News on the margins for the week of May 17-23

The “Allow apps to request tracking” option has stopped, problems with the 11-inch iPad Pro screen, Apple shares the 2023 App Store Transparency Report, the iPhone 17’s rear camera will be in the middle, iPad Pro and iPhone SE 4 disassembly. With a facial fingerprint for less than $500, and other exciting news on the sidelines...

New emojis coming to Apple systems

There are seven new symbols that we may see in late 2024 or early 2025. They are: a face with bags under the eyes, a fingerprint, a leafless tree, a root plant, a harp, a shovel, and splattering drops.

Smartphone companies like Apple often take several months to create graphics for approved new emojis, so we likely won't see these new icons until after the iOS 18 update launches. Apple will likely add the new characters in March 2025, around the release of iOS 18.4.

The last time Apple added new emojis was with the iOS 17.4 update released in March 2024, such as green lemon, edible brown mushroom, broken chain, vertical shake (yes), and horizontal head shake (no).

The iPhone 16 Pro Max will contain new 48-megapixel wide and wide cameras

According to the latest rumors, the iPhone 16 Pro Max will feature a larger and more advanced Sony 48-megapixel IMX903 main camera sensor equipped with technologies such as a stacked design, 14-bit DAC and digital gain control for digital signal processing that expand the dynamic range of images, i.e. The contrast between the darkest and lightest points in an image. As well as controlling distortion and noise levels, especially in low-light conditions. So it is an important feature to enhance the camera performance.

While the iPhone 16 Pro will use the same 48-megapixel IMX803 sensor found in the current iPhone 15 Pro, both models will be equipped for the first time with a 48-megapixel Ultra Wide camera capable of capturing more light and shooting 48-megapixel ProRAW images in Ultra Wide mode. It is expected that the transition of the camera matrix to 48 megapixels in the iPhone 17 Pro in 2025 will be completed by adding a telephoto lens with the same resolution.

Microsoft: The new Surface Pro is faster than the 15-inch MacBook Air M3

Microsoft is launching a new series of laptops called Copilot+ specifically designed to leverage artificial intelligence technologies. One of these devices is the new Surface Pro, which is a 2-in-1 device (tablet and laptop) that runs Windows and comes with an OLED screen.

The standout feature of the Surface Pro is its use of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor, a powerful processor designed for artificial intelligence applications.

Microsoft compares the Surface Pro to the Apple MacBook Air M3, and claims that its device is more powerful, more energy efficient, and has better battery life of up to 15 hours of web browsing or 22 hours of video playback. While the MacBook Air offers the same 15 hours of wireless Internet browsing, but only 18 hours for local video playback.

Compared to the 15-inch MacBook Air with an 8-core chip and 10-core graphics processor, Copilot+ devices with 12-core and 10-core processors deliver 58% better multi-performance.

Surface Pro prices start at $1000 for the basic model, but the top version reaches $1500. The new Surface devices will be launched on June 18.

Apple reduces iPhone 15 prices in China

In an attempt to boost its sales in the largest smartphone markets and to confront strong competition from Huawei, Apple launched a new round of major discounts on the prices of iPhone 15 models in China during the period from May 20 to 28, and these discounts exceed those that it presented in February. For example, Apple is offering discounts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318) on selected models in its official store on Alibaba Group’s Tmall website, where the iPhone 15 Pro Max with a capacity of 256 GB can now be purchased at a price of 7,949 yuan ($1,199) compared to Priced at 9,999 yuan when it was launched in September, the basic 128GB version of the iPhone 15 is priced at 4,599 yuan ($636), reduced from 5,999 yuan previously.

iPhone SE 4 with Face ID for less than $500

Despite the upcoming updates to the iPhone SE 4, Apple is said to be targeting an initial price of less than $500. According to the leaker Revegnus on the

Apple plans to launch an updated design for the iPhone, the iPhone SE 4, in the spring of 2025, to remain the “cheaper” option in the iPhone lineup, with a design similar to the standard iPhone 14, with the Home button and fingerprint removed, and equipped with the FaceID system.

The iPhone SE 4f may also come with an OLED screen instead of LCD, and the screen size will increase from 4.7 to 6.1 inches. Other expected features include a USB-C port and an action button.

iFixit disassembles a 13-inch iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro

The popular repair site iFixit shared a video clip that includes the disassembly of the new 13-inch iPad Pro and Apple Pencil Pro. The site praised the inclusion of adhesive battery pull tabs in the new iPad Pro, as they facilitate the repair process.

The device contains the new Ultra Retina screen, which is a dual-layer OLED screen from Samsung, which provides 1000 nits higher brightness and double the contrast compared to the sixth generation.

The main advantage is the possibility of removing the battery directly after the display, which is a significant improvement in repairability as a result of legislation and public opinion. But the iPad's thinner design requires compressing many components, making it difficult to repair.

The device has the new M4 chip instead of the M3, and the base 256GB model comes with a single NAND storage chip that may affect read/write speeds.

The new Apple Pencil Pro is almost beyond repair, and has a wireless charging coil and a new MEMS sensor.

In the end, there are improvements to repairability but criticism of the sacrifices made in order to make a thinner device without apparent necessity. For more information, you can watch the video above.

Moving the rear cameras to the center in the iPhone 17 Slim

A report stated that Apple is planning to launch a new, high-quality model of the iPhone 17 next year, and one of the most prominent details is that the rear cameras may be moved to the “top center” of the device. Since the first model was released in 2007, the rear cameras have been located in the upper left corner, so this move would be a noticeable change. Other features will include a screen between 6.1 and 6.7 inches, a much thinner design with an aluminum frame, improvements to the front camera, a narrower dynamic island, and the A19 chip. It is expected that its price will be higher than the Pro Max model, which starts at $1199, and may be called “iPhone Ultra.”

Apple shares its 2023 App Store Transparency Report

Apple published its second annual report on App Store transparency, highlighting the number of apps that were disapproved during the year, the number of customer and developer accounts that were suspended, the number of apps that were removed from the store, and more. In 2023, there were 1,870,119 apps available, and Apple reviewed 6,892,500 app requests, of which 1,763,812 were rejected due to performance, design, or legal issues. 277,923 applications were approved after changes were made.

116,117 apps were removed, with the most removed categories being Tools, Games, and Business. 76,887 apps were removed for violating design guidelines, and 35,245 apps were removed for violating fraud prevention rules. 1,285 applications were removed at the request of the Chinese government, and 103 at the request of the South Korean government, in addition to other applications in several countries.

398,499,012 customer accounts search the App Store weekly on average, and 166,360 apps appear in the top 1000 results for more than 373,739,771 searches weekly. As Apple previously reported, it suspended 1,838,127,451 customer accounts and prevented fraudulent transactions estimated at $XNUMX.

Once again, iPad Pro users reported screen problems

Some new iPad Pro models with the M4 processor showed blurring on the OLED screen, according to user reports on Reddit and the MacRumors forums. Noise is clearly visible in dark environments with low to medium brightness and when viewing content in gray or faded tones. This may be a result of factors associated with the design and manufacturing of OLED displays, such as varying size and shape of subpixels and varying light emission. Similar reports have appeared on the Samsung S24 Ultra phones. The 11-inch iPad Pro's screens are manufactured by Samsung, while the 13-inch model's screens are manufactured by LG.

The reports mostly focus on the 11-inch model and it is not yet clear if the defect is specific to a particular supplier. The affected models have the regular glass option and not the nano glass option.

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple this week submitted a letter pre-filing a motion to dismiss the antitrust case brought against it by the US Department of Justice in March. In this letter, Apple says the government's lawsuit is flawed in several ways, and does not prove that Apple violated antitrust laws, engaged in anticompetitive behavior, or caused harm to consumers. The Department of Justice claims that Apple dominates the smartphone market in the United States, but Apple denies this and that this is within the framework of fair competition. The case is expected to drag on for several years with hearings and filings before a final ruling is reached.

◉ This week, Apple released the tvOS 17.5.1 update, which is a minor update that focuses on fixing a bug in the Photos app that caused deleted photos to appear again, which is the same bug that was fixed in the iOS 17.5.1 and iPadOS 17.5.1 updates that were released successively.

◉ Apple's Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Williams, is said to have visited processor manufacturer TSMC to secure upcoming 2nm chips for future iPhone devices, which could offer significant improvements in performance and efficiency, as Apple seeks to maintain a competitive advantage through access Early access to this advanced technology.

◉ As reported by Mark Gurman, Apple is currently completing manufacturing tests for the next-generation AirTag with its partners in Asia. The new model is scheduled to feature an updated chip and improved location tracking capabilities. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that mass production of the second-generation AirTag will be delayed until after the quarter. The fourth from 2024 until 2025, believing that it will somehow integrate with Apple Vision Pro glasses.

◉ Over the past few days, some iPhone users have complained that the “Allow applications to request tracking” option in Settings has become inactive. Apple notes below the option that this may be due to profile restriction, Apple ID account management, not meeting age requirements, or missing age information. However, many affected users assert that none of these reasons apply to them. The issue started for some users after they updated to iOS 17.5, while others were affected by previous versions. The problem appears to be related to the servers, and Apple recently resolved it, confirming that all settings will return to their previous state in the coming days.

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