Airpods Pro with cracking problems will be exchanged

 Apple has admitted that there are problems with the Airpods Pro that cannot be solved by software.

Photo: Kwokwang Chow

Creaking and swaying noises from the Airpods Pro in a noisy environment have annoyed some users. A device from Golem.de is also affected and, despite several firmware updates and cleaning actions, could not be brought to reproduce the sound properly - both with the noise suppression switched on and off. However, this intensified the effect.

Apple has now announced that there are Airpods Pro with sound problems that should be replaced free of charge. It seems to be a serial error. Devices manufactured after October 2020 should no longer have these problems.

If you have a defective Airpods Pro, you can contact Apple online or by phone, or make an appointment at an Apple Store or with an authorized Apple service provider. An exchange takes place directly in the store, when contact is made online or by phone, the typical Apple exchange process is initiated. First, new Airpods Pro are sent and the original price is reserved on the customer's credit card. If the replacement devices are there, the person concerned sends the earplugs back. If he doesn't, the credit card will be charged.

IPhone 12 cameras cannot be repaired by third parties

The cameras of the iPhone 12 are software-protected against unauthorized exchange.

 So far, repair shops have been able to replace the cameras on iPhones themselves without any problems, but according to a report by iFixit, that is now over. Apple has dug the cameras on the iPhone 12. In the event of repairs, if a workshop tries to replace them with working models, they will not work. The reason: software is required for commissioning. The cameras must first be registered with the iPhone 12, reports iFixit. This only works with software provided by Apple. Independent repair shops do not receive these.

The problem was first discovered by Youtuber Hugh Jeffreys. The professional hobbyists from iFixit then verified it. The locking seems to be active only on the iPhone 12; the more expensive iPhone 12 Pro does not have the restrictions. It could also indicate that there are several incompatible cameras from different manufacturers on the iPhone 12, and both Jeffreys and iFixit randomly selected the cameras for repair. There were similar problems with the iPhone 7 and 8, reports The Verge.

The iFixit team also points out internal instructions from Apple that have leaked to them. There it is pointed out that after a camera or display has been repaired, the in-house system configuration app is required to teach-in the devices. Apple already uses the tool when changing the battery. Apple does not allow the exchange of Touch ID and Face ID components either - for security reasons, the company says.

Force Touch Deactivated On Apple Watches Via An Update

The new Apple Watches Series 6 does not have a pressure-sensitive display. Older models, therefore lose their functionality when updated.

With the current version 7 of its WatchOS operating system, Apple is removing the possibility of using the so-called force-touch functions on older Apple's Series 3, 4, and 5 watches. This is reported by various media and users. This is related to the announcement of the two new devices Watch and Watch SE of the sixth generation, which no longer have the necessary hardware for the function.

With Force Touch, the further development of which is also known as 3D Touch, Apple tried to expand the dimensions and possibilities of using classic touchscreens for input to also respond to pressure. If you press the display with more pressure, an additional menu item appears. Apple first introduced this function with the Apple Watches in 2015 and later also equipped the displays of the iPhones with it.

But like the new iPhone models, the upcoming sixth-generation Apple Watches no longer have the necessary pressure-sensitive hardware. Another technique is used as a substitute, in which a point on the display has to be pressed and held for longer.

The change is confirmed by Apple in its Human Interface Guidelines for development teams. There it says: "With versions of WatchOS before WatchOS 7, users can press firmly on the display, for example, to change the dial or to display a hidden menu known as the Force Touch menu. In WatchOS 7 and higher, system Previously hidden menu items are accessible to apps in a related screen or a settings screen. "

App developers who have previously used the Force Touch function in their apps are asking Apple to adapt their applications to the new behavior.

Broadcom indicates delay in the new iPhone

The CEO of the chip manufacturer Broadcom has given unequivocal indications that Apple's upcoming iPhone will only appear in the fourth quarter.

During a conference call, chipmaker Broadcom CEO Hock Tan indicated that the launch of the upcoming iPhone 12 would be delayed. Tan spoke of a "large North American mobile phone customer" from Broadcom experiencing a delay in the production cycle of an important product.

As Bloomberg reports, Tan has a habit of talking about Apple in this way more often. The selection of North American customers for Broadcom chips is also limited. According to Tan, Apple should not be able to meet the usual release date for new iPhones in September this year. Instead, the market launch should slip into the fourth quarter of 2020.

The delay will result in a shift in Broadcom's revenue this year, according to Tan. Not in the third, but in the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase in revenue is to be achieved. Like all other smartphone manufacturers, Apple usually orders the components for the devices a few months before the planned market launch in order to start production on time.

Coronavirus delayed development of the new iPhones

Due to the new coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 and the protective measures, Apple is said to have been delayed. Apple employees could not travel to China, as usual, to finalize the new models there. Apple has also sent its employees to the home office.

It is unclear whether Apple will still be presenting the new iPhone as usual in September, only to launch it later.

MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 released with battery saver

Photo by appleinsider.com

MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 has received a mode to extend the battery life of Macbooks. A finder bug has also been fixed.

Apple has released a new version of its operating system with macOS Catalina 10.15.5. The new macOS is to intelligently manage the charging of the battery with a view to longer battery life. Until now, this was only available for the iPhone with iOS, but not for Apple's desktop operating system.

The function is designed to prevent the chemical aging of the battery. The computer is not throttled. The so-called Battery Health Management from MacOS rather aims to monitor the temperature of the battery and the charging pattern in order to reduce the maximum charge depending on use. The function can also be deactivated to extend the runtime.
Battery health management is only supported on Macbook Air and Macbook Pro models that have Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Apple also fixed a bug that occurred when copying large data in macOS Catalina. However, the file manager only got into difficulties when copying, when it was a matter of several 100 GB, and crashed or became very slow.
Apple will presumably already be introducing MacOS 10.16 in the summer of 2020, even if only virtually at the WWDC developer event instead of at a large public event.
MacOS Catalina 10.15.5 can be downloaded and installed over-the-air.

Apple's Porn Filter Makes Finding Asian Food Difficult

The iOS 13 content filter is supposed to prevent dirty pages from being accessed on the Internet. However, the search term restriction is far too strict, as one user has found: ordinary search combinations, for example with the word "Asian", are completely blocked.

The developer Charlie Stigler has pointed out on Twitter that the content filter of iOS 13 is too strict. With the filter function, Google searches for supposedly offensive terms can be blocked within the screen time limit, for example, to prevent children and adolescents from accessing pornographic content.

Annoyingly, however, the function in the Safari browser blocks almost all search combinations that contain the term "Asian" - including "Asian food", "Asian history" and other combinations. However, the term "Asians" is not blocked. The combination "Asian NFL" is also available; it is unclear why this is possible.

Also, not shown are searches for the term "teen". The pornographic background is visible here, but such a strict blocking also prevents teenagers from being able to find out about certain health aspects, for example, or to search for other harmless terms.

The filter is not consistently programmed to the end

A user reports in Stigler's thread that the search works without problems if he switches the search engine in Safari to Yahoo or Bing. It is also possible to navigate to the pages manually - the filter not only seems to be too strict with certain search terms but is also poorly implemented.

It is currently unknown to what extent Apple will change the algorithm. The list of blocked search terms is managed centrally by Apple, users have no way to activate certain terms anyway.

Tesla's Cybertruck Miniatures

If you thought it was painful to step on a Lego piece, Mattel is about to lift the batten with the introduction of the Hot Wheels versions of Cyberpunk, Tesla's boxy, futuristic car.

Out of the box, they arrive in perfect condition, but a set of stickers included allows you to customize vehicles with the appearance of a broken window. If you don't know, during the presentation of the vehicle, stones were thrown at the windows to show their resistance, but the attack left splinters.

The cheapest version of Cybertruck is the 1:64 scale, which is controlled by remote control. At this size, it still works on standard Hot Wheels plastic tracks, but instead of being powered by imagination or gravity, it has its own tiny electric motor, rechargeable battery, and a wireless remote so you can drive it. from anywhere.

It won't ship until December, but you can order it on the Mattel website in the U.S. - if they're not already out of stock - for $20.

If you have a little more money to spend, Hot Wheels also created a 1:10 scale version of the Cybertruck remote control with more precise details, including broken window stickers, a rear bed that can be opened and closed and a rear door that turns into a loading ramp.

At full load, it will run for about half an hour and has several driving modes, with a maximum speed of 40 km / h with a four-wheel drive. It also includes a pistol-style wireless remote control, which helps explain why this larger miniature version of the Tesla Cybertruck will sell for $400 in December with limited units.