Apple’siPhones just got a lot faster. During its virtual event Tuesday, the company unveiled its iPhone 12 lineup — and all four new devices come with 5G, including the ultra-fast millimeter wave version. The company’s 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Max pack in some of the biggest advances Apple has made in years.
The two middle phones go on sale next week (preorders begin this Friday), while the Mini and Max arrive in mid-November. The starting prices range from $699 for the Mini — making it one of the cheapest premium 5G phones on the market — to $1,099 for the Max. All international versions of the iPhone come with 5G, but only the US versions have mmWave (Verizon has been the technology’s main proponent).
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The addition of 5G connectivity is a first for Apple’s device lineup. (No, your older AT&T phones that say “5G E” can’t connect to the new 5G networks.) The most noticeable improvement with 5G over what the iPhone offers today is faster download speeds, hence Apple’s “Hi, Speed” event invite. 5G can run between 10 and 100 times faster than your typical 4G cellular connection, making downloads and video streaming snappier than ever. It’s also more responsive than 4G, making gaming, video streaming and other tasks much smoother.
Overall, 5G is expected to change the way we live, much like 4G brought about apps like Uber. But it’s still early days with the technology, and most consumers aren’t using 5G. As of Tuesday, all three major US carriers now have nationwide 5G networks, though they’re built on the slower version of 5G. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg appeared on stage at Apple’s virtual event to announce that the country’s largest wireless carrier now has a low-band 5G network, which offers dramatically more coverage — at lower speeds — than the previous flavor of its superfast, mmWave 5G.
The iPhone seamlessly switches between 4G and 5G to conserve battery power. When 5G is needed — like for high-def video streaming — it’ll automatically tap into that network. Otherwise, the device will activate 4G connectivity. 5G processors, which are still new, are power hungry, and they’ve also caused early devices to overheat. By switching between 4G and 5G, Apple aims to prevent those problems.
Apple showed off its new products Tuesday during a virtual event, much like its iPad and Apple Watch Series 6 launch in October. It unveiled a new $99 HomePod Mini smart speaker before talking about its 5G iPhones.
The full iPhone 12 lineup
The premium iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max devices feature stainless steel bands and come in four finishes: silver, graphic, gold and Pacific blue. The 12 Pro packs in a 6.1-inch display, while the Pro Max features a 6.7-inch screen.
Both devices have three rear-facing cameras and have LiDAR for depth mapping, AR and low-light autofocus. The 12 Pro gets a new telephoto lens with an optical zoom of 2.5X, while the Pro Max gets a 5X optical zoom, a big jump from the 2X optical zoom of older generations. Both get other camera tweaks and come with 128GB, 256GB and 512GB storage options.
The iPhone 12 features an aluminum frame with new antennas all around the device to connect to the 5G networks. It’ll come in black, white, green, blue and Product (Red), and it features a 6.1-inch, Super Retina XDR OLED display with smaller bezels than its predecessors. And the iPhone 12 is 11% thinner, 15% smaller and 16% lighter than the older iPhone 11. There are 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options. The iPhone 12 also has dual, 12MP camera lenses with an f2.4 ultra wide and f1.6 wide. It also can capture photos using Night Mode, as well as night time lapse.
The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini is nearly identical to the iPhone 12 aside from its screen size and weight.
The iPhone 12 Pro will start at $999, while the 12 Pro Max will retail for $1,099. Apple kept the prices of its premium phone the same as last year’s models, despite packing in 5G connectivity and other improvements. The new iPhone 12 will retail for $799, which is $100 more than last year’s model. Apple also unveiled an iPhone 12 Mini, which has a 5.4-inch display and will cost $699.
Preorders for the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro — Apple’s two 6.1-inch phones — begin Friday, with availability Oct. 23. The 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max arrive a few weeks later, with preorders beginning Nov. 6 and the devices hitting stores Nov. 13.
The company’s new iPhones are arriving about a month later than normal, a delay attributed to the pandemic. The novel coronavirus, which causes a pneumonia-like disease called COVID-19, quickly spread across the globe this year, causing cities and entire countries to issue lockdowns to slow its advance. China, where COVID-19 was first detected, in late 2019, shut down first, jamming up production of iPhones and other products. The rest of the world soon followed suit, and the global economy all but ground to a halt. Since then, the coronavirus has infected over 37 million people and killed more than a million. While many regions have begun reopening, life isn’t back to normal.
As a result, consumers have been postponing phone purchases in favor of other work-from-home equipment. But Apple is likely to see huge demand for its newest iPhones. The company hasn’t changed the overall design of its phones since 2017’s iPhone X, its first device that ditched the physical home button in favor of a bigger screen and Face ID. By expanding into 5G, Apple is likely to see a surge in sales for its latest smartphones.
The iPhone “has never been more indispensable than it is now,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday. “Today is the beginning of a new era for iPhone.”
5G boom
5G started rolling out across the globe last year and picked up speed in 2020. Virtually all new Android phones arriving in the US today offer 5G, and the country’s biggest carriers have been talking nonstop about the connectivity. Now that Apple is jumping into the fray with its 5G-enabled iPhone 12 models, the buzz about 5G is only going to get louder — even if consumers in places like the US aren’t exactly clamoring for 5G devices.
Apple’s iPhone 12 lineup starts at $699 for the Mini up to a starting price of $1,099 for the 12 Pro Max. At the same time, it dropped the pricing for its older iPhones.
screenshot/Apple
Apple is expected to immediately be a huge player in 5G. This year, the company will likely ship 50 million 5G iPhones, according to Strategy Analytics, making it the second biggest 5G vendor in 2020. That’s with less than three months of sales. By comparison, Samsungshipped about 6.7 million Galaxy 5G smartphones from May 2019 — when its first 5G phones hit the market — to the end of that year. Next year, Apple will be the world’s biggest 5G phone vendor, Strategy Analytics said.
“There’s a so-called Apple effect,” Strategy Analytics analyst Ville-Petteri Ukonaho said. “Whatever Apple does, it almost immediately becomes a success.”
Though many people believe their current iPhones can connect to 5G — about half of Americans think so, according to a survey by wireless benchmarking tracker Global Wireless Solutions — that isn’t the case. To get on the superspeedy new networks, Apple fans will need to upgrade to a device in the iPhone 12 lineup.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
