Emma Roth
Remember that iPhone that fell out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282?
The WSJ’s Joanna Stern wanted to find out just how it survived the fall — by dropping phones from a drone, of course.
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Quentyn Kennemer
Thomas Ricker
Huawei’s latest chip is a slightly improved version of its old chip.
When the resurgent Chinese giant unveiled its new Pura 70 flagship phones last week, all eyes were on the chipset. Would it close the gap with the state-of-the-art 3nm fabrication process Taiwan’s TSMC uses to make chips in the latest iPhones, for example?
Not even close, says Verge alum Vlad Savov:
TechInsights, which was the first to identify the original 9000s in conjunction with Bloomberg News, said it found “with high confidence” that the Pura contained a Huawei Kirin 9010 fabricated using SMIC’s so-called 7nm N+2 process, an enhanced version of typical 7nm manufacturing.
So... sanctions are working?
Emma Roth
Apple mistakenly told some trade-in customers “we never received your iPhone.”
An overnight email from Apple said the company can’t complete the trade-in process... even though the people getting it, like our reader Kevin, traded in their iPhones last year. Apple has since sent a follow-up message saying, “Please disregard the previous email we sent:”
You recently received an email with incorrect information regarding your Apple Trade-in. Please disregard our email. There are no issues with your order or Apple Trade-in. We apologize for any confusion this caused.
Emma Roth
Researchers find text-reading exploits across popular Chinese keyboard apps.
The Citizen Lab analyzed Chinese keyboard apps from Baidu, Honor, Huawei, iFlytek, Oppo, Samsung, Tencent, Vivo, and Xiaomi. It found that each of these apps — except for Huawei’s — has an exploit that can “reveal the contents of users’ keystrokes in transit.” The research group estimates these vulnerabilities impact up to 1 billion people.
Emma Roth
Is your phone still too bright at night?
Android expert Mishaal Rahman spotted an “even dimmer” option in Android 15 that allows the display “to go dimmer than normal.” There’s already an “extra dim” option you can manually toggle on, but Rahman suspects this new setting will automatically kick in when you’re in a dark area.
Android 15 may make it even easier to use your phone while in bed
[Android Authority]
Umar Shakir
Now that’s a good mint.
The Pixel 8a leaks continue. This time, Google’s upcoming entry-level smartphone appears in a short hands-on video by an apparent smartphone dealer in Casablanca — who three days ago posted that they’re getting the goods.
God, that mint is good.
Thomas Ricker
Apple’s loss in China is Huawei’s gain.
And Huawei just released its premium Pura 70 series a few days ago as followup to its wildly successful and sanction-skirting Mate 60.
Image: Counterpoint Research
Emma Roth
Huawei’s 5G chip is “years behind what we have in the United States.”
That’s what US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on 60 Minutes about the in-house 5G chip powering Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro:
What it tells me is the export controls are working because that chip is not nearly as good... We have the most sophisticated semiconductors in the world. China doesn’t.
Allison Johnson