Pocket-lint - Features

Apple Watch ban: Everything you need to know

Igor Bonifacic — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 21:22:13 GMT

The once unthinkable has occurred: Apple is banned from selling not one but two different products over a patent dispute that dates back more than a decade. As of Jan. 17, 2024, the company is selling modified versions of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the US that do not include the blood oxygen monitoring functionality those wearables previously featured.

Samsung and Google Pay might be coming to the iPhone. Here's why

Adam Davidson — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 19:16:14 GMT

Apple is a global brand that sells its products and services worldwide. If you want to operate in certain markets, however, then you have to abide by their rules. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a European Union regulation that is intended to make the digital sector within Europe fairer and more competitive, and since Apple sells products within the EU, it has to abide by the Union's rules.

What is ANC? How the hotly contested headphone tech works

Adam Davidson — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 17:15:13 GMT

Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC, is the hotly contested feature most headphone spec sheets feature on the current market. Using the magic of audio science to produce an additional sound wave that can cancel out some of the noise of the outside world, ANC headphones or earbuds can help you completely block out external noises and lock into your Spotify Daylist or favorite podcast.

What is Apple AirPlay 2?

Britta O'Boyle — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:00:14 GMT

The iPhone is a capable handset only improving with each iteration and software update, but it's by no means a powerful speaker for bumping bass, loud listening, or watching movies. Its small screen is fine if you're trying to pass the time on a flight or casually watch, but if you want to properly enjoy a movie, TV show, or even a phone-recorded video, a bigger screen is the better fit.

How to clear iCloud storage: Free up space on iPhone and Mac

Hillary K. Grigonis — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 17:01:13 GMT

iCloud allows Apple devices to automatically sync files and create backups. But, with only 5GB of data included in the free plan, the iCloud Storage Full warning is a regular annoyance for many Apple users that don't subscribe to options like iCloud+. When the iCloud is out of storage space, devices are no longer backed up -- which could spell disaster if you happen to lose or damage your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

How to watch the Fast and Furious movies in chronological order

Britta O'Boyle — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 19:01:13 GMT

The Fast and Furious franchise has been around for over 20 years.

What is Google Circle to Search and how do you use it?

Dave LeClair — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 13:00:13 GMT

Samsung recently held its Galaxy Unpacked event. The company announced three brand-new Galaxy smartphones, but perhaps more exciting is the company's partnership with Google to bring more AI features to mobile devices. One such feature is called Circle to Search. It's designed to remove a step from the process of seeing something on your smartphone and typing a search query.

How to make images with ChatGPT: AI-generated art

Hillary K. Grigonis — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 12:01:13 GMT

ChatGPT, working with DALL-E, created the image above in under five minutes -- highlighting just a glimpse at what is possible with AI-generated art. While ChatGPT is primarily a chat-based artificial intelligence, recent integration with DALL-E allows subscribers to use the text-based program to generate images as well. But, while learning AI-generated art doesn't take the time and commitment of learning to wield a paintbrush, there is still a learning curve to understand how to use ChatGPT to create AI images.

Should you buy wired headphones in 2024

Adrian Sobolewski-Kiwerski — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 18:21:37 GMT

Over the last few years, listening to music has changed significantly. Many things contributed to that change, but one of the most significant developments was the meteoric rise of Bluetooth headphones. With Apple's still-controversial decision to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 came an avalanche of new products, and most of the competition followed suit and removed the port as well.

NVIDIA G-Sync vs AMD FreeSync: What's the difference?

Jacob Fox — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 11:01:13 GMT

Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync are two Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technologies that eliminate screen tearing while gaming by dynamically adapting your monitor's refresh rate to match the game's framerate. There's a history of back-and-forth between the two technologies, with Nvidia and AMD competing to outdo one another. These days, the differences between the two technologies are few and often small -- but not nonexistent.