Your weekly look at the world of smartphones and mobile technology, this is the Phone Buzz on Friday 27th August 2021.

Apple Headlines

• Mark Gurman has backed up claims that the iPhone 13 family will not feature TouchID, but does note that the next iteration (the presumptive iPhone 14 in 2022) will welcome’s back the technology with an under-screen fingerprint reader. In the meantime, it’s all about FaceID and trying to get rid of the notch as soon as is practical (Bloomberg via Forbes).
• A new zero-click hack of the iPhone has surfaced. Discovered by Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto it is based on the Pegasus exploits reported earlier this summer. The latter was addressed by the iOS 14.7.1 update, but new attack is reportedly unaffected by that fix (Forbes).
• The debate around Apple’s on-device scanning for CSAM material continues, as well as other areas where Apple is scanning. Like most cloud storage providers, data on Apple’s servers may be scanned. Ben Lovejoy has more (9to5Mac).
• If you ever wondered what Edward Snowdon thought of Apple’s plans to scan your own phone for materials on a ‘verboten’ list, good news (Edward Snowdon on Substack).
• Apple is making a clear delineation between the low-end M1 MacBook Pro and the upcoming M1X MacBook Pro. There’s no half measures in terms of keeping the biggest chip for the biggest screen. The M1X laptops will run the same chip configuration, so expect the 14-inch model to come with a bit of sticker shock compared to the higher specced Intel MacBook Pro (Tom’s Guide).
• As the world waits for the new laptops, Apple looks set to not only update the Mac mini to the next Apple Silicon system on chip (the aforementioned M1X) but to push the uprated specs by cancelling last year’s M1 Mac mini rather than keep two SKUs (Forbes).
• The Apple Watch continues to rule the smartwatch industry, with the user-base crossing 100 million in the year that saw the market grow 27 percent year on year (Counterpoint Research).
• How much would you pay to be Apples default search engine? Looking through the various company reports and financial projections, Bernstein analyst Toni Saccharidonaghi suggests Google is happy to pay $15 billion for the current financial year (Apple 3.0).

Android Headlines

• Following the official reveal of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 earlier this month, Samsung’s next iteration of the foldable phone – that I’d argue is a foldable tablet that transformers into a phone – the reviews are starting to appear. Dieter Bohn’s highlights the dichotomy inherent in the foldable (The Verge).
• One to note for future plans; two of Samsung’s divisions – Electronics and Biologics – are set to see over 40,000 new hires in the next three years. Sohee Kim reports (Bloomberg).
• OnePlus has built on the success of the OnePlus Buds and Buds-Z launched last year with this the OnePlus Buds Pro going on sale this week. They feature active noise cancellation, Zen mode air that takes you away to a calming audioscape, and up to 38 hours of battery life, for £140. I reviewed them this week to find out more (Forbes).
• Google, who you may recall now own Fitbit, has released the Fitbit Charge 5, the latest fitness tracker from the popular brandname. Arguably one of the chief competitors to the Apple Watch, the Charge  includes GPS tracking, NFC for payments, ECG, stress tracker, heart rate monitor, a bright and colourful OLED screen, and of course ‘much more’ (Tech Radar).
• Staying with Google, following the release of the Pixel 5a 5G last week (and the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro arrival), last year’s Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 have been cancelled. There may be some last minute stock clearances if you are looking for a bargain, but for everyone else you might want to look at the 5a 5G (although that’s a US and Japan limited release) or hold off for the Pixel 6’s global release later this year (Digital Trends).
• Xiaomi’s long-standing smartphone brand ‘Mi’ may be going away. Speaking to Mishaal Rahman, the Chinese multinational company will adopt the Xiaomi branding for future handsets (XDA Developers).
• Sixteen years ago, Google released Google Talk, its first messaging client. Since then there have been countless iterations, new products, sun-stetted standards, and more. Ron Amadeo looks at the curiously messy path and the problems behind Google’s messaging message (Ars Technica).

Mobile Tech Highlights

• This week saw an updated specification for the Qi wireless charging standard. v1.3 of the ubiquitous method of topping up your smartphone will allow, amongst other advantages, faster charging rates and product authentication to allow for improved safety as chargers and devices recognise each others needs and deliverables (Wireless Power Consortium).
• Next up tin the quarterly results is Xiaomi, reporting net income of $1.28 billion and revenue of $13.56; income up 80 percent and revenue up 64 percent year-on-year. Much of that can be attributed to rising share of smartphone sales around the world (Xiaomi).
•  Microsoft has promoted Panos Panay to Chief Product Officer, continuing the rise of the seventeen-year veteran responsible for much of the Surface hardware (Bloomberg).

And Finally…

• Netflix moving into video games is not the craziest of moves from an online company in the last month, but it does need a bit of explaining. Cue Matthew Ball’s look at the new horizons (Matthew Ball).

Ewan Spence

Ewan is the editor at Phone Buzz News. For over 30 years he has been covering the worlds of media and technology, from the early days of the first smartphone through to their essential role in today's society.