In iOS 17 and later, Apple includes an accessibility setting that makes the haptic feedback feature activate faster than in previous versions of its mobile operating system. If you fondly hearken back for the days of 3D Touch, you might just prefer it.


As many iPhone users might remember, ‌3D Touch‌ was an interactive haptic feature that Apple introduced in 2015 with the ‌iPhone‌ 6s. When the iPhone XR was released in 2018, Apple kiboshed 3D Touch‌ to the dismay of some users, and instead implemented the simplified ‌Haptic Touch, which offers less functionality‌.

‌3D Touch‌ supported multiple levels of pressure for different interactions depending on how hard you pressed, with Apple implementing "Peek and Pop" gestures. In contrast, ‌Haptic Touch‌ supports just a single level of pressure for the long press gesture.

‌Haptic Touch‌ has always worked slower than ‌3D Touch‌ because of the two levels of pressure that ‌3D Touch‌ allowed for. The first ‌3D Touch‌ pressure level activated quickly when pressing on the display, so those who became used to ‌3D Touch‌ may have found the ‌Haptic Touch‌ replacement to be too sluggish.

The good news is that setting ‌Haptic Touch‌ to the Fast option makes a noticeable difference in how quick haptic menus pop up under the finger when an icon or on-screen element is long pressed. The speed brings ‌Haptic Touch‌ interactions closer to 3D Touch interactions. Here's how to enable it on iPhones running iOS 17 and newer.

1. Open the Settings app and tap Accessibility.


2. Under "Physical and Motor," tap Touch.


3. Tap Haptic Touch.


4. Select from Fast, Default, and Slow. Note that when you select a speed, you can test it using the flower image on the same screen.

It's still not entirely clear why Apple got rid of ‌3D Touch. Some have argued that it suffered from a lack of discoverability, similar to the Apple Watch's Force Touch functionality, which suffered the same fate. Others have speculated that Apple eliminated it in order to bring gesture parity to the ‌iPhone‌ and the iPad. Either way, the change allowed Apple to remove the capacitive layer that used to be integrated into every ‌‌iPhone‌‌ display.
This article, "iPhone Long Press Too Slow? Speed Up Haptic Touch in Seconds" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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YouTube is deliberately slowing video loading for users with ad blockers enabled, in what appears to be an escalation in Google's campaign against ad-blocking extensions.


Multiple users across Reddit and the Brave browser forum report videos displaying black screens for the typical duration of pre-roll ads before content begins playing. The video player simultaneously shows a pop-up ("Experiencing interruptions? Find out why") with a link directing users to a Google support page about disabling ad-blocking extensions, suggesting the slowdowns are intentional.

The recent crackdown is a shift from YouTube's previous tactics of simply displaying warning messages or blocking video playback entirely. The new approach inserts artificial delays that mirror the time you would spend watching advertisements, basically forcing the same annoying time investment, whether ads are blocked or not.

It looks like specific user accounts previously flagged for ad-blocking behavior are being targeted, potentially bypassing detection methods that extension developers typically use to counter YouTube's measures. PCWorld confirmed the behavior using uBlock Origin Lite, while Brave browser users report similar experiences despite the browser's built-in ad-blocking capabilities.


This latest move suggests YouTube is prepared to significantly degrade the user experience for non-paying users who refuse to view advertisements or subscribe to the $13.99 monthly YouTube Premium service, which offers an ad-free experience, offline downloads, and background playback.

For what it's worth, YouTube recently introduced a Premium Lite plan for $7.99/month that removes ads for most videos, excluding music content, Shorts, and when you search or browse.
This article, "YouTube's Latest Move Against Ad Blockers: Video Delays" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is investigating generative AI to accelerate its custom chip design, according to remarks by hardware chief Johny Srouji last month.


Srouji outlined the company's interest in AI-assisted chip design during a speech in Belgium, where he received an award from semiconductor research group Imec. Reuters was able to review a recording of his remarks.

"Generative AI techniques have a high potential in getting more design work in less time, and it can be a huge productivity boost," Srouji said. He also talked about the role of electronic design automation companies like Cadence and Synopsys, which he said are "critical in supporting our chip design complexities." Both companies are said to be racing to integrate AI into their chip design software.

The news comes as Apple faces scrutiny over its perceived lag in consumer-facing AI. While competitors like Google and OpenAI have dominated headlines, Apple Intelligence has struggled to match rival offerings. Srouji's comments suggest Apple may be taking a more holistic approach – leveraging AI behind the scenes for chip development rather than focusing solely on user-facing features.

During his speech, Srouji traced Apple's silicon journey from the first A4 chip in 2010 to today's processors, and took time to underline Apple's bold decision-making during the 2020 Mac transition from Intel to Apple Silicon.

"Moving the Mac to Apple Silicon was a huge bet for us," he explained. "There was no backup plan, no split-the lineup plan, so we went all in, including a monumental software effort."

By all accounts, the transition was an unqualified success, bringing dramatic gains in performance-per-watt, battery life, thermal efficiency, and software compatibility achieved by Apple's M-series chips.

This article, "Apple Considers Using Generative AI for Faster Apple Silicon Design" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple won't change the display size of next year's iPhone 18 Pro models, but they'll still look pretty different to what we've generally become accustomed to, rumors are increasingly suggesting.


Weibo-based Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station today said that Apple will stick with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays (rounded up) for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, respectively. For context, those are the display sizes of the current iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, and Apple is not expected to change the dimensions for this year's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro devices either.

Despite the unchanged sizes, the leaker corroborated two major revisions to the screens: Apple will move the scanning technology for Face ID under the display, and leave just a pinhole for the front-facing camera as the only obstruction to the on-screen content.

The leaker is corroborating what has previously been reported by display industry analyst Ross Young and The Information. One additional detail the latter publication has revealed is worth noting: the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will position the pinhole to accommodate the front-facing camera in the top-left corner of the screen.

The same report said the devices will no longer have a pill-shaped cutout at the top of the screen, but it is unclear if the Dynamic Island will be discontinued.

In terms of other rumored features, the 48 MP primary rear camera may gain a variable aperture, allowing users manual control over aperture size – enhancing depth-of-field flexibility beyond the fixed ƒ/1.78 aperture used today. This rumor is attributed to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple could also introduce Samsung's advanced three-layer stacked sensor for improved responsiveness, lower noise, and better dynamic range, marking a possible shift away from Apple's use of Sony-only sensors, claims DigiTimes. The technology is called "PD-TR-Logic," according to a leaker known as "Jukanlosreve", and it refers to a camera sensor with three layers of circuitry affixed to it.

According to Kuo, a jump from 8GB to 12GB RAM is additionally expected, which aligns with rumors that both iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Air will adopt 12GB. This upgrade should help to improve the performance of Apple Intelligence and multitasking. All four current iPhone 16 models have 8GB of RAM.

It is also said that the next-gen C2 modem – Apple's follow-up to the C1 – will debut in the iPhone 18 Pro, according to analyst Jeff Pu. This will likely offering mmWave support in the US and improved speed and efficiency.

Lastly, per Kuo, Apple's A20 Pro chip will be built on TSMC's cutting-edge 2nm process (N2), providing around 15% performance boost and 30% better power efficiency over the 3nm A19 series that is expected to be used in the iPhone 17 series.

All in all, the upgrades reflect pretty significant camera, display, performance, and connectivity enhancements coming in 2026. Still, if you're a stickler for the current iPhone 16 Pro screen dimensions, then today's rumor should provide some gentle relief.
This article, "iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes Won't Change Despite Two Major Revisions" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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