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Mobile World Congress took place this week, and if you’re an Apple fan, you probably missed a lot of interesting stories. MWC is mainly an Android show, but there are a few more releases and announcements that will be of interest to iPhone users. We’ve narrowed down the week’s events to five announcements that Apple fans should know:
Reality Pro is already changing AR
One of the biggest surprises of the show happened on the first day. Android smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has unveiled a prototype mobile phone. a pair of smart augmented reality glasses with hand gestures, “retina-level” screens and a completely wireless design. If this sounds like the rumored Apple Reality Pro AR headset, you’re right. While the design is certainly an acquired taste and just a prototype, it’s clear that Apple’s headset is already influencing the augmented reality landscape – and it hasn’t even arrived yet.
xiaomi
MagSafe will get better soon
After announcing at CES that the Q12 standard would be based on Apple’s “Magnetic Power Profile”, the Wireless Power Consortium showed off the first Qi2 magnetic chargers for Android phones at MWC, and lo and behold, they look a lot like MagSafe. So much so that they work with iPhones out of the box. Since Apple has kind of let MagSafe languish for the past two years, maybe we’ll finally get some great third-party accessories.
Apple abandons Qualcomm
You’ll have a hard time finding an iPhone on the MWC floor, but that doesn’t mean people haven’t talked about it. And Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had a lot to say about the modem he makes for the iPhone: “We’re not making plans for 2024, I’m guessing [Apple] 24-year-old modem, but that’s their decision.” So it looks like the upcoming iPhone 15 will be the last to use a Qualcomm modem, which is the same 5G modem that has been used in Android phones for years. It probably doesn’t mean much to users, but it’s another part of the iPhone that Apple manages.
Nothing will work for the iPhone
One of the most popular Android phones of 2022 was the Nothing Phone, which featured a unique backlight, solid specs, and an aggressive price tag. The only catch is that it wasn’t available in the US. CEO Carl Pei announced at MWC that Nothing Phone 2 will arrive this year and be available in the States. Pei has previously spoken at length about wanting to take on Apple’s dominance, meaning the iPhone 15 will have a bit more competition this year, but not that it matters much.
Nothing Phone 2 is coming to the US this year.
Foundry
iSIM is the next eSIM
Apple surprised us last year by making the iPhone 14 fully eSIM in the US. After some initial headaches, it proved to be great for everyone – so much so that many Android phones follow the trend. And the next generation of SIM cards is here: iSIM. Qualcomm has unveiled a modified version of its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset for high-end Android phones with a SIM built directly into the chip, making it even smaller and more power efficient than an eSIM. We haven’t heard any rumors that Apple is using iSIMs with the new A17 chip, but it certainly looks like a technological advance that Apple will be moving to quickly.