Photo Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Bad news: flagship phones cost a small fortune these days. Good news: we can help you pick the right one and get the most for your money. Modern flagship smartphones are little engineering marvels. And they should be, since they start around $800 and can cost well over $1,000. They tend to last upwards of four or five years, so the high cost is a little easier to swallow, but it’s still a major purchase for most of us. To make sure you get the most for your investment, we’ve picked out the best of the best. The phones highlighted below may be pricey, but they deliver excellent daily performance and great…

At WWDC in June, Apple is expected to announce its highly-anticipated headset with virtual reality and augmented reality features. Alongside the actual hardware for the so-called “Reality Pro” headset, however, Apple will also announce the product’s underlying software platform. This software will reportedly be called xrOS, and it marks Apple’s first major new software platform since it unveiled watchOS for the Apple Watch. xrOS will include a number of revolutionary features for the Reality Pro headset, such as immersive media consumption, macOS integration, and more. more… The post xrOS for Apple’s Reality Pro headset: Apps, features, and more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

At WWDC in June, Apple is expected to announce its highly anticipated headset with virtual reality and augmented reality features. Alongside the actual hardware for the so-called “Reality Pro” headset, however, Apple will also announce the product’s underlying software platform. This software will reportedly be called xrOS, and it marks Apple’s first major new software platform since it unveiled watchOS for the Apple Watch. xrOS will include a number of revolutionary features for the Reality Pro headset, such as immersive media consumption, macOS integration, and more. more… The post xrOS for Apple’s Reality Pro headset: Apps, features, and more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Macworld If there’s one persistent rumor about Apple’s upcoming AR headset, it’s the very high price tag. Ever since we started hearing about it, reports have pegged the MSRP at $3,000 or higher, which would make it one of the most expensive non-Mac devices in Apple’s history. However, a new report suggests that while it wont be cheap, the actual price might be significantly lower than reported. As reported by XRDailyNews, Apple’s headset will cost approximately $1,500 to manufacture, which includes several high-end components that are more than $150 each. The total cost was corroborated by multiple supply-chain sources in China, though the site notes that some terms “might not directly correspond to their conventional meanings.” Dual M2 processors: $120-$140Two micro…

The iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 betas that Apple released today appear to include iMessage Contact Key Verification, though it is not yet clear if the feature is functional in the first beta. There is an iMessage Contact Key Verification setting available in the Settings app, but tapping it does not appear to activate any actual feature. It may require additional settings to be on such as Security Keys, or it may not yet be fully implemented. Announced late last year, iMessage Contact Key Verification is designed for Apple users who are facing "extraordinary digital threats." Apple intends for iMessage Contact Key Verification to be used by journalists, human rights activists, government officials, and others who are in danger of…

My deep purple iPhone is deeply disappointing. Here it is next to some purple items within arm’s reach of my desk. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge I go through color phases — pink when I was little, forest green throughout high school and college, and teal throughout my 20s. There was a dalliance with mint green (or sage, as Google calls it; it’s mint, okay?), but we don’t speak of that dark time. But once I bought the lavender Beats Fit Pro last year, I entered my purple era. So you can see why I was stoked when Apple announced that the iPhone 14 Pro lineup would come in purple. Sorry, deep purple. My iPhone 12 Pro…