On paper, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini aren't much to get excited about. Apple's subtle refinement on the iPhone 12 models will be familiar if you've paid attention to developments in the Android world. Some of the changes are impressive, like bringing the iPhone 12 Pro Max's excellent camera hardware to smaller phones and lower price points. Others, like a slightly smaller notch, bigger batteries, brighter displays, faster chips and expanded 5G support feel incremental. Still, they add up to make the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 feel like worthwhile upgrades, especially to those looking to upgrade from older iPhones.

Design

If you’re coming from an iPhone 12 or 12 mini, you might not notice a huge difference in this year’s models. The physical refinements include a smaller notch, a rearranged camera module that protrudes slightly further than before along with a new pink color option. I adore this hue — it’s similar to the “Not Pink” shade Google used on the Pixel 3, but because of the glass covering the iPhone, it looks paler and more iridescent.

Apple shaved 20 percent off the front camera notch, which is nice, but it’s still significantly larger than the punch-hole designs over in Android land. The smaller size also didn’t make a huge difference in daily use. Of course, that notch houses hardware for Face ID, which is more sophisticated than any punch-hole camera at the moment. Given there isn’t a fingerprint sensor on current iPhones, a beefier face-recognition system is warranted and I guess we’ll just have to put up with the notch until Apple can figure out a better approach.

David Imel for Engadget

The main way to tell the iPhone 13 and its predecessor apart is by looking at the camera module. Instead of stacking the pair of lenses vertically, Apple laid them diagonally. The bump is also a little bigger and thicker and the extra wobbling this causes is mildly annoying. Also, this does mean your old iPhone 12 cases won’t fit.

Otherwise, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini are physically very similar to last year’s models. They both feature anodized aluminum and glass frames with flat edges with what Apple calls its “ceramic shield” covering the front.

Both the iPhone 13 and 13 mini are a hair heavier and thicker and have the same display sizes as before at 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch respectively. The iPhone 13 is heavier than the Galaxy S21, too, despite having a smaller screen. Though, its density, glass covering and shiny metal edges do make it feel more premium.

Display and audio

Unlike the iPhone 13 Pros, which have faster 120Hz screens, the iPhone 13 and 13 mini have similar displays to their predecessors. Apple says the panels are 28-percent brighter. When I set the iPhone 12 and 13 to max brightness and held them up on a cloudy day, I did notice the newer phone had a teensy bit of an edge. But the difference isn’t big enough that you’d know without having them side by side.

David Imel for Engadget

Besides that, the iPhone 13’s screens haven’t changed much. The thing is that just about everywhere else you look, though, phone displays are faster. I had been using the Pixel 5 and iPhone 12 before reviewing the iPhone 13, and even Google’s 90Hz panels make browsing Twitter and Reddit feel smoother.

If you’ve only used a 60Hz screen so far, you might not feel like you’re missing much — the iPhone 13’s display is still vibrant and crisp. You’ll enjoy watching Instagram or TikTok videos, for sure. But as someone who’s experienced the good stuff, I can tell you that you’re missing out.

As for the iPhone 13’s speakers, they’re basically unchanged and are good enough to hear the voices in your favorite creators’ clips or the background music of YouTube videos. In a pinch, they’ll even do a decent job streaming your favorite songs, offering clear vocals and adequate bass. As expected, though, the bigger iPhone is louder and has a fuller sound than the mini.

Cameras

The bulk of the iPhone 13 and 13 mini’s upgrades are around photography and video. Apple improved both the rear sensors here and the ultrawide lens is supposed to let in more light than before. Sadly, a lot of the notable additions are contingent on the A15 chipsets, meaning things like Cinematic Mode won’t be coming to older iPhones.

For example, the faster image signal processor (ISP) on the chip means things like nighttime photos won’t take as long. I certainly didn’t have to hold the iPhone 13 still for as many seconds as the iPhone 12 when I used both of them to shoot a candlelit globe in a super dark room. The difference was probably about one second, which sounds insignificant, but can feel like forever when you’re struggling to remain motionless.

The ultrawide photos I shot with the new phone were actually darker than the iPhone 12’s, but they were better exposed overall. Buildings against the night sky had cleaner lines, less noise and a more neutral tone than those from the iPhone 12. Google’s Night Sight on the Pixel 5 still rendered more details in the shadows, though, and I preferred the cooler images it produced.

David Imel for Engadget

I used to prefer photos from Pixels because Apple’s pictures had a yellowish tinge. But with the iPhone 13s, Apple is introducing a way to better match users’ individual preferences called Photographic Styles. It’ll let you choose from one of five profiles: Standard, Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Warm and Cool, which differ in contrast levels and color temperature.

You can tweak these modes to your preference, too. But at their original settings, my favorite Style was Vibrant. Unlike filters, this felt more like a set-and-forget kind of thing — nice for people like me who have never been into Apple’s default treatment. Overall, the iPhone 13 took colorful and crisp shots, though compared to Google’s images they were needlessly brighter with obvious HDR effects.

In addition to the hardware and software improvements I’ve already mentioned, the company also updated its HDR algorithm to better accommodate every person in the scene. It also worked to enhance video quality, promising better dynamic range, details and highlights. Plus, you can now record in Dolby Vision in 4K resolution at up to 60 frames per second.

But the most intriguing new video feature (and arguably of all the camera updates) is Cinematic Mode. Using the A15 chip’s neural engine, the iPhone 13 can create a Portrait mode-like effect in your clips, keeping your selected subjects in focus while blurring out the rest of the scene. You can tap on parts of your viewfinder to change focal points as you shoot or let the iPhone decide for you by analyzing who and what’s in the scene.

David Imel for Engadget

On its own, Apple’s system is pretty clever. The iPhone 13 did a great job of identifying faces (both human and canine) in my shots, and yellow or white boxes appeared to indicate potential things to focus on. As my subjects turned toward and away from the camera, they became clearer and blurrier respectively. But when I tried to exert more control and adjust the focal point, the system struggled. Sometimes, my intended subject remained blurry even after I tapped on its rectangle. Other times, the iPhone didn’t follow the person I selected after they walked behind an obstruction, though that’s a reasonable situation.

When it did perform as expected, Cinematic Mode produced a pleasant effect that gave videos a professional air. But at the default intensity, the blurriness looked strange or artificial. The outline of my colleague’s head was stark against the softened background and I had to adjust the F-stop to the highest (f/16) to get a more natural feel.

It’s worth noting that Cinematic Mode only works in 1080p at 30 frames per second, even if you’ve set your camera to record at a higher quality.

Cinematic mode is also available via the 12-megapixel selfie camera, which offers Photographic Styles too, and both features were just as effective via the front sensors as through the rear.

In low light, the iPhone 13 took selfies that were slightly blurry compared to the Pixel 5 and Galaxy S21, but when I was well lit, Apple’s camera delivered images that were just as sharp as the competition. It even had a more neutral tone than the other two, with a more accurate white balance (though Samsung was pretty close).

iOS 15

I covered most of the changes coming via iOS 15 when I tested the beta, including things like Focus modes and SharePlay. Focus modes, which lets you set custom home pages and notification profiles based on your location or time of day, is still one of the most useful new features on any smartphone platform in recent years. Meanwhile, SharePlay won’t be available until a later release.

David Imel for Engadget

Each time you open a relevant app, like Photos or Tips, Apple shows you what’s new this time around — like Memories set to tunes from the company’s Music library. Safari also had a redesign (and a few tweaks during the beta window), primarily making it easier to browse and organize your tabs.

I’ve never been a big Safari user, preferring Chrome for its convenience, but it’s nice to see Apple update its interface for easier navigation with one hand. Chrome and Safari are pretty similar on iOS, although Google sadly still has its address and search bar at the top of the screen. If you prefer, you can also go back to the traditional layout in Safari.

Other noteworthy iOS updates include Live Text in Photos, which makes finding specific pictures from the Spotlight search much easier. The Maps and Weather apps also received a refresh, while Shared With You in Messages makes it slightly easier to find things you and your friends chatted about. Since most of these will be coming to older iPhones, though, iOS 15 features are unlikely to sway your decision on whether to upgrade this year.

We’ll have a more in-depth review of Apple’s latest OS soon, but for now, I’m pleased with the level of control iOS 15 offers and look forward to testing out a stable version of SharePlay.

Performance and in use

There are some annual updates that we take for granted nowadays, like imperceptibly faster processors and incrementally improved battery life. Though it’s not obvious, Apple says one of the iPhone 13’s key updates is an internal redesign that allows for a bigger battery, among other things. Also new in the A15 are the GPU, ISP and video encoder and decoder, which made using the camera super snappy. Oh, and it’s worth pointing out that Apple doubled the storage of the base iPhone 13, so you now get 128GB at the entry-level. Finally.

I spent most of my time on the iPhone 13 and 13 mini shooting pictures and video, browsing my feeds, shopping for completely unnecessary things, messaging my friends and completing round after round on the New York Times Crossword app. Every now and then, I had to wait for a page to load on the mini, while the bigger phone rarely lagged. I can’t tell if the delays I encountered had to do with my internet connection or if the smaller device was actually slower. Their scores on Geekbench 5 are about the same, so I suspect it was the former. Overall, though, both the iPhone 13s sped through tasks like launching and switching between multiple apps, snapping photos in rapid succession and uploading Instagram posts.

Frankly, the main thing holding both models back is the display. As mentioned, pretty much every other flagship phone has a faster screen now, and even the Pixel 5’s 90Hz panel feels noticeably faster. Whenever I reflexively started scrolling my list of Instagram Story viewers or Twitter timeline or pretty much anything on the internet, it felt like a drag on the new iPhones. I went right back to the Pixel 5 or iPhone 13 Pro any time I knew I was going to spend a long time scrolling.

Battery life

Despite their brighter screens, Apple said the iPhone 13 and 13 mini should last up to 2.5 and 1.5 hours longer than their predecessors respectively. While the 13 mini did beat the 12 mini by sticking around almost a whole day on light use, the 13 hours and 19 minutes score on our video rundown test is still shorter than the average smartphone. It’s a pity; I love the size of the iPhone 13 mini — it’s just so much easier to use with one hand. But the greatest drawback of any modern phone this small is a lack of endurance.

David Imel for Engadget

The iPhone 13, meanwhile, outlasted its predecessor and generally hung around for almost two days. The Pixel 5 and Galaxy S21 also clocked similar runtimes — it’s nice that most flagships these days have fairly long-lasting batteries. I'm still running our full battery tests across all of the new iPhones, including the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, and will update this review with comparative figures shortly.

Wrap up

This is a story we’ve told over and over again, each time with the same conclusion: While this year’s iPhones aren’t major improvements over their predecessors, they offer just enough changes that might tempt you to upgrade, particularly if you’re still on an iPhone 11 or older. The iPhone 13 and 13 mini feel like they should have been called the 12s and 12s mini, thanks to a largely similar design and few major upgrades from the previous models. If you have an iPhone 12, you need to decide if the longer battery life and photography updates are worth however much the upgrade will cost you. Our review of the 13 Pro and Pro Max is coming later this week, so you can check that out to see if things like the faster displays and macro photography features would be worth picking up one of those.

As for how Apple’s latest compare to recent Android flagships, you’ll find they’re all almost on par when it comes to hardware. The biggest difference is the faster screens on Androids, and those who prefer fingerprint sensors to Face ID will only find them on non-Apple phones. Those are good reasons to stick with Android. But on software, Apple’s thoughtful approach with Focus modes and privacy on iOS makes it appealing to those who want greater control over how much of their lives they want to give up to their phones. Switching ecosystems will always be a struggle, and with the iPhone 13 and 13 mini, Apple has yet to give people a compelling reason to do so. But, as expected, they’re excellent phones with little to complain about.

Photos by David Imel (@DurvidImel)

As indicated in a leak earlier this week, Amazon is updating the Kindle Paperwhite. The fifth-gen Paperwhite (which marks the first refresh in nearly three years) has a larger, 6.8-inch display, compared with the previous model's six-inch screen. The company says the 300 ppi screen is glare-free and looks like real paper, which allows for "easy reading in all conditions, even direct sunlight."

The screen is 10 percent brighter than the previous model at the maximum setting and there's a white-on-black dark mode. Amazon has redesigned the interface and page turns are said to be 20 percent faster. The Paperwhite has an IPX8 rating, which means it's water-resistant but not dust-resistant. Starting later this year, you'll be able to set up and change settings on the e-reader using the Kindle app on a paired iOS or Android device.

Amazon is expanding the Kindle Paperwhite lineup with a couple of new devices. The Signature Edition has a light sensor that can automatically adjust the screen brightness depending on your surroundings. It's also the first Kindle with wireless charging support (any Qi-compatible charger will do the trick).

Amazon

There's now a Kindle Paperwhite for kids, two years after Amazon announced the first Kindle for youngsters. The Kindle Paperwhite Kids is largely the same as the other two models in terms of design, though there are a bunch of child-friendly features. For one thing, there's a two-year worry-free guarantee. If it breaks in that time, Amazon will replace it.

There's audiobook and Bluetooth headphone support, as well as achievement badges and educational tools to foster literacy skills. The kids model, which is designed for readers aged seven and older, doesn't have internet access or any way for children to accidentally make any purchases. Their folks can manage the device using the Parent Dashboard.

Kindle Paperwhite Kids has funkier color options than the other two devices, which only come in black. You can opt for that plain, ol' color or choose Emerald Forest or Robot Dreams patterns. You'll get a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ too, which includes access to thousands of books.

Amazon says all three models will run for up to 10 weeks on a single charge. The devices now support USB-C fast charging. With a 9W or larger charger, you'll be able to fully top up the battery in two and a half hours, Amazon says.

The $140 Kindle Paperwhite comes with 8GB of storage. The $190 Signature Edition has 32GB of storage, which should come in handy if you're an avid audiobook listener. Amazon is bundling in four months of Kindle Unlimited access for a limited time. Kindle Paperwhite Kids, meanwhile, costs $160.

Pre-orders are open now. The company will start shipping the new Paperwhites on October 27th.

HP is again using OLED displays for its latest Spectre x360 2-in-1 laptops, but this time, you get a bit more screen for your money. The new HP Spectre x360 comes with an optional 16-inch, 16:10 4K OLED display — up from the 15.6-inch displays last year — delivering true VESA blacks with "100 percent color calibration," the company announced. 

The new model has an extra 22mm of viewing space compared to the previous models, while still offering fairly slim bezels all around with a 91 percent screen-to-body ratio. It's also available with a 3,072 x 1,920 IPS touchscreen, if budget is an issue. At the same time, you get a top-mounted 5-megapixel webcam with a physical shutter for privacy and Windows Hello support. It comes with HP's AI controls and "beauty mode" that can improve lighting and "touch up skin, teeth and eyes." 

HP

It should have enough power to drive those features too, with an 11th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU and Intel Evo graphics, or an optional NDIVIDA GeForce RTX 3050 laptop GPU, along with 16GB of memory, 512GB PCIe NVMe storage and 32GB of Intel Optane memory. It also offers quad B&O speakers, up to WiFi 6E, a MicroSD card reader, two Thunderbolt 4 with 40Gbps speeds and USB Power Delivery USB4 Type-C ports, HDMI 2.0b, Bluetooth 5.2 and 17 hours of battery life. The HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 arrives in the fall at HP.com or Best Buy starting at $1,639, but expect to pay more for the OLED 4K model. 

HP has unveiled its latest all-in-one (AIO) PC with a bigger and wider screen, smaller bezels and the latest components from Intel and NVIDIA. The Envy 34 All-in-One desktop PC now comes with a 5K (5,120 x 2,160) widescreen 21:9 flat IPS display that delivers 500 nits of brightness and covers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color spectrum. It's also a bit more streamlined with smaller bezels, and no longer has a large B&O speaker on the bottom like the last model.

HP

The new display takes advantage of Windows 11 "Snap Layouts," letting you more easily rearrange your desktop to view multiple windows. It also comes with a 16-megapixel camera using binning technology that's detachable so you can move it to different locations on your screen, depending on the angle you want. Another cool touch is wireless charging pads built into the stand so you just need to lay your smartphone there to charge it. 

It should fly along pretty well with an Intel 11th-generation Core-i9 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Max Q graphics, the latter being the first in an AIO, according to HP. It also features up to 32GB of RAM, 512GB of NVMe storage, an embedded power supply design, a pair of B&O speakers, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB4 Type-C ports (up to 40Gbps data rates) and HDMI output. The HP Envy 34 All-in-One PC arrives in October 2021 starting at $1,999. If you don't need such a high-end model, HP also unveiled the Pavilion AIO with an AMD Ryzen 5000 processor and 27-inch maximum screen size starting at $799. 

HP

HP also launched a couple of interesting displays. The first one is the HP U32 4K HDR monitor, a relatively big creators monitor that comes at a pretty cheap price. It uses an IPS panel and conforms to the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard, ensuring that it can meet VESA's minimum brightness standards. It also features a 10-bit panel (8-bit + AFRC, mind you) with a billion colors, 60 Hz refresh rate, Delta E<2 color accuracy and USB-C power delivery. It looks like a lot of monitor for $500 and arrives in October 2021. 

HP

Last up is HP's M34d WQHD curved monitor. This one is more designed for productivity, with a 34-inch 3,440 x 1,440 100Hz 21:9 widescreen display. It comes with integrated speakers and DisplayPort/HDMI inputs, while also offering USB-C power delivery — plus, it has internal speakers, rare for a stand-along monitor. The HP M34d WQHD curved monitor is now available at HP.com for $530. 

ByteDance has announced that Douyin, the version of TikTok for China, will introduce new limits for minors under 14. These minors will now be limited to just 40 minutes of use per day and can’t access the app at all between 10 PM and 6 AM.

ByteDance is also urging parents to add in more comprehensive user data to avoid kids lying about their age to get around the ban. At the same time, the company unveiled a new TikTok-esque app called Xiao Qu Xing ("Little Fun Star"), which offers short educational videos.

This is another fairly dramatic move as part of China’s broader crackdown on digital media and video games. Officials have recently described gaming as “spiritual opium” and limited kids playtime to just three hours a week.

Chinese leaders are reportedly concerned that children are becoming addicted to video games, which is having a detrimental effect on their development. The science behind video game addiction is controversial and disputed, with research into the condition ongoing.

Either way, the changes to Douyin aren’t likely to be that wide ranging in isolation since it’s thought that less than half a percent of users are under 14. It’s just the overall trend that’s likely to be worth keeping an eye on, especially if this anti-game rhetoric spreads to other countries.

— Dan Cooper

Ikea's new $40 wireless charging pad mounts underneath your desk or table

No more drilling or unsightly charging plates on your table, desk or nightstand.

IKEA

When I added an Ikea-branded wireless charging plate to my Ikea nightstand, I had to buy a custom Ikea hole saw to drill through into the top. As it turned out, Ikea furniture is sufficiently weak that I managed to scorch the wood and the paint with just the friction of the saw. The charging plate was, mercifully, big enough to cover the burn marks, so I never got any lectures about being bad at DIY. I had, however, learned my lesson that drilling out a QI charger was not my forte.

Ikea seems to feel similarly and has now launched the new Sjömärke QI charger, which is strong enough to charge a phone from the underside of your desk. You can glue or screw the chunky $40 unit to the underside of a suitable wooden or plastic table top. Then, all you have to do is drop your phone on the right spot and watch as about 5W of juice wafts into your phone. Or, at least, you will when it arrives in October.

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ZTE Axon 30 review: An 'invisible' selfie camera comes at a cost

That cost being… awful selfies.

Mat Smith

ZTE’s Axon 30 is one of those rare smartphones offering a (pretty much) invisible front-facing camera. The lack of notch, punch-hole or cut-out means users can take full advantage of the 30’s gorgeous, 6.92-inch, 2,460 x 1,080 120Hz AMOLED display. But, for $500, there are a couple of teeny-weeny compromises you’ll have to accept, including, er, lackluster selfies. We won’t spoil the rest of Mat Smith’s review but, suffice it to say, his feelings on this handset are pretty complicated.

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iOS 15 is now available

Your iPad, Watch and Apple TV will also get updated operating systems.

Cherlynn Low

iOS 15 and its device-specific cousins have now arrived and are making their way to your tech as we speak. Some of the biggest new features include upgraded FaceTime and Messages, better notifications and a Google Lens-esque Live Text function. Some of the more notable features announced at WWDC haven’t arrived just yet, including SharePlay, but those are expected to drop later in the year. At the same time, Apple showed off the full trailer for Finch, the Tom Hanks-fronted post-apocalyptic movie about a man, his dog and his robot trying to survive after the world ends. I imagine it’s a bit like if Cormac McCarthy had written Turner and Hooch after watching Short Circuit.

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US officials can't decide if Honor smartphones are a national security threat

Uh-oh.

Honor

When Huawei went on the US entity list, the Chinese giant was prevented from working with pretty much every tech company worth mentioning. Huawei couldn’t source chips from Intel or Qualcomm or get software help (and Play Store access) from Google. Consequently, Huawei spun out and sold off Honor, its budget division, for it to thrive free from the sanctions threatening its own future as a global brand.

Unfortunately, those best laid plans may be undone by a quartet of federal agencies who are deciding if Honor should go on the same entity list. Reports suggest that teams from the Pentagon and Department of Energy are in favor of addition, while the Commerce and State Departments are against. If this deadlock can’t be solved, however, the decision could ultimately end up on Joe Biden’s desk to sort out.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

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DoorDash expands alcohol deliveries to 20 states and DC

OnePlus' 2022 flagship will share a unified Android 13 system with Oppo

Roku's new Streaming Stick 4K gets Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and better Wi-Fi

Roku OS 10.5 adds better voice support, 5.1 Roku speaker configurations

Sony introduced smaller CFexpress Type A memory cards with the launch of the A7S III mirrorless camera, offering a high speed (700MB/s read/800MB/s write) option for recording bursts or 4K/8K video. Unfortunately, Sony itself is the only manufacturer using that slot and actually selling memory cards, so it's charging through the nose. Luckily, ProGrade has just released its own model, the CFexpress Type A Cobalt, with the 160GB card running $330 — $70 less than Sony's 160GB card.

As a reminder, CFexpress Type A uses the same high-speed CFexpress technology as the type B cards, so the Cobalt card can deliver burst read/write speeds of 800MB/s/700MB/s and sustained write speeds of 400MB/s. That's considerably faster than what SD UHS II can do (burst read/write speeds up to 300MB/s), though slower than CFexpress Type B (1,750MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write). Still, it's easily fast enough to capture high-speed photo bursts without any stuttering, along with 8K or 4K 120p video. 

ProGrade

Only two cameras actually use the slot, Sony's A7S III and A1, and both have dual slots that can accept either SD UHS II or CFexpress Type A cards. If you own either of those cameras, though, you know that CFexpress Type A is much preferred as it supports all of those cameras' video formats and works better for high-speed bursts. The latter is key, as the A1 can shoot 50-megapixel RAW photos at up to 30 fps. 

With few camera models supporting CFexpress Type A, other third-party card manufacturers had yet to jump on board until now, though Delkin also announced cards that are coming soon. Sony charges $200 for the 80GB card a whopping $400 for the 160GB version, but you can now pre-order the ProGrade 160GB version for a more reasonable $330.

With iOS 15 now available to download, developers both big and small have started updating their apps to take advantage of the operating system’s marquee features. One of those is Google, which detailed today the iOS 15-related enhancements you can expect from its apps.

The biggest change involves how Gmail, Meet, Tasks, Maps, Home and many of Google's other applications will handle notifications. Should you have iOS 15’s new Focus Mode enabled, Google says prompts that don’t require your immediate attention will go to the Notifications Center where you can deal with them later. More timely reminders, such as those Google Maps sends you when you’re trying to navigate somewhere, won’t be silenced, and you’ll see them as they’re sent to you. Google says its goal was to make notifications “as relevant and timely as possible.” You'll see these roll out to the company's apps in the "coming weeks."

Meanwhile, if you own an iPad you can look forward to new Google Photos and YouTube Music widgets that take advantage of the extra screen space Apple’s tablets offer. The company says it will roll these out in the coming weeks as well. Lastly, Google Drive and YouTube Music feature new Spotlight integrations. You can use the tool to search for specific files and to play a song directly in Google’s music streaming service. Those enhancements are available today — though you'll probably wish more apps worked with Spotlight in this way.

Following reports last week that GM might have to extend the shutdown of its Bolt EV production until at least mid-October, the company announced on Monday that it has "outlined a comprehensive action plan to ensure that customers can safely and confidently drive, charge, and park the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV," according to a GM press release. Both LG plants at Holland and Hazel Park, Michigan have resumed production and dealer deliveries are expected to begin by mid-October. 

The battery fault that led to a model-wide recall of the electric vehicles beginning in August turned out to be a pair of issues. Manufacturing defects caused both for anodes to tear and cathode-anode separators to fold. Should both of these defects manifest within the same battery cell, it would have a higher chance of catching fire.

"LG has implemented new manufacturing processes and has worked with GM to review and enhance its quality assurance programs to provide confidence in its batteries moving forward," the GM statement read. "LG will institute these new processes in other facilities that will provide cells to GM in the future." 

GM has established a notification process to inform impacted customers as to when their replacement battery modules will be available. The company has also developed a diagnostic software suite designed to "detect specific abnormalities that might indicate a damaged battery in Bolt EVs and EUVs by monitoring the battery performance," per the release. The software has to be installed at the dealership but will enable Bolt EV owners to exceed the current GM-enacted 90-percent charge limit should their batteries pass muster. 

Apple may have only announced its iPhone 13 lineup last week, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is already looking ahead to the company’s 2022 lineup. According to an investor note seen by MacRumors, Kuo claims Apple will release three new iPhones in the second half of the year. The two high-end models will reportedly feature punch-hole display cutouts and a 48-megapixel primary camera. In other words, the expectation is that Apple will start moving away from the notch design that has defined its phones since the release of the iPhone X in 2017.

Moving to a 48-megapixel camera would also represent a significant change for the company. Recent iPhones have exclusively shipped with 12-megapixel primary cameras. By moving to a denser sensor, the company could use pixel binning technology to allow people to take high-resolution shots during the day and less noisy ones when the sun starts to set.

Looking further ahead, Kuo said Apple plans to add an in-display fingerprint sensor to the iPhone in 2023. Previously, the analyst had predicted that would happen next year, but now notes a slower than expected development process has delayed Apple’s rollout of the feature. That’s a significant delay when you consider early reports on the iPhone 13 lineup had suggested those phones would include in-display fingerprint sensors. Similarly, he expects the company will release a foldable iPhone in 2024, where he had previously predicted we would see the device sometime in 2023. As always, take these reports with a grain of salt. Kuo has a decent but not flawless track record when predicting Apple releases. 

Apple is now rolling out iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV devices. You might not see the updates right away, but when they're available, you'll have access to a bunch more features.

Facetime and Messages have been upgraded on both iPhone and iPad. Facetime supports spatial audio and reduces background noise, while people can join Facetime calls through shareable links on the web and Android. It'll be easier to keep track of things your friends and family share with you in Messages thanks to dedicated tabs in the News, Music, TV and Podcasts apps.

Notifications have also been overhauled. You'll have more control over push alerts and you can let only notifications from select apps and people through when you activate one of the new Focus modes. There are profiles for activities including sleeping and working, and the OS can automatically rearrange your home screen apps to bring the ones you're most likely to use at a certain time to the forefront.

Screenshots of the iOS 15 beta

Also new in iOS 15 is the Live Text function, which works in a similar way to Google Lens. The feature can extract written text from photos, screenshots and the world around you. You can edit, translate and share the text. The feature can also identify things like art, landmarks, plants and pets.

Elsewhere, there are new features for the Maps, Photos and Weather apps on iOS. Spotlight searches will have richer results, including your own photos, with Apple using machine learning to figure out what's in each image.

On iPad, Quick Notes are now a system-wide feature — just swipe in from the lower right corner to jot down some thoughts using the keyboard or Apple Pencil. Expect some multitasking and Safari changes too.

Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

One thing that iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 don't have at launch is the SharePlay feature. It lets you enjoy movies, shows and music together with friends over Facetime, and you can share your screen with them. Apple will release the feature on those operating systems, tvOS 15 and macOS Monterey later. Apple also put the child safety features it planned to release as part of iOS 15 on the back burner while it makes improvements.

The watchOS 8 update perhaps isn't quite as extensive. There's a bigger focus on mindfulness and health, including some new workout categories. Apple Watch now has deeper integration with iPhone, with features including Focus mode support and a Contacts app. You can also expect portrait watch faces and multiple timers.

Apple TV now has spatial audio support, including for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, following the tvOS 15 update. You can also connect multiple HomePod minis to an Apple TV 4K and use those as the default speakers.

If you have an iPhone 6s or later, iPhone SE (either generation) or seventh-gen iPod touch, you'll be able to install iOS 15. Those with Apple tablets can run iPadOS 15 on fifth-gen and later iPads, iPad mini 4 and later, iPad Air 2 and later and all iPad Pro devices. Meanwhile, watchOS 8 is supported by Apple Watch Series 3 and later devices.

As for macOS Monterey, Apple has yet to announce a firm release date for the next version of its Mac operating system. Monterey should be available sometime this fall.

Apple is rolling out the major annual firmware updates just a few days before the iPhone 13 lineup and new iPads arrive. Apple Watch Series 7 will be released later this fall.