Pandora today launched a new desktop app for Mac, aimed at all Pandora listeners across both its free and paid tiers. Similar to its mobile apps, Pandora for Mac allows for full access to Pandora without needing to open a web browser.
New features in the app include keyboard controls for playing, pausing, replaying, skipping, shuffling, and liking/disliking songs. There is also an on-screen song notification system that displays the artist, album, and song title for the music currently playing.
The app also has controls for Pandora Modes, letting users customize their music on Pandora's radio stations with certain "modes," like Crowd Faves, Deep Cuts, New Releases, and more.
The Mac app requires macOS version 10.10 and can be downloaded right here. The company said that a version of the app will launch on Windows soon.
Over the past few months, supplies of the LG UltraFine 4K and 5K displays have dried up at Apple's retail and online stores, leading to speculation on the future of Apple-approved displays beyond a rumored ultra high-end 6K display perhaps coming alongside a revamped Mac Pro later this year.
As shared by TidBITS, however, Apple retail stores are now quietly carrying a new $700 23.7-inch UltraFine display from LG. TidBITS' Julio Ojeda-Zapata was able to locate the new display in two different Apple retail stores, but it is not currently listed in the company's online store.
To my surprise, an employee told me I should consider forgoing the 21.5-inch model. Why? “Because we have a larger LG display for the same price.” Laid out for me on the floor were boxes for the two monitors—including the 23.7-inch version that had seemingly come from nowhere.
At 23.7 inches, the new UltraFine display sits between the original 21.5-inch 4K and 27-inch 5K display, but there is some confusion over the resolution of the display. Ojeda-Zapata claims that it only offers a resolution of 3360x1890, which would not reasonably allow it to serve as a Retina-quality display, but a user manual (PDF) for the display indicates that its native resolution is in fact 3840x2160. That's still less than that 4096x2304 resolution of the smaller 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K, but it would at least qualify as an Ultra HD resolution that is typically marketed as being 4K.
Ojeda-Zapata purchased the new display and shares a brief overview of it, noting that it carries the same design as the previous UltraFine 4K/5K displays sold by Apple and offers a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports and three regular USB-C ports on the rear. The original UltraFine 4K/5K displays only offered a single Thunderbolt 3 port in addition to the three USB-C ports, so the extra Thunderbolt 3 port on the new display allows for daisy-chaining additional Thunderbolt 3 accessories over a single connection.
Apple has informed its retail staff that it will substitute some Apple Watch Series 3 repairs with the Apple Watch Series 4, due to low inventory on the older model. The announcement was spotted by an internal memo delivered to staff and Authorized Service Providers, seen by 9to5Mac.
Now, customers looking for a repair or replacement of the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 3 with GPS and cellular, can instead receive the stainless steel Series 4 model with GPS and cellular. The change is said to apply to Apple retail stores and ASPs globally, but it's unclear at this time if the Series 4 upgrades are a permanent solution to the Series 3 shortages.
Apple's new repair/replacement upgrade for the Apple Watch is the latest of several instances of the company substituting Apple Watch repairs with newer models. This began in January, when the company announced that some first-generation Apple Watches and Apple Watch Series 1 could qualify for Series 2 replacements, due to supply constraints on repair parts for the older models. Then, earlier in May, Apple confirmed that repairs of certain Apple Watch Series 2 models will be fulfilled with equivalent Series 3 models due to temporary shortages of unspecified Series 2 parts.
To initiate a repair, head to the Get Support page on Apple's website and book an appointment with an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. As usual, it's not guaranteed that all locations will acknowledge existence of this internal policy, especially given that there is no definitive end date, so your mileage may vary.
United States Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said this week that he would recommend approval of the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint (via Bloomberg). The news comes after T-Mobile and Sprint announced changes to their $26.5 billion merger agreement, including the sale of the prepaid brand Boost Mobile, a three-year buildout of their 5G network, and a pledge not to raise prices while the network is being built.
Under the new plan, the companies will sell off Sprint's Boost Mobile brand, but keep Virgin Mobile and T-Mobile's Metro brand. If Sprint and T-Mobile had kept all three, they would have owned the largest chunk of the prepaid cellular market in the United States, totaling about 42 percent of the market.
“Two of the FCC’s top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity,” Pai said in a statement Monday. “The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives.”
If completed, the new combined company would ditch the Sprint name and be called T-Mobile, and current T-Mobile CEO John Legere would serve as the Chief Executive Officer. Sprint and T-Mobile have said the new company will be a "force for positive change" in the U.S. wireless, video, and broadband industries, supercharging T-Mobile's Un-carrier strategy and allowing it to "lead in the 5G era."
Although Pai's approval is a big step, the merger still needs to be approved by the full FCC board and the Department of Justice. In April, Sprint and T-Mobile announced a deadline extension for the merger to July 29, 2019.
Last week, president Donald Trump signed an order to restrict Huawei Technologies from selling its equipment in the United States in an attempt to curb Huawei's access to U.S. markets. This included placing Huawei on a blacklist that could forbid it from doing business with American companies.
Now, the effect of the blacklisting has hit the China supply chain this week, with chipmakers Intel, Qualcomm, Xilinx, and Broadcom all telling their employees that they will not supply Huawei until further notice. Additionally, Google has cut off the supply of hardware and some software services to Huawei, specifically suspending all business with the company "that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing" (via Bloomberg and Reuters).
Google's suspension is particularly troublesome for Huawei's hardware business:
The suspension could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services, including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube apps.
“Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google,” the source said.
Although Gmail, YouTube, and Chrome will disappear from future Huawei smartphones, anyone who owns an existing Huawei device with access to the Google Play Store will be able to download app updates from Google. The impact of the blacklisting is expected to be "minimal" in China, because most Google mobile apps are already banned in the Chinese market, where popular alternatives from Tencent and Baidu are more common.
In regards to the presidential ban, Huawei is said to have been stockpiling enough chips and other vital components to keep its business afloat for at least three months, in preparation for such an event. According to sources close to the company, executives believe Huawei has become a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China and that things will go back to normal once a deal is reached.
Huawei “is heavily dependent on U.S. semiconductor products and would be seriously crippled without supply of key U.S. components,” said Ryan Koontz, an analyst with Rosenblatt Securities Inc. The U.S. ban “may cause China to delay its 5G network build until the ban is lifted, having an impact on many global component suppliers.”
Apple has a long history with Huawei, which hasn't been completely amicable over the past few months. Earlier this year, the U.S. Justice Department announced a series of criminal charges against Huawei for bank fraud, wire fraud, obstructing justice, and stealing trade secrets, sometimes aimed at Apple. Despite all of the issues for the company, Huawei remains a dominant force in the China smartphone market and was far ahead of Apple in the first quarter of 2019.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Last June, Toshiba completed the sale of its memory chip unit to a global consortium of companies led by Bain Capital and including Apple, Dell, Kingston, and Seagate Technology. Today, The Wall Street Journal reported that Toshiba is now set to buy back these shares under a refinancing plan.
Specifically, the four companies (excluding Bain Capital) are set to sell their preferred shares back to Toshiba for about $4.5 billion by the end of the month, and together they made a few hundred million dollars on the investment in Toshiba. Toshiba received the capital to buy out the companies from Japanese banks, totaling $11.8 billion.
Looking ahead, the company is now planning to become publicly listed in Tokyo near the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020. Toshiba's plan to re-acquire its memory chip unit comes over two years after it first announced plans to sell the unit in January 2017, followed by bidding for the unit that began in March 2017.
The Bain-led consortium eventually prevented Western Digital from taking control of Toshiba's memory chip business, which at one point threatened legal action against Toshiba. Apple eventually joined a "last ditch" effort to win the bid with Bain Capital, which will remain a majority owner of the memory chip unit even after Toshiba buys back its shares from the other four companies.
Lutron, a new "Friends of Hue" partner, today announced the launch of the Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer, a Hue accessory that's designed to be placed over a traditional toggle light switch to prevent it from being turned off and accidentally disabling Hue smart bulbs.
The Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer is a wireless battery-powered dimmer that's meant to be mounted right over a traditional light switch, keeping guests and children from using the switch while also introducing dimming controls for Hue bulbs.
You can tap the Aurora Dimmer to turn your Hue lights on and off or turn the knob to brighten or dim the lights.
"Lutron is pleased to join the Philips Hue 'Friends of Hue' program and offer this unique, wall-mounted smart lighting control that enriches the Hue experience," said Matt Swatsky, Vice President, Residential Mid-Market Business at Lutron. "Lutron prides itself on aligning with global, best-in-class companies like Signify to improve and evolve the lighting experience. Together, Lutron and Signify are addressing smart bulb user feedback with an attractive and practical solution that locks toggle switches in place to keep smart bulbs ready, while providing an additional point of control. The Aurora dimmer simplifies the use of Philips Hue smart bulbs and fixtures for everyone in the home."
According to Lutron, it takes just two minutes to install the Lutron Aurora Dimmer over a standard toggle light switch. The base of the dimmer locks the existing toggle switch in the up/on position to prevent it from being accidentally turned off, while the knob snaps right onto the mounting base.
Like the Hue system, the Lutron Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer connects to the Hue base using Zigbee, so it can be used to control Hue lights even when the Wi-Fi is out.
The Lutron Aurora Smart Bulb Dimmer, priced at $40, can be pre-ordered from the Hue website starting today and it's set to start shipping out in June. It will also be available from Amazon, Apple, Best Buy and The Home Depot.
Apple's new Powerbeats Pro earbuds feature a "reinforced design" for improved "sweat and water resistance" along with an official IPX4 water resistance rating, which means they should be able to hold up to a good amount of moisture.
Still, there were a lot of reports of the Powerbeats 3 failing due to sweat exposure, so we thought we'd test the liquid tolerance of the Powerbeats Pro with a series of water resistance tests.
An IPX4 water resistance rating means that the Powerbeats Pro were able to withstand splashing water for at least 10 minutes, which is pretty decent because most people don't sweat buckets of water for an extended period of time.
We tested splashing water, jets of water, and even an extended dunk in water, and the Powerbeats Pro held up and worked well after every single test. Here's what we did:
- Test 1 - Simulated a drop in a kitchen sink with heavy splashes of water. - Test 2 - Set the Powerbeats Pro in the shower for several minutes to simulate heavy rain. - Test 3 - Dropped the Powerbeats Pro in the toilet, submerging them briefly. - Test 4 - Dunked the Powerbeats Pro in a bowl of water for one minute. - Test 5 - Dunked the PowerBeats Pro in a bowl of water for five minutes. - Test 6 - Dunked the Powerbeats Pro in a bowl of water for 20 minutes.
After each water test, the sound coming from the Powerbeats Pro was muffled when we tested them, but once we got the water out, the earbuds were back to sounding normal.
The Powerbeats Pro survived all of our water tests. Nothing changed with the sound profile, the buttons continued to work, and charging was also fine. This suggests that the Powerbeats Pro do indeed have superior water resistance to the Powerbeats 3 and should hold up well to sweat.
We do not recommend showering with the Powerbeats Pro, using them in the rain, swimming with them, or otherwise exposing them to excessive moisture. Even when things are decently water resistant, the water resistance can wear down over time so it's going to be best to keep the Powerbeats Pro as dry as possible.
While the Powerbeats Pro did well in our tests, we've only continually exposed them to water and moisture for a couple of hours. We still don't know how they'll hold up to sweat over time, but right now, things are looking positive.
The BVCP9685A is a double DIN unit with a 6.75-inch capacitive screen and a vertical strip of capacitive touch controls along the left side. With an external microphone and support for steering wheel controls and backup camera input when paired with proper auxiliary wiring, the BVCP9685A can integrate with much of the existing technology in your vehicle.
Boss Audio sent me a demo unit of the BVCP9685A to test out, and I've come away pretty impressed with its ability to deliver CarPlay functionality at a budget price point, which is currently even lower with an exclusive 5 percent discount code for MacRumors readers.
The BVCP9685A demo unit I received is a relatively self-contained package, hooked up to a standard AC power plug and a small external speaker. That makes it easy to test out the unit without needing to install it in a vehicle, which can be a bit tricky depending on your level of experience and the types of connections you need to make.
On the flip side, the demo unit doesn't give you the full experience, so this is more of a hands-on look than a complete review as I haven't been able to test its sound quality with a full car speaker setup, integration with steering wheel controls and rear camera, and some other features.
Overview
Boss's BVCP9685A offers a relatively clean look dominated by the large screen, although it does have a bit of a bottom bezel where there is some Boss branding and the model number. A strip to the left of the screen offers persistent access to capacitive mute, volume, Siri, and home buttons. The buttons are a little on the small side in a tradeoff with maximizing the size of the main screen.
The 6.75-inch, 800x480 screen is bright and fairly crisp, although it doesn't quite match the higher resolutions seen on some other more expensive systems. The touch buttons along the left side can be set to just about any color of the rainbow or allowed to cycle through a range of colors automatically, and separate color and brightness options can be set for day and night modes.
The main interface of the BVCP9685A consists of a set of tiles that offer access to the system's functions like radio, CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth hands-free calling, rear camera, and media player functions over Bluetooth, USB or an RCA AV connection on the rear of the unit. Small tiles also offer access to settings and an equalizer.
The overall look certainly isn't as polished as some infotainment systems, but if you're a CarPlay user you'll likely be spending much of your time in there anyway.
The radio app offers a large display of the current station and a couple of sets of forward and backward buttons to help navigate between stations on the dial and via presets. Other options let you switch between AM and FM, stereo and mono, local and distant station optimization, and more.
It's fairly easy to operate, although some of the options aren't necessarily intuitive such as the way tapping the option icons toggles indicators elsewhere on the display rather than simply changing a label on the icon itself. Tuning buttons also aren't explicitly labeled, although you'll quickly learn how they work once you start using them.
Playing media from an external device such as via Bluetooth is a similar affair, although I think the look of the media player screen is a bit better than the radio screen, with full track, artist, and album information as well as clear play/pause, track skip, and shuffle buttons along the bottom.
CarPlay
CarPlay and Android Auto require a wired connection on the BVCP9685A, which many users prefer considering they want to charge their phones while in the car, but for those who prefer wireless CarPlay that's starting to become more widely available in aftermarket units, you'll need to look elsewhere.
The BVCP9685A includes a pair of USB ports on short cables, one for CarPlay/Android Auto and one limited to charging and media playback, so you'll need to make sure you connect your Lightning cable to the right one. Once you're up and running with CarPlay, you'll find the usual experience with access to the default Apple apps, compatible third-party apps, and a dedicated Boss icon to take you out of CarPlay and back to the Boss system.
The screen is definitely smaller than some built-in infotainment systems that can go up to 8 inches or more, but within the limitations of the double DIN size standard, Boss has done a pretty good job of maximizing screen space. A few competitors have pushed their screen sizes to 7 inches by using skinny hardware buttons along the bottom of the unit, but Boss gets pretty close to that size while keeping buttons along the left where they're closest to the driver.
Overall, the CarPlay interface looks good on the BVCP9685A, with Maps being where you would most likely notice the difference compared to systems with larger screens, due to the mapping field of view and the various informational overlays. CarPlay is relatively responsive on the BVCP9685A, accurately registering taps and swipes.
In addition to the Boss icon on the CarPlay home screen, you can also use the main capacitive home/back button in the lower left corner of the BVCP9685A to jump out of CarPlay and over to the Boss system. That button can take you back into CarPlay, but only if it's the immediately previous screen you were on. If you switch over to the Boss system and then fiddle with radio settings, for example, you'll need to get back to the Boss home screen and then tap the CarPlay tile there to return to CarPlay.
Wrap-up
As an entry-level CarPlay receiver, the Boss BVCP9685A looks like a solid way to bring your iPhone to the dashboard in your existing vehicle. It doesn't include features seen on more (in some cases much more) expensive models like SiriusXM tuner support, a wireless microphone, a DVD/CD drive, or built-in navigation, but if what you primarily need is CarPlay you may not be interested in many of those missing features.
The BVCP9685A is currently priced at $239.99 on Amazon, but the exclusive MacRumors discount available through this link knocks $12.00 off of that through May 22. Boss is also currently offering a $35.00 on-page or in-cart coupon that is stackable with the MacRumors discount, bringing the final price down to just $192.99.
That's a fantastic price for a CarPlay aftermarket head unit, but do keep in mind when budgeting that depending on your install situation, you may need to pick up some extra equipment like wiring harnesses and perhaps pay for professional installation if you're not comfortable with cracking open your dashboard yourself.
Note: Boss provided MacRumors with a loaner demo unit of the BVCP9685A for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. 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.
Lexus recently announced that it is bringing CarPlay to some older vehicles, following the launch of CarPlay in new 2019 Lexus vehicles last September.
CarPlay can be installed in the 2018 LS, LC, RC, RC F, and NX, and as pointed out by iPhone in Canada, the new CarPlay options are available in both the U.S. and Canada.
According to Lexus, 2018 and 2019 vehicles equipped with a Lexus Multimedia System can have an enhancement installed that adds CarPlay compatibility along with support for Alexa. A full list of eligible vehicles is below:
2018 LS
2018 LC
2018 RC and RC F
2018 NX
2019 NX (produced before October 2018)
2019 RC F (produced before October 2018)
2019 ES, without factory navigation (purchased before October 2018)
Lexus says that it is "pleased" to offer the software enhancement for $199, and Lexus owners who are interested should contact their Lexus dealer for more information.
Lexus says that new software will be installed on the Lexus Multimedia System to add the CarPlay feature, and a Lexus dealer is required to install the update.
CarPlay is already available in select 2019 Lexus vehicles including the 2019 UX crossover and the 2019 Lexus ES.
Lexus and parent company Toyota were among some of the last major car manufacturers to introduce support for CarPlay, instead supporting the SmartDeviceLink platform from Ford and Livio.
The wide availability of CarPlay spurred Toyota to reverse course and support Apple's platform after all, and the first 2019 Toyota and Lexus vehicles with CarPlay were announced in early 2018.
Apple Park is decorated with the colors of Apple's classic rainbow logo today in celebration of the formal opening of Apple's new headquarters, and as a tribute to its late co-founder Steve Jobs, who helped conceptualize the spaceship-like design of the main building on the campus prior to his death.
First and foremost, Apple has set up a stage with a rainbow arch within the inner circle of the main building, as we shared last week.
The rainbow colors can further be seen on some stairs and walkways at Apple Park, on coffee cups at the Caffè Macs employee cafeteria, and on some of Apple's shuttle buses. Apple employees have also received classic Apple rainbow logo pins with the message "thank you for being part of what makes Apple, Apple."
Apple's design chief Jony Ive reflected on the rainbow's significance in a recent interview:
There is the resonance with the rainbow logo that's been part of our identity for many years. The rainbow is also a positive and joyful expression of some of our inclusion values and I think that one of the primary reasons the idea resonated so immediately and so profoundly with us was the form -- the connection from an aesthetic design point of view. A semi-circle relates so beautifully and naturally to the form of the ring.
Lady Gaga once came in to visit Steve. I don't know exactly what she was wearing, but it looked like it was made out of, like, a Glad trash bag, and she had these huge heels and these gigantic glasses. I'm thinking, "This is going to be a disaster." But she sat down and started talking with Steve and she had all these great ideas.
Lady Gaga also performed at the iTunes Festival at the Roundhouse in London in 2013.
Apple employees began moving into Apple Park as early as the spring of 2017, but the process took many months, and some construction and landscaping also continued for quite some time. A recent drone video showed that the campus now looks lush and green, with hundreds of trees and a large central pond.
Lady Gaga's performance would in all likelihood be a private event for Apple employees.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Astropad to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a Luna Display adapter, a useful dongle that turns your iPad into a second screen for your Mac.
The Luna Display plugs right into your Mac using USB-C for modern Macs or Mini DisplayPort for older Macs, and then with the Luna Display software (available for Mac and iPad), it connects your iPad to your Mac using Wi-Fi.
From there, the Luna Display extends your Mac's display to the iPad, adding true second screen functionality. If you're familiar with Astropad, you'll know it's an app that mirrors the Mac's display to the iPad, but the Luna Display takes that further.
Priced at $80, the Luna Display is an affordable option for those who want a portable second display to use with their Macs.
Setting up the Luna Display takes just a few seconds, which makes it awesome for use both at home or when traveling. The connection between the two devices is seamless with little to no lag, as long your Wi-Fi speeds are decent.
You can use the Luna Display with any modern iPad, including the iPad 2 or later, all iPad mini models, all iPad Pro models, and all iPad Air models. All you need is iOS 9.1 or later. Performance is going to be faster on newer iPads, of course, but older ones work just fine.
As for Macs, the Luna adapter requires a 2011 machine running OS X 10.11 El Capitan at a minimum. For optimum performance, you'll need a 2012 MacBook Air or later, a 2012 MacBook Pro or later, a 2012 Mac mini or later, a 2012 iMac or later, and a 2013 Mac Pro or later.
You can buy the Luna Display from the Luna website, and we also have five of them to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win our giveaway, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (May 17) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 24. The winners will be chosen randomly on May 24 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
Google may have only just announced its Pixel 3a and 3a XL smartphones, but rumors about this year's forthcoming Pixel 4 are already appearing, and the latest alleged leak suggests the search giant's redesigned handset will lack physical buttons.
MacRumors render of Pixel 4 based on leaks
This information has been shared by Jon Prosser's Front Page Tech YouTube channel, which last year was the source of several accurate details about the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL over a month before they launched, and also confirmed the Pixel 3a devices' existence before they were formally announced.
According to Prosser's source, the Pixel 4 will use capacitive touch areas on the sides of the aluminum handset in lieu of clickable physical power and volume buttons. Prosser suggests these touch-sensitive areas may use an extended version of Google's existing Active Edge technology currently found in the Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 that lets users squeeze their phone to launch Google Assistant or silence incoming calls and notifications.
In addition, Prosser's source corroborates other recent rumors, including the presence of punch-hole front cameras embedded in the display – akin to those seen in Samsung's Galaxy 10 Plus and other smartphones this year – and either an optical or ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor.
The rear of the device is expected to feature a new dual-lens camera setup including either a telephoto zoom or super-wide-angle sensor, and they may be aligned horizontally in the upper left corner of the handset rather than the more typical vertical orientation seen on other dual-lens smartphones.
The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are expected to be 4G LTE devices and will likely be announced during the second week of October – or just a few weeks after Apple is expected to launch its flagship successors to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Microsoft today announced "Minecraft Earth," a new game coming to iOS and Android in beta this summer that uses augmented reality to place virtual Minecraft blocks and characters into the real world. Similar to Pokémon Go, Minecraft World requires players to venture outside to collect resources for building and to see what their friends have created around the neighborhood.
Game director Torfi Olafsson described the mobile game as an adaptation of Minecraft, and not a direct translation. Minecraft Earth will feature well-known items like redstone and typical Minecraft water physics, but the controls have been revamped for the new AR experience.
According to Olafsson, the development team "covered the entire planet in Minecraft," meaning that places like lakes are locations you can fish and parks are great for chopping down trees for wood. Players will find "tapables" randomly placed around the world, which dispense building rewards and more, similar to Pokéstops in Pokémon Go.
Microsoft used maps based on OpenStreeMap data to place randomly generated "adventures" in the world. These can be peaceful interludes or dangerous risk-taking quests where you have the chance to lose your gear to Minecraft's many monsters.
Adventures are built for multiple people to play at once, and all players experience the same game on the exact same spot simultaneously, so they can fight the same monsters, break down the same structures, "and even stand in front of a friend to block them from physically killing a virtual sheep," reported The Verge.
I sat for around 10 minutes creating a Minecraft build where I could see blocks flying onto the structure from someone next to me. They could also see everything I was doing in real time, and we could build together block by block. I could, if I wanted to, also steal my friend’s blocks here to create my own mega building. That introduces an interesting social dynamic because, unlike most games, you’ll be physically next to the person you’re stealing from in the virtual world.
“In order to steal, you would have to look up and go, ‘Hmm, I’m going to take your blocks,’” says Saxs Persson, creative director of Minecraft. “Shenanigans will come from when people have different opinions about what needs to happen, or they band together and do something meaningful.”
Microsoft says that Minecraft Earth will launch in a closed beta this summer, but it's not clear how many players will gain access at that launch. Monetization also hasn't been finalized yet, but Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said, "I have total confidence that the team will figure out what the right monetization is for the game." In the demo seen by reporters, a marketplace section was spotted where players will likely be able to buy various building items and avatar gear.
The Verge predicted that we might see more of Minecraft Earth at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Demos for the game were showcased on the iPhone XS, and the site called Minecraft Earth "the best demonstration of augmented reality on an iPhone" it's ever seen. Apple usually showcases ARKit-related apps and software at WWDC, last year demonstrating ARKit 2 through the LEGO Playgrounds game.
Apple today shared a new "Behind the Music" ad in the United Kingdom that promotes music-making on the Mac with portraits of artists.
"From bedroom studio to stadium tour, the British music scene is alive," the video description says. "See the emerging and the iconic, the graft and the glory, a glimpse behind the scenes and behind the music."
The ad is accompanied by a new page on Apple's website that says "Mac is the instrument of choice for musicians everywhere." The page highlights Apple's music software, including GarageBand, Logic Pro X, and MainStage 3.
Apple's estimated U.S. iPhone installed base saw little growth in the first calendar quarter of (second fiscal quarter) of 2019, according to new data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
As of March 30, 2019, the U.S. iPhone use base hit 193 million units, compared to 189 million units at the end of the December quarter, marking two percent growth quarter over quarter.
Apple's iPhone user base was at 173 million units at the end of the March 2018 quarter, for year over year growth of 12 percent, which is not bad, but not quite hitting the growth rates of prior years.
A year ago, the installed iPhone user base in the U.S. grew four percent quarter over quarter and 19 percent compared to the prior year, indicating a plateau iPhone user base.
"The US installed base of iPhones continues to plateau," said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. "Relative to the most recent quarters, and especially to the past two or three years, slowing unit sales and longer ownership periods means that the growth in the number of US iPhones has flattened considerably. Of course, 12% growth in a year, after years of much greater growth is still good. However, investors grew accustomed to quarterly growth of 5% or more, and annual growth of almost 20%. This continuing trend prompts investors to wonder if iPhone sales outside of the US will compensate, and places greater pressure on Apple's determination to sell other products and services to the installed base of iPhone owners."
CIRP's estimated U.S. iPhone installed base is based on estimated worldwide iPhone sales of 39 million, calculated from Apple's iPhone revenue and average iPhone selling price for the quarter ending in March 2019.
iPhone sales have slowed down, and in January, the decline in sales over the holiday period led Apple to make the rare move of lowering its expected revenue guidance. Apple also saw a dip in revenue in the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2019, bringing in $58 billion, compared to $61.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Apple has never provided a specific breakdown of the number of active devices in the United States, but earlier this year, the company said there were 1.4 billion active devices around the world. 900 million of those devices are iPhones.
Twitter today updated its TweetDeck for Mac app to introduce a new compose window with a refreshed look and new capabilities.
The updated window features a cleaner design with either a dark theme or a light theme based on your preferences. In the screenshot below, the darker theme is depicted, with the original window on the left and the new window on the right.
The compose window now includes support for adding GIFs to a tweet, a new addition to TweetDeck, and there's also an option for creating a poll. A new emoji picker has been added, and support for image descriptions and tags is new.
TweetDeck is providing an option to swap between the new compose window and the old, so those who prefer the original interface can stick with it for the time being.
Guess what? You're in luck! As of today we're testing a new way of Tweeting, now with the ability to add GIFs, threads, polls, emoji AND image tagging via TweetDeck 🎉🙌🎊
— TweetDeck (@TweetDeck) May 16, 2019
The new features are part of a server side update, so you don't need to download a new version of the app to get the updated compose window.
When iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 launched earlier this week with the updated TV app that Apple first teased at its March event, Samsung also rolled out support for both AirPlay 2 and the new TV app, making it the first third-party company to launch these features.
We have a Samsung TV set (the 2018 Q6F) that's compatible with the new Apple offerings, so we thought we'd check them out to give MacRumors readers a look at how Apple features work on third-party television sets.
After installing a firmware update, Apple-compatible Samsung TV sets will have an Apple TV app, which is going to be unique to Samsung TVs for the foreseeable future. Other TV sets are gaining Apple features like AirPlay 2, but it's only Samsung that has a TV app option for now.
The TV app on a Samsung TV looks almost identical to the TV app on the Apple TV, offering up a "Watch Now" feature that keeps track of the movies and the TV shows you're watching, plus content recommendations ranging from suggestions based on what you've watched to new content to trending content.
The "Channels" feature that's new to the TV app is available on Samsung TVs, allowing users to subscribe to services like HBO, Starz, Showtime, and more right within the TV app. Channels content can be watched right within the TV app without the need to open up another app.
There are dedicated sections for "Watch Now," Movies, TV Shows, Kids, Library, Search, and Settings, and the app offers up access to all of the iTunes content that you've previously purchased. You can also purchase or rent new movies within the app.
Apple content on the Samsung TV works with other Samsung Smart TV services, including the Universal Guide, Bixby, and Search.
Compatible Samsung TVs also now work with AirPlay 2, which means you can AirPlay content to them much like you would to a TV connected to an Apple TV set-top box.
You can AirPlay music to the TV, AirPlay content from apps like YouTube, or AirPlay TV shows and movies. AirPlay functionality works from within apps or through the Control Center where AirPlay options are located.
In our testing, the Apple TV and AirPlay 2 features on the Samsung TV set worked flawlessly, and were much like using an Apple TV set-top box. The experience was similar enough that it's easy to forget you're interacting with a Samsung Smart TV rather than an Apple TV box.
There are quite a few Samsung TVs from 2018 and 2019 that are compatible with AirPlay 2 and the TV app, with a list available below:
These TV sets can access AirPlay 2 and the TV app right now, with a firmware update required on 2018 TV models.
Other TV manufacturers like Vizio, Sony, and LG are also implementing similar features and will begin supporting AirPlay 2 and HomeKit later this year. Vizio is already beta testing AirPlay 2 and HomeKit features, as demonstrated in the video below.
While Vizio, Sony, and LG all plan to support HomeKit, which will let you use Siri voice commands and the Home app to control your TV, Samsung is not implementing this feature and Samsung TVs won't be an available option in the Home app.
Samsung has instead added the TV app, which Vizio, Sony, and LG have not announced support for.
