It’s being reported, that Apple’s deal with the MLS has a opt-out clause. Which would allow Apple to opt-out of the deal, if they aren’t seeing the subscriber goals that they are looking for.
In June 2022, Apple signed a deal with the MLS to become the broadcast home of every MLS match for the next 10 seasons. So far, MLS Season Pass has been pretty good on Apple TV+. No real issues with the broadcast, technically, which is quite impressive.
Now as to their subscriber goals? Nothing concrete has been mentioned. The report from The Athletic states that Apple could walk away if it doesn’t accrue a certain number of subscribers in a specific period of time. Both companies have been rather tight-lipped about the deal. Which is usually the case with these deals. We do know that Apple is paying $2.5 billion for the MLS rights.
Between MLS and Friday Night Baseball, sports is becoming huge for Apple
Apple has taken a different approach to its streaming service, compared to the many others out there. Instead of having a huge library of content that it is licensing from various studios, instead, it only includes originals that it owns. So their library is a lot smaller, but it is quickly growing. The advantage here is that, Apple never has to worry about losing these titles.
In addition to those originals, Apple has also gotten the rights to Friday Night Baseball for the MLB. Which it started last year, and is continuing this year. With Friday Night Baseball, Apple has (generally) two baseball games each Friday night throughout the season. Some are simulcast, while others are doubleheaders. And now Apple has the MLS Season Pass. Which is not included in the price of Apple TV+, instead, that it is an extra cost.
But with the MLS Season Pass, subscribers can watch every single MLS game, no matter where they live. There’s no blackout or out-of-market restrictions here, which is a big deal.
The Google Messages icon was updated to a fresh look late last year; however, for most users, the notification icon for the app didn’t quite follow the same design change. This now changing as the notification icon has been changing widely for more users to reflect the new style.
The reports of the new icon making its rounds initially came from the Google Pixel subreddit where users starting noticing the change overnight and was then shared by 9to5Google. It turns out that a subset of Pixel 6 and 7 series users were experiencing an issue where the old Messages icon would appear in the notification tray and on the lock screen, even after the actual app icon had changed.
The new design was announced as part of the #GetTheMessage campaign Google started in order to bring awareness to the benefits of using RCS instead of SMS and to encourage Apple to add RCS to its Messages app, complementing iMessage. On top of that, Google also announced a slew of updates to the app that would enrich the experience for RCS users that receive messages from iMessage users, particularly those involving message reactions. Unfortunately though, this campaign has had little to no success in changing Apple’s mind.
As far as the bug where the iconography is inconsistent between the app icon and the notification tray, it thankfully appears to be suddenly resolved with what appears to be an app or server-side update. This isn’t a huge deal as it doesn’t affect functionality whatsoever, but for those that prefer a more cohesive experience, it was a bit of an eye sore.
The breach of a Washington, DC, health insurance marketplace may have allowed hackers’ access to members of the House and Senate’s sensitive personal information, it was revealed on Wednesday. The lawmakers’ staff members and their families also suffered.
DC Health Link is the organization in charge of administering the health care plans of members of the United States House of Representatives, their staff, and their families.
“DC Health Link suffered a significant data breach yesterday potentially exposing the Personal Identifiable Information (PII) of thousands of enrollees. As a Member or employee eligible for health insurance through D.C. Health Link, your data may have been comprised,” said Catherine L. Szpindor, the U.S. House Chief Administrative Officer.
Individuals affected were notified of the breach today via email from Catherine L. Szpindor, as first reported by DailyCaller.
NEW: The Chief Administrative Officer of the House just emailed staffers/members to say there’s be a significant data breach at DC Health Link – the health insurance for House members and staff: @DailyCallerpic.twitter.com/XP9Ehg1r0p
“Currently, I do not know the size and scope of the breach, but have been informed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that account information and Pit of hundreds of Mernber and House staff were stolen”, said Szpindor.
“It is important to note that at this time, it does not appear that Members or the House of Representatives were the specific targets of the attack.”
BREAKING: A major data breach of DC Health Link’s database has exposed the personal information of all U.S. House members, as well as their family and staff. pic.twitter.com/rnUHeP5uH5
The information about U.S. House members that were taken from the servers of DC Health Link is being sold on a hacking forum by at least one threat actor, known as IntelBroker, according to BleepingComputer.
Notably, the House CAO Szpindor’s email doesn’t mention the data that was stolen. Over 170,000 people were affected, and a sample of the stolen data with the database header reveals that it contains all of their personal information, including names, dates of birth, residences, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, and more.
Whole List of Stolen Information (BleepingComputer)
On Monday, March 6, the data was put up for sale, and IntelBroker alleges that it was stolen as a result of a hack into the DC.gov Health Benefit Exchange Authority.
“I am looking for an undisclosed amount in XMR cryptocurrency. Contact me on keybase @ IntelBroker. Middleman only,” says the threat actor.
U.S. House members’ data up for sale
Adam Hudson, the Public Information Officer for Health Benefit Exchange Authority, stated that some of the stolen data from DC Health Link were posted online and that notifications will be given to people affected in a statement to BleepingComputer.
“We can confirm reports that data for some DC Health Link customers have been exposed on a public forum. We have initiated a comprehensive investigation and are working with forensic investigators and law enforcement.
Concurrently, we are taking action to ensure the security and privacy of our users’ personal information. We are in the process of notifying impacted customers and will provide identity and credit monitoring services.
In addition, and out of an abundance of caution, we will also provide credit monitoring services for all of our customers. The investigation is still ongoing and we will provide more information as we have more to share.”
For now, SYS01 stealer is targeting Facebook accounts of employees working for manufacturing companies, critical government infrastructures, and other sensitive industries.
The cybersecurity researchers at Morphisec have revealed details of an advanced information-stealing malware campaign which they began tracking in November 2022. They dubbed the malware SYS01 Stealer.
Researchers noted that SYS01 Stealer has been targeting critical government infrastructure and manufacturing firms’ employees. The attackers are targeting Facebook business accounts of their targets through Google ads and fake Facebook profiles, which promote games, cracked software, and adult content to compel their victims into downloading a malicious ZIP file.
The malicious use of Google Ads should not come as a surprise, since crooks have been abusing Google’s Ad Ecosystem for some years now. Just a couple of weeks ago, Google Ads were found to be spreading malware in fake messenger and browser apps.
The malware is executed on the target’s machine through DLL side-loading. The campaign was first noticed in May 2022, when it was attributed to Zscaler’s Ducktail operation, which was later rendered incorrect.
Detailed analysis
In a blog post, Morphisec researchers wrote that the archive has a legitimate application as a loader, which is vulnerable to DLL side-loading, and a malicious library, which drops the Inno-Setup installer through side-loading. In turn, the final payload is deployed as a PHP application, which actually contains malicious scripts that perform data exfiltration. Archive persistence is ensured through a PHP script.
It performs this task by setting a scheduled task. The main stealer script supports numerous other tasks, including letting the attacker check whether the victim is logged in and has a Facebook account.
Furthermore, this script also supports the downloading and execution of files from a certain URL and can upload files to the C2 server. It may also execute commands.
What’s the Objective?
This campaign is designed to steal sensitive details from the victims’ devices, such as cookies, login data, and personal and business Facebook account information. The attacker has included Rust, PHP, Python, and advanced PHP encoders to advance the delivery chain, which has helped them evade security vendors successfully for the past five months.
Infection chain
SYS01 Similarities with other Infostealer?
Morphisec analysis revealed that SYS01 uses the same loading techniques and lures as the S1deload infostealer (PDF) discovered by Bitdefender. However, it is worth noting that the final payload isn’t the same.
You can stay protected from SYS01 stealer by implementing a zero-trust policy and restricting users’ rights to download and install programs. Since this campaign is based on social engineering, users should be aware of the tricks adversaries can use against them.
Protect Yourself
If you are an employee at a government or critical infrastructure organization, you should watch out for malware attacks, especially on social media sites. Here are some steps on how to do so:
Be wary of unsolicited messages, friend requests, and links from unknown sources on social media platforms like Facebook.
Verify the identity of the sender before clicking on any links or downloading any attachments.
Install and update anti-virus software and firewalls on your device and make sure they are up-to-date with the latest security patches.
Use strong and unique passwords for your social media accounts and avoid reusing passwords across different accounts.
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) to provide an extra layer of protection for your accounts.
Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks, especially when accessing sensitive information or logging into social media accounts.
Regularly back up important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage service.
Report any suspicious activity, messages or links to your organization’s IT department immediately.
Stay informed about the latest malware and cyber security trends by attending regular training sessions and seminars.
Follow your organization’s security policies and procedures, including those for social media use.
A recent report suggests that Apple’s forthcoming OLED iPad Pro could be significantly more expensive than the current iPad Pro models.
Last week, the Korean publication The Elec claimed that Apple could announce 13-inch and 11-inch OLED iPad Pro models next year. Furthermore, the forthcoming iPad Pros could cost significantly more than the current models.
Now the publication is doubling down on its previous report.
Citing industry sources,The Elec claims that the 11-inch OLED iPad Pro prices could start at $1,500 — 80 percent more than the current model. Similarly, the 13-inch model could cost as much as $1,800, a significant price surge from the current $1,099 pricing.
In other words, the 2024 OLED iPad prices will rival the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 13.6 MacBook Air with an M2 chip. So what’s responsible for the price surge?
Why 2024 OLED iPad Pro Models Could Be More Expensive
The primary reason for the forthcoming iPad Pro models’ price surge is the OLED display.
Apple is reportedly negotiating with Samsung and LG Display on the price of supplying the panel. However, expert Ross Young says Apple’s display requirement will lead to a pricier OLED panel than the other OLED panels on the market.
According to The Elec, OLED panels supplied for existing 10-inch devices costs roughly $100 to $150. Meanwhile, the requirement for Apple’s 11-inch and 13-inch panels could raise the price to $270 and $350, respectively.
However, the publication admits that current OLED iPad Pro price estimates still need to be finalized. Since the expected panels from LG and Samsung are still in development, the prices could change.
In the meantime, the reaction to the 2024 iPad Pro models’ projected pricing is mixed.
As some tech reviewers point out, the price hike is reasonable considering the switch to superior OLED technology. However, others believe the pricier iPad Pro models will be challenging to sell because the tablets lack the replacement demand of iPhones.
Well, we’ll find out when Apple announces the tablet next year.
The entire tech world is moving toward AI (Artificial Intelligence), as several companies are looking to add AI chatbots to their services. Snapchat is no different, as the popular photo-sharing app has implemented OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its service. Dubbed My AI, this is an AI chatbot that’s supposed to look and behave like a human user.
So, what is this chatbot? How does it differ from ChatGPT proper? Does it augment the Snapchat experience at all? Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about Snapchat’s My AI.
How do I access My AI?
At the time of this article, you need to have a subscription to Snapchat+ to access My AI. It’s one of the several perks that you get with the subscription. Other perks include custom app icons, the ability to designate a user as a BFF, changeable chat backgrounds, and more.
If you’re looking to get Snapchat+, it costs $3.99/month. Getting a yearly subscription will cost you $39.99/year. However, Snapchat will eventually make this feature available to all users. To learn more about Snapchat+, click here.
To access the chatbot, just go to your chats. My AI will be pinned to the top of your conversations. Just tap on the conversation and you’ll be able to start typing.
What can you do with My AI?
So, since My AI is powered by ChatGPT, you know that it can do an absolute ton of stuff. Here’s a rundown of the core things that it can do.
Basic conversation
This might be what My AI is mostly marketed for. So, My AI will wear the mask of a human user. When you’re using it, you’ll see an avatar and everything. Also, all of its replies will show up in chat bubbles. So, it’s supposed to feel like you’re talking to a human being.
As such, you’re able to start and carry on a conversation about most subjects. You can talk about anything from your day to the loss of a loved one. You can talk about your crush or a party that you’re setting up. The AI will try its darndest to give you helpful and natural responses.
Advice
So, you’re not in the mood for conversation, but you want some advice on something. You can ask for advice on most subjects. Once you pose the question, it will give you a clear and concise response much like ChatGPT. Just type “I want advice on” and say what it is. Within a few seconds, you’ll see a chat bubble pop up with the advice you need.
Encyclopedia knowledge
You can use My AI as your personal encyclopedia. All you have to do is type in a question like “How far is the earth from the sun?” or “What is a rhino’s horn made of?”. It will give you the answer right then and there.
Written content
Just like with ChatGPT, you’re able to create written content. Obviously, it’s recommended that you attempt to create your own content. However, you have the ability to generate bits of written content like poems, stories, scripts, articles, eulogies, speeches, etc. Unlike ChatGPT, you can not generate full novels.
Responses can comfortably be 2000 words long, but striving for anything longer, you run the risk of getting an error message. So, you’re good with short stories and shorter content altogether.
If you have a specific word count in mind, you’ll just have to say “Write me an “X” word [whatever content you want written] about…” For example: Write me a 1000-word article about the problems with the LG G7.
Code for apps
This is one of the main things that grabbed people’s attention with ChatGPT. You’re able to generate sections of Python script that you’re able to insert into your code. Just know that it’s not able to generate an entire app. It can generate small sections of code.
You’ll want to be careful about the formatting. You can copy the text from the message, but you might have to adjust the formatting when you paste it into your code.
Recipes
This is a fun one. You’re able to generate recipes for different dishes using My AI. It will tell you all of the ingredients first and then tell you the process of cooking it. What’s neat is that you talk back and forth with the bot to make the right dish for you.
Say, you get a recipe for tacos. You can reply with something like “let’s make them spicy” and you’ll get a revised recipe with an added spicy ingredient. Speak to it as though you’re speaking to a human being.
Respond with things like your likes, dislikes, what kind of things you want to add or take away, etc.
What are the limitations?
So, since My AI is riding on the back of the Boeing 747 that is ChatGPT, it can do a lot. However, everything has its limits. There are things that you’re not able to do with My AI.
Earlier in the article, I mentioned that you can generate stories and get advice on most subjects. Well, you’re not able to get responses that deal with the act of sex. So, you won’t be able to generate stories or get advice about any explicit activities. However, I emulated a conversation and used this line: So, the subject of… you know what… came up.
My AI didn’t outright avoid responding. It said, “I understand, and it’s a natural and important topic of discussion in any romantic relationship…” So, it understood what “You know what” meant, and it also offered constructive advice.
You also can’t generate content dealing with violence or get advice on prescription medication.
How does it compare to ChatGPT?
This is a pretty important question. While My AI uses ChatGPT, it’s not an exact copy. There are some minor differences between both chatbots.
For starters, there’s a major difference in the speed at which you get your responses. With ChatGPT, you’ll see the response gradually type itself out. However, with My AI, you’ll see the response pop up as a chat bubble, and it’s exponentially faster. Most responses are almost instantaneous.
While that’s a win for My AI, ChatGPT was able to stick to the topic at hand better than My AI. I started a conversation about the loss of a pet. ChatGPT was able to remember details about the pet, the name of the tribute I said I was going to write for the pet when it died, and other details when the conversation strayed far from the core subject.
My AI was able to stick with the conversation pretty well. I emulated the same conversation and My AI wasn’t able to hold onto details as well. I asked it questions about the pet down the road, and it forgot what we were talking about altogether.
Why use My AI?
My AI is perfect for short-term conversations. If you need a result within a few messages, then you won’t see any issues. You’ll just need to be careful about where you’re steering the conversation. It won’t be hard to knock My AI off of the subject and onto a different one. Despite that, it’s an excellent alternative to ChatGPT if you want to use your phone.
Starting on March 28, T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers will get their year of MLB.TV for free. As usual, you’ll need to claim it in the T-Mobile Tuesdays app. Users will be able to sign up from March 28 until April 3, to get their year of free MLB.TV. This is a $150 value, so it’s definitely one you won’t want to miss.
For any baseball fan, MLB.TV is a must-have as far as subscriptions are concerned. With MLB.TV, you’ll be able to watch any out-of-market game throughout the entire MLB season. That’s nearly 5,000 games in the regular season alone. Now, this won’t let you watch your local team, unless you are not in their market. This also won’t let you watch nationally televised games on ESPN, FOX, MLB Network, Apple TV+, TBS and Peacock.
T-Mobile is a great carrier for sports fans
T-Mobile offering MLB.TV for free is not a surprise anymore, since T-Mobile has been the official wireless carrier of the MLB for quite a few years now. And while that partnership has been ongoing, T-Mobile has offered MLB.TV for free to all of its subscribers. But T-Mobile has also given its users the MLS Season Pass for free.
The MLS Season Pass is part of Apple TV+, which has also been given to its customers for free for a year. So if you’re a big Baseball and/or Soccer fan, then T-Mobile is a great carrier to have.
This is just the latest in wireless carriers offering perks to keep customers on their networks. Verizon, for example, offers up the Disney+ bundle (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+), as well as the Google Play Pass, Apple Arcade, Apple Music and more, depending on your plan. AT&T also used to offer HBO MAX with its plans, though that seems to be phasing out now.
One of the most underappreciated features found on a smartphone is the share sheet. This is the page that allows you to pick the platform being used to share content. The ones used by both Google Chrome and Google Photos are often criticized. The current share sheet used by the aforementioned apps is limited at first glance and requires the user to press the “more” tab to see all of the options. Ironically, having a different share sheet than the one used system-wide violates Android Guidelines.
According to Techdows (via AndroidPolice) Google is working to move the Chrome browser app to the native Android system share sheet. Signs that such a move is in the works were spotted in the Chrome Canary app. This is an unstable version of Chrome that gets updated daily and it is available from the Google Play Store. In version 112 of Canary Chrome (made available with the stable Chrome browser app at a older version), you can toggle a setting that will force the app to use the Android system share sheet by defdault.
To force Chrome to use the Android system share sheet, follow these directions:
Launch Chrome
Go to chrome://flags
Search for share, find the flag “Share sheet refactor Android”
Chrome Share sheet refactor Android flag
Select Enabled
Restart the browser
After you restart the browser and request the share sheet from the triple-dot menu in the upper right corner, it will show you the native Android share sheet. Right now, this is only available on the Canary Chrome app and will be eventually be found on the stable Chrome app. Right now, my Pixel 6 Pro running Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3.1 has version 109 of stable Chrome installed. The version of Canary Chrome on my phone is 112 which does offer the migration to the Android system share sheet.
You can set Canary Chrome to run the native Android system share sheet by default
To see which version of Chrome is installed on your phone, open the app, tap the three-dot menu button found in the upper right of the display. Go to Settings > About Chrome, and the version number will appear. Once you see that you’re running version 112 of stable Chrome, follow the six steps listed above. Again, these steps work right now on Canary Chrome but we will need to wait for it to appear for the stable version of Google’s mobile web browser.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro is the company’s latest flagship, and we’re here to review it. I’ve been using it for a while now, and I do have plenty of thoughts to share. HONOR really did step up compared to last year, though. The Magic4 Pro was a good phone, but it had some downsides that this year’s iteration fixes. The HONOR Magic5 Pro actually managed to surprise me in some ways, and that’s not easy to do these days.
HONOR paid great attention to the design of this phone, while it also fixed some camera-related problems, and some other things. As it’s the case with every phone, though, the Magic5 Pro is not perfect. So, let’s find out exactly what this phone offers, so that you can be more informed before you pull the trigger.
Table of contents
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Hardware / Design
The HONOR Magic5 Pro is similar to its predecessor design-wise, to a degree, but we’ll get to that in a second. The HONOR Magic5 Pro includes a large display on the front, with thin bezels, and that display is also curved. There is a pill-shaped hole in the top-left corner, but there’s a good reason for that, as the phone offers 3D facial scanning. On the back, HONOR opted for a large, circular camera island, with three cameras on it. Both the front and the back sides are curved. The display also has a very slight curve on the top and bottom, by the way, not many people will notice though.
Glass models with glossy & matte coatings are available
The backplate on this phone is made out of glass, and it has a gorgeous matte coating. Well, I can talk only about the model I’ve reviewed, and that’s the green one. HONOR officially refers to it as ‘Meadow Green’. The Black model seems to have a regular, shiny coating on the back, which will, undoubtedly, attract fingerprints like crazy. That’s not the case with this green model, though, not at all. It also looks gorgeous on top of that.
The camera island gradually raises to the top
The phone has a gradual incline towards the top of the camera island on the back, which not only looks nice, but is also useful. I often anchored my finger below the camera island while I was holding the device. The light is reflected very nicely off the back of the phone, and also a ring around the camera array. Not many people will care, but if you care about such design details, you’ll probably like it. I know I do, it shows HONOR made an effort to make something different.
The camera module design is an improvement compared to the Magic4 Pro
Now, the HONOR Magic4 Pro also has a circular camera island on the back, but this one looks much better, in my opinion. It’s visually a lot more appealing, as there’s not as much going on. HONOR simplified things. The phone is still slippery, however, and also large at the same time. So, using a case may be a good idea. It does feel good in the hand, though, I didn’t feel like it was cutting into my hand uncomfortably or anything of the sort. It weighs 219 grams, but considering its size, that’s not surprising nor too much, to be quite honest. On top of everything, the phone is also water and dust resistant (IP68 certification).
A case is included
HONOR did include a case with the HONOR Magic5 Pro, which is always appreciated. As you may have guessed, it’s a regular gel case aka silicone case. It is see-through, but it’s always useful to have. This case does add quite a bit of grip for you, and will do a good job of protecting your phone. It even has some extra material on the corners, just to be safe. You can always use it just until you get another case, if you don’t like it. The point is, it’s there, and it fits this phone nicely.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Display
HONOR included a truly outstanding panel here. Let’s get the specs out of the way first. The HONOR Magic5 Pro features a 6.81-inch 2848 x 1312 LTPO OLED display. That panel is curved on all four sides, and it supports a 120Hz refresh rate. It can also project up to 1 billion colors, and gets immensely bright outdoors. It can go all the way up to 1,800 nits of brightness at its peak, on the automatic setting. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9, in case you were wondering.
The display is big, bright & vivid
So, on paper, this display looks great. Is that the case in actual use, though? Well, yes, it is. The display is not only big and bright, but it also produces very vivid colors, and it’s more than sharp enough. You can tweak it additionally in the settings, if you want. Yes, the viewing angles are also excellent. Touch response is great, and so is haptic feedback when you’re typing, or using the keyboard to move the slider. There is not a single complaint I have about this display, other than the hole in the top-left corner.
Its pill-shaped camera cutout is an eyesore, but it has a purpose
That hole does have a purpose, but those of you who don’t really use facial scanning certainly have a right to complain. It is distracting, and during my usage, I didn’t really get used to it. I presume I would if I used it for a longer period of time, but it’s not as seamless of a transition from a hole punch. The same was the case last year, actually, at least as far as I can remember. That pill-shaped hole is also not exactly close to the left side of the screen, so that certainly doesn’t help.
Functionality-wise, this is an outstanding display. It does everything a high-end display should do, and then some. If you’re not bothered by the hole in the top-left corner, you should not worry about this display at all.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Performance
HONOR went all out when it comes to the Magic5 Pro internals. The company not only decided to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, but also LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. In other words, it basically grabbed the most powerful SoC available, and the fastest RAM and flash storage units out there. All that doesn’t really mean a lot without proper optimization, right? Well, based on what I’ve seen from this phone, HONOR did a really good job with software optimization as well. The Magic5 Pro performed admirably during my usage.
The performance is outstanding, even when it comes to gaming
It flew through anything I decided to throw at it, really. It managed to open apps really fast, browsing was a breeze, and so was streaming / content consumption. The phone processed images and video during my usage, while it also did a great job on the gaming front. I ran Subway Surfers, Dead Cells, and Genshin Impact on the phone. It did a wonderful job with all three games, even Genshin Impact. Quite a few phones struggle here, but that was not the case with the Magic5 Pro. I don’t think performance will be an issue on this phone for quite some time, it really did feel that smooth. I don’t really have a complaint worth noting.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Battery
The HONOR Magic5 Pro does have a gigantic, high-res display to power, which is why it’s a good thing HONOR stuffed in a 5,100mAh battery here. In combination with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is very good at power consumption, I managed to get great battery life with the device. Truth be said there was not a single day when I had to charge it before I went to bed, nor was I ever anxious about battery life. This won’t mean that much to you, as your usage will be different, as will your signal, but I managed to get 8 hours of screen-on time multiple times. It still had plenty of juice left in the tank, so I probably could have pushed it even further.
66W wired & 50W wireless charging is supported
HONOR also thought about charging. The device supports 66W wired charging, and a charger is included in the box. On top of that, it supports 50W wireless charging, and both reverse wired and wireless charging. You can get it fully charged in about an hour, while 50W charging will take a bit longer. HONOR could have went with even faster wired charging, but this is faster than both Samsung and Apple offer. Still, it pales in comparison to the HONOR Magic4 Pro, which offered 100W for both wired and wireless charging. 50W wireless charging does seem to be standard with Chinese flagships these days, and is much faster than what Samsung and Apple offer as well (15W). So, we can’t really complain.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Camera
The HONOR Magic5 Pro has three cameras on the back, and two on the front. The phone includes a 50-megapixel main camera (1.4um pixel size, f/1.6 aperture, 23mm lens, OIS, multi-directional PDAF), along with a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (122-degree FoV). The third camera on the back is also a 50-megapixel one, this is a periscope telephoto unit (3.5x optical zoom, OIS). A 12-megapixel ultrawide camera (122-degree FoV) sits on the front, along with a ToF 3D depth camera. The Magic5 Pro supports advanced facial scanning.
The camera performance is improved compared to its predecessor
First things first, the HONOR Magic5 Pro has excellent hardware, when it comes to cameras. That being said, the pictures this phone can take look noticeably better than what the Magic4 Pro delivered. Most of the time they’re on point. They tend to provide good colors, plenty of detail, and well-balanced highlights during the day, for the most part. At night, the camera does allow enough light into the shot, and most of the time it balances out images.
Further optimizations are needed, though
You’ll notice that I said most of the time a couple of times there. HONOR does need to optimize things a bit more here. At times, the subject I was shooting wasn’t exactly in focus as much as it was supposed to be, while the colors weren’t exactly spot on. Some balancing is needed for this camera to truly shine, but it’s really close. It does a great job at macro photography, by the way. Even if the light is a bit challenging, as you’ll see in the camera samples below, the Magic5 Pro did a great job.
It even includes a capable periscope camera
Furthermore, this phone does include a periscope telephoto camera. It can zoom up to 100x, but I definitely would not recommend that, of course. The phone does a good job during the day with those crazy zoom levels, though not to the level of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Still, the images up to 30x are more than usable, and noticeably improved compared to the Magic4 Pro. I’m really glad HONOR included a periscope camera here, that’s for sure.
The video recording is good. The phone performs best at fullHD recording at 30 or 60 fps, but it does a good job at 4K as well. The quality does drop off during nighttime, but not more than on most other flagship handsets out there. It’s good overall.
Camera samples (wide & ultrawide):
Camera samples (macro):
Camera samples (periscope):
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Software
Android 13 ships out of the box on the HONOR Magic5 Pro. The thing is, it comes with MagicOS 7.1 on top of it. MagicOS is noticeably different than stock Android, and truth be said, personally, it’s not one of my favorite implementations, your mileage may vary, though. The point is, MagicOS 7.1 works really well on this phone. It’s fluid and responsive, and quite bold at the same time. This UI basically combines Android and iOS, in a way. It has a quick search function (aka HONOR Search) when you swipe top-down across the screen, for example. It also has a preference for keeping all your apps on home screens, though you can change that and activate the app drawer.
Knuckle Gestures are quiet useful for taking screenshots
There are some interesting features included here, like Knuckle Gestures, using which you can take screenshots, take partial screenshots, and more. Also, MagicOS comes with big folders, which enable you to enlarge a regular folder so that you can activate apps directly, without opening the folder first. These are just some examples. It does lack Material You, though, and some other Android 13 features that you may be used to if you’ve used Android 13 on some other device.
The UI does look a bit cartoonish and disconnected
The UI looks a bit cartoonish, and it kind of has a disconnect from one portion to the other, design-wise. Pop-up dialogues are in all caps, and it looks a bit weird overall. This is a style preference, and if you’re annoyed by the minimalistic approach, this is certainly different. It is also worth noting that some other parts of the UI work a bit differently than on other Android phones. For example, when it comes to dismissing notifications, you can dismiss them really quickly only by swiping them away from left-to-right, not the other way around. If you do it the other way around, you’ll get several options first, and will then have to swipe again to dismiss a notification.
The UI could be more functional
Entering split screen mode is also quite cumbersome. In fact, many people won’t even know there is a split screen mode here. You cannot activate it from the overview menu directly, or via a gesture. First, you need to go to the overview menu, and open a specific app in a small window. Then you need to open the second app that you’d like to run in a split screen mode, and at that point move the windowed app to the upper or lower portion of the screen. This is quite unintuitive, and I really don’t know why HONOR implemented it this way. Also, you cannot switch places between the top and bottom app while in split screen mode.
MagicOS’ windowed mode is useful
I’ve mentioned windowed apps above, that’s a nice feature to have, and it works well on the Magic5 Pro, as long as the UI allows you to window an app. You can use it in windowed mode, or minimize it in form of a circular icon attached to the right side of the display, to use later. It’s a convenient feature, that’s for sure. If only HONOR included a split screen icon next to the window-an-app icon in the overview menu, things would be much simpler.
It’s considerably different compared to other Android implementations
Overall, this UI is quite functional, but I needed to mention some oddities, different implementations, and missing features, so that you’re ready when you boot the phone. Many people are used to some features on most other phones, so… it’s worth noting that MagicOS is a bit different.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Review: Should you buy it?
So, should you buy the HONOR Magic5 Pro? Well, this phone does have a lot of competition out there. It does also combine a unique set of features not many other phones have. You’re getting top-of-the-line specs, excellent display and battery life, fast wired and wireless charging, and 3D facial scanning all in the same package. Not to mention an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, and more. That being said, the biggest tradeoff here is HONOR’s UI, which needs work. It doesn’t really impact the performance as much as it stands in its own way, and lacks some features that should probably be there. If you, however, want a different experience, and you don’t mind what I’ve mentioned in the software section above, the HONOR Magic5 Pro is definitely worth checking out. This phone has considerably potential.
You should buy the HONOR Magic5 Pro if:
You want a different software experience
You want all the specs
You need 3D facial scanning on an Android phone
You appreciate having truly fast wired & wireless charging
You hate OEMs who don’t include (fast) chargers in the box
You appreciate excellent battery life
You want good camera performance
You shouldn’t buy the HONOR Magic5 Pro if:
You need some of the software features this phone is missing
The Samsung Galaxy A54 and A34 wallpapers are now available to download thanks to XDA Developers. Neither of the two phones launched just yet, but they’re expected to arrive soon. You can get these wallpapers early, though.
The Galaxy A54 & A34 wallpapers are available ahead of launch
Both static and live wallpapers are available. You’ll find a total of 21 static wallpapers included in the pack. 13 of those are common One UI wallpapers, 4 are One UI 5 wallpapers, and 3 are abstract pattern wallpapers. The last wallpaper is a device-specific wallpaper, one for each phone.
The static wallpapers come in a WEBP format, in different resolutions. The live wallpapers come in 2340 x 1080 and 2400 x 1080 resolutions for the Galaxy A34 and A54, respectively. Samsung included quite colorful images here. You’ll find plenty of abstract wallpapers in the pack, which seem to be quite popular these days.
You can check out all of those wallpaper in the galleries below the article. Do note that they have been compressed, however. If you’d like to get them in full size, we’ve included a download link below the article.
There are two live wallpapers included in total
Now, in terms of live wallpapers, one device-specific live wallpaper is included on each device. You can check what they look like in the video embedded below the article.
These live wallpapers come in an MP4 format, and you’ll need a third-party app to get them running on your device. Video to Wallpaper app, for example, can make that happen for you.
Samsung still did not announce a launch date for either of the two phones. Chances are they will arrive at the same time, though. They’re also expected to launch soon, as their price tags surfaced quite recently. It seems like they’ll be pricier than expected.
