Latest news with #mobile
Geeky Gadgets
an hour ago
- Geeky Gadgets
You WON'T Believe What iOS 26 Is Doing!
Apple's iOS 26 introduces a comprehensive suite of updates aimed at improving customization, usability, and performance. With the second beta release now available, Apple continues to refine its mobile operating system, offering users a more seamless and personalized experience. Below is an in-depth look at the most notable features and enhancements in iOS 26. The video below from iReviews gives us more details on iOS 26. Watch this video on YouTube. Advanced Lock Screen Customization iOS 26 takes lock screen personalization to the next level, allowing users to place widgets at the top or bottom of the screen. This flexibility enables you to create a layout that suits your preferences and enhances accessibility, especially for one-handed use. Whether you prioritize quick access to weather updates, calendar events, or fitness stats, this feature ensures that essential information is always within easy reach. Proactive Liquid Detection Alerts A standout safety feature in iOS 26 is the new liquid detection alert. If moisture is detected in the charging port, your device will emit an audible alarm—even when in silent mode. This proactive measure helps protect your device from potential damage by making sure you are immediately aware of the issue. It's a practical addition that underscores Apple's focus on device longevity and user safety. Streamlined Missed Call Management The Phone app now makes managing missed calls more intuitive. With a simple swipe on a missed call, you can set a reminder to follow up later. This small yet impactful feature simplifies communication management, making sure you never overlook an important call or forget to respond. Enhanced Photo Search and Navigation The Photos app has been upgraded with improved search functionality, allowing you to limit searches to specific albums or collections. This makes locating images faster and more efficient. Additionally, smoother animations enhance navigation within the app, and the syncing status is now displayed under the 'Library' section, providing greater transparency and control over your photo library. Type to Siri During Calls iOS 26 introduces the ability to type to Siri during phone calls, a feature designed for situations where speaking aloud isn't practical. Whether you're in a quiet environment or need to maintain discretion, this update ensures Siri remains accessible and functional in all contexts. Customizable Messaging Backgrounds Messaging receives a visual upgrade with the option to customize backgrounds for SMS, RCS, and iMessage conversations. This feature allows you to create unique aesthetics for different chats, adding a personal touch to your messaging experience. Whether you prefer vibrant colors or subtle designs, the choice is yours. Strengthened Privacy and Security Controls Privacy and security remain a top priority in iOS 26. A new 'Wired Accessories' section in the settings menu provides enhanced control over connected devices. This feature allows you to manage trust preferences for accessories, reinforcing Apple's commitment to safeguarding user data and making sure secure connections. Clearer Battery Usage Insights The battery usage interface has been redesigned with color-coded indicators for easier interpretation. These visuals offer a detailed breakdown of your usage patterns, helping you identify areas where you can conserve battery life. This update provides a more intuitive way to monitor and manage your device's power consumption. Refinements in the Maps App The Maps app has undergone subtle yet meaningful changes. The 'Library' section has been renamed to 'Places', aligning the app's terminology with its functionality. This adjustment simplifies navigation and enhances the overall user experience, making it easier to organize and access saved locations. Performance and Efficiency Improvements iOS 26 delivers noticeable performance enhancements, with higher Geekbench scores in both single-core and multi-core tests compared to its predecessor. These improvements translate to faster app launches, smoother multitasking, and overall better responsiveness. While battery life remains stable, further optimizations are expected in future updates, making sure a balance between performance and efficiency. Release Schedule The third beta of iOS 26 is expected to arrive on July 7, followed by the first public beta on July 14. These upcoming releases will likely include additional refinements and provide a clearer picture of the system's full capabilities. For those eager to explore the new features, these dates mark key milestones in the rollout process. iOS 26: A User-Focused Update iOS 26 represents a thoughtful evolution of Apple's mobile operating system. From enhanced lock screen customization to improved privacy settings, the updates cater to a diverse range of user needs. As the beta progresses, further refinements are anticipated, solidifying iOS 26 as a robust and user-friendly update. Whether you're drawn to its practical enhancements or its focus on personalization, iOS 26 offers something for everyone. Master iOS 26 features with the help of our in-depth articles and helpful guides. Source & Image Credit: iReviews Filed Under: Gadgets News Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Major mobile brand is shutting down after 15 years – last chance for users to update before permanent closure in DAYS
A HUGE mobile major brand is bowing out after 15 years. It's the last chance for existing users to update their phones - though they may want to consider buying a new handset entirely before sinister hacks start to emerge. 1 LG was once the world's third-bestselling mobile brand. But the firm announced in 2021 that its mobile division was closing down due to poor sales. The South Korean tech giant has continued to offer important software updates for its most recent handsets. But those are coming to an end on Monday, putting the final nail in the coffin of LG's mobile business. LG's last phone release was the LG Wing 5G, which features a unique design with two displays - one of which swivels. After June 30, Android software updates for LG phones will no longer be available. This means hackers could be on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit - and with no further updates to fix them. If you want to continue using your LG smartphone, it's at least best to get the last update while you still can. "We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude towards our customers who have loved and supported LG Electronics mobile products," LG said. "After the termination date, you will no longer be able to use the software upgrade services. Urgent warning to delete 2 dangerous apps that STEAL all photos & blackmail you "If you wish to use the services, we strongly recommend upgrading your software before June 30, 2025. "Furthermore, as we will no longer provide application updates, you will not be able to download default applications deleted upon initialization." The move also marks the end for the LG Bridge software for PCs which allowed mobile users to update too.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS AT&T phone services, used by 118m people, go down as outage map shows cities with no signal
AT&T is down for thousands of users across the US. The outage hit around 1:30pm ET, impacting mobile phone service, landline internet and leaving users without service. Downdetector, a site that monitors online outages, shows major cities in the red, including New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle and Atlanta. Many users in Arkansas reported their phones are only displaying 'SOS' in the status bar, which indicates that the device has lost connection to its cellular network but can still make emergency calls. This is a developing story... More updates to come
Android Authority
a day ago
- Android Authority
Android 16 can warn you if a fake cell tower is trying to spy on you
TL;DR Android 16 is adding a new security feature to warn you when your phone connects to a fake or insecure mobile network known as a 'stingray.' This feature alerts you to unencrypted connections or when the network requests your phone's identifiers, which helps protect against surveillance. Due to new hardware requirements, this protection will likely only be on new devices launching with Android 16, such as the upcoming Pixel 10. There are many simple things you can do to keep your private information safe, like using strong passwords, scrutinizing app permissions, and only installing apps from trusted sources. However, some attacks are much harder to protect yourself against, as they're so sophisticated and stealthy that they can happen without you ever noticing. One such attack tricks your phone into connecting to a fake, insecure mobile network, which is difficult for the average person to detect. Fortunately, the new Android 16 update has a feature that can warn you when someone is using this tactic to snoop on you. This type of attack uses a device called a 'stingray.' An attacker sets up this device near a target they want to surveil, and it mimics a legitimate cell tower. The stingray tricks nearby mobile devices into connecting to it, allowing the attacker to collect unique identifiers (like the IMEI) and even force them onto an older, more insecure communication protocol. These identifiers allow attackers to target specific devices for analysis, while switching protocols can let them intercept unencrypted text messages and phone calls. These 'stingray' devices are notoriously used by law enforcement agencies, but their technology can also be acquired by malicious actors. While some argue they are a necessary tool for surveilling criminals, their potential for abuse is significant, as they can be used to covertly collect data on ordinary people. Because of this, Google has been working on ways to warn Android users or prevent them from sending communications over insecure cellular networks. With the release of Android 12, for example, Google added support for disabling 2G connectivity at the modem level. In Android 14, the company followed up by supporting the disabling of connections that use null ciphers — a form of unencrypted communication. More recently, Android 15 added support for notifying the OS when the network requests a device's unique identifiers or tries to force a new ciphering algorithm. These features directly counter the tactics used by commercial 'stingrays,' which trick devices into downgrading to 2G or using null ciphers to make their traffic easier to intercept. Blocking these connections and notifying the user about these requests helps protect them from surveillance. Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The toggle to disable 2G networks in Android 16 on a Pixel 9a. Unfortunately, only one of these three features is widely available: the ability to disable 2G connectivity. The problem is that implementing these protections requires corresponding changes to a phone's modem driver. The feature that notifies the OS about identifier requests, for example, requires a modem that supports version 3.0 of Android's IRadio hardware abstraction layer (HAL). This dependency is why these security features are missing on current Pixel phones and other devices, and it's also likely why Google delayed launching the dedicated 'mobile network security' settings page it planned for Android 15. Since upcoming devices launching with Android 16 will support version 3.0 of Android's IRadio HAL, Google is reintroducing the 'mobile network security' settings page in the Safety Center (Settings > Security & privacy). This page contains two subsections: Notifications This subsection contains a ' Network notifications ' toggle. When enabled, it allows the system to warn you if your device connects to an unencrypted network or when the network requests your phone's unique identifiers. This toggle is disabled by default in Android 16. Network generation This subsection features a ' 2G network protection ' toggle that enables or disables the device's 2G connectivity. This is the same toggle found in the main SIM settings menu, and it is also disabled by default in Android 16. Google The 'Mobile network security' page will only appear on devices that support both the '2G network protection' toggle and the 'network notifications' feature. This is why it doesn't appear on any current Pixel devices running Android 16, as they lack the necessary modem support for notifications. When the 'Network notifications' feature is enabled, Android will post a message in the notification panel and the Safety Center whenever your device switches from an encrypted to an unencrypted network, or vice versa. It will also post an alert in both places when the network accesses your phone's unique identifiers, detailing the time and number of times they were requested. Message in the notification panel and Safety Center when you connect to an unencrypted cellular network. Message in the notification panel and Safety Center when you reconnect to an encrypted cellular network. Message in the notification panel and Safety Center when a cellular network accesses your device's unique identifiers. Now that Google has relaunched this security page in Android 16, it won't be long before we start seeing it on new devices. However, due to the Google Requirements Freeze (GRF) program — a policy that allows OEMs to lock in hardware-related requirements for devices at launch — it's unlikely that any current devices will be updated to support the notifications feature. We will most likely have to wait for upcoming devices that launch with Android 16, such as the Pixel 10 series, to see this protection fully implemented. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- Digital Trends
I tested a wild phone that Apple must copy to boost gaming on iPhones
About six months ago, I got my hands on a rather curious phone, one that packed more punch than top-shelf flagships, which cost nearly twice as much. The Red Magic 10 Pro is a beastly phone, but the company has now entered a ludicrous territory where it offers an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon and improved thermals inside the Red Magic 10S Pro. After pushing the device for about two weeks, I've realized that it's not just a fantastic phone and a ridiculously good value at just $649. Instead, it serves as a template for what a top-tier phone should look like, especially one that sells the promise of top-notch performance even in the most demanding scenarios. Recommended Videos That brings me to Apple. Over the past couple of years, the company has made some major strides in the gaming segment, especially on mobile devices. Top-tier titles such as Death Stranding, Assassin's Creed Mirage, and Resident Evil Village have made their way to the iPhone. A studio of its own The Apple Arcade gallery is home to a rewarding bunch of titles, and more are yet to come. Yet, aside from launching a social-friendly Games app, the company hasn't done much to really catch the true spirit of gaming. That's a crucial miss, one where Red Magic has done a terrific job. My favorite aspect is the Red Magic Studio, which allows the phone to mirror its contents to a larger screen, somewhat like AirPlay. But if you ask any game enthusiast, wireless is not where the fun is at, thanks in no small part to latency. Red Magic knows that all too well and offers a seamless wired console experience. As soon as you connect your phone to a monitor, you get a dedicated game launcher UI where you can find all the native titles as well as your emulation bundles. No complex set-up required, at all. It's just plug and play. And yes, you get full support for controllers, keyboard, and mouse input. And here's the best part. When you connect to a large screen, the Red Magic 10S Pro's screen turns into a touchpad. So, for the rare occasions where the controller inputs can latch onto system-level pop-up windows, you can simply drag and tap on the phone's screen and handle the arrowhead cursor, which looks similar to the one on the iPad. All the titles are neatly catalogued on the home dashboard, and the gaming experience is fluid, as well. I had a lot of fun playing Diablo: Immortal and revisiting my PSP collection at the best possible graphics settings, and never ran into any blackouts or crashes that could mar the gaming experience. Customization and perks When Apple announced the Games app, I was hoping that the iPhone would finally get deep tuning and in-game customization tools. After all, the silicon fitted inside iPhones has remained a step ahead of what you get inside Android devices. Unfortunately, none of that materialized. Fortunately, Red Magic has got you covered. Notice that slider button on the side? It takes you straight into the Game Space, a dedicated system of its own solely for playing games. This is where you will find all your games, customize the controller layout, access gameplay capture, adjust fan activity, and separately tune the CPU and GPU power draw as per your needs. On the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon inside the Red Magic 10S Pro, the CPU goes up to 4.47 GHz (compared to 4.23 GHz on the standard trim), while the Adreno GPU is also 30% beefier. For the latter, you can even choose the strength of anisotropic filtering, anti-aliasing, and texture filtering to get the best out of graphics-intensive games. Since the 144Hz OLED display offers a ridiculously high touch sampling rate of 960Hz for fast input in games, you can deeply customize the screen behavior, as well. You can adjust the sampling rate, sensitivity, slide response, and input stability. Moreover, depending on the on-screen control layout in games, you can also adjust the inactive area of the screen to prevent accidental touch input. You don't get any of that on iPhones. But that's just the surface of the deep customization tools you get on the Red Magic 10S Pro. If you take your mobile (and extended large screen) gaming seriously, there's a custom plug-in library to give you the extra edge. Here, you get access to plug-ins such as Hunt that invert the screen color briefly to find hidden enemies, scout mode for adding a zoom superpower within the crosshair, a high sensitivity movement wheel, 4D vibrations, and more. When you enter the game, you get a slide-out tray that provides access to performance modes and plug-ins on the left, and gameplay controls on the right. There are a lot of them, actually, and you can customize them further, just like the control center on iPhones. From changing call behavior to quickly launching your favorite apps in a small floating window, you get it all here. It's one of the deepest levels of in-game utility customization that I have ever seen on a mobile device, and it really makes a difference. Apple can — and should — bake deeper in-game controls and customizations within the Games app. And while at it, the company should also pay special attention to aspects such as button remapping, game presets, and hopefully, add a few performance plug-ins of its own. The secret hardware sauce The standout aspect of the Red Magic 10S Pro is the pair of capacitive shoulder trigger buttons on the right edge. With a 520Hz sampling rate, these buttons are blazing fast, but more than sheer speed, they make a tangible difference in the gameplay. From using them as brake and accelerator in racing games, to peek and shoot buttons in RGB games, they free your thumbs from the clutter of on-screen controls and offer a more console-like experience. These are freely customizable, and you can make adjustments even in the middle of gameplay. Using them almost feels like cheating, because these shoulder buttons really ease the in-game controls and boost the response time, as well. Interestingly, Apple put a similar capacitive button on the iPhone 16 Pro — the camera control — and Oppo has implemented it, too. Now, it's hard to imagine Apple putting two such buttons on its phones, but letting users at least customize it for games and get a physical shoulder button would be neat. It supports both press and slide gestures already, so there's some serious gaming potential here waiting to be exploited. As far as the rest of the package goes, the Red Magic 10S Pro is a beast. When was the last time you saw a phone with a physical RGB fan for cooling whirring at 23,000 RPM? Yeah, that's what you get on this one. Over at the front is a large 6.85-inch OLED screen with an under-display selfie camera, while a huge 7,050mAh battery keeps the lights on, with support for 80W charging in tow. It also offers up to 24GB of RAM, 1TB of super-fast UFS 4.1 storage, and a rewarding haptic motor for intense in-game vibration feedback. It's as good as a $650 phone gets, and then some more. You just need to make the leap and import one, preferably from one of the Red Magic warehouses closest to your location.
