Mobile Technology

See powerful magnets crush a $10,000 gold Apple Watch

A couple of fist-sized neodymium magnets put the squeeze on an expensive Apple Watch for a memorable torture-test video.

There's a hidden part of human nature that revels in a bit of wanton destruction. The average person may occasionally host a fleeting thought along the lines of "What would it feel like to try to destroy something really expensive?"

YouTube user TechJax actually acts on this urge -- with a $10,000 Apple Watch.

TechJax wasn't content to just drop it or run over it with a car. He went for the gusto and hatched a tortuous stress test involving two extremely powerful neodymium magnets. You can guess what happens when a $10,000 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition gets in between a couple of super magnets that can't wait to connect with each other.

TechJax calculates the two magnets combined to exert 650 pounds of force on the unsuspecting watch. The magnets come together with a satisfying click and crunch, sandwiching the watch in the middle. The slo-mo replay shows sparks flying from the force of the impact.

The results are a mix of the expected along with a few surprises. The watch screen is nearly decapitated from the body, but the gold comes out with nary a scratch. It even takes a charge when hooked up to its cord. Despite these minor triumphs, this falls into the "don't try this at home" category. Those magnets are beasts.

This isn't the first gadget to face destruction at the hands of TechJax. The occasional Android device goes under a hammer or gets a drop test, but the most enthusiasm is reserved for Apple devices. The iPhone 6 is boiled in Coca-Cola, baked inside a turkey for hours and buried in snow to test its mettle. Based on all that, the Apple Watch got off easy.

Microsoft Moonraker is the Nokia smartwatch we almost got

If you were wondering what Nokia's take on a smartwatch would have been, take a look at the Microsoft Moonraker, a cancelled watch that attempted to bring in some of Windows Phone's style. Microsoft nixed it when it acquired Nokia's phone arm, The Vergereports, but now we've got an idea of what it looks like thanks to Microsoft designer Pei-Chi Hsieh, who posted it on their (now deleted) Tumblr blog. Noted leakhound (and former Engadget editor) Evan Blass first unearthed the image, which shows a multicolored smartwatch design with slightly rounded corners. From afar, it doesn't look that much different than the Apple Watch, funny enough. Sources say Microsoft dumped the Moonraker project because it was working on the ill-fated Band wearable.

While the Band was stuffed full of sensors, the Moonraker watch was all about doing more traditional smartwatch tasks. It had phone, email and messaging apps, and it could also remotely activate the camera on your Windows Phone. There was also a variety of other software integration, like Facebook and MixRadio. While Moonraker looks intriguing, at the end of the day it basically does what most other smartwatches do, so it was probably smarter for Microsoft to devote its energy to something truly different. We just wish we got something more than the clunky Band.

HTC's new pixel-desity champ is the ONE ME

Oh, HTC, we're starting to lose track of all your tempting Asia-only models. The Taiwanese company has just revealed the One ME, which is basically an M9+ with less metal and no Duo camera (as rumored). We understand if you're having trouble keeping up, so here are the boilerplate specs. The ME has a polycarbonate body with a metal frame like the 5.5-inch E9+, but with a smaller 5.2-inch Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) screen for a stunning 565 ppi -- making it HTC's sharpest phone to date. The CPU is a MediaTek Helio X10 eight-core job running at 2.2GHz with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage expandable to 2TB via microSDXC.

Other specs include dual-SIMs, a fingerprint sensor, a 2,840mAh battery, HTC's Sense flavor of Android and 20-megapixel (non-Duo) rear/Ultrapixel front cameras. That rather great-sounding model now joins the 5-inch HTC One M9, the 5.2-inch M9+, and the 5.5-inch E9 and E9+ models in HTC's stable of thoroughbred devices, making it hard to pick a single "flagship." There's no word on pricing or availability yet, but chances are this One won't come to North America either.

2015 15-Inch Mac Book Pro with Retina Display Review

Apple released a brand new version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display just a few weeks prior to its big annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and we took it for a spin.

 The updated machine gets super fast flash storage, as well as the new Force Touch trackpad, an improved dedicated GPU and an extra hour of battery life. It didn’t get new processors, but in practice, it’s still a worthwhile upgrade for those who need the might and screen real estate of a larger laptop.

Basics

• 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor
• 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM
• 512GB of PCIe-based flash storage
• Intel Iris Pro and AMD Radeon R9M370X w/ 2GB of RAM graphics cards
• 15.4-inch 2880 x 1800 Retina display
• MSRP: $2,499 as tested
• Product info page

Pros

• New flash storage speeds things up considerably
• Force Touch trackpad is especially useful for pro creative tasks

Cons

• Same processor as last year’s model

Design

The Retina MacBook Pro is, at this stage, a true design classic. When it first debuted, it was a marvel of engineering in terms of Apple’s ability to fit a machine with professional caliber specs into a package that is remarkably portable; three years later, the industrial design of the product is emblematic of craft, if somewhat easier to take for granted since it’s been around for some time.

As Apple’s largest current laptop, the 15-inch Retina MBP isn’t going to work for everyone – it’s also the heaviest at just under four and a half pounds. The trade-offs of size and weight for exceptional display quality, plus ample screen real estate, as well as long-lasting battery life and improved graphical power vs. other models are easy pills to swallow for people who need those features, however.

This computer remains my favorite road warrior in terms of actually getting stuff done; the larger footprint isn’t optimal for things like working on an airplane, where larger passengers like me, combined with people who recline their seats (ban reclining seats by the way) can equal preciously little room for opening the lid of a larger laptop. But when you install yourself at a desk wherever you happen to land, you’ll value the extra screen space, especially if you work in a creative field or coding capacity.

Google Maps delivers destination info, voice directions while offline

Sometimes you still need navigation and destination info when you're offline. Google is delivering just that with offline Maps. Even when you're not connected (or in airplane mode), the app will still provide information on places in your searches. This means that you can browse hours, reviews and other important details for places like museums and restaurants. What's more, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation is included as well formaps that you've saved for offline use. Unfortunately, there's no word on when the new tools will arrive other than a vague "later this year."

Don't miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.

Apple could give old iPhones and iPads new life with iOS 9

The next versions of iOS and OS X are supposed to focus on performance and stability instead of new features, and that focus on performance could extend all the way back to devices that Apple released three and four years ago. According to 9to5Mac, a focus of iOS 9 has been optimizing the OS for old devices, including the iPhone 4S and iPad mini, neither of which handles iOS 8 very well. That'd be a change for Apple, which typically drops support for devices once they get that old. Apple is reported to have built a "core version" of iOS 9 that's designed for these older devices. They will reportedly run that instead of receiving the OS as it's optimized for Apple's newest hardware.

THE IPHONE 4S AND IPAD MINI COULD BE IN BETTER SHAPE THAN THEY ARE NOW

That would be an important change for iOS. Apple has increasingly been encouraging people to buy older phones, like the widely advertised iPhone 5C, and this should help those devices stay in good shape. If the newest versions of iOS don't run smoothly on the 5C — which is certainly a risk — people are going to have a worse time with the phone and be less likely to buy from Apple again. That could help Apple in emerging markets, where in the past it's kept old devices around for longer. It's also meaningful for anyone who buys an iPad mini. They're still on sale, even though they aren't doing too well on performance.

In a wide-ranging article on the changes coming to iOS and OS X this year, 9to5Macreports on a number of other possible new features. For the most part, those focus on security. The major addition is reported to be a feature called "Rootless," which is meant to defend from malware and keep data safe by preventing access to important parts of an OS. The feature can reportedly be disabled on OS X but not on iOS. The change is also supposed to make it much harder to jailbreak an iPhone or iPad. Additional security features are reported to include transitioning more apps over to iCloud Drive, which should enhance their encryption, and using better encryption when on an unfamiliar Wi-Fi network.

As for OS X, 9to5Mac reports that it could receive an iOS-like Control Center that offers quick access to frequently used controls. Other than that, feature additions are supposed to be limited, with the focus on stability and continuing to retouch the interface. Apple should begin detailing what's coming this year at an event next month, on June 8th, so it won't be long until we learn a lot more about its plans.

Apple Working on Fix for Bug That Crashes iPhones With Text Message

Apple is working on a fix for a bug in iOS that makes it possible to crash an iPhone and reportedly iPads and Apple Watches simply by sending the device a specific text message. The bug appears to be in the way iOS 8 handles the display of notifications that contain Arabic characters, and for some reason a certain string of them causes devices to choke on the data and restart immediately. It was first discovered by users on Reddit, who also report that the fatal character string crashes the phone whether it appears through notifications for Twitter, WhatsApp and any other apps that send received messages to your notifications.

"We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update," an Apple spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement to CNBC.

In the meantime, if you're worried about prankster friends hearing about this bug and blowing up your phone until the fix comes out, you can protect against the bug by disabling notifications for your messaging apps. It's not ideal, since you'll have to check manually whether you have any new texts or tweets, but it's better than having your phone shut down in the middle of an important call.

Apple offers a quick workaround for nasty iOS messaging bug

We already know Apple is working on a fix for a recently discovered texting bug that can render your Messages app useless (and in some cases even reboot your phone), but now there's a faster solution for anyone affected. You just need to use Siri to read your unread messages and send a dictated reply, according to a support document Apple posted yesterday. After that, you'll be able to open the Messages app once again and delete the malicious thread. The messaging bug was originally uncovered by Reddit users, and it involves sending a note with a series of Unicode characters through any iPhone messaging app. Of course, this workaround is only a fix for people who already received one of the tainted messages -- you'll have to turn off notification previews for apps if you want to stay completely safe. It's unclear when Apple will deliver an update to solve the issue, but given how easy the bug is to exploit, we figure it's coming soon.

Android M News: Google Adding Native Fingerprint Support

Want to login in your Gmail account with one touch of your finger or access your apps with simple fingerprint authentication in your Android phone? Now competing with Apple iOS software and apps, Google may also announce the same native fingerprint support in its new version Android M.

Google I/O conference still have four more days to start but rumors and reports of different sources are making me excited. Every App developer is waiting for the new security developments announcements for Android. In the excitement, a new report according to Buzzfeed also created a big fuzz which states that “Google adding fingerprint authentication to next version of Android”.

Android M may contain this new fingerprint authentication feature which will allow users to get more security of password than PIN code or pattern. Even though companies like Samsung, Motorola and Apple already have this technology, a Google-standardized API would further strengthen the Android ecosystem as many Google apps would support it.

According to the commits of last year, Google was working on the setup and enrollment process of a fingerprint lock screen, and a “service to manage multiple clients that want to access the fingerprint HAL API” which directly indicates that you can easily have access to your apps with one touch of your finger. So hypothetically this means that you could authenticate Android Pay or a Play Store purchase with a fingerprint.

Google was working on a native solution for this fingerprint access of apps in Android for a long time as confirmed by Dennis Woodside, Motorola’s ex-CEO. He also added that Nexus 6 had the dimple on the back was solely meant for a fingerprint scanner, but that was ruined because Apple took away only fingerprint-authentication company AuthenTec’s features off the market at that time.

Apart from the native fingerprint support, the Android M may come with better privacy packed apps with choosable app-specific permissions, enhanced version of Google Hangout, Samsung-like multi-window and split screen support. Google will be releasing Android Pay, which will have resemblance with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. This also means that the predecessor, Google Wallet, may be put to rest.

Last but not the least, the report also added that Google Chrome could also allow users to sign into the websites with just a fingerprint and alongside, would make Android Pay authentication much more secure.

Microsoft unveils Cortana voice assistant for Android and iPhone

Yes, it's official: Microsoft is bringing Windows' Cortana voice assistant to Android and iPhone. Both platforms will get a dedicated app that, much like you see on Windows Phone today, will let you dictate reminders, track flights and otherwise keep your life organized. Cortana's Notebook, which remembers what you like, will also sync across all your platforms. This won't be a one-for-one recreation of what you get right now, though -- since Microsoft can't tap directly into the operating system like it can on Windows devices, you won't get hands-free activation through "hey Cortana" or options to launch apps or settings. Still, it'll be worth seeing what this Halo-inspired helper can do when it reaches Android in late June, and iPhones sometime later this year -- and we'd add that it's not the only treat Microsoft has in store for your smartphone, either.

The Redmond crew is also unveiling Phone Companion, a Windows 10 app (due in the OS preview within a few weeks) that helps you sync your Android, iOS or Windows handset with your PC. It'll mostly entail loading apps for Microsoft's services if you're using non-Windows hardware, but it should take the challenge out of accessing your computer's content when you're on the road. And yes, this includes music on all platforms. The company is promising an updated version of Xbox Music for Android and iOS that, like on Windows, will stream your OneDrive music for free. This doesn't arrive in beta form until July, but it'll be worthwhile if you thrive in Microsoft's ecosystem.

The text you never want to get on your iPhone

A nasty computer bug in Apple's iOS allows anyone who sends an iPhone a certain text message to shut it down.

The worst part? You don't even need to open the text message. Your device just needs to receive it.

That means anyone can pull off this prank -- and anyone whose mobile number is known by someone else is susceptible.

The nonsensical message includes two English words, a string of Arabic characters that appears to have no meaning, and a Japanese character.

CNNMoney independently tested the message and can verify it works. You send the special text message -- and the receiving iPhone immediately crashes. It comes back on by itself after 15 seconds.

This isn't devastating, but it is annoying and Apple will make a fix available. But some users have already started complaining that an alternative version of the code permanently disables iMessage -- until you delete the conversation.

(One tip to get around this freeze is to use the Photos app to send a text message, then once you're in iMessage, erase the conversation.)

This hack was first discovered by users of the forum website Reddit, who think they figured out what's wrong.

Their theory: an error in the way iPhones display incoming messages. Reddit users who experimented with this say the iPhone's notification pop-up has trouble displaying that particular line of code. The device turns itself off so the machine won't completely crash.

But it's difficult to know what's wrong. Apple (AAPL, Tech30) has not yet explained what's happening but said in a statement: "We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters, and we will make a fix available in a software update."

It's unclear if someone stumbled on this code by accident -- or was specifically looking for ways to wreak havoc.