iOS

Bose has launched the latest generation of its QuietComfort line of headphones. The OEM asserts that these new 45s live up to their name with a "lightweight" design, not to mention "world-class" Acoustic Noise Cancelling technology. The new Bluetooth 5.1 accessories will be released in September 2021.

Xiaomi has finally made the Mi Band 6, or Mi Smart Band 6 rather, official in India. Many fitness-tracker fans might welcome its upgraded 1.56-inch AMOLED display, expanded workout mode line-up and blood oxygen sensor. It will be available to buy via the OEM's channels in the country soon.

Apple is said to have tested Touch ID for the iPhone 13 range, but has dropped it ahead of its launch. Apple is known to have been developing under-display Touch ID tech for some time, but its reasons for scuttling the feature for this generation aren’t clear.

The folks over at Froggi.es recently updated Super Mario 64: Browser Edition to support iOS and Android devices. The browser game is compatible with Bluetooth and wired controllers like the Razer Kishi and runs remarkably well.

Tronsmart has announced the Studio 30W SoundPulse as its latest wireless speaker. It is rated to cover an open space of up to 10 meters in size with 2.1 channel sound for up to 15 hours per charge. Unlike most portable accessories of this type, it has a housing made of aluminum, yet is still IPX4-rated. It goes for ~US$70, or less with a coupon active at the time of writing.

Logitech has developed its first set of TWS earphones targeted at the growing work from home market. The new Logitech Zone TWS earphones can also simultaneously pair to a smartphone and a computer.

Fans of high-end TWS earphones with active noise cancelling now have a new choice. Bang & Olufsen has launched the Beoplay EQ which are the first TWS earphones from the company to feature ANC coupled with its signature premium sound.

Hackers have managed to get Xiaomi’s MIUI 11 Android skin running on an Apple iPhone SE by utilizing the known checkm8 exploit. A couple of video clips have been shared showing that MIUI 11 had been successfully installed onto the iPhone SE, although it’s unclear how well the Apple phone runs on the Xiaomi software.

Pokémon Go continues to pull in the bucks. After hitting US$5 billion in lifetime revenue earlier this year, this past weekend's Pokémon Go Fest 2021 pulled in over $21 million over just two days. The event also saw a flurry of activity from budding mobile Pokémon Masters.

France's competition authority has slapped Google with a €500 million (~US$590 million) fine, following complaints from the same nation's press agency that the Mountain View giant has been using its content for the News app without permission. Google's failure to strike a compensation deal to address these grievances has resulted in its new financial penalty.

Renowned tech evangelist Robert Scoble has posted a tweet claiming that Apple’s long-awaited Apple Glass AR headset is due to make its first appearance at WWDC 2022. It will be joined by a new iPod that is said to be integral to the new AR experience.

Apple has already been widely tipped to reduce the size of the notch on the ‘iPhone 13’ due in a few. Now Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is tipping that Apple will go one better with the sequel, the iPhone 14 which he says will feature an even smaller notch again.

Apple is continuing its move into the financial sector with the impending launch of a new ‘buy no, pay later’ offering, reports Bloomberg. The move would echo similar schemes offered by Affirm and PayPal and would sit alongside its Apple Card consumer credit card offering.

Apple is planning to upgrade the LCD panel in the 11-inch iPad Pro to the mini-LED backlit type found in the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. The upgrade will arrive in next year’s refresh according to renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Pokémon GO has been an enormous success for Niantic. New figures quantify just how much money the company has made and the year-on-year growth Pokémon GO has experienced since it launched five years ago.

Sony has launched its latest set of speakers, but they aren’t what you might expect. Its new SRS-NB10 is a wearable stereo speaker that sits on a user’s shoulders that have been targeted at the work from home market, but are also useful around the home more generally.

LG's TONE FREE accessories stand out in the TWS earbud market with their "UVnano" charging case, rated to kill up to 99.9% of all in-ear bacteria while they charge. Their latest generation also re-introduce a Meridian Audio collaboration for sound clarity, active noise cancellation (ANC) and an AirPod-like design.

The Witcher: Monster Slayer is an AR-enabled game reminiscent of Pokemon Go. The title is set to launch on iOS and Android on July 21.

TikTok has been marked since its launch by its limit of 60 seconds per portrait-oriented post. Now, however, it has announced that this hallmark property of its app is to get more flexible soon. The option to make 3-minute videos should start rolling out over the month of July 2021.

Among the surprising news stories to come out of Microsoft’s Windows 11 announcements is its plan to open up its own Windows 11 Store to third-party app stores. Currently, stores like the Epic Games store and Valve Steam store sell their games via web stores but Microsoft is inviting them to sell their catalogs from directly within its own store.

Ming-Chi Kuo remains one of the most accurate Apple analysts on the market with deep connections in Apple’s supply chains. Kuo’s latest research note confirms that the iPhone mini will get one last hurrah before it gets ditched in 2022. Meanwhile, fans of Apple’s Touch ID will have to wait it out another year.

The DJI Mini SE has allegedly been spotted on a Walmart shelf, despite the fact the OEM has not even come close to announcing this new drone yet. According to its possible accidental release, it is a particularly light, compact UAV that may be a budget variant of the Mavic Mini. This is indicated mostly through its 2.7K camera spec.

Apple's 'other' personal audio brand, Beats, is projected to release its next product, a pair of TWS earphones, soon. Now, a new leak indicates that they have picked up NCC clearance for sale in Taiwan, suggesting they are not too far from launch at this stage. The new tip seems to confirm their updated design, as well as that of their charging case.

Apple previewed the next iteration of its iPhone operating system, iOS 15 at WWDC21. iOS 15 brings several feature updates including FaceTime, Messages, Photos, Wallet, Safari, and Maps while also introducing new Focus presets to filter notifications. iOS 15 also brings new privacy features and on-device Siri audio processing.

Google has reportedly informed developers that it will introduce a new setting in Android that allows users to suspend Advertiser ID sharing across apps. The measure might boost privacy, although some app-makers might argue that it might also increase the risk of certain frauds, as well as revenue loss. Nonetheless, the changes are slated to start taking effect from late 2021.

Apple is prepping major updates for Safari, Health, Maps and iMessage, according to the Wall Street Journal. The upgraded apps will debut at Apple’s WWDC 2021 event alongside the latest versions of Apple’s various operating systems.

Zepp Health has announced that its increasingly popular brands Amazfit and Zepp broke into the top 4 of names in the smartwatch market in terms of shipments for the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021). They sold nearly 69% more units compared to 1Q2020. Zepp Health brands were also #1 in several countries for the quarter.

Released earlier today, Firefox 89 comes with a clean design "is easy on the eyes, bright and buoyant on screens of all sizes" across multiple platforms. The list of visual changes is pretty long and includes a new icon set crisp typography, streamlined toolbar and menus, a new look for tabs, expanded privacy protections, and more.

A new Bloomberg report purports to spill the latest on the next generation of Apple's signature TWS earbuds and their availability. It asserts that the third generation of the base models will be out some time in 2021. The next Pro variants, on the other hand, will be the first to bring a new design to their series, although fans may have to wait until 2022 to see it.

Twitter may soon launch Twitter Blue, a premium tier service that comes with features like delaying tweets, changing threads to more readable formats, and changing color themes. However, there has yet to be an official announcement. Further, many of these features are available through free web services or third-party apps.

The Enco Free series are the more affordable of OPPO's TWS earbuds; nevertheless, the latest generation boasts active noise cancellation (ANC) for just under US$100. They also feature an IP54 ingress-protection, up to 30 hours of the future and input from the OEM's high-end audio partner Dynaudio.

The latest version of iOS (14.6) brings many new features and improvements, but one major change wasn't announced by Apple. Multiple users are reporting that tasks scripted in the Shortcuts app run in about half the time they used to.

Apple has detailed the technology behind the new mini-LED display found on the new iPad Pro 12.9-inch model. Like Apple’s custom A-series chips, the new panel is a custom Apple design and features proprietary algorithms to help it function. However, some users have also been reporting blooming issues that the new tech was supposed to minimize.

The Australian phone-repair vlogger Hugh Jeffreys’ latest video features an iPhone 12 in need of a new display and rear panel. The YouTuber demonstrated that fixing these issues entailed quite a bit of effort, resorting to the use of fancy laser equipment at one point. Furthermore, this US variant has extra parts that makes its dissembly even trickier (and potentially more dangerous) than the average iPhone.

The SOUNDFORM Connect is a new Belkin audio adapter designed to bring any powered speaker with a 3.5mm or optical input into an Apple-heavy smart home set-up. The user can then control it via AirPlay 2 on their iPhone, iPad or TV. Therefore, a traditional speaker can become as responsive to voice-control and automation as shiny new high-tech models.

The Realme Watch 2 Pro is a new smartwatch with a blood-oxygen sensor, 90 sports modes and sleep-tracking - as does its vanilla sibling. However, it has a bigger 1.75-inch display, as well as the in-built GPS the plain Watch 2 lacks. It also has exclusive new watch-faces, as well as a larger battery rated for up to 14 days of use between charges.

Opera asserts that it has been inundated with requests for a mobile version of its gaming-focused browser since launching the PC-compatible original. Now, it has delivered with the launch of GX Mobile. It shares many features with the desktop variant, its customized navigation controls and esthetics included.

Apple has outlined plans for new dimensions of accessibility in its mobile devices, including a new SignTime service that allows people who use certain sign languages to better use the OEM's online support system. The updates also include a new way of using the Apple Watch with just one hand.

EZVIZ introduces the C8C as its inaugural outdoor wireless home security camera capable of panning and tilting within its globe-shaped exterior glass shell. Its sensor is rated for FHD recording, as well as night vision in color and AI-powered intruder detection. The new IP65 surveillance accessory is available at Walmart with a special introductory price for its launch.

Apple’s impressive new iPad Pro 12.9-inch model could be very hard to find on launch according to Bloomberg. Its vaunted mini-LED-based display is said to be behind the supply constraints due to difficulties with producing the new panels.

Apple Music has launched its vaunted lossless and spatial audio support to much fanfare. However, it isn't all good news with Apple confirming that none of its headphones, including the US$549 AirPods Max, support higher resolution streaming over Bluetooth.

According to tipster Luke Miani, Apple is planning to launch a new Apple Music HiFi audio streaming tier for US$9.99 a month, going head to head with the likes of Tidal and Qobuz.

Casio's newest watch belongs to its iconic G-SHOCK line-up, combining analog and digital components into one fitness-focused accessory. However, it also has Bluetooth so as to transfer workout progress to a paired smartwatch via the series' Move app. It displays steps, running distance and other metrics tracked by the watch.

The 2021 Apple iPad Pro with M1 chip has started appearing on Geekbench, and it is throwing up results that will have fans excited about making a purchase. Not only does the M1 iPad Pro manage to produce scores that are +50% more than those of the 4th Gen iPad Pro with A12Z Bionic chip, but it also nudges past all the M1 Macs in average single-core results.

The latest version of iOS (14.5) introduced App Tracking Transparency, a new set of dialog boxes that informs the user whenever an app wants to track their activity across the UI and that they can prevent this if they wish. According to new research, its uptake skyrocketed to 88% worldwide, and 96% in the US, within 1 week of the update's release.

The latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android sheds light on one highly-anticipated feature. It shows chats being synced across multiple devices, indicating that the functionality is being tested.

Apple is set to launch its rumored iPhone foldable in 2023 according to a new note from respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The foldable will feature a Samsung Display-sourced 8-inch flexible OLED panel suggesting that it will adopt a Galaxy Fold-like approach to foldables.