DSLReports claims to have received word from a source noting that AT&T is extremely nervous about the impending launch of MMS for the iPhone scheduled for this Friday. Early testing of the service has apparently already placed a strain on the company's MMS servers, resulting in a test outage yesterday and a last-minute rush to beef up capacity beyond the measures already taken.
AT&T and its MMS partners are already seeing "record traffic during peak hours of the night" with just the users selected for testing.
That early testing has been a little rocky, with AT&T seeing a fairly significant test outage yesterday that has them rushing to beef up their MMSC messaging servers. Estimates among those working on the project are that traffic on AT&T's wireless network will be about 40% higher all day on Friday as iPhone users fire pictures and video at one another.
The source also revealed AT&T's plans for rolling out the service on Friday, with deployments scheduled in groups to begin at 10:00 AM Eastern time and new groups being activated on an hourly basis after that in order to slowly ramp demand and gauge service performance.
"Starting at 10AM Eastern (on the 25), AT&T will send out a mass text to a group of iPhone users telling them that MMS now works on their phone," says one source familiar with AT&T's MMS plans. "They will keep doing groups of phones on the hour throughout the day" assuming all goes well, says the source.
Monday February 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has restarted development of a fourth-generation iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED display and an Apple-designed 5G chip, according to the latest information shared by reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. This reversal comes nearly two months after Kuo said Apple had abandoned its plans to release a new iPhone SE in 2024.
In a series of tweets today, Kuo said the new iPhone SE will be...
Tuesday February 28, 2023 2:15 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone 15 series will officially only support USB-C accessories that have been certified by Apple's own Made for iPhone (MFi) program, potentially limiting the functionality of accessories not approved by Apple, an established leaker has now claimed.
Since being introduced in 2012, first-party and MFi-certified Lightning ports and connectors have contained a small integrated circuit...
Tuesday February 28, 2023 7:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC.
Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the...
Apple's secretive Exploratory Design Group is working on a range of next-generation technologies, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In his most recent newsletter, Gurman revealed new information about Apple's Exploratory Design Group, known as "XDG" inside the company. The team is apparently highly secretive, even by Apple's notoriously high standards. People working on one project within the ...
Tuesday February 28, 2023 2:04 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released the second beta of iOS 16.4 to developers, and while not as feature rich as the first beta, there are a couple notable additions in beta two worth knowing about.
Apple Books Page Turning Animation
With the launch of iOS 16, Apple tweaked Apple Books to eliminate the traditional page turning animation that had been used since the early days of the app, a move that upset...
Tuesday February 28, 2023 4:10 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is still on track to switch to under-display Face ID technology next year that will provide more usable display area on iPhone 16 Pro models, claims a new report out of Korea.
Apple is set to transition to under-screen Face ID on iPhone 16 Pro models in 2024, followed by under-screen Face ID and an under-screen front camera on iPhone 18 Pro models in 2026, according to respected...
Wednesday February 22, 2023 9:37 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 15 series in September as usual. So far, rumors suggest the Pro models will have at least eight exclusive features that will not be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, as outlined below.
An overview of the eight features rumored to be exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro models:A17 chip: iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to be equipped with...
Tuesday February 28, 2023 9:00 am PST by Juli Clover
The latest version of the Google Chrome browser designed for Macs includes optimizations that are designed to preserve battery life. In a blog post shared today, Google says that with a single full charge, a 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro running Chrome can be used to browse the internet for 17 hours or watch YouTube for 18 hours.
With improvements to Energy Saver mode, browsing time is extended for ...
Apple on January 23 released iOS 16.3, delivering support for Security Keys for Apple IDs, changes to Emergency SOS functionality, support for the second-generation HomePod, and more.