What Windows 11 would look like running on a render of an old Windows Phone. Image: Lumia WOA Project
It hasn’t even been a whole week, and Windows 11 has already been successfully ported over to a smartphone. A very committed student of engineering, Gustave Monce, published a video to YouTube showing the latest developer preview of Windows 11 running on an old Windows Phone.
The phone is a Lumia 950 XL, which you may remember once tried to usher in the era of Windows 10 Mobile. It was also the last Windows Mobile phone, and is now somehow a bonafide collector’s item.
“It all started really five years ago, when Windows 10 Mobile was near obsolescence,” Monce said in an interview with the The Verge about the Lumia WOA Project.
Monce is right about Windows Phone being in a near-extinction phase at the time. The platform was struggling even before then to hold on to its barely 2% market share as Android and iOS devices proliferated.
Monce’s video showing Windows 11 on a Lumia 950 XL.
Monce teamed up with another classmate, Bingxing Wang, who was also into the idea of running a desktop OS on the Lumia’s 5.7-inch screen.
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“As time went on and we started talking about it, discussion groups formed and in turn we had a community of people interested in running full Windows 10 on Lumia 950s,” Monce told The Verge.
The team now consists of 15 people working on the WOA Project. They worked together on the Windows 11 port by reverse-engineering the work they had already done with Windows 10 and 10X.
Android users have also gotten in on the Doing It Because You Can fun, if you’re the type of person who calls this sort of thing “fun”—I don’t, but I also had a nervous breakdown fixing the CSS on my website, so that’s where I’m coming from. XDA surfaced how developers behind The Renegade Project got Windows 11 to boot on a OnePlus 6T. It even has some of the operating system’s core functions working as intended, including Bluetooth and USB input. The actual desktop size is small and snipped, but otherwise, it’s fun! Pure fun!
Video from a developer showing Windows 11 running on a OnePlus 6T.
In all sincerity, it’s neat to see what’s possible with a bit of patience and a knack for reconfiguring. But it’s also an indication of Windows 11’s scalability relative to older versions. In the videos embedded above, Windows is natively running on ARM-based CPUs. Previously, Windows 10 could only run if it was emulated on Qualcomm-based tablets and, as exhibited here, smartphones. But because Microsoft rebuilt the binaries of Windows 11 on ARM with ARM64EC, it’s possible to go in and remap parts of the OS to get it running on older hardware.
You could probably try it yourself if you had the wherewithal. The Renegade Project, at least, allows you to download the source code and tinker with it yourself. The WOA Project also has plenty of guides to help you walk through what the process would be like to revive that old Windows Phone you have stowed away in your closet.
If iOS 14 was a visual overhaul that gave you full control over how your iPhone looks, iOS 15 is a logistical one that gives you full control over how your iPhone behaves, which in turn will change how you use it.
Let me back up: Many of us feel like our phones have way too much power over us, with their constant dings and buzzes and red badges that signify just how many alerts are beckoning our attention away from other, more important things happening in our actual lives. And Apple clearly recognizes that people are unhappy with the amount of time they spend on their iPhones, which is why iOS 15 is packed with features that allow you to more carefully curate your experience with this glass-and-metal safety blanket/albatross. These features put you in the driver’s seat—they won’t work for you unless you put them to work—but once you take the wheel, so to speak, you’ll have a much more balanced relationship with your phone. Or at least that’s the goal.
I’ve been spending some time with the iOS 15 beta, which is now available for the public to install, and as a detail-oriented person who spends many hours of her day on her iPhone and would like to cut back, using new features like Focus and Notification Summary to customize every part of my phone experience definitely sparks joy. iOS 15 is not without its irritations (more on my Safari fury later), but it brings some welcome changes.
This preview isn’t meant to be a thorough evaluation of every single new feature—we’re still in beta, and some things will change before the official launch this fall. But this is a sneak peek of how it feels to use iOS 15 every day, and if you’re feeling brave and want to give it a try, now you can install it, too. The usual caveat applies: It’s best not to install beta software on a device you rely on, though I’ve found iOS 15 stable so far and have been using it with the iPhone 12 Pro I use daily.
Cool? Cool. Here’s what it’s like to live with iOS 15.
Ending Notification Overload
My Notification Summary bundles alerts I don’t need to see right away.Photo: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo
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I hate notifications. But I love notifications. In my many years of iPhone use, I’ve whittled down the number of apps I allow to send me alerts. I try not to check Twitter after work, for instance, and it may take me ages to respond to a reply or a DM because I keep those notifications turned firmly off. But this also means I miss things that are timely. Apple’s new Notifications Summary feature gives me more granular control, so instead of feeling like I have to choose between all notifications or none at all, I can turn alerts back on for relevant apps and instead choose to have them bundled in one summary at a given time (or multiple times) throughout the day. It’s strange how such a little thing can make you feel a lot more in control of your brain.
Setting it up is simple: Tap Settings, then Notifications, and at the top, you’ll see a new option to create a Scheduled Summary. From here, you can choose what times of day you want to receive summaries. I receive summaries at 7:15 a.m. when I’m doing my usual pre-work phone scroll, 12 p.m. when I’m eating lunch, and 5:45 p.m., as I’m ending my workday and before I exercise. You can also customize which apps are bundled in the summary and which can break through and deliver alerts immediately. The new feature helpfully shows you which apps send you a shit-ton of notifications throughout the day to help you make an informed decision as to how often you really need to see those alerts. I want to see breaking news app notifications and Slack messages, but I don’t really need Postmates and Uber Eats to get through immediately (no matter how good those discount codes are).
I can’t say for certain whether the Notification Summary is cutting down my phone use—my weekly Screen Time reports are still disconcertingly hostile. But another iOS 15 feature goes further than the new summary does, and while I’m still figuring out how to make it work for me, Focus offers a dramatic shift in the way I use my phone.
Narrow Your Focus
You can access Focus by swiping down from Control Center.Photo: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo
The concept behind Apple’s Screen Time feature, which lets you see which apps suck up most of your time and exactly how many hours you have them open, is a good one. But god, it just makes me feel so guilty. You can give yourself time limits for specific apps or categories of apps, and while I honestly tried to abide by them for a while, I confess I began to ignore them and finally turned them off. Now I just get the depressingly consistent weekly reports. Yes, I realize four hours is a lot of time to spend on a phone. No, I’m not sure how to minimize that!
Well, Focus might be the answer. Like the Notification Summary, Focus gives you granular control over how you interact with your phone by focusing on alerts. Sure, I often mindlessly scroll Instagram of my own accord, but usually, it’s because I received a meme and the next thing I know I’ve spent another five minutes trying to find a suitable meme to respond with. The last thing I want to do is get caught up in an Instagram scroll-cycle when I’m trying to focus on work, so my new thing is a Focus profile specifically customized for boosting my productivity.
Focus gives you so much control over how your iPhone demands your attention.Screenshot: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo
You can set up Focus in two ways: Either from Settings, or by swiping down from the top-right of your home screen to bring up the Control Center. From there, you’ll see a new Focus setting. Tap it, and you can toggle on Do Not Disturb, switch to a specific Focus profile, or set up a new one. My “Work” setting is basically designed to allow notifications from apps I’m already using on my desktop (Slack, Gmail, Airtable, etc.). I also allow text messages through from a curated group of people. Everyone else gets a canned “I’m busy” response (though you can choose not to send this notification). Folks not allowed through can choose to send the message anyway, so it’s delivered “quietly.” I also set up a “Vacation” profile, because I know myself and I will absolutely check my work email and Slack while I’m on PTO if I receive any pings from those apps.
As part of Focus, you can set up custom home screens that banish all other apps. I spent an honestly ridiculous amount of time setting these up and painstakingly curating the apps that I wanted to see on my Work vs. Vacation home screens. My Work home screen has news headlines, of course, and small widgets devoted to Spotify and Weather (I am usually Team Giant Weather Widget, but I’m trying to be more practical). Quick access to apps I use constantly to get my job done, like Gmail, Slack, Voice Memos, and Notes, also earn placement on the Work home screen. My Vacation profile, meanwhile, is where Weather really shines. I banish email from that home screen and bring Instagram back.
I want to say all this has been useful, and maybe that’s true. Given that I’ve been using my Apple devices a lot to test out the new beta features, I can’t say for certain that my post-beta life will have less screen time—it’s the nature of this job. But I can say that this feature is far more useful than Screen Time, because it allows you to curate your distractions instead of punishing you with frankly rude notifications for feeding into them. Sometimes all you need to do is reframe the narrative, you know?
Fun With FaceTime
SharePlay on the iPhone is perfect for listening to music with friends.Photo: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo
FaceTime is getting a long-overdue upgrade with features people actually want instead of… the ability to replace your face with a Memoji. (That’s cool and all, I guess, but come on.) The overhauled FaceTime is a welcome change, even if a year or so later than we all would’ve preferred.
Let’s start with SharePlay, which is Apple’s version of a watch and/or listening party. While most of us were living under lockdown during the pandemic, I regularly watched shows simultaneously with friends, but it didn’t really feel like we were together. Sometimes we chatted on the phone while streaming something, or sometimes we listened to new albums and texted about them, but there was something missing. SharePlay lets you bring videos and music from supported apps into your FaceTime call, so you can watch or listen together while also seeing your loved ones’ faces and hearing their commentary.
How it works: After you hop on a FaceTime call, you can pop out of FaceTime and open an app that supports SharePlay (currently only Apple’s apps, with a slew of third-party options coming soon). At the top of the app screen, you’ll see a notification that you can immediately enable SharePlay. You can also start playing content without first activating SharePlay, and you’ll receive a prompt to play the content for just yourself or with your FaceTime contact(s). It’s incredibly easy to turn on, and there’s no lag whatsoever—when streaming a video in Apple TV+ with a friend across the country, we chatted while the video played, and I could both hear him clearly and see the video.
I really love this feature. I prefer it specifically on the iPad, at least when it comes to watching videos (more on that in my iPadOS 15 deep dive coming soon), but it’s also great on the iPhone, where you can quickly share your screen to browse a Safari page together or pop open Apple Music to dissect a new single from a fave artist.
As mentioned, the feature is currently only supported on Apple apps like TV+ and Apple Music, with more services coming when iOS 15 officially rolls out to the public. Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, NBA, TikTok, Twitch, ESPN+, and Paramount+ are all on board. And with the SharePlay API, I expect that to expand. Your friend will also have to have a subscription to the service you want to use together, at least for Apple’s premium apps—there’s no getting around it. You also can’t screenshot or record content from within an app while using SharePlay. But the good news is that if someone takes a screenshot (which will be of your face and a blank screen), you’ll receive a notification instantly. You’ll also be notified when someone adjusts the playback, and you can adjust it, too.
I really prefer a bigger screen for watching videos, but once my nieces figure out that they can FaceTime and watch YouTube with their friends simultaneously, they might never leave their rooms. YouTube doesn’t currently support SharePlay, though you can technically use the screen-sharing feature to share whatever you want. It’s not as elegant a solution as in-app SharePlay support, but it gets the job done.
Android Joins the FaceTime Party
FaceTime has a slew of other new features, but aside from SharePlay, the second-biggest deal is being able to create a link to a FaceTime call. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve tried to coordinate a video call with friends or colleagues where we have to figure out which platform to use. FaceTime is a natural choice for those of us with iPhones—it’s far less cumbersome than Zoom, that’s for sure—but those on Android phones and PCs can’t jump in. That’s changed, and it’s really, really great. You can now create FaceTime links and share them out to anyone, no iPhone required. You can even schedule FaceTimes, though one weird hiccup is that you can’t schedule one directly from the FaceTime app. Instead, you have to hop on over to the Calendar app and create an invitation before being able to create a FaceTime link.
FaceTime’s Android look on a Pixel is very iOS.Screenshot: Florence Ion/Gizmodo
But otherwise, it’s totally seamless. I sent a calendar invite with a FaceTime link to my colleagues Victoria Song and Florence Ion, one of whom is using iOS 15 and the other an Android phone, and while the notification was a bit more seamless for Victoria on iPhone, Flo received an email with a link that she was able to hop into using her Pixel’s web browser—she just had to give FaceTime permission to use her phone’s mic and camera. As the creator of the FaceTime link, I received notifications when both Flo and Victoria requested to join the call; simply being invited and having the link didn’t allow them instant entry, which is a useful privacy feature.
Flo reported that using FaceTime on Android was a breeze. As a die-hard Android user who will never switch to iPhone but sometimes feels the Green Bubble Blues, she plans to use the new feature with her iPhone-toting family and friends—and I’m glad iOS is extending this olive branch to Android to avoid leaving anyone out.
New Safari Creates Problems to Be Solved
OK, so now that we’ve run through all the good in iOS 15, we need to talk about the… not-so-good. Safari, I’m lookin’ at you.
Do you see how the new Safari address bar bounces around? It’s distressing!Gif: Caitlin McGarry/Gizmodo
Safari’s redesign in iOS 15 is drastic. It’s the little things. It’s the big things. It all adds up to a really annoying experience that challenges my muscle memory on a near-constant basis. I have similar grievances with Safari in macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15, but using Safari on the iPhone is irritating in unique and specific ways—so far.
Let’s go over what’s changed: First, Apple has moved the address bar to the bottom of the screen. This makes it easier to tap on it when using your phone with one hand, sure, but after entering an address or a search query, the bar shoots back up to the top of the screen to make room for the keyboard. Press enter and it drops back down to the bottom. It’s weird, I hate it, and I’m still not used to it—and I have pint-sized hands that in theory should actually benefit from this placement.
Apple has also buried pretty much every option behind a menu next to the search bar. For instance, the reload button is gone—you have to tap on the More menu and then tap again to refresh a page. You can pull down on a webpage to refresh it, too, but first, you have to scroll up or tap at the top of the screen to jump back up, and this is an extra step that won’t be intuitive for most people. That menu is also where the Reader view option now lives—again, not a thing that most people will figure out quickly. It seems like a sure-fire way to confuse folks, with no real benefit.
Now let’s talk about Tab Groups, a new Safari feature I actually love. On my iPhone, I usually keep open pages to a minimum just because they’re too unwieldy. Now that I can keep them organized, well, I’ve been going wild. I have a group of tabs devoted to a place I want to travel to, another group of tabs for work-related articles I swear I will read later at some point, and another for clothes I plan to buy once the world fully reopens and I have to toss the jeans I haphazardly turned into cut-off shorts without really thinking that through. Tab Groups sync to your other devices to keep you organized. Some of you are tab freaks—I’ve seen an honestly unhinged amount of open tabs on a person’s iPhone before, so I know it to be true—and the good news is that there are theoretically an endless amount of Tab Groups you can create. (If you somehow hit the limit, congrats, and please e-mail me to say how many.)
I’ve been using this new Safari for a while now, and I still can’t figure out what problems its design changes are solving. Safari was good before. Some of its new features, like Tab Groups, are actually useful. But the address bar, the reload button, the needless complexity—I really hope this is all fixed before iOS 15 officially rolls out.
Messages, Maps, Weather, and More
There are so many little things I love about iOS 15, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Here’s a quick rundown of other features making my life much easier:
Shared With You: A new Messages feature surfaces links and photos from your texts and puts them in easily discoverable places where you’ll actually remember them, like your Photos app for shared images or the Safari homepage for web links.
Live Text: Apple’s new Camera feature that lifts texts from photos is, I believe, some form of wizardry. It’s so damn fast. If you’re using an iPhone XS or later, point your camera at anything with text on it—a magazine, a sign, a document—and you can capture, copy/paste, look up, or translate words directly from the camera preview. You can also select text from an existing photo, even ones you haven’t taken yourself. And if you’re in a blank text field, you can use a new keyboard camera option to capture text and paste it into the field. (This is super useful when it comes to entering things in Notes.) I absolutely love this feature.
Weather: Apple brought the best features from Dark Sky over to the iOS Weather app, and I love it. I live in Los Angeles, so the more granular forecasts will probably be more useful for people in cities with actual seasonal variety, but I like the new design just the same.
Maps: I’m a Google Maps kind of person, but the new Apple Maps looks damn good. It’s incredibly detailed, and the improved driving directions are definitely welcome.
There are some features that are still not available to try out yet, like adding driver’s licenses to the Wallet app, and others I’m still diving into. But overall, iOS 15 will be a meaningful upgrade—despite Safari—for those who want to regain some semblance of power over technology.
Apple recently rolled out its highly anticipated App Tracking Transparency feature with iOS 14.5, which lets users decide whether apps track their activity for targeted advertising. Overwhelmingly, users seem happy to leave app tracking disabled. Just 4% of iPhone users in the U.S. have agreed to app tracking after updating their device, according to the latest data from Verizon-owned analytics firm Flurry.
Worldwide, that figure jumps to 12%, a healthy increase but one that still doesn’t spell great news for companies like Facebook that sell targeting to advertisers by hoovering up user data. With iOS 14.5, if a user has app tracking requests enabled, then whenever they download or update an app, it has to ask permission before it can track their activity. And it’s clear most users are saying: “Nah.”
Users who want to turn off tracking altogether without rejecting permissions for each app individually can toggle “Allow Apps to Request Track” in the iPhone’s privacy settings. Since the update launched on April 26, Flurry’s data shows that, on average, about 3% of U.S. iOS users and 5% of international iOS users have restricted app tracking.
Flurry based its findings on a sample size of 2.5 million daily mobile active users with iOS 14.5 in the U.S. and a sample size of 5.3 million such users worldwide. According to the company, its analytics tool is installed in more than 1 million mobile applications and it aggregates data from about 2 billion devices per month.
As a vocal opponent of Apple’s new feature, Facebook has launched a sweeping fearmongering campaign to convince users that these privacy measures are, in fact, a bad thing. Facebook took out multiple full-page ads arguing that Apple’s feature will devastate small businesses that rely on its ad targeting services and warning that many free sites may have to start charging users money for subscriptions or in-app purchases. Other tech giants like Snapchat, Google, and Twitter have also said that, if the majority of users decide to forego app tracking, it will likely affect their bottom line.
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Granted, this data is just our first glimpse at the response from users. iOS 14.5 has only been out for a little less than two weeks, and, given more time, we’ll likely gain a better understanding of the average number of users opting-in or opting-out of app tracking. But one thing’s crystal clear: People value their privacy. And if that means missing out on a few personalized ads, well, plenty of folks seem happy to make that sacrifice.
If you’ve ever wanted your Google Assistant to get moving without having to say, “hey Google,” all the time, you may be getting your wish in the near future.
On Friday, Android Police spotted a new featured dubbed “Guacamole” after updating the Google app on Android. The update introduced a new Guacamole menu in the Google Assistant settings list for some users, the outlet reported, although it’s not functional yet. Nonetheless, according to screenshots of the menu posted by Android Police, Guacamole is apparently a voice shortcuts feature that will allow users to skip saying “hey Google” for help with quick tasks.
In order to enable the feature, users have to click and read, presumably, a set of terms and conditions. We say “presumably” because the link included in the menu doesn’t work yet, so we haven’t been able to confirm this. (We did try, though).
Just what exactly will these quick tasks consist of? 9to5Google reports that these quick tasks include alarms, timers, and calls. As an example, the outlet said that the feature will allow you to say “stop” or “snooze” to stop an alarm. It also stated that users will be able to say, “answer the call,” or “decline the call.”
Now, I don’t use Google Assistant, but I do use an Amazon Echo Dot that always plays a wonderful BTS playlist in the morning to wake me up. I’m a beast in the morning, and when I grumble, “Alexa, stoooooop,” I always feel the thing is paying attention to me. I don’t think I would get that same feeling of sleepy satisfaction if I just said, “stop.” That’s just me though, and this is a very particular situation.
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9to5Google notes that Google is only testing the Guacamole feature with employees at the time, which is why it began showing up on some users’ phones. As with other features under development, there’s no guarantee that this one will ever make it to the mainstream. We just have to wait and see.
Google has leaked the names of some unreleased and unannounced phones.
The list includes devices from eight Android OEMs.
Google later revoked the list, but not before several publications caught on to it.
Google recently spilled the beans on a number of unannounced smartphones thanks to an update it pushed out to its list of devices that support ARCore.
First spotted by 9to5Google, the updated support document for Google’s augmented reality platform included references to unreleased phones from eight Android OEMs. The complete update added 23 Android devices to the list, most of which have already been released. However, there were some new additions that are yet to see the light of day.
The unannounced and unreleased phones in Google’s ARCore support list included the following names:
Asus Zenfone 8 Flip
LG Stylo 7
Motorola Moto G100
Oppo Reno 5A
Oppo Reno 5 Pro Plus 5G Bosch
Realme 8 Pro
Samsung A52 4G
Samsung A72 4G
Samsung A82 5G
TCL 20 Pro 5G
ZTE Z6650S
Some phones stand out more than others in this list. For instance, the Zenfone 8 Flip, which hasn’t been announced or even officially teased yet. The smartphone could be Asus’ next flagship phone with the Snapdragon 888 processor. Of course, its name also suggests that it would likely house a similar flippy camera as the Zenfone 7 series.
There was also a reference to the Moto G100. The phone is believed to be the global model of the Motorola Edge S with the Snapdragon 870 processor.
The Realme 8 Pro also made an appearance on the list. The company plans to launch the phone on March 24 to take on devices in the Redmi Note 10 series.
The OPPO Reno 5 Pro Plus 5G Bosch could be a special variant of the existing OPPO Reno 5 Pro Plus 5G.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy A52 and A72 phones have already leaked extensively. We’ll likely see them release later this week at the company’s Unpacked launch event. The Galaxy A82 5G is expected to be Samsung’s second phone with a QRNG chip like the Galaxy A Quantum.
As expected, once the updated list was discovered, Google promptly removed all 23 newly added Android devices from it. The company probably jumped the gun and will update the list again once these phones are announced or released.
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.
It fell in the toilet. Your clumsy partner knocked a glass of water onto it. You forgot it was in your pocket when you jumped into the pool. That’s just a few of the hundreds of ways your phone could come into life-threatening contact with liquid.
Fortunately, waterproofing has become mostly standard on modern phones. New iPhones, Samsung Galaxy devices, and Google’s newest Pixel phones all feature some degree of water resistance or waterproofing. How well a phone resists water is measured on an IP (or Ingress Protection) scale. If your phone is rated with a high number, like IP67 or IP68 protection, congratulations, it’s probably going to be fine! But if it’s got a lower rating, or none at all, you should prepare for the worst before you start chilling in the hot tub with your trusty Sidekick.
So when your phone decides to take a dive, as soon as you’re done freaking out, you’ll probably begin frantically tapping all the buttons, blowing on it, or blasting it with a hair dryer to quickly get rid of all that water. While those are all well-meaning actions, guess what? Totally the wrong approach. Here’s the right way to rescue your water-damaged smartphone.
First, retrieve it as quickly as possible. If your phone is still in the bottom of the jacuzzi or the toilet, get it out ASAP. The longer it’s in the liquid, the greater the likelihood of damage will be.
Once the device is no longer submerged, power it off right away. Don’t try to press any of the other buttons or load any apps, just switch it off. Remove the case if you have one. If you have a phone with a removable battery, pop the battery out. You want to cut off power in the device as quickly as possible to prevent the possibility of a short circuit. Most of today’s smartphones don’t have removable batteries, but some older models, or new models built with repairability in mind like the Nokia 1.3, let you pop the battery out.
Do not blow-dry your wet phone or stick it in the oven! Heat can damage the delicate electronics inside. What you should do is give the naked, case-free phone a quick wipe with a clean towel, making sure no water accidentally ends up draining into its charging port, SIM or MicroSD slots, or headphone jack (if your phone still has one). If there are traces of water trapped inside cracks or indentations in the case, try carefully and conservatively using compressed air to blow it out. If you don’t have a can of air lying around, you can use your mouth to gently blow it out. Just be careful not to blow the water further inside the phone, or add any of your own spit to the mix.
Next we have a few different options. If you search the internet or ask a friend, a common piece of advice you’ll hear is to stuff your device in a bag of rice. It does often work in a pinch, but that method can cause some problems. While rice is absorbent, it’s incapable of collecting all the moisture hidden deep within your phone, so it only serves as a partial fix. Also, the rice gets mushy and sticky as it absorbs the water, and then you could wind up with gummy bits of rice stuck in your phone’s seams and ports. To be safe, wrap the phone loosely in a paper towel before dropping it into the rice.
Apple may have struggled to get its AirPower multi-device charging pad to work, but just over the horizon is a new technology that promises to make wireless charging truly wireless, and Xiaomi is the latest company to promise a world without charging cables—we just don’t know when it will actually arrive.
Wireless charging in its current form is definitely convenient since it allows you to just plop a device like a smartphone or headphones down on a pad to top off its battery without having to reach for a cable. But at the same time, it’s also restrictive, requiring you to all but abandon a device on a desk or side table until it’s charged. Truly wireless charging is the ideal solution because as long as you’re in the same room as a wireless power transmitter your phone will charge no matter where it is, even if you’re still using it in hand.
It sounds like total science fiction, but the technology exists, and back in 2016 a company called Ossia demonstrated working prototypes of its Cota wireless charging system at CES. A smartphone (upgraded with a special case) could be carried anywhere around the company’s booth and it would continue to charge indefinitely. Today, Xiaomi announced its own wireless charging eco-system called “Mi Air Charge Technology” that appears to offer similar functionality (and limitations) as Ossia’s Cota tech.
In lieu of wires or a pair of aligned magnetic coils, Mi Air Charge uses a transmitter (that’s about the size of a portable air conditioner) packed with antennas that both accurately determine the location of a device and then use beamforming to broadcast “millimeter-wide waves” towards it. A separate smaller collection of antennas function as a receiver inside another device, converting the wireless signals into about 5-watts of power, which is what the iPhone’s tiny cube charger delivered when plugged into a power outlet.
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Xiaomi promises the system can provide power to multiple devices all at the same time, be it a smartphone, a tablet, headphones, or even a pair of wirelessly powered batteries like Ossia also demonstrated a few years ago that ensures legacy devices never need a fresh pair. Distances are still limited to several meters, or roughly the size of an average room, but the technology isn’t hindered by physical obstacles, so the beefy power transmitter can potentially be hidden away out of sight.
It’s exciting to see more companies announce wireless charging solutions like this because it helps legitimize the technology, but unfortunately, to date all we really have are announcements. Since its debut at CES 2016 Ossia still hasn’t launched a wireless charging product available to consumers. And Xiaomi’s announcement today doesn’t even include vague promises about how long it will take the company to make its Mi Air Charge Technology available outside its own R&D labs.
There are considerable challenges to making this technology both safe and reliable, and it’s unfortunately not backward-compatible. Moving forward Xiaomi could include the compact antenna receiver array in its future smartphones, but your iPhone won’t work with the system without a special charging case, or Apple agreeing to play nice with Xiaomi. There’s little doubt truly wireless charging will one day be commonplace—we might even be able to blanket entire cities in wireless power instead of requiring a transmitter in every room of a house—but for now, it still remains nothing more than a tantalizing tech demo.
