Apple’s new iPhone Xs will be available in stores later this week, and they’ll be some of the first devices to ship with the new iOS 12 operating system.
But if you have an older iPhone or iPad you can update to iOS 12 starting today. Apple says the new version of its smartphone and tablet operating system brings performance improvements and some new and improved features including support for Siri Shortcuts, more Do Not Disturb options, and new augmented reality tools.
But according to reviewers, one of the most impressive things about the new operating system is that it brings performance and stability improvements to older phones… past updates have sometimes caused older phones to slow down. It seems like Apple has followed through on a promise to improve performance on devices as old as the iPhone 5S, which was released in 2013.
I’m not aware of any Android phone that old that still receives official updates from its manufacturer.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.
- iOS 12, thoroughly reviewed (Ars Technica)
It’s not a huge update, but it runs well on older devices, offers users more control, paves way for new types of apps. - Apple’s AirPower Might Be ‘Doomed’ (Gizmodo)
Apple’s AirPower is supposed to be a compact wireless charging pad capable of charging multiple devices at once. But it’s been delayed and now insiders are suggesting it might never see the light of day, since Apple is having a hard time developing a product that lives up to the promises the company made when AirPower was first announced.. - New heart-monitoring capabilities on the Apple Watch aren’t all that impressive (Quartz)
Apple Watch Series 4’s new ECG readings won’t tell you as much as an ECG administered by a doctor, but the FDA figures it’s relatively safe to use. - Qualcomm’s first “true” PC processors sets record in transistor count (WinFuture)
According to this report, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 1000 (for laptops) will have 8.5 billion transistors, compared with 6.9 billion for Apple’s new A12 Bionic. - DC Universe subscription services goes live (DC Universe)
DC Universe subscription service is now live. For $8 per month or $75 per year, you get access to a collection of digital comics, movies, TV shows, and new exclusive streaming shows from DC Comics. - Intellivision to reveal extensive details of new video game console (Intellivision)
Intellivision announces… that it’ll announced more details about its upcoming retro game console on Oct 20th.
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Maybe the Airpower mat will be available a few months later. I don’t know of another charging mat that offers the features that it has. Even if they don’t sell it, they may have patented key parts of the technology to prevent others from making a similar product.