Are new Apple iPhones throwing hissy fits under load?

By Bill Roberson September 19, 2016

New Apple iPhones hissing when under load?

Here’s a quick update on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall: it now includes phones sold in China. And as the Samsung recall fiasco plays out, there’s now some odd news about the new iPhone 7. Stephen Hacket over at 512 pixels says he noticed his new iPhone was making a hissing sound while it was under load in a quiet room, and tried to capture it on video. Several others have said they heard the same thing.

However, attempts to reproduce the sound by other tech outlets have met with mixed results, with some phones hissing slightly, and some not. Why the hiss? Theories run from some sort of tiny defect in the way the new A10 chip is seated in the phone to “coil noise,” which is a sound that a computer system makes when under heavy load. Whatever it is, Hacket says Apple is replacing his phone, and we’ll keep an eye out for any more hissy phones in our office.

There’s a reason we don’t let kids drive

If you’re hoping for an autonomous car to drive you around in the near future, you’d better be patient, especially after some recent high-profile mishaps involving auto-driving tech. That’s the word from Jitendra Mahlick, a computer vision researcher profiled in a New York Times article today. Malik says drivers need to keep their hands on the wheel even when the car is in auto mode.

Why? Because according to Malik, automatic driving systems aren’t ready to take over driving duties just yet because the ways computers see is still, well, sort of like a kid, not an adult. It’s better than ever, but still has a long ways to go, and Malik thinks neural networks and the application of some AI will hopefully grow up the systems over time. But, that time isn’t quite here yet, so let’s stay safe and keep close tabs on the driving, especially if the car is doing it.

Cool cameras, but too late to the game?

At long last, Nikon is getting into the action cam game with a suite of minicams called the Key Mission series. Odd name aside, the three cameras look like some solid kit and they include your usual 4K action cams, including one reportedly the size of a lighter, and the top-of-the line model, the Key Mission 360, capable of shooting high-rez 360-degree footage.

All of the models are waterproof to 10 meters and are ruggedly built, we’ll have to see if they can make a dent in the action cam market, which is under pressure from people using their now more-rugged phones to get the same kind of footage. But that 360-degree model does look pretty nice, so we’ll round one up for a test when it comes out next month. We’ve got the rest of the day’s tech news at Digital Trends dot com …

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