Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Could Apple's New Adaptive Power Feature Extend Your iPhone's Battery Life?

With this new feature being tested in the iOS 26 developer beta, you may be able to ditch the Low Power Mode setting in the future.

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I Won't Be Getting the New Chase Sapphire Reserve. Here's Why

You get tons of credits and extra perks, but I don't want to work this hard for a credit card.

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Latest Tech News


  • Built in California, powered by Linux, the Liberty Phone says no to tech giants
  • With no Android or iOS, it’s the loneliest smartphone on the market today
  • It costs more, does less, and still claims to be the best smartphone for privacy

Despite rising political pressure to bring tech manufacturing back to the US, building a premium smartphone domestically remains a costly and technically difficult challenge.

The Liberty Phone by Purism, priced at $1,999, offers a rare example of how close a company can get to building an America-made device, but it comes with significant trade-offs in performance and practicality.

Unlike the widely promoted but questionable $499 Trump Phone, the Liberty Phone is at least verifiably assembled in the US, although it lacks flagship-level features.

Still not 100% "Made In USA!"

Todd Weaver, Purism’s founder, is upfront about the limitations, noting, “Someone who needs a wicked-strong camera is not our audience.”

Weaver estimates the Liberty Phone costs around $650 to produce, higher than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which TechInsights says costs about $550 to build in China.

This discrepancy is driven largely by US labor costs, with savings made by using lower-spec components such as a basic camera and a low-resolution screen.

This may suit its core user base, including security geeks, older users, kids, and those who want to distance themselves from major tech brands, but it is nowhere near mainstream Android alternatives - for anyone expecting the best smartphone for business or multimedia tasks, the Liberty Phone is unlikely to compete.

Part of Purism’s appeal lies in its transparent and partially domestic supply chain - the motherboard is built at the company's California site, the chip is sourced from NXP’s Austin, Texas, facility, and the final assembly is local.

But some critical components, like the camera from South Korea and the display and battery from China, still depend on global sourcing.

“There are just some parts that don’t yet have a supply chain,” says Weaver. “We’re gonna keep incrementing there until we can get to that point.”

It runs PureOS, a Linux-based operating system that supports basic tasks like calling, texting, and web browsing, but without support for Android or iOS apps, it’s a hard sell for anyone needing a broad app ecosystem or high-end performance.

Nonetheless, Weaver believes a niche market exists and claims that about half of Purism’s customers are US government agencies.

Even though tariffs might someday narrow the cost gap, the continuity of this project is not certain.

“We don’t have factories here building application processors, high-end displays or most of the other things in your smartphone,” said Jeff Fieldhack of Counterpoint Research, showing his skepticism.

At the moment, the Liberty Phone is more of a philosophical gesture than a practical solution, and only Americans or those loyal to the US will give it a second look.

Via Wall Street Journal

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Monday, June 23, 2025

Latest Tech News


  • Asus ProArt P16 beats most laptops in its price and size class
  • You get RTX 5070 graphics and OLED visuals in a surprisingly slim 4-pound frame
  • Bundled AI apps like StoryCube and MuseTree boost productivity for visual creators and editors

Asus has introduced the ProArt P16 (H7606), a laptop which pairs AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, targeting content creators and professional users.

The new addition joins the wave of Copilot+ PCs built to support advanced local AI tasks and aims to rival some of the most premium creative laptops on the market.

At $2,499.99, the ProArt P16 also undercuts competitors like the Razer Blade 16, which retails for $2,799.99 but offers a similar target user experience.

Asus ProArt P16 bundles AI tools and software for creatives

The ProArt P16 features a 16-inch OLED display, a premium visual specification often reserved for machines priced higher.

It also supports up to 64GB of RAM, which is nearly unheard of in this segment, and up to 2TB of internal storage.

These specifications position it as a contender for the best laptop for graphic design, especially those working with high-resolution files and complex color spaces.

At just 0.59 inches thick and weighing 4.08 pounds, the Nano Black chassis keeps things portable despite the raw horsepower inside.

Asus bundles in additional creative features through its exclusive apps: StoryCube and MuseTree. The former is pitched as a digital asset management tool that utilizes AI to automatically categorize and generate clips from user content, while the latter turns graphical prompts into images while intelligently organizing creative inspiration.

At just 0.59 inches thick and weighing 4.08 pounds, the Nano Black chassis keeps things portable despite the raw horsepower inside.

This pairing of hardware and software seems designed to capture those looking for the best laptop for video editing without committing to a desktop setup.

Asus has also partnered with CapCut, giving new users an exclusive six-month membership that includes access to premium features and AI-driven editing tools.

In addition, the laptop comes with a three-month Adobe Creative Suite subscription, further appealing to professionals working across photography, video, and design workflows.

These bundled tools offer value for those searching for the best laptop for photo editing, as they come integrated into the buying experience.

That said, Asus will release a more powerful model featuring the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 in late 2025, which will likely push the price higher. This model will be available for purchase at the ASUS official store after launch.

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Best Internet Providers in Aurora, Colorado

Cheap internet is hard to find in parts of Aurora, but CNET experts can help you find the fastest and best-value providers.

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Latest Tech News


  • Tesla unveiled its “public-facing” Robotaxi service this weekend
  • The service is currently an invite-only affair
  • Reports suggest it is still behind Waymo and other rivals

In a surprising turn of events, Tesla has stuck to its recent timelines and actually kick-started a “public-facing” autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas this weekend.

Despite Texas lawmakers asking Musk to postpone proceedings until it had finalized and introduced new laws surrounding fully autonomous taxis, the controversial CEO has ploughed ahead anyway.

As a result, reports are surfacing on various social media networks that show the first few VIP invitees enjoying their debut Robotaxi experience.

However, this is a far cry from the futuristic Cybercab scenario that Tesla showcased at its Hollywood-spec 'We, Robot' event in October of last year, where bespoke Cybercabs ferried folks around a film set and the company’s Optimus humanoid robots served drinks to party-goers, only for the world to find out they were actually tele-operated.

It is a similar story with Tesla's recent robotaxi endeavor, as the “fleet” of 10-20 Model Y vehicles (sporting some Robotaxi branding) are strictly limited to a small and relatively uncomplicated area of Austin, Texas.

They also only operate between 6am and 12am and have a remote operator in the passenger seat to manually verify riders' ID and take control should a problem arise.

The Verge reported that some of Tesla’s driverless vehicles are also followed by 'chase' vehicles, presumably packed with engineers ready to jump in should there be an issue that both the in-car and remote operators can’t handle.

So far, only a select number of invites have gone out to predominantly “pro-Tesla” influencers, according to The Verge, with the initial invite list of test pilots reading like a who’s-who of the Musk sycophant contingent – renowned Tesla stock hype-man Sawyer Merritt being among those names.

Just like the 'We, Robot' event, this initial launch phase feels very much like a massive PR stunt, with the company essentially inviting the “general public” (read Tesla content creators) along for a ride during the very early testing phase, rather than during the widespread deployment of a legitimate, paid-for service.

Why Waymo is way ahead

Waymo Autonomous RoboTaxis

(Image credit: Waymo)

It’s impossible to talk about Tesla’s robotaxi service without mentioning its closest competitor Waymo, particularly when Musk reportedly said after this successful initial launch phase that there could up to a thousand robotaxis on the road in a few months.

As a reminder, Waymo currently has a fully operational fleet of 1,500 vehicles on the road in four major cities in the US, with the areas in which it operates constantly expanding inside those cities. Anyone can summon a driverless cab with a simple app interface and they won't see a human inside the vehicle.

By the end of 2026, it hopes to have added another 2,000 vehicles according to a blog post by the Alphabet-owned company released in May this year, as it continues to ready a fleet of Jaguar i-Pace cars for autonomous driving.

Waymo also announced that it will be the first major client of Hyundai’s mass-produced Ioniq 5 robotaxi, which will help it scale even faster.

To think Musk will be able to reach this stage a couple of months after what is basically an initial testing phase is pure fantasy, especially as he insists on using a camera-only Full Self-Driving system that lacks the radars, Lidar and myriad other sensors that its rivals say is mandatory for a reliable and safe service.

Scaling up is the true test

Hyundai Waymo

(Image credit: Hyundai)

Already, a number of videos have already surfaced on Reddit that appear to show Tesla Robotaxis behaving erratically, swerving at busy intersections and slamming on the brakes for parked police cars that aren’t even stopped in the road.

Granted, it’s impossible to verify the authenticity of a Reddit video, but there is a growing list of very public cases where Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system has been active during an accident.

The first few reviews of the experience seem largely positive, with most riders describing the drive as “smooth” or “human-like”, but these are still very early days.

Things will get far more complicated if and when Tesla legitimately has thousands of vehicles on the road, it removes the operator sat in the passenger seat, and it builds out its app so the general public can genuinely use it. I predict that being at least two years away.

Alongside Waymo, there are companies in China that are also racing ahead with active fully autonomous ride-hailing services. Baidu, WeRide and Pony.ai are already racking up hundreds and thousands of miles.

Just last year, Baidu reportedly sparked anxiety among taxi drivers, automotive brands and the working public after it launched a driverless service in Wuhan that offered rides of around six miles (much further than the reported four or so miles Tesla can currently travel) for around 50 cents.

It undercut journeys with a human driver at the wheel by around two bucks and naturally proved very popular, according to CNN, leading to panic that many jobs could soon to be at risk.

Once the legal framework is in place for the widespread rollout of autonomous vehicles, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that the Chinese could swoop in and dominate the market... just like they have done with EVs.

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Sunday, June 22, 2025

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 23, #743

Here are some hints -- and the answers -- for the NYT Connections puzzle for June 23, #743.

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Latest Tech News


  • Hackers are using invisible Unicode to trick Android into opening dangerous links from notifications
  • The link looks normal, but Android secretly opens something else without warning or consent
  • Even trusted apps like WhatsApp and Instagram are vulnerable to this hidden notification exploit

A security flaw in Android’s notification system could allows malicious actors to deceive users into opening unintended links or triggering hidden app actions, experts have warned.

Research from io-no claims the flaw lies in how Android parses certain Unicode characters within notifications.

This creates a mismatch between what users see and what the system processes when the "Open Link" suggestion appears.

What you see isn’t always what you get

The problem stems from the use of invisible or special Unicode characters embedded within URLs.

When included in a message, these characters can cause Android to interpret the visible text and the actual actionable link differently.

For instance, a notification might visibly display “amazon.com,” but the underlying code actually opens “zon.com,” with an inserted zero-width space character.

The notification displays as "ama[]zon.com," including the hidden character. However, the suggestion engine interprets that hidden character as a separator, which results in it launching an entirely different site.

In some cases, attackers can redirect users not just to websites but also to deep links that interact directly with apps.

The report showed how a seemingly harmless shortened URL led to a WhatsApp call.

To make attacks less detectable, malicious actors can use URL shorteners and embed links into trusted-looking text.

The flaw becomes particularly dangerous when combined with app links or “deep links” that can silently trigger behaviors such as initiating messages, calls, or opening internal app views without user intent.

Tests on devices including the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, Samsung Galaxy S25, and older Android versions revealed that this misbehavior affects major apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Discord, and Slack.

Custom apps were also used to bypass character filtering and validate the attack across multiple scenarios.

Given the nature of this flaw, many standard defenses may fall short. Even the best antivirus solutions may miss these exploits, as they often don’t involve traditional malware downloads.

Instead, attackers manipulate UI behavior and exploit app link configurations. Therefore, there is a need for endpoint protection tools, which offer broader detection based on behavioral anomalies.

For users at risk of credential theft or app abuse, relying on identity theft protection services becomes critical to monitor unauthorized activity and secure exposed personal data.

Until a formal fix is implemented, Android users should remain cautious with notifications and links, especially those from unfamiliar sources or URL shorteners.

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'The Bear': Here's How to Watch Season 4 of the Hit Food Drama

Er, I mean comedy.

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Latest Tech News


  • AI can now reconstruct speech through concrete using just a laptop’s unshielded microphone wiring
  • Laptop mic cables double as antennas, leaking audio through radio harmonics
  • MEMS microphones emit signals that betray private conversations without any system compromise or malware

A new form of eavesdropping uses artificial intelligence to recover speech from devices through walls.

A report by eeNews outline how it exploits a vulnerability in widely used MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) microphones, and the most affected devices are laptops, due in part to their internal wiring design.

Researchers from the University of Florida and Japan’s University of Electro-Communications demonstrated even through a 25 cm concrete barrier, attackers can accurately reconstruct speech using nothing more than an FM receiver, a copper antenna, and machine learning tools.

So, why laptops?

AI attack from MEMS microphones

(Image credit: eeNews)

The microphones in many laptops are connected via long, unshielded wires, effectively turning them into antennas, the researchers note.

“With an FM radio receiver and a copper antenna, you can eavesdrop on these microphones. That’s how easy this can be…It costs maybe a hundred dollars, or even less,” said Prof. Sara Rampazzi at the University of Florida.

The research revealed an accuracy of up to 94.2% in recognizing spoken digits, while OpenAI’s generative models achieved a transcription error rate as low as 6.5%.

The researchers examined several MEMS microphones, including the MP34DT01-M from STMicroelectronics, Knowles SPM0405 (now Synaptics), TDK InvenSense CS-41350 and T3902, and Vesper’s VM3000 (now part of Qualcomm).

These microphones emit electromagnetic signals that can leak acoustic data through radio harmonics.

According to STMicroelectronics, “this is an intrinsic behavior of Digital PDM MEMS microphones,” and the design used in laptops often lacks shielding, turning flat cables into ideal antennas.

To mitigate this risk, experts recommend relocating microphones within laptops to reduce cable length and shielding the wires. They also propose using spread spectrum clocking to reduce the intelligibility of emissions without affecting performance.

These fixes are relatively simple, but they are relevant for newer devices moving forward. What about pre-existing devices, then?

Regular users need to invest in the best antivirus or endpoint protection solutions, which offer some protection even though they are not explicitly listed to defend against this new threat.

These tools typically operate at the software level and may not detect passive attacks that don’t involve code execution or system compromise.

For individuals seeking the best identity theft protection, this research shows that even conversations assumed to be private may be within reach of sophisticated, low-cost surveillance.

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Saturday, June 21, 2025

Heatstroke Can Happen Fast. Here's How to Spot It Before It's Too Late.

Recognizing the signs of heatstroke early can help you prevent a medical emergency.

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I Was Overwhelmed by Mattress Shopping. This $374 Mattress Topper Bought Me a Few More Comfortable Years

It's time for me to replace my current king mattress, but I'm not ready to choose. This mattress topper bought me some time -- and it's on sale now.

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Latest Tech News


  • Venice CPU doubles bandwidth with up to 256 Zen 6 cores
  • 2027 AI rack expected to deliver 144 GPUs with Verano chips
  • AMD plans Verano and MI500 rollout with 36-rack infrastructure

At its recent Advancing AI event, AMD revealed some of the first technical details about its next-generation Zen 6-based processor, code-named "Venice.”

Built on a 2nm process and packing up to 256 Zen 6 cores - a 33% increase from the current generation EPYC 'Turin' processor - AMD is seeking to raise the bar for AI-optimized compute power.

It is expected to more than double memory bandwidth compared to current EPYC CPUs, hitting 1.6TB/s per socket. Venice also supports PCIe Gen6, offering faster communication between CPUs and GPUs.

Pushing the envelope

"Venice extends our leadership across every dimension that matters in the data center," said Lisa Su, AMD CEO. "More performance, better efficiency, and outstanding total cost of ownership."

"It delivers 70% more compute performance than our current generation leadership Turin CPUs," she added. "And to really keep feeding MI400 with data at full speed, at even at rack scale, we have doubled both the GPU and the memory bandwidth and optimized Venice to run at higher speeds. Now we just got Venice back in the labs and it is looking fantastic.”

While Venice headlines AMD's 2026 platform, Su also gave us a glimpse at what the chip giant is working on for 2027.

"We are already deep in the development of our 2027 rack that will push the envelope even further on performance, efficiency and scalability with our next generation Verano CPUs and Instinct MI500-series GPUs, so lots and lots of stuff to come from AMD," she revealed.

This new system builds on the "Helios" rack shown for 2026, which houses 72 MI400 GPUs across 18 racks. For 2027, AMD is planning an even more expansive setup with 36 racks.

Assuming a similar configuration, the next-gen AI rack could contain 144 GPUs. The Verano platform is expected to maintain the high bandwidth and performance efficiency established by Venice, likely with more memory and compute per rack.

AMD has not officially named its 2027 rack, but we hear it’s being informally referred to in industry circles as a larger-scale continuation of Helios.

Via Tom's Hardware

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Friday, June 20, 2025

Latest Tech News

Steeped in old-school horror tropes, Grammy-winning musician, rapper, producer and filmmaker Flying Lotus’ (V/H/S/99) new-to-streaming phantasmagoria, Ash, is primed and pumped to provide all the high-octane cosmic nightmare fuel you might ever want to tank up on.

With its first-person shooter video game pedigree and obvious homages to films like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon, with a sprinkling of H.P. Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones tossed in, Ash got a theatrical release on March 21, 2025 by XYZ Films and now it’s come to the horror-centric platform Shudder starting on Friday, June 20.

movie promo art with six astronauts and a purple-red planet

Director Flying Louts' Ash is currently streaming on Shudder. (Image credit: Shudder)

Trust me when I say that you’ve never seen such disturbing, imaginative imagery like this and it’s a must-watch revelation for any card-carrying horror hound or diehard sci-fi aficionado. You might even want to keep all the house lights on and huddle up with braver souls than your own.

The storyline employed is relatively simple and it’s a well-worn plot device in survival horror gaming and sci-fi territory where an astronaut awakens aboard a spaceship with little or no memory of what tragedy has occurred and a mysterious lethal antagonist lurking on the dark.

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, Need For Speed) and Eiza González (Baby Driver) star in this extraordinarily frightening project helmed by Flying Lotus from a clever screenplay penned by native Swiss actor Jonni Remmler. Ash carries with it the confident attitude and flair of raw ‘90s-era grindhouse science fiction horror movies such as indie director Richard Stanley's Hardware or Vincenzo Natali's chilling Cube. Match that with video game DNA from franchises like Doom, Dead Space, and Silent Hill and you’ve got an idea of what's in store.

Here’s the official synopsis: "On the mysterious planet of Ash, Riya (González) awakens to find her crew slaughtered. When a man named Brion (Paul) arrives to rescue her, an ordeal of psychological and physical terror ensues while Riya and Brion must decide if they can trust one another to survive."

The cast also includes Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale, and Flying Lotus, who wrote the insanely addictive original synthwave score that acts as a perfect complement to the visionary frights. This atmospheric music was written in off-grid fashion while FlyLo was in New Zealand using only a MIDI controller and his personal laptop computer and the results are astounding.

Punctuate with intense pools of saturated color, monstrous alien entities, and jump scares that might leave you breathless, this a truly something to savor and we’re thrilled to introduce this stellar work by Flying Lotus, one of our best and brightest hyphenate talents on the planet.

a screaming woman's face inside a spacesuit helmet

Ash has invaded the Shudder streaming platform starting June 20. (Image credit: Shudder)

There’s also a jaw-dropping unintentional homage to the Palmer Monster scene in Carpenter’s The Thing that ratchets up the blood and gore to ridiculous dimensions that you won’t want to miss.

Now streaming on Shudder, Ash is produced by XYZ Films' Nate Bolotin and GFC Films' Mathew Metcalf and executive produced by Nick Spicer, Maxime Cottray, Aram Tertzakian, Maile Daughtery, Flying Lotus, Neill Blomkamp, Dave Brown, and Adam Riback.

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Latest Tech News

Philips Hue is unquestionably one of the best-known smart lighting brands, and for good reason; after all, it makes some of the best smart lights around. Its quality products and overall market presence have made it immensely popular, so it’s not all that surprising that its prices are at the premium end of the scale

While brands like Nanoleaf may be the first to come to mind for many when considering a Philips Hue alternative, I’m here to sing the praises of another low-cost manufacturer of smart lighting loveliness – Govee.

Founded in 2017, Govee offers a huge range of both fun and functional smart lighting products, and regularly releases exciting new products that leave me wanting to rearrange my lighting setup so that I can incorporate newer pieces without looking like my home belongs in Cyberpunk 2077 (not saying I wouldn’t enjoy that, mind you). Aside from all the pretty lights, Govee produces some other great smart home essentials, including sensors, air purifiers, and fans, too.

I could waffle on for hours about my favorite Govee features, but to save us all some time, I’ve summarised my top three reasons why Govee makes a perfect lower-cost alternative to Philips Hue.

1. There’s something for everyone

Whether you want to go big and bold with vivid and colorful displays or want practical lighting solutions that you can automate to suit your schedule, their impressive range of products means that Govee will likely have something that ticks your boxes.

A close-up of the control box and cable.

(Image credit: Future)

One product that’s equal parts fun and functional is the highly rated Govee Table Lamp 2. This RGBICWW lamp boasts over 60 scene presets, a load of customizable settings, and is Matter compatible, too. I have two of these lamps at home, and I love how easily I can switch up the mood with this little light, moving from a brighter, cooler white light for working hours, to mood-brightening colorful scenes for the evening, before finishing the night on a warm-toned white.

Even the reasonably priced Govee RGBIC LED Strip Light has a satisfying amount of customizable features. These include brightness adjustment, AI scene creation, and color palettes that can be applied across the entire strip or fine-tuned segment by segment.

2. The companion app is reliable and user-friendly

It’s all well and good having a fancy bit of kit capable of impressive lighting effects, but if the companion app is overly complex, clunky, or lacks features, it’d quickly dull any sparkle. Fortunately, the Govee Home app isn’t guilty of any of these; instead, it provides a delightfully straightforward and engaging user experience. It’s simple to navigate between different features, and I really liked that I could streamline the layout by arranging the modes for easy access. Another customizable element I appreciated was the quick action button that sits at the top of the page, giving me easy access to a choice of functions, including color and effect sections, auto-play, and a timer, amongst others.

The Govee Table Lamp 2 is lit up with blue and purple colors and sits on a stone surface with wooden slats and a pink wall behind.

(Image credit: Future)

3. Their prices are more palatable than Philips Hue

I think I’ve made it clear already that there are savings to be made when opting for Govee over Philips Hue, but to demonstrate my point, I’m going to lay out a couple of examples of the cost difference between similar products from both brands.

Say you’re thinking of upgrading your ceiling lights, a two-pack of 800 lumen RGBWW smart bulbs from Govee costs around $24.99 / £18.99, whereas the same from Philips Hue could set you back around $89.99 / £84.99. The price difference is pretty vast straight off the bat, and the chasm widens further when you factor in an additional $59.99 / $49.99 for a Philips Hue Bridge, which you’ll need if you want to use the full suite of features, such as controlling your lights away from home, something which Govee offers for free via the Govee Home app.

So, if you’re keen to get started on your smart lighting setup, but have been put off by the cost of building a Philips Hue system, then Govee is well worth considering, not just because their products are more affordable, but because they’re feature-packed and efficient, too.



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Could Apple's New Adaptive Power Feature Extend Your iPhone's Battery Life?

With this new feature being tested in the iOS 26 developer beta, you may be able to ditch the Low Power Mode setting in the future. from C...