Apple has delivered iOS 17.2 to all users and with it comes a brand new security feature for iMessage. Called Contact Key Verification (CKV), the capability gives users more certainty they’re messaging with the people they think they are. Follow along for what this feature is, how it works, and how to turn on Contact Key Verification on for iMessage.
Contact Key Verification background
When enabled, the opt-in Contact Key Verification gives automatic alerts if the iMessage key distribution services return device keys that have not been verified (e.g. if an unrecognized device has been added to an iMessage account).
And even more security is available by using CKV in person, on FaceTime, or via another secure method. You can read more on the details of how CKV works in our full coverage here.
Apple has not seen an attack like this – which would be quite advanced – but CKV arriving with iOS 17.2 means Apple is staying a step ahead of hackers and giving users more peace of mind.
Even though a very small percentage of iPhone users may need security of this level, the neat part is turning it on doesn’t reduce the functionality of your iPhone or iMessage – so it could end up being more widely used than something like Lockdown Mode.
How to turn on iMessage Contact Key Verification
Important: All devices signed into your iCloud account need to be running iOS 17.2, macOS 14.2, or watchOS 10.2 before enabling this(or you can sign out of iMessage on those devices that you don’t want to enable the feature).
Running iOS 17.2, open Settings on your iPhone
At the top, tap your name
Swipe to the very bottom
Choose Contact Key Verification
Tap the toggle next to Verification in iMessage
Follow the prompts to enable Contact Key Verification
End users just called it “Google Messages,” and that’s now the name in the Play Store listing. The new branding is also reflected in yesterday’s blog post:
To celebrate our one billion milestone, Google Messages is introducing seven fun new ways to express yourself when communicating and connecting with other Android users – from shared themes and screen effects to AI-powered reactions.
Before this, the big homescreen redesign paired the four-color “G” with “Messages” in the top-left corner of the app bar.
The application is still just called “Messages” on Android. It remains to be seen whether “Phone by Google” will be getting a similar update to “Google Phone.”
Meanwhile, here’s a look at the upcoming Custom Bubbles feature that we enabled. From a conversation’s overflow menu, you’ll find a new “Change colors” option. Including the default, there are nine themes in total, with the picker providing a preview. The color you or the recipient selects will remain synced. It is not yet widely rolled out for beta users.
Last month, it was reported that iOS 17.1.1 broke in-car wireless charging for a number of GM drivers with an iPhone 15. In today’s release notes for iOS 17.2, which will be released to everyone next week, Apple says it has solved this problem…hopefully.
A fix for GM drivers
Following my report last month, GM acknowledged the problems in a statement to The Verge. “We are aware of this concern and are investigating. There’s nothing we can confirm at this point,” a company spokesperson said.
Here’s what Apple’s release notes for iOS 17.2 say: “Fixes an issue that may prevent wireless charging in certain vehicles.”
Unfortunately, there aren’t any additional details about the scope of this fix. Apple doesn’t specifically mention that iOS 17.2 addresses the problem for GM drivers, but that feels like a safe assumption to make.
This is the second time Apple has had to address issues in iOS 17 specifically affecting in-car wireless chargers. iOS 17.1.1, released at the beginning of November, included a fix for wireless charging and NFC problems affecting BMW drivers.
iOS 17.2 is currently available in beta for developers and public beta users. It’s expected to be released to the general public in about a week.
iPhone 15 wireless charging apparently broken in many GM cars with iOS 17.1
While iOS 17.1.1 last week was released to fix iPhone 15 wireless charging problems for BMW drivers, the same can’t be said for GM drivers. A number of GM drivers have taken to Reddit and other online forums to report that they are unable to wirelessly charge their iPhone 15 in their car after updating to iOS 17.1.
iPhone 15 wireless charging problems: BMW first, now GM
After mounting complaints, Apple finally acknowledged a bug impacting wireless charging for iPhone 15 users in some BMW cars last month. In these instances, the problem would also temporarily disable NFC features of the iPhone 15, such as Apple Pay. Apple rolled out a fix for BMW wireless charging issues as part of iOS 17.1.1 last week.
In the meantime, however, GM drivers say that they are no longer able to use their in-car wireless charging pads to charge their iPhone 15 after updating to iOS 17.1. There are a number of complaints from GM drivers on Reddit, GM forums, and Apple’s support forums. These issues, however, don’t appear to impact NFC features.
It’s not immediately clear how widespread these problems are, nor is it clear which specific GM cars are affected. There are complaints from Bolt drivers, Silverado drivers, Sierra drivers, and more scattered across the web.
GM drivers say that last week’s iOS 17.1.1 update did not fix their wireless charging problems, nor does the current iOS 17.2 beta cycle. Two different GM drivers say that they spoke to Apple about the problems, and Apple told them to talk to GM about it. The key, however, is that wireless charging for these people worked prior to updating to iOS 17.1, so it’s clearly something tied to that update.
Based on these bizarre wireless charging problems that have affected GM and BMW drivers, paired with experiences using in-car wireless chargers, Starting to question the usefulness of wireless charging in cars. It clearly seems to be a fickle solution in a lot of cases, even though there are some convenience benefits, particularly if you have a car with wireless CarPlay.
As an Apple nerd first and a person who wants to workout second, GymKit equipment is super encouraging. For everyone else with an Apple Watch, it’s the best way to sync up workout data, like heart rate, distance, and calories, that might not otherwise be available or accurate.
GymKit
Depending on who you ask, GymKit is either dead or very nice to have. I don’t think GymKit has really taken to home gym equipment except for Peloton (Bike+ only, not Tread). It also takes years for gyms to cycle through their equipment.
The GymKit slow roll started five years ago, and GymKit availability at Planet Fitness still varies by location. When you spot it, GymKit equipment is easy to use. Just wave your Apple Watch near the machine’s reader, allowing you to pair. Then starting/pausing/ending a workout from the machine matches the state on the watch (and vice versa).
The GymKit part is labeled with a watch
Wallet
Another perk since the last time we were a member? Digital keycards in Apple Wallet.
Years ago, We made our pass for the Wallet app so we could check in using our watch without our phone. Far less obsessed with trying to shoehorn the phone’s functionality into the watch now.
Still, it’s very nice being able to pull up and have the pass appear on the lock screen one tap away. And if we do want to leave our phone in the car or check in from the watch, that’s easily doable.
This is something Planet Fitness does do well. Membership cards aren’t available in Apple Wallet but are digitally available in the gym’s phone and watch apps.
Apple Watch
We can also mention here that we recently tried to pull off run tracking without the watch. We already knew this, but using a run-tracking app on the phone was not ideal.
The biggest factor for us is that the iPhone has the lock screen in between you and the run tracking app. Live Activities may help on the phone, but the watch is optimized for workout tracking.
The point? Working out is more fun with the Apple Watch, and gyms that have GymKit treadmills and ellipticals are true… gems.
Swiping left on Gboard’s backspace key lets you quickly delete entire words/phrases, while Google will show what you just removed in the suggestions strip for quick restore. To take things a step further, there is a relatively quick way to access a dedicated “undo” key in Gboard for Android.
This tip was brought up in the context of a Reddit thread about how Apple’s shake-to-undo gesture on iOS is quite underrated. On Android, apps like Google Docs and Keep have their own undo/redo features, but it’s not a system-level capability.
The immediate Gboard workaround involves adding a Japanese keyboard. If you write something and then accidentally delete it, switch from your language to Japanese and tap the key in the top-left corner to undo.
This key has a pretty long memory, and we’re able to undo things even after exiting and returning to the app. It worked in Google Messages, Chrome, and other apps we tested.
Open Gboard Settings > Languages
“Add keyboard”
Search “Japanese” and select
Pick the first option in the carousel [12キー] and hit “Done”
By adding another keyboard, you will get a globe key to the left of the space bar. If you don’t like how that shrinks the bar, go to Gboard Settings > Preferences > “Show language switch key” toggle. If turned off, you can use the system language/keyboard key in the bottom-right corner of the screen, or Gboard’s “Next language” shortcut, which can be added to the top row.
Getting this dedicated undo key requires a tiny bit of work, and a more ideal solution would be for Gboard to add its own undo button in the suggestions strip. Fortunately, Google is working on just that, but it’s not yet available after being spotted in development this July.
Initially arriving as a handy way to send files between Android devices, Nearby Share has expanded to support Chromebooks and even Windows PCs (Mac is not yet supported). Like AirDrop, it’s easy to send files to yourself or friends, while there’s also an option to receive files from anyone.
For whatever reason, it seems that Google is preparing to ditch the “Nearby Share” branding that the company has used since 2020. The news comes courtesy of Kamila Wojciechowska on Twitter/X.
💦It seems like Google's renaming Nearby Share to… Quick Share, which is also the name for the Samsung's file sharing solution? uhhhhh
Today I received a GMS update to the version 23.50.13 and, soon after that, the notification from the screenshot above. The update as well as… pic.twitter.com/RkobYEMIw4
After installing the latest beta update to Google Play services (version 23.50.13), a notification reportedly appeared informing of the rebranding. Alongside the new “Quick Share” name, the service has also been given a new icon consisting of two arrows pointing at each other with semicircular tails. The new icon even appears in the Quick Settings tile on Android devices. The previous icon resembled two opposing arrowheads/boomerangs woven together.
Nearby Share is now Quick Share
Look for the new name and icon to share with nearby devices
This change appears to only be a visual one, as otherwise, the service seems to still function exactly as it did before.
That said, it’s interesting that Google has chosen to use the name “Quick Share,” a moniker that currently Samsung uses for its own file-sharing utility on Galaxy phones. It’s currently unclear if Samsung’s Quick Share has anything to do with Google’s rebranding of Nearby Share.
As this change is currently only appearing in a beta version of Play Services, it will likely be a few more weeks before Nearby Share is widely rebranded to Quick Share on Android devices.
Asus is gearing up to launch another entry into its game-focused smartphone lineup. The ROG Phone 8 is set to be announced at CES in January, with a launch shortly after in China.
Asus has found quite a bit of success in the ROG lineup. The phones developed by the company, which already has its hands dipped in high-end PC components and products, tend to have high performance. The ROG Phone series is marketed toward gamers, and the devices have the power to back that up.
According to an official post on Weibo made by the Asus ROG account, the ROG Phone 8 will launch in China on January 16 (via GSMArena). Prior to that, the company plans on announcing the device at CES on January 8. With that, a teaser video was shared. The video shows a transition from an older device to the ROG Phone 8, which has a squared-off look and a punch-hole camera on the front.
Stills were shared from the account, as well, showcasing the rear of the device and the camera array. The bottom of the back panel is still equipped with an LED Asus logo and other markings to make it stand out as an ROG Phone.
According to the marketing images, Asus is also hosting a blind camera test where users can vote for the winner. This implies that Asus is confident in the ROG Phone 8’s camera setup against other phones. There’s no word on what devices will be involved in the test, but if it were up against a Pixel 8 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro and held its own, things would change for the ROG Phone series.
Until January 8, we won’t know what’s in store. Small details like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset and 24GB of RAM are known, but not much beyond that.
With Android 14, Google removed the ability to long press an icon on the homescreen to quickly see notifications from that app.
Previously, you’d be able to see any available notifications from an app by holding down on the icon in the launcher or grid. Only one was shown in its entirety with a counter in the corner if there were more. Besides opening it from there, you could also swipe it away.
This was useful if your notification tray was overflowing with alerts, while it went hand-in-hand with the notification dot, which continues to feel like an iOS trait more than an Android one.
In Android 14, long pressing on an icon just shows app shortcuts, as well as App info, Pause app, and Widgets. In fact, now that notifications no longer appear there, Google made it so that those three shortcuts appear as a full list at the top instead of being merged together. The Android team presumably decided to remove notifications and then introduced the tall list.
Android 13 vs. 14
This change was brought up during the Android 14 Beta Program over the summer. In August 2023, Google said the removal of notifications was the new intended behavior and that it “won’t fix.” There’s no reason behind this change, but the company presumably has usage stats.
With the stable launch of Android 14 on Pixel last month, there have been over a hundred new comments requesting the capability be brought back.
Personally, I didn’t notice the removal and have never used that app menu for anything beyond shortcuts and quick access to the App info page. Most users are presumably all in on the notification tray. However, Google does not seem to really be doing anything major with the app long press menu in Android 14, so the restoration of notifications doesn’t seem like it would be overly disruptive.
The Poco M4 Pro launch in 2021 worldwide, and we can already see it as one of the season’s bestsellers. It is a sensible upgrade over the Poco M3 Pro 5G with a larger and more colorful display, an improved rear camera setup, speedier charging, and stereo speakers. And most importantly, it’s still incredibly cheap.
The Poco M4 Pro and the India-only Redmi Note 11T 5G are pretty much identical, so our review conclusions based on the Poco should pretty much apply to the Redmi.
The new Poco M4 Pro is built around a 6.6-inch IPS LCD screen with 1080p resolution and adaptive 90Hz refresh rate. Other than the slight increase in size, the new display also supports DCI-P3 colors instead of sRGB on the M3 Pro. It also has an improved touch panel with a 240Hz sensing rate vs. 180Hz on the Poco M3 Pro.
The Dimensity 810 5G chipset is at the heart of the Poco M4 Pro 5G – a trivial update over the Dimensity 700 5G in the Poco M3 Pro 5G. The new chipset offers a minor increase in the CPU clock, but it is also built on a more efficient manufacturing process. This won’t make for a noticeable difference in real life, at least today, but it’s still an improvement, nevertheless.
Xiaomi is done with the camera count game and is putting an end to those mostly obsolete cameras like depth sensors and underwhelming macro shooters. This new Poco M4 Pro 5G has a traditional dual-camera on the back with a 50MP primary shooter and an 8MP ultrawide snapper, which may be one camera less than on the Poco M3 Pro, yet more versatile – the M3 had no ultrawide snapper.
The Poco M4 Pro 5G has a large 5,000mAh battery, which now supports much faster 33W charging, and you bet this power adapter is part of the retail bundle. Xiaomi promises a full charge in 59 minutes, and we will put that to the test for sure.
Finally, the Poco M4 Pro 5G is what makes this device such a sweet deal – the 4/64 version retails at €230, while some early birds will be able to get it at €200 at launch. Yes, we are intrigued.
Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
The Poco M4 Pro 5G is IP53-certified for dust and splash resistance, just like many of the recent Redmi and Poco phones. This means the device will probably survive light splashes and should be fine in light rain and humid regions.
Now that there are no macro and no depth camera, we are yet to see if the Portrait mode will suffer, or the AI algorithms will make up for the lost hardware. Let’s hope it’s the latter case.
Unboxing the Poco M4 Pro 5G
You cannot mistake the iconic yellow box of Poco and the M4 Pro 5G, just like the previous Poco phones arrives in such a catchy carton.
Inside, you’ll find a 33W power adapter, a 3A rated USB cable, and a transparent rubber case for additional protection.
The case compartment also houses some paperwork, the SIM ejection PIN, and several POCO stickers for the fans that like to declare their love for the brand publicly.
The competition
The Poco M4 Pro 5G is a good smartphone, alright. It has a large and fluid screen, stereo speakers, okay performance, capable cameras, all-around connectivity with 5G, and long-lasting battery life with fast charging. It’s a versatile device that offers exactly what’s promised, nothing more, nothing less.
The thing is that the budget 5G phones are common already, and the competition is thriving here. The carriers have been offering lucrative 5G plans for the past year, making the 5G-capable smartphones even more attractive despite their caveats like subpar performance (we’ll get to that).
So, the Poco M4 Pro 5G launches at €230 for its 4/64 version and €250 for the 6/128 model. The first batches will be €30 cheaper at €200 and €220. These are also the prices you will see in all upcoming shopping events for Black Friday, Christmas and whatnot.
That’s the same price as the Realme 7 5G, which has an even smoother 120Hz display, faster graphics, and 128GB base storage. It doesn’t offer stereo speakers, but we’d say the gains are surely something to think about.
There is also the Realme 8 5G currently priced at €160. It’s basically the Poco M3 Pro 5G, but under the Realme branding – it doesn’t offer an ultrawide camera, there are no stereo speakers, and the fast charging is not as fast. But if your budget is limited, it’s a phone you should at least consider.
And speaking of the Poco M3 Pro, it’s going right now for €185, a bit more expensive than the Realme 8 5G. But if you want MIUI and Poco on the cheap, it is the way to go.
Then there is the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G – it’s a good match to the Poco M4 Pro 5G with a similar screen, chipset, battery and camera skills. The Galaxy has splash-resistant though, there are no stereo speakers, and the charging is sluggish. Yet, it costs as much as the Poco (after the early bird promo) – €230.
Obviously, the Poco M4 Pro 5G is the cream of the crop when it comes to budget 5G phones.
But if 5G is not essential to you right now, 4G phones are still pretty fast when it comes to mobile internet, then there are some totally different offers for you.
Like the Poco X3 Pro with its 120Hz LCD screen and flagship-grade Snapdragon 860 chipset. It costs about €230 and offers more storage, better speakers, and an additional macro camera on top of the better screen and much better performance.
Or the €240 Redmi Note 10 Pro with its outstanding 120Hz AMOLED screen and high-quality 108MP snapper on the back.
Or the Realme 8 Pro with a 6.4″ AMOLED, a great 108MP primary camera with lossless 3x zoom, even faster 50W charging and more storage. It cannot offer stereo speakers and splash resistance, though.
There is also the €190 Galaxy A22 with a 90Hz Super AMOLED screen and a versatile quad-camera on the back. It is not waterproofed though, the charging is slower, and there are no stereo speakers.
The verdict
The Poco M4 Pro 5G is a good all-round offer, and it does what it was supposed to – it offers smooth OS experience thanks to its 90Hz LCD screen, it can handle games if needed, it takes great photos, it can play stereo sound, and its battery life is great, and we appreciate the fast charging.
There are a lot of phones in the same price bracket, but we’d say the Poco M4 Pro 5G is consistently good at everything and that’s the best reason why you should pick one if your budget is about €200 or so.
The strongest threats are also Xiaomi-made – phones like the cheap Poco X3 Pro and Poco F3. Those two offer flagship-worthy performance, and their prices are unbelievably low these days. The F3 can even offer 5G connectivity.
Then again, the Poco M4 Pro 5G is the newest smartphone from the maker and is sold at a reasonable price. Unless you want a phone to play games all day, we’d recommend it for its thoughtfully picked feature set.
Pros
Attractive splash-resistant design, cool color options.
Large 90Hz LCD screen with excellent contrast ratio.
Outstanding battery life, fast charging.
Stereo speakers, loud enough.
Dependable performance, no throttling.
Good photo and video quality, portraits are fine without depth sensor.
3.5mm jack, microSD slot, dual 5G, NFC, IR blaster, FM radio.
Cheap.
Cons
Screen’s 90Hz may put a strain on the GPU.
Not-so-good speaker audio quality.
No macro camera, no 4K video capturing.
No obvious performance updates since Poco M3 Pro 5G.
Apple loves a good “buzzword” as much as the next company, probably even more. The trendy “r words” arguably get the most love and attention. Words like Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle. But arguably, one of Apple’s greenest practices to date is the repackaging and reselling older designs as new products after a refresh. It’s been done time and time again, be it with iPhone SE models or Macbooks.
The new iPhone 14 sort of fits into this category of product. Just sort of, though, since Apple has redesigned the internals quite a bit to facilitate easier repairability, among other things. Plus, you do get new cameras and a few other new features. Externally, though, the iPhone 14 is essentially the same as the iPhone 13, and so is the core experience these devices offer. If Apple still did “s” models in their naming scheme, the iPhone 14 would probably be the iPhone 13s.
Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
The vanilla iPhone 14 even starts at $799 in the US, just like its predecessor, so it occupies the same segment and fills the same shoes if it were. That said, most markets outside the US have a price hike on the iPhone 14, and the iPhone 13 has come down in price since its launch. Even in the US, it is now $100 or so cheaper.
So, we have our work cut out for us, and the real question here is clear as day – is the iPhone 14 better than the iPhone 13 and is it worth shelling out a bit more for it instead?
Unboxing
Before we really dig into the iPhone 14 to see just how much different and potentially better it is, let’s start simple with its retail package. Apple basically created the new standard for the “bare minimum” accessory package and is not about to suddenly become more generous in that department.
We have the typical Apple affair – minimal in and out. The two-piece white cardboard box is very small in every dimension.
Inside the box, you’ll find a relatively short 1-meter long USB Type-C to Lightning cable, a SIM ejector tool (outside the US, where the iPhone 14 is e-SIM only and lacks a physical SIM tray) and some leaflets. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Alternatives
The iPhone 14 starts at $800 in the US, but if you are outside of the US, there is a price hike compared to the MSRP of the iPhone 13. One in Europe will set you back at least EUR 1,000, barring any carrier or similar deals. That’s a pretty penny to pay for the vanilla iPhone. Apple has decided to still offer the iPhone 13 and 13 mini. If you’ve already gone through the review, then you have probably made up your mind on whether the new iPhone 14 offers enough of an upgrade for you to shell out the extra money. A vanilla iPhone 13 starts at $699, which is a decent bit of savings.
Part of the charm of the iPhone 14 is definitely its size. Now that there is no current “mini,” it is the smallest iPhone in this generation. And indeed, even its size is hard to come by in the Android realm, where display diagonals have only been growing steadily. Still, there are some viable options to consider. If the camera is your first priority or you are into a clean as possible OS experience, then the Google Pixel 6a might be just up your alley. Assuming, of course, that this alley is in a market where Google officially sells its phones.
Left: iPhone 13 • Right: iPhone 14
The same is mostly true of the Asus Zenfone 9. It is compact and still packs a full set of flagship features and hardware, including Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and a decently large 4,300 mAh battery. Among other things.
Left: iPhone 13 • Right: iPhone 14
Sort of on the other end of the spectrum, we find the Samsung Galaxy S22 5G. It runs the company’s highly-regarded One UI UX with all of the added high-level features it includes. Plus, you still get the latest generation of Samsung hardware, including excellent cameras.
Our verdict
The iPhone 14 is very much a familiar affair. It is an incremental upgrade over last year’s model. If you didn’t have time to go through the entire review, allow us to list all of the upgrades really quicky.
The iPhone 14 has a major internal redesign that makes it more easily repairable, particularly a back panel or a display swap is now much less of a pain. The iPhone 14 has only a slightly larger battery pack but notably better battery life and even faster charging. The chipset is last year’s A15 Bionic, but with five GPU cores, 6GB of RAM (50% more), Bluetooth 5.3, a more energy-efficient Qualcomm 5G modem, new satellite connectivity for SOS messages and new Crash Detection. The camera department has a new larger 12MP main camera with a 1/1.65″ sensor, 1.9-micron pixels, a new 12MP ultrawide and a new 12MP, f/1.9 selfie camera now with autofocus onboard. There is also the new Action Mode video stabilization, 4K Cinematic mode at 30 fps and a new Photonic Engine for better low-light photos.
It’s not an insignificant list of changes once you really dig in. Some are obviously more impactful than others, and it will be up to the individual user to judge what constitutes enough reason for an upgrade. The way we see it, anybody on an iPhone 13 has little to no incentive to jump ship. Unless you really need autofocus on your selfie cam, all of those other camera improvements only realistically result in shorter capture times in low light. We would even go as far as to say that iPhone 12 users shouldn’t feel too tempted by the 14 and can hold off upgrading for at least another year.
If you are running any iPhone older than that and you are looking to upgrade, then the iPhone 14 is nothing short of a solid and dependable way to go. Sure, it is a bit on the boring side in more ways than one, but you definitely know what you are getting into. For the more adventurous or frugal, there is also the option of picking up an iPhone 13 and potentially banking on some extended software support now that the A15 Bionic has gotten a new lease on life in the iPhone 14. Either way, you will be getting a great phone for the years to come.
Pros
Major internal redesign for easier repairability.
Bright OLED screen, HDR10, Dolby Vision and excellent color accuracy.
Solid battery life.
Loud stereo speakers, excellent output.
Great all-around performance from the older but still solid chipset.
Great photo and video quality across all three cameras.
Autofocus on the selfies camera and Action Mode are great camera additions.
Every iPhone comes with at least five years of iOS updates.
Cons
Minor upgrade over iPhone 13.
Wider feature gap with the 14 Pro: no 120Hz refresh rate, A16 Bionic, zoom camera or AF on the ultrawide.
The notch is still a polarizing design element.
The fast charging isn’t particularly fast, and the charger is not bundled.
Apple’s iOS restrictions can be off-putting to newcomers to the ecosystem.