the cleverness but questioning its usefulness. I’ve been testing out the feature for the past week and this weekend took it to Disneyland to give…
LG is acquiring automotive cybersecurity startup Cybellum in a $240M deal
LG Electronics, the Korean tech giant that once was a leading player in mobile phones but is now winding down that business, is making an acquisition that points to its…
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The iPhone 13 Pro goes to Disneyland
This year’s iPhone review goes back to Disneyland for the first time in a couple of years for, uh, obvious reasons. I’m happy to report that the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 performed extremely well, and the limited testing I was able to do on the iPhone mini and iPhone 13 Pro Max showed…
The GoPro-ification of the iPhone
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review! Last week, we talked about some sunglasses from a company that many people do not like very much. This week, we’re…
Patient monitoring startup Doccla secures $3.3M seed funding for ‘virtual wards’ platform
Doccla, a health tech startup with a platform that can monitor patients on hospital wards and in the home, has secured a $3.3 million seed funding round, led by Giant…
Apple’s new MagSafe wallet works with ‘Find My’ app for when it goes missing
Alongside the introduction of the new iPhone 13, Apple introduced a few new accessories to complement its upgraded flagship devices. One of the more interesting additions in the accessories in…
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Apple patches an NSO zero-day flaw affecting all devices
Apple has released security updates for a zero-day vulnerability that affects every iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Citizen Lab, which discovered the vulnerability and was credited with the find, urges users to immediately update their devices. The technology giant said iOS 14.8 for iPhones and iPads, as well as new updates for Apple Watch…
Apple secures first states to support digital driver’s licenses, but privacy questions linger
Apple’s plan to digitize your wallet is slowly taking shape. What started with boarding passes and venue tickets later became credit cards, subway tickets and student IDs. Next on Apple’s…
UK-based smartphone subscription startup Raylo has tucked $11.5 million in Series A funding into its top pocket, led by Octopus Ventures. The equity round follows a debt raise last year…
US lawmakers want to restrict police use of ‘Stingray’ cell tower simulators
According to BuzzFeed News, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Ted Lieu will introduce legislation later today that seeks to restrict police use of international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers. More…
A mobile security startup has found seven security flaws in Samsung’s pre-installed mobile apps, which it says if abused could have allowed attackers broad access to a victim’s personal data.…
This one email explains Apple
An email has been going around the internet as a part of a release of documents related to Apple’s App Store-based suit brought by Epic Games. I love this email…
Huawei officially launches HarmonyOS for smartphones
Think you’re living in a hyper-connected world? Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS wants to eliminate delays and gaps in user experience when you move from one device onto another by adding interoperability…
Meet Justos, the new Brazilian insurtech that just got backing from the CEOs of 7 unicorns
Here in the U.S. the concept of using a driver’s data to decide the cost of auto insurance premiums is not a new one. But in markets like Brazil, the…
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Interview: Apple executives on the 2021 iPad Pro, stunting with the M1 and creating headroom
When the third minute of Apple’s first product event of 2021 ticked over and they had already made 3 announcements we knew it was going to be a packed one. In a tight single hour this week, Apple launched a ton of new product including AirTags, new Apple Card family sharing, a new Apple TV,…
Purple iPhone purple iPhone purple iPhone purple iPhone purple iPhone
With the spring comes color from Apple. The new iMacs are offered in seven different shades including a nice deep purple. As a refresh to the lineup, Apple has also…
Apple adds a new purple color option to its iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini lineup
Apple has added a new color option to the iPhone 12 lineup — a rare midcycle facelift for the company’s flagship product. The new color is purple, and looks like…
US iPhone users spent an average of $138 on apps in 2020, will grow to $180 in 2021
U.S. consumers spent an average of $138 on iPhone apps last year, an increase of 38% year over year, largely driven by the pandemic impacts, according to new data from…
Snapcommerce raises $85M to make over your mobile shopping experience
People are not only shopping digitally more than ever, they’re also shopping using their mobile phones more than ever. And for mobile-first companies like Snapcommerce, this is good news. Snapcommerce,…
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Astra hires longtime Apple veteran Benjamin Lyon as chief engineer
New space startup Astra, which is currently focused on commercial rockets, but which plans to eventually build satellites, too, has hired one of Apple’s key engineering leaders to head its own engineering efforts. Benjamin Lyon spent more than two decades at Apple, where he worked on everything from the iPhone to input devices and sensor…
Will Apple’s spectacular iPhone 12 sales figures boost the smartphone industry in 2021?
It’s safe to project a rebound for the industry at large in 2021.
PopSockets announces its MagSafe-compatible iPhone 12 accessories
In October, TechCrunch broke the news that PopSockets was developing its own line of MagSafe-compatible products that will support the new wireless charging capabilities of the iPhone 12 devices. Today,…
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Despite limitations, 3D and AR are creating new realities in retail
“Within the next five years, I think we’re going to see that having AR and 3D on your dot-com and beyond will be mandatory.”
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei raises $7 million for his new venture
Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus who left the company two months ago, has raised $7 million from a roster of high-profile investors for his new hardware venture. The Swedish…
Qualcomm kicked off an all-virtual version of its annual summit this morning by announcing the launch of the the Snapdragon 888 platform. The chipmaker is clearly saving some key information…
Apple and Verizon today announced a new partnership that will make it easier for their business partners to go all-in on 5G. Fleet Swap, as the program is called, allows…
Apple MagSafe Duo Charger Review: Useful, but expensive and underwhelming
In addition to the new iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, I was able to try out Apple’s new MagSafe Duo Charger. It’s a folding dual travel…
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iPhone 12 mini Review: Tiny package, big bang
Reviewing the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max at the same time has been an exercise in extremes. I noted in my earlier reviews of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro that it was difficult to evaluate the middle of the lineup without having the extreme ends of the scale available…
