Technologies

iOS 16.2 Makes the iPhone 14 Pro’s Always-On Display So Much Better

Apple released iOS 16.2, which finally lets you have an always-on display with a black screen.

The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have a handful of flashy software changes, such as the Dynamic Island for showing system alerts and a highly anticipated always-on display. That latter feature isn’t exactly new. For years, Android devices have had always-on displays that show essential information when the screen is off. What you typically see is a black screen with the time and date and sometimes icons for notifications. But the iPhone’s version has Apple’s own twist.

The 14 Pro’s always-on display shows the time and date (along with widgets) against a darkened version of your wallpaper photo instead of a black screen. I’ve been using the iPhone 14 Pro for nearly three months, and it took about half that time to get used to the always-on display because it looked like my phone was unlocked. While Apple deserves praise for figuring out a way to make the always-on display look nearly identical to the regular lock screen, there’s a problem. Some of us want an always-on display that’s more discrete and doesn’t draw attention.

Thankfully for us, iOS 16.2 is the answer. Apple released iOS 16.2 earlier in December and it now has controls that let you turn off the wallpaper when the always-on display is active. That means you can finally have a solid black background for your iPhone’s always-on display without changing your lock screen’s photo.

If you want to try it out, go into Settings, tap Display and Brightness and choose Always On Display. From there, you will see options to show wallpaper or notifications. Disabling Show Wallpaper gets you a black always-on display.

In our tests, using the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display didn’t shorten battery life. But some people have had the opposite experience. For those who have experienced battery life issues, hopefully substituting the lock screen with a solid black background will address those concerns. I should also add that, in general, our tests found that the iPhone 14 series has a shorter battery life than the iPhone 13 series.

The iOS 16.2 update comes with several other interesting features including a karaoke mode called Apple Music Sing and a new white boarding tool called Freeform.

Technologies

Google Rolls Out New Travel Features, Just in Time for Summer

Gemini can call around to find that one travel essential you forgot about.

It doesn’t matter that it’s late April. To me, it’s officially summer. With the days getting longer and warmer, and school wrapping up soon, a lot of us are dreaming of summer vacations.

Google launched some new travel features just in time to start planning those trips.

You might already be familiar with Google Flights and AI Mode, but Google’s two latest travel tools can help you round out the experience even more.

New Google travel features

On Friday, Google announced a new feature to track hotel prices and another that can help you in a packing mishap.

Track hotel prices with Google Search

Similar to how you can currently track flight prices, you can now toggle on price tracking for specific hotels on the Google Search results page or via google.com/hotels.

Last year, Google launched a feature that lets you track hotel prices for a specific city, but that only tracks one hotel you prefer.

On desktop, you can open Search, look up a hotel, then toggle on the new price tracking. On mobile, you find the price tracking option under the Prices tab. Once you toggle on price tracking, you’ll get email alerts when rates drop during your set dates, so you never miss a deal.

AI Mode will find products you forgot to pack

Picture this: You land in your dream tropical destination, open your suitcase and realize you forgot to pack sunglasses. A new feature in AI Mode will let you find products in stock nearby. Google’s agentic AI will call local stores for you to see if it has the products you’re looking for and any relevant deals.

To get started, you will just need to briefly describe your need, like «I forgot to pack polarized sunglasses. Where can I get some nearby?» From there, Gemini will call local stores and then send you results on where you can shop.

This tool launched directly on Search in November and is now rolling out over the coming weeks in AI Mode in the US.

For more travel advice, here’s the best time to shop for airline tickets and how to find cheap flights.

Technologies

Are You a Verified Human? Yes? That’s Exactly What AI Would Say!

World ID, an identity system designed to prove you’re human, is expanding to Tinder and concert ticket sales.

It’s hard out here for a human as artificial intelligence bots and agents increasingly take over the web, social media and even Hollywood. How does one prove that they are not a digital creation generated from large language models when engaging in, say, work meetings, online dating or buying concert tickets?

World ID is a platform designed to address this problem, with a familiar name behind it. It was founded in 2019 by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, along with Alex Blania and Max Novendstern, and has evolved from focusing on cryptocurrency into identity verification.

World announced it’s partnering with companies like Zoom to verify humans on calls and with dating service Tinder for online profile verification.

Zoom says it will integrate World ID Deep Face, «enabling real-time verification that meeting participants are human to strengthen trust in live communications.»

For Tinder, Match Group is trying out World ID for age verification on the dating app, starting in Japan. The site will add a verification marker to profiles for those who pass the human test.

World ID has also developed a tool called Concert Kit, a way for artists to sell event tickets with human verification to prevent sales to ticket bots.

It’s also working with companies such as Razer, DocuSign, Shopify and Coinbase for its World ID humanity verification.

It also offers a device for preorder, about the size of a soccer ball, called the Orb. (You can put a $100 deposit down if a futuristic-looking identity camera is on your wishlist.) The website says the Orb is an «open source device that verifies you are a unique human without knowing anything else about you.»