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A few weeks before Apple’s September “Wonderlust” event and the anticipated release of iOS 17, the tech giant began rolling out changes early, starting with the iTunes Movie Trailers app on Thursday. The app still works, but it no longer shows trailers, clips or features like it used to. Instead, it only shows a screen redirecting users to the Apple TV app.

“Apple TV app is the new home of iTunes Movies Trailers,” the screen reads. “Keep watching trailers. Open the Apple TV app to start.”

Now if you want to watch trailers, you have to open the Apple TV app, tap the Store icon across the bottom of your screen and scroll down the page to see a carousel titled “Watch the Latest Trailers.”

Apple announced the demise of iTunes in 2019 at that year’s WWDC event, and the company has gradually retired the brand since then.

For more Apple news, check out what to know about Apple’s Wonderlust event, all the iPhone 15 rumors and when Apple might release iOS 17.

Apple’s next major event is set for Sept. 12, and it’s likely we’ll see a new iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9 and possibly the second-generation Apple Watch Ultra. I’ve been wearing the current Ultra for almost a year, and it’s without doubt the best Apple Watch money can buy. But there are features I’d really like to see in the next version.

The public beta of WatchOS 10 previews some Apple Watch Ultra updates like topographic maps and support for Bluetooth accessories including power meter pedals. These additions go a long way to help the Apple Watch Ultra stand out as a top-tier smartwatch, though I hope we get even more safety- and sports-focused options on the Ultra 2.

Two sizes to suit more wrists

I love wearing sports and outdoor watches, but sometimes they can be too big for everyday wear. I have a relatively small wrist measuring 152mm, and though I don’t think the 49mm Ultra looks or feels too hefty, it will likely overwhelm anyone with a smaller wrist. Another size option could go a long way to opening up the Ultra’s appeal to people who want a rugged watch with a smaller case size.

The Apple Watch Series comes in a number of different finishes, so why not the Ultra? Currently, the titanium Ultra is available in only one color. Rumors surfaced about a darker titanium finish, which I think would pair nicely with the midnight ocean band Apple currently sells.

Emergency SOS via Satellite on the Apple Watch

A standout iPhone 14 feature is Emergency SOS via Satellite that lets you message with an emergency dispatcher even when you’re out of cellular range. The new safety tool has already saved lives, so it makes sense to bring it to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Hopefully, you’d never need to use Emergency SOS via Satellite, but for people who use the Ultra as an outdoors adventure watch, it would be an incredibly valuable safety feature.

WatchOS 10 supports SOS waypoints in the compass app, so you can visually see the last spot you had a cell signal. But this requires you to track back to that last location. The Ultra already has a built-in siren that can audibly alert passersby to your location, as well as fall detection and Emergency SOS that works when you have cell service. So it seems like a logical include for additional off-grid safety tools like satellite connectivity to the Ultra 2.

A built-in flashlight for extra safety

All Apple Watches have a screen-based flashlight you can turn on from the Control Center. If you’re like me and walk or run when it gets dark, it’s not as practical to have the entire screen taken up with this light because then you can’t use it to see anything else, like your workout stats. I’d love to see a built-in flashlight that can illuminate the path in front of you.

The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro series has a similar built-in LED, and it’s a valuable safety tool. You can adjust the brightness level, change the color to a red light or even strobe or pulse the light to alert others to your location.

Slimmer bezels and a new processor

A key Apple Watch Ultra design element is its flat screen. But if you use anything other than a watch face with a black background, you can see some of the bezel around the display’s edge. To really capitalize on the 49mm case size I’d love to see a true edge-to-edge display that goes right up to the case.

Like my colleague Lisa Eadiccico speculated in her Apple Watch Series 9 wishlist, I would also love to see the always-on display do more than it can now. One of the most frequent requests I get from CNET readers and viewers is help in finding a watch that can show a seconds count on the display at all times. A newer processor might make something like this possible, but that’s only speculation at this stage.

Recovery metrics to help you train better

The Apple Watch tracks a bevy of health and fitness stats like VO2 Max, sleep quality, blood oxygen levels and heart rate variability. I’d love to see the Apple Watch Ultra 2 interpret all those metrics by giving us some recovery metrics like other sports and endurance watches.

This could be as simple as guidance to help you identify if a bad night’s sleep will impact your training readiness the next day. Visually, I’d love to see something like an extra ring in the Activity app that shows if you’re ready to tackle a workout or how “charged” you are based on the previous day’s activity and night’s sleep. Maybe even throw in some customized suggestions for workouts you might want to try from Fitness+ based on your readiness.

Similar features already exist on other sports watches. Garmin has the Body Battery to indicate how your body is coping with a training routine, while Polar shows metrics like cardio and muscle load after a workout. Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score ranks your readiness out of 100 and surfaces some workouts you might want to try depending on the score.

It’s almost time for football’s triumphant return. As fantasy leagues around the country continue their drafts, and the real teams finalize their actual rosters, NFL fans around the world are prepping in earnest for the start of the 2023 regular season. Week 1 begins on Thursday, Sept. 7, with the Detroit Lions visiting the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on NBC, but how about watching the rest of the 2023 campaign?

This year there are more options on streaming services than ever. YouTube and YouTube TV are now the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket, the plan that lets you watch any out-of-market game. Meanwhile, the NFL has improved its own NFL Plus streaming service to include RedZone and the NFL Network in the Premium tier and allowing both channels to be viewable on your TV or computer. Local and primetime games, however, are still locked to mobile devices.

Throw in the games that appear on Paramount Plus (all CBS contests), Peacock (all NBC games, plus an exclusive Week 16 game between the Bills and Chargers), ESPN Plus (some Monday Night Football and an exclusive Week 4 international game between the Falcons and Jaguars in London) and Amazon’s Prime Video (all Thursday night games after opening night), and things can get complicated in a hurry.

Here’s what you need to know to stream all the NFL action this year, and our recommendations for watching the 2023 NFL season, including RedZone, week in and week out.

Who airs games and when?

Paying for cable used to be the easiest solution, but not the cheapest, for watching all the football. In today’s world things have gotten a bit more complicated with games played across three different days and nights each week on different channels and streaming services.

Most NFL games are played on Sunday, with a game each week on Monday and Thursday nights. On Sundays, games start around 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) and 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. ET), with most AFC teams on CBS and most NFC teams on Fox. NBC has the primetime Sunday night game.

Although the first Thursday night game will be on NBC, the rest of the games for Thursday Night Football (with the exception of Week 12’s Thanksgiving Thursday games) will be shown on Amazon’s Prime Video. Week 12’s Amazon game will be taking place on Black Friday and feature the Dolphins visiting the Jets.

As in previous seasons, Monday Night Football games will be on ESPN and/or ABC. This year there will be several Monday night doubleheaders including in weeks 2, 3 and 14 with games airing on ABC and ESPN. It is worth mentioning that ABC will be the exclusive TV broadcast for one of the Monday night games during those weeks, as well as having the exclusive TV broadcast feed for Week 16’s Christmas game between the Ravens and 49ers.

What are my streaming options for NFL games in 2023?

All five of the live TV streaming services (YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV and Fubo) carry ESPN, ABC, NBC and Fox, and all but Sling TV carry CBS (though you need Sling Orange to get ESPN). All but DirecTV Stream carry the NFL Network with their base plans (DirecTV does offer it with its pricier options, like Choice, Ultimate or Premier).

For the games on CBS and Fox, keep in mind that not every service carries every local network, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in your particular area.

In addition to Prime Video, there are four other streaming services that cord-cutting NFL fans should consider. Both the Essential and With Showtime (previously known as Premium) versions of Paramount Plus will show CBS games on Sundays, and both the paid Premium and step-up Plus versions of Peacock will show NBC’s broadcasts of Sunday Night Football (plus that exclusive Week 16 game).

ESPN Plus will stream some Monday Night Football games that air on ESPN and/or ABC, as well as that exclusive Week 4 game, but not all Monday night games that Disney broadcasts will stream on ESPN Plus.

Lastly, there’s NFL RedZone, a channel that springs to life each fall and shows live NFL action during the Sunday afternoon games. It pops in and out of the live games and attempts to show each touchdown scored in each game. RedZone is available as an add-on on all five major live TV streaming services.

What about NFL Plus and NFL Network?

NFL Plus, the NFL’s own streaming service, recently got a few tweaks to go along with its price hike. Now starting at $7 per month ($50 if purchased annually), you can still stream any local or national games regardless of whether they air on ABC, ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC or Amazon Prime Video, but those streams are limited to just watching on a phone or tablet.

NFL Plus will also let you watch the ESPN Plus and Peacock exclusive games (though again, only on a phone or tablet).

NFL Network is now also included, and you can watch the football-focused channel as well as the eight exclusive NFL games it airs (in Weeks 5, 6, 9, 10, and 16 as well as three games in Week 15), on your mobile device, computer, game console or TV with NFL Plus.

The NFL Network is also offered by the five major streaming services in at least some of their plans.

Those looking for RedZone can opt for NFL Plus’ Premium plan that runs $15 per month (or $100 annually). Discounts on NFL Plus can drop the annual prices by 20%, though that offer is listed by the league as being available for a “limited time.” Like with the NFL Network, NFL Plus Premium will let users stream RedZone on TVs and computers in addition to their phones and tablets.

Best for everything: YouTube TV ($73 without RedZone, $84 with)

Our pick from the last two years remains our go-to choice in 2023.

Now priced at $73 per month, YouTube TV checks all the NFL boxes. Local channels CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC are included in many markets, as are ESPN and the NFL Network so you can watch Sundays and Monday nights. The next best options are Fubo and Hulu Plus Live TV; both offer the same channels as YouTube TV for NFL fans, but Fubo runs $75 per month and Hulu is set to jump to $77 per month in October.

Want to follow your fantasy team with RedZone? That’s available on all three services as part of an add-on. If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you can add the $11 per month Sports Plus add-on by clicking on your profile and going to Settings, then the Membership tab. Fubo subscribers can go into My Profile and choose Manage Add-ons to get its $11-per-month Sports Plus with NFL RedZone offering. And Hulu users can now add RedZone for $10 per month with its Sports add-on.

Both YouTube TV and Fubo allow three people to watch at once (Hulu allows two livestreams) and all three have apps on nearly every mobile device and major streaming platform, including Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, Roku and Apple TV.

While all three are largely similar, we like YouTube TV for its superior DVR — unlimited storage compared with 30 hours on Fubo and 50 hours on Hulu. We also like YouTube TV because it gives you an option to stream in 4K for an extra $20 a month. Fubo does, too, with its $85-a-month Elite plan. Keep in mind that only Fox and NBC have previously offered 4K NFL broadcasts; CBS and ESPN do not.

DirecTV Stream offers all the main broadcast channels for NFL games, but it starts at $80 per month (after factoring in various fees), requires a two-year contract and that base package lacks the NFL Network. Adding in RedZone also costs an extra $15 per month through its Sports Pack. For new customers, it is worth pointing out that DirecTV is offering to waive the $15 per month Sports Pack fee for three months (or what amounts to most of the NFL’s regular season, which ends the first week in January).

The service is also offering $400 Visa cards to new users who sign up for one of its packages and YouTube’s Sunday Ticket, so long as they submit proof of their purchase of Sunday Ticket to DirecTV.

Sling TV’s Orange and Blue plan for $60 a month gets you ESPN and the NFL Network, and, in select major markets, Fox and/or ABC and NBC, but you’ll still lack CBS. You can also add RedZone for an additional $11 per month with its Sports Extra add-on (if you have just Sling Blue; if you have the Orange and Blue plan it’ll be $15 per month extra).

Sling is also offering a deal where new users can prepay for five months of its Orange and Blue plus Sports Extra add-on for $274. Dubbed the “Sling Season Pass,” this would get you most of the NFL channels including RedZone (but again, not CBS) for roughly $55 per month.

The cheapest way to stream NFL RedZone: NFL Plus Premium ($15 per month)

A frequent fan-favorite method of following all the NFL action on Sundays, RedZone is a way to catch every big play around the league. The cheapest road to RedZone in 2023 is with NFL Plus Premium. With the NFL adding in the popular channel and the ability to watch it on more than just phones and tablets — including TVs and computers — it’s the easy go-to pick for RedZone fans.

Budget alternative for NFC fans in big cities: Sling Blue ($45) or antenna ($20 one-time)

Those looking to save some cash might want to check out Sling Blue for $45 a month. While this package lacks ESPN, meaning you’ll miss out on Monday Night Football, in select markets you’ll be able to get Fox and NBC. The catch is that those markets are mainly in big cities, so if you live outside one of those areas, Sling Blue might not be for you.

You can also add RedZone through the company’s $11 per month Sports Extra add-on.

With Sling lacking CBS (and Sling Blue lacking ABC), an antenna can fill those local channel gaps without a monthly charge.

Budget alternatives for AFC fans: Paramount Plus Essentials ($6) or an antenna ($20 one-time)

There are some apps that offer CBS’ slate of Sunday AFC games live, including Paramount Plus’ Essentials tier for $6 per month. Depending on where you live, however, your local CBS station (and those NFL games) might not be available. CBS offers livestreaming services in many markets; you can check for yourself if your area has live CBS streaming here.

An antenna is another option for getting CBS. And as we mentioned above, an over-the-air antenna connected to your TV provides another option for all the basic channels, no streaming or monthly fee required, as long as you have good reception.

Thursday Night Football: Amazon Prime Video

Starting in Week 2, the games on Thursday nights are available only on Prime Video, giving NFL fans more incentive than free two-day shipping to sign up for an Amazon Prime account for $15 a month or $139 a year. Those who just want Prime Video can get it for $9 per month.

The full list of Prime Video games can be found on Amazon’s site here.

What about Sunday Ticket?

After years as a DirecTV exclusive, NFL Sunday Ticket has a new home with YouTube TV. Pricing is as follows (and includes a $50 discount Google is offering):

If you have YouTube TV, you can add Sunday Ticket for a one-time charge of $299 for the season. If you want RedZone included, it’ll be $339. If you don’t have YouTube TV and just want football, you can get Sunday Ticket from YouTube for $399, or a version that includes RedZone for $439.

Students looking to save can get NFL Sunday Ticket for $109, or $119 with RedZone.

As with before, Sunday Ticket doesn’t include local games. You can only watch Sunday afternoon games that aren’t being broadcast on CBS or Fox in your area (what is known as “out-of-market” contests). If you want to watch all the football on Sundays you’ll need Sunday Ticket plus an antenna or cable, satellite or streaming service like the ones we mentioned above.

There’s a lot of things you’ll need to get your online business off the ground. But one of the most important tools to invest in is a shipping label printer. And right now, you can snag one for nearly half off. Amazon currently has this Nelko Bluetooth thermal shipping label printer — our top pick in our best printer round-up — on sale for just $90, which saves you $86 compared to the usual price. There’s no set expiration for this deal, so get your order in soon if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.

This Nelko printer makes it easy to get your orders out the door quickly and efficiently. It’s equipped with thermal direct technology, so it supports speeds of up to 150 mm/s, which means it can print up to 72 4×6 inch shipping labels every minute. The labels are compatible with a wide variety of platforms, including Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, FedEx, USPS, UPS and many more. It doesn’t support Wi-Fi connectivity but is equipped with Bluetooth, so you can print wirelessly right from your phone, tablet or laptop, or via USB as well. Plus, it has a small 5×9 inch footprint, so it won’t crowd your desk or workstation either.

Over the last couple of years Jabra has released a slew of earbuds that were a little hard to tell apart from one another. Not only did we get Elites 3, 4, 5 and 7 Pro, but there were “Active” versions of some of those same buds. Some variety can be a good thing, but too much tends to create confusion and can stymie sales.

Now it appears Jabra has come to its senses. Or sort of, anyway. Once again, it’s released multiple models at the same time — the Elite 8 Active ($199) and the new flagship Elite 10 ($249), which I’m reviewing here. But at least Jabra has assured me that there won’t be a standard Elite 8 or an Elite 10 Active. Ever. So it’s finally showing some restraint.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2023

Jabra Elite 10 design

Of the two new models, the Elite 8 Active are the more straightforward earbuds. They look, feel and perform like a modestly upgraded version of the Elite 7 Pro, with six microphones instead of four, slightly improved adaptive noise canceling and wind-reduction technology along with a higher durability rating. They have a noise-isolating design — you jam the tips into your ears to get a tight seal — and Jabra is billing them as the “world’s toughest earbuds” (if you’re more interested in the Elite 8 Active, feel free to jump over to that review).

The Elite 10s are a completely different set of earbuds. If they have an antecedent, it’s the Elite 85t, which also had a semi-open design. Some people really liked those earbuds; I was less of a fan. Compared to the Elite 85t, the Elite 10s offer not only a more comfortable fit and better design but better sound and significantly better noise-canceling performance along with impressive Dolby Spatial Sound with head tracking.

The Elite 10 are designed for people who don’t like having ear tips jammed in their ears. You’re still dealing with silicone ear tips but they have a unique oval shape and are designed to nestle in your ears. They’re certainly among the most comfortable earbuds that have silicone ear tips.

While the buds don’t have Jabra’s “ShakeGrip” finish that’s found on the Elite 8 Active, the finish does feel pretty similar to that of the Elite 8 Active — it’s soft to the touch, yet has some grip to it. Interestingly, the buds sometimes felt like they were sitting in my ears a little too loosely, but I actually had a more secure fit than I thought. I also appreciated that they didn’t stick out of my ears all that much — they’re pretty discreet.

Most earbuds have touch controls these days, but all of Jabra’s earbuds have a physical control button on each bud for controlling music playback, answering and ending calls and toggling between noise canceling and HearThru transparency mode. I’m among the people who tend to prefer physical controls to touch controls and the Elite 10’s button is well designed and makes a fairly subdued clicking noise when you press it.

While the Elite 8 Actives have a higher durability rating (IP68), the Elite 10s still have an IP57 rating, which means they offer both good dust resistance and can also be fully submerged in water. In other words, you can use these for running if you get a secure enough fit, but I felt more confident that the Elite 8 Actives would definitely stay in my ears while running with them.

The new charging case has rounded corners and offers wireless charging. It’s bigger than both the AirPods Pro 2’s and Sony WF-1000XM5’s charging cases, but it’s still relatively compact. The buds come in five color options: cream, cocoa, titanium black, gloss black and matte-black. I’m not quite sure why there are three black versions; they may be exclusive to certain retailers.

Jabra Elite 10 features

The Elite 10s have a robust feature set. They have Jabra’s “Advanced” adaptive noise canceling and an adjustable HearThru transparency mode that lets you hear the outside world. There are ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you remove a bud from your ears and you can use a single bud in mono mode while the other charges in the case.

For both these earbuds Jabra has moved away from using Qualcomm chips, so they don’t support the AptX audio codec for Android devices, but they do support the AAC audio codec and are also compatible with the new LE Audio standard that includes the LC3 audio codec. LE Audio features will supposedly be available via a firmware upgrade sometime in the not-so-distant future, though it’s unclear exactly when.

Multipoint Bluetooth pairing, which allows you to pair the buds with two devices at the same time, is available from the get-go (it took a while for Jabra to add the feature to the Elite 7 Pro). And Android users get hands-free Google Assistant — you just have to say the wake word to access the assistant. You can also use your device’s native voice assistant, including Siri on Apple devices, but you have to press a button to access it.

One of the noteworthy additions to both the Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 is Dolby’s Spatial Sound. However, one key difference between the two buds is that the Elite 10s have Dolby Spatial Sound with Dolby head tracking. The standard Dolby Spatial Audio on the Elite 8 Active tricks your mind into thinking the sound is coming from more outside your head — it opens up the soundstage a bit — but the head-tracking takes the spatial audio to another level. I was impressed by it.

It’s right there with Apple’s spatial audio, and some might argue it’s even slightly better. It works with music and can enhance the listening experience with some tracks (or at least give you a different listening experience), particularly those remixed in Dolby Atmos. But like with Apple’s spatial audio, it can also enhance video-watching, creating a virtual surround experience with dialog fixed at the center of your smartphone or tablet’s screen. It works with both Apple and Android devices.

Finally, there’s a Find My Jabra feature that can tell you the last location of your buds before they disconnected from your device. It’s not as sophisticated as the AirPods Pro 2’s Precision Finding that allows you to track your buds much more exactly. But it’s better than none at all.

Jabra Elite 10 sound quality

The Elite 10s have larger 10mm drivers that help deliver richer and more accurate sound than the Elite 8 Active buds, which feature 6mm drivers. In a quieter environment anyway, the Elite 10 deliver sound that ranks up there with some of the best-sounding wireless earbuds. It’s clean, nicely detailed and open with well-defined bass. These sound a little more natural than the Elite 8 Actives, particularly in the midrange where vocals live. They just have a little more depth and refinement.

You can tweak the sound a bit in the app with some preset EQ options or create your own custom EQ. And you can turn Dolby Spatial Sound on and off in the Jabra Sound Plus app, which noticeably changes the sound. I found myself playing around with the Spatial Sound but generally used it with head-tracking on (if I used it).

I mainly compared these to Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds, which list for $50 more. The Sonys are a bit warmer sounding and a little more accurate (they sound slightly more natural). But the Jabras are slightly more open and dynamic. From an audiophile standpoint, the Sonys sound a little better, but it’s easy to appreciate the bold, open sound of the Jabras. I did end up creating a custom EQ setting with the bass ticked up a notch and the treble lowered a bit to get a little smoother sound, and you’ll probably have to tweak the EQ settings to come up with the right sound profile for your ears and music listening tastes.

Jabra Elite 10 noise-canceling

The one issue with semi-open earbuds is that they do allow some sound to leak in and that creates challenges for noise canceling performance. As I said, these do a significantly better job than the older Elite 85t at reducing ambient sound. But I wouldn’t buy these expecting to muffle the outside world nearly as well as the AirPods Pro 2, Sony WF-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2. In other words, they’re able to reduce ambient sound better than I thought they would, but they can only do so much.

While those aforementioned buds give you the impression that the ambient sound is being truly suppressed and blocked, the Elite 10s have a more filtering effect. Outside sounds are cut down or stripped down but you can still hear them. It’s almost as if the buds are acting as a strainer, catching harsher sounds but letting some sounds through. The buds basically took the edge off the cacophony as I walked the streets of New York but didn’t come close to completely eliminating it.

That’s all a lot of people want, particularly if you’re not a fan of strong noise canceling because it creates a pressure sensation (some people can’t tolerate active noise canceling). But these probably wouldn’t be the buds I’d use on a plane for a long trip. The noise canceling just isn’t that great.

On a side note, I did notice that the sound quality changed a bit when I switched from active noise canceling to HearThru mode or off completely. Each mode made the earbuds sound slightly different.

Jabra Elite 10 voice-calling performance

The voice-calling performance for both the Elite 10s and Elite 8 Actives left me slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite good when I was making calls in less noisy environments. Callers said they could hear me clearly. But with both buds now featuring six microphones and improved wind noise reduction technology, I expected a little more in harsher conditions. In our torture test in the noisy streets of New York, callers told me they didn’t reduce background noise as well as competing models like the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5, and my voice warbled at times.

If you watch my companion video review, you can hear a test call I recorded with the Elite 10 that gives you a sense of the call quality in a harsh environment, though note that the call is recorded via the internet so a little bit of fidelity in my voice is lost.

Jabra Elite 10 battery life

The Elite 10 don’t have as good a battery life rating as the Elite 8 Active but it’s still not bad. They’re rated for up to 6 hours at moderate volume levels with ANC on compared to 8 hours for the Elite 8 Active. That’s about the same as what you get with the AirPods Pro 2.

Jabra Elite 10 final thoughts

With so many good true-wireless earbuds on the market, it’s become much harder for companies to make their products stand out from the pack. With the Elite 10 Jabra manages to do just that with a set of buds that are aimed at folks looking for a more comfortable fit from their in-ear buds without sacrificing too much performance by moving to a fully open design that tends to offer less-than ideal sound quality and no active noise-canceling capabilities.

Yes, the Elite 10s do have some potential drawbacks (their noise canceling is lighter compared to competitors) and they’re pretty pricey at $249 and will probably have to come down a bit to better compete with the AirPods Pro 2 — at least for Apple users. Still, they’re really good earbuds that are not only comfortable to wear for long periods but also sound excellent. In fact, if their voice-calling performance was leveled up a bit, the Elite 10 buds might just be in Editors’ Choice territory. Hopefully, we’ll see some improvements with firmware upgrades.

Jabra Elite 10 key specs, according to Jabra

• Optimized for Dolby Atmos with Dolby Head Tracking
• Jabra ComfortFit technology for a natural, airy fit and less occlusion with semi-open design to relieve ear pressure
• Six-mic call technology with advanced algorithms for better call clarity in any environment
• Jabra Advanced ANC which blocks out 2x more noise than Jabra’s standard ANC
• HearThrough technology with wind-noise reduction
• 6-hour battery (27 hours including case) with ANC on
• Wireless charging
• IP57 rating
• Bluetooth Multipoint connection
• Hands-free Voice Assistant, Fast Pair, Swift Pair, Spotify Tap playback
• Ready to support Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and LC3, LC3plus codec with future firmware update
• Price: $249

The last few years Jabra has released a lot of earbuds, perhaps too many, confusing consumers in the process. These include the Elites 3, 4, 5 and 7 Pro, as well as Active versions of some of those same buds. But now Jabra’s marketing team is promising a more streamlined approach, at least at the top of its earbuds line. While it’s once again released multiple models at the same time — the new flagship Elite 10 ($249) and Elite 8 Active ($199), which I’m reviewing here — Jabra has assured me that there won’t be a standard Elite 8 or an Elite 10 Active. That seems like a step in the right direction, and both new models offer some unique traits that help them stand out in the crowded premium earbuds market.

Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2023

Jabra Elite 8 Active design

Of the two new models, the Elite 8 Actives are the more straightforward earbuds. They look, feel and perform like a modestly upgraded version of the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active, with six microphones instead of four, slightly improved adaptive noise canceling and wind-reduction technology along with a higher durability rating. They have a noise-isolating design — you jam the tips into your ears to get a tight seal — and Jabra is billing them as the “world’s toughest earbuds” (if you’re more interested in the Elite 10, feel free to jump over to that review).

Like the Elite 4, 5 and 7 series buds, the Elite 8 Actives have a noise-isolating design with the same ear tips. They fit my ears quite well and I like that they have physical control buttons for controlling music playback, answering and ending calls and toggling between noise canceling and HearThru transparency mode.

Jabra’s Active earbuds have always been billed as being slightly more durable than their standard Elite counterparts. But for the Elite Active 8, Jabra has really leaned into the whole durability factor, and it’s marketing these as the world’s toughest earbuds. They’re fully waterproof and dustproof with an IP68 rating, and their charging case is dust- and splashproof with an IP54 rating. Jabra also says they’re drop-proof to 1 meter and have passed nine durability tests to meet the military spec standard for ruggedized electronics.

While I didn’t do any extreme cold tests, I did drop them several times on the pavement from shoulder height (more than 1 meter), fully submerged them in water, and wore them around in 90-degree heat in the streets of New York. They came out no worse for wear, and I was impressed that the pavement didn’t leave any marks on the buds. Typical plastic buds tend to show scratches and dings after being dropped on hard, rough surfaces.

The new charging case has rounded corners and does offer wireless charging. It’s bigger than both the AirPods Pro 2’s and Sony WF-1000XM5’s charging cases, but it’s still relatively compact. The buds come in four color options: navy, black, dark gray and caramel.

If you’re looking for rugged buds, that would be a key reason to buy these. But they’re also lightweight at 5 grams each, and compact, sitting fairly flush with your ears. They have Jabra’s ShakeGrip rubber coating that gives them an added bit of grip, and most people should get a very secure fit. In my tests, they worked well for running.

Jabra Elite 8 Active features

The buds have both adaptive noise canceling and an adjustable HearThru transparency mode that lets you hear the outside world. There are ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you remove a bud from your ears, and you can use a single bud in mono mode while the other charges in the case.

For both the Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 earbuds, Jabra has moved away from using Qualcomm chips, so they don’t support the AptX audio codec for Android devices, but they do support the AAC audio codec and are also compatible with the new LE Audio standard that includes the LC3 audio codec. LE Audio features will supposedly be available via a firmware upgrade sometime in the not-so-distant future, though it’s unclear exactly when.

Multipoint Bluetooth pairing, which allows you to pair the buds with two devices at the same time, is available from the get-go (it took a while for Jabra to add the feature to the Elite 7 Pro). And Android users get hands-free Google Assistant — you just have to say the wake word to access the assistant. You can also use your device’s native voice assistant, including Siri on Apple devices, but you have to press a button to access it.

One of the noteworthy additions to both the Elite 8 Active and Elite 10 is Dolby’s Spatial Sound. However, one key difference between the two buds is that the Elite 10s have Dolby Spatial Sound with Dolby head tracking. The standard Dolby Spatial Audio on the Elite 8 Actives tricks your mind into thinking the sound is coming from more outside your head — it opens up the soundstage a bit — but the head-tracking takes the spatial audio to another level on the Elite 10s.

Finally, there’s a Find My Jabra feature that can tell you the last location of your buds before they disconnected from your device. The Find My isn’t as sophisticated as the AirPods Pro 2’s Precision Finding that allows you to track your buds much more precisely. But at least there’s some help if you’ve misplaced your headphones.

Jabra Elite 8 Active sound quality

Equipped with new 6mm drivers (the Elite 10s have 10mm drivers), the Elite 8 Actives lack a bit of refinement and accuracy compared to even more expensive buds, including the Elite 10s and Sony WF-1000XM5s. But all in all, there isn’t a whole lot to complain about. The buds have decent clarity and punchy bass. While their sound didn’t blow me away, it’s in line with what I get from other sports buds in this price range, including the Beats Fit Pros, which also deliver very good but not necessarily great sound. And like with the Elite 10s, you can also tweak the sound a bit in the app with some preset EQ options or create your own custom EQ.

As I said, the biggest benefit of activating Dolby Spatial Sound in the Jabra Sound Plus app for iOS and Android (you can deactivate it) is a wider soundstage. More average earbuds and headphones leave you feeling like the sound is stuck inside your head. But better ones deliver more open, airy sound that sounds bigger and has more depth to it. And with Dolby Spatial Sound on I did feel as if the sound was more outside my head. I generally left it on.

Jabra Elite 8 Active noise canceling

Neither the ANC or transparency are quite up to the level of the AirPods Pro 2, which retail for a similar price. But the noise canceling seems slightly improved from the Elite 7 Pro. These use Jabra’s adaptive hybrid noise canceling, which it lists as its second most technologically advanced noise canceling technology.

The Elite 10 earbuds use Jabra’s Advanced noise canceling, which it says delivers a “completely bespoke sound experience however loud your surroundings,” but the Elite 10s have semi-open design and their noise-canceling is that strong compared to that of Bose, Sony and Apple. In fact, because the Elite 8 Actives block out more noise passively than the Elite 10s due to their noise-isolating design, the Elite 8 Actives muffle ambient sound better than the Elite 10s.

Note that the adjustable HearThru, or transparency mode, is an important feature for runners who want to let sound in and hear the outside world for safety reasons. It’s a decent transparency mode, but doesn’t sound quite as natural as the AirPods Pro 2’s transparency mode.

Jabra Elite 8 Active voice-calling performance

The voice-calling performance for both the Elite 10 and Elite Active 8 left me slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was quite good when I was making calls in less noisy environments. Callers said they could hear me clearly. But with both buds now featuring six microphones and improved wind noise reduction technology, I expected a little more in harsher conditions. In our torture test in the noisy streets of New York, callers told me they didn’t reduce background noise as well as competing models like the AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM5s, and my voice warbled at times.

If you watch my companion video review, you can hear a test call I recorded with the Elite 10 that gives you a sense of the call quality in a harsh environment, though note the call is recorded via the nternet so a little bit of fidelity in my voice is lost. The Elite offered similar voice-calling performance. As I said, it’s good — but I was hoping for great.

Jabra Elite 8 Active battery life

Battery life is rated at up to 8 hours with ANC on and 14 with it off. Good numbers for sure, and better than the Elite 10, which is rated for 6 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels with ANC on.

Jabra Elite 8 Active final thoughts

As noted in my intro, the Elite 8 Active is a modestly upgraded version of the Elite 7 Pro and Elite 7 Active with added durability and slightly better sound and noise canceling. The Elite 7 Pros also carry a list price of $200 but have regularly been on sale for $30 to $50 off, dipping to as low as $120 recently. As with the Elite Series 7 buds, I think you’ll see some discounts on the Elite 8 Actives as we head into the holiday buying season, so keep an eye out for that if you’re on the fence about these (it would make sense for Jabra to price the Elite 8 Active lower than the AirPods Pro 2 if it wants to attract more Apple users).

While I did feel they had some small shortcomings in their voice-calling performance even with their upgraded six-microphone array (three on each earbud), I did come away feeling these were really solid buds overall and are an appealing option for those looking for really durable buds that stay in your ears securely. Hopefully, we’ll see some firmware updates that make the buds even better. If so, I may raise my rating slightly.

Elite 8 Active key features, according to Jabra

• IP68 rated dust-proof, watertight, sweat-proof and 1m drop-resistant earbuds
• IP54 rated dust- and splash-proof case
• Crystal-clear sound and added dimensionality with Dolby Audio
• Jabra ShakeGrip technology for secure fit in a wing-free, sleek design
• Adaptive Hybrid ANC auto-filters background noise
• Wind Neutralizing HearThrough for indoor and outdoor activities
• Six-mic call technology with wind noise protecting mesh
• 6mm speaker drivers
• Up to 8 hours of battery life and up to 32 hours with case (ANC on)
• Stable smartwatch connectivity
• Google Assistant, Fast Pair, Swift Pair & Spotify Tap playback
• Bluetooth multipoint connection
• Ready to support Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) & LC3, LC3plus codec with future firmware update
• Price: $199

As Netflix prepares to shutter its DVD business, we can reflect on how streaming services have evolved over the last decade. Ad-supported price tiers, password-sharing and price hikes help drive our buying decisions. Perhaps you’ve switched to team streaming and have forgotten what cable or satellite TV truly costs. Maybe you’ve been with Xfinity or Spectrum forever because you’re accustomed to your bundle rate. Either way, are you getting the best value for your money?

With its contracts and fees, cable TV is nowhere near cheap. The alternative is a suite of streaming services, but paying for multiple subscriptions — or even a live TV streaming service like DirecTV Stream — could also rival your cable bill. According to a July 2022 study from Parks Associates, roughly one-quarter of American households subscribe to nine or more streaming services, while 50% of us have at least four.

These days, you can sever the cord completely and solely use streaming services like Hulu, Disney Plus or YouTube TV. You can also keep satellite or cable TV as your main dish while subscribing to a couple of streaming platforms on the side. There’s also the option to watch 100% of what you want on cable TV only.

All those choices can quickly become overwhelming, but don’t worry. Here, we do the math to break down how you can save money in most parts of the US with the best combination of cable, streaming and internet. (You can also find out how much you can save shopping at Costco compared with a regular supermarket, and if it’s cheaper to buy Xbox Game Pass or individual games.)

Cable vs. streaming vs. live TV streaming

Service	Monthly cost
Basic cable TV and internet	$132
Premium cable TV and internet	$199
Basic streaming (no internet)	$33
Premium streaming (no internet)	$62
Live TV streaming and internet	$129
*Cable costs averaged over 6 cities
*Live TV streaming costs averaged over 5 services

How we did the math

To compare the price savings between streaming and cable, we started with monthly cable costs across a handful of US cities. While streaming service pricing is the same no matter where you live, we crunched numbers for major cable companies in New York, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Kansas and Maine. Here’s what we found using a representative provider from each city.

Monthly cable cost in 6 sample US cities*

	Internet Only	Basic TV + Internet	Premium TV + Internet
Grantville, Kansas (Cox)	$50	$149	$210
Atlanta, Georgia (AT&T/DirecTV)	$70	$162	$270
Houston, Texas (Xfinity)	$61	$91	$151
New York, New York (Fios)	$60	$135	$180
Portland, ME (Spectrum)	$76	$122	$195
San Francisco (Xfinity)	$83	$133	$189
Average	$67	$132	$199
*plus taxes and fees, rate may require automatic billing

If those numbers seem low at first sniff, that’s because they don’t include taxes and fees, which make up a significant part of monthly costs for cable. They differ based on location, equipment and service type (like regional sports networks), so it wasn’t possible to accurately include them in the prices above.

In our research however, we found taxes and fees can add between $30 and $50 to the monthly charge. Xfinity, for example, charges fees for broadcast TV (up to $25 per month) and regional sports (up to $19) and $5 for each additional Flex TV box. Verizon Fios charges for boxes ($6 each) and DVR service (another $12 and up) but doesn’t charge a broadcast TV fee. Spectrum charges monthly for broadcast TV ($21), a box and remote ($10), and DVR service (another $13 and up). Cox and DirecTV/AT&T charge similar fees, and with every provider local taxes will vary.

The tables above reflect the average cost after any promotional one-year or two-year pricing expires. Pricing also includes discounts for autopay and paperless billing, which is typically $10 across the board. Competition in metropolitan areas like New York can drive prices down versus places such as Portland, Maine, or rural Kansas, so you may be spending a little more or less based on what’s available.

Be aware that most internet plans available today should be fast enough to stream Netflix, even in 4K quality. The “slowest” budget plan we saw was 25Mbps (AT&T), but Netflix recommends a minimum of 5Mbps for 1080p or 15Mbps to get 4K. This means even the most basic connection should work fine if you only need to stream to one TV at a time. If you have a larger household, then a 50Mbps or even 100Mbps plan should be sufficient, and we found that most budget plans offered this.

Streaming only, without live TV, is the cheapest

The cheapest option? Get the least expensive internet plan you can and subscribe to Netflix, Disney Plus, Max and Hulu — separately or all together — and skip live TV.

Monthly streaming service costs compared

	Basic with Ads	Premium/Ad-Free
Netflix	$7	$15.50, $20
Hulu	$8	$15
Disney Plus	$8	$11
Max	$10	$16, $20

If you want the basic versions of all four services listed above, the total would amount to $33 per month. Add in the average cost of internet service ($67), and you’d pay $100 per month. That’s $32 less than the average cost of basic TV and internet ($132 from the table above).

Netflix with ads and Disney Plus with ads give subscribers more options too.

Want live TV? Streaming is still (usually) cheaper

If you want to have the cable TV experience without the fees and contracts, then live TV streaming is the next best thing. These services can offer a program guide, DVR and most of the familiar channels you’re used to with cable. They cost more than on-demand services like Netflix, however.

For the chart below we compared the average cable TV costs from the six cities above to those of the best live TV streaming services.

Cable vs. live TV streaming costs

	Internet	Basic TV	Total (Live TV + Internet)
Average cable	$67	$65	$132 (excludes fees, taxes)
Philo	$67	$25	$92
Sling TV	$67	$40	$107
YouTube TV	$67	$73	$140
Hulu Plus Live TV	$67	$70	$137
DirecTV Stream (with RSNs)	$67	$100	$167

You can immediately see that paying for internet alone is roughly the same price as a live TV streaming service such as Hulu with Live TV or YouTube TV, which just raised its price by $8 to $73 a month. If you pay $67 per month for internet and $70 for Hulu Live TV, that’s a total of $137. Stick with the cheaper Sling TV, which has a decent amount of cable channels, and the price drops to $107. You should also note that live services from Hulu and YouTube TV include unlimited DVR and don’t charge extra.

You may be able to find a customizable cable/internet bundle that costs between $105 and $125, or a cheaply priced standalone internet service. But as we mentioned above, once you factor in taxes and extra fees, live TV streaming usually comes out cheaper.

Some sports fans might actually save with cable

The final line in the chart above shows the cost of DirecTV Stream with internet actually costing more than cable, and that’s not a misprint. That service costs $100 per month for the Choice package, which includes regional sports networks, aka RSNs. These are networks that carry the majority of the NBA basketball, NHL hockey and (during the spring and summer) MLB baseball games for their local team. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels.

Because of rights agreements, most live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV don’t carry many RSNs. DirecTV Stream is the exception. It has nearly every RSN, particularly the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports) offered by Sinclair, but you’ll need to spring for the $100 plan. Another alternative is Bally’s Plus, a $20-per-month option that offers access to numerous RSNs, but you’d still need another live TV service to follow national games as well as NFL football.

Read more: Best Sports Streaming Service for 2023

Ultimately, depending on your location, getting a cable subscription that includes sports channels like ESPN, FS1, TNT and the local RSN, as well as local CBS, Fox and NBC stations for the NFL, might actually be cheaper and easier than streaming.

What are the benefits of a cable or satellite TV subscription?

Access to local news, live sports and network shows while they air is a trade-off some viewers aren’t willing to budge on. Streaming services offer some but not all of these options. Another benefit is you can save a few bucks if you bundle all your services with a phone plan. Providers like Verizon and AT&T offer additional discounts.

What are the pros of switching to a TV streaming service?

While streaming prices continue to increase, there are no taxes or hidden costs. You also don’t have to worry about fees for leasing equipment, contracts (unless you do an annual plan) or waiting (or paying) for the cable guy to come out for repairs or installation. You have the option to go commercial-free, and you’re not spending money on a bunch of channels you don’t want or watch. What else? Because you pay as you go on a monthly basis, there are no penalty fees for early cancellation and deactivation. You can watch content on demand with the ability to split costs for your account by sharing passwords. And that’s all without a credit check.

Which is the best for you?

If you want to save money, then the best thing to do is subscribe to the cheapest internet subscription you can and get a Netflix and/or Hulu subscription. You’re done. However, if you find you would miss live TV, then the cheapest option is adding Sling TV to that. Yet, even signing up for Hulu Plus Live TV and internet will cost less than a premium cable subscription and yield a similar number of channels. Not to mention the copious amount of on-demand content Hulu includes — which now also incorporates Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.

Unless you’re a sports fan who needs a local RSN or cares about streaming lag, the main potential downside to cutting the cord is one of convenience — especially if you’re a channel flipper — as you’ll now need to navigate apps rather than use the channel buttons on your remote. If you’re happy with your cable subscription then you may not need to even worry about cutting the cord, and saving money may be as easy as cutting out some of the packages you don’t use. You could always supplement it with a Hulu, Disney Plus or Netflix subscription too.

While the leap to cutting the cord may seem intimidating, it can still offer a cable TV experience if you want that, as well as saving you some decent money in the process. For more insight on money-saving home entertainment tips, check out our articles on rotating your streaming services, the best antennas and a media player comparison.

AirPods with USB-C charging will be announced during the Apple event next month, a report by Bloomberg said Tuesday.

It’s unclear whether the iPhone maker will be revealing a new generation of AirPods — Bloomberg described them as “updated AirPods” — or whether it’ll just be adding USB-C charging ports to the existing model of its earbuds.

The report aligns with rumors that popped up as early as March after Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a highly respected industry watcher, said USB-C compatible AirPods would likely be coming this year.

Nearly all of the Apple-owned Beats headphones now feature USB-C ports too.

Apple sent out invites Tuesday for its annual device event on Sept. 12, where we expect to see four models in the iPhone 15 lineup announced.

Apple’s Wonderlust event could also see announcements for services including Music, TV Plus, Fitness and iCloud, as well as another look at the upcoming AR/VR headset, the Apple Vision Pro.

The $3,499 Vision Pro headset was unveiled during WWDC in June and will begin being sold next year.

Apple’s “Wonderlust” event is set for Sept. 12, and the company’s invitation could be our first “official” clue hinting at the rumored iPhone 15. We’ve been collecting rumors about the gadget for months, but Apple sometimes drops an early hint about its September event into the invite. This doesn’t always mean there are true connections between what’s said and shown in the invitation and what actually emerges at the show, but the invite creates a jumping off point for discussing what we think Apple might spotlight.

Examining Apple’s ‘Wonderlust’ invite

Let’s start by thinking about the name: Wonderlust. With this tweak of “wanderlust,” Apple appears to be invoking a travel theme. And it’s no stretch to say phones are essential travel companions: We use them for photography, GPS, looking up where we want to eat — there are endless possible features that could be developed with just travel in mind.

Moving onto the invitation’s design, we get a disintegrating graphic that shows a blue-and-sand-colored Apple logo being blown apart by an invisible force — perhaps the wind? Or perhaps the pieces of the Apple logo are being pulled together via a magnetic attraction? Either way, an atmospheric element might be what we could extrapolate from this design choice, and phones by their very nature are wireless devices that create constant connections through the atmosphere.

(It’s also true that blue and gray have been iPhone colors in the past, and maybe this logo’s colors provide an early look at what a few of the iPhone 15 models might look like.)

I should reiterate that these thoughts are speculation, but they’re enough to warrant a closer look at how Apple could improve the iPhone 15. The following things all tie into the themes of travel and atmosphere, but they’re also areas in which Apple could demonstrate improvement where rival phones have already staked out territory, or they’re realms closely related to iOS 17 features we already learned about at Apple’s WWDC event.

Even more satellite communication

Tying into both travel and the atmosphere, Apple could make new announcements related to the satellite connectivity features first launched with the iPhone 14 line. Right now Apple’s efforts are focused on its Emergency SOS feature, which lets people with a clear view of the sky use the iPhone to text emergency services where cellular service isn’t available. The iPhone 14 line comes with two years of free emergency satellite service.

Though Apple kicked off bringing satellite service to phones, it won’t be alone for long. Qualcomm, Samsung and other companies have announced plans to bring their own spin to satellite connectivity, including voicing their intention to allow for nonemergency communication over those airwaves.

On this year’s stage, Apple could announce new improvements to its satellite connectivity features, perhaps allowing for an iMessage service while in the wilderness, or limited voice calls.

Faster wireless charging and more MagSafe

Apple’s MagSafe made a splash when it debuted alongside the iPhone 12 in 2020, very literally snapping separate objects together for enhanced wireless charging and stackable accessories. The particle effect in our Apple event invitation — whether it means the logo is being pulled together or apart — could indicate MagSafe as well as the wireless charging feature that MagSafe supports.

And if so, it’s about time. Apple has room to improve the iPhone’s wireless charging speeds, especially when compared with those of rival flagship Android phones. Currently, Apple supports 7.5-watt wireless charging speeds with a regular Qi wireless charger, and 15W speeds with an officially certified MagSafe charger. Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel 7 can wirelessly charge at 12W on a Qi charger with an extended power profile, and that bumps up to 20W when using Google’s Pixel Stand that has a built-in fan. Previous OnePlus phones can get 15W charging from Qi wireless chargers with an extended power profile, and a ludicrously fast 50W on their official stand, thanks to the use of a split battery. All this leaves a lot of room for growth for Apple, and matching Google’s speeds, at least, would be a solid step in making wireless charging more useful on the iPhone.

A new Qi2 wireless charging standard is in the works though, and Apple is a member of the Wireless Power Consortium that’s developing it. Whenever that standard is ready, that might lead to faster wireless charging speeds on future iPhone models.

Regardless of charging, there’s likely even more room to grow MagSafe into a modular accessory platform. Maybe Apple could create a MagSafe dock that instantly starts an AirPlay session with a TV. Or create an attachable projector like Motorola once tried with the Moto Z phone line. How about a portable HomePod speaker that snaps right onto your phone, similar to a number of magnetic speakers that already exist on Amazon? There’s still a lot of untapped potential for MagSafe.

NameDrop and new ways to share in person

Another atmospheric idea starts with an iOS 17 feature we already know: NameDrop. This feature lets you quickly share contact information with someone in person by bringing two iPhones together. But Apple could do so much more with local wireless sharing.

For instance, Apple already allows for sharing iPhone audio between two different sets of AirPods. What if this wireless sharing expanded SharePlay, allowing for simultaneously playing music and video across multiple phones at once — without being on a FaceTime call.

This could be instantly useful if you wanted to share a YouTube video with a friend without having to hand over your phone. Or if you wanted to create a quick surround-sound system by syncing five iPhones together to play music during a dinner party, since your phones are probably sitting on the table anyway.

These all could be natural extensions of other features we already know are on the way. For instance, FaceTime on Apple TV will use its own wireless magic to connect an iPhone’s camera and microphone for video calls. Why not think even bigger and let multiple iPhones share even more media, just by being right next to each other?

Using your camera to scan even more places

Returning to travel, Apple’s Visual Look Up is already capable of identifying landmarks, plants and pets, but you need to move over to the Photos app to take advantage of those features. Perhaps the next iPhone and iOS 17 could speed this, and let you start scanning these items directly from the camera app.

This would bring Visual Look Up into better parity with Google Lens, which quickly identifies items for you without the need to save them into your camera roll. Maybe you could scan a restaurant while you were standing in front of it, and then get its menu. Or scan a friend’s shirt, and then find it on sale to get it yourself. These scenarios are already possible with Google Lens, making this a very noticeable way for Apple to bring more features into its camera app.

Expanding safety features

When you travel in a vehicle, Apple’s new Crash Detection features could provide an essential lifeline in the event of an accident. As it stands, the feature can automatically contact emergency services should a supported iPhone or Apple Watch detect such an event. But perhaps Apple could augment this further by taking advantage of other sensors within the iPhone or a paired up Apple Watch to activate a heart rate sensor at the same time to provide a quick health check to the wearer.

Or maybe Apple could expand its Crash Detection feature so it shares your physical location with your emergency contacts. This could be similar to Apple’s new Check-In feature, which will proactively send alerts when friends or family make it home safely. And maybe it’s already worthwhile to expand this feature for emergency situations, like being unexpectedly taken to the hospital.

Other iPhone 15 rumors we’re watching

Though we don’t have any solid evidence that the above ideas are coming to the iPhone 15, these are all areas where Apple could improve.

The iPhone 15 rumor mill is a busy one though, and even without an invitation to pore over, we’re monitoring the possibility of a USB-C port arriving to replace Lightning, seeing if the new Dynamic Island will expand to every iPhone model after its debut on the iPhone 14 Pro, and wondering whether the iPhone 15 Pro will move toward solid-state volume and power buttons.

Whatever’s ultimately on the way to Apple’s iPhone 15, we’ll likely find out for sure when Apple’s event begins on Sept. 12.

Smartphone shipments are predicted to drop 4.7% globally this year, according to a new report from the International Data Corporation, which forecast 1.15 billion devices in 2023, the lowest volume in a decade.

In its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker data published Wednesday, IDC pointed to a weaker global economy and ongoing inflation as the cause for the drop. The 4.7% reduction is actually a downward revision of IDC’s original forecast of a 3.2% decline.

Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers team, said that while inventory levels have normalized, phone makers are still cautious and are “yet again kicking the recovery can down the road.”

Measuring the number of phones sent from vendors to retailers, shipment numbers are not an exact equivalent to sales figures, but they can point to industry trends.

And if fewer customers are getting new phones, Popal said, retailers will need to lean into incentives, promotions and flexible financing options.
There may be a silver lining, though.
“As consumers hold onto their devices longer, the bright side is they are willing to pay more,” Popal said. “Which will in turn help average selling prices to rise for the fourth consecutive year in 2023.”
The market intelligence firm also has rosier predictions for sales volume in 2024, forecasting 4.5% growth year-over-year.

Apple iPhone shipments to rise

Apple has weathered the slump considerably better than its competitors: While shipments of Androids are expected to decline 6% year over year, IDC expects shipments of the iPhone to actually increase by 1.1%, enabling iOS-driven devices to snag an all-time high market share of 19.9%.

“During a time when the entire market is struggling, it speaks volumes to once again see Apple going the opposite direction,” IDC vice president Ryan Reith said in a statement.

The iPhone 15 is expected to launch next month, which could help Apple snag the number one spot for global annual shipments for the first time.