‘Warcraft’ among Universal Pictures’ first 4K offerings

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment detailed its list of 4k Blu-ray releases scheduled this summer, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg for 4K Blu-ray collectors.

Beginning with Warcraft, Jason Bourne, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War, more than 100 titles will be available by the end of the year for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and digital formats. Each title will be mastered in Dolby Vision as well, with HDR and brighter colors across digital and physical releases.

The releases aren’t relegated to current box-office bids, however, with recent films such as Lucy, Lone Survivor, and Everest rounding things out. If you missed them in theaters you’ll be able to check them out at home in style later this year — that is, if you didn’t already stream them by then.

While this opens up a wide breadth of content for consumers looking to grow their home entertainment collection, the 4K Blu-ray could still be dead on arrival. Some cinephiles are opting for 4K video streaming over expensive discs and 4K Blu-ray devices, with digital content winning out by far. With so many services out there to choose from, it’s hard to compete.

Unofficial Apple Watch battery band put on hold

There’s a good reason why you don’t want to base a business around unsupported solutions to other companies’ problems: those companies can break compatibility at any given moment. And unfortunately, Reserve Strap is discovering this first-hand. The company has stopped shipping its namesake Apple Watch battery band to most customers after learning that WatchOS 2.0.1 and later breaks the strap’s charging functionality… you know, its reason for being. Reportedly, Apple doesn’t want anyone using the Watch’s hidden port (tucked just inside one of the band slots) until there’s an MFi accessory program in place.

This doesn’t mean that it’s game over just yet. Reserve Strap will ship your band if you haven’t updated to 2.0.1, and it’s pushing for that MFi program to happen sooner than later. Whatever happens, the startup is in limbo unless Apple offers an olive branch and lets this smart strap work for everyone.

Via: Mashable

Source: Reserve Strap

Uber shuts down its Instant Delivery food service in NYC

Uber has pulled the plug on Instant Delivery in New York City. The UberEats feature, which offers pre-set lunch items to be delivered in 10 minutes or less, had been available to people in The Big Apple since last year. But, as of today, that’s no longer the case. “In order to bring you the most exciting selection, the highest quality food, and the fastest delivery time, we’ve decided to narrow our focus,” Uber said in an email to users, explaining its decision to move away from that service.

According to New York Daily News, a spokesperson for the company said it didn’t have any plans to phase out Instant Delivery anywhere else. As such, those of you outside of NYC have nothing to worry about — assuming UberEats Instant Delivery is something you love or desperately need.

Source: Quartz, New York Daily News

iPhone Hack Answered Questions About San Bernardino Attack But Generated No New Leads

Breaking into the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook yielded no new leads in the FBI’s investigation, but it did help answer remaining questions about the attack, reports CNN.

According to anonymous U.S. law enforcement officials, the iPhone did not contain encrypted messages or evidence of communications with other unknown ISIS supporters, but it did confirm the shooters did not have outside help as there was no evidence Farook made contact with a third-party during an 18-minute timeline gap.

The FBI has also concluded there was data on the phone it did not have access to previously, an unsurprising find because the iPhone was in use for several weeks after the last iCloud backup. Apple was able to provide data from iCloud backups to the FBI, but the FBI pursued the iPhone unlocking because there was no way to know if there was additional information on the phone without breaching it.

Investigators are now more confident that terrorist Syed Farook didn’t make contact with another plotter during an 18-minute gap that the FBI said was missing from their time line of the attackers’ whereabouts after the mass shooting, the officials said. The phone has helped investigators address lingering concern that the two may have help, perhaps from friends and family, the officials said.

The phone didn’t contain evidence of contacts with other ISIS supporters or the use of encrypted communications during the period the FBI was concerned about. The FBI views that information as valuable to the probe, possibilities it couldn’t discount without getting into the phone, the officials said.

CNN’s report is in line with information shared last week by CBS News, which said “nothing of real significance” had been discovered on the device. As The Verge points out, the lack of useful contacts or messages on the phone has brought an anticlimactic end to the vicious public encryption battle Apple and the FBI fought over the San Bernardino iPhone.

Apple and the FBI are continuing their encryption dispute over a case in New York. The FBI has asked that a judge order Apple to unlock the iPhone 5s pertinent to a Brooklyn drug case, which Apple has refused to do. While the order was initially denied, the FBI has filed an appeal and the case has yet to be decided.

Apple legal chief Bruce Sewell and Amy Hess, executive assistant director for science and technology at the FBI, are also testifying before congress this afternoon over encryption matters.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Apple-FBI
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Apple Shells Out $25 Million to Settle Siri Lawsuit

Apple today settled a long-running lawsuit with Dynamic Advances and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute over accusations Apple’s Siri voice-based personal assistant violated a 2007 patent owned by Rensselaer and licensed exclusively to Dallas company Dynamic Advances, reports the Albany Business Review.

Apple will pay a total of $24.9 million to Dynamic Advances’ parent company Marathon Patent Group. $5 million will be paid after the lawsuit is dropped with the rest of the money to follow later. Apple will be granted a patent license to use the technology and under the terms of the settlement, will not be sued again for a three-year period.

Dynamic Advances will pay approximately 50 percent of the money received from Apple to Rensselaer, but Rensselaer has not agreed to the royalty rate proposed in the settlement.

Dynamic Advances expects to pay 50 percent of that money to Rensselaer, legal counsel and the predecessor exclusive licensee of the patents in suit, according to regulatory filings.

Rensselaer has not, however, agreed to the royalty rate proposed in the settlement, according to a document filed by Marathon Patent Group

Had the case not been settled out of court, it would have gone to trial next month. The lawsuit dates back to 2012 and covers U.S. patent No. 7177798 B2, “Natural language interface using constrained intermediate dictionary of results.”

Tag: Siri
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Apple TV Apps Can Now Be Previewed on the Web

Apple has begun rolling out iTunes web previews for Apple TV apps, allowing Apple TV users and developers alike to easily share links to Apple TV apps on the web. The change was first spotted by Slide to Play’s Jeff Scott (via MacStories).

Previously, Apple only had iTunes web previews enabled for iOS and Mac OS X apps, making it very difficult for users of the fourth-generation Apple TV to share their favorite apps on the web as well as for developers to promote their apps on their websites and social media accounts.

Although the feature is still rolling out, it appears it’s limited to tvOS-only apps thus far. Kevin MacLeod of AfterPad told MacStories “that while the iTunes API is now returning screenshot metadata for tvOS-only apps, that metadata is absent for iOS apps with tvOS support.”

Two of the first apps to feature web previews are currently Disney Infinity 3.0 and Beergeek.com TV. While these previews offer users and developers a way to see what an Apple TV app looks like or what features it has, they do not include any way for users to take any action.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
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Apple MacBook 2016 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The 12-inch MacBook is a love-it-or-hate-it laptop. It seems to inspire either fierce loyalty or intense derision, at least judging from comments on my review of the original version, and social media feedback on any follow-up stories since. A new set of updates for 2016, including new processors for faster performance and better battery life, plus a new rose gold color option, may help throw off some of that shade, but not all.

When Apple released the 12-inch MacBook in the spring of 2015, it felt like a bold shot across the bow of a computer arms race which saw companies competing to add features from touch screens and 4K resolutions to depth-sensing webcams and detachable keyboards. Against all this feature creep, the MacBook — shedding the Pro and Air monikers used by other Apple laptops — was an exercise in strictly enforced minimalism.

Sarah Tew/CNET

But, doubters were quick to call the 12-inch MacBook on the carpet for a list of perceived sins. It relied on Intel’s initially unimpressive Core M processor, and its performance and battery life compared unfavorably to the bigger MacBook Air and Pro systems. The keyboard was unusually shallow, in order to fit into such a thin body. And most of all, the single USB-C port was a hard pill to swallow for those convinced of the need for separate power, video, and data ports.

Despite these built-in limitations, I liked the 2015 version of the MacBook, even though I agreed it was not the perfect laptop for everyone, or even most people. Over time, I found myself turning to it more and more often, especially for on-the-go computing in coffee shops around New York, eventually declaring it my current all-around favorite. But, it could still get bogged down with too many programs and windows open, and the battery life wasn’t at the level where it could go days and days between charging sessions. The USB issue turned out to be less serious than I feared, and only two or three times in the months after the product’s original release did I find myself stymied by a lack of ports (although when I did get stuck with a USB key and nowhere to connect it, it was very annoying).

The MacBook, with its sole USB-C port, on top of a MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Sarah Tew/CNET

With this 2016 update, Apple has addressed some, but not all, of the issues with the original. Based on our CNET Labs testing in other computers with the second generation of Core M processors (confusingly part of Intel’s sixth generation of Core chips, also known by the code name Skylake), I’m confident that we’ll see closer-to-mainstream levels of performance, and perhaps another hour or so of battery life. Those tests are being run right now, and we’ll update this page with results when available.

Our first look at Apple’s new 12-inch MacBook:…
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Along with Core m3, m5 and m7 CPUs (the M series now follows the same 3/5/7 format as the Core i-series chips), the new MacBook gets Intel’s updated 515 integrated graphics, which won’t make you a gamer, but may help with video application performance. The speed of the internal flash memory has also reportedly improved, but I doubt that’s something casual users would even notice.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Frankly, the most obvious difference between the 2016 MacBook and the 2015 model is the addition of a fourth color option, rose gold, which is already available on iPhones and iPads. The previous MacBook started the trend by adding gold, but sadly, our review sample is a rather straitlaced space gray (silver is the fourth option). Note also that we’re testing the step-up model, which costs $1,599 in the US (£1,299 and AU$2,199), and includes an Intel Core m5 processor and a big 512GB of storage. The base $1,299 model (£1,049 and AU$1,799) has the Core m3 and 256GB of storage.

In hands-on use, the new MacBook feels almost exactly like the previous version. If you’ve got the 2015 MacBook, there’s no need to upgrade, but if you were holding off to see what the second generation looked like, the potential boost to performance and battery life makes me feel even more confident about using this as a primary laptop, especially for frequent travelers.

Sarah Tew/CNET

However, the lack of ports and the feel of the keyboard will still be enough to discourage some, especially those who are looking for a laptop that will stay tethered to a desk for all day, every day use.

The 2016 version of the MacBook is currently running our performance and battery life tests, and this page will be updated later with the results and further hands-on impressions.

Xiaomi Mi 5 Review

Buy now!

Nearly five years ago, Xiaomi released their first smartphone: the Mi 1, and with it, arguably began revolutionising the affordable smartphone market. Xiaomi’s goal of using inexpensive hardware to increase MIUI’s presence within China was simple and effective and certainly paid off; in 2015, for example, Xiaomi shipped nearly seventy million smartphones, the most of any smartphone manufacturer within China.

Xiaomi’s impressive performance is, in no small part, thanks to an admirable strategy of over delivering with nearly every iteration in its flagship “Mi” lineup, while also releasing several very impressive budget smartphones within the “Redmi” lineup. Arriving almost two years after its predecessor, does Xiaomi’s latest flagship continue this trend of offering a flagship experience without the flagship price?

After first sharing our first impressions of this device, we tested a base model Xiaomi Mi 5 for a two week period on AT&T’s US network. Please do keep in mind that while this review reflects my experience with this model, differences such as rear cover material, processor speed, storage, and memory are likely to only have a marginal impact on your overall experience with this device.

Design

With the Mi 5, Xiaomi has included previously introduced design elements like the 3D glass from the Mi Note in addition to newly introduced aspects like the physical home button.

Premium aspects such as the curved glass found on the rear, contouring metal frame, and illusionary bezel-less display are strong indicators of the Xiaomi Mi 5’s flagship ranking. The phone’s form makes it comfortable to hold, even with a single hand. Whether you prefer glass over other materials or not, there is something to said for curved glass edges. While some may be led to believe that Samsung initially started this trend with the Galaxy Note 5, Xiaomi was actually first to implement “3D glass” with the Mi Note.

Of course, the glass back on the Mi 5 does present a couple of issues that are worth mentioning. Most annoyingly is the device’s slipperiness on many surfaces, which can cause it to slip and fall from dangerous heights when not attended to. I also expact that the black model collects fingerprints easily, which can prove to be a nuisance, although the white model hardly attracts fingerprints so this may not be an issue.

Also read:

Xiaomi Mi 4i review
Xiaomi Mi 4 review
Xiaomi Mi Note Pro review
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 review

The Mi 5’s build quality seems to be on par with other flagship smartphones. It feels solid in the hand, and tactile feedback from the power and volume buttons as well as features like flush camera optics are immediately noticeable and appreciated. The craftsmanship is what sets the Xiaomi Mi 5 apart from much of the competition within the same price range, and I have no reservations about this phone’s durability.

Those who enjoy having IR blasters will be happy to learn that the Xiaomi Mi 5 includes one at its top, which allows you to control anything from a television to a fan. While the Mi Remote app does support a respectable number of products, we also found Peel Smart Remote to be an excellent third party alternative, with better support within the U.S. and a few extra handy features. Regardless, the IR blaster is a godsend for those who find themselves watching many hours of TV or using a household appliance often.

Just like every Xiaomi device, there is a multi-colored notification LED which can even be customized based on notification type in the phone’s built-in settings menu. I love having a notification LED on my smartphone, as it saves me from having to manually check for notifications in a compulsive manner. As we noted above, there is a physical home button, which is nested between two illuminated capacitive keys, which unfortunately do not follow the Android standard layout, but do stay true to Xiaomi’s traditional layout.

Display

Although many recently released flagship smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S7 and HTC 10, are shipping with quad HD displays, Xiaomi has chosen to stick with the tried-and-true full HD resolution. I personally respect this decision as 1080P panels are often cheaper, use less battery power, and virtually all users will be unable to notice a difference, especially at the Mi 5’s size.

The 5.15″ 1080P panel on the Mi 5 is also one of the best we’ve seen, thanks to vibrant and saturated colors, deep blacks, great contrast, and excellent viewing angles. We also found sunlight readability to be very good during our testing, as was the adaptive brightness feature. MIUI handles brightness adjustments notably well, and I rarely had to reach for the adaptive brightness slider during my testing, something which can’t be said for all smartphones available today.

Performance

If there is just one aspect of the Xiaomi Mi 5 that tips the flagship smartphone scale, it has to be its beastly Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. It’s one of the fastest mobile processors available on the market today, and we were happy to see its inclusion in the Mi 5.

See also: Which phones come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor?16

It is not entirely implausible that Xiaomi delayed the Mi 5’s release in the face of the Snapdragon 810, which was tainted by several overheating rumors. The Snapdragon 820 is even faster than the 810 and has barely any negative press associated with it in comparison to its predecessor. Regardless of Xiaomi’s reasoning to wait nearly two years between major flagship launches, there is no denying that Mi fans will appreciate having what is likely the best mobile processor available to date.

In addition to its Snapdragon 820, the Mi 5 is shipping in variants with either 3 or 4 GB of RAM, which should be plenty for most users. Even with my 3 GB base model, benchmark scores were impressive to say the least.

Gaming performance was also great on the Mi 5, thanks to the Adreno 530. I had no issues playing high-end games, and you can be confident that the Xiaomi Mi 5 will remain a great gaming performer for some time to come. Overall, the combination of the latest in processors and GPUs has delivered an experience that’s fast, fluid and future-proof.

Hardware

With 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, and GPS with A-GPS, the Mi 5 offers the connectivity options we expect from a flagship. Since it is an unlocked dual-SIM device, you can use two phone numbers simultaneously. Cellular data will be limited to HSPA+ within the U.S., as neither AT&T’s nor T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network is supported. We should also mention that you may not receive HSPA+ in some areas when using T-Mobile, since the phone lacks AWS (1700/2100MHz) support. This is not an issue when using AT&T. Here is the full list of frequencies that the Chinese variant Mi 5 supports:

FDD-LTE B1, B3, B7
TD-LTE B38, B39, B40, B41
TD-SCDMA B34, B39
WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100MHz
GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz
EVDO/CDMA 1X BC0

Now that cellular frequency support has been addressed, we can discuss other aspects of the Mi 5’s hardware. One of those things is, call quality, which we found to be excellent. When asked, callers said they heard me loud and clear, and I thought they sounded great as well. If you are someone who still appreciates a good amount of traditional phones calls, you will love the Mi 5.

Xiaomi’s fingerprint readers have always been on par with other smartphones, but the Mi 5 takes that position to the next level. The Mi 5’s embedded fingerprint reader is the fastest that I have encountered while still remaining very accurate. In fact, it proved to be even faster than the fingerprint reader found on the Google Nexus 6P in nearly all of my side-by-side tests. When unlocking the Xiaomi Mi 5 from sleep, the lock screen is visible only for about a tenth of second, if at all. Needless to say, the Mi 5’s fingerprint reader performance is very impressive indeed.

The side-firing speaker found on the Mi 5, which is present to the right of the charging port, sounded better than the Samsung Galaxy S7’s, but was not particularly impressive. As someone who enjoys an arguably unhealthy amount of video consumption on my smartphone, I greatly prefer front-facing speakers over rear-facing and slightly less over side-firing. I found the Mi 5’s speaker to be just adequate. I was not satisfied with its minor distortion nor its position, but I did appreciate its volume and relative quality to speakers found on phones in the same price category.

With the adoption of the USB Type-C 1.0 standard, Xiaomi is investing in the future of wired charging. It may expedite the need to replace your micro-USB chargers with the newer, USB Type-C chargers, but it is arguably well worth it thanks to the new standard’s reversibility and compatibility with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0. The Xiaomi Mi 5 in particular boasts the ability to go from 0 to 85 percent within just thirty minutes. To our disappointment, the bundled charger is not compatible with Quick Charge 3.0, but rather with the slower, 2.0.

See also: Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Explained26

Battery Life

The Mi 5 is not only fast at charging, however, as it offers excellent battery life to begin with. Its 3000mAh high-density battery allowed me to use the Mi 5 for a minimum of a full day of use. With lighter usage, I had no trouble exceeding the one and a half day mark. The Mi 5’s battery life puts it slightly ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S7, despite being powered by a battery of the same capacity. I should mention, however, that you should not base your decision on this minor difference, as there are too many variables in usage to objectively rank each phone.

Camera

I was quite happy with the Mi 5’s 16 MP f/2.0 Sony rear camera when shooting in good lighting. Images that I took had a great amount of dynamic range and were very sharp and detailed. Color reproduction was also great and images did not seem under nor over saturated.

The dual-LED flash to the right of the camera module was helpful in evening out skin tones, and the 4-axis optical image stabilization worked well and helped reduce motion blur.

See also: Optical Image Stabilization Explained15

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with images taken with the Mi 5 in low-light. The performance is mediocre in comparison to other flagships, and the digital noise and reduced image quality are very distracting. It is important to realize, however, that this may just be the best camera for low-light photography for the price. It does not perform nearly as well as the Samsung Galaxy S7, but one should not forget that you could buy two Mi 5’s for the price of one Galaxy S7.

Xiaomi has bumped up the pixel size of its 4 MP f/2.0 front-facing camera, and I was generally happy with the selfies that the Mi 5 produced. Skin softening is turned on by default, and you may want to turn it off for more candid and realistic results.

MIUI’s built-in camera app is of notable quality, with an easy-to-use auto mode and an advanced manual mode. The manual mode does allow control over white balance, focus, exposure time, and ISO, which should be plenty for intermediate or advanced photographers.

Software

Xiaomi is shipping the Mi 5 with its own custom version of Android, MIUI 7, over Android 6.0 Marshmallow. MIUI may receive a fair bit of criticism for its iOS-like design, but it is actually very enjoyable in day-to-day use. That’s at least partly thanks to the amount of customization that Xiaomi has packed in, which will please many Android enthusiasts.

Built-in features such as a comprehensive theme store, call recording, app cleaner, advanced data usage management, call & text blacklist, advanced battery life profiles, virus scanner, app permissions, bug reporting, and a seemingly countless number of settings options can be found on the Xiaomi Mi 5. What’s even better is Xiaomi’s commitment to keeping their Mi devices updated by releasing weekly stable updates, which sometimes add new features and almost always include bug fixes and optimizations.

Despite this frequent update schedule, some features found in stock Android Marshmallow and even Lollipop are missing in MIUI 7. Google Now On Tap, multi-user support, and tabbed windows for apps are nowhere to be found, at least in MIUI’s current iteration.

Xiaomi in video:

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  Xiaomi Mi 5 Review!

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  Xiaomi Mi 5 hands-on

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  Xiaomi Mi 4i review: not a f…

If you chose to import the Mi 5 from a reseller in China, you need to be aware of a few potential complications. Since the stock China software shipping on Chinese variants does not include Google apps, many resellers have decided to manually add them for you. This sounds great, but in practice, they often add bloatware and sometimes even malware as well. Therefore, it would be very wise for you to flash the global ROM, which includes Google apps, in order to have the best experience possible. Without flashing a stock ROM, you will not be able to receive weekly updates and your personal information may be at risk due to possible malware.

Here is where it gets complicated. Xiaomi recently started locking boot loaders, in an effort to curb reseller shenanigans and increase security. Unfortunately, many resellers have evidently been able to get around this, and have even blocked updating in their custom ROMs, forcing you to unlock the boot loader if you wish to have a secure experience. What’s worse is that the unlocking process is very complicated. Users are forced to wait up to ten days and some features, such as Xiaomi’s “find my device,” are permanently disabled.

This is only an issue if you chose to import the device, however. If you buy the Xiaomi Mi 5 through an official channel, you will have absolutely no trouble.

Gallery

Price

Xiaomi is containing its tradition of competitive pricing with the Mi 5. At 1999 RMB (≈$310) for the base model, Xiaomi is redefining what an affordable smartphone should be. Each model is available in either white, black, or gold and comes with either 32, 64, or 128 GB of non-expandable storage.

Conclusion

Overall, there’s no denying that Xiaomi has made yet another excellent smartphone. The Mi 5 undercuts the best smartphones on the market in price but not nearly as much in features as in previous years. Although its lack of U.S. availability and 4G LTE support are a major hurdle, its low-light camera may be somewhat disappointing, and MIUI could use a few updates, there’s certainly a lot to love about the Xiaomi Mi 5.

The Mi 5’s design, display, performance, hardware, battery life, camera, and software impressed us overall, which is astonishing at this price point. Xiaomi has yet again raised the bar for what an affordable smartphone should be, and much like previous years, rival OEMs will certainly need to up their game to topple Xiaomi’s latest flagship.

Buy now!

VW staff used code words to hide emissions cheating

Volkswagen’s problems cooperating with emissions investigators aren’t just a matter of navigating privacy laws… if you believe insiders, it’s because the culprits did a good job of keeping things hush-hush. Bloomberg tipsters claim that VW staff used “dozens” of code words to hide emissions cheating activities, making it difficult for internal investigators to find evidence. They’d refer to the technology as “acoustic software,” for example. Combine that with old, inadequate computers and it has supposedly been difficult to pin the illegal behavior on specific people.

The company isn’t directly acknowledging the problems, and says only that it’ll “comment” in the second half of April, when it originally intended to have a full report on what went wrong. If the leaks are accurate, though, it’s unlikely to make that deadline. It’ll have something to say by the time it discusses earnings on April 28th, but there’s a real chance that you’ll only get preliminary findings.

Delays have been par for the course since the scandal erupted: VW had to delay an earnings report, a shareholder meeting and even a US court deadline for its emissions solution. However, this latest setback might test limits more than usual. Investors and concerned fans want to know that the automaker is willing to turn a new leaf and oust whoever’s responsible for the cheating. If they only get a half-answer, they may just vote with their dollars and go elsewhere.

Via: Roadshow

Source: Bloomberg

9 settings every new iPhone owner should change – CNET

New iPhone? Take a peek at its settings. So many categories, so many options within those categories. It’s enough to make your head swim.

And you might find yourself wondering, are Apple’s factory settings ideal? Right out of the box, is the iPhone really configured for optimal performance, productivity and battery life?

Not so much. Here are the iPhone settings you should consider changing right away:

1. Crank down the brightness

Simple math: The brighter your screen, the faster it will consume your battery. That’s why you should lower the brightness setting, and not by a little. Consider dropping it to 50 percent or even less.

Doing so will provide a considerable bump in battery life, and I suspect you’ll barely notice a difference. (The change might seem off-putting initially, but trust me when I say it won’t bother you after a few minutes.)

To adjust iPhone brightness level, swipe up from the bottom (starting just below the screen), then drag the brightness slider to around the midway mark.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

2. Disable push email

Do you need your phone to monitor your email accounts every second of every day? That’s the basic definition of “push” email, which is widely regarded as a huge battery suck.

I’m not a big fan of “fetch,” either, which checks for new mail at designated intervals. My thought: When I want to check for new messages, I fire up the Mail app and check for new messages. Anything else is not only a battery drain, but also a distraction.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Try turning both of these options off. To do so, tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, then tap Fetch New Data. Turn off Push, then scroll down to the Fetch section and choose Manually.

Remember: If someone needs to reach you in a hurry, they can still call or send a text message.

3. Turn on Do Not Disturb

If your iPhone routinely spends the night on your nightstand, you probably don’t want it beeping or buzzing every time there’s a call, message or alert — especially when you’re trying to sleep.

Thankfully, there’s a one-tap Do Not Disturb mode that will keep the phone more or less silent. To use it, swipe up from the bottom (starting just below the screen), then tap the moon icon.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Even better, venture into Settings for more granular control over this feature. Here you can set up scheduled times for Do Not Disturb to switch on and off. More importantly, you can set up exceptions in the form of Allow Calls From. For example, if you add important friends and family members to the Favorites group in the Phone app, you can allow calls from these people to get through even when your iPhone’s set to Do Not Disturb.

Likewise, if you turn on the Repeated Calls option, your phone will ring if the same number dials twice in three minutes. So persistent callers can still get through in an emergency.

4. Use the numeric battery gauge

Want to know exactly how much battery life is left? By default, your iPhone shows you only a small gauge — not super informative.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Here’s the fix: Tap Settings > Battery, then turn on Battery Percentage. Presto! Now you’ve got a numeric reading alongside your battery icon.

5. Tweak the size of text

The size of your iPhone’s screen doesn’t necessarily dictate the size of the text you’ll be reading. Although iOS has a default font size, you can adjust it by tapping Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size. Then drag the slider a few ticks in either direction until it seems more comfortable.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

As noted on that settings page, this will only affect apps that support Dynamic Type (meaning stock iOS apps and a smattering of others). You can also improve readability by tapping Settings > General > Accessibility and enabling the Bold Text option.

6. Configure auto-lock

Can’t be bothered to hit the power (aka standby) button every time you put down your phone or stick it in your pocket or purse? I’m always amazed when I see people leave their screens on and active, which is not only a security risk and battery killer, but also a great way to butt-dial (or butt-text) people.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Fortunately, your iPhone can automatically lock (meaning turn off the screen) after a designated interval. To change it, tap Settings > General > Auto-Lock, then set it to 30 Seconds.

7. Add more fingers to Touch ID

All newer iPhones incorporate Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor that makes for fast and easy lock-screen security. And when you first set up your phone, you probably trained Touch ID to recognize one of your fingers.

Just one problem: Sometimes you want to use other fingers. Like, say, the thumb on your other hand, or an index finger when the phone is laying on a table.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Fortunately, iOS can accommodate up to five fingers. All you have to do is train it to recognize more. To do so, tap Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, then enter your numeric passcode. Now tap Add a Fingerprint and follow the prompts. Repeat the process for any additional fingers you want to add.

8. Turn off location services for non-essentials

When you agree to share your location with apps like Waze, Uber and Starbucks, there’s a tangible benefit. But what about apps like Fooducate? GroupMe? OneDrive? I don’t see any advantage to letting them collect or report my whereabouts, especially considering the hit it puts on battery life.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

To see which apps have this feature enabled, tap Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Then scroll down through the list. When you see an app set to Always or While Using, decide if you want that app to know your location. If not, you can change it to Never.

9. Customize the Today display

When you swipe down from the top of the screen (starting just above the top), you gain immediate access to the iOS Notification Center, where you can read, review and dismiss notifications you’ve received.

You can also tap Today for quick access to information from a wide assortment of apps. Here’s how to customize what information is presented — and in what order:

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Swipe down, tap Today, scroll down to the bottom and tap Edit. The items at the top are already selected for the Today screen. All the items below that are available to add. Just tap the green plus sign next to the ones you want.

To change the order in which they appear, tap and drag one of the “handles” (represented by three horizontal lines) and drop it in the desired spot. Then tap Done. Now you’ll see the Today screen with all the items you enabled and in the order you put them. Tap Edit again if you want to make further changes.

If you’ve made any iPhone settings changes you consider essential, hit the comments and name them!