Navigate Apple’s lengthy iPhone product catalog like a pro. | Image: The Verge Whether you want a battery that lasts for days, the best deal, or a small form factor, we’ve got some recommendations for an iPhone you’ll love. Picking a new iPhone feels like it should be simple. But like so many other modern problems (have you tried simply choosing something to watch on TV lately — an impossible task) it’s a little more complicated than it seems. Counting previous models that are still hanging around, along with all the Pros and Pluses and Maxes, Apple currently sells eight different iPhone models on its website. Eight! It’s almost as confusing as trying to buy an iPad. But fear not;…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge When you read a review of a smartphone, you will usually be hit with a long list of screen specs: the display type, its dimensions and aspect ratio, its resolution in pixels, its HDR support (or lack of it), and its brightness, for example. Too often, it’s assumed that everyone understands the significance of each of these specs. So in this article, we’re going to focus on the basics of the refresh rate, which you’ll see in the specs of monitors and TVs as well. It tells you how many times the display is refreshed per second, typically measured in Hz (hertz). In other words, a 90Hz display refreshes itself 90 times a…

As outlined in a WWDC 2023 video, iOS 17 includes a new Cinematic API that enables developers to support Cinematic mode video playback and editing in third-party apps. "The Cinematic framework enables you to add professional-level editing and playback features to movies, recorded with the Camera app's Cinematic mode, to your apps," says Apple's developer documentation. "These are the same features used in applications such as Final Cut Pro, Photos, and iMovie. For example, this enables your apps to change focus distance and aperture in movies, creating a bokeh effect, even after recording." Apple offers Cinematic mode in the Camera app on iPhone 13 models and newer. Inspired by professional Hollywood films, the feature allows users to record video with…

In macOS Sonoma, coming this fall, Apple introduces Game Mode which automatically gives games top priority on the CPU and GPU of your Mac, lowering usage for background tasks. And it dramatically reduces latency with wireless accessories, like AirPods and your favorite controllers, for responsiveness you can feel. Apple also has a secret weapon for bringing PC games to Mac: DirectX 12 support. Christina Warren for Inverse: Buried in the [WWDC] keynote was a macOS feature that Apple should have called out with more fanfare: DirectX 12 support for macOS. As PC gamers already know, this software support means the floodgates are open for some real games — not that casual Apple Arcade stuff — on Mac. Maybe, just maybe,…

In macOS Sonoma, coming this fall, Apple introduces Game Mode which automatically gives games top priority on the CPU and GPU of your Mac, lowering usage for background tasks. And it dramatically reduces latency with wireless accessories, like AirPods and your favorite controllers, for responsiveness you can feel. Apple also has a secret weapon for bringing PC games to Mac: DirectX 12 support. Christina Warren for Inverse: Buried in the [WWDC] keynote was a macOS feature that Apple should have called out with more fanfare: DirectX 12 support for macOS. As PC gamers already know, this software support means the floodgates are open for some real games — not that casual Apple Arcade stuff — on Mac. Maybe, just maybe,…

Illustration by Samar Haddad for The Verge My smart home journey began, like so many others, with a poorly placed light switch. My partner and I had just bought our first house, and the switch that illuminated the kitchen was in the laundry room all the way on the other side, meaning we had to wander through darkness to get to it. I hated that light switch. So what to do? Well, I could spend a bunch of money I didn’t have to hire someone to move it, try to do it myself and accidentally burn my house down with a bad wiring job, or take the plunge on a smart home. I took the path of least resistance (that’s…