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Technology

Your Older iPhone Won’t Get These iOS 15 Features

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Not every feature in iOS 15 will reach every compatible iPhone.
Image: Apple

The public beta of iOS 15 is out and available to install for anyone who wants to try it. Every handset that could run iOS 14 is eligible for the upgrade—that’s everything back to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus from September 2015. However, not every compatible iPhone will get every iOS 15 feature. Here’s the small print in full.

What it really comes down to is the amount of power your iPhone has under the hood. Certain iOS 15 features require the A12 Bionic chip or something more powerful, and that chip made its debut in the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR in 2018. Not only did it bring better performance than the A11 Bionic, it also had an improved Neural Engine for AI processing.

There are also a couple of features that only apply to newer models but that aren’t related to the A12 Bionic processor. If you don’t have an iPhone from 2018 or later, here’s what you’re going to miss out on—and why.

FaceTime Enhancements

Portrait Mode: With the introduction of iOS 15, FaceTime is going to be smart enough to blur out the background behind speakers, just like the Portrait mode in the Camera app. The feature will only be available on newer iPhone models though.

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Spatial audio: Older iPhones don’t have the processing capacity to create the effect of people’s voices coming from different directions either. Apple is promising to create “a sound field that helps conversations flow as easily as they do face to face.”

Apple Maps Features

Augmented reality walking directions: If you’re using an older iPhone, you won’t be able to use the more immersive AR view for your walking directions, a feature Apple Maps is taking inspiration from Google Maps for with the introduction of iOS 15.

Interactive globe: Apple is making Maps more detailed and immersive, and the improvements include a 3D globe view with enhanced mountains, forests and other features…as long as you’re using an iPhone with at least an A12 Bionic processor.

Detailed city experiences: The extra detail in Apple Maps extends to roads, trees, landmarks, and buildings in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London—but you’ll need a newer iPhone to be able to see all these enhancements.

More details are coming to Maps—for some iPhones.
Screenshot: Gizmodo

Digital Keys

All of the fancy digital key systems that your iPhone can support through iOS 15—from unlocking your car to getting into your hotel room—require hardware that was introduced with the iPhone XS, so older devices are out of luck.

New Camera Tricks

Live Text and Visual Lookup: iOS 15 can identify and process image text in a variety of apps in iOS 15, and also do some smart tricks—like telling you the breed of a dog you’ve photographed—but only with the A12 Bionic processor or something newer.

Zoom in QuickTake videos: QuickTake videos are where you press and hold the shutter button in the Photo mode in the Camera app. iOS 15 lets you zoom in or out during these videos with a swipe up or down—but you need newer iPhone hardware to be able to do it.

Better, Faster Siri

On-device Siri processing: Apple says Siri will process more actions on your iPhone with iOS 15, improving speed and privacy, but if your handset doesn’t have the A12 Bionic or something newer, Siri requests will still get sent to Apple’s servers for processing.

On-device Siri personalization: Not having the A12 Bionic CPU or something newer also means that Siri can’t calculate and save certain personalizations to your phone. These personalizations include new words and topics that you’re interested in.

Siri offline support: With the introduction of iOS 15, Siri is able to do more on your actual iPhone, without going online—think setting alarms, launching apps, adjusting the volume, and so on. Again though, this won’t apply to iPhones that were launched before 2018.

On-device dictation: As with the Siri features above, if you’re on an older iPhone then iOS 15 isn’t going to be able to process dictation on your actual device. Instead it’s going to get sent off to the cloud, which means that it’ll be a slightly less private and slower process.

The animated Weather backgrounds won’t appear on all devices.
Screenshot: Gizmodo

A More Dramatic Weather

Sorry, older iPhone owners, but you’re not going to get the stylish-looking animated backgrounds in the Weather app introduced with iOS 15, which show off the current meteorological conditions through computer-generated graphics.

Spatial Audio Upgrades

If you’ve got iOS 15, some AirPods Pro or AirPods Max headphones, and some Dolby Atmos music, you can get the dynamic head-tracking component of Apple’s Spatial Audio feature, but you need at least an iPhone 7 handset as well for this to be available.

More Advanced Health-Tracking

iOS 15 deploys some custom algorithms to keep an eye on how steady your walking is, but Walking Steadiness is a new feature exclusively for iPhone 8 and newer devices—if you’ve got something older than that, you won’t be able to access it.

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Technology

Getting Your iPhone Near This Cursed Network Breaks Its Wifi

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Photo: Noah Berger / AFP (Getty Images)

A security researcher and his iPhone’s wifi have gotten strangely familiar with Murphy’s law in the past few weeks. Based on his experience, we now know about yet another cursed wifi network that we must avoid. But this time, your iPhone doesn’t even have to connect to the network to mess up.

Back in June, security researcher Carl Schou found that when he joined the network “%p%s%s%s%s%n”, his iPhone permanently disabled its wifi functionality. Luckily, this was fixed by resetting all network settings, which erased the villainous wifi name from his phone’s memory. You would think that would have been the end of connecting to networks with weird and fishy sounding names, but you are not Schou.

On Sunday, he decided to try his luck again by investigating a public wifi network named “%secretclub%power”. According to Schou, just having an iOS device in the vicinity of a wifi network with this name can permanently disable its wifi functionality.

“You can permanently disable any iOS device’s WiFI by hosting a public WiFi named %secretclub%power,” he wrote on Twitter. “Resetting network settings is not guaranteed to restore functionality.”

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Schou apparently struggled to find his way out of this one and get his wifi functionality back. He said he reset network settings multiple times, forced restarted his iPhone, and even contacted Apple’s device security team. The researcher eventually got some help from Twitter, which advised him to manually edit an iPhone backup to remove malicious entries from the known networks plist files.

Gizmodo hasn’t tried this fix, so if you happen to find yourself in this situation, proceed with caution. It’s not clear what exactly is causing this bug, but some believe the percent sign and the characters following it could be mistaken for a string format specifier, or a variable or command used in coding languages. When processed by the phone, it apparently leads to problems.

We’ve all had a hard couple of months (and then some) and the last thing we need is trolls setting up public wifi networks with “%secretclub%power” to make our wifi go away. Until Apple fixes these bugs in a future update that will hopefully arrive sooner than later, it might be a smart idea to avoid public wifi networks altogether, and only rely on your iOS device’s mobile data when you’re away from a wifi network you know is safe.



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Technology

Apple Shows Government-Approved Apps in iPhone Setup in Russia

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Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)

After reportedly calling the requirements of a new Russian law a security threat and threatening to pull out of the country, Apple caved and decided to let Russia have its way, saying it would allow users to install government-approved Russian apps during iPhone setup. In recent days, we’ve gotten a first glimpse of what that looks like.

Spotted by MacRumors, Russian users have started to see a list of Russian app suggestions when setting up a new iPhone. The change has been spotted the same week a 2019 Russian law came into force. The law requires smart devices, e.g. smartphones, computers, tablets, and smart TVs, purchased in Russia to come pre-installed with government-approved Russian apps. Twitter user @KhaosT took a screen recording of the new iPhone setup, which looks pretty normal until you get to the special App Store popup.

“In compliance with Russian legal requirements, continue to view available apps to download,” the popup reads.

A few seconds later, another screen titled, “From the App Store Russian Apps,” appears with apps such as the Yandex Browser, Yandex.Maps, Yandex.Desk, Mail.ru, ICQ messenger, and the VK social network, among others. Users can click on the “Get” button to install them. As noted by MacRumors, thanks to reported deal between the Russian government and Apple, installing the apps is optional and they are not pre-installed on the device.

Apple told Reuters this week that even though it intended to comply with the new law, all apps are reviewed to ensure they comply with the company’s standards for privacy, security, and content.

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The law was originally passed in 2019, although its implementation was delayed until April of this year. According to Reuters, Apple “dragged its feet” before finally agreeing last month to offer a way for users to install the government-approved apps during iPhone setups.

MacRumors reported that Apple would start providing Russian app suggestions on April 1. In addition, Apple told the outlet that it may add a new section to the App Store that aims to promote Russian apps. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that iPhone users in Russian can only install Russian apps; they can still install apps from made by developers in other countries.

Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment but did not receive a response before the time of publication. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we hear back.

Russian legislators have argued that the law allows the country’s tech companies to become more competitive and also gives Russians a “right to choose” domestic alternatives. This may not sound that alarming at first, but when you consider Russia’s years-long effort to get a tighter grip over the internet, it’s clear that it’s yet another initiative to give the government control over its citizens’ online activities.

This isn’t the first time Apple has decided to give in to demands from the Russian government, and probably won’t be the last. In recent years, it stopped offering its gay pride watch face for the Apple Watch in Russia and also included Crimea as part of Russia in the country’s Apple Maps app. This isn’t a policy that applies just to Russia. Apple has also removed all major VPN apps from the App Store in China to comply with Chinese law.



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Technology

New iPhone SE Rumors Claim a 5G Model Is Coming Next Year

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Photo: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo

Rumors about the next model of Apple’s fan-favorite compact smartphone are already in full effect, though it could be well over a year before we see one.

Analyst Ross Young posted to Twitter on April 1—grain of salt, etc.—that the next iPhone SE will arrive in 2022 with the same 4.7-inch form factor as the current SE. This refreshed model, Young wrote, could come equipped with the sub-6GHz variation of 5G rather than support for all bands, including ultra-fast millimeter-wave spectrum. Young also mentioned hearing of a 6.1-inch model with a “punch hole rather than a notch” that could be released in 2023.

Some of this jibes with a previous report from reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo last month. Citing a Kuo supply chain report, 9to5Mac reported that Kuo, too, expects 5G connectivity to arrive in a 2022 model of the iPhone SE. Kuo also said to expect a 2022 model to have a 4.7-inch design, but with an upgraded processor.

Most interesting among these rumors is that Apple could be planning to scrap the SE’s form factor for a larger display. It’s unclear whether the SE will sport the same size body with slimmer bezels, or whether Apple will size up the SE (the latter would be bad news for the tiny-handed among us).

Being that we are seemingly more than a year out from getting a newer iPhone SE—per reports that have a new release projected for 2022—there’s still plenty of time for SE rumors to generate hype around a newer, more powerful device. But it’s looking interesting.

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Technology

Brazil Fines Apple Nearly $2M for Ditching Charger in iPhone 12

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Photo: Ming Yeung (Getty Images)

Regulators in the Brazilian state of São Paulo slapped Apple with a nearly $2 million fine on Friday for failing to include chargers within iPhone 12 boxes, according to 9to5Mac and a Google translation of a report from Brazilian tech news outlet Tilt.

The consumer protection agency Procon-SP also accused Apple of engaging in misleading advertising, refusing to repair defective devices, and maintaining unfair contract terms with consumers.

Starting with its iPhone 12 series, Apple announced it was scraping the wall charger and earbuds typically bundled with previous iPhones to cut down on electronic waste, citing environmental concerns. At the time, critics argued Apple’s decision had more to do with slashing shipping costs than saving the planet, and any impact on the environment would likely be minimal.

Procon-SP asked Apple if the iPhone 12’s price would be reduced since it wasn’t coming with a charger but the agency said it never received a response, 9to5Mac reports. In addition to the charger debacle, it accused Apple of refusing to repair devices that failed to be as water-resistant as advertised and failing to help customers who experienced “problems with some functions” on their iPhones following iOS updates. Procon-SP also claims that Apple’s contract terms are overly broad and shield Apple from responsibility even when its devices are found to have hidden defects, per the outlet. 

“Apple needs to understand that in Brazil there are solid consumer protection laws and institutions. It needs to respect these laws and these institutions,” said the agency’s executive director, Fernando Capez.

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Apple didn’t immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment, but we’ll be sure to update this blog if they do. It still has the option to appeal this decision through Brazil’s court system. Honestly, though, it’s probably easier for Apple to just fork over the cash and not even bother with it. $2 million dollars is a drop in the bucket when you’re making more than $100 billion, with a b, in revenue as Apple has in the first quarter of 2021 alone.

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Technology

I’ve Waited So Long to See the OnePlus Smartwatch and…Hmm

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It’s not every day that a new player enters the smartwatch game, so I was intrigued when OnePlus’s then-CEO Carl Pei hinted last summer that a wearable might be on the way. The rumors have been ramping up the past few weeks, and now we know what the watch will look like. After months of curiosity, I am…underwhelmed.

Ahead of OnePlus’s upcoming March 23 event, @UnboxTherapy dropped what appears to be a leak of the oh-so-cleverly-named OnePlus Watch. After scrutinizing the image for about two minutes, I can confirm to everyone it looks like every other non-Apple smartwatch out there. There are two buttons on the right side, black straps and a black case, and a fairly standard-looking watch face. Woo. This is some drab, milquetoast design and honestly, I expected a little better from OnePlus.

Smartwatch leaker Ishan Agarwal also dropped some more deets on his Twitter, noting that the watch would be 46mm (a big boy!). It’ll also have IP68 water resistance, 4GB of storage, and the ability to control music and OnePlus TV. In terms of health features, which have become a huge selling point for smartwatches, OnePlus will reportedly offer automatic workout detection, include swimming workouts, and also track sleep, stress, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate. No word on battery life, but Agarwal said it’ll support Warp Charge, or the ability to get a week of charging in 20 minutes. That implies that you get at least a week of wear out of this thing, which would be great, but who knows.

The interesting part about these rumors is that the OnePlus Watch will not run Wear OS, despite being an Android watch. This has been heavily rumored leading up to the March 23 event, and per the Verge, CEO Pete Lau confirmed in a forum that this will be the case. Instead, the company has opted for an RTOS (real-time operating system) type of OS. No word on what that means for a third-party app ecosystem or a digital assistant. As for why OnePlus didn’t go for Wear OS, Lau says the company wanted to provide a smooth, reliable experience along with great battery life. Wear OS has made improvements over the past year, but battery life is still a sore point for that platform.

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This is all well and good, but it’s not what anyone would describe as terribly exciting. It’d be one thing if OnePlus came barging out the door with a unique design, or decided to put its own spin on Wear OS as the Oppo Watch did. But OnePlus looks to have played it safe—arguably too safe. Unless we see something absurd like 30-day battery life, unique software, or a breakthrough health feature (for which we are not holding our breath), this smartwatch seems like it might be for diehard OnePlus fans only.



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Technology

Apple to Launch MR Headset in 2022, AR Glasses by 2025

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Apple’s tinkering with AR, VR and MR.
Photo: Mladen Antonov / AFP (Getty Images)

While the rumblings over Apple’s planned venture into augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality have been getting louder recently, we now have a series of dates for these devices by prognosticator Ming Chi-Kuo, a good source with a reliable track record on all things Apple.

In a research note with TF International Securities obtained by MacRumors, Kuo stated that Apple will release an MR helmet type product by 2022, an AR glasses type product by 2025 and an AR contact lens type product by 2030-2040. The Apple prognosticator didn’t have a lot to say about the Apple contact lenses, stating that the lenses will bring electronics from the era of “visible computing” to “invisible computing.” He added that there is “no visibility” for the product as of now.

“We predict that Apple’s MR/AR product roadmap includes three phases: helmet type by 2022, glasses type by 2025, and contact lens type by 2030–2040,” Kuo wrote, per MacRumors. “We foresee that the helmet product will provide AR and VR experiences, while glasses and contact lens types of products are more likely to focus on AR applications.”

When it comes to Apple’s MR headset, though, Kuo had a lot more to say. In terms of size, the analyst stated that several prototypes of Apple’s mixed reality headset weighed between 0.4-0.6 pounds (200 to 300 grams). However, Apple’s apparent goal is to reduce the weight to between 0.2-0.4 pounds (100-200 grams), which would make the company’s headset a lot lighter than many existing devices.

It will also be portable, Kuo stated in the report, and have independent computing power and storage. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that it will be truly “mobile,” like an iPhone, at least at first. Kuo stated that he expects the new helmet to improve its mobility as technology improves.

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The analyst also added weight to the rumor that Apple’s headset will be equipped with sophisticated micro OLED displays. The company is working with Sony on this, he said, which is in contrast to previous reports that stated Apple was working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. With the micro OLED displays and several optical modules, the headset will be able to provide a “see-through AR experience,” as well as a VR experience.

Now here’s the thing, why should you buy Apple’s MR headset when there are a lot less expensive options to choose from?

“Although Apple has been focusing on AR, we think the hardware specifications of this product can provide an immersive experience that is significantly better than existing VR products. We believe that Apple may highly integrate this helmet with video-related applications (e.g., Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, etc.) as one of the key selling points,” Kuo wrote.

He stated that Apple’s mixed reality headset is expected to cost around $1,000 in the U.S.

As far as Apple’s AR glasses go, which are expected to provide an “optical see-through AR experience,” the Apple prognosticator expects a 2025 launch at the earliest. We’ll see if that pans out, as Kuo said he doesn’t think there’s a prototype for this product yet.

All in all, those are some exciting predictions from Kuo. Now let’s remember, although he is a noteworthy source, not everything he predicts comes true. If it is true, though, these Apple devices could change the game for AR and VR if they’re good.

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Technology

Rumor Has It an iPhone 13 With 1TB Storage Is Coming

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Photo: Carsten Koall (Getty Images)

If you’re the type of person that still needs more storage, Apple might have answered your prayers.

According to 9to5Mac, there are indications that this year’s iPhone lineup—yes, we’re talking about the next one already—will have 1 TB storage. The outlet cited analysts at the investment firm Wedbush, which pointed to supply chain checks as evidence. Currently, the most storage offered on iPhones is 512 GB, so an iPhone 13 with 1 TB of storage would be a first for Apple.

This isn’t the first time this rumor has shown up in Appleland. Back in October, Apple leaker Jon Prosser—who, it should be noted, isn’t always right—also teased about this possibility. Prosser reiterated this prediction in January on Front Page Tech, saying that most of the iPhone 13 high-end prototypes do feature 1 TB of storage.

“We’re in early stages of iPhone 13 right now and we kind of just have prototypes to go off of, which means that not much is actually final,” Prosser said in January. “But I will tell you that most of those prototypes, I’m being told, do feature a terabyte of storage. That is, prototypes for the pro models.”

If the rumor is true, Apple wouldn’t be the first company to make 1TB phones. Samsung and Asus started offering phones with 1TB storage capacity back in 2019.

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Other reliable chatter indicates that Apple’s newest lineup will maintain four models again this year. In other words, we’re likely looking at an iPhone 13 Mini, an iPhone 13, an iPhone 13 Pro, and an iPhone 13 Pro Max. The difference between them, which is something we all know by now, would be the cameras. And if this new rumor is true, it could also be storage—and more than we’ve ever seen on an iPhone before.



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Business

Verizon Tells Users to Turn Off 5G to Save Battery, Regrets It

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Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Verizon (Getty Images)

In an effort to be helpful, Verizon accidentally stuck its foot in its mouth on Sunday, and then furiously backtracked.

In a tweet on Sunday, which was spotted by the Verge, Verizon Wireless CS told customers that if they were experiencing more battery drain than usual, they should turn on LTE. As the Verge explains, the implication in this tweet directs customers to turn off 5G in phones that have it. Considering Verizon’s big push into 5G, this seems a bit weird.

“Are you noticing that your battery life is draining faster than normal?” Verizon wrote in the tweet. “One way to help conserve battery life is to turn on LTE. Just go to Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and tap LTE.”

A user on Twitter pointed out this irony. Verizon replied to the user but didn’t really address its previous battery advice, choosing instead to talk about 5G speeds. The original tweet about preserving battery life by switching to LTE has since been deleted, although you can see the 5G reply below.

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Gizmodo reached out to Verizon to ask for clarification on whether it was really telling customers to turn off their 5G to preserve battery life. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we hear back.

As Mashable points out, 5G could very well be the cause of battery drain for some phones. Many new features and tech don’t work as envisioned at first, which is logical. Besides, 5G is a work in progress in the U.S. Addressing this in a roundabout way is kind of off-putting. Sure, if Verizon came out and flat out said 5G could be the cause of battery drain, some people might get cranky, which is also understandable given all the fanfare around 5G. But it would at least be the truth.

A quick search reveals that other companies have addressed this issue without creating a messy PR situation. Samsung, for instance, dedicated a support page to the issue of battery drains on 5G service. The manufacturer acknowledged that this problem was legitimate and explained that it was due to a limitation of current 5G networks, but that this would improve as 5G networks expand. Huawei also addressed the issue on a support page, stating that on a 5G network, more bandwidth is consumed online, and therefore more power may be consumed.

See Verizon, transparency isn’t that hard.



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Technology

Unlock Your iPhone With Your Apple Watch When Wearing a Face Mask

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Apple’s iOS 13.5 update made your iPhone jump to your secondary method of authentication more quickly when you’re trying to use Face ID while wearing a face mask, but it’s still an arduous process you have to go through each time you want to unlock your iPhone. iOS 14.5 fixes this by adding in a new auto-unlock option for those who also own an Apple Watch; I do, and this is too good a feature to wait for.

I say “wait for” because iOS 14.5 isn’t technically available to the public yet. Apple’s testing the update as part of a developer beta—that wonderful phrase that suggests you’re in for a potentially buggy experience if you opt to slap it on your iPhone right now. I go back and forth on this; I love being able to access the latest features, but having a sluggish or otherwise fussy iPhone—especially if it’s my primary device—isn’t the best experience.

Still, in these pandemic times, having to tap-tap-tap my iPhone after I’ve gotten used to the wonderful convenience of Face ID isn’t very fun, either. So much so, that I think I’m going to go ahead and install the iOS 14.5 beta. What’s the worst that could happen?

If you’d like to join me, here’s how you can get into this normally-for-developers beta. To start, make a backup of your iPhone, whether you’re sending it to iCloud (via Settings > your Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Backup) or connecting your iPhone to a computer and performing a manual backup. This is important, as you’ll want to be able to revert back to your normal operating system if the beta is too buggy for your tastes.

Screenshot: David Murphy

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Next, open Safari on your iPhone and navigate over to Beta Profiles. Tap “Download” on the box for the iOS 14.5 beta and don’t be stymied by the warning screen:

When prompted by your iPhone about downloading a configuration profile to your device, tap “Allow.” Once done, close Safari and open up your Settings app. Tap on General > Profile, where you’ll find the profile you just downloaded. Tap on it, and then tap on Install in the upper-right corner. You’ll eventually be asked to restart your iPhone as part of the installation process. Do that.

Screenshot: David Murphy

Once your iPhone boots back up, tap on Settings again, and then General > Software Update. You should now be able to download the iOS 14.5 Developer Beta (if it hasn’t already started downloading).

Screenshot: David Murphy

Once it’s done, you’ll find the new Apple Watch-unlock feature in Settings > Face ID & Passcode. However, you’ll also need to repeat these same steps to install the developer beta of watchOS 7.4 (updating your Apple Watch as you normally would in the end, rather than going to your iPhone’s Software Update section).

Don’t assume that this handy feature will work each time you’re using your iPhone while wearing your Apple Watch. The feature, designed for pandemic life, requires your iPhone to detect that you’re wearing a face mask. If it does, and you’re also wearing your (passcode-enabled and unlocked) Apple Watch, your iPhone will unlock automatically. If you aren’t wearing a mask, you’ll have to unlock your iPhone the old-fashioned way.

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