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Posts Tagged ‘Kif Leswing’

This chart reveals a growing problem for Apple — that ‘customers are getting less excited for each new generation of iPhone’

Tim Cook
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Getty/Justin Sullivan
  • New iPhone models haven’t sold out as quickly as they have in years past.
  • Citi analysts have used search trends to surmise that “customers are getting less excited for each new generation of iPhone.”

Apple launched the iPhone XR at 3 A.M. in the morning on Friday, and when morning came, nearly all of the models were still in stock, according to Macworld.

It’s a change for Apple, which usually requires customers to wake up in the early morning to put in a pre-order if they want the new iPhone on the first day. Lines outside Apple stores when the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max went on sale were smaller than they were in years past.

These data points can be taken as a sign that perhaps an iPhone launch doesn’t generate as much buzz as it used to.

That’s what analysts from Citi concluded in a note distributed earlier this week, based on Google searches.

“We observed there are significant spikes for web searches after the launch event each year. We also see the momentum has been decreasing over time,” the analysts wrote.

“We believe this indicates the market has been maturing, and customers are getting less excited for each new generation of iPhone,” they continued. “We suspect this is because of a slowdown in innovation and the saturation of iPhone in the addressable market.”

Their research can be summed up in this chart:

iPhone search trends Citi

There are a lot of reasons why search traffic might be decreasing year-over-year, and it doesn’t necessarily suggest that iPhone sales will sag. “We are not expecting a ‘Super Cycle,’ but we do believe sustainable single-digit unit growth of iPhone is achievable,” the Citi analysts write.

One issue might be that the overall smartphone market has matured. Apple’s big new features include water-resistance, a facial recognition scanner called Face ID, and a display that covers more of the front of the phone. But none of those banner features represent as much of a jump as iPhones from 4 or 5 years ago, when the camera was improving by leaps and bounds and the displays were getting much larger on an annual basis.

It’s also possible that these search trends were collected before the iPhone XR went on sale. The iPhone XR comes in a bunch of colors, and starting at $749, is expected to be the most popular new iPhone this cycle.

Regardless of why, there certainly does appear to be less buzz around new iPhone launches. Perhaps that’s why Apple is pouring so much money into research and development— to find the next big thing.

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27 great apps you should download first for your new iPhone XS

iPhone XS and XS Max
The iPhone XS and XS Max.
Getty

You’ve managed to get your hands on a new iPhone XS or XS Max, and now you want cool apps to run on it.

The Tech Insider staff picked some of our favorite apps that show off the power of Apple’s new phones.

The list is focused on lesser-known software that we use and love; if you’re looking for the most commonly downloaded apps — think Facebook, Snapchat, Google Maps — Apple publishes a list.

Let’s check them out:   https://www.businessinsider.com/best-ios-apps-and-games-for-iphone-xs-2018-9

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5 myths about iPhone battery life you might mistakenly believe — and what you should do instead

iPhone Battery iFixit

You’re not alone: everyone wants to eke out more time from their iPhone battery.But you might not be going about it the right way. Because so many people have iPhones, a lot of conventional wisdom about iPhone battery life can be similar to folk wisdom.

But that’s not to say there aren’t ways you can improve your battery life by changing specific settings or the way you use your iPhone.

Here are five common myths about iPhone battery life, what you can do about them, and sources where you can find additional information:

Myth #1: Closing apps you’re not using can save battery life

Myth #1: Closing apps you're not using can save battery life Apple

It’s a safe bet that at some point you know someone who compulsively shuts off apps on their smartphone to save battery.

They hit the home button twice, and then swipe up on various apps they’ve used in the past until the carousel is cleared.

In fact, this does not save battery, and may actually use extra power when you re-open apps you’ve totally switched off. Apple’s top software executive even confirmed this in an email to a user.

“You should force an app to close only when it’s unresponsive,” Apple wrote in a support page.

You can read a more thorough debunking of this myth here.

Myth #2: Charging your phone overnight can hurt the battery

Myth #2: Charging your phone overnight can hurt the battery Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

For years, some users have insisted that plugging your smartphone in while you sleep can harm the battery.

Maybe this made sense years ago, but it’s overblown today. Instead, your battery lifespan depends on “cycle count,” or how many times you’ve charged it over its lifetime.

Modern smartphones, including the iPhone, have advanced power management that means that they won’t take in more current than is necessary to charge them — meaning that leaving it plugged in after it reaches 100% won’t have any effect.

“All rechargeable batteries are consumables and have a limited lifespan — eventually their capacity and performance decline so that they need to be replaced,” Apple writes in a support document.

There’s more information about why it’s safe to charge your phone overnight here.

Myth #3: Apple’s $29 battery replacements are guaranteed to improve your device’s battery life

There was a minor scandal last year when it was discovered that Apple sometimes reduced the power to iPhone processors with old and spent batteries.

Basically, Apple did make some iPhones appear to run slower. It fixed the issue in a software update and offered $29 replacement batteries to users.

But just because you can get a battery for $29 doesn’t mean it will solve all your battery life issues. For some people, it could. But if you go to an Apple store and the technician said your battery seems fine, it probably is.

“I would say less than 10% of the phones we have ordered batteries for actually need a battery, based on diagnostics,” a Genius at a Midwestern Apple store told Business Insider earlier this year.

To check if your battery needs a replacement, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health (Beta).

If you don’t see it, you probably need to update your iPhone software.

If your “maximum capacity” is under 80%, you might want to change it. Otherwise, if you’re only missing a few percentage points, you can probably wait.

Myth #4: Turning off settings like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will always save your battery life

Myth #4: Turning off settings like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will always save your battery life Business Insider

The standards for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi say that when they are on and not in use, they use no power, so there’s no need to turn them off to eke a few more minutes out of your phone.

In fact, if you have an Apple Watch and you turn Bluetooth off, it not only will stop your Apple Watch from working correctly, it could drain faster too.

However, if you are in an area with a bad cellular connection, that can negatively impact your battery life. Turning on Airplane Mode in these kind of situations can save battery life.

In fact, Wi-Fi uses much less power than a cellular network, so Apple recommends keeping Wi-Fi on at all times.

More information is available from Apple here.

Myth #5: Letting the iPhone adjust brightness automatically hurts battery life

Myth #5: Letting the iPhone adjust brightness automatically hurts battery life Hollis Johnson

While it might be tempting to manually control your iPhone brightness, dimming it when you need extra juice and ramping it up when you don’t, Apple says that its auto-brightness setting actually saves battery life.

To turn it on, go to Settings > General >Accessibility >Display Accommodations > Auto-Brightness.

You can also dim the screen manually in Control Center, which does use less power. But you might also forget to turn it back on, and you’ll be stuck squinting at a very low-power screen.

More information is available from Apple here.

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iPhone 8 iPhone X iPhone 8 Plus
The iPhone 8, the iPhone X, and the iPhone 8 Plus.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
  • Apple is expected to release three new iPhone models in September.
  • One of them will use a lower-cost LCD screen part to keep the price down, according to a Friday report in The Wall Street Journal.
  • Electronics manufacturers say Apple expects the lower-cost LCD model to be the most popular.

Apple will release a new iPhone lineup this fall with three new models, according to a Friday report from The Wall Street Journal.

Two of the phones will be built around screens using OLED technology, the same type of display in the iPhone X. One will have an LCD screen, the type of display on the iPhone 8 and all previous iPhones.

The biggest question for investors is what the mix will be between the three devices. The iPhone X, which is the only phone with an OLED screen, starts at $999, making it one of the most expensive smartphones in the world.

That price tag is largely due to its screen technology. The OLED part costs $100, whereas LCD iPhone screens cost about $40, according to analysts cited by The Journal. If Apple sells more OLED iPhones, the iPhone will have a higher average price.

That’s part of the reason Apple may be shifting its production plans to make more LCD iPhones than OLED iPhones, The Journal reported, citing executives at parts makers with direct knowledge of the matter. They say Apple anticipates that the less expensive models will be more popular.

OLED screens can have better image quality than LCD displays, as well as darker blacks and lower power consumption.

Friday’s news corroborates other reports about the 2018 iPhone lineup from sources likeBloomberg and the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

All three predict that Apple will launch three new iPhones this fall: an upgraded version of the iPhone X, a version of the iPhone X with a bigger screen, and the lower-cost LCD iPhone with facial recognition.

Kuo previously predicted that the LCD iPhone could be priced between $550 and $650. Here’s a graphic that shows what his iPhone-lineup prediction looks like.

2018 iPhone lineup

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People using their phones while driving is a huge problem, but a new iPhone feature is helping

Phone while driving Getty
  • 37% of trips include at least some significant phone usage while the car is moving, according to a new study.
  • But features like Apple’s “Do Not Disturb While Driving” can reduce phone use by as much as 8%.
  • The results show that small software changes on big platforms like Apple’s can nudge people to make safer decisions.

It shouldn’t be surprising that people love to use their phones while driving — if you commute in a car, you see it every day, either in your car or other people’s.

But it’s somewhat surprising how many people drive while distracted: there’s significant phone use during as many as 37% of trips logged by Everdrive, an app developed by car insurance company Everquote.

During those trips, people were using their phones for as much as 11% of the time, or about 3 minutes during a 29 minute drive on average, according to the Everdrive study released on Wednesday, which examined 781 million miles of driving data from sensors like your phone’s GPS and accelerometer.

But there is one silver lining to the study: Apple’s new “Do Not Disturb While Driving” feature designed to reduce distracted driving is working. Basically, if your iPhone detects you’re in a moving car, it will turn off all notifications and you can set an automatic text response to tell your friends and family you can’t respond because you’re behind the wheel.

Everquote found that 70% of people in its study kept the DND While Driving feature turned on after Apple released it last September. And between September 19 and October 25 last year, people with DND on used their phones 8% less, according to the study.

So it’s not a silver bullet, but it turns out a software update can reduce distracted driving.

Other interesting stats from the study:

  • States with laws prohibiting phone use while driving showed the least phone use while driving.
  • Drivers tend to make a hard brake on 25% of trips.
  • The states with the worst driving scores are Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
  • The states with the best driving scores are Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, and Idaho.

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