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The expanded app completes its rollout two months after it was announced at Google I/O.

Google users should have access to the new Google Wallet app, after the search giant reportedly completed its rollout on Monday. If you live in the US, you should now have a new Google Wallet App next to your Google Pay app. The former offers digital wallet functionality, while the latter acts primarily as a personal payment app like Venmo.

Google Wallet, announced in May during Google I/O, is Google’s effort at a more inclusive wallet app, which holds credit and debit cards in digital form, along with tickets, loyalty cards and vaccination cards.

Google rolled out the app to Android users in 39 countries last week, according to The Verge. In the US and Singapore, Google Wallet and Pay will remain two distinct apps.

But people in Europe and the rest of the word will get one unified app. They will see the Google Pay app change on their devices, with an updated title of Wallet, the new logo, and new options for adding passes like public transit and gift cards within it. For most, Google Wallet will simply replace the Google Pay app, with no need to manually transfer over. In India, new functionalities will stay under the Google Pay name.

In the long term, Google hopes to add identification cards like driver’s licenses and student IDs to Wallet’s capabilities, something Apple Wallet began offering in Arizona in March.

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

You may see those precious 5G bars on your mobile device, but you might still have to wait to sign up for home broadband service.

I have to confess: Sometimes 5G still baffles me. One of the questions I’m often asked is, “I can get 5G on my phone at home, but I can’t get my provider’s 5G home internet product. Why is that?”

I ran up against this myself when I switched carriers earlier this year. I went from AT&T to T-Mobile and was immediately impressed with its 5G performance on my phone. But even though I got T-Mobile 5G cell service at home, my address wasn’t eligible for its Home Internet service. My immediate reaction: What gives?

It’s not just T-Mobile. The same applies to Verizon, too. Its 5G home internet product is also not categorically available at all addresses covered by the company’s own 5G coverage map. Even if you’ve got Verizon’s Ultra Wideband service in your neighborhood, it’s not a sure thing that you’ll be able to sign up for Verizon 5G Home Internet.

Wait, start at the beginning. T-Mobile and Verizon are offering 5G home internet?
Yes. T-Mobile and Verizon are each using cellular airwaves to offer dedicated 5G home internet plans. Each provider’s plan features straightforward, all-inclusive pricing that ditches equipment fees, data caps, term agreements and other added hassles often associated with internet service providers.

T-Mobile Home Internet features one plan for $50 per month ($30 for eligible Magenta Max customers). Verizon offers two plans — Verizon 5G Home ($50 a month) and Verizon 5G Home Plus ($70 a month). Qualifying Verizon Unlimited mobile plans can also knock 50% off the price of either plan. Simplicity and a straightforward approach seem to be key for both companies.

At present, AT&T doesn’t have a 5G home internet offering.

Is the home broadband business just a side hustle for these carriers?
I was tempted to think that getting into the ISP game was simply a lark for these companies, but telecom insider Jeff Moore, principal of Wave7 Research, sees more at play.

“Mobility is the core business for T-Mobile, and for the most part, it’s the core business for Verizon,” said Moore. “But T-Mobile, in particular, is telling Wall Street that in addition to selling [home internet] services to businesses, it’s also saying it’s increasingly pushing into rural America. I don’t think it’s just a PR stunt.”

Some of the early numbers support Moore’s assessment. In mid-April, T-Mobile proudly announced it had reached 1 million customers in just a year after the product’s nationwide launch. T-Mobile Home Internet is available to over 40 million households, and, per T-Mobile, a third of those homes are in rural communities and small towns.

Overall, T-Mobile has been quite aggressive in its pitch to customers. In May, it began its Internet Freedom push, which leans into Americans’ dissatisfaction with ISPs and encourages consumers to “break up with Big Internet” by trying T-Mobile Home Internet. To lure customers, it’s offering a free, 15-day test drive (so you can try it without having to change your current provider), a price lock guarantee (you pay $50 per month for as long as you remain a customer, with no lingering fears of price increases after a year, as is the case with many internet service providers), and additional savings of $20 per month with eligible Magenta Max mobile plans.

Verizon has also been ambitious with its offers but is ringing less of an “ISPs are evil” note. That’s probably because Verizon Fios — the company’s fiber-optic internet service — is an ISP and one of the few that’s regularly high-rated. In their case, 5G home internet seems less of a blow against “Big Internet” and more of a play to extend the Verizon home internet game beyond the Northeast (Verizon Fios’ playground) and out to the rest of the country.

If T-Mobile and Verizon are serious about home internet, why is it still not as widely available as their overall 5G coverage?
When my colleague Eli Blumenthal tested Verizon 5G Home, he noted that the 5G connection on his iPhone was better than the one for his 5G Home hub.

A Verizon spokesperson told me via email that it designed its network with its mobile customers in mind. “We continue to allocate spectrum to ensure our mobile customers have the reliability they’ve come to expect from Verizon,” they said. “As we deploy more spectrum — in excess of what our models show we need for the highest reliability for our mobile customers — we are able to offer 5G Home service as well.”

5G allows for a greater connection density — approximately 1 million devices per square kilometer — than previous generations of cellular connectivity. Is that a lot? Yes, it’s about 100 times better than 4G, but it’s not limitless. Because a home internet product puts a heavy capacity usage on a mobile network, Moore believes T-Mobile has also been judicious about how it’s selling home internet.

He pointed me to a recent YouTube interview given by Kendra Lord, T-Mobile’s director of geospatial engineering and analytics, where she likened 5G home internet availability to the number of seats on a plane.

“It’s not only the number of households that we believe could get [T-Mobile Home Internet],” she said, “but how many within a given sector we could say yes to.”

When I reached out to T-Mobile for further insight, a spokesperson corroborated that mindset. “There are still many households that do not qualify for Home Internet yet, even though they may get 5G on their mobile device — and that’s intentional,” they told me via email.

“Our fixed wireless Home Internet runs on the extra capacity on our wireless network. In some areas, we have extra capacity on the network, but in others, we don’t. So, we allocate access to Home Internet on a sector-by-sector, home-by-home basis.”

In other words, it’s entirely possible that I could get 5G cellular service in my home, and my next-door neighbor might even have T-Mobile Home Internet, but my address still might not be serviceable for that home internet product due to the capacity limits for my area’s cellular coverage.

So the next time you ask, “Why can’t I get 5G home internet even though I have 5G on my phone at home?” I advise you to hang tight — both carriers are actively working on optimizing their networks for mobile first, home internet second, in a dynamic process that changes month to month.

Apple’s new iPhone software is here, and it may be the last one before iOS 16.

Apple released iOS 15.6 on July 20, which means you can now download the update to your iPhone. The new mobile operating system folds in bug fixes — including for an error that incorrectly showed phone storage as full — and a new feature for watching live sports in the TV app.

The TV app will now let people restart live sports games already in progress, as well as pause, rewind and fast forward. iOS 15.6 also includes a lengthy list of security updates for the iPhone.

Here are Apple’s release notes from Wednesday:

iOS 15.6 includes enhancements, bug fixes and security updates.

TV app adds the option to restart a live sports game already in-progress and pause, rewind, or fast-forward
Fixes an issue where Settings may continue to display that device storage is full even if it is available
Fixes an issue that may cause braille devices to slow down or stop responding when navigating text in Mail
Fixes an issue in Safari where a tab may revert back to a previous page
This may be the last update to iOS 15 before the company’s next mobile software, iOS 16, gets a wide release alongside the heavily rumored iPhone 14. The next version of iOS, which is available now in public beta, will bring several new features, including the ability to edit and unsend messages, a new customizable lock screen, changes to notifications, as well as updates to Wallet and Apple Pay.

Apple also released iPadOS 15.6, MacOS 12.5, WatchOS 8.7 and TVOS 15.6 on Wednesday. In addition to security updates, iPadOS 15.6 and MacOS 12.5 got the same TV app update for live sports as iOS 15.6, while WatchOS 8.7 brought bug fixes, and TVOS 15.6 got performance and stability improvements, according to Apple.

Apple has been hit with a lawsuit in the US over Apple Pay.

The tech giant is being accused of using its market power in the mobile phone industry to fend off competition from other payment card issuers.

The class-action complaint was filed in a federal court in California by Affinity Credit Union, an Iowa-based chartered credit union.

Apple did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

According to the complaint, Apple “coerces” consumers who use its smartphones, smart watches and tablets into using its own wallet for contactless payments, unlike makers of Android-based devices that let consumers choose wallets, such as Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

The complaint alleges that Apple prevents consumers from using competing mobile wallets capable of offering competing tap and pay solutions.

Iowa’s Affinity Credit Union said Apple’s anti-competitive conduct forced the more than 4,000 banks and credit unions that use Apple Pay to pay at least $1 billion in excess fees annually for the privilege.

It also said Apple’s conduct minimised the incentive for the California-based company to make Apple Pay work better and make it more resistant to security breaches.

“Apple’s conduct harms not only issuers, but also consumers and competition as a whole,” Affinity Credit Union said.

“If Apple faced competition, it could not sustain these substantial fees.”

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, and a halt to Apple’s alleged anti-competitive conduct.

Other legal battles
Apple already faces a possible heavy fine after European Union regulators on 2 May said it had abused its dominance in iOS devices and mobile wallets, by refusing to give payment rivals access to its technology.

According to the complaint, Apple charges issuers a 0.15% fee on credit transactions and a flat 0.5 cent fee on debit transactions using Apple Pay, while Android-based rivals charge nothing.

The plaintiff is represented by the law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Sperling and Slater.

Last August, they helped obtain a $100 million settlement for smaller iOS developers which claimed Apple overcharged them on commissions.

In discussing the European Union’s probe of Apple’s mobile payment policies in May, the bloc’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager said Apple claimed it couldn’t provide access to NFC for security reasons.

In Europe, most payments in shops made with a mobile phone rely on a wireless technology called ‘Near Field Communication’ – NFC.

This functionality enables communication between a customer’s mobile phone and the shop’s payments terminal – allowing ‘tap and go’.

“Our investigation to date did not reveal any evidence that would point to such a higher security risk,” Vestager said on the EU’s website.

“On the contrary, evidence on our file indicates that Apple’s conduct cannot be justified by security concerns.”

Google too
Allegations that Google overcharged millions of app users in the UK are also set to go to trial.

The suit is being brought by a consumer affairs campaigner, Liz Coll, on behalf of almost 20 million British users of Google’s Play Store.

Her aim is to compensate UK Android smartphone and tablet users for years of alleged overcharging by Google and infringement of competition law.

She said: “We are confident our claim is a good one.

“Google Play Store’s imposition of a headline 30% charge on our digital purchases is unlawful and unjustifiable, and we look forward to arguing the case for UK consumers at trial.”

Google said it would defend the claim.

The answer depends on your budget, which carrier you have and how long you plan to hold onto your new phone.

Access to 5G used to come at a high cost just a few years ago. Now, the technology is standard in most new smartphones and is available in devices that can cost less than $300.

But there are times when you might be wonder whether 5G is a necessary feature in a phone. Maybe you’re getting a great deal on a refurbished device from a couple of years ago that doesn’t support 5G. Perhaps you’re eyeballing the iPhone 11, one of the cheapest phones Apple currently sells at $500 but that can’t connect to 5G.

For US shoppers, the answer largely depends on what carrier you have, how much you’re willing to spend and how long you’re planning to hold onto your next phone. Since 5G is available in just about every new phone at no additional cost, there are few reasons not to buy a 5G-enabled phone.

Combine that with the fact that carriers are building out their midband networks — which offer faster speeds than low-band 5G offerings as well as broader coverage than the fastest millimeter-wave networks — and the argument for buying a 5G phone is even stronger.

At the same time, it’s important to remember that 5G speeds and coverage will vary depending on your carrier. And 4G phones will continue to function for years to come.

“They’re not turning off those 4G networks anytime soon,” said Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst for research and advisory firm Techsponential. “Your phone will be dead before you need to worry about it.”

Understanding 5G
Figuring out whether you need 5G in your next phone starts with understanding the current state of 5G. All three major network providers in the US offer 5G, and there are three main flavors to be aware of.

There’s low-band 5G, which is available broadly but provides similar speeds as 4G LTE, and millimeter wave 5G, the super fast version that only operates at a short range. You likely won’t notice the difference between 4G and 5G when you’re on a low-band network. But millimeter-wave networks are so scarce you probably won’t find yourself near one on a regular basis unless you frequent busy venues like stadiums, arenas or airports. Even then, the coverage is often only in select locations.

The happy medium between both of these networks is midband 5G which provides faster speeds than 4G but can also cover much larger distances than millimeter wave. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are all at different phases of their midband deployment, with T-Mobile currently taking the lead. The carrier said in February that its Ultra Capacity network, which is mostly comprised of midband spectrum acquired from Sprint, reached 210 million people by the end of 2021. T-Mobile expects to reach 300 million people with its midband network, Ultra Capacity 5G, by the end of 2023.

Verizon, on the other hand, is aiming to cover 175 million people with its Ultra Wideband network, which uses millimeter wave and its midband spectrum, in 2022. AT&T plans to cover 200 million people with its own midband network by the end of the year.

All these technologies can work together to provide better coverage, speed and performance than 4G LTE.

“So we’re not just talking about cities, but a lot of the country where people live is covered by T-Mobile 5G,” said Greengart. “And so you’re going to want to buy a 5G phone both for coverage reasons and for speed.”

How much are you willing to spend?

The biggest factor in determining whether you should buy a 5G phone is how much you’re willing to spend. If you have less than $200 to spend on a new device, it might be difficult to find a worthwhile 5G phone.

If your budget allows for spending more than $400, there are several compelling 5G options like the $429 iPhone SE and $450 Galaxy A53 5G. The upcoming $450 Google Pixel 6A will also support 5G when it launches on July 28. That’s a significant departure compared to when the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G launched roughly three years ago for a sky high price of $1,300.

Cheaper phones may not support all flavors of 5G, namely the fastest millimeter-wave networks, but that shouldn’t be a dealbreaker for most people shopping today. With its benefits in speed and range, the three major networks have prioritized midband 5G deployments over the past year. As long as your new phone supports midband 5G, you should be able to connect to faster speeds in more places.

It’s important to consider what matters most to you in a phone and how long you’re planning to hold onto a device. If you’d rather have a larger screen, a more contemporary design, dual-cameras and are planning to upgrade your phone again in two years, the 4G-enabled $500 iPhone 11 might be a better choice than the $429 5G-capable iPhone SE.

But if you’re looking for a phone that can get you through the next three years or so, it’s probably best to look for a 5G device. Most Android phones in the $400-$500 range have 5G and modern features like multi-lens cameras and large screens.

The situation is different for Apple fans. The only 5G-enabled option under $600 is the 2022 iPhone SE, which has Apple’s latest smartphone chip but lacks other staples like a big screen and multiple cameras. That might change this fall when the rumored iPhone 14 launches and Apple drops the iPhone 12 and 12 Mini’s price accordingly.

Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst for Technalysis Research, says 5G will likely feel more essential in early 2024. By then, carriers will have had more time to build out their midband networks.

“You will get faster speeds,” said O’Donnell. “Hopefully by then we’ll see some additional services and apps that take advantage of 5G.”

The bottom line

To decide whether you need 5G in your next phone, consider how much you’re willing to spend, how long you plan to hold onto your phone before upgrading and what type of coverage your carrier provides.

Investing in a new 5G phone is generally the best move if you can afford it since it ensures that your device will feel fast and relevant for years to come. But if your budget is limited, or the 5G phones available to you right now don’t fit your needs, you won’t be missing out on too much by opting for 4G instead.

“As a purely functional phone, you can’t go wrong with a good LTE phone,” said O’Donnell.

Apple’s iOS 16 is now available in a public beta, which means you can try the operating system’s new features on a compatible iPhone ahead of its public release in fall. Communication, personalization and privacy are the main focuses of iOS 16, which offers upgrades to your iPhone’s lock screen, Messages app and Wallet, just to name a few.

First previewed at the company’s annual WWDC keynote, iOS 16 should get a wide release alongside the heavily rumored iPhone 14. The new software will work on iPhone 8 models and newer.

Here’s every iOS 16 feature you should know about.

Edit and ‘unsend’ messages
“Embarrassing typos are a thing of the past,” Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said as he introduced three of the most requested features for the Messages app.

First, in iOS 16 you’ll be able to edit sent messages. So if you notice a typo after a message, you’ll be able to edit the message after the fact. A tiny “edited” appears in the status under the message.

Next, and this might be my favorite new feature, you can immediately recall a sent message. If you accidentally send an unfinished message, you can use the Undo Send tool to prevent it from being read and hopefully look less chaotic to your friends and family.

Last, you can mark messages and threads as unread. This could be an excellent tool for when you don’t have time to respond to a message in the moment, but want to make sure you come back to it later.

A new customizable lock screen
One of the things you look at the most on your iPhone is the lock screen, especially if you have a Face ID-equipped iPhone. iOS 16 brings the most substantial update to the iPhone’s lock screen yet. Press and hold to edit your lock screen. You can swipe to try out several different styles. Each style changes the color filter for the background photo and the font on the lock screen so everything complements each other. This feels a bit like Apple’s take on Google’s Material You, which launched with Android 12.

You can also customize the fonts for the time and date, and add lock screen widgets like temperature, activity rings and a calendar. The widgets are akin to complications on the Apple Watch lock screen.

You can even set up multiple customized lock screens with different widgets and easily swipe to switch between them. There’s also a photo shuffle option that automatically changes the pictures on your lock screen.

One feature we hoped to see Apple add was an always-on display. It’s something nearly all Android phones have; even the Apple Watch does. There’s hope the iPhone 14 will have one.

Notifications and live activities
Sometimes notifications can cover up your lock screen’s photo, so iOS 16 moves notifications to the bottom of your display. As you receive them, instead of being compiled into a list, they appear like a vertical carousel. This not only looks better but should be a big help for one-handed use of your iPhone.

iOS 16 also aims to solve another notification problem. Sometimes you get a bunch of notifications in a row from one app, like the score of a basketball game. A new tool for developers called Live Activities makes it easier to stay on top of things happening in real time from your lock screen, instead of getting a series of interruptions.

Live Activities should make it easier to follow sporting events, workouts or even the progress of an Uber ride.

Skip CAPTCHAs using Private Access Tokens
The CAPTCHA — which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart — has been a necessary evil across the internet. CAPTCHAs are designed to make sure that a person is accessing a website or service, and not a bot. I find them annoying, as they often involve reading strangely written letters or having to find all the images that have a truck. With iOS 16, Apple plans to start replacing these awkward interactions with Private Access Tokens.

According to a video on Apple’s website demonstrating Private Access Tokens, websites that support the token will essentially log in and authenticate that you are indeed a human without your having to play any of the usual CAPTCHA games. Apple says in the video that the company is working with other companies to roll out support for this feature, so we can’t say the CAPTCHA will be dead after iOS 16 rolls out to the public. But the concept could provide some relief if it gets adopted.

Wallet and Apple Pay Later
ID cards from more states will be available in your Wallet app along with more security and privacy features. In iOS 16 you can also protect your identity and age. So rather than showing your exact birth date, the Wallet app will display your ID and that you’re over 21.

iOS 16 makes sharing keys easier with apps like Mail and Messages. When your friend receives the key, they can add it to the Wallet app on their iPhone. Apple said it’s working to make sure that shared keys are an industry standard and free for others.

Apple Pay will support new types of payments and adds a new feature called Apple Pay Later, a Klarna-like service that lets you split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees. Upcoming payments are managed through the Wallet app, making it easy to keep track of dates and payments.

But Apple Pay doesn’t stop there. A new feature will also help you track Apple Pay orders and lets merchants deliver detailed receipts and tracking information. This should make it easier to stay up to date on the status of all your orders.

Visual Lookup’s tap and drag for photos
In iOS 15, Visual Look Up analyzes your photos and can identify objects like plants, landmarks and pets. iOS 16 takes this to the next level. When you touch a photo’s subject like the dog in the image above, you can lift it away from the background and add it to apps like Messages. Essentially it’s a tap-and-hold tool that removes a photo’s background.

Apple sometimes overuses the word “magic,” but this feature truly seems like it.

SharePlay comes to Messages
SharePlay, which debuted in iOS 15, lets you have a shared experience while connecting with someone over FaceTime. You can watch TV shows, listen to music in sync and other things. iOS 16 adds the ability to discover more apps that support SharePlay from within FaceTime.

But perhaps one of the coolest things Apple did for SharePlay was to make it work within the Messages app. Apple said that this was one of the biggest requests from app developers. Now when you want to share a movie on Disney Plus, you can start SharePlay together with a friend while chatting in Messages.

Safety Check aims to help people in abusive relationships
Safety Check is a new feature intended to be helpful for people in abusive relationships. It lets you review and reset who has access to location information as well as passwords, messages and other apps on an iPhone.

Focus mode updates and Focus filters
Focus mode gets several updates. The first applies Focus behaviors to widgets and lock screen looks. So you could have one lock screen set for when your Work Focus is enabled and another for workouts.

Apple added specific Focus filters that apply your iPhone’s Focus mode within apps. For example, in Safari, you can limit what tabs are shown depending on what Focus mode you have active.

Apple Maps adds transit fare cards
Maps will get several updates. You’ll be able to plan trips with up to 15 different stops along the way. If you start planning a trip with the Maps app on your Mac, you’ll be able to share that to your iPhone.

And in something similar to what Google announced for Google Wallet in Android 13, you’ll be able to see transit fare estimates as well as add more money to a fare card from within Apple Maps.

iCloud family checklist
iCloud gets several new features. One of the more interesting ones is the option to quickly set up a new device for your child. When Quick Start appears, you have the option to pick a user for the new device and use all the existing parental controls you’ve previously selected and configured. However, this is not what many of us still want: the ability to set up separate users for the same device.

There’s a new family checklist with tips for updating settings for your kids as they get older, like a reminder to check location-sharing settings or share your iCloud Plus subscriptions.

With a faster chip, bigger screen, new design and better webcam, this new M2 MacBook from Apple is the biggest change to the Air line since its launch.

In the 14 years since the MacBook Air line launched, I’ve often described it as “the most universally useful laptop you can buy.” That’s because the Air has always attempted to hit a delicate balance between price, portability, ease of use and features. And since 2008, Apple has succeeded in nailing that formula more often than not.

Thanks to a new design, a larger display (13.6 inches versus the previous 13.3 inches), a faster M2 chip and a long-awaited upgrade to a higher-res webcam, I feel comfortable keeping that “universally useful” title for the new 2022 version of the MacBook Air, with one caveat. At $1,199, the $200 increase over the traditional $999 MacBook Air starting price is a disappointment. Note that we’re reviewing the step-up $1,499 configuration, which adds more GPU cores and more storage space (but still only includes 8GB of RAM).

The previous M1 Air, with an older design, remains available at $999, somewhat mitigating the price increase on the new version. But you’re inevitably going to be drawn to the new design and features. The latest MacBook Air represents the biggest overall change to the product line, arguably since 2008, but at least since 2018. That’s when the Air gained modern features like a higher-res screen and fingerprint reader. In 2020, the Air switched from Intel chips to Apple’s own M1 chips, but without a physical redesign.

One of the tech industry’s most influential device designers, who became famous for his work on iMacs, MacBooks, iPods and iPhones, is stepping away.

Apple’s former design chief, and a key executive who worked with co-founder Steve Jobs to save the company from bankruptcy and turn it into the titan of industry it is today, has reportedly parted ways with his former employer.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Ive and Apple have agreed to stop working together, citing two sources with knowledge of their contractual agreement.

The move comes three years after Ive stepped away from his role as Apple’s design leader to begin his own firm, LoveFrom. Back then, Ive said he felt the time was “right” for his departure, and said he hoped to keep working with the company for “many, many years to come.” Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

UK-based company Nothing has launched an Android phone it hopes will re-energise the smartphone market.

The distinctive-looking Nothing 1 has a translucent back featuring hundreds of light-emitting diode (LED) lights that function as notifications.

Nothing raised more than $144m (£122m) in funding to develop the handset.

Backers include iPhone designer Tony Fadell, YouTuber Casey Neistat, and gaming channel Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin.

Teething problems
Nothing 1’s creator, China-born Carl Pei, 32, who co-founded phone company OnePlus and is highly regarded in the smartphone industry, told BBC News he wanted to “make tech fun again” – for consumers and investors.

The company says it has received more than 200,000 requests for pre-orders of the £399 phone – about half the price of an average iPhone – manufactured in China and India.

The company also has ambitions to create a luxury product and Mr Pei says he hopes to collaborate with electric-car manufacturer Tesla.

Nothing has sold more than half a million units of its first product – wireless, noise-cancelling headphones Ear 1, launched in August – despite software teething problems.

‘Huge challenge’
But Nothing 1 – despite a fair amount of hype, not least because of the high-profile names behind it – has “a mountain to climb”, according to Ben Wood, from CCS Insight.

“The smartphone market is frighteningly competitive and is dominated by Apple and Samsung, who have incredible resources,” he said.

“The rest of the addressable market is a firefight between numerous Chinese manufacturers desperate to grab share, making it even harder for a new entrant to break into the segment.

“Add in the current macroeconomic situation and cost-of-living pressure, and it means being successful will be a huge challenge.”

Globally, smartphones sales were down 17% in May, compared with last year, according to CounterPoint Research.

There are a number of reasons for this:

people holding on to their devices for longer because of rising living costs
environmental concerns around e-waste
global chip shortage and supply-chain issues
“The big suppliers, they owe their bigger customers a lot of chips, they were really hesitant to bring in a new customer like us, a much smaller company,” Mr Pei said.

“We had to spend so much time finding different suppliers and pitching to them why the market needs somebody like us.”

All Apple Watches from the Series 4 onward will get the new update.

The Apple Watch is getting a major software update with WatchOS 9, adding in-depth running metrics, new watch faces and some clues to what we might see in the rumored Apple Watch Series 8. The WatchOS 9 public beta has just arrived along with iOS 16, which means we get to preview most of the new features ahead of the general release in the fall. That’s likely the same timeframe when we expect Apple to announce a new Apple Watch and the iPhone 14.

The WatchOS 9 public beta is now available for all Apple Watches from the Series 4 onward. You’ll need to have the iOS 16 public beta also installed on the iPhone. Both updates are a free download from Apple, however you should exercise caution with installing any beta software. Features are subject to change between now and the final release, plus there may be bugs or unstable elements. If you’re going to install the public beta, I strongly suggest backing up your Apple Watch and your iPhone. Here’s our full guide to how to install the beta.

All that said, there are plenty of reasons why I’m excited to test the public beta. I’ve used testing the developer beta for weeks to find some of the best new features coming to your Apple Watch, and I’ll update this article as I discover more in the public beta to share.

WatchOS 9 looks fresher and more like the iPhone
One of the first things I noticed after installing the public beta is how different notifications look on the Apple Watch. New banner notifications that look similar to the iPhone’s now appear at the top of your screen. Notifications no longer occupy the entirety of the screen when a text message or email arrives, unless your Watch is inactive or locked.

Siri also borrows some of the same look from the iPhone by having the icon appear at the bottom of the screen when you summon the virtual assistant. Also, I really like how you can swipe up to access the control center and now see the text size settings. Before, you’d have to pop into the Settings menu to change the font size.

Another small but welcome improvement is the battery widget, which you can add to the iOS 16 lock screen. Now you can easily see the battery level on the Apple Watch (or AirPods, if you have those connected) without unlocking your phone. It even reflects in real-time the charging status if you have the Watch on its charger.

New watch faces capitalize on the Apple Watch Series 7 screen
There are four new watch faces to choose from:

Metropolitan: A customizable clock face with complications and numbers that move in and out as you rotate the digital crown
Astronomy: Higher resolution than before, and you can now see changing cloud coverage updated hourly
Playtime: Just as the name describes, big bouncy numbers float around the screen and move as you tap the screen or rotate the crown
Lunar: Shows the lunar calendar when you rotate the crown
But my favorite is the portrait mode face, because it now works with pets (it didn’t on WatchOS 8). This is the watch face that takes portrait mode photos and lets you turn the digital crown to make your subject pop in and out of the screen, separated from the background. Existing watch faces like Activity Analog, Kaleidoscope and Numerals have been updated to support rich complications. That makes it easier to see details on the screen, particularly on larger displays like the Apple Watch Series 7’s.

WatchOS 9 boosts the workout app with more screens
A new multisport mode automatically lets you link together two or even three activities at a time, without manually needing to stop, restart or tack on another workout using the “add” feature. You might be competing in a triathlon, or just wanting to go for a run straight after jumping off your bike. WatchOS 9 will automatically detect when you start this new activity and switch between workout types as you go, hands-free.

Bloomberg reports one of the rumored editions of the Apple Watch Series 8 may be a “Pro” edition with a rugged finish and aimed towards extreme sports, so it makes sense to introduce a multisport feature on the new update.

More exciting for athletes like me who only take on one activity at a time are heart-rate zones. Your Apple Watch can now show you which heart-rate zone you’re in at any given moment during the workout. Based on your personal estimated maximum heart rate, you can get alerts when you enter into different zones. This can help give you an idea of how hard your heart is working during a cardio-based workout and if you’re hitting your max. All these zones are fully customizable and you can change them by going to Settings > Workout > Heart Rate Zones.

All the workout screens have also been revamped to show you even more stats as you scroll the digital crown, rather than the single screen from earlier WatchOS versions. Scroll down to see your activity rings for an idea of how you’re progressing during the workout. I also love that I can now see an elevation view in real time when doing an outdoor run, bike ride, walk or hike.

WatchOS 9 is built for runners
For the first time, the Apple Watch will be able to show you running form metrics in the workout app, including vertical oscillation, stride length, ground contact time and a running power metric. These also appear after your run in the Activity app on iPhone.

You can now create custom workouts by tapping the three dots before starting an activity, to set personalized distance and time goals that may be better suited for your training program. You’ll also see a new feature here too called Pacer. This lets you choose a distance and desired finishing time, then the watch will give you the pace you need to hit that goal and alert you along the way if you’re above or below that pace.

Improved dictation and app tweaks
I’m a heavy user of the Apple Watch’s dictation tool for sending messages since it automatically converts my voice to text. Now WatchOS 9 goes one step further by automatically inserting punctuation into your sentences as you speak. Rejoice! No more having to say “period” and “comma” or the awkward “question mark” to manually add your punctuation. This should be turned on by default, but if not, go to Settings > General > Dictation and turn on Auto Punctuation.

Some of the native apps have also had some usability tweaks, including the Calendar app that now lets you add events straight from the watch. You can also see a new week view. The Reminders app also lets you add and edit them from the watch, plus the Podcasts app lets you search, follow content, provide suggestions and download episodes to the watch.

Your iPhone can now control and mirror your Apple Watch
Just like how Assistive Touch on WatchOS 8 lets you control the watch by moving muscles in your hand and arm, Apple Watch Mirroring on WatchOS 9 is a game-changer for accessibility. It allows you to mirror the Apple Watch on the iPhone, so you can control every aspect of the watch by touching the larger iPhone screen. It even lets you use the digital crown and side button, too.

On the iPhone go to Settings > Accessibility > Apple Watch Mirroring. Now you’ll see a little emulation of your Apple Watch live on the phone. You can even use iPhone-specific features like voice control and switch control if you can’t tap the display.

These are just a few of my favorite new features in the WatchOS 9 public beta, but there are even more updates to explore including AFib history, improved sleep tracking that now shows sleep stages, plus reminders to take your pills using the new Medications app.