The question of which is the best wireless charger for multiple devices in 2023 just got trickier, as popular iPhone accessory maker Nomad has today announced its own 3-in-1 iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods charging station, the Stand One Max.
The new stand is a Made for iPhone certified MagSafe charger that delivers 15W of charging to your iPhone, as well as fast-charging for your Apple Watch and wireless charging for your AirPods. Available now from Nomad, it comes in two colors, carbide and silver, and costs a cool $180, not including the 30W adapter you need to get the most out of it.
The cost is mostly down to its premium design. The Stand One Max is a combination of solid metal and glass which suggests a highly premium fit and finish. While it doesn’t come with a power adapter it does come with a nylon braided 2m USB-C cable which can be used with an existing adapter you might have. Just remember, if it’s not powerful enough you won’t get the most out of the stand. Nomad says “We believe that many people already own multiple power adapters and that providing additional units creates unnecessary waste,” and says excluding adapters means packaging can be smaller and lighter, reducing the carbon footprint of its shipping operation.
A saturated market
At first glance the Nomad looks very impressive, but this is a very saturated market and 3-in-1 charging solutions like this are a dime a dozen. However, this is certainly one of the most premium offerings in the sector that we’ve seen, so we’ll definitely be looking to get hands on with to test it out and give you our thoughts.
If you don’t want to wait for our review, this is perfect for any Apple Watch right up to the Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, as well as all of Apple’s best iPhones including the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. The only drawback is that iOS 17’s StandBy mode won’t work if you’re charging an Apple Watch at the same time, as the watch will obstruct you when you try to put your phone on the charging mount in landscape mode.
When Apple announced the Vision Pro headset back in June of 2023 it also announced that the company would release the product in early 2024. We still don’t know exactly when that will be, but previous reports have claimed that it would arrive in or around March. That means that there is only so much time left before Apple’s biggest bet since the Apple Watch will be unleashed unto the world, and Apple is getting ready.
Reports have pointed to Apple requiring potential Vision Pro customers to buy their new headsets in person, or at least buy them online with an in-person pickup. The reason is thought to be the complex setup process that the Vision Pro will require in order to ensure that it fits well and offers the ultimate experience, but for that to happen Apple needs to get all of its ducks in a row. And with the weeks counting down, that’s now getting underway.
That process, a new report claims, includes Apple flying some Apple Store employees out to go through multiple days of training before sending them back to their normal place of work to have that information disseminated to the rest of the team. And the process will all begin next month.
Plans are being made
This is all according to a new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, writing in his weekly Power On newsletter in which he says that Apple is beginning to put the wheels in motion to ensure that retail employees have the information they need moving forward.
“The idea is to fly in a few people from each store, give them the lowdown and then have those folks go back home to train everyone else,” Gurman explains “At the time, Apple told staffers this would occur in early 2024, around when the company has said it will release the device.”
The report goes on, adding that “seminars are getting scheduled now, and training is set to begin in the middle of January. Each employee will be trained for two days, I’m told. It’s a high-stakes endeavor: The Vision Pro’s setup process is going to be complex and not something Apple wants to screw up.”
That last part is the key here, with each sale requiring that Apple and its employees get things just right before sending the customer on their way with a new $3,499 Vision Pro. “The device needs to be customized for each person, and a poor fitting could ultimately ruin the user’s experience,” Gurman explains. “Every step will be carefully orchestrated, including how retail employees approach a customer and how they place the device on a user’s head.”
Vision Pro, coming soon
With Apple’s vague Vision Pro release schedule, it’s difficult to know exactly when Apple intends to release it. But Gurman says that he “would expect a release to at least occur before March,” and it’s worth remembering that the Vision Pro will only be available in the United States at launch. What’s more, early purchases will all have to be done via an appointment, mirroring the way the Apple Watch was sold following its launch back in 2014.
The Vision Pro is a huge gamble for Apple but it has the potential to change the way people interact with their information and apps forever. Whether or not it will be a success could very much depend on how people experience Vision Pro out the gate, a fact that goes a long way to explain why Apple is being so protective of the whole buying experience for a product that will be among the most expensive in the entire Apple Store.
When it comes to buying a new pair of earbuds it can be important to look beyond the AirPods and AirPods Pro because there’s a big wide world of offerings out there. The same goes for those looking to pick up a new pair of headphones, with the AirPods Max far from the end of the conversation on that front, too. And Final Audio is here to remind us of that fact.
Final’s two latest offerings come in the form of a pair of $399.99 earbuds that promise “8K Sound” and a pair of ANC headphones that are built on the previous UX3000 release but with a more approachable price of just $119. While the earbuds somehow make the costly AirPods Pro seem cheap, those headphones more than make up for it by making Apple’s AirPods Max seem positively insane at their $549 price.
But price is only part of the buying decision — you need context to make a proper choice, and that’s where some of the details come in.
Final Audio ZE8000 MK2 Earbuds
Starting with the earbuds, Final’s new offering is an updated version of the ZE8000 that have only been around for less than a year at this point. This new model features ‘Shield Fin’ eartips that promise “improved comfort and increased passive sound isolation” while the “enhanced signal-to-noise ratio for greater detail retrieval and improved ‘8K Sound’” make for interesting reading. The ability to deactivate the ANC and other noise control settings will be welcome, as will an increase in the maximum volume setting by 5dB.
The real star of the show is that 8K Sound, though. And Final is keen to drive that point home. “Development of the ZE8000 MK2 has enabled the evolution of Final’s ‘8K Sound’ feature,” the company’s press release reads. “Improving the signal-to-noise ratio through hardware and software interventions provides a clearer perception of ‘8K Sound’, extracting more detail and musical nuance from recordings.”
Whether any of that pans out remains to be seen, but Final says that the new earbuds achieve a 32% improvement in sound isolation with the ANC active when compared to the older model, which is impressive. And of course, the Final Connect app offers a number of configuration options including “Pro Equalizer” settings. Connectivity comes with Bluetooth 5.2 support with support for SBC, AAC, Qualcomm® aptX, and aptX Adaptive. In terms of battery life, expect up to 15 hours when you use the charging case.
And yes, these things cost a cent shy of $400.
Final Audio UX2000 Headphones
(Image credit: Final Audio)
At the other end of the price range, we have the UX2000 headphones. Based on the previous UX3000 release, these new headphones come in black and cream colorways and have a price of just $119. That’s low, especially when you consider some of the specs.
The first spec that jumped out from the press release was the 45-hour battery life, shortly followed by the promise of a “low-latency gaming mode, making it an ideal companion for gamers who demand synchronized, high-quality audio.”
Other features include Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation, a multi-fit layout that ensures a proper fit, and a rather lovely fingerprint-proof matte finish. The headphones also support Bluetooth 5.3 and can be folded for easy carrying around.
We haven’t tested these things for ourselves, but the spec sheet and the price make these sound like a compelling option for those looking to spend around $100 on a pair of solid headphones. But the proof, as ever, will be in the pudding.
A new messaging app, Beeper Mini, which had allowed users to run the iMessage app on Android phones, appears to be no longer functioning. The cause? Apple disabled it, according to various reports and sources, including comments on Reddit.
But shouldn’t messaging apps function like strong, open-minded family units, letting you take part in discussions, finding out when the next family party is, or even giving you important info on what to buy a strange great uncle you haven’t seen for years for his 89th birthday? And no matter what type of person you are (an Apple iPhone family member or friend or Android family member or friend), shouldn’t you be able to communicate with each other, via these messaging apps? That was the hope, at least, when the Beeper Mini app launched earlier this week, which provided a secure way to run the iMessage app on Android phones, provided that you were willing to pay a subscription fee. (There was a 7-day free trial and then a $1.99/month subscription fee).
However, as actor Strother Martin declared in the classic film, Cool Hand Luke, it now appears “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” And so the dream of Android phones getting blue bubbles of text is over.
What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.
The basis of this app came from a high school student who formed the start of the app at just 16 years old, according to The Verge, and was then turned into an available Android app by Beeper CEO, Eric Migicovsky. Essentially, the team at Beeper was able to use reverse engineering to produce the app, which allowed you to use it without even having an Apple ID.
One of the aspects that’s disappointing is that there was something quite inventive about Beeper Mini’s approach: As we reported earlier this week, “Unlike the Nothing app and Beeper’s previous attempts, the workaround this app uses is all within the app. Your account is still registered to you and sent from the Android phone to Apple’s servers without Beeper touching it.”
What’s also a shame is that there was something very elegant about many aspects of the app. For starters, as we reported earlier, “setup is incredibly easy…. You’ll be able to use the Beeper Mini app to do everything native to iMessage on iPhone, including reacting to messages, sending high-quality images, taking part in group chats, and even editing blue bubbles.”
We’ll be sure to update this and other stories if there are additional developments to this story.
You might not be aware of it, but the Apple Watch that’s on your wrist right now actually has a built-in flashlight. It’s great for finding things in a dark room, but it isn’t going to win any awards when it comes to luminance. It’s pretty bright for what it is, but things could be much, much better.
It appears that someone at Apple agrees because a new patent suggests that Apple is keen to find a way to make the Apple Watch’s flashlight brighter than it already is. How much brighter remains to be seen, but the extra brightness isn’t going to be the only benefit to such a change, assuming that it ever actually happens — we’ll get to that later. There’s a whole other benefit to this patent’s design, and it’s all about angles.
If the patent comes to fruition the Apple Watch won’t just have a brighter flashlight but it will also have one that is easier to point in the direction you’re likely to want it to point in — and if you’ve ever used the existing Apple Watch flashlight, you’ll know just how important that could turn out to be.
The patent
The new patent was spotted by AppleInsider and is definitely an illuminating one if you’ll pardon the terrible pun. The idea is that the Apple Watch would gain a new light source that would affix to the band, rather than the watch itself. That new flashlight would point left and right from the Apple Watch as you look at it, and would have its own power source.
The patent also appears to suggest that the flashlight could be added to any band, making it more useful than having it be specifically dedicated to a band that you have to swap in or out just for those times when you might need it. Still, you’d presumably need to take the flashlight with anyway so it’s unclear whether that’s actually a real benefit or not.
Why it matters
(Image credit: Apple/USPTO)
This patent, like all others, is suitably vague to ensure that it could be used in a variety of ways. But a couple of the key points are worth picking apart a little more.
First, we have to consider how the Apple Watch’s flashlight works today. In reality, all the Apple Watch does is turn its display up to the maximum brightness and display a full screen of color to help illuminate the way. As mentioned, it’s pretty useful — I’ve used it to find something in our garage when the light was out, and it was fine — but it isn’t going to do much good in the darkest environments. Especially when those environments are more open. Something else we’ll come back to later.
In the case of this patent, the flashlight would presumably be much brighter than anything the Apple Watch’s display can muster which could be of huge benefit in more challenging conditions.
Second, Apple makes a point of saying that this unreleased flashlight would “generate visible light cast in a direction that is parallel, or at least substantially parallel, to an axis defined by a user’s appendage when the appendage passes through band.” Anyone who uses the current Apple Watch flashlight will know that aiming it is downright hard at times because the light points in a direction that isn’t what you generally need. With this accessory, wearers would have more control over where the light is aimed.
With that in mind, and considering the fact the battery would be external so as not to drain the main Apple Watch battery, this seems like a feature that’s particularly useful for Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners. I could imagine someone in a dark cave, or on a dark trail, making use of such a flashlight. The extra luminance would be of obvious benefit, as would the better directionality and improved battery situation. All things that come in handy when you’re in the middle of nowhere, no doubt.
However — and I did say we’d get back to this — it’s always important to remember that not every patent turns into a product. And at this point, there’s little to suggest this one will. Still, many do, and adventurers everywhere will no doubt hope this patent is one of the lucky ones.
The best Apple Watch gifts are a mixture of brand-new watches, accessories, and everything in between. I got myself my very first Apple Watch just two years ago and it has already become one of my favorite Apple devices, due to how great it looks, how convenient it is, and how it encourages me to keep track of my exercise. It’s the perfect device to complement my excellent iPhone 15 Pro Max, too.
If you’re looking to get a gift for an Apple Watch fan or know someone who doesn’t own one yet, we have a multitude of gift ideas, all at different price points to get that Apple fan in your life something great this year.
Now that the holidays are almost here, it is the perfect time to get gifts in advance. You don’t want to leave it waiting until the last moment and, with these gift ideas, you don’t need to.
The best Apple Watch to gift
Best Under $50
Best between $50-$150
Best above $150
Looking for more gift ideas?
If you’re buying for an Apple fan and looking or a little more, we have the best gift ideas for all current Apple devices below.
Hell has frozen over — iMessage is now available on Android, thanks to some incredible reverse engineering from the team at Beeper.
This isn’t a false alarm, you can send iMessages to your friends with iPhones from your Android device without even having an Apple ID, and the best bit? It’s using Apple’s servers with no middleman involved — thanks for nothing, Nothing.
We’ll get into the nitty gritty of how Beeper Mini allows you to use iMessage on Android later in this article, but for now (I can’t believe I’m writing this), here’s how to use iMessage on Android.
How to use iMessage on Android with Beeper Mini
(Image credit: Future / Beeper)
Open the Google Play Store and download Beeper Mini
Open Beeper Mini and tap Continue with Google
Follow the steps to allow notifications
Start a 7-day free trial (Beeper Mini is $1.99/month)
Type a message to one of your friends on an iPhone and watch your bubbles go blue
The Beeper Mini setup is incredibly easy, and you don’t need to worry about creating an Apple ID, which is honestly mind-blowing. You’ll be able to use the Beeper Mini app to do everything native to iMessage on iPhone, including reacting to messages, sending high-quality images, taking part in group chats, and even editing blue bubbles.
If you already have an Apple ID, you can log in directly into Apple’s servers and use your iMessage across multiple devices as if your Android smartphone were part of your Apple ecosystem. Here’s how:
(Image credit: Future / Beeper)
Tap Already using iMessage on another device?
Sign in to your Apple ID
That’s all there is to it; your iMessages will now be available on all your Apple devices as well as your Android device. All stored locally and sent directly to Apple’s servers.
But is Beeper Mini secure?
(Image credit: Future / Beeper)
Any Android user out there should seriously contemplate the $1.99/month subscription fee as Beeper Mini unlocks a world of communication that has been unobtainable outside of Apple’s ecosystem up until now. Yes, companies like Nothing and Sunbird attempted to bring iMessage to Android, but by using third-party servers and requiring an Apple ID, the feature was a security nightmare. Beeper Mini, on the other hand, is as secure as using iMessage on an iPhone.
An incredible feat of software engineering means Beeper Mini registers a phone number with iMessage and is able to connect to Apple’s servers directly. No third parties are accessing your information, and Beeper cannot read or access your messages as everything is stored locally on your device. If you’d like to know more about how Beeper Mini works, I highly recommend checking out Quinn Nelson’s YouTube video, which explains the whole process — it’s genuinely impressive.
One more thing… Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
When I first heard about Beeper Mini, I expected the app to be a security minefield, just like Nothing’s attempt to add iMessage to the Nothing Phone a few weeks ago. Instead, the software engineering at play here has seriously impressed me. After reading comments from Beeper’s CEO Eric Migicovsky while speaking to The Verge, I believe this application could be the game changer we’ve all been waiting for.
Earlier this year, I used Android for a whole weekend while on a trip to London, and the main factor that made me unable to use the Google Pixel 7 Pro for any extensive amount of time was the lack of iMessage support when trying to speak to my friends and family. Now after using Beeper Mini, the jump to Android feels far easier than ever before — but how long will it last?
Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon is finally available on streaming services, but you’ll have to pay to watch the highly-anticipated epic as it’s still unavailable on Apple TV Plus.
Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro, is available to buy or rent on Apple TV or through other streaming services like Amazon Prime Video. Yet, there’s no sign of the Oscar-tipped film on Apple TV Plus, and no official release date for its release on that service, either.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the biggest movie release of the year for Apple, with an expectation that the film would be released on Apple TV Plus to watch on your Apple TV 4K just a few weeks after its cinematic release. Now, nearly two months after the Apple TV Plus distributed film appeared in cinemas, Apple TV Plus subscribers are still waiting patiently to see the film appear as part of their $9.99/month subscription.
If you’re sick of waiting for your Apple TV Plus distributed movie to appear on Apple TV Plus, you can rent Killers of the Flower Moon from Amazon for $19.99 or buy it for $24.99. As for those still waiting to see the film on Apple TV Plus, the app currently says “Coming to Apple TV Plus” with no indication of how much longer you’ll need to wait.
Still waiting — iMore’s take
Subscribers to home entertainment services have become accustomed to long waits for new content to appear behind a monthly fee, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Xbox’s GamePass is a great example of making a customer feel valued by guaranteeing first-party releases on day one, so you’re not getting a second-class experience by paying a subscription fee versus purchasing a video game outright.
Other companies take a different approach, trickling content to subscribers months after release. For these services, the customer is usually aware of the fact that they’ll need to wait, and in doing so, they accept the delay.
That said, in these circumstances, I can’t help but feel a little sidetracked by the Killers of the Flower Moon marketing that has been heavily plastered across Apple TV Plus for months. Understandably, movie releases and video game releases are completely different, but there was an expectation that despite Killers of the Flower Moon releasing in cinemas first, Apple’s streaming service would follow suit, and instead, releasing on VOD services shows there’s no reward for loyal subscribers.
Hopefully, Killers of the Flower Moon will appear on Apple TV Plus sooner rather than later, but if Apple continues down this route with other big film releases like Napoleon, there’s a huge risk of devaluing its streaming service with customers able to watch these movies from the comfort of their own homes everywhere but Apple TV Plus.
Bored of waiting for Killers of the Flower Moon? Check out the best Apple TV Plus Movies and best Apple TV Plus shows to find great content this December.
When you install a game on your iPhone, or indeed any app for that matter, you do it from the App Store. That store is controlled by Apple and everything you download from it is vetted by Apple ahead of time. But that also means that Apple gets a cut of everything you buy there. Game companies like Microsoft’s Xbox and Epic Games don’t like that idea for obvious reasons.
It also means that anything that Apple doesn’t want in its store, isn’t. And if it isn’t in the App Store it isn’t on the iPhone unless it can be run via a web browser instead. That’s famously how Microsoft was able to bring its cloud gaming service to the iPhone after Apple refused to allow it into the App Store. And it’s Microsoft, via its Xbox division, that is getting ready to change how things work for good. If it’s allowed to, it intends to offer an app store of its own.
With the European Commission and its Digital Markets Act set to open the iPhone up starting next year, the chances are good that third-party apps will be installable outside of the App Store for the first time. And that could have wide-reaching implications for developers, Apple, and iPhone owners around the world. Sure, Apple might limit the sideloading of apps to the EU initially, but it’s surely only a matter of time before lawmakers in other countries follow the European Commission’s lead. And when they do, Xbox will be ready.
Already speaking with partners
Speaking in an interview at the CCXP comics and entertainment convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said that Microsoft is already talking to partners to make sure that it’s ready once the third-party app store landscape changes.
“It’s an important part of our strategy and something we are actively working on today not only alone, but talking to other partners who’d also like to see more choice for how they can monetize on the phone,’’ Bloomberg reports Spencer as saying. He went on to say that, right now, gamers don’t have a choice when it comes to getting their games on a phone. “To make sure that Xbox is not only relevant today but for the next 10, 20 years, we’re going to have to be strong across many screens.”
It’s that lack of choice that has put Apple and the App Store in the DMA’s crosshairs, and it’s expected that third-party app stores are going to happen. It’s just a matter of when. There are also question marks over whether Apple will only allow sideloading in the EU or if it will change its policy globally. The former seems most likely, however.
A changing landscape
(Image credit: iMore)
The addition of third-party stores, like ones from Xbox and surely Epic Games, could make for a whole new approach to mobile gaming for iPhone owners. Third-party stores are already offered on Android, and Xbox could also bring its store to that platform, too.
But it’s the iPhone that Xbox has its eye on, even though it isn’t the business it once might have been. Bloomberg reports that players spent 5% less on mobile games in 2022 than they did the previous year and that trend is expected to continue. But it’s still a market that Microsoft will want to get into thanks to its estimated $90 billion worth. And that’s money that even Microsoft can’t turn a blind eye to.
Just as Apple can’t turn a blind eye to the changing landscape brought on by the EU and its DMA.
One of the sticks that people like to bash Apple with is, well, Apple: specifically, the Steve Jobs era.
It’s usually wielded as “The old Apple would never have done that!”, but sometimes it goes back further: “That’s like Apple before Steve Jobs came back!”
The thing is, though, the stick-wielders sometimes have a point. And they definitely do with the current iPad range, because it’s a mess. The kind of mess that, had he inherited it, would have made Steve Jobs furious. And it may be part of the reason why iPad sales have been dropping: iPad sales were down 10% in Apple’s most recent financial results.
So what’s the problem?
One of the things that Steve Jobs brought to Apple to drag it out of the doldrums was simplicity: he famously drew a grid with two categories, desktop and portable, and two audiences, Consumer and Pro. Jobs wanted Apple to make one product for each quarter of the matrix – not the dozen or so different models of desktop and mobile Macs that Apple was selling when he returned to the company in the late 1990s.
Of course, Apple didn’t make the iPod then, or the iPhone, or the iPad, or the HomePod, or the Apple Watch, or the Apple TV, or the… you get the idea. But the basic principle, that you could cover every base with a relatively small number of products, still applies. And isn’t being applied to the iPad.
How many iPads should there be?
(Image credit: Apple)
Right now there are six distinct iPads. There’s the standard iPad, which is available in both 9th and 10th generation versions of 10.2 inches and 10.9 inches respectively, with the latter moving the front camera to landscape orientation which is unlike any other iPad.
There’s the iPad Air, which is the sweet spot in the range for most people.
There’s the iPad mini, which is essentially a smaller iPad Air.
And there’s the iPad Pro in its two different sizes and with two different display technologies: LED in the 11-inch and mini-LED in the 12.9-inch models.
Just to make that more complicated, there are five different processors from two different processor families in that mix. So in the cheapest iPads, you have the A13 and A14 Bionic; in the iPad mini you have the A15 Bionic; in the iPad Air you have the M1; and in the iPad Pros, you have the M2 chip.
Then there’s the Apple Pencil. There are three of those now, with each working with different iPads. So Apple sells the 9th generation iPad, which only works with the 1st generation Apple Pencil; the 10th generation iPad, which works with 1st generation and the USB-C Apple Pencil via an adapter; and the Air, Mini, and Pro, which work with the 2nd generation Apple Pencil and the USB-C Apple Pencil.
How to make iPads make sense again
(Image credit: iMore)
We’re expecting Apple to refresh all of the iPad models in 2024, some of them as soon as March. And that means there’s an opportunity to bring some streamlining to the model range and accessories. Whether Apple takes it, only Apple knows. But streamlining the range would be more efficient in terms of both manufacturing and marketing.
Here’s what I think Apple might do.
Let’s start with the cheapest iPads. Instead of two different generations of the same product, as Apple has now, Apple could and should streamline that to one. Getting rid of the 9th generation iPad would also remove the last of the Lightning connectors from the iPad range, so the first generation Apple Pencil could go too. It would also mean the end of the Retina rather than Liquid Retina iPads.
That would leave four iPads instead of five. Apple could move them all to M-series processors, which would again streamline and simplify things: M1 for the iPad, M2 for the Air, and M3 for the Pros.
But for the entry-level iPad, an A15 bionic might be the cheaper option. It’s hardly ancient: it’s the chip that powers the iPhone 14 so it’s still in production. Instead, we might see four processors across the four iPads: A15 Bionic for the basic iPad, M1 for the mini, M2 for the Air, and M3 for the Pros.
Will Apple do it? I’m betting on yes. The surprise Halloween refresh of the MacBook range would happily fit in Steve Jobs’ matrix: M1 for budget buyers, M2 for consumers, M3 for Pros, and M3 Pro/Max for the most performance-pushing customers.
The same streamlining would work just as well with the iPad: M1 or A15 for the entry-level, M2 for the Air, and M3 for the Pros. This is one area where I hope that instead of Think Different, Apple Thinks Similar.
As the weather continues to get colder as the calendar approaches the official start of winter, more people are wearing warmer clothes, including heavier coats — and for some residents in Washington, DC, that’s proving to be dangerous. DC thieves are targeting residents and college and university students wearing Canada Goose jackets, according to Fox 5 DC news. The story describes how in one case the $1,500 jacket was stolen at gunpoint. “Police said three suspects hopped out of a car, pointed guns, and demanded a victim’s Canada Goose jacket just a few blocks from Dupont Circle.”
Sadly, this crime trend has happened in the city before: This past February the Police warned students who own Canada Goose coats at the city’s George Washington University to be careful. So this winter, DC police are taking additional steps, recommending that residents and students attach Apple AirTags to the $1,500 coats, as well as other pricey items that might be targeted.
DC Police suggest Bluetooth tech to combat crimes of fashion
The plan echoes another AirTag policy the police implemented earlier in November, when they gave out free Apple AirTags to combat carjackings in select areas of Washington.
Since their debut in April of 2021, Apple AirTags have been used throughout the US and elsewhere to thwart crime and get back stolen merchandise and property. For instance, in 2021, Apple AirTags helped police locate a stolen bicycle: AirTag (and bike) owner Gene Gorter posted the story to Facebook about how, after his bike was stolen on the 4th of July, the tracker went to work and saved the day. Gorter provided the AirTag tracking information to Boston police, who were able to recover the bike (with the attached Apple AirTag) from a trashcan following the AirTag tracking details.
Of course, not everyone uses AirTags to thwart crime. Some have used them to commit crime. In fact, the tiny trackers have been used illegally to stalk victims. For example, actor Hannah Rose May tweeted about her experience of being stalked and tracked via an AirTag.
It’s why last year the New York Attorney General issued a consumer warning about AirTags, stating that those who would misuse AirTags are committing a felony.
Hot on the heels of the news that more than 100 companies have removed their ads from X, the competition is starting to get serious. Meta-owned Instagram launched Threads earlier this year, although it didn’t go live for one key group of people — those who live in countries that are part of the European Union. That could be about to change.
Threads only launched outside of the EU due to concerns over local rules surrounding how apps and services have to function, and the interlink between Threads and the Instagram app proper was thought to be a potential concern for regulators. But as X owner Elon Musk continues to alienate advertisers and users alike with controversial comments on a variety of things, Threads could be about to get a huge shot in the arm.
Musk recently said that the loss of advertisers from X could be enough to see the company cease to function. And despite a foul-mouthed rant in their direction, advertisers might not be too keen to reverse course. With that in mind, the arrival of Threads as a new player across almost an entire continent is probably not the news Musk wanted to wake up to this morning.
Coming to an EU country near you soon
While neither Meta nor Instagram has officially confirmed anything just yet, The Wall Street Journal reports that plans are afoot to bring Threads to the EU as soon as December. And with December starting tomorrow, the launch could be just around the corner.
The report notes that Meta and Instagram were put off by the EU’s regulatory requirements, something it says are “among the toughest in the world.” That’s something Apple knows all about of course, having just added USB-C to the iPhone 15 at the behest of the same regulatory outfit.
However, Meta seems to have a solution — unlinking Threads and Instagram somewhat. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had already confirmed the ability to delete a Threads account without also deleting the Instagram account it’s associated with, and now the WSJ says Meta is ready to go a step further.
“To comply with those regulations, Meta will give EU users the choice of using Threads purely for consumption without a profile that allows them to make their own posts,” the report claims, citing unnamed sources “familiar with the matter.”
It’s thought that this removal of the requirement to have an Instagram account to read Threads posts and the ability to uncouple a Threads account from Instagram could be enough to appease regulators.
Worth the risk
(Image credit: Future)
At this point, the quest for more users could well make launching in the EU a no-brainer for all concerned. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in October that Threads had around 100 million monthly active users, and one analyst believes that could balloon. Debra Aho Williamson, an independent tech analyst, told The Wall Street Journal that the inclusion of EU accounts could result in an additional 40 million monthly users for threads throughout 2024.
The extra users is about more than just figures, though. The more people on Threads, the more conversations there are. And the more conversations, the more engaging the platform will become. And in a world where X still remains the go-to place for discussing breaking news, more conversations could be exactly what Threads needs to try and tip the balance.
Of course, whether launching in the EU is a risk at all is a matter for debate. It seems unlikely that Threads will launch in the region before Instagram and Meta are convinced that it won’t fall foul of EU rules, after all.
So, you need a smartphone that is capable, and long-lasting. I mean, you never know when you’ll have to make the Kessel Run, or evade Imperial ships in your Naboo Royal Cruiser in low-power mode, unable to charge your phone for a few cycles.
As a result of one of my trips to Disney’s Galaxy’s Edge where I went on a Smuggler’s Run and witnessed the Rise of the Resistance, I’m convinced now more than ever that the iPhone 15 Plus is the best iPhone for most inhabitants of this universe. Yes, even those in the outer systems. This is the way!
These are my experiences after a demanding trip to Disneyland in California, with the iPhone 15 Plus.
(Image credit: Future)
If you’ve read Stephen Warwick’s detailed iPhone 15 Plus review, you’re already aware that the iPhone has the big camera sensor from the iPhone 14 Pro. That’s 48 megapixels to get you larger and more detailed photos but most importantly a larger sensor equals better low-light imaging.
We’ll dive into that more in a bit. In addition, you will now have USB-C for charging, cable included. The display is brighter, coming in at 1000 nits max brightness, 1600 nits peak viewing HDR content, and 2000 nits peak outdoor brightness. And, of course, this year the non-pro models get Dynamic Island.
Taking the iPhone to the most magical place on Earth
All of those “on paper” details are important, but what does using the iPhone 15 Plus look like in real life? Well, with those details out of the way, let’s explore Star Wars World, or as it is officially called at Disneyland, Galaxy’s Edge.
My day began around 8AM, but I didn’t take my phone off of the charger until around 10AM. That’s an important piece of information because the iPhone 15 Plus has more stamina than the Energizer Bunny, and is quite capable of cutting through any task you throw at it like a lightsaber, with its 4,383 mAh battery and the A16 Bionic processor found in last year’s 14 Pro. I’ll deal with that a bit more in detail at the end of this article as I wrap up my day and experience using the phone at the Mouse House.
One of the immediate highlights of using the iPhone 15 Plus over last year’s iPhone 14 Plus is the redesigned body. It features more rounded edges, a departure from the sharper edges of last year’s model, making it more pleasing in hand. And the new “color-infused” glass back features a frosted, matte-feeling finish which doesn’t soak up fingerprints like before. A plus when you’re going to be eating some potentially greasy food, including my all-time favorite Disneyland fried fare, CHURROS.
Splash Mountain wasn’t running this year but it’s good to know that I can come back when they’ve renovated the ride to feature Princess Tiana and I don’t have to worry about soaking the phone because it’s IP68 rated.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
With a pocketable device as powerful as the Millennium Falcon, it might seem “small” to say that the camera is the most important aspect of a smartphone, but for many people it is. So what do you miss out on if you don’t choose one of Apple’s premium “Pro” models with their three camera systems? For the average user? Not much, to be honest. Let’s get into some photo samples I took on dark rides, and at night while visiting the “spookiest happiest place on earth” during their Halloween-themed season.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
From the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, this is a dark, terribly lit shot. Not one I would post, even to social media. That said, I wanted to show that in extreme low light conditions on the Pirates of the Caribbean, the shots were pretty close in quality. Again, I qualify the poor quality by telling you that I was on a moving boat ride, in very dark conditions.
Difficult for any camera because the lower the light, the more steady you need to be holding the camera. Try doing that on a boat that isn’t just moving forward but is also rocking a bit, side-to-side.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
Here we have pirates at the dunking well. Even in the low light, the cameras did a decent job capturing the colors and many details but the iPhone 15 Plus had sharper details than the 15 Pro Max. I chalk that up more to movement than camera quality.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
Now, in better lighting conditions you can see how the cameras stack up. Blowing these up on my Mac, when pixel peeping, the differences are obvious in the sharpness and contrast. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is superior. But again, not so much so that sharing these to social media you’re going to see a significant difference.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
Here’s how the front cameras do in low light. When I zoom in on the teacups, the 15 Pro Max is sharper and has more detail, but again… you have to pixel peep to see it. Also, contrast is a bit better on the Pro Max but this isn’t frightfully different.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
And I’ll end this brief photo comparison with one of my favorite captures from the evening. This shot of the jack-o-lantern outside of the Haunted Mansion. Again, another instance of shots which aren’t that significantly different in quality. Pixel peeping shows the difference, but again, it isn’t night and day and I don’t think anyone would call you Goofy for thinking the 15 Plus looks as good as the 15 Pro Max.
(Image credit: Tshaka Armstrong)
Looking over the iPhone 15 Plus and how it handles daylight photos, you’re going to be just fine. They’re beautiful, the colors and contrast are solid, and the details are great! That’s from both the front and rear cameras.
The main thing you’re going to be missing is the inclusion of the third dedicated telephoto lens that the iPhone 15 Pro devices have. And you have the higher resolution, but most folks will be shooting in the default setting more than likely so no huge loss there in terms of overall quality.
Beyond the camera
Another thing to note since we’re discussing theme parks: Both phones feature the new U2 Ultra Wideband chip so that you can now find other iPhone 15 users in a crowd, with pinpoint accuracy. It’s called Precision Finding. This is great if you split up and hit different rides and want to reconnect later.
Now, getting back to that battery life! Because I was busy enjoying the day, I didn’t get as much screen time as usual, but I did take more photos and videos than I usually do in a day. Over 100 to be exact. Additionally, I used Apple Maps to get me there and back home again, so that was a combined 3 hours of GPS navigation streamed to the Bluetooth dongle in my car.
And at the end of that day, which lasted from 10AM to 2AM, I had 8% battery left on the iPhone 15 Plus. Now, I have no comparison to the Pro Max for that day because I didn’t use it equally, but over the last two weeks that I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Plus, the battery life is definitely better than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. At the end of my workday, that’s the time I wake up and take my phone off of the charger, until the time I get home from work, the 15 Pro Max usually has around 20% battery left. In the last two weeks using the iPhone 15 Plus, with the same screen on time, averaging around 5 plus hours a day, I’m sitting at around 40% battery left.
Plus vs Max? ‘Good enough’ is good enough for most
For me, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a “no-brainer”, ifyou can afford it. Log profiles, camera options, the latest Apple technology in the camera systems, and AI in the photographic mix gives me the best options for content creation, specifically video recording.
But those things come with a steep price tag, especially when considering the larger storage options available. For most people who want long battery life and capable cameras, I think the iPhone 15 Plus is the obvious choice, with relatively minor compromises. For those users, an $899 base cost, and long battery life are the deal makers. You’re going to get a lot for $300 dollars less than the iPhone 15 Pro Max whose base price is $1199, and if you’re a content creator, that price shoots up two to four hundred dollars for the 512GB and 1TB options.
If you can’t wish upon a star for that top-tier Pro Max upgrade, the iPhone 15 Plus is more than good enough to make your dreams come true.
Having another monitor as you sit to do work at your Mac or iPad can be a great help. You can use a second screen for Slack, Spotify, or for Apple TV Plus as you do work on the main screen. Thanks to this great deal for Cyber Monday, you can have the second screen setup when you’re on a train, in an office, or wherever you may be — at a steep discount.
This portable monitor by KYY features a massive 15.6-inch HDR display that outputs at 1920×1080, which almost makes this monitor as big as a 16-inch MacBook Pro. It also comes with a smart case, which means that, not only will it protect the display, but it can also prop up the display so you can easily have it sit alongside your Mac or iPad.
Right now, you can buy this portable monitor for $98.00, down from $219.99 on Amazon. At this price, you may as well buy two to have a monitor on each side of your device.
To hook this monitor up to your Mac or iPad, you can use one of the USB-C ports or the mini-HDMI port. There’s also a headphone jack alongside volume controls — so if you’re watching some videos, you’ll be able to make sure that you’re not being a nuisance to those around you on a train commute.
For this portable monitor at $98.00 on Amazon, buying two adds up to $196, which still doesn’t come close to its original price of $219 — so you’re still saving $23. As Cyber Monday winds down for another year, you may as well treat yourself as the Christmas holidays come ever closer.
I didn’t think I would need a smart doorbell — until I strapped one to the front of my house. There’s something extremely helpful about getting a notification when the doorbell goes, or having my HomePods ping whenever I’m somewhere that I can’t hear the sound unit.
This is my smart doorbell — the Aqara smart doorbell G4. It looks cool, has a solid camera, and works seamlessly with HomeKit without the need for an extra hub. I even wrote about why it’s so good — and now you can get one with $30 off in the Cyber Monday sale.
Where to find Cyber Monday Doorbell deals
This doorbell is my favorite off our best video doorbells list, and there are a multitude of reasons why. I liked how easy it was to fit on my house, how easy it was to connect to my HomeKit setup. My HomePods ring when I get someone at the door, and, best of all, I can answer the door when I’m not even in the house.
Not missed a parcel since fitting it to my house, and never had one placed in an annoying place. I can talk to the delivery person when they’re at the door, and let them know where I want my parcel to go. Nice.
