There's no doubt that Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro Max is a pretty impressive smartphone, packing some high-end hardware in addition to the company's signature mobile OS. While the same can be said for its cameras, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is not perfect, at least according to new scores from DXOMARK.

Based on several test scenarios carried out by DXOMARK, the iPhone 15 Pro Max managed to score a total of 154 points, placing it in second place behind the Huawei P60 Pro in global rankings. The 15 Pro Max managed to excel in several key areas, including vivid photo brightness and contrast when viewed on HDR displays, accurate exposure even in night photos, natural color rendering, impressive detail in bright light photos, video stabilization, as well as accurate autofocus capabilities.

On the other hand though, there's a reason that the 15 Pro max only landed second place - the phone fell short in several categories including considerable noise in low-light images, unwanted flare, ghosting and aliasing in some photos, limited dynamic range in photos, as well as inconsistent detail in zoomed-in photographs.

In terms of hardware, the iPhone 15 Pro Max comes with a main 48MP sensor with f/1.78 aperture, dual pixel autofocus and OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor with dual pixel autofocus, and a 12MP f/2.8 telephoto lens with dual pixel autofocus. Meanwhile, the front of the phone packs a 12MP selfie camera with OIS.

Following the announcement of four upgraded iPhones, two refreshed smartwatches, and some unchanged earbuds with a new type of charging case a couple of weeks ago, all the recent silence on the iPad release front would seem to suggest that Apple has no other devices left to unveil this year.

The company's ultra-high-end iPad Pros, for instance, have explicitly been rumored for a (major) upgrade in 2024 of late, while the inevitable next-gen iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini are pretty much completely shrouded in mystery as far as everything from their specs to their designs and launch dates are concerned.

But out of nowhere, a new report by a fairly reputable publication casually mentions a "new small-size iPad" expected to see daylight "in the fourth quarter." That's the fourth quarter of 2023, mind you, which will kick off in just a few days and wrap up when the year ends.

Although the iPad mini 7 is not identified by name, we're almost certain that's what Digitimes is anticipating Apple will roll out soon based on the latest rumblings in the supply chain. Of course, it's unlikely that the tech giant will even use that branding, with recent history suggesting that we're dealing with yet another "New iPad mini" instead.

This should replace the 2021-released sixth-gen iPad mini, which radically changed the face of its 7.9-inch predecessor from 2019 with some nice extra screen real estate, significantly thinner bezels, a fingerprint sensor switched to the tablet's side, and a "modern" USB Type-C port.

With all of that in mind, it's probably wise not to expect a similarly drastic set of revisions and upgrades from the seventh-generation iPad mini, which is extremely likely to look virtually identical to the aforementioned 2021 edition from the outside while packing a newer and faster processor than the Apple A15 on the inside.

That's all we can really say about the iPad mini (2023) right now, which may or may not materialize as tipped by Digitimes and may or may not help the tablet market as a whole recover during the holiday season after a few quarters of worrying global shipment declines.

Just yesterday we told you about the iOS 17.0.1 security update that Apple released for the iPhone XS and later. Today, Apple is releasing iOS 17.0.2 although this update is solely for the iPhone 15 series. The update was disseminated because Apple is warning iPhone 15 series users transferring data from another iPhone that their new device could freeze during the data transfer process leaving the new phone frozen with the Apple logo on the display.

To prevent this from happening, before transferring data from another iPhone, the iPhone 15 series user needs to go to Settings > General > Software Update. If you already tried to transfer data from your previous iPhone to your new iPhone 15 model and did not install iOS 17.0.2, you might find your new device frozen on the Apple logo. The company released a support document that includes directions on how you can extricate yourself and your new phone from this issue.

To make it as clear as possible, the phone could freeze up, if during the setup process for your new iPhone 15 series phone, you choose "From Another iPhone" to transfer apps and data from your previous iPhone to your new one. If you decide to manually set up your new iPhone 15 series device and load all of your apps individually from the App Store, you won't have an issue. But since the "From Another iPhone" button makes things a lot easier, simply install iOS 17.0.2 before you start to transfer data and apps and you won't have to worry.

We do need to point out that if your iPhone 15 series model is frozen, and you follow the directions in the support document, you should still install iOS 17.0.2 before you continue transferring apps and data from your old iPhone to your new one.

To reiterate, iOS 17.0.2 is for the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max only. It has nothing to do with yesterday's iOS 17.0.1 release which should be installed by all iPhone models including the iPhone XR and later. That update patches serious security flaws that might have been exploited according to reports seen by Apple.

Battery concern is still a thing in this day and age, where we're sure that we're not alone in worrying about our phones' battery capacity dropping over the course of its lifetime. Thankfully, Apple's newly announced iPhone 15 could be doing something to alleviate those concerns, and it might be a feature borrowed from Samsung.

In a report from 9to5Mac, they spotted in the iOS 17 RC some code that suggests that iOS 17 could allow users to limit the amount of charging on their iPhones. This is different from iOS' Optimized Battery Charging feature, which basically stops the phone's charging at 80% and only completes charging to 100% based on the user's charging habits.

If this feature sounds familiar, it is because Samsung actually has a similar feature on its Galaxy phones called "Protect battery", where when enabled, it stops the phone charging once it hits the 85% mark.

For those unfamiliar, lithium ion batteries have a set number of cycles before it starts to lose its charge. Each cycle is when a phone charges from 0-100%, so for example if your phone charges from 80-100%, it would be considered 1/5 of a cycle. By stopping your phone at 85%, it basically helps you conserve your charges in the long run, albeit at the expense of lower battery life during the day.

So far, to our knowledge, Samsung is the only company that has implemented this feature in their Android phones. A recent rumor has suggested that Oppo could be planning something along those veins, except in the form of a free battery replacement program for devices whose battery capacity drops below 80% in a set timeframe.

As to why this feature could be exclusive to the iPhone 15, 9to5Mac speculates that maybe it could be a USB-C thing, where older iPhones are still using the Lightning connector.

While the stars of Apple's latest product showcase are undoubtedly its new iPhone 15 series handsets, the company also announced the arrival of its latest wearable devices, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The smartwatches come with some new features, which Apple hopes will be enough to convince buyers to upgrade.

Apple Watch Series 9

For starters, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 9, which features its newest S9 processor that the company claims is 30% faster than its previous chip. The Watch 9 features a 4-core neural engine, on-device Siri, as well as Siri + Health integration, which allows users to get a recap of their stats directly from Siri. The Watch 9 also features the same design as seen on other Apple Watches, with a display that goes up to 2000 nits of brightness.

Priced at $399, Apple also introduced some impressive new features on the Watch 9, such as an improved UWB chip that will help users locate their iPhone should they misplace it. Apple also introduced its double-tap gesture, allowing users to tap their thumb and index fingers to trigger a custom action on their watch, from ending calls to playing media.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

The sequel to Apple's rugged outdoors smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 likewise comes with some of the same features found on the Series 9, such as the S9 processor, recycled build materials (Titanium in the case of the Ultra 2), UWB and the double-tap functionality.

Of course, the Ultra 2 does feature some exclusive tricks that set it apart from the "regular" Apple Watch lineup. This includes a rather bright display that maxes out at 3,000 nits of peak brightness, up to 36 hours of battery life (or 72 hours in low power mode), and the same rugged design as seen on its predecessor. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 does come with a more expensive price tag though, starting at $799.