Category: Apple Insider

New switches from SECURAM

AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.

The company has designed and manufactured products since 1991. It offers home security systems, safe locks, and smart home technology.

Its newest products enter the smart home market to help people automate aspects of their homes. Users can group them with other products from the company using the SECURAM Guard app available in the App Store.

Users can control the switch from anywhere using the Guard app to monitor the light status and turn electronics on and off. Group the switch with other devices from the company to create scenes.

For example, a user can group light switches with SECURAM’s EOS door lock as a scene. So whenever they return from work and unlock the front door, the living room and hallway lights are automatically turned on.

The night light feature lights up with the light is off to show the switch location in the dark. Users can turn the feature off in the Guard app if they don’t want it to always be on.

Away Mode is a feature that gives the appearance that someone is home while they are gone. During that period, the device will turn off and on and random intervals to deter would-be burglars.

Another feature lets users set schedules for the light switch to automatically turn it on at sunset and turn it off at sunrise. And with voice control using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, users can control the switch hands-free for convenience.

The dimmer switch lets users control the light brightness with a button. It requires a neutral wire and only works in a single-pole setup.

The built-in Wi-Fi connects to a secured 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network without needing a separate smart home hub. The dimmer switch also has a laser motion sensor that can automatically turn on lights when a user enters a room and turns them off after a preset period.

It shares other features with the Smart Light Switch, including app remote control, schedules, group control, and device sharing, and grouping with other SECURAM products.

SECURAM expects to launch the products around the end of November 2023.

AppleInsider will be covering the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in person on January 2 through January 8 where we’re expecting Wi-Fi 6e devices, HomeKit, Apple accessories, 8K monitors and more. Keep up with our coverage by downloading the AppleInsider app, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos throughout the event.

AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo‘s tweets and fuller Medium report (linked in the Twitter thread), BOE has “secured most 2H23 new iPhone 15 and 15 Plus display orders.”

“If development and production proceed smoothly over the next few months,” writes Kuo in his fuller report, “BOE will become the largest display supplier for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, with a market share of around 70% (compared to Samsung’s 30%).”

Kuo expects BOE’s shipments to grow significantly Year Over Year, but notes that it is starting from a low base.

“For the 2H22 iPhone 14 series, BOE only obtained orders for the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 display and had the lowest market share,” he writes. “BOE’s market share of iPhone display shipments was only around 12-15% in 2022.”

“Therefore, even if iPhone shipments are negatively affected by the economic recession in 2023, BOE could still easily achieve a high YoY growth of 70-100%,” says Kuo, “due to the low base of iPhone display shipments in 2022, outperforming most Apple suppliers.”

Chinese display firm BOE has previously had a stormy relationship with Apple, and a tricky time with production. In early 2022, BOE is believed to have hit manufacturing problems with iPhone OLED Panels, with the global chip shortage reducing its production capacity.

Then in May 2022, the company was allegedly caught making an authorized change to the design of the iPhone 13 displays it was manufacturing. It’s claimed that the company changed the circuit width of the thin film transistors (TFT) without discussing it with Apple.

Sources claim that BOE was required to send senior staff to Apple headquarters to present a case for the design change. At the time, it was said that BOE asked Apple to approve its production of iPhone 14 OLED panels, but did not receive a clear response.

Nonetheless, by July 2022, it was reported that BOE had been given an order for five million iPhone 14 displays. At that time, it was estimated that Apple was buying 25 million screen panels from LG, and 60 million from Samsung.

AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.

The iPhone 15 is anticipated to release at the 2023 fall Apple Event, and analysts have already begun making predictions for Apple’s next generation of smartphones.

In a research note for Hong Kong investment firm Haitong International Securities seen by MacRumors, Analyst Jeff Pu outlined his expectations for the iPhone 15 line.

He believes the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will boast a 3-stacked sensor and 48-megapixel wide lens. This is notable as it would be the same camera featured in the iPhone 14 Pro models.

In keeping with tradition, the base-level iPhone 15 models will not have a telephoto lens, nor will they feature a LiDAR scanner.

He also says the iPhone 15 will feature USB-C rather than Apple’s proprietary Lightning port. This idea has been predicted by other analysts, such as Ming-Chi Kuo.

Regarding the higher-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Pu expects that Apple will add a 12-megapixel periscope lens geared toward improved optical zoom.

Kuo has also backed up the addition of a periscope lens in Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro lineup.

Pu predicts the iPhone 15 Pro line will have Taptic Engine powered volume and power buttons.

Both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are anticipated to have an A17 chip built with TSMC’s 3-nanometer technology, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a new titanium frame.

AppleInsider will be covering the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in person on January 2 through January 8, where we’re expecting Wi-Fi 6e devices, HomeKit, Apple accessories, 8K monitors, and more. Keep up with our coverage by downloading the AppleInsider app, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos throughout the event.

iPhone 14 Pro box

AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.

With the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, Apple introduced plenty of new features. We have a new, faster processor, satellite connectivity, improved thermal performance, and more.

After living with the iPhone 14 Pro every day for the last few months, we wanted to revisit our review to see what features wound up not much more than hype and which ended up as truly useful.

One of our most asked-for features preceding the iPhone 14 announcement was an always-on display. It was a possibility with the iPhone 13 Pro, but it was apparently scratched at the last moment.

While testing competing Android handsets, it had always been one of the few features we wished Apple would take and expand upon. Apple delivered and even improved upon the always-on display post-release.

After first getting our iPhone 14 Pro a few months ago, the display took some getting used to. We constantly thought our iPhone was actually on and we needed to turn it off, but that was just the new display.

Now that we’ve adequately adjusted to it, it feels indispensable. Without touching our phones we can see the time, see unattended to notifications, as well as any Live Activities that are ongoing.

Despite many believing it is just another way for Apple to make you use your iPhone more, it has caused us to actively use our phones less. We don’t have to pick up our phone to check things like a timer or the bowl game score — we can already see it.

This stops us from grabbing our iPhones and getting sucked into an email or social media rabbit hole. Funny enough, it took our iPhones being on all the time to cut our usage.

Apple consistently iterates on the cameras and this year had one of its most substantial upgrades to date. It moved to a massive 48MP sensor and used pixel binning to output 12MP photos.

In reality, most users won’t notice this. The output is still 12MP, and few are going to play around with the full 48MP RAW option.

We can see some low light improvement, but it’s minor without seeing pics side-by-side.

What was surprisingly helpful were the new zoom levels. Apple now lets you move between .5X, 1X, 2X, and 3X optical zoom levels.

The 2X zoom is created by using the center 12MP of the 48MP sensor, effectively cropping the outer edges of a higher-resolution image, to create an optical-quality zoom without the need for an additional camera lens between the standard and telephoto lenses.

We found ourselves zooming quite often to 2X in plenty of indoor situations. Before this option, if you wanted 2X zoom, you’d have to digitally zoom in on the old 12MP sensor, losing quality.

Plus, you can take 1X, 2X, and 3X zoom portrait mode shots. This may seem small, but it is one of the things we noticed most after months of using the iPhone 14 Pro.

Arguably, the most talked about new feature of the iPhone 14 Pro has been the Dynamic Island. This reimagining of the front-facing camera module has taken a static notch and turned it into useful information.

It has perhaps single-handedly changed the feeling of the phone the most. Pop-up alerts that used to obfuscate the display no longer do that.

The low power alert would pop up as a modal and force you to tap out of it, but now, that can now show in Dynamic Island. You can see charging status without having to open Control Center, see when your AirPods connect, see an AirDrop file download, and much more.

Not to mention Live Activities that will show, such as timers, scores, Uber Eats orders, and so much more. The Now Playing music UI is delightful, allowing you to quickly control it with less tapping than accessing Control Center.

If you have an Apple TV, the TV controls can display in the Dynamic Island. Pause, open the remote, or jump forward or back quickly from that interface.

This is an entirely new UI element that comes into play with so many facets of the phone, and it reinforces Apple’s entire ecosystem from the software to the hardware, to all of its other devices.

Inventory of iPhone 14 Pro is finally starting to normalize, which means if you’re interested in one, you should be able to get it with little delay. This is good news as we’d easily recommend picking up the iPhone 14 Pro over an iPhone 14 or iPhone 13 Pro.

There are always features that end up being hyped by Apple, but end up underwhelming as you use the device. Some things are nice but the always-on display, the Dynamic Island, and the updated cameras have left a significant impression on us.

Three months later, iPhone 14 Pro is still worth the purchase.

• Always-on display
• High performance A16 Bionic
• Upgraded 48MP camera
• Notch traded for Dynamic Island
• Long battery life
• Crash Detection
• Emergency SOS via Satellite

• Reused physical design, again
• One 48MP camera sensor, but two 12MP sensors
• Still Lightning, no USB-C

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro is available for purchase, with wireless providers AT&T and Verizon offering incentives on the latest devices.

If you have a used iPhone, you can also check out our Apple trade-in deals for exclusive cash bonuses on pre-owned devices, putting more money in your wallet for a new iPhone 14 Pro.

Chris Gilbert/Unsplash

AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.

So much speculation points to new iPads and models of the iPad Pro, but if you want rumors and expectations, 2023 is going to be the year of the Apple AR headset. Or it won’t.

It’s not likely to be the year of the Apple Car, but just in case, you heard it here first and probably last: Apple Car 1.0 in June, in blue, center stage at WWDC. Or not.

As ever it’s what we can’t predict that is going to be the most exciting. No one foresaw the Mac Studio in 2021, though everyone is trying to foresee the Mac Pro in 2022.

Then there’s iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and whichever Californian destination lends its name to the next macOS.

But whatever happens — or does not happen — AppleInsider will be here every pixel of the way and we hope you’ll join us.

Thanks for continuing to read and support AppleInsider. You make it the community it is.