There were some items that Apple has considered phasing out and this include a popular accessory that was once essential for some iPhone users.

The 3.5mm Lightning to Headphone Jack Adapter has not been available for some time now in several UK and US Apple websites. This device allowed users to connect iPhones without a headphone jack to a wide range of devices, including wired headphones, speakers, car audio systems and airplane entertainment.

As Apple shifts away from its proprietary Lightning port in favor of USB-C, this once-common and necessary accessory may be gone for good.

The adapter first launched in 2016 alongside the iPhone 7, marking Apple’s controversial decision to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the device.

This change left many iPhone users with a dilemma: their older wired headphones or non-Apple headphones, were no longer compatible. The Lightning to 3.5mm Adapter provided a solution, allowing users to continue using their existing headphones with the new iPhones.

The phase-out of the Lightning connector has been gradual, with the iPhone 15 marking the official shift to USB-C in 2023.

For years, the adapter was included with every new iPhone from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone XS, released in 2018.

By then, however, many iPhone owners had switched to wireless options like the Lightning EarPods or Bluetooth AirPods, and the adapter was no longer bundled with the device. It continued to be sold separately at Apple stores for around US$ 9, but now it appears to be disappearing from stores altogether.

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Latest reports revealed that Nvidia's new Blackwell AI chips, which have already faced delays, have encountered problems with accompanying servers that overheat. As a result, some customers are worried that they will not have enough time to get new data centers up and running.

The Information reported on 17 November that the Blackwell graphics processing units overheat when connected together in server racks designed to hold up to 72 chips.

The chipmaker has asked its suppliers to change the design of the racks several times to resolve overheating problems, according to Nvidia employees who have been working on the issue, as well as customers and suppliers with knowledge of the issue, the report said without naming the suppliers.

"Nvidia is working with leading cloud service providers as an integral part of our engineering team and process. The engineering iterations are normal and expected," a company spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.

In March, Nvidia unveiled Blackwell chips and had earlier said they would ship in the second quarter before encountering delays, potentially affecting customers such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet's Google and Microsoft.

Nvidia's Blackwell chip takes two squares of silicon the size of the company's previous offering and binds them into a single component that is 30 times speedier at tasks like providing responses from chatbots.

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Tech company DEEP Robotics in China has juest released a preview of their four-legged robot called Lynx, featuring a wheeled design that enhances speed and versatility without compromising control. This robot has dual-mode locomotion that allows it to walk or climb like a traditional quadruped, making it suitable for navigating rough terrain efficiently and effectively.

In 2017, Deep Robotics was founded in Hangzhou, China, with the goal of creating autonomous stair-climbing robots. These days, the firm's product portfolio includes a wide range of multitasking humanoids and robot canines.

About Lynx, the firm claims it is a "middle-sized powerful quadruped wheel solution, unlocking new levels of flexibility, productivity, and ease of use for our customers." reads a LinkedIn post.

DEEP Robotics' new four-legged robot, the Lynx, joins its lineup of innovative quadrupeds, including the Lite3, X20, and X30. However, Lynx stands out by swapping traditional pad feet for wheels, significantly enhancing speed and versatility without compromising control.

As seen in a recent promotional video, this wheeled design not only brings added excitement but also enables the robot to handle diverse terrains more effectively.

The video demonstrates Lynx in action on a rigorous multi-terrain course. The robot maneuvers down steep slopes with careful control, shifts between walking and wheeled modes, and even climbs over an 80-centimeter boulder. Lynx’s dual-mode locomotion versatility and stability make it capable of tackling challenging terrain, whether on wheels or legs.

With its flexible movement modes, Lynx promises to offer a promising tool for applications that require reliable all-terrain navigation. The company claims that Lynx is now available for pre-order.

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For Apple, the word "vintage" refer to products with a very short lifespan. It has identified the following as obsolete products: iPhone XS Max, iPhone 6s Plus, and several Apple Watch Series 2 variants.

Products that Apple stopped selling over five years ago are now classified as "vintage." The iPhone XS Max and iPhone 6s Plus, now designated as vintage, were originally launched in 2018 and 2015, respectively. Despite the fact that these phones were sold three years apart, the iPhone 6s Plus remained available for purchase considerably longer than the XS Max, which is why they are being added to the vintage list simultaneously.

An Apple product discontinued more than seven years ago may be qualified as "obsolete." The Apple Watch Series 2 in all its various forms38mm, 42mm, aluminum, stainless steelis now subject to obsolescence. Originally launched in 2016, it enjoyed a fairly long lifespan, just like the MacBook models that Apple added to its obsolete list last month.

Products designated as "vintage" may be eligible for repair service from Apple and authorized service partners, depending on parts availability. There's no guarantee that Apple will have a replacement screen for vintage iPhone 6S Plus.

Obsolete products, including the Apple Watch Series 2 models, are no longer eligible for Apple hardware service, and service providers cannot order parts for them. This effectively marks the end of official repair options for these devices, though users may still perform DIY repairs or get help from an unauthorized service technician.

An exception exists for some obsolete models of MacBook, which may qualify for an extended battery-only repair up to 10 years after the product's last sale date, subject to parts availability. Unfortunately, this exception does not apply to the iPhones or Apple Watches that were added to Apple's vintage and obsolete lists recently.

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Tech giant Apple just announced a new wave of product refreshes recently, and not only does the charging port for the Magic Mouse remain on the bottom of the device — the M4 Mac mini’s power button has been moved to the bottom, too. These design choices have riled up plenty of people, but it seems Apple stands by its new power button placement for the Mac mini.

In a video posted on Chinese social media platform Bilibili, Apple’s Greg Joswiak not only defends the decision but praises it. He calls it a "kind of optimal spot for a power button," claiming that you just need to "kinda tuck your finger in there and hit the button."

According to our M4 Mac mini review and many others, however, there isn’t enough room to reach the button without lifting the entire PC — and there’s no way to tell which side the button is even on. Things like that don’t just magically stick in everyone’s heads.

Joswiak also comments that "you pretty much never use the power button on your Mac," so even if the button isn’t that easy to access, it seems Apple believes it doesn’t matter that much.

Whether people should turn their computers off regularly or not is a topic of much debate — but at least we now know what Apple thinks. Who’s betting someone somewhere is now going to run a test to find out what happens when you turn a Mac mini off every night versus never turning it off at all.

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China's first full-size purely-electric running robot called "Tiangong", developed by the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, has gone open source to boost secondary development and integration into daily life.

The Center aims to advance robotics development through Tiangong, which combines visual perception sensors, 3D vision sensors, and high-precision IMU for effective motion control.

According to Global Times, after extensive testing and validation, the platform is now open-source, allowing other enterprises and research institutions to access it directly. This move is expected to shorten the development cycle and reduce research costs. The open-source project includes two versions of the humanoid robot.

"Tiangong 1.0 LITE" and "Tiangong Pro," with software and structural design documents already available. By the end of the year, the Center plans to release additional structural blueprints, software architecture, and electrical systems.

China's humanoid robotics sector is growing, with Tiangong showcasing lifelike running motion, fluid movement on stairs and slopes, and open-source compatibility for further advancement in commercial applications.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a vision in November 2023 to mass-produce humanoid robots by 2025.

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