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The iPhone at 15: How Apple's Phone Became the Center of Your Life


The iPhone at 15: How Apple's Phone Became the Center of Your Life

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET's collection of news, tips and advice around Apple's most popular product.

What's happening

On June 29, 2007, the first iPhone went on sale. A decade and a half later what defines the iPhone has shifted away from just design and hardware specs to dozens of Apple-centric features and services.

Why it matters

For better or worse, the iPhone has become home to our photos, music, conversations, ideas, games, identity, work, social media, shopping, keys and money. It will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Today marks 15 years since the first iPhone went on sale. When Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone he wryly hyped it as three revolutionary products: an iPod, a phone and an internet communicator. The first iPhone only came in one size and the only decision you had was whether to get 4GB of storage or 8GB. As far as carriers, only AT&T supported Apple's first phone in the US.

At the time, the idea of carrying an iPhone instead of a flip phone and an iPod was enough to convince some people to buy one. For others like me, the iPhone's main appeal was the touchscreen, which seemed unreal and futuristic. 

"From the very beginning, one of the unique things about [the] iPhone was that we wanted to fuse together software, services and hardware to create a simple, powerful kind of magical experience," said Bob Borchers, Apple's vice president for product marketing. "And with the original iPhone, it was that interaction of multitouch and pinch to zoom, where you started to see that come together."

Fifteen years later, Apple sells eight different models of iPhone, five of which have launched in the past 10 months. There is at least one version that works with pretty much every major phone carrier in the world. The iPhone is available in an array of colors, finishes, sizes and storage options that now top out at 1TB. And while the screen is where most of the magic happens, it's no longer the main appeal of the iPhone.

Over the past decade and a half, what defines the iPhone has shifted away from just design and hardware specs. Instead, the iPhone and iOS have become a gateway into Apple services and features like iMessage, FaceTime, Siri, Apple Music, Apple Pay, top-of-the-line cameras and apps like Uber, TikTok, Twitter and WhatsApp. For better or worse, the iPhone has become home to our photos, music, conversations, ideas, games, identity, work, social media, shopping, keys and money.

In 2022, the iPhone continues to extend beyond its svelte metal-and-glass chassis into the world around us. It's the backbone for products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, and will likely play a role in future Apple products like rumored AR glasses.

It also serves as the foundation for Apple's digital services, which have become an increasingly important factor to differentiate the iPhone from competing mobile devices. These services have evolved rapidly in recent years along with the iPhone.

Find My, which started as a tool in 2010 for locating a lost iPhone, has grown into a network for finding Apple devices and pretty much anything you can attach one of Apple's tiny AirTag trackers to. Some products, like VanMoof's S3 bike, even have built-in Find My support, eliminating the need to add an AirTag entirely. As of 2021, Apple's Find My network had hundreds of millions of devices, most of which were iPhones.

Just weeks ago at WWDC, Apple's annual software developers conference, the company announced iOS 16 with expansions to its nearly decade-old Wallet app and Apple Pay service. Essentially, Apple wants to make your physical wallet obsolete. There's also a new feature called Apple Pay Later that lets you split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees. It's done entirely through your iPhone.

an iPhone SE

The 2022 iPhone SE is nearly identical to the 2020 version but gets more durable glass, 5G and the A15 Bionic chip that debuted in the iPhone 13.

 Kevin Heinz/CNET

In fact, you need an iPhone to access or use most of these services. Keep in mind that, for years, the iPhone's premium price made it inaccessible to many, and that's still true of Apple's top-of-the-line iPhone Pro models. The recently upgraded iPhone SE gives Apple the opportunity to expand the iPhone's reach even further. It's the purest example of what defines an iPhone in 2022. The SE blends the body of an iPhone 8 with the glass and processor from the iPhone 13. At $429, it's currently the most affordable way to get people into Apple experiences.

I spoke with Borchers ahead of the iPhone SE launch in March about the phone and why Apple added an A15 Bionic chip to it.

"It's actually a really easy decision to put as much capability as we can in today, in order to invest in and create opportunities for those future experiences. It's something that distinguishes us from others," said Borchers.

No other phone maker takes this approach. It would be like Samsung using the body of its Galaxy S8 and putting the Galaxy S22's processing power inside. The upcoming Pixel 6A will be the first budget Android phone that uses the same processor, Google's Tensor chip, as the flagship Pixel 6 and 6 Pro. Of course, Google isn't putting it into the body of Pixel 2 and instead is introducing a new design.

It makes sense that Apple's cheapest phone has the same processor as its most expensive: It's all about giving people access to Apple experiences. For example, if you buy an iPhone SE, you can use the Live Text feature in iOS 15 to grab text with your camera or copy it from a photo. And while the 2016 and 2020 versions of the iPhone SE sold well, it seems the 2022 version isn't breaking any sales records yet. Apple doesn't disclose a specific model breakdown of how many iPhones it sells, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo lowered his shipping estimates for the iPhone SE (2022) by 10 million. The lower demand could be an effect of rising inflation and the fact that the 2022 and 2020 versions of the iPhone SE look identical.

The SE showcases how iOS and Apple Silicon become the bedrock for everything you do on your iPhone. Obviously, not every model in Apple's iPhone lineup is equal. More expensive phones like the iPhone 13 Pro come with a contemporary design, high refresh-rate screens, larger camera sensors and tools like the U1 ultrawideband chip and lidar.

These extra perks mean you can use your iPhone in more ways. For example, if you've got the right car, you can unlock it and start it with your iPhone. Borscher describes moments like these as "automagic," meaning it just works. The same way a pair of AirPods can switch from your iPhone to your Mac for watching a video, or the way you can unlock your Mac using your Apple Watch.

Apple Airpods next to an iPhone

Apple first introduced AirPods in 2017 with the release of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which lacked a physical headphone jack. 

 Sarah Tew/CNET

Such growth has consequences. Antitrust concerns over the app store and mobile payments, debates about screen time, Apple's contentious dealings with the FBI, criticism that all these services are part of a strategy to lock people into Apple's ecosystem and, more recently, privacy questions over AirTags are just some of the concerns that have grown alongside the iPhone's meteoric success. There are even questions as to whether Apple can launch another product line that is even half as successful as the iPhone. My CNET colleague and Apple reporter Ian Sherr points out that products like the Apple Watch and AirPods are lucrative lar gely because of their connection to the iPhone.

Over 15 years, the iPhone has become ubiquitous and helped Apple become a nearly $3 trillion company. The next iteration of the phone, likely called the iPhone 14, is expected to launch this September. It will no doubt run on iOS 16 and have the newest version of Apple's A-series processor and will continue to support the Apple experience. As for the long-term, my colleague Lisa Eadicicco thinks the most important part of future iPhones will be how it works with everything around it.

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Xiaomi phones briefly appear, disappear on US Mobile store


Xiaomi phones briefly appear, disappear on US Mobile store

Chinese startup Xiaomi, the largest phone seller in China, has some of the hottest products you've probably never heard about.

That may change thanks to wireless reseller US Mobile. The Stamford, Connecticut, company, which runs on the T-Mobile network, briefly listed a few of Xiaomi's phones on its site. It would mark the first time a carrier offered one of its phones, known overseas for their mix of low price and high-quality components, in the US. PC Mag was the first to report on the appearance of the phones.

The emergence of Xiaomi underscores the increasing willingness for consumers to bargain hunt for the best deal for phones. Consumers aren't just blindly buying an Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S -- they're getting more discerning with their purchases. That's increasingly the case in the US, where the elimination of contracts and phone subsidies have placed a spotlight on how much a handset actually costs.

That's all well and good, but on Tuesday, US Mobile pulled the phones from its site. So what happened?

Xiaomi, for one never blessed the move. "There are no plans to sell smartphones through any authorized distributors in the US," the company said. "US Mobile is not authorized to sell Xiaomi products in the US."

US Mobile, however, isn't working directly with Xiaomi. Instead, the company had hoped to work with third-party distributors to make the phones available on its site, similar to Amazon or eBay.

But the other issue was proper carrier certification. US Mobile pulled the phones so it could let its carrier partner test the phone, CEO Ahmed Khatak said in a blog post. T-Mobile said that it typically certifies the phones that run on its network, even if it's a wholesale partner. It added that it hadn't tested the Xiaomi phones yet.

US Mobile still intends to sell the phones through third-parties if they can get carrier certification to run on the network.

There may be reason for T-Mobile's reluctance. The handsets aren't made for the US and don't work with the local 4G LTE bands. That means that buyers will need to be OK with a slower 3G connection, or plan to use their phone over Wi-Fi.

Here's what was previously listed through US Mobile:

Updated at 12:33 p.m. PT: To include additional background and a blog post from US Mobile.

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Meet the New Dune Buggy and Imagine You're Steve McQueen


Meet the New Dune Buggy and Imagine You're Steve McQueen

The dune buggy has been a unique piece of car culture since the mid '60s, but not overplayed like vintage 'Vettes and Mustangs. From Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway's beach romp in the original Thomas Crown Affair to the improbable dune buggy assault on James Bond in For Your Eyes Only decades later, the car adds levity to any drive.

Now the dune buggy is back, fully electric yet utterly recognizable, as the Meyers Manx 2.0. 

Sticking to its roots

The 1964 Meyers Manx was the original dune buggy, developed by Bruce Meyers in the crucible of post-war LA car culture, art school and DIY attitude. It was such a sensation that scads of other companies offered similar kits to build over VW chassis and Meyers failed to patent the design. By 1971 he was out of the game. 

Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric
Meyers Manx

The original Manx never looked as finished and complete as the new version, largely because the Manx 2.0 has been refreshed by a serious car designer, Freeman Thomas, whose pen you know from the original Audi TT and New Beetle. In spite of that and the car's original roots in Volkswagen hardware, the Manx 2.0 has no connection to VW and is backed by Trousdale Ventures chairman Phillip Sarofim.

You may be surprised that the new Manx' electric conversion is almost its least interesting aspect to me.

A triumph of restraint

The body is instantly recognizable as a correct dune buggy devoid of any silly effort to contort it into a utility, a four-seater or a "reimagined" product like the redux FJ Cruiser or the thankfully shelved VW attempt at a modern dune buggy. In this, the Manx 2.0 relies on Freeman Thomas' experience faithfully carrying over the New Beetle. But the new Manx sheds the rough edges of the original, appropriate for a more upscale 21st century buyer who is less comprehending of the rugged fun we once had on four wheels. Kit cars aren't really a thing any more, and safety definitely is.

Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric

Today's dune buggy buyer probably doesn't crash at the beach; more likely in a $2.5 million restored Eichler. 

 Meyers Manx

I overheard more than one person at the car's Pebble Beach debut say that it was their favorite thing on the green at Quail, which may have caused some chafing under the jodhpurs of Bentley at the adjacent stage. 

I was delighted by the ample chrome on the Manx 2.0, a big part of the car's authenticity: The roll bar, windshield frame, bumper bars and headlight buckets all sparkle with a correct finish little seen in autos today.

A charming place to sit

Under either a forward pivoting rigid top, soft bikini top or no top at all, you'll find a cabin (if you can call something this open a cabin) that exercises admirable restraint. 

Meyers Manx 2.0 seats

Spartan and checked, exactly how a dune buggy interior should be.

 Meyers Manx

No big LCD screen or console full of tech, just a central dinner plate speedo embedded with a small, round LCD, flanked by a few narrow futuristic buttons that I think are the only misstep in design.

Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric dash & steering wheel

The simple dash is only marred by a row of jeweled buttons that seem more appropriate to an early Thunderbird.

 Meyers Manx

The seats are truly buckets and getting into them involves stepping over into the tub, which has no doors. That tub will have monocoque crash integrity that was never found in the original, along with crumple zones and a modern safety steering column. The aforementioned roll bar and windshield frame are structural rollover safety elements.

Out back, things have changed

The most memorable single detail of the original dune buggy was its exposed Beetle engine at the rear, full of rotating parts and cartoonish exhaust plumbing that created a show. That's all gone with electric power but covered nicely in new bodywork that seems to be where Freeman Thomas most earned a lot of his keep. 

Meyers Manx 2.0 Electric rear view

The rear end of the new Manx 2.0 took some careful work to mimic the early Beetle taillights and create rear body work where none used to exist.

 Meyers Manx

Two electric motors drive the rear wheels only, helping to keep the car's weight under 1,600 pounds. The front wheels are busy responding to electric power steering, an unheard-of luxury in the original that demanded good triceps.

Meyers Manx 2.0 motor

The Manx 2.0's dual motors will sit at the very rear of the stubby-rumped car while the batteries are slightly forward into the tub.

 CNET/John Kimi

As with many EVs, you can buy your battery capacity: 150 miles or 300, the latter configuration delivering a projected 0-to-60 time of 4.5 seconds. Not knowing pricing, the 150-mile car makes the most sense to me; I don't see driving anything this al fresco farther than that and think lighter weight is the better part of valor.

How to get one

Preorders for the car opened up in August of 2022 via a refundable deposit, though the price is still not known. The company plans to release the first 50 copies to what it considers passionate beta buyers, before somewhat fuller production happens in 2024.

Having not driven a prototype, I can't say if too much original charm is lost in the move to quiet, less distinctive electric power; It would have been cheeky to see the company thumb its nose at current automotive dogma and release the Manx 2.0 with a potent turbo DI inline 3, but the writing's on the wall and that sort of fun is best left to someone restoring an original Manx.

I see enough smart, savvy interpretation of the past in the Meyers Manx 2.0 that I'll prioritize driving one for you when they come out.

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$10,000 or $50,000 student loan forgiveness: Could Biden eliminate debt through executive order?


$10,000 or $50,000 student loan forgiveness: Could Biden eliminate debt through executive order?

Since taking office, President Joe Biden has expressed support for canceling up to $10,000 per student in loan debt. Some Democratic leaders are looking to go higher, to $50,000. And a new Change.org petition is calling for Biden to go even further and cancel all federal student debt in 2021 through an executive order. The survey has more than 1 million signatures.

In March, Biden did forgive $1 billion in loans for students defrauded by for-profit institutions, but he has yet to present a plan for reducing the roughly $1.7 trillion in student debt across the board. Biden in April asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona if he has the legal authority to cancel student debt. Under the American Rescue Plan Act, eligible Americans received a third stimulus check and "plus-up payments" where applicable, more money for unemployed individuals, thousands more dollars for families with the new child tax credit and changes to health care savings. But students who are in debt weren't addressed in the bill.

Here's where the situation stands now when it comes to student loan forgiveness; we'll continue to update this story as it develops. Also, you could get up to $50,000 back with one-time COVID credits. For more on the new child tax credit, check here to see who is eligible and how to calculate your total.

Where does Biden stand on forgiving student loan debt right now?

During his presidential campaign, Biden called for forgiving $10,000 of federal student loan debt per person. He also laid out additional plans for college students in the Biden Plan for Education Beyond High School, such as free tuition and more money for federal grants.

Shortly after taking office, Biden signed an executive order to extend the pause on student loan payments and interest till the end of September. Former President Donald Trump initially suspended payments at the start of the pandemic, and the loan suspension was extended twice more.

In Biden's American Rescue Plan, a provision removed any tax penalty if student loans are forgiven. The IRS treats debt discharged for less than what's owed as taxable income. This would apply to both government and private loans. The forgiveness provision lasts until Dec. 25, 2025. However, as president, Biden has yet to formally forgive additional student loan debt. 

It's important to keep in mind that there has been no movement on loan debt cancellation yet, but there is a growing number of scammers claiming they can help you with student loan forgiveness. 

Does the president have the authority to forgive $10,000 or $50,000 across the board in student debt? 

During a CNN town hall in February, an audience member asked if Biden would cancel $50,000 of student loan debt.

"I'm prepared to write off a $10,000 debt, but not 50" [thousand], Biden said. "Because I don't think I have the authority to do it by signing [with] the pen."

It appears the president may have changed his mind. On April 1, he asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona if it's within the president's power to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt. The department has yet to announce its findings. 

Will anything happen this year?

Depending on the response from the secretary of education's office, a few things could take place. Biden may be able to sign an executive order that cancels some debt per student. Or it may be that Congress would have to pass a bill if sweeping cancellations are outside Biden's power. In either case, the final amount canceled, and any rules and exceptions involving public and private debt, would be contentious areas of negotiation. 

Whatever the outcome, it's unlikely to occur imminently, though it's a topic we're keeping a close eye on. 

Read also: All the extra stimulus check money parents and the elderly could get in their third payment

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Money tied up in student loans? There are a few things you can do now.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

3 student loan forgiveness options you might be able to get

However, they're not so widely available -- or quick to receive. 

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a government program intended to forgive federal direct student loans if the borrower has a job with the government or a nonprofit organization, after 120 qualifying on-time payments in an income-driven repayment plan. This means after 10 years of making payments, the government is supposed to forgive the balance. However, many borrowers who believe they're qualified for forgiveness are having trouble getting approved. 

In 2019, there were more than 41,000 PSLF applications -- and 206 were approved by the Department of Education. Many were denied due to errors, but a 2020 report from the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center found the department's Office of Federal Student Aid had mischaracterized employers, causing applicants to be ineligible. Since the PSLF began in 2007, 98.8% of applications have not been approved, according to the center. 

Borrowers who took out loans to become teachers can get their Perkins, Stafford or Direct loans partially forgiven. The amount varies depending on what subjects they teach, what schools they teach at and how long they've been teaching. 

And lastly, borrowers who are on an income-driven repayment plan -- in which the monthly payments are no more than 10% of a person's discretionary income -- can have their remaining loan balance forgiven after 20 years for undergraduates, or 25 years for graduate students.

For more information, visit CNET's resource guide for all things loans.

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What to Know About Getting the COVID Vaccine During Pregnancy


What to Know About Getting the COVID Vaccine During Pregnancy

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the

WHO

and

CDC

websites.

Babies under six months are protected against COVID-19 hospitalization if their parent got vaccinated during pregnancy, a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests. 

Two doses of Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines during pregnancy were 61% effective at protecting against COVID-19 hospitalization in infants under six months, according to research published last month in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study, which didn't include information on those who were vaccinated before pregnancy or people who received Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, compared information from 20 pediatric hospitals in 17 states from July 2021 to January 2022. 

"When people receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, their bodies build antibodies to protect against COVID-19 and these antibodies have been found in umbilical cord blood," Dr. Meaney-Delman, chief of the CDC's Infant Outcomes Monitoring Research and Prevention Branch, said at a media briefing. 

"And while we know that these antibodies cross the placenta, until this study, we have not yet had data to demonstrate whether these antibodies might provide protection for the baby against COVID-19," she said. 

Completing the vaccine series later in pregnancy was more effective at preventing hospitalization of the infant (80%) compared to earlier in pregnancy (32% effective at up to 20 weeks), but the CDC notes this timeline comparison should be interpreted with caution.

The findings of the new study are important because COVID-19 vaccines for babies under six months aren't currently being developed. Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children age 6 months through 4 years is currently being tested, after the companies and the US Food and Drug Administration decided to postpone authorization until more data on all three likely-needed doses are available. 

While the newer study focused on protecting infants against COVID-19, earlier research has demonstrated the importance of pregnant people getting vaccinated for the sake of their own health and that of their developing fetus. 

A large study from Scotland published in the journal Nature in January found that unvaccinated pregnant women were more likely to be sick with COVID-19, more likely to be hospitalized with the disease and that their babies and fetuses were more likely to die, compared with vaccinated people who got sick while pregnant.

Here's what the experts say about getting vaccinated during pregnancy. 

I'm pregnant. Should I get a COVID-19 vaccine? 

The CDC made its official recommendation in August that, yes, pregnant people, breastfeeding people and those who want to be pregnant in the future should get vaccinated against COVID-19. The ACOG and SMFM also recommend COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant people. 

Other vaccines are recommended or offered during pregnancy. Some vaccines, for other diseases, aren't recommended for pregnant people because they contain (very small amounts) of a live virus. None of the coronavirus vaccines available in the US uses a live virus, making them safe during pregnancy.

Do I need a booster if I'm pregnant? Which shot should I get?

With the emergence of the new omicron variant, boosters are recommended for everyone 12 and up in the US, including pregnant people. In fact, while the CDC guidance for the general public was strengthened because of the omicron variant, pregnant people were eligible for boosters earlier, just because of their increased risk of severe COVID-19 compared with people who aren't pregnant. 

You should get a booster of Pfizer's or Moderna's vaccine at least five months after your second Pfizer or Moderna, or at least two months after your Johnson & Johnson shot, according to guidance from the FDA and CDC. Everyone should choose a booster of Moderna or Pfizer, the CDC now says, because of the rare but serious risk of blood clots associated with J&J's vaccine. While rare overall, women ages 30 to 49 are at higher risk following the one-dose vaccine. 

Need to find an appointment? Text your ZIP code to 438829. 

What are the side effects of the vaccine for pregnant people?

Preliminary data on about 35,000 pregnant people who were vaccinated and volunteered information through the V-safe program shows that pregnant people experience the same vaccine side effects that others have reported: temporary injection pain in the arm, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and fever. 

However, it's important to note that fever from any cause has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, and the CDC recommends pregnant people who experience fever after vaccination take acetaminophen to lower their body temperature. (Fever can also be a symptom of COVID-19.) 

If you have specific questions about the vaccine or you have concerns in general, you can talk to an expert by emailing Mother to Baby or calling 1-866-626-6847. 

Why are pregnant people at a high risk of COVID-19? 

In May, CNET talked to Dr. Ella Speichinger, an OB-GYN at University of Missouri Health Care. She said it isn't exactly known why pregnant people are at a higher risk, but that it may be because pregnant people's immune systems are naturally depressed so that their bodies won't reject the growing fetus, or because pregnancy could alter the body's way of mounting an immune response to COVID-19. 

"I've had many patients who have had COVID while they were pregnant, and they've been just fine," she said. "But there have definitely been severe cases where patients had to get delivered early because they could no longer oxygenate their fetus." 

In the Nature study, the authors noted that while pregnant people aren't at an increased risk of catching COVID-19, they are more likely than people of the same age who aren't pregnant to be admitted to critical care and die from the disease if they do get sick. 

During what trimester should I get the vaccine?

Scientists who looked at people who got vaccinated earlier than 20 weeks pregnant didn't find an increased risk of miscarriage compared with those who didn't, according to a report from the V-safe pregnancy registry. Earlier data that was available reflected vaccination during the later stages of pregnancy.

It may be that some people hold out on getting vaccinated during the first trimester due to the naturally high rate of miscarriage in the first three months, and patients being more cautious because of that. About 10% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, according to the ACOG, but the risk also increases with age. About 80% of miscarriages happen in the first trimester. 

"Most people feel concerned in the first trimester because there's such a high risk of miscarriage in general," Speichinger said. "Conflating the miscarriage with vaccine administration is what leads to vaccine hesitancy in the first trimester." 

Research shows that parents vaccinated during the third trimester of pregnancy may pass antibodies onto their newborns.

I'm skeptical of the vaccine. What are the risks of getting COVID-19 while pregnant? 

Pregnant and recently pregnant people are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, including death, according to the CDC, and they're also at increased risk for preterm delivery (birth before 37 weeks) and other adverse pregnancy outcomes including stillbirth. Other health factors of the pregnant person, including a high BMI, diabetes or heart conditions, may elevate this risk, according to the SMFM.

Unvaccinated people who give birth are also much more likely to have a perinatal death (death of a fetus or newborn within weeks of their birth), the large study from Scotland found. 

What if I'm breastfeeding? 

The CDC reports that breastfeeding people who have received an mRNA vaccine produce COVID-19 antibodies in their breast milk. In a small study on lactating health care workers who received a mRNA vaccine while breastfeeding, researchers from the University of Florida found that their breast milk had a "significant" amount of antibodies. 

In its latest report, the CDC made a strong recommendation that breastfeeding people and those who were recently pregnant get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Do the COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility? 

All available research says the same thing: no. But a COVID-19 infection may make the male partner (temporarily) less fertile, one study suggests. The same study found no fertility differences in male partners who tested positive after about two months, however. Possible reasons for this include inflammation of the testes or erectile dysfunction. 

The fear about infertility and COVID-19 vaccines stems from a now-debunked blog post that claimed the vaccine would make pregnant people's bodies attack a protein needed for placenta formation in early pregnancy because, it asserted, the spike protein in the COVID-19 vaccine is "similar." Experts have disproved this, saying that not only do the two proteins have "almost nothing in common," but even if they did, infection with COVID-19 would have the same outcome. And a past illness with COVID-19 has not been associated with a decrease in female fertility, either.

If you'd like information in the video form about COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy, Dr. Danielle Jones, an OB-GYN who is also known as "Mama Doctor Jones" on TikTok, shared this video on YouTube debunking myths about COVID-19 vaccines and infertility, miscarriage and pregnancy.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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Your MacBook Trackpad Has an Annoying Setting You Need to Change


Your MacBook Trackpad Has an Annoying Setting You Need to Change

Having unboxed and set up many MacBooks over the past 15 years, there's one settings choice that drives me absolutely crazy. So if you're buying a new MacBook or want to make your current one a little more useful, you should try clicking a few boxes in the System Preferences menu that always make these machines much more useful. 

This trick will work in everything from the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro to the new M2 13-inch MacBook Pro to the upcoming M2 MacBook Air, as well as older MacBooks. 

One of the best things about MacBooks has always been the huge glass trackpad, which always felt more responsive and offered more surface area than the touchpad on most Windows laptops. The difference has narrowed over the years, but it's still hard to beat a Mac trackpad. However, it makes me nuts to see (and hear) people clicking down on their touchpads to do anything. Guess what? These touchpads haven't physically depressed when clicked on for years. Instead a clever bit of haptic feedback makes it feel like you've clicked down. 

screen-shot-2021-10-28-at-12-09-57-pm.png

Turn this on, even if you're not going to use it all the time. 

 Dan Ackerman/CNET

Windows laptops have long been set up for tap-to-click, which means a simple tap of your finger works the same way as a left mouse button (or ancient touchpad button) click would. A two-finger tap is the equivalent of a right mouse button click. 

Read more: Make the Most of iOS 15's Hidden Tricks

But every time I set up a new Mac, I spend several minutes vainly tapping on things with no effect, because MacOS has tap-to-click turned off by default. Why? I'm assuming it's just to make my life more difficult. Fortunately, it's easy to fix. And if you're a determined clicker and have no intention of becoming a tapper, that's OK -- change these settings and you can still click away, but now the tapping will work, too. 

screen-shot-2021-10-28-at-12-10-28-pm.png

The super secret hidden tap-and-drag settings menu. 

 Dan Ackerman/CNET

As a bonus, while we're doing this we're going to turn on both Exposé, which is a very useful multifinger gesture, and tap-and-drag, which is a much easier way to move things like folders around on the screen. 

Fix Apple's dumb default touchpad settings:

  • System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Check the checkbox for Tap to click (which is unchecked by default). 
  • System Preferences > Trackpad > More Gestures > Check the checkbox for App Exposé (fifth checkbox from the top).
  • System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options > Check the checkbox for Enable dragging (without drag lock).

That's it, your MacBook is now set up in a logical way. 

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2022 Kia K5 GT-Line Packs a Whole Lot of Value


2022 Kia K5 GT-Line Packs a Whole Lot of Value

2 of 33 Andrew Krok/Roadshow

4 of 33 Andrew Krok/Roadshow

This K5 wears the same aggressive bumpers, wheels, grille and spoiler as the GT, and combined with the $445 Wolf Grey paint job, it's a looker.

5 of 33 Andrew Krok/Roadshow

6 of 33 Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Its 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4 gas engine doesn't make the best sounds at higher revs, but its 180-hp, 195-pound-foot output is more than enough motive force for 99% of situations.

7 of 33 Andrew Krok/Roadshow

This engine is plenty happy to play, but it's also equally at home when you're just cruisin', its eight-speed automatic transmission smoothly swapping gears in the background. 

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LG's Rumored Rollable Phone Shows Up in a YouTube Video


LG's Rumored Rollable Phone Shows Up in a YouTube Video

LG left the smartphone business a year ago, but left one big mystery behind: the rollable phone it teased at CES 2021. Now a video on YouTube may have revealed a working version of the device in the wild.

The LG Rollable, as we assumed it would be called, first appeared in the company's CES press conference, which showed the phone's display smoothly extend -- but so smoothly that it could've been CG magic. The LG Rollable in the YouTube video surfacing today looks real, though, and the screen even looks responsive to touch commands. Other factors in the video like reflections make it even more likely that this is the real deal, as The Verge pointed out. 

It's tough to tell how functional this version of the LG Rollable is, meaning it could be a prototype with only a working display or a market-ready version. The short video does show us that the back of the LG Rollable has three cameras and a flash, though neither are used, nor do we see any software but the home screen. Given LG intended to release the Rollable in 2021, this could be closer to the final version of the phone. 

LG didn't respond to request for comment by time of publication.  

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2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Starts On-Road Testing


2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV Starts On-Road Testing

We're still a ways off from the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV's official on-sale date in fall 2023, and not much new information has come out about the electric pickup since its debut in January. But now the first engineering prototypes are hitting public roads, with General Motors releasing a couple images of the truck at its Milford Proving Grounds.

The Silverado prototype isn't wearing any camouflage, though it does have matte black paint and placeholder lights instead of the fancy production LEDs, and the truck is missing a few components like the fender flares and side skirt covers. Otherwise, though, this Silverado looks identical to what was unveiled earlier this year, meaning the Silverado EV's futuristic design isn't getting watered down for production.

Front 3/4 view of a matte black Chevy Silverado EV prototype driving on dirt

These will hit Detroit streets next month.

 Chevrolet

Like with the Hummer EV that shares with the Silverado its Ultium platform and motors, Chevy did much of the initial testing digitally, which is why we're only just now seeing fully formed, production-bodied prototypes a year ahead of launch, instead of spotting test mules and rougher prototypes a couple years out. GM CEO Mary Barra says the Silverado will start testing on Detroit streets in July.

When the Silverado EV goes on sale it will initially only be offered in WT work truck form or fully loaded RST trim, the latter of which starts at a whopping $105,000 before destination. The WT will cost $39,900, but it will only be offered to fleet customers. Eventually a whole range of midlevel trims will be offered, though details and specs for those have yet to be announced.

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