IPhone

apple-updates-all-its-operating-systems,-brings-apple-intelligence-to-vision-pro

Apple updates all its operating systems, brings Apple Intelligence to Vision Pro

Apple dropped a big batch of medium-size software updates for nearly all of its products this afternoon. The iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, tvOS 18.4, and visionOS 2.4 updates are all currently available to download, and each adds a small handful of new features for their respective platforms.

A watchOS 11.4 update was also published briefly, but it’s currently unavailable.

For iPhones and iPads that support Apple Intelligence, the flagship feature in 18.4 is Priority Notifications, which attempts to separate time-sensitive or potentially important notifications from the rest of them so you can see them more easily. The update also brings along the handful of new Unicode 16.0 emoji, a separate app for managing a Vision Pro headset (similar to the companion app for the Apple Watch), and a grab bag of other fixes and minor enhancements.

The Mac picks up two major features in the Sequoia 15.4 update. Users of the Mail app now get the same (optional) automated inbox sorting that Apple introduced for iPhones and iPads in an earlier update, attempting to tame overgrown inboxes using Apple Intelligence language models.

The Mac is also getting a long-standing Quick Start setup feature from the Apple Watch, Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. On those devices, you can activate them and sign in to your Apple ID by holding another compatible Apple phone or tablet in close proximity. Macs running the 15.4 update finally support the same feature (though it won’t work Mac-to-Mac, since a rear-facing camera is a requirement).

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RCS texting updates will bring end-to-end encryption to green bubble chats

One of the best mostly invisible updates in iOS 18 was Apple’s decision to finally implement the Rich Communications Services (RCS) communication protocol, something that is slowly helping to fix the generally miserable experience of texting non-iPhone users with an iPhone. The initial iOS 18 update brought RCS support to most major carriers in the US, and the upcoming iOS 18.4 update is turning it on for a bunch of smaller prepaid carriers like Google Fi and Mint Mobile.

Now that Apple is on board, iPhones and their users can also benefit from continued improvements to the RCS standard. And one major update was announced today: RCS will now support end-to-end encryption using the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, a standard finalized by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 2023.

“RCS will be the first large-scale messaging service to support interoperable E2EE between client implementations from different providers,” writes GSMA Technical Director Tom Van Pelt in the post announcing the updates. “Together with other unique security features such as SIM-based authentication, E2EE will provide RCS users with the highest level of privacy and security for stronger protection from scams, fraud and other security and privacy threats. ”

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Apple patches 0-day exploited in “extremely sophisticated attack”

Apple on Tuesday patched a critical zero-day vulnerability in virtually all iPhones and iPad models it supports and said it may have been exploited in “an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals” using older versions of iOS.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-24201, resides in Webkit, the browser engine driving Safari and all other browsers developed for iPhones and iPads. Devices affected include the iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later. The vulnerability stems from a bug that wrote to out-of-bounds memory locations.

Supplementary fix

“Impact: Maliciously crafted web content may be able to break out of Web Content sandbox,” Apple wrote in a bare-bones advisory. “This is a supplementary fix for an attack that was blocked in iOS 17.2. (Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on versions of iOS before iOS 17.2.)”

The advisory didn’t say if the vulnerability was discovered by one of its researchers or by someone outside the company. This attribution often provides clues about who carried out the attacks and who the attacks targeted. The advisory also didn’t say when the attacks began or how long they lasted.

The update brings the latest versions of both iOS and iPadOS to 18.3.2. Users facing the biggest threat are likely those who are targets of well-funded law enforcement agencies or nation-state spies. They should install the update immediately. While there’s no indication that the vulnerability is being opportunistically exploited against a broader set of users, it’s a good practice to install updates within 36 hours of becoming available.

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iphone-16e-review:-the-most-expensive-cheap-iphone-yet

iPhone 16e review: The most expensive cheap iPhone yet


The iPhone 16e rethinks—and prices up—the basic iPhone.

An iPhone sits on the table, displaying the time with the screen on

The iPhone 16e, with a notch and an Action Button. Credit: Samuel Axon

The iPhone 16e, with a notch and an Action Button. Credit: Samuel Axon

For a long time, the cheapest iPhones were basically just iPhones that were older than the current flagship, but last week’s release of the $600 iPhone 16e marks a big change in how Apple is approaching its lineup.

Rather than a repackaging of an old iPhone, the 16e is the latest main iPhone—that is, the iPhone 16—with a bunch of stuff stripped away.

There are several potential advantages to this change. In theory, it allows Apple to support its lower-end offerings for longer with software updates, and it gives entry-level buyers access to more current technologies and features. It also simplifies the marketplace of accessories and the like.

There’s bad news, too, though: Since it replaces the much cheaper iPhone SE in Apple’s lineup, the iPhone 16e significantly raises the financial barrier to entry for iOS (the SE started at $430).

We spent a few days trying out the 16e and found that it’s a good phone—it’s just too bad it’s a little more expensive than the entry-level iPhone should ideally be. In many ways, this phone solves more problems for Apple than it does for consumers. Let’s explore why.

Table of Contents

A beastly processor for an entry-level phone

Like the 16, the 16e has Apple’s A18 chip, the most recent in the made-for-iPhone line of Apple-designed chips. There’s only one notable difference: This variation of the A18 has just four GPU cores instead of five. That will show up in benchmarks and in a handful of 3D games, but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference for most people.

It’s a significant step up over the A15 found in the final 2022 refresh of the iPhone SE, enabling a handful of new features like AAA games and Apple Intelligence.

The A18’s inclusion is good for both Apple and the consumer; Apple gets to establish a new, higher baseline of performance when developing new features for current and future handsets, and consumers likely get many more years of software updates than they’d get on the older chip.

The key example of a feature enabled by the A18 that Apple would probably like us all to talk about the most is Apple Intelligence, a suite of features utilizing generative AI to solve some user problems or enable new capabilities across iOS. By enabling these for the cheapest iPhone, Apple is making its messaging around Apple Intelligence a lot easier; it no longer needs to put effort into clarifying that you can use X feature with this new iPhone but not that one.

We’ve written a lot about Apple Intelligence already, but here’s the gist: There are some useful features here in theory, but Apple’s models are clearly a bit behind the cutting edge, and results for things like notifications summaries or writing tools are pretty mixed. It’s fun to generate original emojis, though!

The iPhone 16e can even use Visual Intelligence, which actually is handy sometimes. On my iPhone 16 Pro Max, I can point the rear camera at an object and press the camera button a certain way to get information about it.

I wouldn’t have expected the 16e to support this, but it does, via the Action Button (which was first introduced in the iPhone 15 Pro). This is a reprogrammable button that can perform a variety of functions, albeit just one at a time. Visual Intelligence is one of the options here, which is pretty cool, even though it’s not essential.

The screen is the biggest upgrade over the SE

Also like the 16, the 16e has a 6.1-inch display. The resolution’s a bit different, though; it’s 2,532 by 1,170 pixels instead of 2,556 by 1,179. It also has a notch instead of the Dynamic Island seen in the 16. All this makes the iPhone 16e’s display seem like a very close match to the one seen in 2022’s iPhone 14—in fact, it might literally be the same display.

I really missed the Dynamic Island while using the iPhone 16e—it’s one of my favorite new features added to the iPhone in recent years, as it consolidates what was previously a mess of notification schemes in iOS. Plus, it’s nice to see things like Uber and DoorDash ETAs and sports scores at a glance.

The main problem with losing the Dynamic Island is that we’re back to the old minor mess of notifications approaches, and I guess Apple has to keep supporting the old ways for a while yet. That genuinely surprises me; I would have thought Apple would want to unify notifications and activities with the Dynamic Island just like the A18 allows the standardization of other features.

This seems to indicate that the Dynamic Island is a fair bit more expensive to include than the good old camera notch flagship iPhones had been rocking since 2017’s iPhone X.

That compromise aside, the display on the iPhone 16e is ridiculously good for a phone at this price point, and it makes the old iPhone SE’s small LCD display look like it’s from another eon entirely by comparison. It gets brighter for both HDR content and sunny-day operation; the blacks are inky and deep, and the contrast and colors are outstanding.

It’s the best thing about the iPhone 16e, even if it isn’t quite as refined as the screens in Apple’s current flagships. Most people would never notice the difference between the screens in the 16e and the iPhone 16 Pro, though.

There is one other screen feature I miss from the higher-end iPhones you can buy in 2025: Those phones can drop the display all the way down to 1 nit, which is awesome for using the phone late at night in bed without disturbing a sleeping partner. Like earlier iPhones, the 16e can only get so dark.

It gets quite bright, though; Apple claims it typically reaches 800 nits in peak brightness but that it can stretch to 1200 when viewing certain HDR photos and videos. That means it gets about twice as bright as the SE did.

Connectivity is key

The iPhone 16e supports the core suite of connectivity options found in modern phones. There’s Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Apple’s usual limited implementation of NFC.

There are three new things of note here, though, and they’re good, neutral, and bad, respectively.

USB-C

Let’s start with the good. We’ve moved from Apple’s proprietary Lightning port found in older iPhones (including the final iPhone SE) toward USB-C, now a near-universal standard on mobile devices. It allows faster charging and more standardized charging cable support.

Sure, it’s a bummer to start over if you’ve spent years buying Lightning accessories, but it’s absolutely worth it in the long run. This change means that the entire iPhone line has now abandoned Lightning, so all iPhones and Android phones will have the same main port for years to come. Finally!

The finality of this shift solves a few problems for Apple: It greatly simplifies the accessory landscape and allows the company to move toward producing a smaller range of cables.

Satellite connectivity

Recent flagship iPhones have gradually added a small suite of features that utilize satellite connectivity to make life a little easier and safer.

Among those is crash detection and roadside assistance. The former will use the sensors in the phone to detect if you’ve been in a car crash and contact help, and roadside assistance allows you to text for help when you’re outside of cellular reception in the US and UK.

There are also Emergency SOS and Find My via satellite, which let you communicate with emergency responders from remote places and allow you to be found.

Along with a more general feature that allows Messages via satellite, these features can greatly expand your options if you’re somewhere remote, though they’re not as easy to use and responsive as using the regular cellular network.

Where’s MagSafe?

I don’t expect the 16e to have all the same features as the 16, which is $200 more expensive. In fact, it has more modern features than I think most of its target audience needs (more on that later). That said, there’s one notable omission that makes no sense to me at all.

The 16e does not support MagSafe, a standard for connecting accessories to the back of the device magnetically, often while allowing wireless charging via the Qi standard.

Qi wireless charging is still supported, albeit at a slow 7.5 W, but there are no magnets, meaning a lot of existing MagSafe accessories are a lot less useful with this phone, if they’re usable at all. To be fair, the SE didn’t support MagSafe either, but every new iPhone design since the iPhone 12 way back in 2020 has—and not just the premium flagships.

It’s not like the MagSafe accessory ecosystem was some bottomless well of innovation, but that magnetic alignment is handier than you might think, whether we’re talking about making sure the phone locks into place for the fastest wireless charging speeds or hanging the phone on a car dashboard to use GPS on the go.

It’s one of those things where folks coming from much older iPhones may not care because they don’t know what they’re missing, but it could be annoying in households with multiple generations of iPhones, and it just doesn’t make any sense.

Most of Apple’s choices in the 16e seem to serve the goal of unifying the whole iPhone lineup to simplify the message for consumers and make things easier for Apple to manage efficiently, but the dropping of MagSafe is bizarre.

It almost makes me think that Apple might plan to drop MagSafe from future flagship iPhones, too, and go toward something new, just because that’s the only explanation I can think of. That otherwise seems unlikely to me right now, but I guess we’ll see.

The first Apple-designed cellular modem

We’ve been seeing rumors that Apple planned to drop third-party modems from companies like Qualcomm for years. As far back as 2018, Apple was poaching Qualcomm employees in an adjacent office in San Diego. In 2020, Apple SVP Johny Srouji announced to employees that work had begun.

It sounds like development has been challenging, but the first Apple-designed modem has arrived here in the 16e of all places. Dubbed the C1, it’s… perfectly adequate. It’s about as fast or maybe just a smidge slower than what you get in the flagship phones, but almost no user would notice any difference at all.

That’s really a win for Apple, which has struggled with a tumultuous relationship with its partners here for years and which has long run into space problems in its phones in part because the third-party modems weren’t compact enough.

This change may not matter much for the consumer beyond freeing up just a tiny bit of space for a slightly larger battery, but it’s another step in Apple’s long journey to ultimately and fully control every component in the iPhone that it possibly can.

Bigger is better for batteries

There is one area where the 16e is actually superior to the 16, much less the SE: battery life. The 16e reportedly has a 3,961 mAh battery, the largest in any of the many iPhones with roughly this size screen. Apple says it offers up to 26 hours of video playback, which is the kind of number you expect to see in a much larger flagship phone.

I charged this phone three times in just under a week with it, though I wasn’t heavily hitting 5G networks, playing many 3D games, or cranking the brightness way up all the time while using it.

That’s a bit of a bump over the 16, but it’s a massive leap over the SE, which promised a measly 15 hours of video playback. Every single phone in Apple’s lineup now has excellent battery life by any standard.

Quality over quantity in the camera system

The 16E’s camera system leaves the SE in the dust, but it’s no match for the robust system found in the iPhone 16. Regardless, it’s way better than you’d typically expect from a phone at this price.

Like the 16, the 16e has a 48 MP “Fusion” wide-angle rear camera. It typically doesn’t take photos at 48 MP (though you can do that while compromising color detail). Rather, 24 MP is the target. The 48 MP camera enables 2x zoom that is nearly visually indistinguishable from optical zoom.

Based on both the specs and photo comparisons, the main camera sensor in the 16e appears to me to be exactly the same as that one found in the 16. We’re just missing the ultra-wide lens (which allows more zoomed-out photos, ideal for groups of people in small spaces, for example) and several extra features like advanced image stabilization, the newest Photographic Styles, and macro photography.

The iPhone 16e takes excellent photos in bright conditions. Samuel Axon

That’s a lot of missing features, sure, but it’s wild how good this camera is for this price point. Even something like the Pixel 8a can’t touch it (though to be fair, the Pixel 8a is $100 cheaper).

Video capture is a similar situation: The 16e shoots at the same resolutions and framerates as the 16, but it lacks a few specialized features like Cinematic and Action modes. There’s also a front-facing camera with the TrueDepth sensor for Face ID in that notch, and it has comparable specs to the front-facing cameras we’ve seen in a couple of years of iPhones at this point.

If you were buying a phone for the cameras, this wouldn’t be the one for you. It’s absolutely worth paying another $200 for the iPhone 16 (or even just $100 for the iPhone 15 for the ultra-wide lens for 0.5x zoom; the 15 is still available in the Apple Store) if that’s your priority.

The iPhone 16’s macro mode isn’t available here, so ultra-close-ups look fuzzy. Samuel Axon

But for the 16e’s target consumer (mostly folks with the iPhone 11 or older or an iPhone SE, who just want the cheapest functional iPhone they can get) it’s almost overkill. I’m not complaining, though it’s a contributing factor to the phone’s cost compared to entry-level Android phones and Apple’s old iPhone SE.

RIP small phones, once and for all

In one fell swoop, the iPhone 16e’s replacement of the iPhone SE eliminates a whole range of legacy technologies that have held on at the lower end of the iPhone lineup for years. Gone are Touch ID, the home button, LCD displays, and Lightning ports—they’re replaced by Face ID, swipe gestures, OLED, and USB-C.

Newer iPhones have had most of those things for quite some time. The latest feature was USB-C, which came in 2023’s iPhone 15. The removal of the SE from the lineup catches the bottom end of the iPhone up with the top in these respects.

That said, the SE had maintained one positive differentiator, too: It was small enough to be used one-handed by almost anyone. With the end of the SE and the release of the 16e, the one-handed iPhone is well and truly dead. Of course, most people have been clear they want big screens and batteries above almost all else, so the writing had been on the wall for a while for smaller phones.

The death of the iPhone SE ushers in a new era for the iPhone with bigger and better features—but also bigger price tags.

A more expensive cheap phone

Assessing the iPhone 16e is a challenge. It’s objectively a good phone—good enough for the vast majority of people. It has a nearly top-tier screen (though it clocks in at 60Hz, while some Android phones close to this price point manage 120Hz), a camera system that delivers on quality even if it lacks special features seen in flagships, strong connectivity, and performance far above what you’d expect at this price.

If you don’t care about extra camera features or nice-to-haves like MagSafe or the Dynamic Island, it’s easy to recommend saving a couple hundred bucks compared to the iPhone 16.

The chief criticism I have that relates to the 16e has less to do with the phone itself than Apple’s overall lineup. The iPhone SE retailed for $430, nearly half the price of the 16. By making the 16e the new bottom of the lineup, Apple has significantly raised the financial barrier to entry for iOS.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that a pretty big swath of the target market for the 16e will buy it subsidized through a carrier, so they might not pay that much up front. I always recommend buying a phone directly if you can, though, as carrier subsidization deals are usually worse for the consumer.

The 16e’s price might push more people to go for the subsidy. Plus, it’s just more phone than some people need. For example, I love a high-quality OLED display for watching movies, but I don’t think the typical iPhone SE customer was ever going to care about that.

That’s why I believe the iPhone 16e solves more problems for Apple than it does for the consumer. In multiple ways, it allows Apple to streamline production, software support, and marketing messaging. It also drives up the average price per unit across the whole iPhone line and will probably encourage some people who would have spent $430 to spend $600 instead, possibly improving revenue. All told, it’s a no-brainer for Apple.

It’s just a mixed bag for the sort of no-frills consumer who wants a minimum viable phone and who for one reason or another didn’t want to go the Android route. The iPhone 16e is definitely a good phone—I just wish there were more options for that consumer.

The good

  • Dramatically improved display than the iPhone SE
  • Likely stronger long-term software support than most previous entry-level iPhones
  • Good battery life and incredibly good performance for this price point
  • A high-quality camera, especially for the price

The bad

  • No ultra-wide camera
  • No MagSafe
  • No Dynamic Island

The ugly

  • Significantly raises the entry price point for buying an iPhone

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

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Apple teases launch for “the newest member of the family” on February 19

Big news for people who prefer their product announcements to be pre-announced: Apple CEO Tim Cook says that the company has something brewing for Wednesday, February 19. Cook referred to “the newest member of the family,” suggesting a launch event focused on a single product rather than multiple refreshes throughout its product lineup.

Most rumors point to the “family” being the iPhone and the “newest member” being an updated version of the entry-level iPhone SE. Last refreshed in March of 2022 with the guts of late 2021’s iPhone 13, the SE is the only iPhone in Apple’s lineup that still ships with large display bezels and a Home button. And it’s one of just three models (along with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus) to still include a Lightning port.

Previous reporting has suggested that the next-generation iPhone SE could replace both the current SE and the iPhone 14 series in the iPhone lineup, since the new phone is expected to ship with an iPhone 14-style design with an edge-to-edge display and a notch cutout. The old SE and the 14 series have already been discontinued in the EU, where new phones are all required to use a USB-C port.

Apple does have other products it could announce alongside (or instead of) a new entry-level iPhone, if it wanted to. Rumors and references in macOS have all pointed to an early 2025 launch for new M4 MacBook Airs, and the rumor mill also thinks that a new Apple TV box, new HomePod products, and even new AirTags could all come at some point in 2025. High-end Mac desktops like the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are also long overdue for an update, though we reportedly won’t see those refreshes until closer to the middle of the year.

Apple teases launch for “the newest member of the family” on February 19 Read More »

in-apple’s-first-quarter-earnings,-the-mac-leads-the-way-in-sales-growth

In Apple’s first-quarter earnings, the Mac leads the way in sales growth

Apple fell slightly short of investor expectations when it reported its first-quarter earnings today. While sales were up 4 percent overall, the iPhone showed signs of weakness, and sales in the Chinese market slipped by just over 11 percent.

CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that the iPhone performed better in countries where Apple Intelligence was available, like the US—seemingly suggesting that the slip was partially because Chinese consumers do not see enough reason to buy new phones without Apple Intelligence. (He also said, “Half of the decline is due to a change in channel inventory.”) iPhone sales also slipped in China during this same quarter last year; this was the first full quarter during which the iPhone 16 was available.

In any case, Cook said the company plans to roll out Apple Intelligence in additional languages, including Mandarin, this spring.

Apple’s wearables category also declined slightly, but only by 2 percent.

Despite the trends that worried investors, Apple reported $36.33 billion in net revenue for the first quarter. That’s 7.1 percent more than last year’s Q1. This was driven by the Mac, the iPad, and Services (which includes everything from Apple Music to iCloud)—all of which saw slight upticks in sales. Services was up 14 percent, continuing a strong streak for that business, while the Mac and the iPad both jumped up 15 percent.

The uptick in Mac and iPad sales was likely helped by several new Mac models and a new iPad mini starting shipments last October.

Cook shared some other interesting numbers in the earnings call with investors and the press: The company has an active base of 2.35 billion devices, and it has more than 1 billion active subscriptions.

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new-aa-powered-airtag-case-promises-10-year-lifespan

New AA-powered AirTag case promises 10-year lifespan

On Wednesday, Elevation Lab announced TimeCapsule, a new $20 battery case purported to extend Apple AirTag battery life from one year to 10 years. The product replaces the standard CR2032 coin cell battery in the Bluetooth-based location tracker with two AA batteries to provide extended power capacity.

The TimeCapsule case requires users to remove their AirTag’s original back plate and battery, then place the Apple device onto contact points inside the waterproof enclosure. The company recommends using Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA batteries, which it claims provide 14 times more power capacity than the stock coin cell battery configuration.

The CNC-machined aluminum case is aimed at users who place AirTags in vehicles, boats, or other applications where regular battery changes prove impractical. The company sells the TimeCapsule through its website and Amazon.

A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries.

A photo of the TimeCapsule, which purportedly extends AirTag battery life with AA batteries. Credit: Elevation Lab

As related on the TimeCapsule’s product page, the add-on case reportedly emerged after its inventor lost camera equipment to theft, discovering their AirTag had died months earlier due to a depleted battery. This experience led to the development of a longer-lasting power solution for the tracking devices.

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the-backbone-one-would-be-an-ideal-game-controller—if-the-iphone-had-more-games

The Backbone One would be an ideal game controller—if the iPhone had more games


It works well, but there still aren’t enough modern, console-style games.

The Backbone One attachable game controller for the iPhone.

In theory, it ought to be as good a time as ever to be a gamer on the iPhone.

Classic console emulators have rolled out to the platform for the first time, and they work great. There are strong libraries of non-skeezy mobile games on Apple Arcade and Netflix Games, streaming via Xbox and PlayStation services is continuing apace, and there are even a few AAA console games now running natively on the platform, like Assassin’s Creed and Resident Evil titles.

Some of those games need a traditional, dual-stick game controller to work well, though, and Apple bafflingly offers no first-party solution for this.

Yes, you can sync popular Bluetooth controllers from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and 8bitdo with your iPhone, but that’s not really the ideal answer—your iPhone isn’t a big TV sitting across the room or a computer monitor propped up on your desk.

A few companies have jumped in to solve this with attachable controllers that give the iPhone a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck-like form factor (albeit a lot smaller). There’s a wide range of quality, though, and some of the ones you’ll see advertised aren’t very well made.

There’s some debate out there, but there’s one that just about anyone will at least put up for consideration: the Backbone One. That’s the one I picked for my new iPhone 16 Pro Max, which I have loaded with emulators and tons of games.

Since many folks are about to get iPhone 16s for the holidays and might be in the market for something similar, I figured it’d be a good time to write some quick impressions, including pros and cons. Is this thing worth a $99 price tag? What about its subscription-based app?

Switching from the Razer Kishi

Here’s some background, real quick: I previously owned an iPhone 13 Pro, and I played a lot of Diablo Immortal. I wanted to try the controller experience with that game, so I bought a first-generation Razer Kishi—which I liked for the most part. It had excellent thumbsticks that felt similar to those you’d find on an Xbox controller, if a little bit softer.

That said, its design involved a back that loosened up and flexed to fit different kinds of phones, but I found it annoying to take on or off because it immediately crumbled into a folding mess. The big issue that made me go with something else, though, was that the controller worked with a Lightning port, and my new iPhone traded that for USB-C. That’s a good change, overall, but it did mean I had to replace some things.

The Kishi I had is now discontinued, and it’s been replaced with the Kishi V2, which looks… less appealing to me. That’s because it ditches those Xbox-like sticks for ones more similar to what you see with a Nintendo Switch. There’s less range of motion and less stability.

The Razer Kishi V2 (top) and Razer Kishi V1 (bottom). I had the V1. Credit: Ars Technica

The Backbone One has similar drawbacks, but I was drawn to the Backbone as an alternative partly because I had enough complaints about the Kishi that I wanted to roll the dice on something new. I also wanted a change because there’s a version with PlayStation button symbols—and I planned to primarily play PS1 games in an emulator as well as stream PS5 games to the device instead of a PlayStation Portal.

Solid hardware

One of my big complaints about the first-generation Kishi (the folding and flimsy back) isn’t an issue with the Backbone One. It’s right there in the name: This accessory has a sturdy plastic backbone that keeps things nice and stable.

The PlayStation version I got has face buttons and a directional pad that seem like good miniature counterparts to the buttons on Sony’s DualSense controller. The triggers and sticks offer much shallower and less precise control than the DualSense, though—they closely resemble the triggers and sticks on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons.

A Backbone One and a DualSense controller side-by-side

This version of the Backbone One adopts some styling from Sony’s DualSense PS5 controller. Credit: Samuel Axon

I feel that’s a big downside. It’s fine for some games, but if you’re playing any game built around quickly and accurately aiming in a 3D environment, you’ll feel the downgrade compared to a real controller.

The product feels quite sturdy to hold and use, and it doesn’t seem likely to break anytime soon. The only thing that bugs me on that front is that the placement of the USB-C port for connecting to the phone is in a place where it takes enough force to insert or remove it that I’m worried about wear and tear on the ports on either my phone or the controller. Time will tell on that front.

There’s an app, but…

The Backbone One is not just a hardware product, even though I think it’d be a perfectly good product without any kind of software or service component.

There is a Backbone app that closely resembles the PlayStation 5’s home screen interface (this is not just for the PlayStation version of the controller, to be clear). It offers a horizontally scrolling list of games from multiple sources like streaming services, mobile game subscription services, or just what’s installed on your device. It also includes voice chat, multiplayer lobbies, streaming to Twitch, and content like video highlights from games.

A screenshot showing a scrollable list of games

The Backbone One app collects games from different sources into one browsing interface. Credit: Samuel Axon

Unfortunately, all this requires a $40 annual subscription after a one-month trial. The good news is that you don’t have to pay for the Backbone One’s subscription service to use it as a controller with your games and emulators.

I don’t think anyone anywhere was asking for a subscription-based app for their mobile game controller. The fact that one is offered proves two things. First, it shows you just how niche this kind of product still is (and transitively, the current state of playing traditional, console-style games on iPhone) that the company that made it felt this was necessary to make a sufficient amount of money.

Second, it shows how much work Apple still needs to do to bake these features into the OS to make iOS/iPadOS a platform that is competitive with offerings from Sony, Microsoft, or even Nintendo in terms of appeal for core rather than casual gamers. That involves more than just porting a few AAA titles.

The state of iPhone gaming

The Backbone One is a nice piece of hardware, but many games you might be excited to play with it are better played elsewhere or with something else.

Hit games with controller support like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, and Infinity Nikki all have excellent touch-based control schemes, making using a gamepad simply a matter of preference rather than a requirement.

While Apple is working with publishers like Capcom and Ubisoft to bring some hardcore console titles to the platform, that all still seems like just dipping toes in the water at this point, because they’re such a tiny slice of what’s on offer for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, or even Nintendo Switch players.

In theory, AAA game developers should be excited at the prospect of having iPhone players as a market—the install base of the iPhone absolutely dwarfs all home and handheld consoles combined. But they’re facing two barriers. The first is a chicken-and-egg problem: Only the most recent iPhones (iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 16 series) have supported those console AAA titles, and it will take a few years before most iPhone owners catch up.

A Backbone One attached to an iphone 16 Pro Max with the RetroArch main menu on its screen

Emulators like RetroArch (seen here running on an iPhone 16 Pro Max) are the main use case of the Backbone One. Credit: Samuel Axon

The second is that modern AAA games are immensely expensive to produce, and they (thankfully) don’t typically have robust enough in-game monetization paths to be distributed for free. That means that to profit and not cannibalize console and PC sales, publishers need to sell games for much higher up-front costs than mobile players are accustomed to.

So if mobile-first hardcore games are best played with touchscreens, and gamepad-first console games haven’t hit their stride on the platform yet, what’s the point of spending $100 on a Backbone One?

The answer is emulators, for both classic and homebrew games. For that, I’ve been pleased with the Backbone One. But if your goal is to play modern games, the time still hasn’t quite come.

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

The Backbone One would be an ideal game controller—if the iPhone had more games Read More »

apple-hit-with-$1.2b-lawsuit-after-killing-controversial-csam-detecting-tool

Apple hit with $1.2B lawsuit after killing controversial CSAM-detecting tool

When Apple devices are used to spread CSAM, it’s a huge problem for survivors, who allegedly face a range of harms, including “exposure to predators, sexual exploitation, dissociative behavior, withdrawal symptoms, social isolation, damage to body image and self-worth, increased risky behavior, and profound mental health issues, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, self-harm, insomnia, eating disorders, death, and other harmful effects.” One survivor told The Times she “lives in constant fear that someone might track her down and recognize her.”

Survivors suing have also incurred medical and other expenses due to Apple’s inaction, the lawsuit alleged. And those expenses will keep piling up if the court battle drags on for years and Apple’s practices remain unchanged.

Apple could win, a lawyer and policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Riana Pfefferkorn, told The Times, as survivors face “significant hurdles” seeking liability for mishandling content that Apple says Section 230 shields. And a win for survivors could “backfire,” Pfefferkorn suggested, if Apple proves that forced scanning of devices and services violates the Fourth Amendment.

Survivors, some of whom own iPhones, think that Apple has a responsibility to protect them. In a press release, Margaret E. Mabie, a lawyer representing survivors, praised survivors for raising “a call for justice and a demand for Apple to finally take responsibility and protect these victims.”

“Thousands of brave survivors are coming forward to demand accountability from one of the most successful technology companies on the planet,” Mabie said. “Apple has not only rejected helping these victims, it has advertised the fact that it does not detect child sex abuse material on its platform or devices thereby exponentially increasing the ongoing harm caused to these victims.”

Apple hit with $1.2B lawsuit after killing controversial CSAM-detecting tool Read More »

are-any-of-apple’s-official-magsafe-accessories-worth-buying?

Are any of Apple’s official MagSafe accessories worth buying?


When MagSafe was introduced, it promised an accessories revolution. Meh.

Apple’s current lineup of MagSafe accessories. Credit: Samuel Axon

When Apple introduced what it currently calls MagSafe in 2020, its marketing messaging suggested that the magnetic attachment standard for the iPhone would produce a boom in innovation in accessories, making things possible that simply weren’t before.

Four years later, that hasn’t really happened—either from third-party accessory makers or Apple’s own lineup of branded MagSafe products.

Instead, we have a lineup of accessories that matches pretty much what was available at launch in 2020: chargers, cases, and just a couple more unusual applications.

With the launch of the iPhone 16 just behind us and the holidays just in front of us, a bunch of people are moving to phones that support MagSafe for the first time. Apple loves an upsell, so it offers some first-party MagSafe accessories—some useful, some not worth the cash, given the premiums it sometimes charges.

Given all that, it’s a good time to check in and quickly point out which (if any) of these first-party MagSafe accessories might be worth grabbing alongside that new iPhone and which ones you should skip in favor of third-party offerings.

Cases with MagSafe

Look, we could write thousands of words about the variety of iPhone cases available, or even just about those that support MagSafe to some degree or another—and we still wouldn’t really scratch the surface. (Unless that surface was made with Apple’s leather-replacement FineWoven material—hey-o!)

It’s safe to say there’s a third-party case for every need and every type of person out there. If you want one that meets your exact needs, you’ll be able to find it. Just know that cases that are labeled as MagSafe-ready will allow charge through and will let the magnets align correctly between a MagSafe charger and an iPhone—that’s really the whole point of the “MagSafe” name.

But if you prefer to stick with Apple’s own cases, there are currently two options: the clear cases and the silicone cases.

A clear iPhone case on a table

The clear case is definitely the superior of Apple’s two first-party MagSafe cases. Credit: Samuel Axon

The clear cases actually have a circle where the edges of the MagSafe magnets are, which is pretty nice for getting the magnets to snap without any futzing—though it’s really not necessary, since, well, magnets attract. They have a firm plastic shell that is likely to do a good job of protecting your phone when you drop it.

The Silicone case is… fine. Frankly, it’s ludicrously priced for what it is. It offers no advantages over a plethora of third-party cases that cost exactly half as much.

Recommendation: The clear case has its advantages, but the silicone case is awfully expensive for what it is. Generally, third party is the way to go. There are lots of third-party cases from manufacturers who got licensed by Apple, and you can generally trust those will work with wireless charging just fine. That was the whole point of the MagSafe branding, after all.

The MagSafe charger

At $39 or $49 (depending on length, one meter or two), these charging cables are pretty pricey. But they’re also highly durable, relatively efficient, and super easy to use. In most cases, you might as well just use any old USB-C cable.

There are some situations where you might prefer this option, though—for example, if you prop your iPhone up against your bedside lamp like a nightstand clock, or if you (like me) listen to audiobooks on wired earbuds while you fall asleep via the USB-C port, but you want to make sure the phone is still charging.

A charger with cable sits on a table

The MagSafe charger for the iPhone. Credit: Samuel Axon

So the answer on Apple’s MagSafe charger is that it’s pretty specialized, but it’s arguably the best option for those who have some specific reason not to just use USB-C.

Recommendation: Just use a USB-C cable, unless you have a specific reason to go this route—shoutout to my fellow individuals who listen to audiobooks while falling asleep but need headphones so as not to keep their spouse awake but prefer wired earbuds that use the USB-C port over AirPods to avoid losing AirPods in the bed covers. I’m sure there are dozens of us! If you do go this route, Apple’s own cable is the safest pick.

Apple’s FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe

While I’d long known people with dense wallet cases for their iPhones, I was excited about Apple’s leather (and later FineWoven) wallet with MagSafe when it was announced. I felt the wallet cases I’d seen were way too bulky, making the phone less pleasant to use.

Unfortunately, Apple’s FineWoven Wallet with MagSafe might be the worst official MagSafe product.

The problem is that the “durable microtwill” material that Apple went with instead of leather is prone to scratching, as many owners have complained. That’s a bit frustrating for something that costs nearly $60.

Apple's MagSafe wallet on a table

The MagSafe wallet has too many limitations to be worthwhile for most people. Credit: Samuel Axon

The wallet also only holds a few cards, and putting cards here means you probably can’t or at least shouldn’t try to use wireless charging, because the cards would be between the charger and the phone. Apple itself warns against doing this.

For those reasons, skip the FineWoven Wallet. There are lots of better-designed iPhone wallet cases out there, even though they might not be so minimalistic.

Recommendation: Skip this one. It’s a great idea in theory, but in practice and execution, it just doesn’t deliver. There are zillions of great wallet cases out there if you don’t mind a bit of bulk—just know you’ll have some wireless charging issues with many cases.

Other categories offered by third parties

Frankly, a lot of the more interesting applications of MagSafe for the iPhone are only available through third parties.

There are monitor mounts for using the iPhone as a webcam with Macs; bedside table stands for charging the phone while it acts as a smart display; magnetic phone stands for car dashboards that let you use GPS while you drive using MagSafe; magnetic versions for attaching power banks and portable batteries; and of course, multi-device chargers similar to the infamously canceled Airpower charging pad Apple had planned to release at one point. (I have the Belkin Boost Charge Pro 3-in-1 on my desk, and it works great.)

It’s not the revolution of new applications that some imagined when MagSafe was launched, but that’s not really a surprise. Still, there are some quality products out there. It’s both strange and a pity that Apple hasn’t made most of them itself.

No revolution here

Truthfully, MagSafe never seemed like it would be a huge smash. iPhones already supported Qi wireless charging before it came along, so the idea of magnets keeping the device aligned with the charger was always the main appeal—its existence potentially saved some users from ending up with chargers that didn’t quite work right with their phones, provided those users bought officially licensed MagSafe accessories.

Apple’s MagSafe accessories are often overpriced compared to alternatives from Belkin and other frequent partners. MagSafe seemed to do a better job bringing some standards to certain third-party products than it did bringing life to Apple’s offerings, and it certainly did not bring about a revolution of new accessory categories to the iPhone.

Still, it’s hard to blame anyone for choosing to go with Apple’s versions; the world of third-party accessories can be messy, and going the first-party route is generally a surefire way to know you’re not going to have many problems, even if the sticker’s a bit steep.

You could shop for third-party options, but sometimes you want a sure thing. With the possible exception of the FineWoven Wallet, all of these Apple-made MagSafe products are sure things.

Photo of Samuel Axon

Samuel Axon is a senior editor at Ars Technica. He covers Apple, software development, gaming, AI, entertainment, and mixed reality. He has been writing about gaming and technology for nearly two decades at Engadget, PC World, Mashable, Vice, Polygon, Wired, and others. He previously ran a marketing and PR agency in the gaming industry, led editorial for the TV network CBS, and worked on social media marketing strategy for Samsung Mobile at the creative agency SPCSHP. He also is an independent software and game developer for iOS, Windows, and other platforms, and he is a graduate of DePaul University, where he studied interactive media and software development.

Are any of Apple’s official MagSafe accessories worth buying? Read More »

apple’s-headphone-adapter-for-older-iphones-sells-out,-possibly-never-to-return

Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return

When Apple infamously ditched the headphone jack with the launch of the iPhone 7, it at least provided customers with a Lightning-to-3.5 mm adapter either right in the box or as a $9 standalone purchase in its online store. Now it looks like that adapter is being retired.

As MacRumors first noted, the adapter is showing as sold out in most regions, along with a few other Lightning accessories, like the even-more-archaic-seeming Lightning-to-VGA adapter. That includes the United States, where it is not possible to order the headphone adapter from Apple’s store.

Inventory has run out, and it seems unlikely Apple will make more to refill it.

This is likely part of a general phasing out of products related to the proprietary Lightning port, which was used in many Apple devices (including the iPhone) for years but has been replaced by USB-C in all of the company’s major products. A couple of older iPhone models offered at cheaper prices—the iPhone SE and the iPhone 14—are available today, but they will likely be replaced in just a couple of months.

Apple is selling a similar adapter for connecting 3.5 mm headphones to USB-C iPhones and iPads.

Nonetheless, many people out there still have older Lightning iPhones but haven’t yet made the jump to wireless headphones. Third-party options are out there that they can use—at least for now—but the popular Apple adapter seems to be following a similar script as other deprecated Apple accessories have upon their retirement.

Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return Read More »

corning-faces-antitrust-actions-for-its-gorilla-glass-dominance

Corning faces antitrust actions for its Gorilla Glass dominance

The European Commission (EC) has opened an antitrust investigation into US-based glass-maker Corning, claiming that its Gorilla Glass has dominated the mobile phone screen market due to restrictive deals and licensing.

Corning’s shatter-resistant alkali-aluminosilicate glass keeps its place atop the market, according to the EC’s announcement, because it both demands, and rewards with rebates, device makers that agree to “source all or nearly all of their (Gorilla Glass) demand from Corning.” Corning also allegedly required device makers to report competitive offers to the glass maker. The company is accused of exerting a similar pressure on “finishers,” or those firms that turn raw glass into finished phone screen protectors, as well as demanding finishers not pursue patent challenges against Corning.

“[T]he agreements that Corning put in place with OEMs and finishers may have excluded rival glass producers from large segments of the market, thereby reducing customer choice, increasing prices, and stifling innovation to the detriment of consumers worldwide,” the Commission wrote.

Ars has reached out to Corning for comment and will update this post with response.

Gorilla Glass does approach Xerox or Kleenex levels of brand name association with its function. New iterations of its thin, durable glass reach a bit further than the last and routinely pick up press coverage. Gorilla Glass 4 was pitched as being “up to two times stronger” than any “competitive” alternative. Gorilla Glass 5 could survive a 1.6-meter drop 80 percent of the time, and 6 built in more repetitive damage resistance.

Apple considers Corning’s glass products so essential to its products, like the ceramic shield on the iPhone 12, as to have invested $45 million into the company to expand its US manufacturing. The first iPhone was changed very shortly before launch to use Gorilla Glass instead of a plastic screen, per Steve Jobs’ insistence.

Corning faces antitrust actions for its Gorilla Glass dominance Read More »