iPhone

This iPhone 17 Pro Max is a Phone That Refused to Die, Even in a Flash Flood

By Jackson Chung November 7, 2025

Photo credit: BricksAndCanvas
On October 31, a Category 4 typhoon known as Kalmaegi devastated Cebu. By sunrise, the entire neighborhood was submerged in a murky brown slurry that smelled like a mix of diesel fumes and raw sewage. That neighborhood was home to a person who posts on Reddit under the username “bricksandcanvas”; he’d lost his house, his furniture, and, most importantly, almost his life. But three days later, he was able to dig out his iPhone 17 Pro Max from the dirt, and it was still functional.

How the TBK-938 Intelligent Polishing Machine Can Polish Away an iPhone’s Past

By Jackson Chung November 1, 2025

Scratches on a smartphone screen reveal the story of drops, drags, and daily wear. For refurbishers, those marks have resulted in additional hours of disassembly, glass replacement, and reassembly, which has cost them time and money. This is where the TBK-938 Intelligent Polishing Machine comes in, a Shenzhen-made piece of machinery that completes the task in a single sealed, slurry-fed operation.

Chilling an iPhone 17 Pro Max the Mad Scientist Way with Liquid Air Cooling

By Jackson Chung October 29, 2025

A YouTuber named Kingmi Mobile got his hands on a brand new iPhone 17 Pro Max and cracked it open to cram a liquid cooling setup from a RedMagic 11 Pro+ gaming phone inside. The result? An 8% boost in benchmark scores, which makes you wonder why hasn’t Apple done this.

Apple Maps’ Quiet Shift Toward Paid Spotlight Ads Might be Coming Sooner Than Later

By Jackson Chung October 26, 2025

For years, Apple Maps has been the clean, ad-free alternative to Google Maps’ cluttered environment. No pop-ups, no sponsored pins, just directions and a sense of calm efficiency. Now, according to sources within Apple, that’s coming to an end. Paid ads may appear in search results as early as next year and may change how we discover the world.

DIY Lens Mod Adventure Turns Broken iPhone Into a Cinema Camera

By Jackson Chung October 18, 2025

Evan Monsma’s studio in Indianapolis is where broken gadgets are reborn into something incredible, rather than tossed out into the trash. His latest project – turning a smashed iPhone into a seriously capable cinema-grade camera by slapping on some old C-mount lenses – is pure proof that imagination really can meet DIY skills head on.

iPhone 17 Air Goes Clear After Peeling Back the Layers

By Jackson Chung October 17, 2025

Photo credit: Phone Repair Guru
Phone Repair Guru disassembled an iPhone 17 Air to remove the rear glass and reveal what’s inside – a more difficult task than normal due to the phone’s curved camera region, which required a delicate touch. He documented every step, turning a rather simple disassembly into a nail-biter that eventually paid off with some pretty spectacular results.

Xiaomi 17 Pro Max vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max: A Head-to-Head Showdown for the Ages

By Jackson Chung October 14, 2025

Marques Brownlee recently put the spotlight on a comparison that’s been on everyone’s radar – the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max versus the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Both devices are vying for the top spot in the smartphone world, but what stands out about Xiaomi is that they seem to be on a mission to match Apple’s polish – but also to push past it in some key areas.

Akko’s MetaKey Puts a New Spin on Typing with Your iPhone

By Bill Smith October 8, 2025

Akko has established itself as a manufacturer of keyboards and related components, such as clickable switches and keycaps in a variety of colors. The MetaKey is the company’s most recent use of such expertise. It’s a physical keyboard that attaches to the bottom of your iPhone and allows you to text without the on-screen keyboard getting in the way. More space above your words. It’s similar to how earlier BlackBerry phones worked, with thumbs dancing over buttons rather than glass.

Fascinating Look at the Camera-Less iPhone That Doesn’t See

By Jackson Chung October 8, 2025

You may not know this, but these camera-less iPhones have been around for over a decade. It’s a basic conflict: constant connectivity vs perfect concealment. For some professions, especially government agencies, you need a perfect blend of both.

First Look at Caira, an iPhone-Compatible Camera That Thinks Like a Pro with Google’s Nano Banana AI

By Jackson Chung October 7, 2025

A few years ago, a startup called Alice Camera promised to put the power of a dedicated camera in the palm of your hand with the everyday convenience of a smartphone. Delays happened, the world changed and the project disappeared into the ether; but the same minds are back with something even better: Caira. Camera Intelligence’s new device attaches to your iPhone like a trusty sidekick and has a Micro Four Thirds sensor four times the size of the one in the current iPhone 17 Pro.