Treski explained that the ANC setup, or the third generation of Adaptive EQ as he described it, is constantly managing and adjusting any equalizers for both active noise cancellation and audio quality at the same time – and in real time. So in addition to the revised shape, the acoustic architecture of the AirPods 4 is also instrumental in providing effective ANC on the open earbuds.
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The new shape for the AirPods 4 also provided an opportunity to improve overall sound quality on the earbuds. The front end of the buds, which Bergeron revealed the team calls the “snorkel,” is very different from the AirPods 3. Since the previous model was more open, she said, the engineers had more freedom to operate. With the new version, the driver had to be adjusted so that it didn’t reflect sound to the internal microphone that monitors noise inside your ear. That’s why the drivers are now pointed down your ear canal, and why they’re slightly recessed.
Let’s say you’re listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.” The challenge is ensuring that the anti-noise signal filters out the background noise without messing with the song or diminishing its sound quality.
However, the AirPods team managed to dodge this issue with the help of "algorithms and filtering," Treski said, as well as the H2 chip — the processor that the new AirPods 4 earbuds adopted from the AirPods Pro lineup.
Given Apple’s thirst for breakneck change, it’s notable how much of the original Watch remains today in the Series 10. Its rectangular form, soft corners and lozenge section are all still in place, while the San Francisco typeface that was originally designed for Watch is now used in every Apple product and most of the company’s marketing. “We have this real obsession about trying to reflect our love for materiality and traditional horology and so the romance in it is the idea that it's a single piece of metal,” says Anderson. Even some of the Watch’s wild initial concepts – such as the 18-karat gold model worn by Beyoncé – continue to inform its makeup through the refreshed links bracelet and a new titanium colourway.
How do you build one single camera that can please everyone, all the time? Apple’s thesis is, apparently, to make everyone else do the work. The standard mode will do what the iPhone has leaned into for years — boosting shadows, smoothing out skin tones, aiming for a middle ground that increasingly pleases nobody. But if you want more or less, warmer or cooler, flatter or contrastier, the tools are in your hands now.
That’s an entirely reasonable answer, but it puts a lot of work on the individual to sort it all out. It’s not exactly intuitive, either, and as a result, I think a lot of people will give up trying to figure it out. This might be the best, most personal camera Apple’s ever made, but most people probably won’t experience it like that — and that’s a real shame.
This isn’t the biggest iOS update for power users we’ve seen, but it’s nice to see some more functionality and efficiency being added to the operating system in addition to new Messages features, emojis, and other things with broader appeal.
As a certified jack of all trades, where my freelance work ranges from writing, producing, pet-sitting, and fashion consigning, it goes without saying that notes and to-do lists are essential to keep my life organized. And while I love the simplicity of Apple Notes, it's easy for things to get lost when it comes to execution.
This is where Agenda comes in. The free note-taking app for macOS integrates your notes and your calendar, so no task or piece of research gets lost in the mists of time. Since downloading Agenda, I've been pleased to discover more functionality than any other note-taking or calendar application by itself.
Podcasters have to manually add their own transcripts, with Pocket Casts not going the Apple or YouTube (Music) route of automatic generation. Transcript support in Pocket Casts is based on the Podcasting 2.0 Transcript tag.
The models being recalled are the Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K, model number A1642), Anker Power Bank (model number A1647), and Anker 334 MagGo Battery (model number A1652). In its recall notice, Anker said that some of the lithium-ion batteries in the devices “may pose a fire risk due to a manufacturing defect.”
Apple has tightened how children in Family Sharing groups are protected against viewing or sending media that an on-device algorithm detects contains nudity. Starting in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, and watchOS 11, children under 13 will have to enter the Screen Time password to proceed past a warning. Children aged 13 to 17 with Communication Safety enabled for their accounts in Family Sharing will continue to receive just a warning. This new requirement creates a new kind of parent or guardian conversation with children over what a family’s adults think is appropriate to send and receive.
Chip giant Qualcomm made a takeover approach to rival Intel in recent days, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the largest and most consequential deals in recent years.
A deal for Intel, which has a market value of roughly $90 billion, would come as the chip maker has been suffering through one of the most significant crises in its five-decade history.
I didn't find any Control Center buttons that I want on my iPhone's lock screen, so I am leaving the two slots empty, for now.
I also didn't like the multi-page Control Center to my liking, so I have deleted a whole bunch of buttons in order to have just one single page.
And that's enough iOS adventures for the next one year. My hypothesis is that we will never have a home screen nor lock screen nor control center that is exactly what we wanted, so don't bother rearranging stuff every once in a while.
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Thanks for reading.