New research has lent weight to longstanding suspicions that Apple slows down older models of iPhones to encourage users to upgrade to its latest release.

The study, compiled by Harvard University PhD student Laura Trucco, analysed worldwide searches for "iPhone slow" and found that the search term spikes massively around the time of new phone releases, The Times reports.

The study compared those results with similar searches for one of Apple's main rivals but found that the term "Samsung Galaxy slow" was unaffected by new releases from Samsung.

Writing for the New York Times, Sendhil Mullainathan, a professor of economics at Harvard, said that the results were "striking".

"Wouldn't many business owners love to make their old product less useful whenever they released a newer one?" Mullainathan wrote. "When you sell the device and control the operating system, that's an option".

On the other hand, conspiracy theorists might also see an economic reason for Google to hide search results displaying peaks of concern about the speed of Android operating systems built by Google and used in Samsung smartphones.

Mullainathan notes that the research does not prove that Apple has done anything wrong. "No matter how suggestive," he says, "this data alone doesn't allow you to determine conclusively whether my phone is actually slower and, if so, why."

He said that there are other plausible explanations for why an older model iPhone may slow down. The latest version of the Apple operating system, iOS, is always tailored to the newest device and may therefore not work as efficiently on older models.

Also, artificially slowing phones comes with many problems: "First, the legal risk," Mullainathan says. "Second, competition and consumer rationality should combine to thwart this strategy. All a competitor needs to do is to offer a smartphone that doesn't become a brick as quickly, and more people should buy it."

Apple, kindly fix your Wi-Fi on iOS

Summary: The latest Wi-Fi routers use 40Mhz channels for best throughput on the 2.4Ghz band. Problem: iOS only supports 20Mhz.

All the mobile platforms -- save for one -- will negotiate at the higher data rate on the 2.4Ghz frequency when the router is set to "802.11n-only" and 40Mhz channels. 

Take a wild guess which platform that is. I'll give you a hint, it's not Windows, Windows Phone, any version of Linux embedded into an IoT device or even Android.

In almost every single piece of router equipment I have tested for my own personal use or configured for friends and family, if you set the 2.4Ghz band set to "N-only" and at 40Mhz channel width, your iOS device will simply fail to connect to the wireless network.

I don't care who makes the router in question, whether it is Linksys, Netgear, Asus, D-Link or some other random Chinese or Taiwanese company. It is always the same result.

Apple's iOS, which runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV cannot connect reliably to a 2.4Ghz network with a 40Mhz channel, period. Their own documentation says so and it's not recommended for Mac OS X either.

In a large number of cases, I have actually had to force the 2.4Ghz network to 20Mhz channels, rather than use "auto" in order to make wireless networks work with iOS.

......

There's a workaround, which I ended up resorting to. You could buy a cheap access point for the iOS devices, setting it to 20Mhz on the 2.4Ghz band, with its own unique SSID and isolated to a specific channel number so you can identify it easily, while setting your nice expensive router to 802.11n-only with 40Mhz (and 80Mhz) channels on the respective bands.

Or, maybe Apple could just fix their Wi-Fi implementation.

Does Apple's stone-age Wi-Fi implementation throw you into fits of rage? 

www.zdnet.com/apple-kindly-fix-your-wi-fi-on-ios-7000032318/

iPhone 6 vs HTC One: 5 Key Differences

This comparison shows how the HTC One, HTC One M8 and iPhone 6 compare. Whether you can’t decide on buying the new HTC One or waiting for the iPhone 6, or you bought the HTC One and want to know what you might be able to upgrade to later this year this iPhone 6 vs HTC One video and comparison can help.

For this comparison we are using an iPhone 6 mock-up based on the most believable iPhone 6 rumors, an original HTC One and a Verizon HTC One M8, commonly referred to as the new HTC One. The HTC One devices are the same as you’ll find in any carrier store in the U.S. and the iPhone 6 offers our best look at what to expect later this year.

Learn how the iPhone 6 vs HTC One comparison shakes out.

Although some iPhone 6 specs are still up in the air, leaks and rumors offer enough information that we can easily compare the iPhone 6 vs HTC One smartphones using the details that are most likely coming to the new iPhone later this year.

The iPhone 6 vs HTC One comparison is especially interesting because HTC kicked off a push for beautiful and better Android smartphone design, and the overall size of the iPhone 6 mock-up is very similar to the HTC One released last year which also uses a 4.7-inch display.

iPhone 6 vs HTC One Design

the iPhone 6, HTC One and HTC One M8 all offer a premium metal design, not found on many other devices. The HTC One M8 from this year includes more metal than the original HTC One. All of these metal devices include breaks on the back to let the phone communicate with WiFi and cellular towers.

The lines on the iPhone 6 mock-up are rather large, but reports suggest Apple will slim them down or hide them in some fashion on the actual device.

The back of the HTC One devices are curved, while the iPhone 6 back is flat with curved edges. the iPhone 6 also features a power button on the right side that is easier to press than the top power button on both of the HTC One models.

HTC Also includes front-facing speakers on the HTC One and HTC One M8, which deliver better sound than the iPhone 5s, and possibly the iPhone 6. These speakers add to the height of the device.

Screen Sizes

The iPhone 6 mock-up and HTC One share a 4.7-inch screen while the new HTC One includes a larger 5-inch display. The trend towards larger screens is one that Apple is late to the party on, but it looks like the company may plan two models for the fall.

In this comparison we look at a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 mock-up, though a 5.5-inch model is rumored.

• iPhone 6 – 4.7-inch – 1704 x 960 – 416 ppi

• HTC One – 4.7-inch – 1920 x 1080 – 468 ppi
• HTC One M8 – 5-inch – 1920 x 1080 – 441 ppi

The screen specs above show the difference in screen size. While a .3-inch difference is not much, the new HTC One will offer more screen space in a slightly larger package than the iPhone 6 based on current information.

The iPhone 6 and HTC One are almost the same size.

Camera

Smartphone cameras are the go to camera for many users, and an important part of these devices. The HTC One and HTC One M8 offer an Ultrapixel camera that uses larger pixels, but produced muddy photos. The HTC One M8 includes a second camera on the back to help take photos that allow users to blur the background or foreground after taking the photo. This device also features a 5MP front-facing camera for better looking Selfies.

The iPhone 6 camera rumors are still taking shape, but we could see a 8MP camera with bigger pixels or a 13MP Sony sensor depending on the source. There are also some claims that Apple plans to include image stabilization to help users take better photos.

The HTC One camera app offers more features than Apple’s default camera app with HTC Zoe and highlights, but our HTC One review found faults with the camera overall.

Features

When you start comparing HTC One specs vs iPhone 6 specs it’s clear that there are feature differences that users need to know about. Here are several areas that should matter to most buyers.

These iPhone 6 features are only rumors at this time, so they could change, but it is unlikely Apple plans to add remote control options based on current information. The smaller battery size is an area of interest, but it may not be as big of a difference if iOS 8 and the Apple processor and specs are more efficient.

HTC also includes a Kid Mode on the HTC One that lets users limit access when handing the phone to a child, something Apple still does not offer.

iOS 8 vs Android

When you finally get down to it, the iPhone 6 runs iOS 8 and the HTC One devices both run Android. Apple announced iOS 8 this summer with over 50 new features and we will very likely see special iOS 8 features only on the iPhone 6.