MacRumors

Apple this fall partnered with 100cameras, a nonprofit organization that aims to teach photography to adolescents, providing participating students at DRW College Prep in Chicago with the new iPhone 11.

100cameras teaches the students how to use photography to tell their own stories about growing up in Chicago, using the ‌iPhone‌ 11 to capture photos. Angela Popplewell, 100cameras' co-founder, said that students were excited to use the new ‌iPhone‌ 11, and it was "incredible" seeing how they used the wide-angle and Portrait modes to "really capture their point of view."

"As the residents of a neighborhood in Chicago that is often overlooked, being given the new iPhone that had been released just a few weeks prior felt like a momentous opportunity," says Angela Popplewell, 100cameras' co-founder and CEO. Earlier this year, Popplewell, 100cameras' director of program operations Lydia Billings and the team started contemplating how their curriculum could be adapted to be more forward-thinking, relevant and accessible for young people in the US. ForPopplewell and her team, the new iPhone, with its built-in sophisticated camera features, was an important tool.

Apple's vice president of ‌iPhone‌ Worldwide Product Marketing Kaiann Drance said that it was "amazing" to collaborate with 100cameras on the project.

"It was amazing to collaborate with 100cameras and the talented and creative students at DRW," said Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of iPhone Worldwide Product Marketing. "The iPhone 11 camera with all its intuitive capabilities right there in your hand is such a powerful storytelling tool. To see the photos the students captured of the ways they see the world around them was truly inspiring."

Following each program, the photos that students have captured are sold through 100cameras with 100 percent of the proceeds going back to the local community partner organizations that 100cameras visits.

Additional photos captured by the students can be seen in Apple's newsroom article on the initiative.

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.

In June 2018, Apple announced that its Maps app would be rebuilt "from the ground up" with more accurate details like grass and trees, pools, parking lots, exact building shapes, sports areas like baseball diamonds and basketball courts, and pedestrian pathways that are commonly walked but previously unmapped.

The revamped Apple Maps experience first rolled out to Northern California during iOS 12 beta testing last year and has since extended to Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, parts of the Gulf Coast, and several Northeast states such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.

The expansion continued this week, as Apple has finished its rollout of the improved maps in parts of the West and Midwest regions of the United States. This includes Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, and parts of Illinois and Indiana.

Justin O'Beirne has fantastic coverage of the Apple Maps revamp, noting that the improved maps now cover 27 states fully and another six states partially. In June, Apple said the improved maps would cover the entire United States by the end of 2019, followed by additional countries in 2020.

As usual, some users will see the revamped maps in their region sooner than others, so we wait until the rollout has extended more widely to report the news. If you do not see the improved data yet, give it some time.

(Thanks to Matt, Frank, Noah, Alan, and all others who tipped us!)

Apple today updated its "WWDC" app, changing the name to "Apple Developer" and announcing new year-round updates.

Apple says that the new Apple Developer app will provide "in-depth information from Apple experts all year round," with the app featuring developer news, videos, WWDC content, and more.

The Apple Developer app can also be used to enroll in the Apple Developer program on iPhone or iPad, though this functionality is currently limited to the United States. Membership is provided as an auto-renewable subscription, making it easier to keep a developer account active.

The Apple Developer app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. Those who had the WWDC app can install an update to get the new Apple Developer interface.

Apple today send out invites for a surprise media event that's set to be held on Monday, December 2 in New York City, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

According to the media invitations, Apple will be honoring its "favorite apps and games of 2019." There is no word on just what that means, and as Apple has never held a similar event, we don't know what to expect. Apple does, however, always share its year-end favorite apps and games, during the first few days of December, so it sounds like this year, the content will be unveiled during a full event and awards ceremony.

Apple's best of the year content offerings highlight games, music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and more, with last year's announcement focusing on content that shaped entertainment and culture around the world.

It's not clear if any hardware will be introduced at the event, but it seems unlikely given the clear wording of the media invites. We're still expecting Apple to release the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR in December, so there could be a mention of an official launch date, but beyond that, no more hardware refreshes are rumored for this year.

Following a brief initial teardown of the 16-inch MacBook Pro on Friday, repair site iFixit today shared its full teardown of the new machine, giving us insights into the changes that Apple has made with the keyboard and other components.

The new ‌MacBook Pro‌ features the largest display that Apple has introduced in the MacBook line since the 17-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ was discontinued, and it also features a brand new scissor keyboard called the Magic Keyboard, a new thermal architecture, and some other design tweaks.

When it comes to the keyboard, Apple has reverted to the same scissor switch mechanism used in older ‌MacBook Pro‌ models and the standalone Bluetooth Magic Keyboard for the iMac. It's slightly thinner than the prior scissor key design, but iFixit says the two scissor mechanisms look identical other than the thickness and some keys between the two keyboards are even interchangeable.

Scissor switches are more reliable than butterfly switches and are not prone to breaking from dust or other small particulates. In fact, iFixit says there's no dust-proofing membrane on these keys, suggesting Apple doesn't expect these keyboards to fail.

Aside from the new scissor switch mechanism, the keyboard looks quite similar to the keyboard from the prior ‌MacBook Pro‌, though there is a separate physical Escape key, a separate Touch ID button, and an updated inverted "T" design for the arrow keys. Underneath, there's an Apple-designed rubber dome, a backlight assembly, and a black gasket for blocking out excess light.

The keyboard assembly is riveted down, which means the keyboard itself isn't more repairable than the butterfly keyboards, even though they're less prone to failure.

Apple added a new speaker system to the ‌MacBook Pro‌, and there's a longer speaker enclosure with opposed woofers on the top and bottom, which are meant to cancel out each other's vibration. iFixit isn't sure why there's a longer enclosure, but speculates that it's to redirect sound to improve quality. The new three microphone array is also "beefier," but otherwise the same as what was found in the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Apple is using a 99.8Wh (11.36V, 8790mAh) battery in the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, which is the largest capacity that's still allowed on planes by airlines. That's a 16.2Wh increase over the prior 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and the largest battery that's ever been used in a MacBook. To get the extra capacity into the new machine, Apple made each battery 0.8mm thicker.

Overall, the ‌MacBook Pro‌ earned a repairability score of 1 because the processor, RAM, and storage are soldered to the logic board, while the keyboard, battery, speakers, and Touch Bar are secured with glue and rivets.

iFixit's full teardown of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, which has some additional information on the internal components of the machine, can be read on the iFixit website.

Apple today released new iOS and iPadOS 13.2.3 for the iPhone and the iPad, updates to the iOS and iPadOS 13.2.2 software that was released last week on November 7.

The new iOS and iPadOS 13.2.3 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.2.3 are minor updates focusing on performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that were not able to be addressed in iOS 13.2 and iOS 13.2.2 rather than major outward facing changes.

According to Apple's release notes, the update fixes a bug that could prevent Mail from fetching new messages and it addresses a bug that caused photos, links, and other attachments to not display properly in the Messages details view. The iOS 13.2.3 and iPadOS 13.2.3 release notes are the same.

iOS 13.2.3 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone. This update:
Fixes an issue where system search and search within Mail, Files, and Notes might not work
Addresses an issue where photos, links, and other attachments might not display in the Messages details view
Fixes an issue that could prevent apps from downloading content in the background
Resolves issues that may prevent Mail from fetching new messages, and fail to include and quote original message content in Exchange accounts

iOS 13.2.2, the prior update released last week, addressed an issue that caused apps running in the background on the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ to unexpectedly quit, leading to background apps that refreshed more often than normal.

Apple is also beta testing an iOS 13.3 update that includes Communication Limits for Screen Time and other minor feature tweaks.

In light of its acquisition of the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business earlier this year, including many cellular patents, Apple has shared a letter on its website to reiterate its stance on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory or FRAND licensing terms for standards-essential patents.

Apple says it values intellectual property and recognizes the important role of developing industry standards, noting that its engineers participate in over 100 standard-setting organizations. Apple touts its own contributions to a wide range of standards, including, for example, cellular, Wi-Fi, and USB-C.

Apple adds that it has "long sought to bring a balanced perspective to the promises and perils of standardization" and is committed to licensing its own cellular standards-essential patents on FRAND terms.

Apple believes owners of standards-essential patents should make licenses available on FRAND terms to any and all interested parties that request a license, adding that standards-essential patent licensees should not be forced to take bundled or portfolio licenses as part of an agreement.

There should also be an objective, reasonable royalty rate that applies equally to all standards-essential licensees, according to Apple.

Following its agreement with Intel, Apple said it would hold over 17,000 wireless technology patents, ranging from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation. Apple is widely expected to release its first 5G-enabled iPhones with Qualcomm modems in 2020.

Following the 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple plans to release a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with a scissor switch keyboard in the first half of 2020, according to industry sources cited by hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication DigiTimes. A preview of the report was shared with paying subscribers.

The report claims the display size will remain 13.3 inches, although given the source is DigiTimes, we would not completely rule out hopes of a larger 14-inch display. Wistron and Global Lighting Technologies are said to be among the suppliers of the keyboards for the smaller notebook.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro features a redesigned scissor switch keyboard, largely based on the standalone Magic Keyboard for the iMac. Given the tried-and-tested design, the keyboard should prove far more reliable than the troublesome butterfly keyboards used across the MacBook lineup in recent years.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro also features a physical Esc key and an inverted-T arrow key layout. It is unclear if the 13-inch MacBook Pro will follow suit.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously predicted that Apple will transition its entire notebook lineup to scissor switch keyboards in 2020, including all MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models.

It would be hardly surprising if Apple completely moves past its butterfly keyboards, which have suffered from issues with sticky, repeating, or nonfunctional keys since their inception in 2016. Apple continues to offer free repairs to affected customers as part of its worldwide service program.

The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro was last updated in July, while higher-end 13-inch models were refreshed in May.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will join Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff for a fireside chat at the Dreamforce 2019 conference on Tuesday at approximately 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time at the Yerba Buena Theater. A live stream will be available.

Apple and Salesforce formed a strategic partnership in 2018. Salesforce has since redesigned its customer relationship management app with support for the latest features on iPhone and iPad, including Siri Shortcuts and Face ID. The new Salesforce app is available in the App Store.

Salesforce has also announced a Trailhead GO learning app with more than 700 modules covering business and tech skills. Trailhead GO is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Additional features, including support for Dark Mode and Sign in with Apple, are expected to be available later this year.

Last, the two companies have announced a new Salesforce mobile SDK, optimized for Swift and iOS 13. The new SDK, coming later this year, will help developers to build and deploy native Salesforce apps for iPhone and iPad.

With Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro now in stores, we were able to pick one up this morning to take a look at it and provide MacRumors readers with our first impressions on the new machine.

Read on below and watch our video to see our overview and our initial thoughts on the new ‌MacBook Pro‌.

When you glance at the new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, it's difficult to tell it apart from the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, because the design is the same general design that Apple has been using for the ‌MacBook Pro‌ for years now.

Apple bumped up the thickness and the weight of the new ‌MacBook Pro‌, though, and there's a lot of heft here. It feels more dense when toting it around, and the extra weight and size is somewhat noticeable.

The most notable change to the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is the larger 16-inch display with its slimmed down bezels. The new model has a resolution of 3072 x 1920 at 226 pixels per inch, which is an improvement over the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. In use, the updated display appears to be somewhat sharper and more vibrant than before, but it's not a huge difference from the 15-inch display and it's probably not the sole reason someone should upgrade.

Beyond the display, there are quite a few attractive new features that set the 16-inch machine apart from its predecessors. A new "Magic Keyboard" has been added that does away with the butterfly mechanism and returns to a scissor-style mechanism that's meant to be more reliable and not prone to failure due to crumbs and small particulates.

We liked the feel of the butterfly keyboard in general, and the Magic Keyboard isn't too far off from that feel. There's minimal key travel, but a solid amount of feedback that provides a pleasant typing experience.

Apple added a physical Escape key to the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, an upgrade over the virtual Escape key built into the Touch Bar in previous Macs. Apple's Phil Schiller recently said that not having a physical Escape key was one of the top ‌MacBook Pro‌ complaints, and it's nice that Apple has addressed this issue.

Arrow keys have also been returned to an inverted "T" design, which will also be a welcome change, and the Touch ID button is now a separate button to match the aesthetic of a separate Escape key. Aside from these changes, the Touch Bar is the same. There are also no changes to the Trackpad.

There's a new six-speaker sound system and a three-array microphone setup that we used to record the entirety of our YouTube video. The sound system is impressive for a notebook machine. The speakers are super loud, but sound quality is also noticeably improved. The audio is robust with great clarity and just the right amount of bass.

Battery life in the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ is up an hour compared to the 15-inch model, though we haven't been able to test that out yet. It's using the same Intel processors that were included in the 15-inch models released in May, but the new machine supports up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage, which will appeal to pro users.

What do you think of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌? Are you upgrading? Let us know in the comments.

We're going to have additional coverage of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ coming next week, including a deeper dive into performance, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors.