Category: Apple Insider

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Amazon’s Fire tablet lineup is best known for being an effective way to get a tablet at a very low cost, at the expense of more premium features. The Kindle Fire 7 has also been Amazon’s signature tablet, the cheapest in the catalog that offers all of the basics that a tablet needs.

It’s undoubtedly an entry-level tablet and the polar opposite of Apple’s iPad range. Unlike the Fire, the iPad and iPad mini are seen as the value end of the iPad spectrum, being cheaper than the iPad Air and the iPad Pro lineup.

There’s always been a significant gap in what each tablet lineup offers to consumers, but with the May 18 launch of the next-generation Fire 7, Amazon aims to close the gap a little bit.

The difference between the Fire 7 and entry-level iPads is considerable but not insurmountable.

Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad and the sixth-generation iPad mini are made from premium materials, with an aluminum enclosure and a glass-fronted screen.

The iPad mini takes its design cues from the iPad Air and iPad Pro lineup, with a flat edge and rounded corners and a display that fills the front of the device. It also packs an 8.3-inch display into a very compact body, measuring 7.69 inches long, 5.3 inches wide, and 0.25 inches thick.

The iPad sticks to the well-worn design, with larger bezels and the physical home button on the front. Packing the 10.2-inch screen from its name, it is bigger than the mini at 9.8 inches by 6.8 inches and 0.29 inches thick.

Since Amazon’s constructing the 12th-generation Fire 7 down to a far lower build cost, the first thing that goes is using expensive materials for its enclosure. You’re not getting aluminum for the enclosure here, as instead, it’s the continued use of low-cost plastic for the chassis.

Unless you’re heavily into aesthetics, it’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s an everyday reminder that this is far from the premium iPad feel. However, Amazon claims that it is “twice as durable as the latest iPad mini in tumble tests.”

The Fire 7 is a basic Android-based tablet, sold for a very low cost.

The use of a 7-inch display does mean it takes up less of a footprint than the iPad mini, but at 7.11 inches long by 4.63 inches wide, it’s not by as much as you would think. It’s also the thickest at 0.38 inches, approximately one and a half times as thick as the iPad mini.

There are two saving graces, though. First, the Fire 7 is the lightest tablet at 0.62 pounds, against 0.65 or 0.66 for the iPad mini, depending on if you have cellular access, and 1.07 or 1.09 pounds for the iPad.

The other saving grace is the camera bump, as while there is one in the very-thin iPad mini, there isn’t one on the iPad nor the Fire 7. That’s not much of a benefit considering the relative thickness, but it’s one element that isn’t needed in Amazon’s tablet.

Apple prides itself on offering a nice and bright display that is also high resolution enough to be referred to as “Retina.” Amazon, not so much.

The 10.2-inch iPad has a 10.2-inch Retina screen, which supports True Tone and offers up to 500 nits of brightness. Its 2,160 by 1,620-resolution screen is substantial enough to give it a pixel density of 264ppi.

The iPad mini boasts an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, with Wide Color (P3) support, True Tone, and 500 nits of brightness. The resolution of 2,266 by 1,488 packed into a smaller space gives it a fantastic pixel density of 328ppi.

The Fire 7 screen’s resolution is too low to play 720p video recorded with its cameras.

Amazon describes the display of the Fire 7 as being a “7-inch touchscreen” that is capable of “SD video playback.”. At 1,024 by 600, the resolution is extremely low and manages a meager 171ppi.

The resolution is pitiful, but we’re talking about a very cheap tablet.

Apple’s tablets all use Apple’s self-designed chips, which initially surface in Apple’s iPhone lineup.

In the iPad, Apple uses the A13 Bionic, a 2.65GHz six-core chip with two performance cores, four energy-efficient cores, a four-core GPU, and the Neural Engine. This chip first appeared in 2019 but is still deemed powerful enough to be used in Apple’s entry-level tablet.

The iPad mini switches to the A15, Apple’s current-fastest chip as used in the iPhone 13 range. It contains a similar six-core layout of two performance, four efficiency cores, a max clock speed of 2.93GHz, a five-core GPU, and a new 16-core Neural Engine.

Amazon doesn’t design the chips it uses in its Fire lineup, and for 2022 the chip in question is a MediaTek MT8168V/B, a quad-core SoC with Cortex-A53 CPU clocked at 2GHz and a Mali-G52 GPU.

Just on core counts and clock speeds alone, it’s fair to expect that the Fire 7 won’t set records while running Amazon’s Fire OS 8, but it’s not meant to.

The iPad mini has 4GB of RAM, the iPad has 3GB, and the Fire 7 has 2GB, up from the previous release’s 1GB.

Generally, at this point, we would refer to Geekbench benchmarks to see how much of a difference there is, but Amazon has yet to ship the new Fire 7 to the public. What’s more, finding results for that particular MediaTek chip doesn’t come up with much usable data.

Amazon claims the new model is 30% faster than the previous model, which would be the Fire 7 released in 2017. Given that searches for Geekbench results for that tablet put its single-core score at around 640 points and multi-core at about 1,800, it’s not looking good for the Fire 7 even if you account for it using an older version of the benchmark software.

If the results are comparable to the latest Geekbench release and indeed 30% better in the new Fire 7, we’re theoretically looking at around 830 for the single-core and 2,340 for the multi-core score.

For the iPad mini, it manages 1,536 under single-core and 4,454 for multi-core. The iPad is slower, at 1,326 and 3,314, respectively, but still faster than the improved Amazon tablet.

Of course, the actual results of the Fire 7 could significantly differ from what’s worked out here, but it’s doubtful that Amazon will have put together something that can outpace the top A-series chips.

Wi-Fi is available across the board but in different flavors. The fastest is the iPad mini, which has Wi-Fi 6 support, followed by Wi-Fi 802.11ac support (Wi-Fi 5) in the iPad.

The Fire 7 supports Wi-Fi 802.11n, which is Wi-Fi 4. If you have a router that supports up to Wi-Fi 6, you’ll see a maximum throughput of over 9Gbps on the iPad mini, almost 7Gbps on the iPad, and a mere 700Mbps on the Fire 7.

The Fire 7 fares better for Bluetooth, as it offers Bluetooth 5.0 LE support. While on a par with the iPad mini, it’s better than Bluetooth 4.2 as provided on the iPad.

Bear in mind that this only matters if you have hardware capable of using the relevant standards for each connection to enjoy the benefits.

Amazon sells the Fire 7 in three color options.

As for cellular, you have 5G connectivity as an option for the iPad mini, LTE for the iPad, but none for the Fire 7.

On to physical connections, Amazon has embraced the future with the Fire 7 in using USB-C. This is good for recharging but less so for physical data connections, as it still runs at USB 2.0 speeds.

The iPad mini has USB-C for charging and data, acting as USB 3.1 Gen 1. The iPad uses Lightning, but it also has a Smart Connector that works with accessories like the Smart Keyboard.

While Apple is known for putting effort into its cameras, Amazon’s tablets certainly don’t have that same reputation.

The iPad mini is equipped with a 12-megapixel wide camera on the rear, with an f/1.8 aperture, a 5x digital zoom, and a flash. Supporting Smart HDR 3, it has benefits including auto image stabilization and all of the benefits you would expect from computational photography.

The iPad has an 8-megapixel wide camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a 5x digital zoom. Likewise, there’s HDR for Photos, auto image stabilization, and Apple’s software-based assistance.

The iPad mini can handle better video at the back, with it capable of 4K 60fps footage and a 240fps 1080p slo-mo function. The iPad can do 1080p 30fps video and 720p 120fps slo-mo.

Around the front, both benefit from a 12-megapixel ultra wide camera with an f/2.4 aperture, each capable of 1080p 60fps video.

The 2MP cameras in the Fire 7 aren’t great, but good enough for video calls.

So far, Amazon has described its Fire 7 front and rear cameras as being 2-megapixel shooters capable of 720p video recording. This won’t compete with the iPad or iPad mini but is probably enough for video calls.

It’s also worth pointing out that you can record 720p video with the Fire 7, but the low screen resolution means you won’t be able to view that clip on the tablet’s display itself at full resolution.

Typically, there’s a difference in agreement in how much battery life a manufacturer says a device offers. For once, there’s a bit of an agreement.

All three tablets are said by Amazon and Apple to offer a battery life of up to 10 hours.

What that battery life is used for does differ by vendor. According to Apple, that’s 10 hours of web surfing on Wi-Fi or watching video, though both iPad models dip to 9 hours for the same tasks.

Amazon says its battery life of up to 10 hours is based on “reading, browsing the web, watching video, and listening to music.” This is also claimed to be an improvement in battery life of 40% from the previous model.

Both the iPad models boast stereo speakers, with the iPad mini including “landscape mode” audio. The Fire 7 has an “integrated speaker,” indicating it isn’t stereo.

The Fire 7 has a headphone jack, like the iPad, but the iPad mini does not.

The two iPads include dual microphones, whereas the Fire 7 has one microphone.

Touch ID is included with the iPads as a biometric security option. There is no biometric element in the Fire 7.

The iPad and iPad mini include stylus support for the first-gen Apple Pencil and second-gen Apple Pencil. Unless you buy an aftermarket capacitive stylus, there’s no dedicated stylus support in the Fire 7.

The Fire 7 is available in 16GB and 32GB capacities, though each can be expanded by microSD.

Each is sold with lock screen ads shown on the cheapest variants, pricing the 16GB capacity at $59.99 and 32GB at $79.99. If you want to remove the ads, the 16GB model costs $74.99, and the 32GB is $94.99.

Amazon’s Kids edition includes a chunky case and an improved warranty.

As usual for Amazon, there’s a Fire 7 Kids tablet option, which bundles the same tablet specification in a chunky “kid-proof case.” The option costs $109.99 for the 16GB model and $129.99 for the 32GB, but the extra expense includes some bonus items.

For a start, a two-year worry-free guarantee promises a free replacement if the tablet breaks. There’s also one year of Amazon Kids+ content that’s usually $2.99 per month, a parent dashboard to filter content, and no ads.

Turning to color options, the iPad mini 6 is available in Space Gray, Pink, Purple, and Starlight. The iPad is offered in Silver and Space Gray.

The Fire 7 is available in Black, Denim, and Rose. The Kids edition is available in Blue, Purple, and Red.

It’s fair to say that there’s little competition for the iPad or iPad mini here if you’re looking at the Fire 7 as your next tablet. Given the low-resolution display, the low-res cameras, the performance, the lack of cellular, and the build, it’s challenging to tell anyone to buy the Fire 7 over an iPad mini on specifications alone.

If you have the money on hand for an iPad or iPad mini, Amazon’s got no real chance of convincing you to go its way if you want a good-quality tablet that you’ll use for years. No one wants to be hamstrung by specifications years down the line, and you will get that feeling with the Fire 7.

So, if people wanting to buy an iPad are out of the question, who would want to buy a Fire 7 instead?

Those who have to stretch their funds as far as possible could find it an attractive option for a start. Even with lock screen ads showing from time to time, paying $60 for a basic tablet is a pretty good deal.

You could acquire 8 16GB Fire 7 tablets for the same cost as one 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini, or five Fire 7 tablets for the price of one 64GB Wi-Fi 10.2-inch iPad. This could be a reasonably helpful way to get everyone in a household a tablet without breaking the bank.

Parents with younger children may also seek solace in the Kids edition’s chunky case, kids services, and that two-year worry-free guarantee, especially if they’re not keen on letting little Agatha play around with an iPad mini.

Amazon cannot use the Fire 7 to compete against the iPad directly, and it isn’t. Instead, it’s fighting on a playing field of customers looking for value and that are happy to go for something better described as functional than bleeding edge.

The 2022 Fire 7 is available to preorder from Amazon now, with a release date of June 29, starting from $59.99. The Kids edition is also available to preorder for June 29 release, priced from $109.99.

Teased in April with a wallpaper, Apple finally opened the doors to its Apple Wuhan store on Saturday. Opened later than anticipated, the outlet is on the second floor of the International Plaza Shopping Center in Hubei province.

Apple’s description of the store mentions it uses granite floors and wood-trimmed walls to make the store and the mall lobby “brighter and more transparent.” The 128-person retail store team at the outlet will be on hand to help customers buy products, with the multilingual team also able to use Chinese sign language and English sign language.

“We couldn’t be more excited to open our first Apple Store in Hubei Province. Our highly specialized team of Specialist experts is looking forward to welcoming customers from this vibrant community starting this Saturday.” Apple Senior Vice President of Retail Operations and People Deirdre O’Brien said, “This retail store brings new design elements to China for the first time, giving customers more ways to explore ideas, learn more about Apple products, or make it easier to pick up an online order in store.”

The store is the first in China to include a dedicated Apple Pickup area, so customers can quickly and easily get their online orders. Today at Apple classes will also be offered in the venue, covering topics including photography, videography, art and design, music, and programming.

The outlet will be abiding by the local government’s epidemic prevention policy, which will require both staff members and visitors to abide by strict health measures. This includes wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and undertaking temperature checks.

Kelsey Burkhalter Golden recounted the incident on Facebook Monday, posting an image of her son next to the small mountain of burgers. She joked that she has “31 free cheeseburgers from McDonald’s if anyone is interested”

“Apparently my 2 yr old knows how to order DoorDash,” the woman added.

Other Facebook users in the comments also shared their own stories about random purchases made by their young children. One commenter said their child ordered three iPhones, while another said they know a kid who once ordered the entire NBA league pass.

But, all these sagas could have been avoided had the users configured the parental controls on their devices. For years, Apple has provided a host of mechanisms to prevent an unauthorized user from ordering 31 cheeseburgers, racking up thousands of dollars in in-app purchases, and more.

For instance, Apple users who want to avoid their kids making random purchases can set parent controls on their iPhone and iPad devices. Users can also set the default payment method on DoorDash to Apple Pay, which requires a Face ID scan before purchases can be made.

After going on sale in China, OnePlus used Mobile World Congress to reveal it is bringing the OnePlus 10 Pro to other regions worldwide. It intends to release the model in North America, India, and Europe by the end of March 2022, among other expansions.

The OnePlus 10 Pro is the outfit’s newest flagship model, with its headline features surrounding its fast-charging capabilities and its association with famed camera firm Hasselblad.

The various enhancements made to the model in the latest generation, coupled with the “Pro” suffix, brings the OnePlus 10 Pro directly in competition with Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. Looking at the numbers, OnePlus may offer quite a compelling argument for its model.

The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have somewhat familiar shapes, with the Pro measuring 5.78 inches tall, 2.82 inches wide, and 0.3 inches thick. The Pro Max is bigger, at 6.33 inches tall, 3.07 inches wide, and just as thick at 0.3 inches.

The OnePlus 10 Pro fits somewhere between the two iPhones regarding dimensions. It’s taller than the Pro Max at 6.42 inches, but it’s midway between the two at 2.91 inches, making it a seemingly narrower device.

OnePlus 10 Pro in Volcanic Ash and Sierra Blue iPhone 13 Pro

However, OnePlus loses out here by being 0.34 inches in terms of thickness. When reading the number, it doesn’t seem like much, but that equates to a 13% difference in thickness that you’d undoubtedly notice with your hands.

Though thicker, OnePlus has made its device lighter at 7.19 ounces, against the iPhone pair with 7.19 ounces and 8.46 ounces, respectively. This is probably down to Apple’s preference for stainless steel and OnePlus opting for aluminum.

Both Apple and OnePlus have opted for OLED screens, with Apple’s branded as a Super Retina XDR screen while OnePlus calls its version a “Fluid AMOLED with LPTO.”

Displays on the iPhone 13 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro

On display sizes, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a 6.7-inch screen. This means it has a little more in common with the iPhone 13 Pro Max, which also uses a 6.7-inch screen, than the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro.

There’s a second similarity in features, namely refresh rates. Apple’s ProMotion display enables a refresh rate to automatically vary between 10Hz and 120Hz, depending on the viewed content.

The OnePlus 10 Pro does the same auto-adjusting refresh rate trick; however, it has an increased range to as high as 120Hz but as low as 1Hz. OnePlus also claims the technology lets its device use less power than other 90Hz and 120Hz-capable displays.

OnePlus’ display has a ProMotion-like adaptive refresh rate, and a punch-hole camera.

OnePlus also claims to be the first in the smartphone industry to use Dual Color Calibration. This means that, instead of calibrating for one specific level of brightness, OnePlus calibrates for two different levels, high and low.

In theory, this should give the OnePlus display a more consistent color representation across a wide variety of brightnesses.

As for resolution, OnePlus offers a high 3,216 by 1,440 image, giving it an aspect ratio of 20:9 and a pixel density of 526ppi. Like the body, the aspect ratio is a hair slimmer than the Pro models, which are at 19.5:9 each.

Neither iPhone can match the resolution either, with the Pro at 2,532 by 1,170 and the Pro Max at 2,778 by 1,284. This represents pixel densities of 460ppi and 458ppi, respectively, below the OnePlus 10 Pro.

As an aside, the display of the OnePlus 10 Pro does hide a component absent from the iPhone. OnePlus includes a sub-display fingerprint reader for biometric security.

Though this may not necessarily be as useful as Face ID, it does help OnePlus avoid cutting into the display with a large notch by using a punch-hole camera instead.

While Apple prides itself on offering consumers excellent photographs and videos using the rear cameras, it does so typically by improving the quality of the image rather than boosting the resolution. In a match-up against the OnePlus 10 Pro, the decision to stay low on resolution may not be on Apple’s side.

iPhone 13 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro Cameras

Apple uses 12-megapixel sensors for the ultra-wide, wide, and telephoto cameras on the back of both the Pro and Pro Max. You do get niceties including optical image stabilization for two sensors, as well as Sensor-Shift OIS for the Wide sensor, but a lot of the features are very computational photography-driven.

Apple also has a LiDAR sensor on the back, which feeds into its computational imaging by assisting with focusing. This is extremely handy for low-light situations.

Like the iPhones, the OnePlus does have a camera bump, one which wraps around from the side in a stylish fashion. Again, you’re getting three cameras, but likewise, there are some useful extras.

The cameras on the back of the OnePlus 10 Pro include 50MP and 48MP sensors.

For a start, the cameras are the same as the previous OnePlus 9 Pro, meaning there’s a 48MP Wide camera, a 50MP Ultra-Wide version, and an 8MP telephoto. In terms of zoom, there’s 3.3x on the telephoto, which edges ahead of the 3x on the iPhones.

Both the Wide and Telephoto have OIS, with the former also using a Laser autofocus system. The Ultra-Wide does offer a field of view of up to 150 degrees, which is employed in a new Fisheye Mode, but a 110-degree field of view is the default with added AI distortion correction.

3.3X telephoto versus iPhone’s 3X telephoto

A significant marketing element is OnePlus’ work with the famous camera brand Hasselblad on its imaging system. The updated system now allows all three rear cameras to shoot in full 10-bit color, using Natural Color Calibration made with Hasselblad that applies to over one billion colors.

It’s even possible to use Hasselblad Pro Mode and a new RAW+ mode to shoot 12-bit RAW images. All of which can also use OnePlus’ computational photography benefits.

Selfie comparison

In our sample shots, iPhone 13 Pro’s 12MP telephoto lens came out on top easily, but the 48MP wide-angle camera of the OnePlus 10 Pro bested the iPhone. We also saw much better color representation on the OnePlus 10 Pro than the iPhone, as you can see in the photos above.

On the movie side, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a Movie Mode, enabling budding videographers to adjust the ISO, white balance, and shutter speed while recording. The Movie Mode also captures in a LOG format, which can help with more advanced video productions.

Apple already offers ProRes in its iPhone 13 Pro lineup and Dolby Vision 4K HDR support, making it comparable to the OnePlus effort.

As for what kind of video you can record, the iPhones top out at 4K 60fps, complete with Dolby Vision support, 4K ProRes at 30fps, and 240fps Slo-Mo at 1080p.

The OnePlus 10 Pro reaches further, with the ability to record 8K footage at 30fps. Switching down to 4K, you can get 120fps footage, 60fps if you need HDR with Dolby Vision, and 1080p 240fps Slo-Mo.

Around the front, Apple has its traditional notch with the TrueDepth camera array, providing 3D mapping of a user’s face for Face ID and being capable of a 12-megapixel picture. OnePlus instead uses a small camera with a 32MP sensor, using a small punch-hole design in a corner to minimize its impact on the screen.

Apple differs significantly from most other smartphone producers in that it designs its chips for processing. The iPhone 13 Pro range uses the A15 Bionic and 6GB of memory.

OnePlus doesn’t have its own chip design, so instead, it relies on one produced elsewhere. In the OnePlus 10 Pro is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 made by Qualcomm.

While the A15 has two high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 uses one high-performance core, three mid-range cores, and four energy-saving versions.

The A15 uses its own Apple-designed five-core GPU, while the Snapdragon uses an Adreno 730 GPU. Both also boast machine learning capabilities, with Apple opting for its Neural Engine versus the Snapdragon’s seventh-generation Qualcomm AI Engine.

OnePlus also includes more memory, with 8GB in the base configurations and options for up to 12GB.

Do bear in mind that Apple does tend to exert more control over when and how apps run, so iOS tends to do a lot more with less memory. In theory, this balances matters.

In terms of benchmarks, while we know a lot about the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, the same cannot be told about the OnePlus. Copious benchmarks are available on Geekbench, putting the iPhone at 1,694 for single-core performance, 4,643 for multi-core, and 14,218 for Metal.

As there aren’t any released benchmarks for the OnePlus 10 Pro at the time of publication, the next best thing would be the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra tested by AppleInsider in February. Since it uses the same chip, it should offer a similar level of performance to the OnePlus.

In our Geekbench benchmark, the S22 Ultra achieved 1,244 in the single-core test and 3,610 for the multi-core. This is a fair bit lower than the A15 in the iPhone 13 Pro.

While reports say Samsung has been caught up in an app-throttling scandal, benchmark apps like Geekbench were allowed to run at full speed. Still, this does mean you may want to take the comparison with a pinch of salt at this time until proper benchmarks are released.

A headline feature of the OnePlus 10 Pro is its ability to hold power. For a start, its 5,000mAh battery is huge for a smartphone, with the iPhone 13 Pro using a 3,095mAh unit and the Pro Max using a 4,352mAh version.

OnePlus hasn’t made claims about how long the battery will last. Meanwhile, Apple says its iPhone 13 Pro can last for up to 22 hours of video playback, and the Pro Max can go up to 28 hours.

Hasselblad is helping OnePlus with its camera system once again.

Suffice to say, you’re going to get a hefty amount of usage time on all three devices.

For getting power back into the smartphone, OnePlus takes quite a leap forward on that front.

Apple offers a maximum of 20W charging when connected with a cable to a compatible power outlet. If you’re using MagSafe, the maximum drops a bit to 15W, and 7.5W on Qi.

The 65W USB-C power brick

OnePlus uses what it refers to as “SUPERVOOC Flash Charge.” Aside from the weird name, you can use the included 65W power adapter to recharge. An 80W USB-C brick is also available that can charge the smartphone from empty to capacity in an impressive 32 minutes.

If you want to do it without the cable, there’s the equally annoyingly named “AirVOOC Wireless Flash Charge.” Using compatible accessories at a slightly lower 50W, you still get a flat-to-full charge time of 47 minutes.

For comparison, you have fast charge on the iPhone using a 20W adapter or higher, though it can manage only 50% in about half an hour. Also, you have to acquire the charger separately.

Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max are sold in storage options including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB for both variants. You also have a choice of four colors to choose from as well.

The 128GB capacity model of the iPhone 13 Pro is $999, rising to $1,099 for the 256GB model, $1,299 for the 512GB, and $1,499 for the 1TB. The Pro Max versions cost an extra $100, making them $1,099, $1,199, $1,399, and $1,599 respectively.

As it is currently sold in China, there are four varieties available. However, as OnePlus hasn’t released pricing details, we have to rely on conversion from Chinese pricing.

For the moment, the OnePlus 10 Pro is available only in China.

The 128GB-capacity version sells in China for 4,699 yuan (approximately $745).

At the 256GB level, there are two memory options, Going for 8GB will cost 4,999 yuan (approximately $790), but the 12GB RAM version is 5,299 yuan (about $840).

Lastly, the 512GB storage version is offered only with 12GB of memory and costs 5,799 yuan (about $920) to purchase.

Do bear in mind that it’s plausible for Western pricing to be higher than their Chinese equivalents. Sure, this does show the 512GB capacity model costs less than the cheapest iPhone 13 Pro, but that probably won’t be the case in other global markets.

Looking at the specifications list, the OnePlus 10 Pro is a very impressive device. It’s hard not to look away at the prominent figures, such as those extremely high resolutions of camera sensors and the display. The lack of a massive notch also scores points for OnePlus in this case.

However, if you really consider it, there’s still a world of difference between bigger, better numbers and real-world usage. Sure, you can use a 48-megapixel sensor to take photographs, but it’s another thing entirely for it to create great-looking images with its computational photography.

The same problem exists for the impressive high-wattage charging. It’s great that you can get a full recharge of the battery for the same length of time as you’d watch a TV show for, but it’s also seemingly overkill.

If you only recharge your smartphone overnight, there’s little point in caring about it doing so within minutes rather than hours.

Then there’s the whole argument about using Android versus the Apple ecosystem, but that’s a more personal discussion than this article can offer.

The OnePlus 10 Pro is, on paper, a competent mobile device. It’s certainly something that could give the iPhone 13 Pro and Max a run for their money on specifications alone.

Whether it translates into better performance in real-world usage, remains to be seen. We’ll let you know how it goes when ours arrives.

The iTunes 12.12.4, released on Wednesday, contains at least five fixes for security flaws in Apple’s underlying software. Users can download the update from the Windows Store or Apple’s website.

iTunes 12.12.4 specifically fixes issues in AppleGraphicsControl that could lead to arbitrary code execution, an issue in ImageIO that could cause unexpected application termination, and an iTunes vulnerability that could allow an attacker to elevate their privileges.

An issue with Mobile Device Service could have allowed attackers to delete files without the necessary permissions, and a WebKit flaw could allow arbitrary code execution through maliciously crafted web content. Both of those flaws have also been fixed.

Other information about the fixed vulnerabilities can be found on Apple’s website.

None of the flaws appear to have been exploited in the wild, but an update is still recommended.

The error in question happens in the Wallet App, where transactions from the past few days may be missing.

Interestingly enough, most affected users have noted that the balance on their card is correct, even if some transactions are absent.

As 9to5mac points out, some reddit users have speculated that this is an issue with the recent iOS 15.5 update. However, one AppleInsider staffer noted missing transactions on a phone that had not been updated.

This suggests that the issue is likely server-side rather than a bug introduced with a new update.

Apple has not acknowledged the issue yet, and the System Status page does not report any ongoing Apple Card errors.

After the typical rolling waves of betas, Apple has released iOS 15.5 to the masses. Often referred to as “point” updates, they can contain minor new features and help solidify the user experience.

Significant changes will come this summer with the announcement of iOS 16, but until then, here is what Apple has refined.

Despite the near announcement of iOS 16, Apple still isn’t done with iOS 15. Some notable changes include the expansion of Communication Safety in Messages to the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia plus the patching of dozens of security vulnerabilities.

Some apps seem to have gotten more love than others. Home, Wallet, and Podcasts got the largest number of enhancements.

For HomeKit users, Apple tweaked a couple of things in the Home app. Now, the Home app will prompt users for critical alert permissions.

HomePod Wi-Fi signal

Critical alerts are notifications that will sound, even when your phone is in do not disturb mode or on vibrate. They’ll be used for urgent events, such as a smoke detector getting triggered. Without critical alerts, you may miss these notifications.

HomePods will now also show their signal strength in the Home app. When you go into a HomePod‘s settings, tapping the Wi-Fi network will show how strong the Wi-Fi signal is.

Apple has now updated all references to the physical Apple Card within the Wallet app to be the titanium Apple Card. The iTunes Pass appears to have been updated as well, now being referred to the Apple Account Balance.

Send and receive Apple Cash

Users can request or send money directly from the Apple Cash Card in Wallet, rather than first navigating to Messages. In Messages though, Apple has renamed the Apple Pay Messages app to the Apple Cash Messages app.

Finally, Vaccinations records in the EU Digital COVID certificate format can now be added.

Ahead of the iOS 15.5 release, Apple announced new improvements for podcast producers. It would streamline the distribution method so that producers could share their paid and free podcasts on multiple platforms without having to upload to multiple locations.

This will be coming later this year for producers, but the iOS 15.5 update brought a user-facing feature. Now you can control how many recent episodes download to prevent too much space from being taken up.

Podcast settings in iOS 15.5

In Settings, you can choose exactly how many episodes download and the Podcasts app will auto-delete older episodes.

With iOS 15.5, iPhone supports new DualSense adaptive trigger firmware features. Photos will no longer suggest memories taken in sensitive locations, such as Holocaust-related locations.

After being removed in iOS 15.4, a third-party API to control music playback speed has been added back. We’ve also heard rumors of a dedicated app for classical music, though it wasn’t included in 15.5.

Reader apps now have the option to link to external websites. Finally, Universal Control now requires both your iPad to be on iPadOS 15.5 and Mac to be on macOS 12.4.

The iOS 15.5 update is available now as a free download. You can download it manually from the Settings app.

Apple’s AirTag has courted controversy by being an accessible way for some would-be stalkers to keep track of potential victims, despite the various anti-stalking measures built into the device. On Friday, Ohio took a step towards making it illegal to perform AirTag-based stalking.

Introduced to the Ohio House, bill HB672 seeks to amend section 2903.211 of the Revised Code to prohibit anyone from “knowingly installing a tracking device or application on another person’s property without the other person’s consent.” The bill is sponsored by Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes (D) and Rep. Tom Patton (R ).

The litigation was created in part due to a decision by 3News to actively advocate for bipartisan legislation over unwanted monitoring and tracking, with the news organization lobbying legislators over the matter. 3News also reported on loopholes in Ohio law that would’ve enabled such tracking to take place if there had not been any prior patterns of stalking behavior or domestic violence.

Under such circumstances, it is possible for the perpetrator not to receive any penalty for the act.

“This was an issue that I was not aware about, until you contacted us, and I’m so grateful that you were advocating for one of our constituents as she was very nervous, scared, and confused about the fact that someone could perpetuate such an offensive act against her,” said Sykes. “Now we are acting on her behalf, and as well as others who have experienced these types of situations, or who may be subjected to them in the future.”

According to the report, at least 19 states have specific laws against electronic tagging. Ohio wasn’t among them.

The bill follows interest by other legislative bodies about the potential misuse of AirTag. In January, legislation in Pennsylvania was proposed to specifically make AirTag-based stalking punishable.

In February, New York attorney general Letitia James issued a consumer alert warning about AirTag stalking.

As the behemoth of streaming, Netflix is on the lookout for the next potential hit feature to encourage higher subscriptions. After years of shaking up the broadcast industry with on-demand streams, it seems that the streamer may actually go down the live content route.

According to Deadline, Netflix is looking into whether to offer live streaming to its users. Netflix has previously confirmed it was in the early stages of creating a live streaming solution, but had yet to announce a formal introduction of live content.

It is proposed that the live capability could be used in competition series like the upcoming dance contest “Dance 100,” or potentially as part of a revival of the Netflix Is A Joke festival with live sets. Live reunion shows for reality TV has also been proposed.

The live streaming wouldn’t strictly be one-way, as it is thought that live voting could be included in the feature. For competition shows, the home audience could potentially vote on a winner, or to vote to eliminate contestants, all live.

If Netflix goes ahead with live show streams, it would bring Netflix in line with more traditional broadcasters with time-based schedules. It will also be more aligned with other streaming services that already provide live streams of broadcast networks, such as YouTube TV and Hulu.

Unusually, Apple has already beaten Netflix into the live streaming space. With the start of MLB “Friday Night Baseball” in April, Apple TV+ has provided regular live-streamed content to its users around the world.

So far, it seems that Netflix may not use such a feature for sports broadcasting at this time.