Skip to main content

LAPD actually warns residents not to microwave their iPhone 6

iphone-microwave
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Due to the recent iPhone 6 hoax created by a group of 4chan tricksters during the past week, the LAPD decided to issue a warning about the hoax on the official LAPD Communications Twitter account yesterday. Attached to the graphic that 4chan was using to perpetuate the hoax, a LAPD representative wrote “This #Wave capability is a #hoax. Don’t be fooled into microwaving your #iPhone6. #Apple #Smartphone.” The hoax was specifically designed to convince new iPhone 6 owners to place their smartphones in a microwave in order to enable a fast charging mode that would recharge the phone in about a minute.

Speaking to the L.A. Times about the hoax, Los Angeles Fire Department representative Brian Humphrey said “No metal object should ever be placed in the microwave. Even a little tin foil can cause a fire, so that much metal from a phone could lead to some manner of explosion.” While the Los Angeles Fire Department routinely gets calls about fires that break out due to improper microwave use, Humphrey stated that the LAFD has yet to field a call that’s related to an iPhone being melted inside a microwave.

Recommended Videos

Interestingly, this isn’t the only graphic that’s being distributed mocking Apple new smartphone. As one of the many reactions related to the growing number of people that have accidentally bent the thin aluminum casing of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, a graphic posted on Imgur earlier today labeled the design issue as a feature called Flex. Below the image of a curved iPhone, the creator of the graphic wrote “Apple’s revolutionary patent aluminum ally lets users create a more enjoyable viewing experience by molding the phone.”

iphone-6-flex
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Mike Flacy
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
Screenshot-reading malware cracks iPhone security for the first time
A person holding an iPhone in their hand.

In the realm of smartphones, Apple’s ecosystem is deemed to be the safer one. Independent analysis by security experts has also proved that point repeatedly over the years. But Apple’s guardrails are not impenetrable. On the contrary, it seems bad actors have managed yet another worrying breakthrough.

As per an analysis by Kaspersky, malware with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities has been spotted on the App Store for the first time. Instead of stealing files stored on a phone, the malware scanned screenshots stored locally, analyzed the text content, and relayed the necessary information to servers.

Read more
Samsung aped iPhone filters, but served it better on the Galaxy S25
Using filters on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

With the arrival of the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung introduced a bevy of camera-centric changes. Take for example the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which upgrades to a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor, a new Spatio Temporal filter for blur reduction, 8K capture across all lenses, default 10-bit HDR recording, and more. But the company silently gave a massive boost to filters.

So far, users have only been able to pick a filter and capture media with the effect applied on top. There was no scope for fine-tuning the filter characteristics in real time. That limitation has finally gone to the grave with the Galaxy S25 series.

Read more
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 15: worth jumping ship?
The Galaxy S25 series held in someone's hand.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 has launched to a crowded arena, where it competes against multiple generations of iPhone. Don't get me wrong — all are fantastic devices with specs that make expert guesses from a decade ago look wildly inaccurate — but with every new phone generation, there are objectively better picks. The Apple iPhone 15 may not be the latest version of Apple's flagship, but it's a strong smartphone, and if you're using a iPhone 15, you may be wondering if it's worth jumping ship when it's time to upgrade.

So which one of these two phones is the better choice? There are a lot of factors involved, and it ultimately depends on what you're most interested in: performance, storage, AI functionality, photographic potential, or something else. We'll break down the differences between the two options, but as for which of the two phones is the better choice, that is up to you. Here's what we think.
Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. iPhone 15: specs

Read more