What to expect from Samsung’s August 10th Unpacked event

Samsung is holding its next Unpacked livestream on August 10th, and expectations are running high. The company has used previous summer events to introduce new foldable phones, smartwatches and earbuds, and the company has effectively confirmed a repea…

Apple might delay iPadOS 16 release until October

Apple tends to roll out its major software versions on a regular cadence, with iPhone and iPad updates usually dropping soon after its after its big annual hardware event in September. Things could be different this year, though. Bloomberg reports that Apple might delay iPadOS 16 by a month or so.

The main issue is said to be with the Stage Manager multitasking tool, which will only be available on M1-powered iPads. It allows users to resize windows and have them overlapping. However, those who tried the beta by and large found the feature buggy. 

“In its unfinished form, Stage Manager is a bit rough around the edges,” Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham wrote in his iPadOS 16 preview. “When I was using my iPad with an external display, the system crashed and threw me back to the home screen not infrequently, which obviously kills productivity gains. There are also quirks with apps behaving unpredictably when resizing their windows.”

Previous reports indicated that Apple has new iPads lined up for later this year, including a souped-up base model with a USB-C port and an M2-powered iPad Pro. Delaying iPadOS 16 could mean it emerges closer to the arrival of new tablets as well. Pushing back the iPadOS 16 release will also allow Apple to prioritize and polish iOS 16, as Bloomberg notes.

For what it’s worth, macOS Ventura also includes Stage Manager. In his preview of the operating system, Devindra Hardawar found that the feature was the standout addition. 

It’s expected that Apple will release macOS Ventura in October. Given that Apple has long been trying to pivot away from the perception of the iPad as a big iPhone and make it more of an all-purpose productivity device, rolling out iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura at the same time could send another subtle message about how the company is positioning its tablets.

OnePlus 10T review: Speed above all

When OnePlus does a mid-year refresh of its phones, typically you end up with a slightly snappier device with a handful of slight refinements. But with the new OnePlus 10T, it feels like a lot was sacrificed for the sake of going all-in on speed. Updat…

The Morning After: Uber receipts are crashing Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft has flagged a formatting bug that freezes Outlook whenever you open emails with complex tables, including, er, Uber receipts. The glitch is so powerful it even crashes Word, too. The problem was first noted in a standard release of Outlook, b…

Outlook Lite for Android brings Microsoft’s email app to budget phones

Microsoft quietly announced the launch of Outlook Lite for Android, a streamlined version of the company’s email service designed to use less battery and storage space than the default Outlook app without sacrificing features or performance.

Specifically, Microsoft says that Outlook Lite has all the main features of the Outlook experience neatly packed into a 5MB app that’s optimized for speed, even on lower-end Android devices. The company says the app was designed to run fast on devices with as little as 1GB of RAM, use less battery impact than the full app and offer good performance on older 2G and 3G networks.

That lower data, storage and battery impact is, of course, the point. And Microsoft isn’t alone: pared down, lightweight apps serve a huge market of users with budget devices on older networks. That’s why Google offers Android Go, a pared down version of the mobile OS designed specifically for lower-end phones, and why Meta has put so much effort into building small, but feature-rich versions of its Instagram and Facebook apps. You can find lightweight apps for Twitter, Tiktok and even Tinder. 

Like most lightweight apps, this one has its caveats. Microsoft’s new mail app doesn’t cut any major features to earn its ‘lite’ moniker, but it won’t work with as many email providers as the primary Outlook app. At present, Outlook Lite is only compatible with Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, MSN, Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange Online accounts. Likewise, the app is also only available in select countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela — though Microsoft says it may add support for more locations in the future.

Samsung and iFixit now offer self-repair parts and tools for Galaxy devices

It took nearly half a year, but Samsung’s self-repair program is finally available. The iFixit team-up helps you fix your Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21 or Galaxy Tab S7+ by purchasing officially sanctioned components and tools, complete with guides to walk you through the repair process. The initial selection is limited to screen and batteries, charging ports and back glass, with prices ranging between $67 (for a charging port on any model) to $227 (for a Tab S7+ display).

The kits include a free return label to help you ship the broken parts to Samsung for recycling. The self-repair program is limited to the US at present, but the companies expect to support more countries, devices and part repairs over time.

Samsung’s launch comes a few months after Apple’s. It’s at once better and worse. While Apple doesn’t yet offer self-repair kits beyond smartphones, it covers a wider array of components (such as cameras and SIM trays), and is more granular (you can even order screws by themselves). However, Samsung also doesn’t require that you rent or buy a separate toolkit, and doesn’t require a phone call to complete the repair process. Buy a part and you’ll have everything you need, in other words.

The self-repair option doesn’t currently cover the Galaxy S22 or Tab S8 families, and Samsung is keen to point its less DIY-oriented users toward regular repair providers. We’d add that this isn’t a strictly altruistic gesture — Samsung, Apple and others are facing pressure from federal and state officials who are either implementing or proposing right to repair rules. Vendors might not have much choice but to let you fix devices on your own terms.

Still, this could be an important move. If you’re reasonably comfortable with screwdrivers and spudgers, this gives you a way to lengthen the useful lifespan of a Samsung device without worrying about turnaround times or potentially expensive out-of-warranty repair costs. That, in turn, could reduce e-waste and offer more control over when you upgrade your mobile gear.

Discord’s overhauled Android app will shorten the wait for new features

Discord has begun rolling out an overhauled Android app that addresses one of the most consistent complaints with the software. If you follow the company, you’ve probably seen it often announce new features only to note they will launch on iOS and desk…

Apple’s 10.2-inch iPad is back on sale for $300 at Amazon

If you missed last month’s sale on the base iPad, you have another opportunity to pick up the tablet for less right now. Amazon knocked $30 off the 64GB, WiFi-only iPad, bringing it back down to a near record low of $300. At the time of writing this, b…

Apple’s App Store homepage will soon feature ads

Apple has famously bragged that it will never invade your privacy to serve ads, but it does have an ad business on its App Store and elsewhere. The company is now expanding that business by adding a new ad slot to its “Today” homepage tab and on indivi…