Apple has acknowledged two frustrating iOS 16 issues and is expected to roll out fixes for both in an imminent software update.
Back in December, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max users reported (opens in new tab) seeing green and yellow horizontal lines flashing across their screens when booting up their devices. Now, according to MacRumors (opens in new tab), Apple has issued an internal memo clarifying that it is “aware” of the problem, and a patch is expected to arrive with iOS 16.3 in the coming weeks.
Horizontal lines are appearing on iPhone 14 Pro models at boot-up (Image credit: MacRumors forum user Infernoqt and Reddit user u/1LastOutlaw)
The other problem relates to the Home app. The release of iOS 16.2 brought about the option to upgrade Apple’s smart home manager to a “more reliable and efficient” architecture, but that option was removed without explanation shortly after appearing.
Some users reported that their iPhones were stuck in an “updating” or “configuring” status once the upgrade – prior to removal – had been initiated, and while Apple still hasn’t clarified the reasoning behind its sudden retraction of the Home upgrade option, the company did acknowledge in a statement that it is “aware of an issue.”
Since then, the Home architecture upgrade option has returned in the second iOS 16.3 beta, which suggests it’ll almost certainly become available again once iOS 16.3 proper goes live.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (opens in new tab), Apple is planning to roll out iOS 16.3 alongside iPadOS 16.3 and macOS Ventura 13.3 some time between February and March, to coincide with the release of the company’s new MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) and MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) laptops. We could, however, see a fix for the iPhone 14’s horizontal lines issue arrive in a further (and more imminent) update to iOS 16.2, given the severity of the problem.
We’re pretty much in the dark when it comes to other updates iOS 16.3 might introduce, though a suite of under-the-hood performance improvements seem a formality.
Amazon has started the roll out of MGM+ – its rebranded version of the EPIX streaming platform – and it has big implications for fans of 007.
EPIX originally came under Amazon’s wing following the online retail giant’s $8.5 billion acquisition of iconic Hollywood studio MGM back in March last year.
Industry experts initially saw the purchase as a means of giving the tech giant’s Prime Video streaming service access to a huge back catalogue of classic content, with the deal seeing massive movie franchises like Rocky and Tomb Raider falling under Amazon’s ownership – it could’ve rocketed Prime Video to the top of our list of the best streaming services.
Crucially, the deal also saw Amazon get their hands on the entire James Bond collection, with Amazon marking the purchase by making the complete catalog of 007 movies available to stream on its Prime Video service for a limited period last year.
However, with this week’s launch of MGM+, it looks like Amazon still plans to maintain the studio’s legacy streaming service alongside its established Amazon Prime service, with the rejigged platform the new home for all things Bond.
With the exception of the recent Daniel Craig swansong No Time to Die, all 007 films have recently slipped off the selection of the best Prime Video movies, with a huge chunk of the movies now to be found on MGM+. It’s worth noting that almost all Sean Connery- era Bond epics don’t appear to be available on the rebranded service, while rival streamer Paramount Plus also appears to have a similar amount of Bond films currently available on demand.
To find Connery, you’ll need to look for Plus. Paramount Plus. (Image credit: MGM)
Originally launched in the US in 2008 as a premium linear TV channel in partnership with Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate, EPIX gave early cable access to all three studios’ movie output as well as their back catalogue of classic films and new TV shows. MGM would eventually buy out its partners and relaunch as an on-demand streaming service.
Launching the new-look MGM+ service, Michael Wright, head of the streaming service said, said: “MGM+ will deliver on its iconic and beloved studio legacy, with cinematic, sophisticated, and transportive storytelling. We are growing our library, comprised of original television series and blockbuster films that celebrate the MGM brand.”
Espionage fans look set to be well served beyond Bond on the relaunched service, with the British intelligence thriller A Spy Among Friends starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce among a host of new launch shows and movies on MGM+.
The service is also the exclusive home of season three of the acclaimed drama series Godfather of Harlem as well as season two of the contemporary sci-fi horror series From.
Industry observers are now tipping the tech giant plans to launch MGM+ internationally as a more high-profile, premium offering alongside Amazon Prime Video. A scaled-back, MGM streaming service currently remains available in many regions around the world within Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, sitting alongside numerous third-party services.
(Image credit: MGM)
Analysis: MGM+ offers a Quantum of Solace for 007 fans
Another week, another streaming service.
For classic movie fans in the US, MGM+ certainly looks like a good bet for a subscription, with a seemingly unending catalogue of big hits available on demand including Silence of the Lambs, Rocky, Platoon, Robocop and The Magnificent Seven plus more recent smash hits like Top Gun: Maverick.
While MGM+ seems a fitting home for Bond movies, after Amazon Prime’s recent treat of making the entire collection of films available on demand, its more than a little disappointing to find major holes in the 007 library on the relaunched service.
Cinephiles will also likely feel let down by the comparative low quality that films are being offered at on the service at launch. Unlike Netflix and Apple TV Plus there’s no sign of 4K HDR or Dolby Atmos, despite Ultra HD masters being available for multiple titles in the MGM+ library.
Nvidia’s RTX 4070 graphics card has been sighted, suggesting that maybe the vanilla sibling to the freshly released RTX 4070 Ti isn’t too far off from arriving.
VideoCardz (opens in new tab) spotted a bunch of Galax marketing materials relating to the RTX 4070 Ti GPU – which as we mentioned, has just gone on sale – but the interesting bit is that two of the graphics card boxes seen have ‘RTX 4070’ on the front.
However, on the side and top of the box, it says ‘RTX 4070 Ti’, so it seems that whoever put together these marketing shots has mistakenly dropped an RTX 4070 logo on the front of the packaging.
The fact that this box logo has been made and is ready to go, then, could be a hint that the RTX 4070 graphics card is close to appearing. But it is just that – a mere hint, and we should always bear in mind, as with any leaked images, that it could be faked.
Analysis: Reinforcing existing rumors – but we definitely shouldn’t get carried away
This wouldn’t be a particularly difficult fake to pull off either, in fairness, so we should be extra cautious to boot. But what makes this more likely is that the rumor mill is already claiming that the RTX 4070 is set to be released in early 2023, likely Q1. And so with seasoning firmly in hand, this latest leak reinforces the likelihood that the sibling graphics card for the 4070 Ti is indeed close to hitting the shelves. (As does a recent regulatory filing from Inno3D which listed not just its RTX 4070 Ti, but also the plain 4070).
Of course, the RTX 4070 uses the same GPU chip as the 4070 Ti (AD104), and won’t be all that different to the Ti version, meaning it’s not going to be a big effort for Nvidia to get the ball rolling with this product. The real question is: does Nvidia want the RTX 4070 to come out yet?
Even if the plan for a Q1 launch is correct, that could be subsequently delayed, as another likely factor to consider for Team Green will be whether enough RTX 3000 stock has sold through in a month or two. If not, then any launch plans might get pushed back to allow for the further diminishment of last-gen Ampere inventory that might otherwise be interfered with by the launch of the vanilla RTX 4070.
Whatever the case regarding launch timing, one thing’s abundantly clear – Galax needs to take more care in preparing materials pertaining to its GPUs.
This faux pas is just one of a bunch of mistakes the company has made lately, including the RTX 4090 HOF launch being littered with errors (like wrong info in the spec of the graphics card), and a banner errantly being put on the site linking to the firm’s ‘4090 Ti’ – a Lovelace card which doesn’t exist (yet). And unlike the RTX 4070, we can be sure a 4090 Ti isn’t coming any time soon (but will likely debut eventually, perhaps depending on what happens with AMD’s RDNA 3 range at the high-end going forward).
If you found that apps such as Twitteriffic and Tweetbot had stopped working, it wasn’t by accident. In one swoop, third-party apps for Twitter went offline earlier this month, rendering the efforts of many developers over the years pointless, and their loyalty to the company, shattered.
It’s another line in the story of Elon Musk owning the social platform since late 2022, where a bunch of decisions have either been heavily criticized or reversed, apparently depending on how he was feeling that day.
However, this decision could be one of its worst, as it quickly destroyed any goodwill developers had for the platform, and all the company has done to acknowledge this, is one tweet that is unnecessarily mysterious that you can’t help but think it comes from a soap opera.
From the frustration comes innovation
Twitter is enforcing its long-standing API rules. That may result in some apps not working.January 17, 2023
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Shown above is the tweet that raised even more questions than its purpose to acknowledge these third-party apps being restricted access to Twitter.
For transparency, you’d usually expect to see a web link to a support page, outlining the rules and why it came to this conclusion – but there’s nothing. It’s a slap in the face to developers who have worked tirelessly on their own Twitter apps to give users choice in how they wanted to read their feed and compose their tweets, but now they’re forced to use an official app that has become more unstable since Musk’s cull of the platform’s workforce, rendering teams to be non-existent, such as its press team.
Once again, we’re left to scratch their heads and wonder if we’ll see another tweet in the near future to either reverse the decision or explain in more cryptic tweets like a 2008-era Facebook status that has big ‘I’ll inbox u hun’ vibes.
It’s a huge shame to see one of Twitter’s biggest assets, both in goodwill and innovation from those outside the company, be in flames in one go. It’s not the way to do things, in any way. From the playground to a meeting in the office, you just don’t.
However, this also spurs the alternatives, such as Mastodon and even Instagram. Icon Factory, responsible for Tweetbot, is now turning its attention to a Mastodon client called Ivory (opens in new tab). It already looks great, and hopefully, in time, the platform will appeal to more users.
This is the one positive to take from all of this – but it shouldn’t have ended like this.
Microsoft is reportedly the next tech giant seeking to cut jobs this year as global economic uncertainty continue.
Reports of layoffs come after Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella said in October 2022 that the company remained, “focused on helping [its] customers do more with less, while investing in secular growth areas and managing [its] cost structure in a disciplined way”.
To anybody reading between the lines, it was clear that Redmond had future cutbacks and layoffs in mind, though any details of these potential happenings had not yet been discussed in any detail.
Microsoft layoffs
Fast-forward a few months, and Sky News (opens in new tab) sources claim Microsoft plans to reduce headcount by about 5%, equating to the loss of around 11,000 jobs. The company currently employs around 220,000 worldwide, 6,000 of whom based in the UK.
While it’s unclear how the tech giant may split its redundancies, some alaysts have indicated that Wall Street may be expecting a figure that’s higher than the current 5% rumor.
Should a headcount reduction plan come into play, it is expected that Microsoft would announce details in the coming week before its January 24 financial performance investor update.
Elsewhere in the company, some workers who are able to remain at the company are set to get an unlimited holiday allowance, however for now at least, it’s limited to salaried, US workers only.
More broadly, Microsoft isn’t the only company facing the impacts of a tough economic climate. Already this year, Amazon has announced plans to lay off 18,000 of its staff, while Salesforce has announced a 10% reduction in headcount, with potentially more to follow.
This year, Apple is expected to launch its first cross-reality (XR) device in the form of a long-rumored VR headset, and in 2024 or 2025, it was believed the tech giant would follow up with a pair of AR glasses. Those plans appear to have been put on hold, however, with new reports indicating that Apple will instead focus its efforts on a more budget-friendly VR headset.
The Apple VR headset – which is rumored to support both mixed reality and virtual reality experiences – is one of the worst-kept secrets in tech, followed closely by the Apple Glasses (AR specs from the Cupertino tech giant). These devices were expected to be Apple’s first proper ventures into the XR space, but plans have apparently changed.
Apple’s XR headset is staying put, but its AR glasses are being put on hold, according to a new Bloomberg (opens in new tab) report, with sources familiar with the project telling the site that the glasses rollout has been delayed “indefinitely.” Instead, Apple is apparently going to release a scaled-back (and cheaper) headset that will focus on MR and VR applications.
Apple’s XR devices will need to outclass rivals like the Meta Quest Pro (Image credit: Future)
Mind you, when we say cheaper and more budget-friendly, you should note that we could still be talking about a headset that costs $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,500 – or the same as the Meta Quest Pro.
Apple’s full-powered XR headset is expected to cost in the region of $3,000 / £3,000 / AU$5,000 – a price that’s inflated by its premium specs. Not only will it likely boast a high-resolution micro OLED display, but it’s also believed the device will incorporate a suite of cameras and sensors to support face tracking and passthrough, as well as both an M2 chip (the same found in some of the best MacBooks and Macs) and another processor that’s dedicated to AR and VR tasks.
Basically, it’s a MacBook for your face. The paired-down headset is more likely to be an iPhone 15 for your face, with its M2 chip and some of its sensor array expected to be lost in the transition to a cheaper device.
AR we there yet?
Apple trademark filings have been teasing a dual-XR device strategy for some time, with documents referring to separate “Reality Pro” and “Reality One” models. The Pro has long been expected to be the high-end (and high-cost) MR headset, while the Reality One was thought to be the likely cheaper (and less capable) AR glasses. With the AR glasses now reportedly shelved, the name will most likely be assigned to the more consumer-friendly line of headsets that are coming to replace it.
And while we have to take all rumors and leaks with a pinch of salt, I hope this is true; the world isn’t ready for the AR glasses Apple wants to make. I don’t mean because no one would want to buy them – I can already see the lines around the block of Apple fans looking to snag a pair – I mean the parts needed to do the product justice aren’t ready yet.
I’ve tested a few recent AR glasses – like the VITURE XR One and Nreal Air specs – and my main takeaway is that the devices are inherently cool but not all that capable. That’s because these glasses aren’t quite what most of us might expect from AR glasses, based on what we’ve seen in science fiction. Instead, they’re basically just a private projector for your phone screen – lacking cameras and sensors that would be required to turn them into ‘actual’ AR glasses.
These are not the AR glasses Apple is looking for (Image credit: Nreal)
But introducing these components wouldn’t just add cost, they’d add weight too. And not just from the sensors themselves, you’d need a battery to power them if you want the gadget to last longer than an hour. Thanks to all this extra bulk, our slim sleek glasses have morphed into the somewhat cumbersome headset design we were trying to avoid – albeit with lenses instead of a traditional screen.
Apple had apparently developed a wearable battery pack to try and shift the weight away from the head, but the idea clearly wasn’t enough to turn the Apple Glasses into a product worthy of the tech company’s seal of approval. By delaying the Glasses again, Apple is giving itself (and the world) more time to develop the tech needed to pull them off, leading to a much better product than the one we’d have seen in 2024.
With Meta and Google developing their own AR glasses, we’ll almost certainly see Apple launch a competing product sometime in the future. But for now, we’ll have to make do with its headsets, assuming those aren’t delayed any further themselves.
Can’t wait for Apple to launch its headsets? Check out our picks for the best VR headsets you can buy today.
Google Pay– one of the leading payment services is a convenient and secure way to transfer money to friends and family, pay bills, and make purchases in stores or online. It’s fast, secure, and easy to use. Users can also earn rewards with every purchase. Now, Google is reportedly working on a ‘sound box’–rather a digital sound box of its own for the Indian market. Yes, you read it right, these are those very sound boxes that we see in our nearby shops which emit sound after every digital payment users make after every purchase. According to a report by TechCrunch, the search engine giant is working on a sound box of its own which will alert merchants with a confirmation for Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
The sound box which is currently in the works has been named ‘Soundpod by Google Pay‘. It is also being distributed as a pilot to some shopkeepers in North India, that also includes Delhi. The report further added, the Soundpods are being manufactured by ToneTag which is Amazon-backed. Soundpod by Google Pay: Features Technically, just like other sound boxes, the ‘Soundpod by Google Pay’ will also have a QR code of the respective merchant which will be linked with their Google for business account. The device also comes with an in-built speaker that emits payment confirmations in multiple languages. Google’s sound box also features a small LCD panel that reflects the payment amount, battery and network status and manual controls. On the front, the ‘Soundpod by Google Pay’ will be accompanied by a QR code of the respective merchant linked with their Google Pay for business account. “If the person doesn’t have a smartphone, and they’re running a small business, the chances [are] that they will actually pay for a speaker product,” a Google spokesperson told TechCrunch. “You can look up publicly available prices that Paytm has been using… I think the chances are low. So, that is not the way to solve it,” added the spokesperson. Also watch:
Google Discover: How to disable video autoplay feature on Android | Google Discover autoplay
Before Apple went down the path of its own silicon processors for Mac, Intel was the sole supplier. But in 2020 Apple launched its own M-series of processors and said that the transition to its own processors would be completed in two years or so. With the launch of the M2 Pro and M2 Pro Max-based Mac mini, it seems that the transition is all but done. Apple discontinued the Intel-based Mac mini as soon as the M2-powered Mac mini was launched. Now, there’s just one Intel-powered Mac device in Apple’s lineup of computers: Mac Pro. The Intel Mac Pro was launched in 2019 and remains the only non-M-series device in Apple’s lineup. Incidentally, Mac Pro is the only series of devices that haven’t seen a M-series of processors. The Mac Pro in question, in fact, will still be hard to find. If you try to order it from the Apple online store, you can’t order. But it still remains a part of the comparison page, which gives an indication that Apple hasn’t officially discontinued.
The march of the M-series continues
In the last two years, Apple has expanded its own processors for MacBook, iMac and Mac mini. In November 2020, Apple got the first MacBook Air with an M1 processor. Since then there have been upgrades in the form of M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. In June 2022, Apple unveiled the M2 processor. And now the most recent ones are the M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. Apple claims that M2 scales up the architecture of M2 to deliver up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU, together with up to 32GB of fast unified memory. M2 Max, on the other hand, further builds on the capabilities of M2 Pro, including an up to 38-core GPU, double the unified memory bandwidth, and up to 96GB of unified memory. Both chips also feature enhanced custom technologies, including a faster 16-core Neural Engine and Apple’s powerful media engine, said Apple in a press release.
Dell has announced no fewer than 13 new PowerEdge servers, built on 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, in a move that it hopes to “accelerate performance and reliability” while offering up some cost-effective solutions.
Jeff Boudreau, president and general manager for Infrastructure Solutions Group at Dell, said that customers value the company’s “easily managed yet sophisticated” solutions. His expectations for the next generation of PowerEdge servers is that it “raises the bar in power efficiency, performance and reliability”.
The latest Intel Xeon chips were made available earlier in 2023, citing improvements in performance and overall reductions in power usage, which Dell hopes will help its latest servers be more energy efficient in a time where data centers and under increasing pressure to deliver on key environmental statistics.
Dell PowerEdge update
The announcement unveils the PowerEdge HS5610 and HS5620 servers, which are available in both 1U and 2U form factors designed to facilitate adoption.
Among the key areas to receive significant improvements is artificial intelligence: the company says that AI inferencing on the also-new PowerEdge R760, equipped with the latest Xeon chip, is set to be up to 2.9 times better.
Improvements have been made to airflow by up to 52% compared with the previous generation. This, and the performance upgrades that come in hand, is designed to help companies reduce energy usage.
Beyond the hardware developments, Dell has also issued a series of improvements to the tools designed to help deployment and management, including Dell CloudIQ for monitoring, Dell ProDeploy services, and the Dell iDRAC9 (remote access controller).
Global availability for the R760 is set for February 2023, with the pair of HS-branded servers due two months later in April and additional units coming in the first half of the year.
Some phones leak more than others, and at this point it feels like the Samsung Galaxy S23 series has leaked more than almost any other, as now on top of all the other leaks to date, we’ve got a complete specs list for all three phones.
Starting with the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 – in a list shared by WinFuture (opens in new tab) – this phone apparently has a 6.1-inch 1080 x 2340 AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate (that can drop as low as 48Hz when a high refresh isn’t needed). The screen also apparently has 425 pixels per inch (suggesting the panel might be closer to 6.06-inches), support for HDR10+, and is said to be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
Other listed specs include a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of storage, and a 3,900mAh battery with 25W wired charging and 10W wireless charging.
The camera is apparently once again a triple-lens system with a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto, with 3x optical zoom. There’s apparently also a 12MP selfie camera, and the phone is said to run Android 13 with Samsung’s One UI 5.1.
Finally, it apparently comes in at 146.3 x 70.9 x 7.6mm and 167g, has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, and comes in a choice of black, Cotton, green and violet shades.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is listed as having the same cameras, software, water resistance, chipset and RAM amount, and looks set to come in the same shades, but other specs vary. For example, it apparently has a 6.6-inch screen with 393 pixels per inch – though otherwise identical screen specs.
It’s also listed as coming with a choice of 256GB or 512GB of storage, and having a 4,700mAh battery, with faster 45W wired charging, along with 10W wireless charging. Of course, having a bigger screen means it’s also a bigger phone, with dimensions reportedly of 157.8 x 76.2 x 7.6mm, and a weight of 195g.
Finally there’s the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and the specs leak for this came from @BillbilKun (opens in new tab) (via NotebookCheck (opens in new tab)), who shared what appears to be official imagery showing the specs.
(Image credit: @BillbilKun)
This lists a 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 AMOLED screen with a variable refresh rate of between 1Hz and 120Hz. The display apparently has 500 pixels per inch, HDR10+ support, and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
There’s also mention of a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a choice of 8GB or 12GB of RAM, along with 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging and 10W wireless.
The camera apparently includes a 200MP f/1.7 main snapper, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, a 10MP f/2.3 telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 10MP f/4.9 periscope with 10x optical zoom. There’s also mention of a 12MP camera on the front, Android 13, and One UI 5.1.
The dimensions are listed as 163.4 x 78.1 x 8.9mm, the weight as 233g, there’s mention of an IP68 certification, and the colors are listed a green, black, cream and lavender – which probably means the same shades as the other two models.
As if this wasn’t enough, Samsung Galaxy S23 information for one day though, there’s additionally a pricing leak, with 9to5Google (opens in new tab) claiming to have seen Australian pricing information for the phones.
This information states that the Samsung Galaxy S23 will start at AU$1,350, the Galaxy S23 Plus at AU$1,650, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra at AU$1,950.
That’s AU$100 more in every case than the Galaxy S22 series costs, so we could see similar price rises in other regions. Direct conversions are unlikely to be accurate, but if these prices are right then we’d think a starting price rise of between roughly $50/£50 and $100/£100 seems likely.
That said, if the specs leaks above are right, then in the case of the Galaxy S23 Plus and S23 Ultra, you’ll also be getting more storage for that starting price, so it might only be the standard Samsung Galaxy S23 that ends up feeling excessively expensive.
Analysis: small differences that we’ve heard before
While this is the most complete specs picture we’ve yet had for these phones, most of these details have been leaked before in bits and pieces, and this latest leak lines up with the earlier ones, so there’s a high chance these specs are accurate.
If so, then the main differences between the S23 series and the Galaxy S22 series includes the chipset, and in the case of the Galaxy S23 Ultra the main camera.
The standard and Plus models also seemingly have slightly bigger batteries and better selfie cameras than their predecessors, and the Gorilla Glass might be upgraded on all three phones.
A lot of the key specs look identical to the Galaxy S22 series though, including the screens, most of the cameras, and the S23 Ultra’s battery. So if you already have one of the best Samsung phones out there, you might not feel the need to upgrade on 2023.
