The iPhone 15 will not have an improved battery

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The iPhone 15 will not have an improved battery
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Apple just introduced us to the iPhone 15 series of phones during its latest event, and it brings the usual slew of iterative updates over last year’s version. While this is the case, according to Android Authority, it seems that there was one area that Apple skipped. It appears that Apple didn’t improve the battery life of the iPhone 15.

Battery life is one of the most important aspects of the smartphone experience. It doesn’t matter how powerful the processor is or how great the screen is if the phone can’t power on. So, with each new iteration, we typically expect some sort of battery improvement.

Albeit, a lot of the improvement to the battery comes with the new processor. Since Apple makes its own chips, processor optimization falls on its head.

The iPhone 15 might not have improved battery life

This might not be the biggest issue, as iPhones usually have good battery life. However, it’s always nice to see improvements in this department. During the presentation, Apple focused on the camera, design, and processor for the phone. That’s all fine and dandy, but the company completely passed over the part where it says that “iPhone 15 has the best battery life of any smartphone today”.

Looking at the spec charts, it’s easy to see why. We see the ratings for the iPhone 14 along with the ratings for the iPhone 15, and they’re exactly the same. Both base models are rated to have up to 20 hours of video playback, 16 hours of streamed video playback, and 80 hours of audio playback.

That’s 23 hours, 20 hours, and 75 hours for the Pro models and 29 hours, 25 hours, and 95 hours for the Pro Max models. Also, all phones retain the 20W charging from last year.

This could point to the phones using the same exact battery cells from last year’s models. If that’s the case, then the identical battery numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Max still use the same chip from last year’s model.

However, the fact that the Pro model has the same battery numbers is a bit surprising, as this phone uses a different chip. The SoC powering the device actually has a significant impact on the battery life. Apple somehow managed to balance the components in the A17 Max chip to keep the battery life the same.

In any case, if you’re looking forward to picking up one of these phones, pre-orders start on Friday with general sales beginning on September 22nd.


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Apple’s FineWoven watch band will replace leather options

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Apple’s FineWoven watch band will replace leather options
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Apple today announced the new FineWoven band material alongside the Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2. This band material is made of a new textile that Apple says it created. It provides the soft, luxurious look and feel of suede but also allows Apple to lower its carbon footprint.

The company is on a mission to become completely carbon neutral by 2030. The Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 are Apple’s first carbon neutral products. So it makes sense that it would move to release a watch band that follows in pursuit of that goal. The FineWoven band for Apple Watch is made from 68% post consumer content. And that’s good for Apple’s mission of going green. Apple says that its overall more environmentally friendly than the leather accessories it was offering.

Which is why the FineWoven band is going to be replacing the leather bands for Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2, and any models in the future.

The FineWoven band for Apple Watch will replace leather starting today

Apple Watch Series 9 FineWoven Band

As of today, Apple is committing to the carbon neutrality. And to that end it will no longer be using leather in its accessories. That does not mean however that you can’t get leather accessories anymore. There are still going to be leather accessories available to buy. Both officially licensed Apple accessories and some from third-party brands. At least until stock runs out.

What it does mean is that “new” apple accessories will not be using leather. So anything that comes out after today won’t be made of actual leather material. This is where the FineWoven band comes in. It has the look and feel of suede according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Giving consumers a suede-like option. The FineWoven band will come in three different colors – Evergreen, Taupe, and Pacific Blue. It will also launch alongside new bands from partners like Hermés and Nike. The new band retails for $99.99 and should launch alongside the new watch.


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The iPhone 15 Pro Max comes in at $1,199

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The iPhone 15 Pro Max comes in at $1,199
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Today is the day that iPhone users have been waiting for all year. Apple just announced the new iPhone 15 series of phones, and they bring the usual slew of improvements. Sitting on top of the new phones, we have the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This handset is the most powerful iPhone to date, and it comes in at a hefty price.

Along with this phone, Apple also unveiled the upcoming Apple Watch 9 series. These watches come with a new chip that will enable on-device dictation, and the screen will reach an eye-blazing 2000 nits of brightness.

What’s perhaps the most notable feature of this watch is the Double Tap gesture. When you want to do a specific action on your watch like answer a call, start a timer, snooze an alarm, etc., all you have to do is tap your index finger on your thumb twice. That feature will make this watch stand out among other watches until another company eventually steals it; we all know that it’s going to happen.

The iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at a hefty price

Since this is Apple’s latest crown jewel, you shouldn’t be surprised that it costs about as much as an actual crown jewel. The handset comes in at $1,199 for the 256GB storage variant, according to Mac Rumors. That’s not out of the ordinary for a top-of-the-line flagship smartphone from Apple.

This is unfortunate for people who want a more affordable option. Last year, the iPhone 14 Pro Max started with 128GB of storage, and that phone started at $1,099. Sure, that’s less storage, but with the way the economy is, most people would have appreciated a cheaper iPhone. Also, 128GB is a bit of a sweet spot when it comes to storage. Most people will be just fine with a 128GB phone.

If you’re looking to pick up this phone, pre-orders begin on September 15th. General sales of the phone will begin on September 22nd.


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When can you pre-order the new Apple Watch Series 9?

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When can you pre-order the new Apple Watch Series 9?
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The new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 have now been made official and you’ll likely want to know when you can pre-order them. In the past, Apple has typically opened up pre-orders at the end of the week when it holds the announcements. Usually this is around the same time that Apple opens pre-orders for the new iPhone. Which this year is the iPhone 15 series, with pre-orders opening up on September 15.

However, Apple isn’t doing that this time for the new watches. It’s a small departure from starting pre-orders on the same day as the new phone. But it’s also good news for anyone who wants to upgrade. Because the Apple Watch Series 9 is officially open for pre-orders starting today. You can get the watch pre-order secured directly from Apple online, and it’ll be available for both the Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2.

Should you pre-order the Apple Watch Series 9 or Watch Ultra 2?

These both use the new S9 chip with a faster neural engine. And what that means for you is that it enables new features with smarter functionality that won’t be available on older watches. If you’re on the Watch Series 8, moving to the new Watch Series 9 probably makes a lot of sense. You get the double tap gestures, plus quite a few new features all without losing battery life for a starting price of $399. And that’s a pretty good reason to want the new Watch Series 9 as opposed to keeping the older model.

You can likely get a trade-in too. So that would offset the cost some. With the Watch Ultra 2, there are more similarities between it and the original Watch Ultra. With what seems like less upgrades. And with its cost being $799, paying that is a big ask for just a handful of new features. But, if you really like the idea of double tap, and the other new features enabled by the S9 chip, the Watch Ultra 2 might be worth it. The value lies in how much you would use those features. And if the answer to that question is often, then consider upgrading.

Like with the Watch Series 8 to Watch Series 9, there’s the potential for a trade-in of your original Watch Ultra. Though it will be about half the cost of the new watch.

Apple Watch Series 9 – Apple

Apple Watch Ultra 2 – Apple


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Download the new iPhone 15 Wallpapers here

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Download the new iPhone 15 Wallpapers here
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The new iPhone 15 models have been announced, and that means one thing. New Wallpapers! This is an easy way to make your old iPhone look like you have the new iPhone 15, without spending a dime. You can download the wallpapers at the bottom of this article.

There’s a distinct difference between the wallpapers on the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro. The Pro models appear to take inspiration from the event invite, with specs of titanium in the corresponding colors all over the display, in an S shape. While the iPhone 15 comes in more colors, that matches the phones too, and looks more like pebbles. Each wallpaper looks really great, and will also look great on your Android phones.

New iPhone 15 Pro comes without a price increase

Despite many rumors and leaks about the iPhone 15 Pro getting a price increase this year, that didn’t happen. Technically, the iPhone 15 Pro Max did go up in price, but that’s because Apple ditched the 128GB model. So you’re starting off with 256GB for the same price as the 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max from last year. Technically a price increase, but also not.

There’s some pretty nice upgrades for the iPhone 15 Pro series this year, including USB-C. And on the Pro models, Apple is giving you 10Gbps transfer speeds. Which is going to be really great for getting videos and photos off your phone, thanks to the new cameras. On the Pro Max, it now has a periscope camera, which is capable of 5x optical zoom. A first on iPhone, and definitely welcome.

iPhone 15 Pre-orders start on Friday, September 15, 2023. And they will start shipping on Friday, September 22, 2023. The iPhone 15 starts at $799, iPhone 15 Plus at $899, iPhone 15 Pro at $999 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at $1,199. Pretty good to see these mostly stayed the same price, despite inflation running rampant.


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iPhone 13 lives on for another year

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iPhone 13 lives on for another year
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Today, Apple announced the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro series, which comes in at the same prices, as many were actually surprised to see. But what about the rest of the lineup?

Well, Apple is keeping the iPhone 14, dropping it down to $699, and the iPhone 13 is also remaining and is now $599. While the iPhone SE remains at the bottom of the lineup. So now, you can pick up a ‘new’ iPhone for anywhere from $429 to $1,599. Depending on the model and the storage.

Apple is keeping the iPhone 13 in all three storage configurations too, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Which is also really great to see.

However, this does mean that the iPhone 13 Mini is gone. Rest in peace little guy, you’ll be missed.

Getting the iPhone 13 over the iPhone 14 might be the best deal

The upgrades from the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 14 is actually very minimal. In fact, both phones use the same A15 Bionic chipset. Battery life is rated to be slightly better on the iPhone 14, at 20 hours of video playback, versus 19 hours on the iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 also brings Emergency SOS via Satellite. Otherwise they are pretty identical.

What this also means is that the iPhone 13 and 14 should keep being updated for the same amount of time. Apple does typically update its phones for a good 6 or 7 years. With security updates even longer – in fact, it updated the iPhone 6S just yesterday with a security update to iOS 15.7.9.

Though the one iPhone in this lineup you should definitely stray away from, is the iPhone SE. This is a pretty old model at this point. It’s basically the same as the 2020 model, but with 5G being added. Which means the battery life is even worse. And at $479, you could get a certified refurbished iPhone 13 or iPhone 14 for about the same price. Hopefully Apple will either get rid of the iPhone SE or ditch it altogether pretty soon. As it is just not a good deal.


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Unfortunately, there’s no 2TB iPhone 15 Pro this year

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Unfortunately, there’s no 2TB iPhone 15 Pro this year
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Leading up to today’s Apple Event, there was a lot of talk about Apple starting storage out at 256GB for the Pro models, and adding a 2TB option. But it looks like that’s not happening. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are already listed on the Apple Store with pricing, and, it only goes to 1TB.

The iPhone 15 Pro starts at 128GB still and the same $999 price. While the iPhone 15 Pro Max does start at 256GB for $1,199. Which is technically a price increase, but if you were buying the 256GB model already, then it’s the same price.

You can get both options in 512GB and 1TB as well. With the prices capping out at $1,599 for the 1TB iPhone 15 Pro Max. That’s the same as the iPhone 14 Pro Max with 1TB of storage.

Let’s face it, 2TB is a bit extreme

While it would be cool to see a phone launching with 2TB of storage, it is a bit extreme. And instead of launching a 2TB iPhone, Apple decided to offer up two more tiers of iCloud storage. Now, you can get 6TB for $30/month or 12TB for $60/month. Which is actually a pretty good price, and right in-line with what Google offers.

A lot of users prefer to keep all of their data on their phone, instead of using the cloud, but the cloud is just so much more feasible for storing things like music, photos, videos and more. And it looks like Apple might be looking to lean into that now, with these new changes to iCloud storage. Though it still sucks that 5GB is all you get for free. It should be 50GB at minimum.

Many of us would be scared to see how much a 2TB iPhone 15 Pro Max would cost. Luckily, we won’t have to see that.

iphone 15 pro max 1tb


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Mario Kart Tour rides off into the sunset

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Mario Kart Tour rides off into the sunset
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Nintendo has so few games on the mobile market, but they’ve all been notably good. One of the most recent entries into the company’s repertoire of mobile games is Mario Kart Tour. Well, according to Video Game Chronicle, Nintendo is sunsetting Mario Kart Tour next month.

Mario Kart Tour launched back in 2019, and it was the center of a lot of attention. The game was fun and it gave a pretty faithful Mario Kart experience. The only issue was that the company didn’t implement a multiplayer function for some time.

The game has remained playable ever since, and it’s seen a drop off in players as time passed. It’s still available to download on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. If you want to experience this game, then you’d better do it now.

Nintendo is sunsetting Mario Kart Tour

All good things must come to an end, and Mario Kart Tour is no different. Nintendo and DeNA announced that after October 4th, Mario Kart will no longer receive any more new content. This means that there won’t be any new characters or tracks added.

This comes as quite a shocker, as Mario Kart Tour is the company’s second-highest-grossing mobile game, bringing in more than $2 million each month. It’s a fair bit behind Fire Emblem Heroes which brings in about $5 million each month.

This is unfortunate news for Mario Kart Tour fans, but the companies didn’t state that the game would be unplayable after the date. They stated that no new content will be added after the date. Hopefully, the company keeps up the servers for some more time, as Mario Kart Tour, while it’s not brand new, is still relatively recent compared to other apps.

There’s a ton of content on Mario Kart Tour now, so you’ll have a ton to dive into before the game is sunsetted.


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Google Messages is readying multi-device support

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Google Messages is readying multi-device support
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Google Messages could soon add multi-device support. The feature will allow you to access your messages, including RCS chats, across multiple devices. It will use your phone number and Google account to sync up messages.

Currently, Google Messages doesn’t support multi-device syncing of messages. You can use the web version to read, send, or receive messages on other devices, including your computer (devices are paired using a QR code). However, if you have two Android devices, you can’t use the Google Messages app with the same phone number on both of them.

For example, if you want to access your messages on the Pixel Tablet or any other Wi-Fi tablet, Google will redirect you to the web version of Messages via a pre-installed PWA (Progressive Web App). Even if your tablet supports SIM, you can use the Google Messages app with your phone number on your primary device only. This is not the connected experience users want from their Android ecosystem.

It appears Google has a fix in the works. App researcher AssembleDebug recently found code strings within the messaging app hinting at a multi-device syncing feature. “Use your phone number to send and receive messages on devices signed into your Google account,” one of the strings reads. “Message from your phone number on your other devices,” the other says.

These strings suggest Google will allow you to sync your messages across devices signed into the same Google account. Instead of setting up the Messages app with different phone numbers, you can use the same phone number on all of them. You don’t need to swap your SIM if you want to access messages from a different device. This is more convenient than using the web version.

Google is currently working on multi-device support for Messages

Multi-device support for Google Messages is currently in development. The source found the strings in the latest beta version of the app but couldn’t get the feature working. It appears the company isn’t done assembling all the puzzles for a working solution.

Meanwhile, the same report adds that Google Messages is also preparing to show you a warning screen when a screen reader is active. It will block access to your messages. “Screen reader active,” the warning is titled. “We suspect that there’s a screen reader active on your device. Your content will be accessible once it is turned off,” it explains. We will let you know when we have more information about these upcoming Google Messages features.


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Sponsor Malware Attacking Government, and Healthcare Organizations

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Sponsor Malware Attacking Government, and Healthcare Organizations
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The Ballistic Bobcat is an Iran-aligned APT group, and initially, about two years ago, cybersecurity researchers at ESET tracked this threat group. Here below, we have mentioned all the other names of the Ballistic Bobcat APT group:-

  • APT35
  • APT42
  • Charming Kitten
  • TA453
  • PHOSPHORUS

Recently, cybersecurity analysts at ESET found a new Ballistic Bobcat campaign, Sponsor Malware, via which threat actors are actively targeting several entities in:-

  • Brazil
  • Israel
  • The United Arab Emirates

Security experts uncover Sponsor, a new backdoor deployed by the Ballistic Bobcat APT group, from an interesting sample on an Israeli victim’s system in May 2022.

Timeline & Victimology

During the pandemic, it actively targeted COVID-19-related organizations globally, including WHO and Gilead.

Ballistic Bobcat and Sponsor backdoor campaigns overlap, revealing a clear pattern in tool development. Four more versions of Sponsor were found, deployed in Brazil, Israel, and the UAE, targeting 34 victims.

Here in the below image, the complete timeline is given:-

Sponsor Malware
Timeline (Source – WeLiveSecurity)

Ballistic Bobcat exploited Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities, often opportunistically, in a campaign named “Sponsoring Access.”

Sponsor backdoor employs innocuous configuration files and a modular approach to evade scans, a tactic frequently used by Ballistic Bobcat for over two years, alongside open-source tools on compromised systems.

Besides this, among the 34 victims, the maximum number of them were located in Israel, while only two of the victims were from other countries:-

Brazil, at a medical cooperative and health insurance operators United Arab Emirates, at an unidentified organization

Verticals targeted in Israel 

Here below, we have mentioned all the verticals that were targeted in Israel:-

  • Automotive
  • Communications
  • Engineering
  • Financial services
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Law
  • Manufacturing
  • Retail
  • Technology
  • Telecommunications

Moreover, security analysts discovered that Ballistic Bobcat hit an Israeli insurance marketplace in August 2021 by exploiting the CISA’s reported tools and found the following IOCs:-

  • MicrosoftOutlookUpdateSchedule
  • MicrosoftOutlookUpdateSchedule.xml
  • GoogleChangeManagement
  • GoogleChangeManagement.xml

In the Sponsoring Access campaign, several open-source tools were used by the operators of Ballistic Bobcat, and here’s the full list:-

  • host2ip.exe
  • RevSocks
  • Mimikatz
  • Armadillo PE packer
  • GO Simple Tunnel (GOST)
  • Chisel
  • csrss_protected.exe
  • Plink (PuTTY Link)
  • WebBrowserPassView.exe
  • sqlextractor.exe
  • ProcDump

Sponsor backdoors in C++ include compilation timestamps, PDB paths, and version info for tracking changes. While the Sponsor collects host info, sends it to the C&C server, and records the node ID in node.txt.

Ballistic Bobcat piggybacked on PowerLess C&C and introduced a new server, using multiple IPs for tools, which are now inactive.

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