MacRumors

Lux, the developers behind popular camera app Halide, today announced the launch of Orion Video System, an app that is designed to turn the iPad into an external HDMI monitor that can be used with computers, gaming consoles, cameras, and other devices.

Using the Orion app requires iOS 17, an ‌iPad‌ that has a USB-C port, and a USB-C Video Capture Card. USB-C Capture Cards can be purchased from websites like Amazon for around $15 to $20.

The app is able to work with any device that supports HDMI, including Macs, PCs, game consoles like the Nintendo Switch, retro consoles, and cameras. According to the developers, Orion Video System will upscale Nintendo Switch gameplay to 4K in realtime. When used with a camera, Orion allows an ‌iPad‌ to be used for checking framing, focus, and color for video capture and stills.

Orion is free to download, and there is a demo mode that allows users to test the app without a Capture Card. There is an optional one-time $5 upgrade purchase to unlock AI-powered 4K upscaling, CRT Emulation, and Picture Adjustment.

Amazon today hosted an event to introduce a range of new devices and services across its brands, from an updated version of the Alexa voice assistant to new Echo, Ring, and Eero products.

Amazon previewed a future version of Alexa, which is based on generative AI to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, Google’s Bard, and more. Amazon says that its large language model has been optimized for voice interactions, and it will make conversing with Alexa feel more like speaking with a human.

If you say “Alexa, I’m cold,” for example, Alexa will know to turn up the temperature. Amazon is using these new capabilities to make it easier to create routines and provide Alexa with multiple commands at one time. Other new Alexa features that are coming include an option to detect brightness level and activity in a room to determine whether to turn the lights on or off, real-time translation capabilities for audio and video calls, emergency assistance functionality, and an “Explore” feature that lets children ask Alexa for more information about a topic.

As for the Echo, Amazon introduced the Echo Show 8, its smart home hub and video device. It has a new design, faster processor, and improved audio, plus support for Adaptive Content that changes based on the user’s proximity to the device. The Echo Hub is a new Alexa-powered smart home control panel for managing connected home devices, and the Echo Pop Kids is a new smart speaker for children.

Amazon also introduced next-generation Echo Frames with built-in Alexa capabilities. The new Echo Frames are slimmer, less heavy, and offer more battery life and extra bass. Amazon also has the Carrera Smart Glasses, which are the same Alexa glasses but with designs created by Carrera Eyewear.

There are several new Fire Tablets and Fire TV devices, along with a new AI-powered Search function that combines generative AI with the Fire TV entertainment catalog. Users can ask Alexa questions about TV shows and movies and get content recommendations. An interesting AI feature also allows users to create artwork and personalized backgrounds on the Fire TV using an AI Art feature that integrates with Alexa.

The new Ring Stick Up Cam Pro has radar-based 3D Motion Detection for better alert accuracy. There are battery, plug-in, and solar options, so it can be placed anywhere, and sound has been improved with Audio+.

Amazon today also announced the eero Max 7, its first Wi-Fi 7 mesh system. According to Amazon, the eero Max 7 offers dramatically increased speeds, less interference from neighboring networks, and improved mesh latency.

More information about all of Amazon’s releases can be found on the Amazon website.

Now that Apple's annual iPhone and Apple Watch event is in the rear-view mirror, attention shifts towards what the company has planned for the remainder of the year. And based on the latest rumors, there might not be a whole lot coming, if anything.

At this point, the chances of an Apple event in October are looking quite unlikely, as supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said that he does not expect Apple to release any new MacBooks or iPads between now and the end of 2023.

Kuo did not rule out new desktop Macs launching this year, so there is still a possibility of the long-awaited iMac with an M3 chip being announced with a press release on Apple's website next month, but there have not been any specific rumors suggesting this will happen. It's also unclear if Apple wants to debut the M3 chip in the iMac. Given that Apple's upcoming Vision Pro is equipped with the M2 chip, another possibility is that Apple waits until after the headset launches in early 2024 to announce the M3 chip. As for other desktop Macs, the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro were all already updated this year.

With the iPhone lineup, Apple Watch lineup, and AirPods Pro all updated last week, there are few if any remaining Apple products and accessories that are likely to be updated by the end of this year. A new HomePod mini, Apple TV, AirTag, and AirPods Max are expected to launch in 2024 at the earliest, the full-sized HomePod is still fairly new, and there are no rumors suggesting that new versions of the Studio Display or Pro Display XDR are imminent. Even the Beats lineup is up to date with the new Beats Studio Buds+ and Beats Studio Pro.

Apple could have some surprise announcements planned for later this year, but as of now it is looking like it could be rather quiet for the remainder of 2023.

With the introduction of the iPhone 15 Pro on September 12, Apple omitted one of the most innovative features and ambitious undertakings initially planned for the device – haptic volume and power buttons.

As the iPhone has evolved, Apple has periodically improved vibration technology. In 2011 with the ‌iPhone‌ 4S, Apple began using linear resonant actuators, which greatly reduced the amount of noise produced and significantly improved response times. In 2015, the Taptic Engine was introduced with the ‌iPhone‌ 6s, and Apple has used it in each ‌iPhone‌ iteration since then. The Taptic Engine is used for Haptic Touch, where users receive haptic feedback by long-pressing certain areas on their ‌iPhone‌'s display.

Project Bongo, as it was known internally, was effectively a redesign of the volume and power buttons on the ‌iPhone 15‌, both in terms of function as well as appearance. As opposed to traditional mechanical buttons, haptic buttons do not move when pressed. Instead, they detect pressure and emulate the press of a physical button through the use of haptic engines which create vibrations – haptic feedback.

Here's the sequence of events that would happen when a haptic button was pressed on the ‌iPhone 15‌:

• The flexure located underneath the button sensed the pressure applied to the button.
• The strain gauges detected the change in pressure, and converted it into a change in resistance which could then be measured.
• After this, a signal was sent to the main logic board indicating the button was pressed.
• The main logic board then sent power to the Bongo Haptic Engine.
• The Bongo Haptic Engine produced vibration by generating an electromagnetic field through the core and coil, which oscillated and moved towards and away from the attraction plate.
• Haptic feedback was then generated through vibrations, and a slight movement upwards towards the finger mimicked the sensation of a physical button being pressed down.

The assembly featured two strain gauges, one on each side of the button. Strain gauges detected changes in pressure and converted those into resistance changes within an electrical circuit. The change in resistance resulted in a change in voltage, which was able to be measured. The difference in potential between the two strain gauges was used to determine the position of the origin of the pressure (Volume Up or Volume Down).

For the Bongo project, Apple developed the "Bongo Haptic Engine," which is an electromagnetically driven reluctance motor. Reluctance motors are an advanced type of electromotor commonly used in microelectronics. Through the use of a reluctance motor, Apple was able to implement vibration speeds faster than that of a traditional vibration motor, while also offering a faster response times. The Bongo Haptic Engine was intended to provide more nuanced vibration feedback, as well as a better user experience.

The Bongo Haptic Engine consisted of a ferromagnetic core and a copper coil, which together formed a solenoid. The haptic engine created vibrations by oscillating relative to an attraction plate located directly underneath it. This generated the vibrations that constituted haptic feedback.

We previously showcased the exact design of the Bongo module and its associated flex cables back in April of 2023. This was the final design iteration before Apple abruptly canceled the project in favor of traditional physical buttons.

From its inception, Project Bongo was kept in development and tested throughout multiple development phases, eventually being canceled late in the EVT (Engineering Validation Test) stage due to unsatisfactory test results and high hardware failure rates. With the sudden cancelation of the Bongo project, the buttons for the ‌iPhone 15‌ were redesigned during subsequent development stages – CRB and DVT. As a result, the final mass production units of the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro feature standard mechanical volume and power buttons rather than haptic buttons.

From a design perspective, the most obvious change the Bongo project sought to bring was the inclusion of a unified volume button as opposed to two separate buttons – volume up and volume down. The unified volume button may have been a nod to early ‌iPhone‌ designs, as every ‌iPhone‌ prior to the ‌iPhone‌ 4 featured a unified volume button.

Project Bongo also had its own dedicated firmware for two devices, ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max, and could be found in two variants – internal and customer. Code related to the Bongo project indicates that it would have had a deep sleep mode as well.

As far as future iPhones are concerned, there are indications Apple is working on a replacement for the Bongo project for the iPhone 16 lineup, with plans to add capacitive buttons. It is still early in the development cycle, though, and as we saw with the ‌iPhone 15‌ lineup, things can change fairly far into the process.

For more information, check out our dedicated roundup page for the iPhone 15 Pro.

Apple's iPhone 15 and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models use a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port for charging and data transfer purposes, and the new port allows the iPhones to charge a wide range of USB-C devices, including another iPhone.

As demonstrated by Marques Brownlee, plugging a Lightning based ‌iPhone‌ into a USB-C iPhone 15 with a USB-C to Lightning cable lets the ‌iPhone 15‌ provide power to the older ‌iPhone‌.

When you plug a Lightning ‌iPhone‌ into an ‌iPhone 15‌, the ‌iPhone 15‌ will always provide power to the Lightning ‌iPhone‌, even if the ‌iPhone 15‌'s battery is lower.

If you plug an ‌iPhone 15‌ into another ‌iPhone 15‌, the two devices communicate with one another, determine which ‌iPhone‌ has the lower battery, and transfer power that way. So if you have a low battery and a friend with an ‌iPhone 15‌ has a full battery, you can plug your ‌iPhone‌ into your friend's ‌iPhone‌ and get yours to charge.

With a USB-C Android phone, if the Android device has USB Power Delivery support and you connect to an ‌iPhone‌ with a lower battery level, the Android device will be able to provide battery power. If the Android phone does not have USB PD, the result is inconsistent and there's no way to predict which phone will be the charger and which will get the charge.

The ‌iPhone 15‌'s USB-C port can be used to charge an Apple Watch or the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C Charging Case using a USB-C to USB-C cord, and it should also be able to work with most other USB-C devices in some capacity.

Unfortunately, when charging another device with an ‌iPhone 15‌, the charge is limited to 4.5W. That's appropriate for small devices like the Apple Watch, but it's not going to provide much power for an ‌iPhone‌, so expect slow charging speeds when using ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ charging functionality.

In an interview with Numerama's Nicolas Lellouche, Apple's VP of camera software engineering Jon McCormack explained why the iPhone 15 Pro Max's tetraprism lens system is limited to 5x optical zoom, instead of 10x like on Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra. The interview is in French, so quotes below are computer translated.

Apple says the Telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max features the company's most advanced camera stabilization system yet, with a combination of optical image stabilization and an autofocus 3D sensor-shift module. McCormack said the iPhone's 5x zoom lens can be stabilized "incredibly well" compared to a 10x lens.

"The 5x zoom is something that we can stabilize incredibly well," McCormack said in the interview. "If you look at the 10x zoom, unless you have the steadiest hands in the world or a tripod, it's really difficult to use."

Apple's senior director of iPhone product marketing Maxime Veron, who was also interviewed, added that the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x lens opens at ƒ/2.8, allowing for "excellent light management." By comparison, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x lens has a ƒ/4.9 aperture. A lower aperture allows for more light to be captured by the camera's sensor, which can be especially beneficial for Night mode photos.

5x optical zoom is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, with the iPhone 15 Pro remaining limited to 3x optical zoom. It has been rumored that Apple plans to expand the tetraprism lens system to both iPhone 16 Pro models next year.

McCormack and Veron discuss the latest camera innovations on all iPhone 15 models in more detail in the Numerama interview. The devices launch Friday.

To celebrate the launch of the iPhone 15 models, we've teamed up with iMazing to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro and a copy of the iMazing iPhone backup software.

iMazing is Mac and Windows software that provides tools for iOS device management, going above and beyond what's possible with Apple's Finder-based ‌iPhone‌ management system on the Mac and iTunes on Windows. With macOS Sonoma coming up, iMazing is testing iMazing 3, a revamped version of the software.

A beta version of iMazing 3 is available for testing right now, and the updated app has been rebuilt with a more intuitive and responsive interface that makes it easier for users to get to what they need on a connected ‌iPhone‌ or iPad.

When opening the app, users are greeted with a Discover screen that provides users with quick access to iMazing's most-used features for tasks like downloading the photos from any iOS device, accessing and exporting text messages from an ‌iPhone‌ to a computer, backing up, updating to a new device, and using the drag and drop Quick Transfer to get files from a Mac to the right app on an ‌iPhone‌.

While the Discover section gets users up and running with iMazing's most useful functions right away, there's also a Home screen with an overview of what you can do, and a Tools section that offers access to the entire iMazing catalog of options for doing everything from downloading your WhatsApp messages to saving copies of apps. When you connect an ‌iPhone‌ or an ‌iPad‌ to iMazing, you can also see additional information on storage and the health of the battery.

Convenience was the main focus of the iMazing 3 redesign, and creating and managing backups is more straightforward than before to make the app accessible to users of all skill levels. For more advanced users, iMazing 3 has a Devices screen that allows multiple connected devices to be managed at once through bulk actions, simplifying fleet management.

In the future, iMazing 3 is set to gain improved spyware detection, automatic photo transfers, enterprise improvements, and more. iMazing 3 is a native app on the Mac, and the iMazing team worked to ensure feature parity between Macs and PCs so the app is simple to use on all platforms. iMazing 3 is compatible with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and Apple's latest iPhones.

iMazing 3 is set to come out later this year, but available features can be tried in a beta capacity right now. iMazing is currently offering MacRumors readers a 30 percent discount on iMazing 2 and iMazing 3 for macOS and Windows through September 30, 2023 with the promo code MACRUMORS-iMAZING3. The discount is applicable to the current version of iMazing 2 and the upcoming final iMazing 3 release.

One lucky MacRumors reader will win an ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro and a copy of iMazing to go with it. To enter to win, use the widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner(s) and send the prize(s). You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older, UK residents who are 18 years or older, and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. All federal, state, provincial, and/or local taxes, fees, and surcharges are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (September 20) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 27. The winner will be chosen randomly on or shortly after September 27 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

Following the launch of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro pre-orders last week, we're now tracking one of the first notable discounts on accessories for the new iPhone generation. Verizon has savings on Apple's official iPhone 15 cases and USB-C chargers, as well as MagSafe accessories.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Verizon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with cases, Verizon is offering a series of bundle deals that include an iPhone 15 Silicone Case or Clear Case ($49), a 35W charger ($59), and a USB-C cable ($19). That makes these bundles priced normally around $127, and Verizon is offering each for $99.97, which is about 23 percent in savings.

All of these bundles are only available to purchase online. If you're looking for discounts on third-party iPhone 15 cases, Verizon is also offering 20 percent off cases from ZAGG, Casetify, OtterBox, Case-Mate, and more.

• iPhone 15 Clear Case Bundle
• iPhone 15 Silicone Case Bundle (Storm Blue)
• iPhone 15 Silicone Case Bundle (Black)
• iPhone 15 Plus Clear Case Bundle
• iPhone 15 Plus Silicone Case (Storm Blue)
• iPhone 15 Plus Silicone Case Bundle (Black)
• iPhone 15 Pro Silicone Case Bundle (Storm Blue)
• iPhone 15 Silicone Case Bundle (Black)
• iPhone 15 Pro Max Clear Case Bundle
• iPhone 15 Pro Max Silicone Case Bundle (Storm Blue)
• iPhone 15 Pro Max Silicone Case Bundle (Black)

Moving to the MagSafe products, you can get the MagSafe Charger for $29.99 ($10 off), the MagSafe Duo Charger for $96.74 ($32 off), and the MagSafe Battery Pack for $74.24 ($24 off). These are some of the best prices we've tracked on these accessories.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

The new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday. Ahead of time, select media outlets and YouTube channels have shared the first reviews of the watches.

Key new features for both Apple Watch models include brighter displays, up to a 30% faster S9 chip, a "Double Tap" gesture for interacting with the watches without touching the screen, an increased 64GB of internal storage, and more.

Many reviews agree that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are iterative upgrades that likely aren't worth upgrading to from a Series 8 or the original Ultra.

The Verge's Victoria Song on upgrading to the Series 9 or Ultra 2:

If you have a Series 7 or later, you don't really need to update. For owners with a Series 5 or earlier, it might be worth it since you'll get a bigger screen, several new sensors, and a processing bump. Series 6 owners are the ones I see being most on the fence — and to those folks, I mostly encourage upgrades if your battery life isn't cutting it anymore. For folks with an Ultra, seriously. Cool your jets. You're getting the Modular Ultra watchface with watchOS 10, and 3,000 nits vs. 2,000 nits doesn't make a huge difference.

CNBC's Kif Leswing on Double Tap:

In testing, I didn't find the double tap to be an indispensable daily gesture for me, although it was fun to play around with, and the haptic feedback when it works is satisfying.

Nor did I find the "smart stack" widget that the double tap brings up to be that useful — I generally don't like widgets, and the suggestions it made by default were not helpful, like a card with tips for my new Apple Watch. The individual widgets are selected through machine learning, so it could get better with use.

The gesture also requires the Apple Watch interface to be activated, with its backlight on. You can't just double tap when your arm is at your side. Instead, you have to raise your arm to wake the display first, then tap your fingers twice, which makes it feel like a much more exaggerated motion.

CNET's Lexy Savvides said the Apple Watch Ultra 2's brighter display with up to 3,000 nits peak brightness benefits the flashlight feature:

But it's the flashlight that gets a bigger boost. It's able to illuminate a small dark room, light your way if you drop your keys, and even cast a spooky glow if you're reading your kids a bedtime story. I took the Apple Watch Ultra 2 into a cave and it lit up the rockface much better than the first Ultra when I compared the two.

MobileSyrup's Patrick O'Rourke on the S9 chip:

Next, there's the new S9 chip. Given Apple has stuck with the S8 chip since the Series 6, the smartwatch is long overdue for a processor bump. That said, I didn't run into slowdown issues with the S8, and while the S9 is clearly more powerful, I haven't noticed much of a performance boost in day-to-day use. On the other hand, Apple says the S9 chip powers the Series 9's on-device Siri processing, allowing the smartwatch to quickly respond to requests like starting a workout or setting a timer.

Videos

Apple and Goldman Sachs planned to launch a built-in stock trading feature for the iPhone last year, CNBC reports.

According to three individuals familiar with the matter talking to CNBC, the feature would have served as a rival to trading apps like Robinhood, allowing users to buy and sell stocks directly from their ‌iPhone‌ in a convenient way. One ability apparently pitched by executives was the ability to invest in Apple shares using spare cash. The feature would have bolstered the collaboration between Apple and Goldman Sachs, which now includes Apple Card, Apple Pay Later, and Daily Cash Savings.

Work on the project reportedly began in 2020, when interest rates were low and there was record interest in trading shares. Apple developed the feature and planned to roll it out at some point in 2022. When markets worsened last year, Apple and Goldman Sachs shelved the project due to fears over backlash if users lost money in the stock market, and refocused attention on a high-interest savings account for ‌Apple Card‌ users.

The infrastructure for the investing feature is apparently mostly built and ready to launch if Apple eventually decides to proceed with it, but there are no immediate signs that it has plans to do so.

iPhone 15 users will be able to check their battery's cycle count for the first time, according to information shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Previous methods to check an iPhone's battery cycle count were unofficial (via third-party apps) or complicated, such as copying and pasting analytics into Notes and searching for "last_value_CycleCount." According to a screenshot shared by @Tech_Reve, battery cycle information is visible on ‌iPhone 15‌ models by navigating through Settings, General, and About. A new "Battery" section is present toward the bottom of the page. In addition to the number of battery cycles, it also lists production date and the date of its first use.

While battery health has been visible on the ‌iPhone‌ for several years in the form of "Maximum Capacity," the ability to see its specific number of cycles is a valuable additional metric to determine its condition. A charge cycle is registered every time you deplete all of the battery's capacity. Battery cycle information can easily be accessed on MacBooks by navigating to System Information. From Apple's battery information webpage:

Apple lithium-ion batteries work in charge cycles. You complete one charge cycle when you've used (discharged) an amount that equals 100% of your battery's capacity — but not necessarily all from one charge. For instance, you might use 75% of your battery's capacity one day, then recharge it fully overnight. If you use 25% the next day, you will have discharged a total of 100%, and the two days will add up to one charge cycle. It could take several days to complete a cycle. The capacity of any type of battery will diminish after a certain amount of recharging. With lithium-ion batteries, the capacity diminishes slightly with each complete charge cycle.

Yesterday, it emerged that all of the ‌iPhone 15‌ and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled. Apple says all of the ‌iPhone 15‌ models have the same battery life as their ‌iPhone‌ 14 predecessors. The devices launch this Friday.

Matter support is now being rolled out to Philips Hue Bridge owners via a software update, according to the company, enabling the smart home system's interoperability with third-party lights.

Matter is a connectivity standard that enables smart home accessories to work together seamlessly across multiple platforms, including Apple's HomeKit, Amazon's Alexa, Google's Home, and others. For households with multiple smart home platforms or different smartphone brands, it means the Matter lights can be controlled from any device.

For Hue Bridge owners who control only Philips Hue lights via Apple's Home app or the Hue app, nothing changes. For Android and iPhone users who own third-party lights with Matter support, they will now be able to set up and control these accessories via the Hue Bridge, provided they own a Matter border router, such as an Apple TV 4K, ‌Apple TV‌ HD (fourth generation), Apple HomePod, or HomePod mini.

Pairing codes for Matter-compatible accessories can be requested in the Hue app by tapping the plus button in the Settings -> Smart Home screen.

When Matter was officially launched in November 2022, Philips Hue declared itself a supporter of the new smart home standard. At the time, parent company Signify said a software update that would bring compatibility to its Philips Hue lineup would be available to all users in the first quarter of 2023, but the update was delayed.

Apple added support for Matter on the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and ‌Apple TV‌ with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16, and tvOS 16.1 last year, with a ‌HomePod‌ or ‌Apple TV‌ required to control Matter accessories in the Home app or with Siri.

WhatsApp for iPad finally appears to be nearing a release. In the latest version of WhatsApp Beta for TestFlight, Meta has introduced an option to use WhatsApp on an iPad independently of an iPhone, thanks to an update to its Link a Device feature.

WhatsApp currently allows users of the encrypted messaging platform to link up to four devices to their account even when their main smartphone is not connected to the internet. Each linked device connects to WhatsApp independently, ensuring that personal messages, media, and calls are end-to-end encrypted. The feature also supports Macs, but not iPads – until now.

As spotted by code researcher WABetaInfo, WhatsApp has started testing a facility to use iPads as a linked device in the latest beta. The new companion mode also means that any messages sent or received on iPad are synced to the account's primary phone, regardless of whether it is an iPhone or an Android device.

In order to test the companion mode, WhatsApp previously released a native iPad app built with Catalyst so that users could start testing the feature and the app. A beta version compatible with iPad can now be installed via the TestFlight app by all testers with the iOS beta app.

• How to Use Your WhatsApp Account Across Multiple Phones

WhatsApp parent company Meta has made Facebook available on ‌iPad‌, but WhatsApp and Meta's Instagram app have never had native ‌iPad‌ availability, despite many users asking for the feature. It's not clear exactly when WhatsApp for iPad will be available to the general public, but its inclusion in the beta is a good indicator that it will arrive soon.

Satechi today announced the launch of a new Magnetic Wallet Stand that is designed as an accessory to be used with the new iPhone 15 models that are releasing this Friday.

The Magnetic Wallet Stand attaches to the back of any MagSafe iPhone, and Satechi says that it was created to have a "strong and reliable attachment" to keep the wallet from coming off of the ‌iPhone‌. Up to four credit cards, debit cards, or ID cards can be stored in the wallet, and there is a cutout for quickly showing an ID.

NFC passthrough is available from the front pocket, enabling Tap to Pay functionality without the need to remove a card from the wallet.

In addition to serving as a wallet, the accessory can be unfolded and used as a secure stand to prop up the ‌iPhone‌ for FaceTime calls, watching videos, playing games with a Bluetooth controller, and more. It can attach to the ‌iPhone‌ in either horizontal or vertical orientation when used as a stand accessory.

Made from a leather alternative, the Magnetic Wallet Stand can be purchased in seven colors. Black, brown, navy blue, and orange are available from the Satechi website, and Apple is selling the Wallet Stand in black as well as three exclusive colors, including forest green, purple, and blue.

Satechi's new Magnetic Wallet Stand is available starting today and it is priced at $40.

All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today.

The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more appropriate time by learning the device's daily charging routine. When the 80% hard limit is enabled, the iPhone will never charge past that point whatsoever.

On all iPhone 15 models, there are three options under Settings → Battery → Battery Health & Charging → Charging Optimization:

• Optimized Battery Charging
• 80% Limit
• None

As with Optimized Battery Charging, the 80% hard limit can improve an iPhone battery's lifespan by reducing the time that the battery is fully charged.

The new setting was previously discovered in iOS 17 code by software researcher Steve Moser.

Apple says all of the iPhone 15 models have the same battery life as iPhone 14 models. The devices launch this Friday.

As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024.

Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken chain.

There are four new family emoji combinations, along with updates to six people emoji that now have direction specifications such as facing right or facing left. The direction options can be used with person walking, person running, person kneeling, person with white cane, person in manual wheelchair, and person in motorized wheelchair.

Unicode updates often include quite a few emoji characters, so the 15.1 update is smaller in scale than a typical year. Unicode 15.1 does, however, add a number of new non-emoji characters for use in China.

Following the approval of new emoji characters, it takes smartphone makers like Apple several months to design artwork for the emoji and add them to iOS. We can expect to see the emoji updates in a future version of iOS 17.

Last year, Apple added new emoji to the iOS 16.4 update that was released in February 2023, so the company might follow a similar timeline in 2024. Last year's emoji additions included shaking face, pink heart, light blue heart, donkey, moose, goose, wing, jellyfish, hyacinth, pea pod, ginger, flute, maracas, and black bird.

Apple today updated its Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, and iMovie apps for the Mac with support for log-encoded video shot on iPhone 15 Pro models.

On the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, you can choose between HDR, SDR, or Log color encoding when recording ProRes video. Log footage typically has a higher dynamic range and more color grading flexibility than linear footage.

Apple also updated Final Cut Pro for the iPad with the same support.