What we think of this fortnight’s top tech ne ws stories and rumours,
and how they affect you
Discussweb news atwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine^21 Aug - 3 Sept 2019^9Need to Knowfrom the “battery health”
information that’s available
to other iPho ne users.
Apple iPhones are
notoriously difficult to fix at
home, thanks in part to the
amount of glue that holds the
super-thin sm artphones
together. It’s not impossible,
though, and anyone who has
the confidence to crack open
a gadget should be allowed
to do the work themselves.including
Microsoft’s
Windows
Phone, Firefox
OS, WebOS and
BlackB erry.
Huawei has
long described
HarmonyOS as
a “plan B” that
it would turn to
only if Andr oid
was no longer
an option. This
suggests that the company
will continue to negotiate
with US authorities.What dowethink?
Making an operating system
isn’t easy, and plenty of firms
have failed. We’ll have towait
to see HarmonyOS inaction
on a smartphone before we
can pass judgement, but theApple cracks down on DIY battery repairsHuawei unveils its alternative to AndroidWhat dowethink?
Phones last much lo nger
than their batteries, which
have a life span of around
two years. Sometimes
you’ll get longer fr om a
battery, sometimes less,
but replacing the battery is
an excellent way to keep
your phone going without
having to shell out for a
replacement.You may
remember that batteries
were easy to replace in the
early days of smartphones.
You simply removed the
back panel – a proc ess that
was designed to be simple.
This should be the case
now, too, and we should
have the right to repair our
devices in any way we see
fit. It’s a pity that Apple
doesn’ t appearto agree.trade war chaos aroundthe
company makes its devices
a tough sell, especially
when there are so many
other options. It may seem
odd to make a smartphone
buying decisio n based on
US politics, but that’s 2019
for you. Look out for an
FAQ on HarmonyOS in
our next issu e.What happened?
Apple is locki ng iPhones to
stop people repairin g their
devices themselves. That’s
according to repair
specialists at iFixit (bit.ly/
ifixit 482), who discovered
that instal ling a new
battery – whether it’s an
official Apple part or a
third-party product –
triggers a messag e saying
that the battery need s to
be serviced. This means
you have totake the
phone to an Apple stor e
to be fixed.
According to iFixit, when
you replace an iPhone’s
battery, the Battery Health
section of th e iPhone’s
softwareshows an
“important battery
messag e”, saying that theWhat happened?
Chinese phone
manufacturer Huawei
revealed that it has been
working on its own
operating system, after
Google suspended its
licence earlier this year.
Google’s move followed
a US government ban
proh ibiting American
companies from doing
business with specific
Chinese firms, including
Huawei, amid a trade war.
Existing Huawei phones
that already have Andr oid
instal led aren’t at risk, but
Huawei’s next range of
handsets will needa new
OS. That’s why the
company has developed its
own. Called HarmonyOS,
the softwareis designed to
work across phones anddevice can’t verify it, and
refuses to show other battery
health information.How will it affectyou?
This prob lem seems to
affe ct only newer iPhones,
including the XR, XS and XS
Max. If you see this messag e
after replacing a battery, it
doesn’ t necessarily meanthe
battery is flawed or won’t
work, but you won’t bene fitother smart devices,
including TVs and wearab le
technology. Like Andr oid, it
will be open-source (see our
cover feat ure on page40).How will it affectyou?
The CEO of Huawei’s
consumer ar m said
HarmonyOS is ready to use
now, but it’s expected to be
releas ed in handsets at the
end of th is year. The
company has already
demonstrated the software
running on a smart TV.
The move allows Huawei
to continue making phones
despite the trade ban, but
it’s hard to know whether
this will rescue the Chinese
smartphone maker ou tside
its own home market. Plenty
of mobile operating systems
have come and gone before,