apple-will-recalibrate-iphone-11-batteries-to-fix-performance-and-capacity-issues

Apple will recalibrate iPhone 11 batteries to fix performance and capacity issues

Apple will try to fix battery drain and reduced performance issues that have affected some iPhone 11 devices by recalibrating their batteries in an upcoming update (via MacRumors). According to an Apple support document, the process will happen when you update an iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max to the upcoming iOS 14.5.

It might take a few weeks for the battery health system to figure out how much capacity your battery has left, and how much performance it can provide, according to the document. It doesn’t seem like users should notice too much of a difference during the process, though there will be a message in the battery health section of the settings menu explaining what’s going on.

The process is currently being tested in the latest release of the developer beta, but given that Apple has a support page already up for it, there’s a good chance it’ll make it into the final release. If the recalibration fails, for some reason, Apple says it or an authorized service provider will replace the battery for free. Hopefully, if you were experiencing battery issues with your iPhone 11, this process will help alleviate them when 14.5 is finally released.

It’s not unusual that Apple would release a document about a battery change before it starts happening. The company has been a lot more transparent when it makes changes to the iPhone’s power delivery system ever since it was caught throttling the performance of older iPhones to protect the battery.

apple-won’t-give-siri-a-female-sounding-voice-by-default-anymore

Apple won’t give Siri a female-sounding voice by default anymore

Apple will remove the female voice as the default for its Siri assistant, according to TechCrunch. The change is effective as of today’s release of the sixth iOS 14.5 beta. Once this latest update is publicly released to all customers, iPhone and iPad users will be prompted to choose their preferred Siri voice during device setup. Previously, Siri defaulted to a female voice, and users could pick between other voices in settings after the fact.

Alongside this change, Apple is also introducing two completely new voices for Siri that, according to TechCrunch, “use source talent recordings that are then run through Apple’s Neural text to speech engine, making the voices flow more organically through phrases that are actually being generated on the fly.” Those new voices are available to English speakers globally.

The news is the latest example of big tech companies trying to remove any gender associations from their digital voice assistants. Studies have found that when assistants use a female-sounding voice by default, it can reinforce bias and negative stereotypes. Some embarrassing mistakes have been made along the way as these technologies develop, but Apple’s latest step is one of the most significant yet.

“We’re excited to introduce two new Siri voices for English speakers and the option for Siri users to select the voice they want when they set up their device,” Apple told TechCrunch in a statement. “This is a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, and products and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in.” Siri takes on over 25 billion requests monthly across 500 million devices, according to TechCrunch.

belkin’s-iphone-12-stand-will-follow-you-with-face-tracking-(but-not-during-video-calls)

Belkin’s iPhone 12 stand will follow you with face tracking (but not during video calls)

Belkin has a new iPhone stand that’s useful enough to be interesting but annoyingly limited.

The company’s “Magnetic Phone Mount with Face Tracking” works with the iPhone 12’s MagSafe feature, clipping your phone into place using the device’s built-in magnets. It then uses face tracking to follow you around the room, rotating so it’s always facing you.

The catch is that this feature doesn’t work with video calls on Zoom, FaceTime, or any other similar service — surely one of the biggest potential use cases in a pandemic. In fact, judging by the product description, the tracking feature only works when recording video through Belkin’s own iOS app. That would mean you can’t even use the stand to make sure your phone is always facing you as you follow along with an exercise video or recipe. We’ve reached out to Belkin to double check this and will update this article when we know more.

You can track yourself recording video but not watching it.
Image: Belkin

Being able to record video that tracks you will definitely be useful to some people, and Belkin says its iOS app can connect directly to social media accounts (including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and others) to make posting easy. But it still means the mount is more of a specialist tool than a device that could help more consumers.

Other relevant specs: the mount works in landscape and portrait orientations, can be tilted vertically from -15 to 30 degrees, rotates horizontally through 360 degrees, and is powered by three AA batteries. And of course, because it uses MagSafe to attach to your phone, it only works with the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The mount will sell for $65, but it’s only listed as “coming soon” on Belkin’s website.

apple-maps-will-show-covid-19-travel-guidances-so-you-know-what-to-expect-at-the-airport

Apple Maps will show COVID-19 travel guidances so you know what to expect at the airport

To help make travel during the pandemic a little less stressful, Apple Maps will now display travel guidance information provided by the Airports Council International (ACI) so you know what to expect before you take off or land at your destination.

The travel guidances — like mask requirements, health screenings, and quarantine guidelines — will be displayed on an individual airport’s place card in Apple Maps, with links to official airport guidance websites as well. The information should be viewable on iPhones, iPads, and Macs — though, currently, only airports that are participating in the ACI’s Health Measures Portal will feature the new information.

Travel guidances in Apple Maps on iPhone.
Image: MacStories

Apple Maps has been updated to display other useful COVID-19 information over the last year, like the location of testing sites and available vaccine providers. You can check Apple Maps to see if the airport you’re traveling to has guidance, or use the ACI’s Check & Fly tool to find participating airports.

tsmc-reportedly-plans-volume-production-for-4nm-process-this-year

TSMC Reportedly Plans Volume Production for 4nm Process This Year

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

DigiTimes today reported that TSMC is set to begin volume production for its 4nm process in the fourth quarter of 2021, rather than early 2022 as originally planned. The report also indicated that Apple has contracted initial production using this node for use in future versions of the custom silicon found in some of its Mac products.

TSMC announced in January that it planned to spend up to $28 billion in 2021 to increase production for its N5 and N7 processes while it started risk testing its N3 process. China Renaissance Securities then said in February that N5 capacity was at roughly 55,000~60,000 wafer starts per month (WSPM); that’s expected to double this year.

N5 doesn’t necessarily refer to a single process—it actually covers the N5, N5P, and N4 processes. The first two are 5nm processes and the last is the upcoming 4nm process. It gets bundled with its predecessors because it’s expected to have a smaller impact than the 3nm process (N3) expected to debut in late 2022.

It seems the increased capital expenditure for 2021 is pushing N4 along faster than TSMC expected. The company said in August 2020 that its 4nm process was supposed to enter risk production in 4Q21 and volume production in 2022. According to DigiTimes sources, however, volume production should begin this year.

The first Apple chips based on that 4nm process shouldn’t be too far behind. Apple is TSMC’s largest customer by far, and its shift to custom silicon in the Mac lineup is expected to make it an even bigger part of TSMC’s business. So it’s no surprise that Apple has, per DigiTimes, already contracted initial production for the 4nm process.

DigiTimes reported that TSMC will begin production of the N5P-based A15 chip, which is expected to debut in the iPhone 13 later this year, sometime in May. An upgraded version of that SoC will likely be added to future iPad models later, but Apple is said to be jumping straight to N4 for the next SoC designed for Mac.

This accelerated timeline could allow Apple to switch every Mac over to its custom silicon earlier than anticipated. The company said in November 2020 that it wanted to have its own SoCs across the Mac lineup by 2022. TSMC’s ability to begin volume production of the N4 process should make it that much easier to beat that goal.

In somewhat related news, Intel today released the latest CPUs based on its 14nm process, with plans to introduce the first desktop 10nm processors later this year and 7nm CPUs following in 2023. That should give it plenty of time to put out a commercial claiming that, when it comes to process nodes, bigger is better. Right?