Items tagged with iphone 7
Apple has in the past charged iPhone 7 users to repair a microphone defect that appeared to many to be a design flaw in the phone. The charge to fix that mic defect was $300, not too far off from the cost of replacing the phone. Apple was offering users a refurbished replacement device for $329 to $349. The microphone in some iPhone 7 devices continued to fail even after updating to iOS 12.1.1. The microphone problem was linked to the failure of a logic board inside the smartphone and was dubbed "loop disease." Initially, Apple was repairing the devices for free but reversed that policy. It later began charging $300 if users had no AppleCare+ warranty or if the device wasn't still covered...
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Apple is now having to face the music with respect to iPhone sale in Germany. Earlier this year, Qualcomm won an injunction against Apple for patent infringement due to the Intel 4G LTE modems used in its iPhone 7/iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus devices. The injunction resulted in Apple having to pull the iPhones in question off store shelves in Germany. Now, we're learning that Apple will be allowed to sell the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in Germany, but there's just one big stipulation: the company has to use Qualcomm modems instead of its favored Intel counterparts. This is an excruciating blow to Apple, as the company has purposely avoided using Qualcomm components...
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Yesterday, Qualcomm put up €1.34 billion in security bonds in order to enforce a German court ruling in its favor made in late December regarding a bitter patent dispute with Apple. The patents pertained to "power savings technology" used in modern smartphones call envelope tracking. Today, Apple has been forced to pull its iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 from its own stores in Germany. Apple's German website was the first to boot the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, but it remains to be seen if/when other retailers will follow suit. For its part, Qualcomm claims that the court order also covers third-party retailers: Apple was ordered to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale of...
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Qualcomm is looking to box Apple in with regards to the ongoing legal battle between the two companies. Earlier this month, Qualcomm won an injunction in China, which should have resulted in an import/sales ban on every iPhone made dating back to the iPhone 6S/iPhone 6S Plus. However, Apple has largely ignored that ruling, saying that a new iOS 12 update provides a workaround for the two Qualcomm patents in question. Today, however, Apple was dealt another blow, this time in a German court. In this latest chapter in the legal drama, Qualcomm successfully argued that 4G LTE modems produced by Intel and components produced by Qorvo for the iPhone infringe...
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Something wonky is going in Cupertino and at Apple Stores around the country if a new report concerning iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus repairs is indeed accurate. Back in May, we first reported on numerous instances where iPhone 7 users updating to iOS 11.3 were suddenly left with defective microphones. Customers affected by the issue would see a greyed-out speaker icon during phone calls, and the defect also prevented the person on the other end of the line from hearing an iPhone 7 user during regular phones calls or FaceTime chats. At the time, Apple's solution -- as per an internal support document -- was for an Apple Store Genius (or authorized Apple serve center) to run audio diagnostics...
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An internal Apple document appears to confirm another issue that has popped up with iOS 11.3 and pertains to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones. On those devices, the update has created a microphone issue on what Apple says is a limited number of devices. Affected users may see a grayed-out speaker button during phone calls. The issue can also prevent some users of affected devices from being heard during phone calls and FaceTime video chats. An internal document cited by MacRumors has instructed Apple Authorized Service Providers to ask customers to disconnect or power off any Bluetooth headsets or audio accessories connected to the smartphone and see if that fixes the issue....
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It's out with the old and in with the new (sort of new, anyway) for police officers at Patrol Borough Manhattan South, a large area spanning Wall Street to 59th Street. Over the weekend, the officers assembled at an old police academy in Gramercy Park to pick up their newly issued iPhone 7 handsets, as the department switches over from Nokia devices running on Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. The shift from Windows Phones to iPhone hardware was announced last year, at the time just months after the last batch of Nokia devices were handed out to police. NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch had arranged the Windows Phone roll out to police two years prior when she...
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Apple has a controversy brewing on its hands, and it all started because of a reddit thread that gained traction earlier this month. One redditor complained of poor CPU performance on his iPhone 6s (which was confirmed with multiple Geekbench runs), that was magically "cured" when he installed a new battery. He along with other redditors in the thread surmised that Apple was purposefully throttling CPU performance on iPhones whose batteries had fallen below a certain threshold. Primate Labs founder John Poole (and the brains behind Geekbench) basically confirmed these initial findings with some deeper analysis of his own, concluding, "The problem is due, in part, to a change in iOS. The difference...
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It looks like the developers behind the popular cross-platform Benchmark have confirmed suspicions that many users have amassed with regards to overall system performance on "older" iPhones. Earlier this month, we reported on a link between CPU throttling on some previous generation models and iOS updates that were pushed out to address unrelated battery-life issues regarding premature shutdowns. Some users reported that replacing their old and well-worn battery with a new battery (OEM or third-party) restored overall system performance to a like-new state. It was surmised that Apple was throttling iPhones whose batteries capacities had fallen below a certain threshold in order to preserve battery...
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Last month, Apple introduced a new family of smartphones to appease the legions of iPhone users around the globe. The first products to take the stage with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which are enhanced versions of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that debuted last year. The real "star" of the show, however, was the iPhone X, which is an all-new model with minimal bezels, Face ID and an OLED display. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were first made available in the retail market on September 22nd, and according to industry analysts, customers haven't exactly been won over by the new phones. KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh says that surveys conducted with wireless carriers show that...
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An unlikely source posted a glowing recommendation of the iPhone 7, and specifically the phone's camera performance. Vic Gundotra, the former senior vice president of social for Google, posted some snapshots of his two young children that were taken while out at dinner. In the accompanying text, Gundotra gushes about the photo quality, which he insinuates are comparable to his DSLR. Indeed, the photos of his children appear clear and crisp. Furthermore, the iPhone 7 did a superb job blurring out the background and keeping the kids in focus, which is something that DSLR cameras are adept at (in the right hands, of course). And if we assume that Gundotra's children were not sitting perfectly still,...
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As the launch of the iPhone 8 draws nearer with each passing day, the rumors surrounding Apple’s next-generation flagship are starting to hone in on single design theme and feature set. This is becoming more apparent thanks to some new leaks that have made their way to the internet. The first leak compares the new iPhone 8 not only to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but also with Samsung’s red-hot Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Compared to its siblings, the iPhone 8 is slightly larger than the iPhone 7, but much less of a behemoth than the iPhone 7 Plus. However, the iPhone 8’s screen is still larger than that of the iPhone 7 Plus, which shows just how much screen real estate is wasted...
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Apple announced its fiscal Q2 2017 earnings yesterday, and the company reported $52.9 billion in revenue against a Wall Street consensus of $53.1 billion. The company also experienced a downturn in iPhone sales, as it shipped 50.8 million units for fiscal Q2 compared to 51.2 million during the same quarter in 2016. Everyone has been focusing on that figure for iPhone shipments, even if it’s down ever so slightly from the year before. Some are wondering if Apple has lost its mojo, or if Apple’s iPhone boom in China has lost its sizzle. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there’s another explanation for weaker sales. Cook is blaming this downturn on a product that hasn’t even been released. “I only...
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Apple leveled some pretty serious allegations against Qualcomm earlier this year, citing anticompetitive licensing practices (among other things). The Cupertino, California-based company likened Qualcomm’s practices to extortion and asked for $1 billion in payments that were allegedly withheld. “Qualcomm built its business on older, legacy, standards but reinforces its dominance through exclusionary tactics and excessive royalties,” said Apple back in late January. “We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business with us and unfortunately after years of disagreement over what constitutes a fair and reasonable royalty we have no choice left but to turn to the courts.”...
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