Mobile World Congress was held this week, and if you’re an Apple fan, there was a barrage of interesting stories that you probably missed. MWC is basically an Android show, but there are still some releases and announcements that will interest iPhone users. We’ve narrowed the week-long events down to just five announcements that Apple fans need to know:
Reality Pro is already changing AR
One of the biggest surprises of the show happened on day one. Android phone maker Xiaomi has revealed a prototype for a pair of AR smart glasses with hand gestures, “retina-level” screens, and a completely wireless design. If it sounds like Apple’s Reality Pro AR headphones are said to be, You are right. While the design is certainly an acquired taste and is only a prototype, it’s clear that Apple’s headset is already influencing the AR landscape, and it’s not quite there yet.
Xiaomi
MagSafe is about to get better
Following the announcement at CES that the Q12 standard would be based on Apple’s “magnetic power profile,” the Wireless Power Consortium showed off the first Qi2 magnetic chargers for Android phones at MWC, lo and behold, they’re very similar to MagSafe. So much so that they work with iPhone out of the box. Since Apple has let MagSafe languish for the past couple of years, maybe we’ll finally get some great third-party accessories.
Apple is dumping Qualcomm
You’d be hard pressed to find an iPhone on the floor at MWC, but that doesn’t mean people weren’t talking about it. And Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had a lot to say, especially about the modem he makes for the iPhone: “We’re not making any plans for 2024, my planning guess is we’re not providing [Apple] a modem in ’24, but that’s their decision to make. So it looks like the next iPhone 15 will be the last to use Qualcomm’s modem, which is the same 5G modem that Android phones have had for many years. This probably doesn’t mean much to users, but it’s another piece of the iPhone controlled by Apple.
Nothing is coming to iPhone
One of the hottest Android phones of 2022 was the Nothing Phone, which featured a unique backlit, solid specs, and an aggressive price tag. The only problem is that it wasn’t available in the US, CEO Carl Pei announced at MWC No Phone 2 will arrive this year and will be available in the States. Pei has already talked extensively about wanting to take over Apple’s dominance, so that means the iPhone 15 will have a little more competition this year, not that it will matter much.
The Nothing Phone 2 will launch in the US this year.Foundry
iSIM is the next eSIM
Apple surprised us last year by fully making the iPhone 14 for example in the US After some initial headaches, it turned out to be great for everyone, so much so that many Android phones are following the trend. And the next generation of SIMs is already here: first name. Qualcomm has unveiled a modified version of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for high-end Android phones with a SIM built right into the chip, making it even smaller and more energy efficient than eSIM. We haven’t heard any rumors of Apple using iSIM with the new A17 chip, but it certainly seems like the kind of technological advance Apple would jump on quickly.
Leave a Comment