smartphones

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You Can Stop Putting Your iPhone in Rice Now

Also, don't bother closing background apps to save battery life

(Newser) - Everybody knows what to do when their smartphone gets wet, right? Stick it in some dry rice to draw the moisture out. Turns out, it's bad advice. As is the conventional wisdom to close your background apps to save battery life. The details:
  • Rice: Apple is officially warning people
...

The Top Smartphone Seller Has Been Dethroned

Apple overtakes Samsung for the first time in 12 years as Android market splinters

(Newser) - Just as Samsung gets ready on Wednesday to release its newest iteration of Galaxy smartphones comes the news that those phones are no longer the best-selling phones in the world—for the first time in 12 years. As the Guardian reports, the longtime Android king has been usurped in terms...

Cops Warn About New iPhone Feature, Experts Say to Chill
Cops Warn About New iPhone
Feature, Experts Say to Chill
in case you missed it

Cops Warn About New iPhone Feature, Experts Say to Chill

Red flag on NameDrop says user contact info could be inadvertently shared, but tech geeks say no

(Newser) - A sharing feature built into Apple's latest iOS update has police departments nationwide issuing a warning to iPhone users, but security experts say the hubbub may be a bit hyped up. The new NameDrop feature allows consumers who have phones using iOS 17.1, or watchOS 10.1 on...

It's Time for Schools to Ban Smartphones
It's Time for Schools
to Ban Smartphones
OPINION

It's Time for Schools to Ban Smartphones

'Washington Post' editorial board implores parents to get on board

(Newser) - The Washington Post editorial board has a controversial wish for 2024: It wants education officials to prohibit students from bringing smartphones to school. What's more, the board argues that "parents should welcome and support" such a ban. Individual districts around the country already have restrictions in place to...

Help Is On the Way for Your Overheated iPhone 15

Apple releases patch to remedy Pro models running 'warmer than expected'

(Newser) - Complaints about Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro models running too hot have been heeded. The company released a patch on Wednesday, noting that the included updates and bug fixes included in iOS 17.0.3 should take care of the overheating issue. "We have identified a few conditions...

Get Ready for Lots of Noise Wednesday Afternoon

FEMA, FCC are conducting emergency alert test

(Newser) - Starting midday on Wednesday, your cellphone will likely start making a lot of noise—and it won't be alone. FEMA, in conjunction with the FCC, will be conducting a nationwide test of both its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts, with an emergency alert sent to radios and...

iPhone 15 Pro Might Be a Little Too Hot—Literally

In some tests, Pro Max hits 122 degrees

(Newser) - The iPhone 15 Pro just launched Friday, and already there are widespread reports that overheating is a problem. The Wall Street Journal reports that in its testing, the iPhone 15 Pro Max reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit while charging, and 112 degrees while charging and simultaneously running a "processor-intensive" task...

Zoo Cracks Down on Gorilla's Screen Time

It seems they really like visitors' cellphones

(Newser) - If you've ever had a kid, spouse, or decidedly boring date you couldn't drag away from their phone, the Toronto Zoo can commiserate. The Toronto Star reports that visitors have for some reason felt the urge to show Nassir the gorilla videos on their cellphones. "Nassir is...

Barbie Star Cera: No Smartphone for Me, Thanks

Actor's flip phone kept him from taking part in film's group chat

(Newser) - If you happen to spot someone these days who's still carrying around a flip phone, they're likely either an AARP member or trying to be retro. Michael Cera is neither, and proof that, per CNN , "sometimes stars aren't just like us." The 35-year-old Arrested Development...

Sorry, Parents, Kids Need to Lose Their Phones in School

Jonathan Haidt makes the case for it in the 'Atlantic,' citing mental health, lack of focus

(Newser) - Last month, the US surgeon general released a report pointing to the links between social media and declining mental health in America's kids and teens, and Jonathan Haidt says the transition to cellphones in the late aughts and early 2010s has played a role. That's why he now...

Government Official Orders Dam Drained to Find Lost Phone
Official Fined for Draining
Reservoir to Find Phone
in case you missed it

Official Fined for Draining Reservoir to Find Phone

State irrigation department in India orders Rajesh Vishwas to pay for wasted water

(Newser) - An official in India who drained a reservoir to search for his lost phone has to pay for the water as well as a new phone. Food inspector Rajesh Vishwas, who retrieved his $1,200 Samsung device but found it was unusable, has been fined the equivalent of around $640...

Reporter vs. Mugger: 'Wrong Blind Person, Wrong Day'

BBC correspondent Sean Dilley didn't let his lack of sight keep him from defeating a phone thief

(Newser) - A thief may have surprised BBC journalist Sean Dilley by lifting his phone on the streets of London, but it was Dilley who had an even bigger surprise for the thief. The BBC reports that its correspondent, who was working the night shift at New Broadcasting House, BBC's headquarters...

Musk Says He'll Make 'Alternative Phone' if He Has To

He asks if Apple hates 'free speech in America'

(Newser) - Elon Musk has declared that a " general amnesty " for suspended Twitter accounts will begin this week, as long as the users haven't broken the law—and while some analysts warn that the move and other content moderations issues could lead to a ban from Apple and Google'...

'No Choice': Apple to Adopt USB-C Chargers

Greg Joswiak confirms company will comply with new laws, despite its opposition

(Newser) - Apple has "no choice" but to begin making iPhones with a USB-C port, rather than one to fit its Lightning cables, an official has confirmed. Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, tells the Wall Street Journal that "we'll have to comply" with new...

After 'Fervent' Bidding, 2007 iPhone Sells for $39K

15-year-old 8GB device in unopened box is said to be in 'exceptional' condition

(Newser) - The starting bid for a 15-year-old iPhone on the LCG Auctions site was listed as $2,500, but the now-ancient (in tech years) device ended up going for a whole lot more. Gizmodo reports that the unopened 2007 iPhone, a first-gen 8GB model from the year Apple debuted its smartphone,...

After Late-Night Fatal Crash, an iPhone Calls for Help

Police haven't determined what caused accident in Lincoln, Nebraska

(Newser) - A passenger's cellphone automatically alerted responders after a car hit a tree early Sunday in a Nebraska crash that killed all six of the vehicle's young occupants, authorities said. Five men in the Honda Accord died at the scene of the crash around 2:15am in Lincoln, about...

Apple Won't Like New EU Rule on Charging Cords

USB-C cable will be required for devices, from phones to headphones to GPS units, from 2024

(Newser) - Forget rummaging through the junk drawer. Soon, Europeans will need to reach for just one cable to charge their smartphones and other devices, the AP reports. European Union officials said they inked a provisional agreement Tuesday that will require a uniform charging cord in the 27-nation bloc. The new rules,...

Toddler Takes Himself on $2K Online Shopping Spree

22-month-old Ayaansh Kumar teaches his parents a lesson about phone security

(Newser) - Born at the start of the pandemic, Ayaansh Kumar is no stranger to screens. The 22-month-old from Monmouth Junction, NJ, often plays on mom Madhu Kumar's phone, mimicking his older siblings who've been studying virtually over the last two years. However, his parents never expected that he was...

Clinging to an Old BlackBerry? Today Is Its 'End of Life'
RIP to an Iconic
Mobile Device 

RIP to an Iconic Mobile Device

BlackBerry is discontinuing service after Tuesday on all of its devices not running on Android software

(Newser) - If you're still clinging to your older BlackBerry not for nostalgia's sake but for actual functionality, you're out of luck after today. In what multiple outlets are calling the "end of an era," the Canadian company known for its once-ubiquitous mobile devices with thumb-friendly QWERTY...

Man Steals Reporter's Phone, Has Face Seen by Millions

Egyptian man was arrested hours later

(Newser) - A Cairo-area reporter had his phone grabbed from his hands by a thief on a motorbike, but it wasn't exactly the perfect crime—the reporter had been livestreaming a broadcast at the time, and the thief's face was seen by millions. The Youm7 news site says its reporter,...

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