Steve Litchfield

Most Toyotas in recent years have supported wireless Apple CarPlay, but I (and others) have hit something of a tech wall with iOS 27 on our phones. Apple's constant improvements to Wifi security are causing the Wifi Direct used by Toyota head/multimedia units to drop the connection every minute or so - it has been very annoying. Gemini says:   "Because the car's head unit isn't an internet router, iOS 27's privacy rotation features on local Wi-Fi channels cause the Toyota system to repeatedly drop the handshake thinking the hardware ID changed" Which sounds eminently plausible. And the trouble is that Toyota's software update regime is an order of magnitude slower than Apple's. If we're lucky then there might be a fix for existing cars at the next annual service. So many people are stuck. The fallback is actually a blessing though. When I bought my Yaris Cross, the sales exec said that he always used WIRED CarPlay in his Yaris. I thought "Wha...

Three weeks ago I compared the upcoming Apple iPhone Duo to the old Microsoft Surface Duo , pointing out a lot of similarities in design and intent - and that the iPhone Duo is more tablet than phone - it’s designed to be used open. Explaining a lot of the compromises in the new Duo. But I keep eyeing it up in the Apple Store anyway - and I suspect I’m not alone. But here is why you should save your £2000 and not buy it. If you’ve been an Apple enthusiast for a while then you already have an iPhone - probably a 16 or 17 Pro, knowing my audience. Which is already way more capable than the iPhone Duo in many ways: better cameras (including a superb telephoto), better speakers, Face ID, which works so well to authenticate, better use of screen space, way better selfie camera quality when on a video call, longer battery life on a charge. And so on. And you almost certainly own an iPad. Mine’s a humble 10th gen, but it does everything I ever ask of it. Compared to the upcoming iPhon...