MacRumors

Multiple sources have indicated that Apple is considering expanding its ProMotion technology to the iPhone, allowing for a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz for smoother motion content and greater responsiveness. The feature debuted on the iPad Pro in 2017.

The rumors began in July 2019 when a reputable Samsung leaker known as "Ice Universe" on Twitter said Apple was considering a switchable 60Hz/120Hz refresh rate on at least one iPhone in 2020. This was followed by a DigiTimes Taiwan report in October that claimed Apple would release an iPhone with a 120Hz display this year.

More recently, both Max Weinbach and Jon Prosser have claimed that this year's higher-end iPhone 12 Pro models will in fact support ProMotion, although Prosser said there is a possibility that Apple could disable ProMotion at the software level prior to the devices launching if it decides the feature consumes too much battery life.

On that note, display analyst Ross Young today tweeted that the rumored Samsung Galaxy Note20+ will be the only flagship smartphone in 2020 to feature low-power LTPO display technology, adding that the iPhone will follow in 2021.

Young believes LTPO is essential if Apple plans to support ProMotion on the iPhone, as it would allow for a variable refresh as low as 1Hz when the device is inactive to optimize battery life. As with the Apple Watch Series 5, the technology could also pave the way for iPhones to have an always-on display option next year.

Here is how Apple describes LTPO for the Watch:

The low temperature poly-silicon and oxide display features a reinvented pixel architecture that lets the screen refresh rate dip from 60Hz to a power-sipping 1Hz when the watch is inactive. A new low-power driver, ultra-efficient power management, and a new ambient light sensor work together so the display can stay always on with up to 18 hours of battery life.

It is worth noting that the iPad Pro supports ProMotion without LTPO, so perhaps the feature really will launch on the iPhone this year, but it sounds like there is a possibility that Apple will simply wait until 2021.

Apple has hired multiple well-known software engineers with cloud computing expertise in recent months, according to a report from tech site Protocol.

The range of employees Apple has hired has created "a stir" in the "tight-knit cloud community," and is a sign that Apple is perhaps planning to build serious cloud infrastructure to compete with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Employees have expertise in containers and Kubernetes. Michael Crosby, for example, known as one of the engineers of containers as they exist today, joined Apple in 2020. Arun Gupta, who worked at Amazon Web Services, joined Apple in February and is leading Apple's open source efforts. Another former AWS employee who worked on managed container services, Maksym Pavlenko, has also transitioned to Apple. Francesc Campoy, an ex-Google employee, is now at Apple working on Kubernetes, an open source container orchestration platform that allows for managing containerized applications across hosts.

Apple has also listed multiple job postings that suggest it is working on new tools for its internal software development teams.

Apple already has a huge cloud-based platform that encompasses iCloud, the App Store, Apple TV+, Apple Music, and more, but it is not up to par with the cloud technology used by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Netflix.

Apple in 2018 announced plans to invest $10 billion in data center construction, and in 2019, joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation that hosts Kubernetes and containers.

iHeartMedia today announced that Apple CEO Tim Cook will be participating in its special podcast "Commencement: Speeches for the Class of 2020."

With most college graduates unable to attend commencement this year, the podcast will help fill the void with a series of speeches from Cook and a long list of other notable figures, such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Becky G, Rita Wilson, Khalid, Mary J. Blige, Hillary Clinton, John Legend, and Tim McGraw.

iHeartRadio knows how important the graduation ceremony is. After four long years of hard work, commencement offers one last moment to reflect before you toss your hat into the air and take on the world. We know that during these difficult times, most graduates won't get to attend their ceremony in person. So, we've partnered with some of the biggest names across industries, to write a commencement speech just for you. From 4-star generals to all-star comedians, legendary coaches to John Legend himself, these are the words we hope will inspire you.

The podcast episodes will be released on May 15, ahead of "National Graduation Day" on May 17 in the United States, as noted by Variety.

Ever since Apple discontinued the 15-inch MacBook Pro in favor of a new 16-inch model with slimmer bezels last year, the natural assumption has been that a 14-inch MacBook Pro will eventually replace the 13-inch model.

Apple ended up sticking with the same size display when it refreshed the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Magic Keyboard and faster processor options earlier this month, but a 14-inch model might still be on the table, with the anonymously-run Twitter account "L0vetodream" today hinting at a 2021 release. No further details were provided.

The same Twitter account accurately revealed several details about the new iPhone SE before anyone else, including that the device would launch in the second week of April and come in three storage capacities. Likewise, the account accurately claimed that new iPad Pro models would launch in the third week of March.

Given that the 13-inch MacBook Pro is typically only updated once per year, a 2021 release would hardly be a surprise at this point, but it is noteworthy that Apple apparently still has a 14-inch model on its roadmap.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that Apple plans to release at least six Mini-LED products by the end of 2021, including both 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. All together, these rumors could suggest that a 14-inch MacBook Pro with Mini-LED backlighting will be released at some point next year.

Apple's rumored iPhone 12 lineup will start with 128GB of storage, according to Jon Prosser of the YouTube channel Front Page Tech. This would be twice as much base storage as the 64GB that Apple has offered for the last three years.

Prosser revealed this info in his latest video, claiming that 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models will be available with 128GB or 256GB of storage and that 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro models will have 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. All four models are expected to feature OLED displays, 5G support, and a faster A14 chip.

Prosser also corroborated rumors that iPhone 12 Pro models will support ProMotion, unless Apple disables the feature in software due to battery life concerns.

Apple has gradually increased the base storage capacity of its newest iPhones over the years, going from 16GB to 32GB with the iPhone 7 lineup and from 32GB to 64GB with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.

Apple is expected to unveil its iPhone 12 lineup in September, although at least one model might not be available to order until October or November.

Update: An anonymous Twitter account with a thus-far proven track record has suggested that the two iPhone 12 models will start with 64GB of storage, with 128GB of base storage reserved for the higher-end iPhone 12 Pro models.

MacRumors and Anker have partnered up this month to offer our readers new discounts on useful accessories like USB-C to Lightning cables, portable batteries, wireless chargers, and wall chargers. All of the devices in this sale can be found on Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can find the full list of over a dozen discounted accessories below. To see the sale prices, add the Anker products you want to your cart, then enter the relevant coupon codes during the checkout screen on Amazon. These discount codes will be live from today through Sunday, May 17th at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

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If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

Apple plans to invest around NT$10 billion (US$334 million) towards the opening of a new factory at the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, according to a Chinese report in the Economic Daily News. English coverage is available at Focus Taiwan.

The report claims that Apple will use the factory to produce Mini-LED and Micro-LED displays for future devices, in partnership with Taiwan-based suppliers Epistar and AU Optronics. In March, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple is planning at least six Mini-LED products for release by the end of 2021, including 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, an iMac Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a 7.9-inch ‌iPad‌ mini.

Kuo has previously said that Mini-LED backlit displays will allow for thinner and lighter product designs, while offering many of the same benefits of OLED displays used on the latest iPhones, including high contrast and dynamic range.

Apple already has a Mini-LED and Micro-LED research and development facility at the same research park, built in 2014.

Newton Mail is continuing to operate beyond its original closure date after the service was bought by new owners (via The Verge).

Newton was originally set to shut down on April 30, following previous owner Essential's decision to cease all operations earlier this year. Essential originally came in possession of the mail app through its acquisition of the CloudMagic team in 2019.

The new owners are software designers Maitrik Kataria and Justin Mitchell, who concede in a Medium post that they're not a "well-funded VC backed company" but are simply big fans of Newton Mail.

Like many of you, we were gutted to learn that Newton was shutting down, yet again. This time though, we had to do something. We scrambled to get in touch with Essential as fast as possible. After a rollercoaster of a bidding process, we were lucky enough to be chosen as the new owners of CloudMagic.

This wasn't easy for us. We aren't a well funded VC backed company. Nor are we a big corporation looking to acquire assets we can use. We are just an indie app development agency that loves building products.

Both Justin and I have years of experience in designing and building beautiful software products for startups and companies. We understand the ins and outs of product design and development but M&A (mergers and acquisitions) was a new rodeo for us.

Lucky for us, the circumstances around the buyout and recent economic situation, accelerated the sale and let us take over ownership of what we think is one of the best apps developed.

Existing users of Newton Mail shouldn't see any differences in the short term and the service will continue to cost $50 a year to use, but the new owners plan to bring better communication and customer support to users, as well as fix some bugs in the software. After that, they intend to roll out new features including a new dark mode within three to six months.

Users can also expect a revamped privacy policy that will help give them better control over their data and bring the service in line with GDPR compliance. In addition, existing users are being offered three free months of service, a 20-percent discount for lapsed subscribers who want to give Newton Mail another go, and a referral program for new customers.

The new owners are promising that if their attempts at running Newton Mail fail, they'll open-source the app and "find a way for self-hosted servers to support the product indefinitely."

Multiple rumors are converging upon the possibility that at least two models in Apple's upcoming iPhone 12 lineup will feature faster 120 Hz displays.

The rumors reach back to July 2019, when Notable Samsung leaker "Ice Universe" first suggested that 2020 iPhones could feature faster displays made by Samsung and LG that would allow for a smoother on-screen experience.

Also last year, DigiTimes linked the then-nascent era of 5G with the wide adoption of higher refresh rate smartphone displays. The Taiwan industry publication based its prediction on the penetration rate of over-120Hz panels in the gaming notebook segment, which was prompting panel makers to step into the sector and develop panels with refresh rates ranging from 120 Hz to 240 Hz.

This year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has suggested faster 120 Hz displays could be coming to two high-end ‌iPhone‌ 12 models, and over the weekend, Twitter leaker Max Weinbach suggested that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, which is expected to come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes, will exclusively feature a high refresh-rate 120Hz display.

An increasing number of phones launched in the last 12 months have boasted panels with faster refresh rates than the standard 60 Hz panel, which remains a holdover from traditional CRT displays that required the refresh rate to match the power supply frequency and thereby avoid potential interference.

Apple already uses proprietary variable refresh rate technology in its iPad Pro models under the moniker "ProMotion," which dynamically adjusts the display to the movement of content for fluid scrolling, greater responsiveness, and smoother motion.

The ‌iPad Pro‌'s display refresh rate changes on the fly depending on what's being viewed, which conserves battery life. If you're watching a movie or playing a game, for example, the refresh rate is at 120 Hz, but if you're reading a web page or looking at a photo, you don't need a 120 Hz refresh rate, so it adjusts accordingly. This adaptivity means the refresh rate also matches the viewed content more precisely, eliminating judder and distortion.

Of course, Apple's ‌‌iPad Pro‌‌ models use LCD panels rather than OLED, and rumors have suggested Apple will complete its transition to an all-OLED ‌iPhone‌ lineup in 2020 with new 5.4-inch, (two) 6.1-inch, and 6.7-inch models, so this would be the first time we have seen ProMotion tech in an OLED panel.

The implications for the ‌iPhone‌ viewing experience are hard to overstate. Current pixel resolutions as high as they are, doubling the refresh rate would bring a whole new fluidity and realism to viewed content. In that sense, combined with HDR10 support and a wide color gamut, Apple's wider adoption of 120 Hz ProMotion tech could do for OLED iPhones what the company's Retina Displays achieved for LCD iPhones in 2010.

Microsoft today released updates to its suite of Office apps for iPad, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Notably, Word and PowerPoint for ‌iPad‌ now support Split View, which allows you to open two documents simultaneously side-by-side.

Split View can be accessed by touching and holding on a document in any file view and then dragging it to the left or right side of the screen. To exit Split View, grab the slider in the middle of the screen and drag it to either the left or right to close one of the documents and take the remaining one full-screen.

Microsoft is also said to be working to implement full support for the new trackpad controls introduced in iPadOS 13.4, but these are not yet available. Basic trackpad functionality is present, but Microsoft still has some work to do to roll out support for the complete set of trackpad features.

(Thanks, Nelson!)

After announcing back in late January that the HomePod would be coming soon to India, the company today began sending out emails to customers letting them know that the Siri-powered smart speaker is now available.

Apple's HomePod page in India now has a "Buy" button, although with the company not yet operating its own online storefront in the country, the button redirects to a search tool for local and online resellers. We're not yet seeing ‌HomePod‌ stock at major retail partners Amazon.in, Flipkart, and Paytm, but presumably listings should be popping up shortly.

‌HomePod‌ is priced at ₹19,900 in India, which is equivalent to about $263 in the United States. That is roughly 10 percent below the normal $299 price in Apple's home country, although we have been seeing some deals as low as $199 in recent weeks.

Siri support for an Indian localization of English was added to the ‌HomePod‌ with software version 13.3.1 back in late January.

(Thanks, Anmol and Karamjot!)

iPhone 12 Pro may contain a 120Hz ProMotion Display, a 3x rear camera zoom, and improved Face ID, according to unreliable leaker Max Weinbach, who shared his information with YouTube channel EverythingApplePro.

Weinbach suggests that iPhone 12 Pro, rumored to come in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes, will feature a high refresh-rate 120Hz ProMotion display, as currently seen on iPad Pro. The new flagship iPhone's display is said to dynamically switch between 60Hz and 120Hz as required to preserve battery life.

To accommodate the increased power consumption of a high-refresh rate display and 5G cellular connectivity, iPhone 12 Pro may contain a larger internal battery. Weinbach specifically suggests that the largest rumored iPhone, the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, will feature a battery capacity of 4400mAh. This would be a substantial increase over the 3969mAh of Apple's largest current smartphone, iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The rumors also suggest that Face ID will feature a wider angle of view to support unlocking at a wider range of angles, alongside a smaller notch design. Weinbach reinforces rumors of a LiDAR Scanner on the rear of the device to be used to make autofocus faster and improve the accuracy of Portrait Mode photos, as well as for augmented reality experiences.

Smart HDR could be improved to reduce noise in low-light environments. The telephoto zoom lens is reportedly increasing to a 3x optical zoom, upgraded from the current 2x. This would allow users to take images and video closer to the subject without the reduction in quality of digital zoom.

Last month Weinbach and EverythingApplePro shared what they claimed was a sneak peek of iPhone 12 Pro Max, based on alleged leaked CAD designs. Weinbach has previously made a couple of accurate predictions of the iPhone 11 Pro Midnight Green finish, and a less obtrusive volume HUD in iOS 13, but has also shared a number of incorrect rumors such as a native iPad Calculator app in iOS 13, iPhone displays that work under water, Dark Mode delayed, and a HomePod launch in Austria and Italy within 2019.

In this week's App Recap, we've highlighted three new apps that are worth checking out. We've also compiled a list of apps that received major updates this week.

New Apps

• Email - Edison Mail (Free) - Popular mobile app Edison Mail is now available on Mac App Store for the very first time. With its fast and simple user interface, the app touts the ability to make your email experience both fast and better organized than ever before. Some of its notable features include the ability to block email read receipts, convenient shortcuts and gestures, and a built in AI powered search. This week, Mac users gained a new primary inbox which focuses on important emails and an option to mute email notifications from selected senders.
• Here Kitty! (Free) - Here Kitty! is a new interactive game that will children will love to play while at home. The game works by hiding an iPhone face down in a good hiding spot. Children can then try to find the "Kitty" either by calling out for it or by clapping, and the "Kitty" will respond with a meow. The app also records the amount of time it took to find the "Kitty," so it can even be played competitively. In addition, a new character will join the game each Saturday, so kids will enjoy getting to meet a new friendly creature each week.
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• Whisk (Free) - Whisk is a web page editor with a live preview that updates as you type. The app, formerly named HyperEdit in its first version, was recently revived after several years and brought to the Mac App Store for the first time. Some of the app's main features include the ability to render HTML and PHP as typed, previewing to other browsers, and live HTML W3C-based validation. Whisk can be used for crafting HTML, writing blog posts, running and debugging JavaScript, creating entire websites, and more. Although the app is free to download, it is worth noting that the initial download only contains a document viewer mode and a 14 day trial of the full version, so users looking to gain access to all of the app's functionality must pay a one-time fee of $29.99.
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App Updates

• Google Drive - Google this week updated its Google Drive app with a new Privacy Screen feature that allows users to enable either Face ID or a passcode authentication whenever the app is opened on their device. The app gives users the options to activate the new Privacy Screen feature either immediately when the app is opened or 10 seconds, one minute, or 10 minutes later.
• Microsoft Outlook - Microsoft this week updated its Outlook app with a new Ignore Conversations feature that allows users to remove repetitive multi-reply email threads from their inbox. Although the feature has been available on other devices for quite some time, the feature was just added to the Outlook app for iPhone and iPad.
• Stack - Stack, a popular web browser, released version 3.0 of its browser this week. The update introduces a subscription based pro version of Stack, a full redesign of the sidebar, and more. Stack's isn't like a traditional web browser, as its main purpose is to separate web apps from less important web pages and organize them in one place to enhance efficiency.
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• Twitter - Although not a specific update, Twitter announced this week that it would be testing a new threaded conversations layout for some iOS and web users. Twitter mentioned that users who do see the change will notice new lines and indentations to make it clearer as to who is replying. Additionally, the change will allow for more of a conversation to be displayed at once.