iPhones as low as $79/month?
Hello there,
This week was crazy in terms of new updates! So many things are happening, a lot of the tech giants have new updates coming in. Well, I want to cover them all so buckle up and be ready to read an entire thousand words on tech.
Okay, yeah, now that I think of it, that sounds real off-putting. Anyway, let’s get started.
The news of the week — Apple might start selling the iPhone as a subscription service. Yes, you read that right! I was dumbstruck when I first read about the article too! Well, as of now, we don’t have a lot of information on this end. However, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has predicted that the service could launch in late 2022 or early 2023. Now, the first thing that comes to your mind would be: How costly will the subscription be? My guess is the basic plan would start from $79 with the basic iPhone line-up with a lock-in for 2 years. Now, along with this subscription, you might be able to benefit from other bundled plans as well- such as Apple One and Apple Care+ being included in your package.
This isn’t the only update from Apple that we have received this week. Apple is also reportedly working on a 15-inch laptop! According to supply chain consultants and Ming Kuo, the production of this device is due to start in the last quarter of 2023. Kuo also mentioned that this laptop will ship with the same 30W charger as the MacBook Pro suggesting that this machine might be the “Pro” standard Apple wants to cater to. It is also possible that this laptop is not called the MacBook Air altogether. It is highly plausible that Apple chooses a new name for this.
Now that we are talking about MacBooks, fun fact! Apple’s new studio display ships with 64GB of internal storage and has the same processor as an iPhone 11! I know this makes zero difference in your everyday life but this fact is so cool! So many good things about Apple :) Well, Apple has had some tough times too. This week Apple suffered from two significant outages that took iMessage, the App Store, Apple Music, and so many others down! The first outage was significant and the second one was manageable. So, if your iPhone was acting weird, it probably was a fault from Apple’s end :)
Apple may also suffer from a new EU law that may be passed shortly. Apple will be forced to allow users to sideload apps on their iPhones and download them without using the App Store. In addition to that, Apple will also be forced to allow developers to use the App Store without using Apple’s gateway! I am not sure how this will be implemented or rolled out and it is too early to predict anything yet, so let’s just hold back and see what happens there.
Let’s head over to fun news now. Zoom now allows you to use avatars during Zoom meetings. You can now be an animal avatar during your work-related calls. Practically, I see no use case for this but it can be a fun addition when you are playing around with your friends on Zoom. Whatever, it is a fun addition and I like it. It’s a good way to lighten your mood. You can access this feature now. All you have to do is update your Zoom application to version 5.10, it’s that simple!
Okay, now for some headlines, First things first, the OnePlus 10 Pro is due to launch globally on the 31st of March. I don’t see anyone buying it, but again, I have to report the news :) Secondly, the Twitter search bar just got an overhaul. Now, you can actually search for chats in conversations with people using the search bar. Small feature but can be extremely handy at times. Thirdly, do you know Instagram reactions when it comes to texting? Yeah, I am sure most of you do. Yes, they are coming to WhatsApp, you can now react to any message on WhatsApp with 6 emojis. This feature is still in beta and has only been launched in Android but will shortly roll out for a wide variety of users around the world.
Now for some Spotify related news. Spotify is testing a revitalised Car Mode. Last year, Spotify retired its Car Mode due to it being sluggish and having poor design but did not roll out a widely available replacement. Alongside that, Google and Spotify are having a pilot program where Spotify might be able to bypass Android billing but Google would still get paid. Now, I am aware this is not something that will intrigue all my readers here, so check this article out by The Verge on the same.
Now for the last update of this week. I personally relate to this! When I was younger, I used to download a lot of unwanted softwares on my laptop and my dad bought this anti-virus software; Kaspersky. And to be honest, the user interface was clean and it was used to detect threats and viruses. It didn’t take my family long enough to become loyal consumers of this software. I started recommending this software to everyone because it was cheap and efficient at the same time! In fact, I still have a running subscription to Kaspersky. But as of 26th March, FCC has added Kaspersky as a national security threat to the United States. This is the first Russian company to make this list. Kaspersky hasn’t had a good history with the United States. In 2017, Russian intelligence allegedly used Kaspersky’s antivirus network to steal classified documents from the States National Security Agency. Yeah, later that year, President Trump also signed a bill. This banned the use of Kaspersky products in federal agencies.
Well, that’s it from my end. This was it for this week! I hope you found this issue as interesting as my parents find talking about “my grades”. If you did, please share this article with your friends and family. Cool? Make sure to update your tech devices and I will catch up with you next week.
Installing Windows 11 on Mac,
Tejas Tagra
6047 days old
