Mobile

Wed
21
Feb
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Triple-Display Phones On Way

Phone screens that fold in half may soon be yesterday's news. Two smartphone giants are both reportedly working on triple foldable phones. Huawei and Samsung have both previously filed patents for relevant technology. Now reports suggest Samsung ... will release a model later this year while Huawei may beat it to the punch with a release somewhere between April and June. The reports have been fuelled partly by orders placed with component manufacturers in Taiwan. (Source: pandaily.com ) While Huawei may be first to market, Samsung would have a major advantage in the US market. That's because the ... (view more)

Wed
24
Jan
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Google Introduces "Circle" Searches

Google has come up with a new twist when it comes to searching on mobile devices. Users of some Android handsets can draw a circle round text or images on their screen to search. The "Circle to Search" feature will also let users ask specific ... questions relating to what they have selected. Unlike many search tools, this will work directly in any app, not just the Chrome browser or other Google applications. Google gives the example of searching for information relating to a video or social media posts. (Source: blog.google ) The search results will then appear in a pop-up window. Users can tap ... (view more)

Fri
19
Jan
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Apple to Allow Third Party App Stores

Apple is reportedly planning to allow iPhone owners to use third-party app stores and "sideloaded" apps. But the move appears to be limited to Europe, complying with local regulations. Throughout the existence of the iPhone and iPad, Apple has been ... adamant about only allowing users to install software downloaded from the official Apple store. It argues that's necessary to maintain security and ensure compatibility and performance to make sure users get the best experience. Cynics counter it's actually about maintaining a monopoly on supplying apps, giving Apple more power to charge ... (view more)

Thu
04
Jan
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Android To Give Battery Health Updates

Android devices may soon tell users when their phone is starting to degrade. It's a feature already found in phones. The feature is not about the percentage of charge the battery has, which is easy to find in Android settings and can be shown ... permanently on the screen. Instead, it's about battery health. It's described by Google as the "estimated percentage of charge the battery can currently hold compared to when it was new." That's not necessarily as straightforward as it might seem: battery life doesn't necessarily degrade at a consistent rate. A rule of thumb, the battery should retain at ... (view more)

Fri
10
Nov
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Apple, Google Dispute May Sway Competition Rules

Google is leading a bid to force Apple to make its iMessage tool more compatible with other services. It could have a wider effect on tech competition as a whole. In the past, most messaging tools used SMS (Short Messaging Service) which sent text ... messages over the cellular network. These are either paid for individually by the user, or taken out of a monthly allowance that's separate to cellular data services. Most phones now have one or more services that let users send messages via cellular data and the Internet. As well as not using up SMS allowances, such messaging tools also allow ... (view more)

Fri
13
Oct
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Pixel Spare Parts Available for Seven Years

Google has vowed to stock spare parts for its flagship Pixel 8 phones for at least seven years. It matches the companies software commitment to keep the phone operating systems updated for that period. The move is designed to overcome one of the ... main "gotchas" whenever Google boasted the long support period for the phone. Knowing the handset will have the necessary software for seven years isn't that meaningful if there's a risk the phone becomes useless or the battery almost inevitably dies. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were only officially announced this month but will be on sale almost ... (view more)

Thu
17
Aug
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'Don't Charge iPhone Overnight' Claim Overblown

Apple has issued a warning about safely charging iPhones. However, reports in which the company said users should never charge their phone while they sleep are incorrect. At least one newspaper reported the story with the headline "Why you shouldn't ... charge your iPhone while you sleep." Another site used the slightly more accurate but still potentially misleading "Apple warns people should never sleep next to their phone while its charging." From those headlines you might think Apple is making a surprisingly open revelation about handsets spontaneously combusting and taking out everything in a ... (view more)

Tue
15
Aug
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New Smartphone Touchscreen Works When Wet

A high-end smartphone may solve one of the main problems with touchscreens. The OnePlus Ace 2 Pro works even in the rain or when the user has wet fingers. A touchscreen works by passing a very low-powered (and safe) electrical charge across the ... screen. When a finger touches the screen, the charge is diverted to run across the finger. The device can then see which part of the screen "lost" charge and thus where the finger pressed. (Source: iop.org ) This is why touchscreens don't work well with most gloves, which are made of various materials that work as insulators and don't conduct ... (view more)

Tue
08
Aug
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Android to Warn of Nefarious AirTag Tracking

Android users can now get alerts if a tracking device such as an Apple AirTag may be targeting them. The alerts were already available on iPhones, but Google and Apple are now working together, albeit with some holdups. An Apple AirTag is a small ... device that emits a Bluetooth signal. The idea is to attach it to valuable or important items such as keys, purses or luggage. Around a billion Apple devices are set to scan for the signals and anonymously report the location and identity of the AirTags, meaning that owners can track down lost items with varying degrees of precision. Like most tech, ... (view more)

Wed
12
Jul
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Report: 5G Could Be Battery Killer

5G data use drains batteries quicker than 4G connections, according to new research. However, improved performance in newer processors could make up the difference. The figures come from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, which measures broadband ... connections. Its worth nothing that the sample group in the study may not be representative of the overall 5G population, as those who use the Speedtest service are typically interested in the speed of their connections. Ookla spotted the difference when analyzing data originally collected to compare the performance of different Android processors ... (view more)

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