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Brazilian regulators have reached a settlement with Apple after a yearslong investigation into the company's App Store fee practices as well as its policies against third-party app stores. As first reported by Brazilian tech site tecnoblog, the nation's Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) said it has accepted Apple's proposed agreement that will address claims of anticompetitive practices. The agreement will allow for third-party payment processing methods for in-app purchases and reins in Apple's anti-steering efforts by allowing links to external websites for transactions. The settlement requires that these payment options be shown next to Apple's own. Apple must also allow third-party app stores to be installed on its devices, though the company is allowed to display warnings to users if they are written in a neutral and objective way. A new fee structure has also been agreed to, with Apple applying no fee if users are directed to outside payment methods in a text-only way. The use of a clickable link or button for an external payment option will incur a 15 percent fee. Purchases made within Apple's App Store will still be subject to a 10 percent or 20 percent commission. Developers using Apples payment system would also be subject to a 5 percent transaction fee. Additionally a 5 percent "Core Technology Fee" would be levied against all app downloads from third-party app stores. This new structure bears similarities to policy and fee changes made after the EU passed its Digital Markets Act, with Apple allowing third-party app stores and external purchases subject to varying fees. Apple will have 105 days to comply under the new agreement and could face fines of up to $27 million for failure to implement the changes. The iPhone maker has been facing mounting pressure from regulators worldwide over its anti-steering practices and was recently handed a $587 million fine by the EU for violating its Digital Markets Act. Apple is appealing the fine. In the US, Apple has been embroiled in a court battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games over commissions on purchases that take place on third-party payment platforms.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-will-allow-third-party-app-stores-and-payment-processing-in-brazil-135114824.html?src=rss
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Losing AirPods happens to the best of us. Theyre small, they slide into couch cushions and they love disappearing into bags or pockets when you least expect it. Luckily, Apples Find My system makes it easy to track down misplaced AirPods, whether you dropped the case somewhere or cant find one of the individual earbuds. With the right settings enabled, your iPhone can show the last place they were connected, play a sound to help you hunt them down or even guide you with on-screen directions. Heres how to use Find My to locate lost AirPods and how to track down the left or right earbud if only one has gone missing.How to use Find My to locate AirPodsIf your AirPods are paired with an Apple device linked to your Apple ID, they automatically appear in the Find My app. You dont need to enable this manually, but you do need Bluetooth turned on during regular use so the system can refresh their location.Open the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac and go to the Devices tab. Your AirPods should appear in the list. If theyre online or recently connected to your device, Find My will show their current location on a map. If theyre offline, the app will show the last place they were detected, which can help narrow down where to start searching.For many people, this alone is enough to jog a memory. Find My might show your gym, a friends house or the bus stop where they slipped out of your pocket. If the location seems familiar, head there first and refresh the app once you arrive so it can update if the AirPods reconnect.If Find My says your AirPods are nearby but you still cant see them, you can make them play a locating sound. Tap Play Sound in the device menu and the earbuds will emit a rising chirp that gets louder over a few seconds. This is especially helpful for finding AirPods hiding under blankets, inside bags or behind furniture.Keep in mind that AirPods need enough battery to make noise, and the charging case itself cannot play sound unless you have AirPods 4 (ANC), AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3 that support that feature. If nothing plays, try refreshing the app or checking the last location again.AirPods models, like the AirPods Pro (2nd gen) and AirPods Pro (3rd gen) with MagSafe charging cases support Precision Finding. This feature uses the U1 chip inside your iPhone to show a directional arrow, distance estimate and haptic feedback as you get closer. Not all models have this feature, but if yours do, the Find My app will display a Find Nearby button.Follow the on-screen prompts and slowly rotate your phone. The iPhone will show when youre walking in the right direction and tell you when youre close enough to start looking under cushions or inside drawers.How to locate individual AirPodsAirPods have a habit of separating from each other, and losing only the left or right earbud may happen as frequently as misplacing the entire case. One of the most useful features in Find My is the ability to track each earbud individually. Heres how to do it:Locate your AirPods in the Find My app and select the option to locate the Left or Right earbud.Select the earbud thats missing. The map will update to show its location. If the missing bud has nearby location support, you can use Find Nearby to get directional guidance. If not, you can still use Play Sound, as long as it has enough battery.If Find My shows your lost earbud as Offline, youll still see its last known location. This can be enough to help you retrace your steps. Once you get within Bluetooth range again, the status may change to Online and let you use Play Sound.If you think the earbud is still somewhere in your home, try refreshing Find My while walking slowly from room to room. The device may reconnect once you get close enough.How to find a missing AirPods caseFinding the AirPods case is a little trickier because only newer models have support for sound playback or Precision Finding. If your case supports Find My, youll see options similar to locating the earbuds themselves. If it doesnt, the app will only show the last place the case was connected.If your earbuds are in the case but the case is not supported by Find My, you may not be able to play sound until you open it or pull one of the earbuds out.Find My is a powerful tool for tracking down misplaced AirPods, and knowing how to use all of its features makes the search much easier. Whether youre trying to find the entire set, one stray earbud or a case that wandered off, the app can lead you back to them with sound alerts, location markers and even directional guidance on supported models. With a few minutes of searching, youll usually have your AirPods back in your ears and your music playing again.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-find-lost-airpods-120000144.html?src=rss
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Xiaomi just launched its flagship 17 Ultra by Leica phone that may make you feel bad about your current device's cameras. Naturally it's a spec monster, with a 1-inch sensor 50MP f/1.67 main camera and 1/1.4-inch 200MP periscope telephoto camera. But it also offers an interesting new mechanical feature: a manual zoom ring that also activates the camera automatically when you rotate it. Both the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Leica edition come with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage, along with a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display that can hit up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness. On top of the impressive main and telephoto lenses, they also offer a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP selfie camera. And battery life shouldn't be an issue, thanks to the 6,800mAh silicon-carbon battery that supports 90 watt wired and 50 watt wireless charging. Xiaomi The 17 Ultra by Leica adds some very, well Leica touches. Those include a two-tone finish, red dot status symbol on front, textured edges and film simulations like Leica's Monopan 50 black and white. As for the zoom ring, Xiaomi says "its rotation [eliminates] the need for tedious screen taps... and can detect displacements as small as 0.03mm." It can also be reprogrammed for functions like exposure compensation and manual focus. Other features unique to that model include a "Leica Moments" 3:2 aspect ratio, special encryption chip, and dual-satellite connection. And as befits a special edition, it comes in a custom box with a lens cap, lanyard, magnetic case and branded cleaning cloth. The one caveat is the price. Where phones for the Chinese market are often cheaper than North American models, Xiaomi's 17 Ultra by Leica and the regular 17 Ultra start at CNY 7,999 ($1,140) and CNY 6,999 ($995) respectively with 512GB or storage and 16GB of RAM right up there with the latest high-end Pixel 10 and Galaxy 25 models. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/xiaomis-17-ultra-leica-edition-smartphone-comes-with-a-manual-zoom-ring-093502893.html?src=rss
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