Apple released iOS 16.5 on May 18, almost two months after the release of iOS 16.4. The latest iOS update provides a few new features to your iPhone, like a new sports tab in the Apple News app, but you should really download the update for all the security patches and fixes it includes.
To download iOS 16.5, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the onscreen prompts.
The latest iPhone update patches almost 40 issues and bugs, Apple said in its patch notes, including three security issues that might be actively exploited. These three security issues relate to WebKit, the internet browser engine used in Safari and developed by Apple.
One of these issues could disclose sensitive information to a third party, and another could allow a third party to execute commands on your device without your knowledge. Fixes for these issues are in 16.5 for anyone who missed the release of the first iPhone Rapid Security Response, iOS 16.4.1 (a). The third issue could allow a third party access to more information across your device than is allowed.
The iOS update also patches an issue where someone could access your contacts from your lock screen. While Apple has provided ways to customize your lock screen, some people have run into issues where the lock screen can allow others to access some iPhone features, like replying to messages and even your Wallet.
Other patches in the update include stopping some apps from bypassing privacy preferences, blocking some apps from reading sensitive location information and preventing app termination when opening a PDF file.
All of today’s best phones boast incredible images from an array of cameras. These include phones from companies like Apple, Google and Samsung, with each company offering different features, a different number of camera lenses, and different amounts of megapixels. But just because a phone has more lenses or megapixels doesn’t mean it’s any better at actually taking great-looking shots. Top phones like the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro also pack bigger image sensors and huge improvements in software for AI-powered computational photography. Then there’s the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s camera, which can take some of the best zoom photos it’s possible to get from a phone.
As you read through comparisons of cameras on phones, it’s important to keep in mind that there isn’t a “perfect” phone camera. There are definitely phones that excel in a specific feature when compared with others — the zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, for example — but that might not be a feature worth paying for if you have little interest in zoom photos. And, as mentioned, don’t be fooled into thinking more megapixels in a camera means better photos. We look at how these cameras perform in real-life situations: how they balance exposures, how they handle colors and how easy they are to use.
Read our guide to help find the best phone camera for your needs.
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What is the best camera phone?
The $999 iPhone 14 Pro and $1,099 iPhone 14 Pro Max have the same camera and as a complete package for photos and videos are the best cameras on any phone you can buy. The 14 Pro can capture detailed photos with a wide dynamic range, has the best looking video in terms of image quality and a default Camera app that neatly packages the most standard camera tools, modes and settings. Is the iPhone 14 Pro leaps and bounds ahead of what Google and Samsung are doing? No. But in terms of consistency, reliability and approachability, the iPhone 14 Pro is our pick for people who want a top notch camera system that’s easy to use.
Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro might come with a steep asking price, but it ticks almost every box you could want from a camera setup on a phone. Its main 48-megapixel sensor takes superb images, with crisp details and beautiful, natural colors, its wide-angle lens is one of the best around and it excels at night photos, delivering bright and clear shots when there’s minimal light.
Its 3x zoom lens falls short of rivals like Samsung’s 10x zoom on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but 3x is still enough to help you find interesting compositions in your landscape or get a slightly more close up photo of a cute dog you found in the park.
Its video skills are superb too, with rock-solid image stabilization, 4K resolutions and Apple ProRes support for those of you wanting to get the absolute best-looking footage when editing in software like Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve.
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro has impressed us in a number of ways from its slick new design to its extremely user-friendly software. But it’s the camera that’s really stood out, with the Pixel 7 Pro delivering superb shots in a variety of conditions. Its main sensor captures shots with superb dynamic range and vibrant colors while its 5x optical zoom gives extra reach than the iPhone 14 Pro is able to manage.
And while its night mode shots aren’t as good as the iPhone’s, it’s a great camera overall that’ll suit both photography amateurs — and those looking to take more artistic images — well and at a cost that undercuts its rivals.
The Galaxy S23 is a lot, but in a good way. Samsung made improvements to the camera’s resolution (200 megapixels compared to 108 megapixels), color tones and dynamic range, while retaining the impressive 10x optical zoom as its predecessor. There’s also a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that’s been optimized specifically for Samsung’s phones, which brings faster performance compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Starting at $1,200, it may be an understatement to call this phone expensive. But those willing to pay more for a giant screen and a high-quality, versatile camera won’t be disappointed. Read our full review of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Apple’s video capture has always been top notch and the iPhone 14 Pro Max keeps that going. The resolution might top out at 4K — rather than 6K or 8K seen on some Android phones — but its overall quality is second to none. Exposure and dynamic range is beautiful, detail is superb and image stabilization has been given a huge boost with the new Action Mode. Then there’s the Cinematic Mode which provides deeper focus control for focus pulling between two characters in a scene.
But it also lets you shoot in Apple’s ProRes video codec. This generates huge video files, but it gives more scope for professionals to add color grades in post production software without sacrificing quality, meaning that the iPhone 14 Pro Max could be a legitimate part of a professional filmmaker’s kitbag. And while the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max differ only in size, the extra screen real estate of the Max model will not only help you monitor your footage more easily, but it gives you more to physically hold on to when you’re out and about which could help you keep it more stable while filming.
While Google’s latest Pixel 7 and 7 Pro might steal the headlines with their flashy new design and Tensor G2 processor, the Pixel 6A offers a lot of what Google’s latest Pixel phones have boasted but in a smaller and more affordable package. It has just two rear cameras (a standard zoom and an ultrawide) with both taking great-looking images that look better than almost any other phone at this price — including Samsung’s Galaxy A53.
If photography is critical to you and you want features like long zooms and crystal clear night mode images then you’ll want to splash a bit more cash on the most recent Pixel 7 Pro. But for the money, few other camera phones come close.
Every phone on this list has been thoroughly tested by CNET’s expert reviews team. We actually use the phone, test the features, play games and take photos. We assess any marketing promises that a company makes about its phones. And if we find something we don’t like, be it battery life or build quality, we tell you all about it.
We examine every aspect of a phone during testing:
Display
Design and feel
Processor performance
Battery life
Camera quality
Features
We test all of a phone’s cameras (both front and back) in a variety of conditions: from outdoors under sunlight to dimmer indoor locales and night time scenes (for any available night modes). We also compare our findings against similarly priced models. We have a series of real world battery tests to see how long a phone lasts under everyday use.
We take into account additional phone features like 5G, fingerprint and face readers, styluses, fast charging, foldable displays and other useful extras. And we, of course, weigh all of our experiences and testing against the price so you know whether a phone represents good value or not.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Apple iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro all have dedicated night modes that take multiple images and combine them in a single photo that’s brighter and has less image noise. All three are good, and its nearly impossible to say one is better than another.
Are iPhone or Samsung cameras better?
Samsung Galaxy phones and Apple iPhones have some of the best cameras found on any phone. Either smartphone is a capable photographic tool, but neither is such a clear leader that it’s worth moving from Android to iOS or vice-versa. If you want the best telephoto camera found on a phone, grab a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. If you want an excellent all-around shooter that produces natural looking images and videos, get an iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max. But if you just want to get the most out of your phone’s camera, the easier decision is to start shooting raw instead of JPEG.
What’s the difference between real cameras and phone cameras?
The biggest difference between a dedicated camera and a phone camera is the size. A dedicated camera has a larger sensor and bigger lenses that take in more light. The results are photos that have more detail, a wider dynamic range and are more versatile in medium and low-light. A phone camera is tiny. The sensor is smaller than a fingernail and the lens is about the size of a single Lego brick. To overcome the limitations of a small sensor and lens, a phone uses computational photography (AI and machine learning) to combine parts of multiple images into a single photo that’s brighter and has more detail than a phone camera alone.
This advertising widget is powered by Navi and contains advertisements that Navi may be paid for in different ways. You will not be charged for engaging with this advertisement. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, this advertising widget does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information in the featured advertisements is up to date, each advertiser featured in this widget is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its offer details. It is possible that your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms in this advertising widget and the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser which will be presented to you prior to making a purchase. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.
The next software updates for iPhones could come with a feature that lets you view more items on your locked phone screen, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 would reportedly feature a smart display setting that shows things like calendar appointments, weather and notifications.
The display would appear horizontally and resemble a smart home display like those sold by Amazon and Google while your phone is locked and lying unused on your desk or nightstand, Bloomberg said, citing unidentified sources. It’ll have a “dark background with bright text,” the report says, so that you can easily read the information.
With a tool called Windows Copilot, Microsoft has begun building an AI chat interface straight into its single most important software product, the company said Tuesday. The tool will perform tasks like summarizing documents, suggesting music, offering tech support for your PC and answering questions you might ask a search engine or AI chatbot.
This newest of Microsoft’s AI tools is scheduled to arrive in a preview version of Windows via an icon in the task bar that looks like a loop of blue ribbon. Clicking it opens a chat interface sidebar where you can type questions or prompts like “enable dark mode” and click buttons to take actions. Microsoft will begin testing the feature in June, said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s marketing chief for consumer products.
It’s a major new step in Microsoft’s embrace of artificial intelligence technology. Previously the company had built AI into its Bing search engine and Edge web browser, but Windows is used by millions more people and for many more hours a day.
“We are bringing the Copilot to the biggest canvas of all, Windows,” CEO Satya Nadella said at the company’s Microsoft Build developer conference. The arrival of AI chat interfaces is as important to computing progress as other major moments, like the arrival of the internet or the iPhone, he said.
Watch this: See Everything Announced at Microsoft Build 2023
06:34
Microsoft also is building its Copilot technology into its Office suite of productivity tools.
Google has taken a different approach with its AI, restricting its more freewheeling chatbot technology to its Bard chatbot and adding more factual, literal tools to search, Gmail and other mainstream tools.
Mehdi thinks that’s a mistake, though. Indeed, he hopes Google keeps the functions separate because that’ll help Microsoft’s prospects, he said.
“Customers have told us they’re not a separate thing. They think it’s all integrated,” Mehdi said in an interview. “The ability to be able to ask any question from where you are, to get searchlike answers, that’s a powerful thing for customers.”
He’s also excited to see it help with a profound user interface problem common in the tech world: helping nonexperts just figure out how to do useful things like snap an app window to one side of their laptop’s screen.
“The number one feature of Windows that people have loved is snap. Even then, people still have trouble knowing how to do it,” Mehdi said. “But if you can now say, ‘Hey, snap a couple of windows for me,’ and the PC can do it, that’s a massive unlock for people.”
Microsoft added AI-boosted search results and an AI chatbot to its Bing search engine in February. It relies on OpenAI, an artificial intelligence powerhouse in which Microsoft has invested, for the core language processing technology. Thanks in part to the feature, Bing usage crossed the threshold of 100 million people per day, Mehdi said, though he wouldn’t reveal the pace of the growth.
Also at Build, Microsoft announced it’s making plugin technology available to Bing and Windows Copilot so developers can integrate their own software. That’ll let you tap into those apps using Microsoft’s AI interfaces.
And Microsoft announced that OpenAI is using Bing search engine data to help improve its ChatGPT chatbot. Search engines can be used to “ground” generative AI tools that can often make up incorrect information.
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.
With iOS 17, iPhone owners could also gain the ability to sideload apps, according to a different Bloomberg report. Sideloading means you can download an app on your iPhone without using Apple’s App Store. The potential inclusion is likely meant to ensure compliance with new European regulations due to kick in next year.
While I find those rumors fun to ponder, they can also be a distraction from the many other things I think Apple needs to add or improve in iOS. The additions I want range from significant changes, like adding support for the Apple Pencil for Pro Max and Plus models, to smaller, quality-of-life improvements, like adding a volume button to the iPhone’s virtual Apple TV remote. We have to wait until WWDC to see what actually unfolds, but here’s my iOS 17 wish list.
Bring ‘Visual Look Up’ to the Camera app
In iOS 16, Visual Look Up got a nifty shortcut that lets you cut out the subject of a photo just by tapping and holding on the image.
Celso Bulgatti/CNET
Visual Look Up launched with iOS 15 in 2021 and can recognize objects in your photos such as plants, food, landmarks and pets. In iOS 16, Visual Look Up expanded to let you lift an object out of a photo or PDF by tapping and holding, essentially creating a sticker you can share with others.
But there’s a catch. Visual Look Up works only after you take a photo. I hope iOS 17 lets you do the same thing straight from the camera viewfinder. For example, if the camera were open and pointed at flowers, I could tap the Visual Look Up icon to see what kind of flowers they were without taking a photo of them. You can do that with Live Text, and Google Lens does something similar on Android phones. I realize this isn’t a radical change, but it would streamline things a bit.
Add a volume button to the iPhone’s Apple TV remote
Sometimes you lose this little guy and need to use your iPhone to control your Apple TV.
Apple
If you own an Apple TV, you’ve no doubt misplaced the tiny minimalist aluminum remote control at some point. Fortunately, you can use a virtual remote on your iPhone to do nearly everything the physical Siri remote does, except change the volume. Apple, please add a volume button to the iPhone’s Apple TV remote.
Technically, when you use the Apple TV remote on your iPhone, you can press the physical volume buttons to control the TV volume. But this doesn’t work on every TV’s audio receiver, such as mine. I’d guess there are many people who, like me, just want the virtual remote on the iPhone’s screen to mimic the physical remote’s button layout; most importantly including the button for volume.
Bring fitness tracking to the iPhone
You can start workouts from your Apple Watch, but not from your iPhone (without a third-party app).
James Martin/CNET
If you’re an Apple Watch user, you understand the convenience of recording a workout. But if you aren’t wearing your watch or don’t own one, there isn’t a way to record basic exercises like walking, running or cycling without a third-party app. I’d like to see Apple expand the Fitness app so you can record workouts even without a Fitness Plus membership.
Add a pro camera app
The Photo Pro app on Sony Xperia 1 and 5 series phones gives you an interface that looks identical to a professional mirrorless camera.
Sarah Tew/CNET
It’s time for Apple to revisit the iPhone’s Camera app. For years, it was the gold standard of simplicity, offering a “see what you get” preview for photos, videos and effects with minimal, easy-to-navigate controls and modes. But as Apple has added more functionality, especially for ProRaw photos and ProRes video recording on iPhone Pro models, the Camera app has started to feel cramped. It tries to remain a one-size-fits-all app at the expense of higher-end features like manual camera controls.
I’d like Apple to make a separate pro camera app, along the lines of how it created a standalone app for classical music. Apple Music Classical tackles the special challenge of categorizing, searching for, and discovering classical music, something the default Apple Music app isn’t geared toward. Similarly, the pro camera app could be a place for creative types to access camera controls, settings and features beyond those in the basic camera app. Sony has been quite successful with this sort of approach in its Xperia 1 and 5 series phones, and Samsung has a separate Expert Raw app to complement its main one. Now it’s Apple’s turn.
Let me customize the Dynamic Island
The Dynamic Island was a great addition to the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.
Celso Bulgatti/CNET
The Dynamic Island works well. It’s like having a shortcut at the top of your screen no matter what you’re doing on your iPhone. Glancing at my Uber ride status from my lock screen or in the Dynamic Island just makes sense. But I want more from the Dynamic Island, especially if iPhone 15 rumors are right and non-Pro iPhone models get it too. I’d like to see Apple let people customize their own Dynamic Island in a curated way.
In 2016, with iOS 10, Apple rolled out the iMessage app store for stickers and games. I don’t think we need a Dynamic Island app store, but something like the ability to pin a Memoji sticker as a Dynamic Island icon would be great. Admittedly, as creative-minded as I am, I don’t have a brilliant example of exactly what I want. I just think the Dynamic Island is another way people could make their iPhone feel more personal. Customization was a big theme with Android this year at Google I/O, with the introduction of AI and cinematic wallpapers. Of course, Apple could view the Dynamic Island like it does Apple Watch faces and want to control how it’s changed, instead of letting people go hog wild.
Add Apple Card functionality to other credit cards
The Apple Card lives on your iPhone.
Sarah Tew/CNET
If you have an Apple Card, you get to experience one of the best mobile financial experiences on any phone today. Apple’s signature credit card lives virtually in the Wallet app. At first glance, it appears like any other Apple Pay card. But when you tap its digital avatar, you see the card’s balance, rewards, upcoming payment info, and transactions. I’d like Apple to open that functionality to non-Apple credit cards.
If your Bank of America credit card is in Apple Pay and you have the Bank of America app on your phone, wouldn’t it be great to access similar functionality in the Wallet app? Expanding access would be convenient for iPhone owners and could bolster Apple Pay and the iPhone’s Wallet as serious financial tools.
Make widgets interactive
Widgets can be pinned to your home screen and resized to your liking.
Apple
Widgets on the lock screen and home screen can do two things: show information (like the weather) and launch the corresponding app when tapped (e.g., the weather app). Widgets haven’t changed much since Apple introduced them with iOS 14. It’s time for a refresh.
What if you could use the podcast widget like a mini-podcast player, or order your favorite burrito bowl straight from Chipotle’s widget? Adding more functionality to widgets could make it easier to multitask on the iPhone.
Add Apple Pencil support
What if you could use an Apple Pencil on the iPhone?
Patrick Holland/CNET
I’ve been writing iPhone and iOS wish lists for years, and one addition that’s made my roundup every time is adding Apple Pencil support to the iPhone, specifically for Pro Max and Plus models. The 6.7-inch screen isn’t that much smaller than the 8.3-inch screen on the iPad Mini. But one supports Apple Pencil functionality and the other doesn’t.
Also, if iOS 17 did include Pencil support, Apple could make a smaller version of its stylus and call it the Apple Pencil Mini. Maybe it could attach to the back of the iPhone Pro Max or Plus using MagSafe?
Bring the iPad’s split-screen view to iPhone Pro Max models
The multiple windows on the iPad and iPad Pro.
Scott Stein/CNET
The iPhone Pro Max has been part of Apple’s lineup since 2019. The 11 Pro Max has a 6.5-inch screen, while the 12 Pro Max, 13 Pro Max and 14 Pro Max all have a 6.7-inch display. Last year, Apple introduced the iPhone 14 Plus, which also has a 6.7-inch screen. Those large screens feel wasted when it comes to software. Some iOS apps like Mail and Messages can take advantage of the extra space in landscape orientation to show a column of message previews next to the currently opened message. But otherwise, there isn’t much else in iOS that’s optimized for big iPhone screens.
I’d like Apple to bring some iPadOS features to iOS 17 just for Pro Max and Plus models, especially its split screen multitasking view. It would be wonderful to have Safari open on one side of the phone and launch Messages on the other.
Revisit ease of use vs. security
Some iPhone owners are being targeted for an unusual crime.
Apple
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen ran a series of stories about how a thief who steals your iPhone and knows its passcode can lock you out of the most important parts of your digital life. This crime isn’t widespread, but Stern and Nguyen showed that it’s more common than you might think.
At the core of the issue is the balance between security and ease of access. The same tools Apple put in place to help people who get locked out of their devices and accounts are being used by savvy criminals to lock people out of their phone and accounts while gaining access to their money and services. There’s been a bunch of coverage on the topic in recent months, and it sounds like these tools help far more people than the criminals who take advantage of them.
I don’t think there’s an easy way for Apple to “fix” the issue, but I hope with iOS 17, the company takes a moment to reconsider the impact these tools can have on people and even offer other security features to foil the thieves behind these crimes, like Apple did with AirTags.
At the end of the day, I’m excited for WWDC this year. And while I do hope there’s a fancy, cool AR/VR headset, my heart is holding out for iOS 17 and all its new features.
Fitbit makes some of the overall best fitness trackers on the market, claiming multiple spots on our list of the best trackers available in 2023. And there’s a wide range of models to choose from, whether you’re after a budget-friendly basic fitness tracker, or an advanced smart watch that’s packed full of features. And to help you find the best Fitbit fitness tracker for your needs, we’ve broken down the best options on the market right now below.
There have been some advancements in Fitbit’s catalog of wearables since this article was first published — notably the Versa 4 and Inspire 3. Whether you’re shopping for gifts or just perusing the different Fitbit devices out there, here’s a roundup of the best Fitbits available right now.
If you’re looking for a fitness tracker that offers the best available features for collecting health data, while also being comfortable, easy to use (no buttons) and easy to read outside in the sunshine — all at a reasonable price — Fitbit’s Charge 5 wins.
The Charge 5 tracks things such as your heart rate through an EKG reading app, your stress level through an electrodermal activity sensor, and your blood oxygen level and skin temperature. It also tracks your sleep patterns, including breathing rates, sleep stages and restlessness. The Charge 5 monitors over 20 different physical activities, including swimming (it’s water-resistant), yoga and cycling. It also has a built-in GPS, which is great for runners and has 20 exercise modes.
The Charge 5 is compatible with iPhones and Androids. However, iPhone users can only see notifications on the Charge 5 screen, while Android users may send quick replies.
The Versa 3 is a Fitbit smartwatch that combines the best features of the Charge 5 tracker with the “taking calls on your wrist” aspect of a smartwatch rather than purely a fitness tracker. Although Fitbit’s best smartwatch and best Apple Watch alternative may not be quite as smart as its Apple or Galaxy Watch competitors, it is compatible with both Apple and Android operating systems, and can also be paired with either Alexa or Google Assistant. One of the best features of the Versa 3 is its strong battery life — up to six days without the “always on” display and with moderate use. (The Apple Watch, for comparison, has a less-than-ideal battery life of a day and a half.)
The more expensive Fitbit Sense provides more health data, but the relevance of all the data Sense gives you might be moot, depending on if you know how to read medical charts. You’ll save money and lose little by going for the Versa 3 smartwatch instead.
A note about Fitbit’s Premium subscription: For $10 a month or a one-time payment of $80 for a year, Fitbit’s Premium subscription can give you more insight into your sleep and stress patterns, as well as things such as guided meditation and workouts. The Versa 3 comes with a three-month trial of Premium, and the Charge 5 comes with a six-month period. To find out more about whether Fitbit Premium is worth it, check out this guide.
Fitbit Premium also includes what it calls a Daily Readiness Score, which is Fitbit’s assessment of whether you need to take it easy today or if you should push yourself based on your goals for the week. This is now available for some Fitbit models, including the Versa 3.
Note: There is a new Inspire model, the Inspire 3. You can read the review here, but the Inspire 2 is still cheaper.
The Fitbit Inspire 2 is the cheapest device for adults, and it gets the job done. The “easy” Fitbit tracks health essentials that include Active Zone Minutes and heart rate. The Inspire 2 comes with a free yearlong premium subscription so you can unlock personalized health insights and programs to help you improve your nutrition, sleep and other aspects of health.
The Inspire 2 doesn’t have GPS, and it doesn’t include special features such as being able to measure your blood oxygen level, but this tracker is a great (and more affordable) introduction to fitness tracking if you or someone you know is interested in monitoring their health information. The Inspire 2’s included subscription to Fitbit Premium is also far more generous than other Fitbit models.
If you want to count your steps and look like you’re wearing jewelry instead of a fitness device, the Fitbit Luxe is for you. It offers many of the same features as other Fitbits, such as goal-based workouts, but it does so in a smaller and more fashionable form that might be best for smaller wrists. (The design in general is smaller, so the text on the watch’s screen may also be too small for some people to read.)
Aside from its sleeker appearance, the biggest difference between the Luxe and other models might be its focus on general wellness tracking over more specific health data. When the Luxe calculates your stress rate, for example, it uses activity levels, sleep and heart rate instead of an electrodermal activity sensor as seen in the Charge 5 and Sense.
This one is pretty simple: The Fitbit Ace 3 is specifically for kids to help track sleep and activity, two crucial things for young bodies. Goals can be set on the Ace 3 for active minutes as well as reminders for going to bed and staying active. For kids who have their own phone, the tracker can also deliver call notifications (you know, for when you forget to call Mom).
The Ace 3 comes in cosmic blue with green adjusters, black with red adjusters or a “Minions yellow” for kids who are fans of the goggle-eyed animated creatures.
Apple released iOS 16.5 to the general public on May 18, almost two months after the tech giant released iOS 16.4. The latest iOS update provides some important bug fixes and security patches, brings a few new features to Apple News, and serves up some new wallpapers.
However, some people have said the update drains their iPhone’s battery faster than usual. Apple previously said this isn’t unusual after an iOS update, and iPhones may need 48 hours to adjust to new features within an update. So if your battery does drain fast after this update, that should go away soon.
To download the latest iPhone update, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the onscreen prompts.
New Pride Celebration wallpapers under the new Pride wallpaper section.
Zach McAuliffe/CNET
Apple added two new preloaded Pride Celebration wallpapers to a new Pride wallpaper section. That section is “designed with the colors of the Pride flag to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community,” its description reads.
You can access the new section by tapping Settings > Wallpaper > +Add New Wallpaper.
Apple News gets some sports upgrades
The Apple News app launched in 2015, and iOS 16.5 brings a Sports tab to the app for the first time. The tab can be found in the toolbar across the bottom of your screen when you open the app. Before, the toolbar displayed tabs for Today, News Plus, Audio, Following and Search. The update gets rid of the Search tab to make room for the Sports tab.
With iOS 16.5, the My Sports scores and schedule cards in Apple News also get an update. Now when you tap the three dots (…) in the bottom right corner of one of these cards, you’ll see an option for Go to Game. Tapping this option will bring up more details about that game.
Here are the release notes for iOS 16.5.
This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:
• A new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the Lock Screen to honor the LGBTQ+ community and culture.
• Sports tab in Apple News gives easy access to stories, scores, standings, and more, for the teams and leagues you follow.
• My Sports score and schedule cards in Apple News take you directly to game pages where you can find additional details about specific games.
• Fixes an issue where Spotlight may become unresponsive.
• Addresses an issue where Podcasts in CarPlay may not load content.
• Fixes an issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices.
Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:
Public concern over web tracking is at an all-time high. Even though the concern over tracking has been mounting for well over a decade, the situation hasn’t improved much over that time: Pervasive tracking and rampant data collection are still the lay of the land all these years later. Websites and apps deploy trackers that follow you around the internet and share the information they collect with various third parties. Internet service providers collect gobs of personal data every time you go online, then share it with others who monetize it, often without your knowledge or consent.
Because of this, people are increasingly turning to virtual private networks to help protect against invasive online tracking practices. But what can you do when it’s the VPNs themselves that are doing the tracking? As with any app or online service, it’s important to do your research and make sure you choose a provider that actually takes your privacy seriously. Just because a VPN company claims that your privacy is its top priority doesn’t mean it’s true.
VPNs are supposed to help you protect your online privacy and fight back against the machine hell-bent on exploiting your data for its own gain. Gaining privacy from tracking is among the main reasons you should seek the help of a VPN, but it can be difficult to sort through the various ways VPNs might track you. Here’s what to know about the different trackers VPNs use, and how they separate the best VPNs from the ones you should avoid.
First-party trackers vs. third-party trackers
Not all trackers are the same. For example, there’s a crucial difference between first-party and third-party trackers. There’s a similarly vital distinction between trackers used on a VPN’s website versus the ones inside a VPN’s app. In both cases, the second option will have much greater implications on your privacy than the former.
First-party trackers, also known as cookies, are used and stored by the websites you visit. They’re used for things like remembering your preferences, geographic region, language settings and what you put in your shopping cart. They’re also used by website administrators to collect data as you visit their sites, helping them better understand your behavior and figure out what will keep you on their site longer and buying more of their products and services.
Basically, first-party trackers are there to provide you with a smoother experience as you visit the websites you frequent. It would be annoying to have to set all your preferences each and every time you visit a site and to have to re-add each individual item to your shopping cart every time you click away from your cart.
A VPN company may use first-party trackers on its website to save your settings, display account-specific information after you log in and see what marketing channel brought you to its site.
Third-party trackers are different in that they are created by entities other than the site you’re visiting. After a site puts these trackers on your computer via your browser, they follow you across the websites you visit. They are injected into a website using a tag or a script and are accessible on any site that loads the third-party’s tracking code. But the big difference is that they’re used to track your online behavior and make money from you, rather than improve your online experience.
In simpler terms, third-party trackers exist to help companies bombard you with targeted advertisements based on your online browsing activity. Targeted advertising is big business, and there are mountains of cash to be made at the expense of your digital privacy.
That said, Apple and Google have begun shifting their policies regarding the use of third-party trackers in their respective mobile app marketplaces and have provided users more transparency and a much greater element of control when it comes to restricting how apps are able to track them. Google even proposed a solution to eliminating the use of third-party trackers altogether. That proposal, however, turned out to be a failure after people began pointing out the ways in which Google’s proposed alternative would make it even easier for the company to track and identify you for targeted advertising. Google was forced back to the drawing board and ended up shelving the idea for at least two years. Still, the industry is slowly showing signs of progress.
If a VPN company is using third-party trackers on its website for marketing purposes or to enhance your experience on the site itself, the tracking is easy to block in most cases. But when a VPN tracks you on its app, the alarm bells should start going off. In-app trackers should make you seriously concerned about what that VPN is really up to (Spoiler: It’s to make money from sharing your data) and should ultimately steer you away from that VPN altogether.
Why would VPN companies need to track you through their apps?
Simple answer: They don’t. Their apps would function just as well for you whether they tracked you or not.
But many VPN companies will employ trackers in their apps regardless of how much they say they care about your privacy. Those VPNs put users’ privacy at risk so they can make as much money as possible. And what some of these VPN apps track and share with third parties is actually quite alarming. This is the biggest reason we advise you to avoid using most free VPNs.
What data is being collected by these trackers and who is it shared with?
The scope of data collection will vary greatly from one VPN to another, and will differ in terms of whether the trackers are being deployed on the VPN’s website or within the app itself. But let’s focus on trackers embedded within VPN apps themselves.
There are VPN apps out there that will track and share things like your user ID, device or advertising ID, usage data and even your location. They track this information just to sell it on to third parties for targeted advertising purposes, making money at the expense of your digital privacy. Any VPN engaging in such activity should be avoided at all costs.
When we say your data is being shared with third-party entities, we mean entities like data brokers and advertisers that put profits ahead of ethics. That information is also being shared with sites like Google and Facebook, meaning that even if you don’t have a Facebook account and you’re doing your best to stay away from big tech data hogs, your data is still being shared with them.
Unfortunately, far too many VPN apps will track and share your data with all kinds of third parties. That’s why it’s crucial to scrutinize the data sharing practices of any VPN you’re considering. (We do this as part of our review process and thoroughly vet a VPN’s data policies before we recommend it to anyone.)
The concern is real
VPNs are often quick to claim that the data they’re tracking and sharing with third parties is anonymized and not identifiable or tied to your personal information. That sounds great, but something like a device ID can still be used to identify you personally when other data points tied to your online behavior and interactions with the app are matched to that ID. It doesn’t actually take that much to connect the dots and identify you online.
Researchers have shown that 99.98% of users could be re-identified in any anonymized dataset using only 15 data points. The more data points an app is collecting about you, the easier it is for others to identify you online, even if the data being collected isn’t necessarily personally identifiable information.
It doesn’t take much to identify you online.
Graphic by Pixabay/Illustration by CNET
Find out what data they’re collecting and tracking
Luckily, it’s becoming easier and easier to see what VPN companies are collecting and tracking when you use their apps. For one, reputable VPNs are getting increasingly transparent about what data they collect and what kinds of trackers they may or may not be implementing on their sites and apps. VPNs know that their reputations rely on actually walking the walk when it comes to protecting user privacy. So transparency is key.
On top of that, with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency functionality in its App Store, you have a clear picture of an application’s tracking practices. You can see if any app you’re looking to download wants to track you and share your data with third parties and you can easily deny those permissions. Google has offered similar functionality since its Android 12 release.
In addition to scrutinizing a VPN app’s tracking practices, you’ll want to scour its privacy policy to see what kinds of trackers it uses, what data it collects and who it shares that data with. If you notice that a provider you’re looking at is sharing user data with an abundance of third parties, or if the provider isn’t upfront or totally transparent about its practices, then it’s best to move along and find something else.
When you do your research, you’ll see that the best VPNs don’t resort to such unscrupulous tracking practices. Part of our review process includes vetting the data collection practices of each provider. Though the VPNs we recommend, like Surfshark, NordVPN and ExpressVPN, may collect certain types of connection data when you use their apps, they don’t deploy in-app trackers.
While these VPNs may deploy cookies on their websites, they’re transparent about exactly what those cookies are there for and how they help improve website functionality and aid in advertising their services across the web. Their third-party trackers can also be blocked via your browser settings.
Always check a VPN’s privacy policies, and their apps in the App Store and the Play Store to learn more about the trackers they deploy on their websites and apps. The important thing to keep in mind here is that the apps of our recommended VPNs will not track you like the apps of some other less-than-trustworthy VPNs.
If you don’t want your VPN app to track you, you’ll want to take a few precautions.
With Apple’s App Tracking Transparency in place, iOS apps have to get your explicit permission before they are able to track you. If you deny that permission, the app developer won’t have access to your device’s advertising ID and won’t be able to track you or share that ID with third parties.
You can even deny any and all apps on your iOS device from even asking you if they can track you in the first place. All you’d need to do is head over to your settings menu and disable tracking. Similarly, if you’re an Android user, you can manage your app permissions to limit tracking on an app-by-app basis by navigating to your Privacy Dashboard.
Keep in mind that even if you deny an app access to your advertising ID, that doesn’t necessarily prevent it from sharing other data with third parties. A bit of investigative research from Top10VPN in 2021 showed that 85% of the top free VPNs in Apple’s US App Store may still share your data with third-party advertisers even after you’ve explicitly denied their requests to track you. Even if they don’t have access to your advertising ID — according to Top10VPN’s research — these free VPN apps still track and share information like your IP address, device name, language, device model and iOS version with advertisers without your consent. This is all information that can be used to identify you, and the research is a pointed reminder of why we recommend staying away from most free VPNs.
If you’re concerned about VPN companies using trackers on their websites and sharing data with third parties, then you can use a privacy-focused browser like Brave or Firefox, or use a tool like the Duck Duck Go’s browser extension to your current browser. Options like these will help you to easily prevent websites from tracking you as you browse the web. If you’re not willing to part ways with your existing browser or install an extension, there are various settings you should change to protect your privacy and limit tracking.
Free VPN apps on iOS devices may still be tracking you even after you deny them permission to do so.
Óscar Gutiérrez/CNET
Next steps
Websites and apps will routinely do whatever they can to track your activity across the internet to churn as much money out of the targeted ad machine as possible. But the tide is finally turning as people have begun to realize exactly how invasive the practice is and how detrimental it can be to our digital privacy.
More and more options are available to defend against tracking practices, and VPN companies are becoming increasingly transparent with consumers with regards to how they approach the subject and many are ditching tracking altogether. Unfortunately, many VPN companies still continue the practice and are sharing all kinds of tracking data with third parties. If you’re an iOS user, just take a look through the VPNs available in the App Store and take a peek at their “nutrition label” and you’ll see what we mean.
If you already have a VPN app installed on your device, check to see if it’s tracking you and sharing your data with third parties. If it is, it’s time to wipe it from your device for good and never look back, because it’s compromising your privacy rather than protecting it — which is the opposite of what a VPN should be doing.
Most 3D scanners are handheld devices that scan small to medium-sized objects with a high degree of accuracy. The resulting files are used for 3D modeling or 3D printing and they can produce fantastic results — if you’re patient and willing to learn how to use them.
These scanners, like the popular Revopoint Pop 2, can cost $700 and have a steep learning curve. Alternatively, if you own an iPhone 12 Pro or higher you can almost recreate what a fancy 3D scanner does. It isn’t quite as accurate, especially for 3D printing, but if you spend some time tweaking, the output can be just about as good.
Creating 3D prints from files uploaded to communities like Thingiverse or Printables is fine, but once you can scan and recreate real-world objects, there’s no limit to what you can create. For example, you could replicate a collectible figure or scan a broken mechanical part to recreate it.
3D scanners use reflected light — sometimes in the form of lasers — to map the surface of an object. The scanner uses two cameras to judge depth and create a “point cloud” that can be fused together to make a solid object. That solid model is often incredibly accurate down to the smallest crack or imperfection.
Sarah Tew/CNET
But scanning an object can be difficult. The scanner needs to be the right distance from the object you’re scanning at all times, and the object has to be the right color and reflectivity as well. Often, you will need a 3D scanning spray to coat your model in a white, evaporative coating to make scanning easier. This is not possible with human subjects, but does help with inanimate ones. Or at least it should.
I’ve spent hours using 3D scanners and struggle every time to produce a model that could be 3D printed. Often a scan will lose connection, then restart in the wrong place, causing severe disruption. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve managed to get several usable models, but the amount of work it took just didn’t seem cost-effective.
Can need a lot of clean-up to make it 3D print-ready
James Bricknell/CNET
iPhones have a lot of cool technology that makes them excellent 3D scanners, including good cameras for photogrammetry and lidar technology for larger objects like cars or the inside of your home.
Photogrammetry is the best way to create a fully realized 3D model if you want that model to only exist digitally. It uses multiple pictures — the more pictures the better — to create a realistic facsimile of an object. The depth mapping is far rougher than a 3D scanner, but the textures and photo imagery make the model look extremely detailed. As you can see, the shoe in the image above looks identical to the real thing when the textures are shown, but the model I 3D-printed from it has lost a lot of its details.
James Bricknell/CNET
The coolest thing about photogrammetry, especially on an app like Polycam, is that it can be used with any camera you have, including DSLR cameras and even drones. You simply upload as many images as you want to the Polycam app and it will spit out a 3D rendering of the object you took, whether that’s a shoe or the Grand Canyon. It even works with Android phones, though none of those have the lidar technology like the iPhone.
James Bricknell/CNET
Lidar only works if you have an iPhone 12 Pro or later, but it’s excellent for scanning larger objects like mailboxes, pool tables and even cars. It works a lot like an expensive 3D scanner — by bouncing light off an object and measuring the distance the light travels — but it has a much lower resolution. This makes it excellent at scanning large, simple objects, especially if you’re keeping them as digital models.
Both photogrammetry and lidar imagery are extremely easy to use on your iPhone and require very little technical know-how to get right. They both need an app though, and after using several different ones, I found Polycam is the best choice.
Polycam costs $80 a year and offers both lidar and photogrammetry. More than that, it uses those systems in some really fun ways. Not only can you scan objects to create 3D models, but you can scan the walls inside your house and build a 3D floor plan. You can even 3D print that floor plan complete with walls, stairs and window and door openings.
When scanning an object on Polycam for 3D printing I was able to get good quality, low-resolution scans for organic shapes and much better scans of simple objects. Using Polycam to scan a broken sliding door handle was quick and simple and allowed me to accurately replicate a replacement. In fact, if you’re used to using programs like Blender — a free 3D sculpting tool on the PC and Mac — or Nomad Sculpt on the iPad or iPhone, you can import the Polycam file and spruce it up before printing.
Should you buy a 3D scanner if you own an iPhone?
I’ve spent a lot of time with several different 3D scanners and they all have the same inherent flaw: They’re just too picky to work for consumers. In a commercial setting, where everything can be controlled and your day is dedicated to getting this machine to work perfectly, then sure, a 3D scanner makes sense. If you’re a hobbyist though, with a life that requires more from you than endless hours of slow scanning, an iPhone is a better option.
Even if you don’t own an iPhone, you can pick up an iPhone 12 Pro — the first with lidar — for around $550, several hundred dollars cheaper than a 3D scanner. And once you’re done 3D scanning shoes, mailboxes, cars and houses, you still have an iPhone that can do a hundred other things too.
Be careful what you download. Just because an app has made it through the usually strict vetting of Apple or Google doesn’t guarantee that it’s 100% safe.
To their credit, both tech giants are constantly on the hunt for apps that don’t play by their rules. For example, Apple says it rejected nearly 1.7 million app submissions last year for failing to meet its standards for privacy, security and content, while Google says it stopped 1.4 million policy-violating apps from being published in its store.
Generally speaking, those research reports quickly grab the attention of Apple and Google, who more often than not immediately remove the offending apps from their stores and take action against the developers behind them. But researchers warn that an app doesn’t have to be obviously malicious, or even violate Apple or Google’s rules for developers, to cause problems for users.
According to Sophos, the apps take advantage of loopholes in app-store policies to masquerade as ChatGPT-based chatbots, then overcharge those suckered into downloading them for their use.
The researchers say the free versions of the apps have “near-zero functionality” and inundate users with ads, which then prompts them to sign up for paid subscriptions that could cost them hundreds of dollars per year.
“They’re banking on the fact that users won’t pay attention to the cost or simply forget that they have this subscription,” Sean Gallagher, a principal threat researcher at Sophos, said in a statement.
Gallagher adds that the apps are specifically designed so that users might not get much use from them after the free trial ends, which could get them to delete the app without realizing that they’re still paying for it on a weekly or monthly basis.
The researchers investigated five of the so-called “fleeceware” apps, which all claimed to be based on ChatGPT’s algorithm. While OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, offers a free version of the AI online, the apps in question were charging hefty subscriptions to do much of the same thing.
For example, one app charges $6 per week after a three-day trial. That may not seem like much, but it adds up to more than $300 a year.
While some of the apps singled out in the report have since been removed from their respective app stores, others remain. The Sophos researchers noted in their report that because the apps are designed to sit just on the edge of violating developer rules, they don’t automatically trigger the kinds of automatic app store rejections that overtly malicious apps do.
They also pointed to the fact that both Apple and Google take hefty cuts of the money developers make from app subscriptions, giving them a strong financial incentive to allow the apps to stay in their stores and let the developers keep charging consumers.
Google released a statement saying that as noted in the Sophos report it has removed some of the apps mentioned and continues to investigate the others. It also pointed to its recent efforts to strengthen its anti-fleeceware policies. Apple didn’t respond to a CNET request for comment.
Ultimately, it’s up to users to be on the lookout for potentially misbehaving apps. Even when apps are removed from the stores, whether they be overtly malicious or just poorly made and scammy, the researchers say new ones quickly pop up in their place.
Here are some tips for spotting potentially malicious and scammy apps.
How to spot scam apps
Check the permissions. Listings in both Apple and Google’s app stores will show you exactly what a particular app wants to access in terms of your personal information. Sure, a maps app probably does need to access your location from time to time, but does that silly, time-wasting puzzle game you love so much? Don’t be afraid to say no if an app asks for access to data it doesn’t need.
Audit your apps. This can also be good for keeping your monthly spending in check. The settings in both Apple and Android phones will show you what apps you’re subscribed to and how much you’re paying for them. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that you’re still paying for apps that you just don’t use anymore. And if your “free trial” has turned into a hefty recurring charge, you’ll be able to see that too.
Remember, good reviews don’t automatically equal legitimacy. App reviews can be faked and copied. Don’t automatically assume that just because an app has thousands of five-star reviews that it’s safe. Recently released apps that already have lots of positive reviews should particularly be treated with suspicion. On the flip side, numerous bad reviews and low ratings also should be seen as red flags.
Check the icon and look for typos. If an app’s icon looks just like that of a popular one but is a little bit off, it could be a knock off. Lots of typos in an app’s description could also be a sign of that.
Be skeptical of big claims. Just like when it comes to emails and texts, apps that offer great deals on hot retail items, cheat codes for games or anything else that’s in high demand at the moment have the potential to be scams. Buyer beware.
Avoid third-party app stores. The apps in both Apple and Google’s stores are vetted by those companies before they’re allowed in. Apps downloaded from elsewhere might not be. They could easily be carrying malware or looking to rip you off. Avoid them.
