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Google’s fast tablet is also a dockable home hub. Will Google commit to its tablet vision this time?

The world of Android tablets has been a weirdly up-and-down ride for the last decade or so. I remember Google’s fantastic little 7-inch Nexus tablet back in 2012. And Google’s considerably less successful Chromebook-meets-Android Pixel Slate, a sort of touchscreen laptop/tablet hybrid. That was Google’s previous tablet hardware entry.

The Pixel Tablet is a return to Android tablets for Google. But its competition never strayed. Samsung’s ongoing tablet series, for instance, and Amazon’s Fire tablets (which can sideload the Google Play store and are very affordable). Google’s new Pixel Tablet is hopefully a return to excellent Android tablet software and features, too: The $499 Pixel Tablet feels like a really good iPad alternative for Google ecosystem people. Google also took a unique approach by making it a dockable home hub, something Apple should steal someday for its iPad lineup.

There are only two gripes I have: this Pixel Tablet, while fast-performing and really nicely built, doesn’t have a Google keyboard case at launch, nor any stylus option. This is more of a sharable tablet for the home and family than a get-work-done tablet, although you could absolutely bring your own accessories and make it what you want.

At $499 (£599, AU$899), this Pixel isn’t a budget tablet and if you want to add more storage beyond the base model’s 128GB, the 256GB version is $100 more. Add another $80 for Google’s Pixel Tablet protective case. It’s a more expensive package than Apple’s entry-level iPad. But if you’re looking for a more premium Android tablet for families than Amazon’s Fire options or Samsung’s Tab A-series, this looks like the best bet.

Design: Clean and comfy
Google’s Pixel Tablet has an iPad-like feel, with a nearly 11-inch display and a smooth aluminum case. At a bit over a pound, it’s comfortable enough to hold but leans toward the heavier side with its case on.

The screen resolution — 2,560×1,600 pixels — gives you a crisp picture, and bright, too. The side speakers are good enough on their own but not as great as what the speaker dock provides (as you might expect).

There’s no headphone jack, so you’ll need USB-C headphones or an adapter, or go Bluetooth. There is a fast-acting fingerprint sensor in the power button that unlocks the Pixel Tablet as fast as a Pixel phone. Overall, it’s what I’d want from a tablet, and it looks really good when docked. The whole design ends up feeling like a larger Google Nest Hub, or a smart picture frame.

Google’s expensive case (there are also cheaper third-party options) is pretty great, too, with a soft finish and protective edges, and a metal, ringlike kickstand that adjusts to any angle and still docks in the speaker hub. It’s not a keyboard case, but you could add your own Bluetooth keyboard for desk typing.

The dock is great
Google includes a dock the Pixel Tablet magnetically attaches to that charges and acts as a stand so that the tablet can be a home picture frame, or smart home interface, or a connected speaker/display with YouTube benefits or whatever else you might need. The speaker-equipped dock has a fabric covering much like Google’s other home products and is small enough to pack easily for travel. Its speakers sound boomy for playing music indoors, too.

Snapping the tablet on and off the dock is relatively easy, although sometimes it’s a little hard to locate the magnetic pins, and pulling the tablet off the dock can sometimes result in pulling the lightweight dock with it. The dock charge plug and cable are also proprietary, not USB-C. The Pixel Tablet does have a USB-C port for charging, but you’ll need that specific dock cable to plug it into your home, and the cable length isn’t exactly long.

The Pixel Tablet supports casting audio from another device to the tablet when it’s connected, but the speaker dock won’t work when the Tablet isn’t mounted on it and has no Bluetooth. That’s a bit of a bummer if someone wants to use the speaker while someone else uses the tablet.

Performance and software: Speedy and improved, mostly
The Google Tensor G2 chip, similar to what’s on the most recent Pixel phones, is zippy in the tablet and generally runs well. There were a few moments where apps seemed to glitch a bit in split-screen multitasking, but that could also be due to this being a prerelease device running early software.

Google’s renewed attention to tablet software shows, with multitasking that feels like Apple’s iPadOS; apps can be easily dragged up from an app taskbar into another window, and two apps at once can be adjusted to fit on a few preset-size settings. Google’s also added a series of widgets that help customize information, which I sometimes found useful and at other times thought weren’t flexible enough.

Videos from another app, like YouTube, can pop up and hover in a small window over these split windows, too. It feels great to work in these modes, although not all apps work for the Pixel Tablet yet. Google focused on optimizing a bunch of popular apps and also its own core apps first, but hopefully more will come. There are also some Google Play apps that don’t run at all yet on the Pixel Tablet, including Geekbench, which we use for testing tablets for performance comparisons.

The Tensor G2 pulls off some tricks Google has on its Pixel phones, too, notably Magic Eraser in the Photos app, which removes people or objects from shots. Dictation also works really well: I could see myself voice-typing a lot with the Pixel Tablet, even if I still miss a dedicated keyboard case (hint, hint). Google’s on-screen keyboard is fine, but I didn’t fall in love with it. I also found that a few multifinger swipe gestures got a little weird at times in apps like Google Earth. Some two-finger swipes and pinches, for instance, were not always recognized, but maybe a future software update can address that.

Nice camera
The front-facing 8-megapixel camera looked good for selfies and video chat, and looked sharper than my normal laptop-video-chat expectations. Google placed its camera on the long edge where it should be, much like Apple’s most recent 10th-gen iPad. It means this tablet can be used easily for video chat when docked. But, a subject-tracking, autoframing feature didn’t seem to work on my review unit, and video quality looked better for the moment with Google Meet than in Zoom.

Google makes extra accounts pretty easy
One other advantage of Google tablets over iPads is account-swapping. Much like a Chromebook, you can add extra accounts and switch over to others easily enough here, even entering a guest mode or a kid mode. This underlines the family-sharing concept that’s at this tablet’s core, and I like it. I could easily see the Pixel Tablet being a casual grab-a-tablet option in a living room where someone could just pick it up as needed and check a few things, watch a video or play a game.

I miss Google’s work focus on the Slate, though
I miss some of the ideas Google was going for on its previous Slate tablet, which was more of a Chromebook with Android benefits. The Pixel Slate made a keyboard and trackpad one of its big included features. This time, the Android-focused Pixel Tablet has gone the other way, toward a sharable, video-and-game-playing, app-browsing tablet, but without any great ideas for how to add a keyboard or access to ChromeOS-type features in a new, helpful way. Anyone who wants a Chromebook will still want to get a Chromebook — or a laptop. You could add a keyboard here, or a stylus, but your mileage won’t be any different than on another Android tablet. Plus, with other options from Samsung, OnePlus and Amazon, keyboard accessories are already there — or even included.

Yes, it could be a home hub, too
I didn’t test the smart home features of this tablet, but you can connect Google Home devices and services just like you’d do on a Nest Hub. That’s the Pixel Tablet’s greatest success as a device, and where Google pivoted this time with its design. Voice response via its microphones was fast, and I was able to play music, ask questions, play audiobooks and launch YouTube videos quickly with voice commands. Once my kids realized this thing could play videos, they gathered around it like a small TV. It could be a great kitchen option, especially since the tablet hovers when in the dock (avoiding contact with counter surfaces). The dock angle won’t adjust beyond its slightly elevated angle, but I found it easy enough to glance at when on a table or counter.

A great start for Google’s return to tablets
Don’t stop, Google: Keep building off the Pixel Tablet, add a keyboard case, and maybe lower the price a bit — with a case and the 256GB storage option, which costs an extra $100, you’re suddenly pushing towards $700. But this is the Google tablet you’re probably looking for, despite the price. The only question is whether Google commits to its software and performance over time. Google tends to suddenly change focus on product lines, especially its tablets. But the Pixel Tablet is a great addition to its device lineup and a perfect nonphone option. Keep it around, please.

This new-to-iPhone feature will arrive later this year. Here are all the details to know before then.

Losing cell signal while trying to use your GPS in the middle of nowhere can be super stressful. But worry no more. The iOS 17 update will let you use the Apple Maps app offline, assuming you have a compatible iPhone. This much-anticipated feature has been available on Google Maps for years and will finally be available for iPhone users later this year.

This isn’t the only update coming with Apple’s newest software, which the company announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. Electric vehicle owners will also soon be able to see real-time charging availability via Apple Maps.

How do offline maps work?
The iPhone is getting offline maps for its Maps app this year. That means you’ll be able to access any map you’ve downloaded, even if you don’t have Wi-Fi or a cell signal. For instance, if you’re going on a trip, you can download the route and access it without using cellular data. This is helpful if you’re low on data or if your route takes you through an area with little to no signal that would cause the Maps app to stop navigating correctly, potentially causing you to veer off course.

What can you do with Apple Maps offline?
When iOS 17 becomes available later this year, you’ll be able to download designated areas and access turn-by-turn navigation while using Maps offline. Also, you’ll be able to see your estimated time of arrival and find places in Maps, among other things.

When will iPhone’s offline maps be available?
Offline maps will be available on iPhone with the launch of iOS 17, which is coming this fall. (It usually arrives in late September with the new iPhone.) You’ll want to make sure your iPhone is compatible with Apple’s latest software. If it isn’t, you won’t have access to this new feature.

What else is changing with Apple Maps?
Maps will make it easier to find thousands of trails in parks across the US. The app will also support drivers of electric vehicles with real-time charging availability information. This can be filtered by charging network and plug type, among other things. EV owners with compatible vehicles will also be able to designate a preferred charging network.

What else did Apple announce at WWDC? The company unveiled MacOS Sonoma, as well as the new 15-inch MacBook Air and the Vision Pro VR headset. Apple showed off a feature that will let you turn your photos into stickers with its Messages app in iOS 17. Also, changes are coming to the autocorrect feature in iOS 17, and Apple unveiled iPadOS 17 and WatchOS 10.

A new passcode grace period, offline mode for maps and more are expected to come to your iPhone in the fall.

Apple announced a number of new software updates at its Worldwide Developers Conference, including the iPhone’s next software version, iOS 17. While the software brings a lot of new and exciting features to your iPhone, Apple said it won’t be available to the general public until the fall.

I switched to iOS from Android about a decade ago, and I’ve been testing iOS 16 betas since last year. While iOS 17 doesn’t fulfill all my iOS wishes, it has some new features that I’m really looking forward to.

Here are the cool and useful new iPhone features I’m most excited about in iOS 17.

StandBy mode

With iOS 17, you get a new mode called StandBy. If you enable this mode on your iPhone while it’s charging and in landscape mode, your phone can act as a smart display. It will be able to display the time, widgets, Live Activities and more in this mode.

This feature is helpful, especially if you charge your phone in your kitchen while you cook or on your bedside table at night, but it won’t work for all iPhones. Right now, only the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max can use this feature effectively because of these models’ always-on display. Earlier iOS 17-compatible iPhones can use StandBy mode, but your screen will turn off at a certain point.

72-hour passcode grace period
Have you ever changed your passcode, and forgotten what it is later when trying to log into your device? In iOS 17, your old passcode can be used for 72 hours to reset your new passcode in case you forget what you set it as. This new feature will surely save people — myself included — a big headache.

Autocorrect gets an improvement
Your iPhone’s keyboard in iOS 17 will get an upgrade. The keyboard will use a transformer model, similar to what OpenAI uses in its language models, so it’ll better predict what you’ll type next, whether that’s a name or a curse word. Autocorrect will also be able to help with grammar, similar to word processing software like Microsoft Word.

While this is all very cool and helpful, my big takeaway is I won’t have to retype swear words multiple times in order to get them to stay in a message. I’ve probably wasted entire days of my life correcting words like “duck” and “shot” back to my intended curse, so I’m excited to save myself that time.

New Journal app
Journaling can help you manage stress, achieve your goals and more, and your iPhone will get a new journaling app, called Journal, later this year with iOS 17. Other journaling apps are out there already, but Apple’s will use on-device machine learning to create personalized prompts to help you out. You’ll also be able to schedule notifications to remind yourself to write. The app keeps all entries private with on-device processing, end-to-end encryption and the ability to lock the app.

New Messages improvements and features
Messages gets some upgrades with iOS 17, too. The new Check In feature, for example, lets you quickly and easily tell a family member or friend that you made it to your destination. And if you’re a parent you can use this new feature to make sure your child made it safely to their friend’s house.

You will also be able to jump to the first message you haven’t seen in a conversation in Messages with iOS 17. This can be especially helpful if you’re in a lively group chat. Imagine you go into an hour-long meeting and come out to find the group chat you’re in with your friends has 50 notifications. With iOS 17 you can go back to the first unread message and read all the context of the latest drama. After all, no one likes spoiled tea.

And if you want to reply to a specific message in Messages, you can also swipe on that message to reply to it directly. Before you had to long hold on the message and select Reply.

You can also create stickers for messages from your photos. Apple calls these Live Stickers, and you’ll be able to add effects to these stickers and save them in your iPhone for quick access later. Now you can make your pet’s side-eye into a fun sticker — your pet will probably still be annoyed.

New Contact Posters

A fun new feature that iOS 17 brings to your iPhone is Contact Posters. Think of these posters as highly customizable contact cards. On previous iOS versions, you could differentiate contacts with their own ringtones and thumbnail photos on your phone. Contact Posters takes this further, letting you customize contacts with emoji pictures, editing the color and font of contacts and more.

Apple also said Contact Posters will be available for third-party calling apps, not just your iPhone’s contacts.

This feature feels like the integration of Apple’s customizable lock screens with Contacts, and it makes me think Apple will one day let you customize other apps and features on your iPhone. Hopefully Apple will continue to give people more customization options in the future, like letting you edit the display, color and font for different chats in Messages.

Delete password verification messages automatically
In iOS 17, if you go to Settings > Passwords > Password Options, there is a new option called Clean Up Automatically under Verification Codes. If enabled, this option will automatically delete messages in Messages and Mail that contain verification codes after you’ve inserted the code using AutoFill.

I like to keep my messages and email tidy, and this feature will surely help me in that pursuit. When I open Messages or Mail I want to see messages from my friends and family, not random messages filled with code.

Make a grocery list in Reminders
To access this feature you have to upgrade your Reminders app after upgrading to iOS 17. The app will prompt you to upgrade when you open it the first time after downloading iOS 17. Afterward, there are a few steps to make a grocery list.

1. Open a new reminder.
2. Tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Tap List Info.
4. Tap Standard next to List Type to select Groceries.

Once enabled, Reminders will automatically separate different grocery items into sections like Produce and Breads & Cereals.

I usually use Notes to make a grocery list, and it works fine. But my list is typically a jumbled mess that doesn’t adhere to rhyme or reason, which means I backtrack through the store to grab something I forgot about. This feature should make it easier to keep track of what I need from certain sections of the store, saving me the time and frustration of walking through the store two or three times.

Conversation Awareness on AirPods
The second-generation AirPods Pro are getting a few new upgrades with iOS 17, like Adaptive Audio and Personalized Volume, to give you a better listening experience, but Conversation Awareness is the new feature I’m most excited about.

With Conversation Awareness, second-generation AirPods Pro will recognize when you start talking, lower the volume of your music, reduce background noise and amplify the voices in front of you. No more fumbling with your AirPods or iPhone to turn down the volume to say “Hi” to someone.

This is another feature Apple will hopefully build and expand upon. A future version of this software might allow your AirPods to recognize when someone within a certain range is talking to you and lowers the volume automatically.

No more ‘Hey, Siri’

On iOS 17, you no longer have to greet Siri to activate it. With the update, you can just say “Siri” and the digital assistant will activate and listen for any questions or commands you might have, similar to how you can address Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa.

You can also still greet and be respectful to your digital assistant; that way if there’s a robotic uprising in the future, the robots might leave you alone because you were nice to their great-grandparent, Siri. I know what I’m picking.

Back-to-back Siri requests
You’ll also be able to ask Siri back-to-back requests with iOS 17. So once you activate Siri, you can ask your digital assistant to send a text to your partner, then ask Siri to set an alarm for later without having to say “Hey Siri” or “Siri” again.

This will make talking with Siri feel more conversational, and for me, it’ll help me keep my train of thought when I’m asking for Siri’s help.

AirTags can be shared with more people
AirTags are a good way to keep track of personal items, like your wallet or luggage. With iOS 17, AirTags can be registered with more than one person, making it easier for friends and family to keep track of items. The update also allows multiple people to use the same item, like a piece of luggage, without changing trackers.

The new feature can also cut back on some minor AirTag annoyances. If you’re with someone who carries an AirTag with them, you’ll receive a notification that an unknown AirTag is traveling with you. While these notifications can help people guard against unwanted tracking, receiving these warnings can be tedious if the AirTag belongs to your partner or a friend.

The Maps app gets a boost
Apple’s Maps app is getting an upgrade with iOS 17. With the update, you’ll be able to download a map for a specific area, access turn-by-turn navigation, see estimated times of arrival and more while offline. Apple also said park trails in the US will be easier to find and EV drivers will be able to see charging station availability within the app.

Being able to use Maps offline can be very helpful if you’re a hiker and hiking an unknown trail, or if you’re visiting or driving through a remote area. This new feature, as well as the iPhone 14’s Emergency SOS via Satellite and the Apple Watch Ultra, makes it feel like Apple is making a push to make products for all your home, office and outdoor digital needs.

Sharing is easier with AirDrop and NameDrop
With iOS 17, you’ll be able to share content more easily with others using Airdrop and a new functionality called NameDrop.

With the next iOS version, you won’t need to stay in range of another person to finish sharing content with them via AirDrop. If you’re AirDropping a lot of files and it’s taking a while, as long as you started the process within range, you don’t have to stay in range for the transfer to finish. You’ll also be able to start listening to music or watch a video with others via SharePlay by bringing your iPhones together.

NameDrop is a new functionality that lets you share contact information with another person by bringing your iPhone or Apple Watch close to their device.

Sensitive content warnings
This new iOS 17 feature is meant to help protect you from any unwanted nude images or videos you might run across. You can blur those images or videos before you view them, and this feature will be available in Messages, AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime messages and third‑party apps, according to Apple.

Looks like some guys on dating apps will have to figure out how words work and not just send unsolicited nudes to people.

Apple released iOS 17 to developers Monday, and beta testers will be able to download a beta version of the software in July — here’s how you can sign up to be an iOS beta tester. Apple plans on releasing iOS 17 to the general public in the fall.

Here’s why Apple and its competitors are using a highly specialized version of OLED for virtual reality.

At WWDC 2023, Apple announced the Vision Pro, an AR/VR headset that offers an impressive amount of technology, and an equally imposing $3,499 price tag. One of the things that helps the Vision Pro stand out from cheaper products from Valve and Meta is the use of a new type of display called micro-OLED. More than just a rebranding by the marketing experts at Apple, micro-OLED is a variation on the screen technology that’s become a staple of best TV lists over the last few years.

Micro-OLED’s main difference from “traditional” OLED is right in the name. Featuring far smaller pixels, micro-OLED has the potential for much, much higher resolutions than traditional OLED: think 4K TV resolutions on chips the size of postage stamps. Until recently, the technology has been used in things like electronic viewfinders in cameras, but the latest versions are larger and even higher resolution, making them perfect for AR and VR headsets.

Here’s an in-depth look at this tech and where it could be used in the future.

What’s OLED?
OLED stands for organic light-emitting diode. The term “organic” means the chemicals that help the OLED create light incorporate the element carbon. The specific chemicals beyond that don’t matter much, at least to us end users, but suffice it to say when they’re supplied with a bit of energy, they create light.

The benefit of OLED in general is that it creates its own light. So unlike LED LCD TVs, which currently make up the rest of the TV market, each pixel can be turned on and off. When off, they emit no light. You can’t make an LED LCD pixel totally dark unless you turn off the backlight altogether, and this means OLED’s contrast ratio, or the difference between the brightest and darkest part of an image, is basically infinite in comparison.

OLED TVs, almost all manufactured by LG, have been on the market for several years. Meanwhile, Samsung Display has recently introduced OLED TVs that also feature quantum dots (QD-OLED), which offer even higher brightness and potentially greater color. These QD-OLEDs are sold by Samsung, Sony, and, in computer monitor form, Alienware.

Micro-OLED, aka OLED on Silicon

Micro-OLED, also known as OLEDoS and OLED microdisplays, is one of the rare cases where the tech is exactly as it sounds: tiny OLED “micro” displays. In this case, not only are the pixels themselves smaller, but the entire “panels” are smaller. This is possible thanks to advancements in manufacturing, including mounting the display-making segments in each pixel directly to a silicone chip. This enables pixels to be much, much smaller.

If we take a look at Apple’s claims, we can estimate how small these pixels really are. Firstly, Apple says the twin displays in the Vision Pro include “More pixels than a 4K TV. For each eye” or “23 million pixels.” A 4K TV is 3,840×2,160, or 8,294,400 pixels, so that should equate to around 11,500,000 pixels per eye for the Apple screens.

Next, Apple partnered with Sony (or maybe TSMC) to create these micro-OLED displays and they are approximately 1 inch in size. To calculate the size of each pixel I’m going to use 32-inch 4K TVs as a comparison, and these boast about 138 pixels per inch. We don’t know the aspect ratio of the chips in the Vision Pro, but if they’re a square 3,400×3,400-pixel resolution that would be a total of 11,560,000 pixels, so that’s a safe bet. So, if that’s the case, these displays have a ppi of around 4,808(!) and that’s more than almost anything else on the market, and that’s by a lot. Even the high-resolution OLED screen on the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a ppi of “only” 500. Regardless of the panel’s production aspect ratio, the ppi is going to be impressive. Apple didn’t respond immediately to CNET’s request for clarification.

AR and VR microdisplays are so close to your eyes that they need to be extremely high performance in order to be realistic. They need extreme resolution so you don’t see the pixels, they need high contrast ratios so they look realistic, and they need high frame rates to minimize the chance of motion blur and motion sickness. In addition, being in portable devices means they need to be able to do all that with low power consumption. Micro-OLED seems able to do all of these, but at a cost. Literally a cost. The Vision Pro is the most high-profile use of the high-end of the technology and it costs $3,499.

Micro-OLED technology isn’t particularly new, having been available in some form for over a decade. Sony has been using them in camera viewfinders for several years, as have Canon and Nikon. Like all display techs, however, micro-OLED has evolved quite a bit over the years. The displays in the Vision Pro, for instance, are huge and very high resolution for a micro-OLED display.

How is micro-OLED different from MicroLED? Despite the fact that they’re written slightly differently, they are superficially similar in the way they are both self-emitting, or can make their own light. But on a more in-depth level, the differences between the carbon-based OLED and the non-carbon LED are sadly beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say right now, MicroLED is better suited for large, wall-sized displays using individual pixels made up of LEDs. Micro-OLED is better suited for tiny, high-resolution displays. This isn’t to say that MicroLED can’t be used in smaller displays, and we’ll likely see some eventually. But for now they’re different tools for different uses.

Where else will we see micro-OLED? At MWC 2023, Xiaomi announced its AR Glass Discovery Edition featured the technology, and future high-end VR headsets from Meta, HTC and others will likely use it. Currently, a company named Engo is using a tiny micro-OLED projector to display speed and other data on the inside of its AR sunglasses. I know I sure don’t need these, but I want them. Then there’s the many mirrorless and other cameras that have been using micro-OLED viewfinders for years.

Could we see ultra-ultra-ultra high-resolution TVs with this new technology? Technically, it’s possible but highly unlikely. Macro micro-OLED is just OLED. The resolutions possible using more traditional OLED manufacturing are more than enough for a display that’s 10 feet from your eyeballs. However, it’s possible micro-OLED might find its way into wearables and other portable devices where its size, resolution and efficiency will be an asset. That’s likely why LG, Samsung Display, Sony and others are all working on micro-OLED.

Will ultra-thin, ultra-high resolution micro-OLED displays compete in a market with ultra-thin, ultra-high resolution nanoLED? Could be. We shall see.

As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines and a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.

Samsung’s next-gen foldable phones will reportedly eliminate the gap between their screens when folded.

New images purportedly showing off the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 show the foldable phones may lie flat when folded, thanks to a rumored hinge redesign on the devices.

The leaks came from tech site MySmartPrice on Thursday, which said it received the images from an anonymous source. The Z Fold 5 image shows the two halves of the screen sitting flush parallel while folded.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is rumored to only have minor updates from the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but a hinge redesign has been heavily predicted in order to reduce the device’s thickness and eliminate the gap when the previous device was folded closed.

Samsung could be announcing both phones next month during its Galaxy Unpacked event, which it’s holding in its home country of South Korea for the first time. Samsung has said it will unveil the next generation of its foldable phones at the event in Seoul in late July.

Apple’s upcoming update to its iPhone operating system will leave some older models behind.

At the Apple WWDC event on June 5, the company announced many of the new features planned for iOS 17, its next version of the iPhone operating system. Apple will be adding a new Standby mode, a Journal app and a major update to Messages.

However, not all iPhone users will be able to use iOS 17. As with all of the major Apple software updates, some older iPhone models are getting left behind, including the iPhone X from 2017.

Read more: Don’t Install the iOS 17 Developer Beta on Your iPhone

If you’re not sure which iPhone you’ve got, a quick check in your settings can show you. Open your Settings app and tap General > About. Next to Model Name, you’ll see which iPhone you have.

We’ll tell you how to find out whether your iPhone will be compatible with iOS 17. If you’d like to try out the iOS 17 beta, the public beta will be available in July. Also, check out our list of best iPhones to discover if there’s a newer model that might work for you.

More from WWDC 2023
WWDC 2023 Recap: Vision Pro Headset, iOS 17 and Everything Else Apple Announced
Vision Pro: Apple Unwraps the Mixed Reality Headset
Apple’s iOS 17 Sees Major Updates to Journal, FaceTime and More

iPhones that are compatible with iOS 17
If you’ve got one of these iPhones, you’ll have access to iOS 17 when it’s available this year, Apple said.

iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone SE (second generation and later)
iPhone 14 (including Plus)
iPhone 14 Pro

What if your iPhone isn’t on the compatibility list?
If your iPhone isn’t listed above, it won’t support iOS 17 and you won’t get a notification to download the newest software. For instance, if you have an iPhone X or older, the latest software you’ll ever be able to use on that phone is iOS 16.

For more about WWDC, check out the new 15-inch MacBook Air and Vision Pro. Also, new features are coming to WatchOS this year.

Try clearing your cache every month for the best results.

Your iPhone is a handy pocket computer that lets you take the internet virtually anywhere you go, and just like every other piece of tech, it benefits from a little routine maintenance. Even browsing on the latest iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models might start to feel sluggish over time. Keep your iPhone’s browsers moving as fast as possible by clearing your cache every month — it only takes a few seconds.

Whether you use Chrome, Safari or other browsers on your iPhone, your cache builds up digital clutter over time. Clearing your cache gives the browser a new start, which can speed up your web surfing, even on iOS 16.4. (And if you’re trying to get your phone to run faster, try managing your iPhone’s storage.)

CNET Tech Tips logo
Your browser cache acts like a digital shortcut — it stores website data so your browser has a head start the next time you load up that page. In the short term, that helps speed up the process. But over time, the data stored in your cache can become outdated and no longer match what the site actually needs. If that happens, pages will load slower, and the formatting might be wrong.

That’s why clearing your cache can help: It gives sites a fresh start in your browser and frees up some space in your storage.

Website cookies are similar, except they store information about user data, rather than data on the website itself. Clearing your cookies gives you a chance to reset those preferences, which could improve your browsing experience. Note that clearing your cache and cookies will log you out of sites, which means you’ll have to log into them again and reset any preferences. But the upfront investment of that time can lead to a smoother experience down the road, and it can be a useful fix if you’ve recently changed settings that aren’t being applied properly.

Here are step-by-step guides on how to clear your cache on your iPhone based on the browser you use.

How to clear your iPhone cache in Safari
Safari is the default browser on iPhones, and you can clear your Safari cache in a few short steps. Starting with iOS 11, following this process will affect all devices signed in to your iCloud account. As a result, all your devices’ caches will be cleared, and you’ll need to sign in to everything the next time you use them. Here’s what to do.

1.Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

1. Select Safari from the list of apps.
2. Go to Clear History and Website Data.
3. Choose Clear History and Data in the pop-up box.

Then you’re set!

Read more:Best iPhone in 2023: Which Apple Phone Should You Buy?

How to clear your iPhone cache in Chrome

Chrome is another popular browser for iPhone users. The overall process for clearing your Chrome cache requires a few more steps, and you’ll need to do things through the Chrome browser itself. Here’s how.

1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Select the three dots in the bottom right to open more options.
3. Scroll across the top and select Settings.
4. Select Privacy and Security in the next menu.
5. Then select Clear Browsing Data to open up one last menu.
6. Select the intended time range at the top of the menu (anywhere from Last Hour to All Time).

7.Make sure that Cookies, Site Data is selected, along with Cached Images and Files. Finally, hit Clear Browsing Data at the bottom of the screen.

Read more: This iPhone Setting Stops Ads From Following You Across the Web

How to clear your iPhone cache in Firefox
If you’re a Firefox devotee, don’t worry. Clearing the cache on your iPhone is pretty straightforward. Just follow these steps.

1. Click the hamburger menu in the bottom right corner to open up options.
2. Choose Settings at the bottom of the menu.
3. Select Data Management in the Privacy section.
4. You can select Website Data to clear data for individual sites, or select Clear Private Data at the bottom of the screen to clear data from all selected fields.

Read more: Experiencing Slow Wi-Fi? It Could Be Caused by Internet Throttling. Here’s How to Tell

What happens when you clear the cache?
Clearing your cache removes the website data your phone stored locally to prevent having to download that data upon each new visit. The data in your cache builds over time and can end up slowing things down if it becomes too bulky or out of date. (My phone had about 150MB of data stored in Chrome when I checked.) Clearing that data gives sites a fresh start, which may fix some loading errors and speed up your browser. However, clearing your cache also signs you out of pages, so be prepared to sign in to everything again.

How often do I need to clear my cache?
Most people only need to clear their caches once every month or two. That’s generally the point when your browser will build up a cache large enough to start slowing things down. If you frequent a large number of sites, you should err on the side of clearing your cache more often.

For more, check out how to download iOS 16 today, the best new iOS 16.3 features and some hidden iOS 16 features. You can also take a look at how each new iPhone 14 model compares to the others.

The next phone from Nothing will be unveiled in July.

Nothing Phone 2, the next version of Nothing’s phone, will launch July 11, the company said in a teaser posted Tuesday on Twitter. The teaser invites people to “come to the bright side” and points to Nothing’s website.

The Nothing Phone 2 is expected to be a more high-end phone than the first version. Nothing has already confirmed it’ll include Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.

The phone brand, which was launched by OnePlus founder Carl Pei in 2020, is relatively new to the market but has already gained attention for its affordable price and design. Pei tweeted Tuesday that the next operating system, Nothing OS 2.0, will also be launching to Nothing Phone 1 users by the end of August.

CNET’s Andrew Lanxon admired the Nothing Phone 1, a 5G device, for its “unique, flashy design” and “solid processor and camera performance.”

On the Nothing 1’s £399 price point, Lanxon said, “It’s a low price, but what you get is a phone that feels like a premium product.”

Will the Nothing Phone 2 be available in the US?
Unlike its predecessor, the Phone 2 will launch in the US alongside its release in the UK and Europe. There’s no word yet on what price point it will be offered at, or whether you’ll be able to get the phone through a carrier.

While the Nothing 1 did not launch in the US, you can get your hands on a beta of the company’s first phone for $299. However, CNET’s Mike Sorrentino said that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. The phone mainly supports 4G, limiting carrier compatibility, and some apps may not function properly with the beta.

If you’re looking for a new phone, here are CNET’s lists on the best phones you should buy right now and the best Android phones of 2023.

Will the iPhone 15 get a wireless charging upgrade? A look at the rumored new feature and other reports we’ve heard so far.

Even with the announcement of Apple’s new augmented reality headset, anticipation (and rumors) haven’t dampened for the fall release of Apple’s next iPhone, presumably called the iPhone 15. Those rumors, plus last year’s EU ruling mandating USB-C charging on phones sold within Europe, might mean a number of departures from Apple’s traditional design. Will the iPhone 15 have a USB-C port? Will Apple increase iPhone prices in 2023? Will it even be called the “iPhone 15”? No one outside of Apple knows for sure, but these reports will certainly feed our curiosity until Apple throws the next iPhone event (probably in September). Here are some of the biggest and most credible rumors we’ve seen so far, to paint a picture of what we may see from the iPhone 15.

iPhone 15: Wireless charging upgrade
According to a May report by ChargerLab, a power specialist website with a steady track record, all iPhone 15 models will support 15W wireless charging using the Qi2 open standard. If this turns out to be true, it’ll mean the iPhone 15 could open up a whole new world of wireless charging devices that can replenish the device at its full speed. Apple had previously limited open wireless charging standards to 7.5W, leaving the full 15W charge speed for Apple MagSafe licensed accessories.

iPhone 15 camera: Periscope-style telephoto lens arrives
Noted Apple observer Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities, forecasts that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will receive a periscope-style telephoto lens. This sort of telephoto lens allows for higher optical zoom levels, with Kuo forecasting a 6x optical zoom could arrive in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The optical zoom on the iPhone 14 Pro Max is limited to 3x, which lags rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom. This rumor was recently bolstered by well-known leak source and Twitter user Unknownz21, who stated that the Pro Max model will come with the special lens.

Read more: iPhone 14 Pro Cameras Are a Major Upgrade

iPhone 15 design: Hello USB-C, goodbye Lightning
This one has been in the rumor mill for years now, but in 2023 the switch from a Lightning Port to a USB-C port could finally happen. That’s possibly due to pressure from the European Union, which has been pushing for a common charging standard for years. In 2022, the bloc managed to pass legislation requiring Apple to equip its iPhones with USB-C ports by 2024 if it wants to sell them in the EU.

The question is whether Apple will switch all iPhone models to USB-C or just those sold in the EU. Apple already modifies iPhone models regionally, as it has done with the iPhone 14: The US version has an electronic SIM, while other variants retain the SIM slot. However, there are good reasons to move all iPhones to USB-C moving forward, according to Avi Greengart, analyst at Techsponential.

“There are larger ecosystem, security, and accessory considerations with the power/data connector, so I think it is more likely that Apple moves all iPhones [globally] to USB-C in the iPhone 16 timeframe to comply with European regulations,” he told CNET in an email.

Read more: Your Next iPhone Will Probably Need a Different Charging Cable

iPhone 15 design: Dynamic Island expands to all models
Apple is likely to continue selling four iPhone models with the iPhone 15 lineup. Rumors point to a generally similar design across the board, except that the iPhone 14 Pro’s shape-shifting cutout, known as Dynamic Island, is set to make its way across all models.

That rumor comes from display analyst Ross Young, who also said in a September tweet that he’s not expecting base iPhone 15 models to have a higher refresh rate like Apple’s Pro iPhones because the supply chain can’t support it.

iPhone 15: Solid-state buttons come to pro iPhone 15 models
Yet another Kuo prediction has been making the rounds, but this time the analyst expects Apple to differentiate further between its base and Pro models in the coming years. One way he’s expecting that to happen is by giving the iPhone 15 Pro models solid-state volume and power buttons instead of the standard keys present on today’s devices, he wrote in a tweet in October.

The solid-state buttons, which Kuo says will be similar to the home button found on the iPhone SE and iPhone 7, mimic the tactile feel of pressing a button with the help of haptic feedback. The apparent advantage of this type of button is that it also protects against water getting in.

iPhone 15 Power: Increased RAM for pro models
According to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, Pro models of the iPhone 15 lineup will get a bump up in RAM to 8GB from 6GB to complement the anticipated A17 Bionic chipset. Base models will continue to receive 6GB RAM, according to TrendForce. This rumor is also apparently backed up by a research report from analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities, according to a MacRumors article, which referenced Pu’s report.

iPhone 15 Power: Increased RAM for pro models
According to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce, Pro models of the iPhone 15 lineup will get a bump up in RAM to 8GB from 6GB to complement the anticipated A17 Bionic chipset. Base models will continue to receive 6GB RAM, according to TrendForce. This rumor is also apparently backed up by a research report from analyst Jeff Pu of Haitong International Securities, according to a MacRumors article, which referenced Pu’s report.

Apple’s latest software won’t work with every iPhone.

Apple’s latest software is coming to iPhones this fall, and many exciting changes are coming with it. Apple previewed iOS 17 at its WWDC event on June 5, noting that it’ll be available to download this fall, but not all iPhone users will have access. As with all of the major Apple software updates, several iPhones are getting left behind, including the iPhone X from 2017.

If you’re not sure which iPhone you’ve got, a quick check in your settings can show you. Open your Settings app and tap General > About. Next to Model Name, you’ll see which iPhone you have.

We’ll tell you how to find out whether your iPhone will be compatible with iOS 17. If you’d like to try out the iOS 17 beta, the public beta will be available in July. Want to know more about iOS 17? Apple will turn your photos into stickers with Messages.

More from WWDC 2023
WWDC 2023 Recap: Vision Pro Headset, iOS 17 and Everything Else Apple Announced
Vision Pro: Apple Unwraps the Mixed Reality Headset
Apple’s iOS 17 Sees Major Updates to Journal, FaceTime and More

iPhones that are compatible with iOS 17
If you’ve got one of these iPhones, you’ll have access to iOS 17 when it’s available this year, Apple said.

iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone SE (second generation and later)
iPhone 14 (including Plus)
iPhone 14 Pro
What if your iPhone isn’t on the compatibility list?
If your iPhone isn’t listed above, it won’t support iOS 17 and you won’t get a notification to download the newest software. For instance, if you have an iPhone X or older, the latest software you’ll ever be able to use on that phone is iOS 16.

For more about WWDC, check out the new 15-inch MacBook Air and Vision Pro. Also, new features are coming to WatchOS this year.