Category Archives: Smartphones

Stop children using smartphones until they are 13, says French report

Posted on by

Children should be banned from most social media until 18 amid attempts to ‘monetise’ them, says Macron-commissioned study

Children should not be allowed to use smartphones until they are 13 and should be banned from accessing conventional social media such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat until they are 18, according to a report by experts commissioned by Emmanuel Macron.

The French president had asked scientists and experts to suggest screen use guidelines for children with a view to France taking unprecedented steps on limiting their exposure. It was unclear how the government might now proceed after the report’s publication. Macron said in January: “There might be bans, there might be restrictions.”

Continue reading...

Restaurant in Italy offers free bottles of wine to customers who hand in phones

Posted on by

Owner of Al Condominio in Verona says response to the initiative during meals has been very positive

An Italian restaurant is offering a free bottle of wine to customers who relinquish their mobile phones during meals.

Angelo Lella, the owner of Al Condominio, a restaurant that opened in the northern city of Verona in March, said the aim was to encourage diners chat to each other instead of constantly glancing at their phones.

Continue reading...

Huawei shrugs off US sanctions with fastest growth in four years

Posted on by

Revenue at Chinese telecom rose 10% as net profit more than doubles

Chinese telecoms firm Huawei grew faster in 2023 than it has for four years, as it shrugged off the impact of US sanctions.

Revenues rose by nearly 10% to 704.2bn yuan (£77bn) as the Shenzhen-based company enjoyed a rebound within its consumer segment, which includes smartphone handsets.

Continue reading...

Fighting the smartphone ‘invasion’: the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public

Posted on by

Seine-Port is introducing restrictions on phone use in streets, shops and parks – but young people say there’s little else to do

A picture of a smartphone with a red line through it serves as a warning in the window of a hairdresser’s shop in a French village that has voted to ban people scrolling on their phones in public. “Everyone is struggling with too much screen time,” said Ludivine, a cardiology nurse, as she had her hair cut into a bob, leaving her phone out of sight in her bag. “I voted in favour, this could be a solution.”

Seine-Port, in the Seine-et-Marne area south of Paris, with a population of fewer than 2,000 people, last weekend voted yes in a referendum to restrict smartphone use in public, banning adults and children from scrolling on their devices while walking down the street, while sitting with others on a park bench, while in shops, cafes or eating in restaurants and while parents wait for their children in front of the school gates. Those who might check their phone’s map when lost are instead being encouraged to ask for directions.

Continue reading...

China launches tax investigations into Apple iPhone maker Foxconn

Posted on by

Tax audits and land use inquiries follow company founder announcing run for Taiwan presidency

China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections.

Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media.

Continue reading...

France halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation exposure levels

Posted on by

Apple disputing tests by watchdog that showed radio frequency exposure was higher than permitted

Apple is facing a ban on the sale and potential recall of its iPhone 12 in France, as the US company contests a report that the smartphone exceeds radio frequency exposure limits by the nation’s regulator.

Apple said on Wednesday its iPhone 12 was certified by multiple international bodies as compliant with global radiation standards, disputing tests by the French ANFR watchdog that said the model emits more electromagnetic waves susceptible to be absorbed by the body than permitted.

Continue reading...

China reportedly extends iPhone ban to more workers as tensions with US rise

Posted on by

Apple shares fall as local government and state-owned firms latest to face restrictions on devices at work

China’s government has reportedly expanded its ban of iPhones to local government workers and state-owned companies, a day after it emerged central government employees were forbidden from bringing the devices to work.

Several agencies had begun instructing employees not to bring iPhones to work and the ban was expected to be further extended, Bloomberg reported. Nikkei reported at least one state-owned company had told its employees that anyone working with trade secrets could not bring their iPhones, Apple Watches or AirPods into work from next month.

Continue reading...

‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools

Posted on by

Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in six countries already banning the devices

Smartphones should be banned from schools to tackle classroom disruption, improve learning and help protect children from cyberbullying, a UN report has recommended.

Unesco, the UN’s education, science and culture agency, said there was evidence that excessive mobile phone use was linked to reduced educational performance and that high levels of screen time had a negative effect on children’s emotional stability.

Continue reading...

First-generation Apple iPhone sells at auction in US for $190,000

Posted on by

Device launched by Steve Jobs in 2007 with promise to ‘reinvent the phone’ sells for 300 times original price

A 2007 Apple iPhone has been sold at auction for $190,372.80 (£145,416) – 300 times its original sale price.

The 4GB model , originally bought for $599, was still in its factory wrapping and was in exceptional condition, the auction listing said. The auctioneer LCG Auctions described the device as a “popular high-end collectible” and “exceedingly rare”.

Continue reading...

‘Much easier to say no’: Irish town unites in smartphone ban for young children

Posted on by

Parents and schools across Greystones adopt voluntary ‘no-smartphone code’ in bid to curb peer pressure

On the principle of strength in numbers, parents in the Irish town of Greystones have banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school.

Parents’ associations across the district’s eight primary schools have adopted a no-smartphone code to present a united front against children’s lobbying.

Continue reading...

Emergency alert test UK: phone alarm sounds early for some users but others don’t receive it – live updates

Posted on by

At 3pm BST, every phone in Britain was due to receive a loud alarm as a test for future emergencies

Boston-based Everbridge is one of the companies providing the technology behind today’s alert. Lorenzo Marchetti, the company’s public affairs manager, explained the requirements of any such system:

A public alerting system should encompass three key elements– communication, synchronisation and analysis of data. For example, information might come from a weather forecast, a traffic report or through social media. Analysis of this data gives authorities a broad picture of what could occur and allows them to communicate and synchronise their actions. They can then disseminate this across specific locations or to an entire nation while ensuring that they reach the targeted people in the area. This means that effective public warning platforms can integrate several delivery methods such as radio or TVs, depending on the context of the deployment, in addition to the cell broadcast capacity.

Emergency alerts don’t just benefit citizens but are also essential for giving information and directions to the emergency services, helping them understand where to go and how to direct people away from danger.

If you are concerned you could:

Avoid wearing headphones during the test

Continue reading...

Experts warn of new spyware threat targeting journalists and political figures

Posted on by

Citizen Lab says victims’ phones infected after being sent a iCloud calendar invitation in a ‘zero-click’ attack

Security experts have warned about the emergence of previously unknown spyware with hacking capabilities comparable to NSO Group’s Pegasus that has already been used by clients to target journalists, political opposition figures and an employee of an NGO.

Researchers at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School said the spyware, which is made by an Israeli company called QuaDream, infected some victims’ phones by sending an iCloud calendar invitation to mobile users from operators of the spyware, who are likely to be government clients. Victims were not notified of the calendar invitations because they were sent for events logged in the past, making them invisible to the targets of the hacking. Such attacks are known as “zero-click” because users of the mobile phone do not have to click on any malicious link or take any action in order to be infected.

Continue reading...

Supply fears as China lockdown hits world’s largest iPhone factory

Posted on by

Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, from which many workers have fled, now under seven-day Covid lockdown

Chinese authorities have announced a seven-day coronavirus lockdown in the area around the world’s largest iPhone factory, stoking concern that production will be severely curtailed ahead of the Christmas period.

Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, which employs about 200,000 people, produces the majority of Apple’s new phones, including the new iPhone 14.

Continue reading...

Apple shifts some iPhone 14 production from China to India

Posted on by

Move taken against background of China’s Covid lockdowns and geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington

Apple has begun making iPhone 14s in India, as it moves some production away from China for the first time against a backdrop of Chinese Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and geopolitical tensions between the US and the country’s communist government.

A production line in Chennai has begun operation, assembling the iPhone 14 for the domestic Indian market. The move, which marks the first time the company has assembled iPhones outside of China in the same year they were released, is part of a plan to disentangle its manufacturing operations from the Chinese state.

Continue reading...

Kosher phone dispute grips ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb

Posted on by

An opaque council controls smartphone access for Israel’s Haredim population, but many are making forays online anyway

Tel Aviv’s booming science and technology industry, bolstered by graduates of elite army intelligence units, has earned Israel the nickname “start-up nation”.

Yet in Bnei Brak, an ultra-Orthodox suburb just a few miles east of Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers, a vicious fight is being waged over whether smartphones are compatible with traditional Jewish law, and who should have the power to decide on internet access.

Continue reading...

Claim for £750m against Apple launched alleging battery ‘throttling’

Posted on by

Consumer champion Justin Gutmann alleges older iPhones made slower to cope with software updates

A consumer champion has launched a more than £750m legal claim against Apple, linked to an incident in 2017 relating to a power management tool on older iPhones.

Justin Gutmann has accused the tech giant of slowing down the performance of iPhone handsets – a process known as “throttling” – by hiding a power management tool in software updates to combat performance issues and stop older devices from shutting down suddenly.

Continue reading...

US scientists develop cheap smartphone-based test kit for Covid

Posted on by

Doing a test with new technique could cost a 10th of a PCR and has been as reliable in small-scale trial

Scientists have developed a highly sensitive Covid test that relies only on low-tech kit and a smartphone, which could be used as a quicker, cheaper alternative to PCR testing.

The team behind the 25-minute saliva test say it provides a highly reliable platform for testing in the workplace or at home. It requires a basic lab kit that includes a cardboard box, a small hot plate and LED light that can be produced for less than £75. The cost of running a test, including the reagents, is about a 10th of a PCR test and is also cheaper than a lateral flow test. The team’s findings are published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Continue reading...

Israeli citizens targeted by police using Pegasus spyware, report claims

Posted on by

Investigation alleges Israeli police carried out phone intercepts without court supervision or monitoring of how data was used

The Israeli police allegedly conducted warrantless phone intercepts of Israeli citizens, including politicians and activists, using the NSO group’s controversial Pegasus spyware, according to an investigation by the Israeli business media site Calcalist.

Among those described as having been targets in the report were local mayors, leaders of political protests against the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former government employees.

Continue reading...

Ten ways to take control of your smartphone

Posted on by

Overwhelmed by messages, notifications and distractions? You can reclaim your focus without a full digital detox

Are you in control of your smartphone or is it in control of you? Sometimes it is difficult to tell. One minute you might be using FaceTime to chat with loved ones or talking about your favourite TV show on Twitter. Next, you’re stuck in a TikTok “scroll hole” or tapping your 29th email notification of the day and no longer able to focus on anything else.

We often feel like we can’t pull ourselves away from our devices. As various psychologists and Silicon Valley whistleblowers have stated, that is by design.

Becca Caddy is the author of Screen Time: How to Make Peace With Your Devices and Find Your Techquilibrium (Blink, £14.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply

Continue reading...

‘I wanted the focus to be on their smiles’: Brunel Johnson’s best phone picture

Posted on by

The London-born photographer on his image of Gambian football fans

There’s a strong Premier League following in the Gambia: just like Brunel Johnson, 14-year-old Musa is an Arsenal fan. The London-born photographer was on his way to lunch when he noticed the teen, in his favourite football shirt, huddled with friends. They were on the grounds of Spot Academy, watching game highlights on one of the older kids’ phones.

Brunel had been living alongside the boys for two weeks, documenting the work of the charity, which serves as a community school while providing boarding places for orphans. He’d left his digital camera in his room and knew the moment would pass if he went back for it. So he reached for his iPhone. The photograph’s angle was a spur-of-the-moment decision, chosen simply to fit as many faces in as possible; he added the black and white “Noir” filter later.

Continue reading...