Month: August 2024
iPhone 16 Pro rumored features: the key upgrades we’re expecting
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will reportedly have bigger screens, better cameras, a new button, and more.
This year, like most years, we’re expecting four new iPhones to land, each of which should mark an improvement over their respective predecessors. But it’s the Pro models that are likely to house the biggest upgrades.
With Apple’s September 9 showcase (read: iPhone 16 launch event) fast approaching, it’s no surprise that we’ve heard myriad rumors about what these upgrades will be, so while nothing is confirmed just yet, we have a fairly good idea of what to expect from Apple’s next best iPhones.
Below, then, you’ll find details of the biggest new features and upgrades we’re expecting in the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Bigger screens
The iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
With its 6.7-inch screen, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is already one of the larger mainstream phones on the market, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max looks set to be even bigger, as numerous leaks have suggested that it’ll have a 6.9-inch display.
Likewise, the iPhone 16 Pro will reportedly be rising from the 6.1 inches of its predecessor to 6.3 inches.
However, this increase in screen size might not translate to much of an overall size increase, as leaks suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could have smaller bezels than the current models. In other words, they might just make better use of the already available space.
This design change would, however, give you a larger iPhone screen to enjoy videos, games, and apps on, without making the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max much harder to operate with one hand.
A powerful A18 Pro chipset
Honkai Impact on the iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
It’s probably no surprise to hear that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are rumored to be more powerful than their predecessors, since a chipset upgrade is the one thing you can be almost certain of in each new iPhone model.
Still, this is a potentially exciting improvement, as while the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max remain among the most powerful phones on the planet, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are likely to race ahead of all rivals.
That extra power could be beneficial for numerous things, including powering the on-device AI features we’re expecting as part of Apple Intelligence. So, if you want one of the best AI phones, then the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max could be well worth considering.
A new button
The iPhone 15 Pro (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
Not so long ago we were hearing rumors of a buttonless iPhone, and while such a product may still be in Apple’s future, for now, the company seems to be going in the other direction, with numerous reputable sources claiming that the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will actually gain a button.
This is thought to be called a ‘Capture’ button, and leaks suggest that you’ll be able to use it as a physical shutter button to take photos and record videos. But some sources add that you might be able to focus the camera with a light press, before taking a photo with a harder press, and that swiping across it may allow you to zoom in and out. So, this ‘Capture’ button could be quite a versatile key.
What’s more, having a physical button to take pictures with should make operating the iPhone camera feel a lot slicker and more like a bona fide camera.
Better cameras
The iPhone 15 Pro Max camera array (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Speaking of cameras, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max both look set for some upgrades in the photography department, too.
For one thing, both phones are rumored to be getting a new 48MP ultra-wide camera, up from a 12MP sensor on the current models.
One or more of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro cameras might also sport a stacked camera design, which could improve low-light performance, and the iPhone 16 Pro is expected to get a 5x telephoto snapper, up from 3x on the iPhone 15 Pro.
This 5x zoom camera is said to be the same as the one already boasted by the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so it could close the gap between the Pro and Pro Max models. That said, there’s an outside chance that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will get a new ‘super telephoto’ camera, offering even longer distance zoom – though that particular upgrade is not looking particularly likely, as no recent leaks mention it.
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With AI food recognition Samsung Food could be the ultimate meal-planning app
Samsung Food Plus can create tailored meal plans based on your nutritional needs and the food in your fridge and pantry. | Image: Samsung
New features on Samsung’s AI-powered food and recipe app could make your meal planning and food management chores much easier. With Samsung Food, you can now add items to a Food List just by taking a picture. The app can then suggest recipes based on the food you have, automatically remove them when you cook a recipe using anything on the list, then add food items back to the list when you tick them off your shopping list.
The Food List was previously only accessible via the SmartThings app and the built-in tablet on Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridges, limiting its usefulness. Now, as part of the cross-platform Samsung Food app, it could turn the service into a really useful all-in-one shopping, food management, meal planning, and cooking app.
But it will cost you. These new features are part of Samsung Food Plus, a paid tier of the free food management app. The service is $6.99 a month ($59.99 a year) and, in addition to the Food List feature, removes ads from the app, offers a tailored seven-day meal plan, allows users to personalize recipes using AI, and tracks nutrition goals. The app works on both iOS and Android and on the web, it requires a Samsung Account.
I tested Samsung Food last year, and while I liked how easy it was to import recipes from anywhere and how it tailored a meal plan for me every week, adding items to the food list and the fact that the meal plan didn’t suggest recipes based on the list were frustrating. With this update, both of those complaints have been addressed.
Image: Samsung
With Samsung Food Plus you can take a picture of ingredients you have to add them to your food list.
Samsung says the service now creates meal plans based on your food list and prioritizes items “nearing use-by date” (this has to be set manually). Plus, a new “Search with Your Food List” feature lets you easily find a recipe based on what you have. All this should make meal planning and shopping much easier, as long as you’re willing to do it all in Samsung’s app.
The headline feature of the new updates is Vision AI. This leverages your phone’s camera to identify items to add to your Food List. Just snap a picture of whatever is in your pantry or fridge, and the ingredients will be added to the list.
Vision AI is also in the latest Family Hub fridge, where its in-unit AI-powered cameras can automatically add certain foods to the Food List. However, Samsung says the app version can identify over 40,000 types of ingredients using your smartphone’s camera, compared to just 33 the fridge can spot. This is because the fridge processes the images locally, whereas the app can leverage cloud processing.
Samsung Food also features AI-guided cooking steps that integrate with compatible Samsung ovens to preheat, set timers, and adjust the temperature according to the recipe you’re cooking — right from the app.
Image: Samsung
While you don’t need Samsung appliances to use the Samsung Food app, it does integrate with appliances, including the Family Hub smart fridge and Samsung’s connected ovens.
Samsung Food debuted at IFA 2023 last year, and these new features are being announced ahead of the tech show in Berlin next week (think Europe’s version of CES). These new food management features help complete the app’s focus on being an ultimate meal planning tool, allowing you to collate recipes from anywhere, more easily input the food in your fridge and pantry, and then plan meals based on what you have on hand.
In addition to making adding food items to the list easier, several new automated features should simplify maintaining that list. Once you’ve cooked something, the app can automatically remove it from the food list and add it to the shopping list in the Samsung Food app. When you shop using the list, the app can automatically add items purchased to your food list — organizational nirvana!
The benefit of a food list that knows what’s in your fridge and pantry and can keep that knowledge up to date is a more tailored meal plan that uses items you have. This can help cut down on food waste and grocery bills. While $7 a month is expensive, it could save you that much on monthly grocery bills if it works as advertised.
Samsung Food Plus is rolling out now, and in addition to the features mentioned above, it includes a full week of tailored meal plans with recipes based on your nutritional needs, chosen diets, and previous recipe preferences. The free version offers three days of recommendations.
Samsung Food Plus can create tailored meal plans based on your nutritional needs and the food in your fridge and pantry. | Image: Samsung
New features on Samsung’s AI-powered food and recipe app could make your meal planning and food management chores much easier. With Samsung Food, you can now add items to a Food List just by taking a picture. The app can then suggest recipes based on the food you have, automatically remove them when you cook a recipe using anything on the list, then add food items back to the list when you tick them off your shopping list.
The Food List was previously only accessible via the SmartThings app and the built-in tablet on Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridges, limiting its usefulness. Now, as part of the cross-platform Samsung Food app, it could turn the service into a really useful all-in-one shopping, food management, meal planning, and cooking app.
But it will cost you. These new features are part of Samsung Food Plus, a paid tier of the free food management app. The service is $6.99 a month ($59.99 a year) and, in addition to the Food List feature, removes ads from the app, offers a tailored seven-day meal plan, allows users to personalize recipes using AI, and tracks nutrition goals. The app works on both iOS and Android and on the web, it requires a Samsung Account.
I tested Samsung Food last year, and while I liked how easy it was to import recipes from anywhere and how it tailored a meal plan for me every week, adding items to the food list and the fact that the meal plan didn’t suggest recipes based on the list were frustrating. With this update, both of those complaints have been addressed.
Image: Samsung
With Samsung Food Plus you can take a picture of ingredients you have to add them to your food list.
Samsung says the service now creates meal plans based on your food list and prioritizes items “nearing use-by date” (this has to be set manually). Plus, a new “Search with Your Food List” feature lets you easily find a recipe based on what you have. All this should make meal planning and shopping much easier, as long as you’re willing to do it all in Samsung’s app.
The headline feature of the new updates is Vision AI. This leverages your phone’s camera to identify items to add to your Food List. Just snap a picture of whatever is in your pantry or fridge, and the ingredients will be added to the list.
Vision AI is also in the latest Family Hub fridge, where its in-unit AI-powered cameras can automatically add certain foods to the Food List. However, Samsung says the app version can identify over 40,000 types of ingredients using your smartphone’s camera, compared to just 33 the fridge can spot. This is because the fridge processes the images locally, whereas the app can leverage cloud processing.
Samsung Food also features AI-guided cooking steps that integrate with compatible Samsung ovens to preheat, set timers, and adjust the temperature according to the recipe you’re cooking — right from the app.
Image: Samsung
While you don’t need Samsung appliances to use the Samsung Food app, it does integrate with appliances, including the Family Hub smart fridge and Samsung’s connected ovens.
Samsung Food debuted at IFA 2023 last year, and these new features are being announced ahead of the tech show in Berlin next week (think Europe’s version of CES). These new food management features help complete the app’s focus on being an ultimate meal planning tool, allowing you to collate recipes from anywhere, more easily input the food in your fridge and pantry, and then plan meals based on what you have on hand.
In addition to making adding food items to the list easier, several new automated features should simplify maintaining that list. Once you’ve cooked something, the app can automatically remove it from the food list and add it to the shopping list in the Samsung Food app. When you shop using the list, the app can automatically add items purchased to your food list — organizational nirvana!
The benefit of a food list that knows what’s in your fridge and pantry and can keep that knowledge up to date is a more tailored meal plan that uses items you have. This can help cut down on food waste and grocery bills. While $7 a month is expensive, it could save you that much on monthly grocery bills if it works as advertised.
Samsung Food Plus is rolling out now, and in addition to the features mentioned above, it includes a full week of tailored meal plans with recipes based on your nutritional needs, chosen diets, and previous recipe preferences. The free version offers three days of recommendations.
Premier League Soccer: Livestream West Ham vs. Man City From Anywhere
Pep Guardiola’s side look to maintain their perfect start to the season as they travel to east London.
Pep Guardiola’s side look to maintain their perfect start to the season as they travel to east London.
My favorite Garmin watch feature just got even better with the Fenix 8 and Enduro 3
Exclusive: Garmin’s Jon Hosler talks us through dynamic routing.
When I’m training for a long-distance running event like a marathon, there’s one feature I use on my Garmin Epix Pro, and now on the Garmin Fenix 8, that proves more useful than almost any other – route creation. With a few taps on Garmin Connect, I can ask the app to automatically generate a circular route that starts and ends in the same place. Occasionally the distance needs tweaking – it might serve up an 18.5 km run when I selected 20 km – but generally, the feature works splendidly.
Once I have the route, I send the GPX file to my best Garmin watch by syncing it – the work of a moment – and bam, I have turn-by-turn directions on my watch via maps and alerts to turn at the correct times. This allows me to completely switch off from having to navigate my way around the course and simply focus on my run.
Many of the best running watches are full of this sort of automation, from virtual pacers to target heart rate zones, that takes a bit of the mental load off during a big run. However, during my extensive testing of almost every running watch brand around, only Garmin can pull off this sort of route creation feature to make it easy and seamless to use on the fly. And thanks to the new Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Enduro 3, things are only about to get better.
In an exclusive chat with TechRadar, Jon Hosler, product manager for Garmin Fenix 8 during its development, talked us through the new dynamic routing feature on the Garmin Fenix 8 and Enduro 3. Dynamic routing effectively allows you to run a set distance, ending at your starting point, without doing as much forward planning. Even if you deviate from the route you originally planned, your watch will intelligently recognize what you’re up to and reroute you with the original distance selected in mind.
(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)
“We’ve noticed that a lot of people like to deviate from their course and do something slightly different, or, you know, a road’s closed that day, and they need to go a different way,” said Hosler, “and that can really derail that run completely if you don’t know where you are.
“It’s now more adaptive. If you do change your route midway through, [your Garmin watch] will remember that you wanted to go that 5 kilometers or 10 kilometers and create a new route in the moment, that gets you back at that same distance. If you want to run around the lake for a second and then still get back at 5 kilometers, you know, we’re trying to make that possible.”
While staying in Paris during the Olympics, I had to deviate from my planned running route due to road closures for the cycling events and this feature would certainly have helped me stay on track. But there’s more to dynamic routing: it can also route you back to your starting point during unplanned runs with set distances.
(Image credit: Breslavtsev Oleg / Shutterstock)
“The second half of [this feature] is some people know where they’re running, but just like a little confidence that they can get back to where they started from easily. If you go into a run and set a target, we give you a reminder throughout the run but don’t give you turn-by-turn guidance.
“At 40%, so, for example, once you get to two miles, we would start creating a back-to-start route automatically, and prompt you ‘Would you like to route back?’ and [if the runner selects yes] we give you that route suggestion, just for the second half of your run.”
These changes to one of my favorite running watch features will be invaluable to people like me: runners who travel a lot and train for long-distance runs. It’s often hard to find circular routes to run the sort of distances we need to in training, especially in new areas, but Garmin is determined to make it easier.
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Pellet Grill Maintenance: Tips and Trick to Keep Your Pellet Grill Running Smoothly
Pellet grills have a lot of moving parts that need to be maintained to keep churning out delicious foods.
Pellet grills have a lot of moving parts that need to be maintained to keep churning out delicious foods.
It’s been a great summer for indie games — here are some of the best
Thank Goodness You’re Here! | Image: Panic
Outside of some notable exceptions, there haven’t been many blockbuster games this summer — but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been much to play. In fact, at times, it has felt like a never-ending flood of fascinating indie releases, thanks to games like Arranger, Animal Well, Crow Country, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
It’s been nearly impossible to keep up, but we’ve been playing through most of these games and settled on a handful of recommendations that offer a range of experiences. There’s everything from shadow-hopping puzzles to comedic platformers to a game that might help fill the Silksong-shaped hole in your heart.
Here are some of our favorites.
The Crush House
PC
The Crush House is one of the rare games that capitalize on the tomfoolery potential of running a reality TV show. Part of the game is a kind of resource management sim. Ads make my bosses happy but make my audience tune out. The other part is like a first-person shooter requiring me to sprint around the house with a camera trying to capture the juiciest moments. But I’ve always hated the manufactured drama of reality TV, so I’m having the most fun making the most boring show possible. I haven’t been fired yet, but I feel it’s coming. —AP
Flock
PlayStation, PC, Xbox
It’s the creature-collecting of Pokémon but without all of the battles. Also, you can fly. Flock is all about, well, gathering a flock of cute little creatures. You do that by soaring around an idyllic landscape on the back of a giant bird and searching out every animal you can (all of which can similarly fly). Each time you find something new, you’ll have to help figure out exactly what it is, and while the game gives you some light goals, you’re mostly free to explore on your own. Even better: while it’s very serene to fly solo, you can also go exploring with friends. —AW
Minishoot’ Adventures
PC
Minishoot’ Adventures mixes a twin-stick bullet hell shooter with top-down Legend of Zelda-style adventuring. Seriously: as a cute spaceship, you’ll explore dungeons and collect small keys and pieces of heart. It sounds strange, but it’s a genre mashup that totally works. —JP
Nine Sols
PC
Nine Sols will feel familiar to Hollow Knight fans: it’s a beautifully styled Metroidvania with tough combat. Nine Sols’ action rewards patience and parrying, which is a fun challenge; it’s incredibly satisfying to expertly parry an attack and follow up with a finishing move. The game’s copious amount of text, while interesting, can get in the way of the excellent action, but if you’ve still got your clown makeup on for Silksong, Nine Sols will probably scratch the itch. —JP
Schim
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Schim is essentially “The Floor is Lava” translated into a video game. But instead of your mother’s loveseat, you hop between the shadows of people and objects to navigate the world. It’s a clever game that makes use of simple things like perspective to create complicated platforming puzzles that are satisfying to solve. Once while stuck, I had a great “aha!” moment when I realized I could create the shadows I needed by possessing a traffic light and changing the signal to free up a gaggle of patient bikers. Schim has the kind of strategic thinking I live for. —AP
SteamWorld Heist 2
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
It’s been a decade since the original SteamWorld Heist expanded the robotic franchise with some delicious turn-based pirate action. In the original, you’d recruit a team of robots and go on missions gathering loot and battling all kinds of enemies. Whereas the first game took place in space, the sequel goes nautical, with a huge sea to explore and lots of machines to battle and shipwrecks to plunder. The action is similar — which means you’ll be carefully plotting every move and attack as you strategically explore levels — but feels more polished this time around, buoyed by beautiful 2D visuals and a surprisingly deep storyline.—AW
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
PC, PlayStation, and Switch
This might be the strangest game I have ever played. You play as a little fella with a big head who only has two actions: jump and slap. It’s a little like Untitled Goose Game, but also much weirder. You’re tasked with helping folks in a quaint English village (who all exclaim “Thank goodness you’re here!” when you arrive), but things almost always devolve into some odd mess. You’ll be collecting bird soldiers, exploring a tiny grocery store for rats, and navigating everything from underground pipes to a premium cut of ham. Along the way, you’ll slap a lot of bums and be charmed by the dulcet tones of Matt Berry. —AW
Thank Goodness You’re Here! | Image: Panic
Outside of some notable exceptions, there haven’t been many blockbuster games this summer — but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been much to play. In fact, at times, it has felt like a never-ending flood of fascinating indie releases, thanks to games like Arranger, Animal Well, Crow Country, and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.
It’s been nearly impossible to keep up, but we’ve been playing through most of these games and settled on a handful of recommendations that offer a range of experiences. There’s everything from shadow-hopping puzzles to comedic platformers to a game that might help fill the Silksong-shaped hole in your heart.
Here are some of our favorites.
The Crush House
PC
The Crush House is one of the rare games that capitalize on the tomfoolery potential of running a reality TV show. Part of the game is a kind of resource management sim. Ads make my bosses happy but make my audience tune out. The other part is like a first-person shooter requiring me to sprint around the house with a camera trying to capture the juiciest moments. But I’ve always hated the manufactured drama of reality TV, so I’m having the most fun making the most boring show possible. I haven’t been fired yet, but I feel it’s coming. —AP
Flock
PlayStation, PC, Xbox
It’s the creature-collecting of Pokémon but without all of the battles. Also, you can fly. Flock is all about, well, gathering a flock of cute little creatures. You do that by soaring around an idyllic landscape on the back of a giant bird and searching out every animal you can (all of which can similarly fly). Each time you find something new, you’ll have to help figure out exactly what it is, and while the game gives you some light goals, you’re mostly free to explore on your own. Even better: while it’s very serene to fly solo, you can also go exploring with friends. —AW
Minishoot’ Adventures
PC
Minishoot’ Adventures mixes a twin-stick bullet hell shooter with top-down Legend of Zelda-style adventuring. Seriously: as a cute spaceship, you’ll explore dungeons and collect small keys and pieces of heart. It sounds strange, but it’s a genre mashup that totally works. —JP
Nine Sols
PC
Nine Sols will feel familiar to Hollow Knight fans: it’s a beautifully styled Metroidvania with tough combat. Nine Sols’ action rewards patience and parrying, which is a fun challenge; it’s incredibly satisfying to expertly parry an attack and follow up with a finishing move. The game’s copious amount of text, while interesting, can get in the way of the excellent action, but if you’ve still got your clown makeup on for Silksong, Nine Sols will probably scratch the itch. —JP
Schim
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Schim is essentially “The Floor is Lava” translated into a video game. But instead of your mother’s loveseat, you hop between the shadows of people and objects to navigate the world. It’s a clever game that makes use of simple things like perspective to create complicated platforming puzzles that are satisfying to solve. Once while stuck, I had a great “aha!” moment when I realized I could create the shadows I needed by possessing a traffic light and changing the signal to free up a gaggle of patient bikers. Schim has the kind of strategic thinking I live for. —AP
SteamWorld Heist 2
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
It’s been a decade since the original SteamWorld Heist expanded the robotic franchise with some delicious turn-based pirate action. In the original, you’d recruit a team of robots and go on missions gathering loot and battling all kinds of enemies. Whereas the first game took place in space, the sequel goes nautical, with a huge sea to explore and lots of machines to battle and shipwrecks to plunder. The action is similar — which means you’ll be carefully plotting every move and attack as you strategically explore levels — but feels more polished this time around, buoyed by beautiful 2D visuals and a surprisingly deep storyline.—AW
Thank Goodness You’re Here!
PC, PlayStation, and Switch
This might be the strangest game I have ever played. You play as a little fella with a big head who only has two actions: jump and slap. It’s a little like Untitled Goose Game, but also much weirder. You’re tasked with helping folks in a quaint English village (who all exclaim “Thank goodness you’re here!” when you arrive), but things almost always devolve into some odd mess. You’ll be collecting bird soldiers, exploring a tiny grocery store for rats, and navigating everything from underground pipes to a premium cut of ham. Along the way, you’ll slap a lot of bums and be charmed by the dulcet tones of Matt Berry. —AW