Apple today updated its Apple Store app to version 5.3, introducing a redesigned Sessions tab at the bottom of the app that houses dozens of new Today at Apple sessions that Apple users can sign up to attend.
Apple says that it's also now easier to check the trade-in values of your devices when using the Apple Store app.
You'll see trade-in options when purchasing a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, and Apple will give you a list of your current devices where you're signed in with your Apple ID and their trade-in value.
You can tap one, go through Apple's status checklist, and then finish the trade-in process right when checking out.
The splash screen when starting the app after installing the new update also says that returns have been streamlined with options to track the progress of your order, initiate a return, or print a return label directly from the Apple Store app.
The Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
While Apple's new TV streaming service will include its own original content, Apple will also be offering customers access to video streaming subscriptions from third-party services, such as HBO and Showtime.
Part of this effort could potentially include bundles of channels from various content providers, according to new reports from Recode and The Information.
Apple has negotiated rights to bundle streaming services together as part of its deals with media firms, which will allow it to offer packages of channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz at a price that's lower than what each service would cost on a standalone basis. From Recode:
That wholesale/retail relationship also means Apple, not the streamers, can set the price for the stuff it sells. Apple isn't likely to sell, say, HBO for less than HBO sells itself on rival platforms like Roku. But it definitely plans to sell bundles of pay tv channels at a discount, just like pay TV operators have always done.
It's not entirely clear when Apple plans to offer bundles like these, but providing discounted access to a group of channels would provide Apple with an edge over Amazon. Amazon, as The Information points out, allows customers to sign up for streaming services like Showtime through their Amazon account, but customers must pay full price.
According to Recode, Apple's service isn't going to be a major Netflix or Hulu competitor because the focus is going to be on selling streaming video subscriptions from other companies and taking a cut of the transaction. Apple is working on original content, but its own shows and movies "should be considered very expensive giveaways, not the core product."
Apple is offering its content partners a revenue share that's similar to Amazon, which keeps 30 to 50 percent of the subscription fee. Apple, however, won't be offering access to as much data as Amazon provides. Still, The Information says publishers find bundling "appealing," and Apple has been touting its huge subscriber base to score deals. Apple's subscription TV content will be made available through its existing TV app which is available on the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad.
There's no word on which channels Apple will include in bundles, but Apple has signed deals with 15 streaming channels for separate subscriptions, including digital only services like Cheddar and Tastemade and TV channels like Showtime and Starz. Apple has not yet inked a deal with HBO.
Apple is going to introduce its streaming service at its upcoming March 25 event, and the service is expected to launch in the United States later in the spring before expanding to additional countries.
Apple is also unveiling an Apple News subscription service at the event, and rumors have suggested that the TV and news services could be bundled with Apple Music as part of one subscription for Apple users. Apple is also going to announce an Apple credit card provided by Goldman Sachs.
The ticket lottery for Apple's 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference ended yesterday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and following the end of registration, Apple has started sending out confirmation emails to winners.
Developers who scored a ticket to WWDC can expect to see their credit cards charged for the $1,599 over the course of the next few days.
Apple uses a lottery system to provide developers with WWDC tickets and has done so for the last several years due to overwhelming demand. There are approximately 5,000 spots open for developers, but Apple gets many more applications than that.
Developers who receive a WWDC ticket will be able to attend iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS app development sessions and more than 1,000 Apple engineers will be on hand and in labs to provide assistance.
The 2019 event will start on Monday, June 3 and will last through Friday, June 7 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Apple will host a keynote event on Monday to introduce new iOS, tvOS, macOS, and watchOS software. There are sometimes a few hardware surprises, though we haven't heard much detail on what could be included. It's possible we'll see our first glimpse at the new modular Mac Pro Apple has been working on since 2017.
Following the keynote event, Apple will make new software updates available to developers and the rest of the week will be spent in technical sessions and hands-on labs.
Developers not selected to purchase a WWDC ticket will be able to watch the keynote session and follow along with technical sessions through the Apple Developer Website and the WWDC app for iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV.
Earlier this week we highlighted a few deals for pre-orders on Apple's new iPad mini and iPad Air, and now B&H Photo has introduced a notable pre-order discount for the new entry-level 21.5-inch 4K iMac, which Apple refreshed on Tuesday.
B&H Photo is only providing a pre-order discount on one model of the iMac, but you can find pre-order links to more models below. It's unclear how long B&H Photo will be keeping the offer up for, but the new iMacs are expected to exit their pre-order phase and begin shipping next week.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Apple has acquired Italian startup Stamplay, which offered an API-based back-end development platform, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. The report claims Apple paid around five million euros for the company.
The report does not cite Apple's standard statement for acquisitions, which typically reads "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." We've reached out to Apple for our own confirmation, but we did not immediately hear back.
Nevertheless, one telltale sign of the acquisition or at least an acqui-hire is that Stamplay's website was almost entirely stripped of information within the past few weeks, as is usually the case following Apple acquisitions.
Stamplay describes itself as a "low code workflow automation platform, empowering organizations to streamline manual work by integrating data and business applications used every day." The "API-based development platform" enables developers to build and launch "full-featured cloud-based web apps."
From the startup's LinkedIn page:
The powerful web-based editor includes everything a developer needs to create and run a powerful backend for their app, including popular APIs like Stripe (payments), Sendgrid (email), Twilio (SMS and VoIP), Pusher (realtime notifications) and many more.
The report was brought to our attention by setteBIT:
Apple updated its AirPods page yesterday after unveiling a second-generation pair, and this image was intended to showcase the new optional wireless charging case on a Qi-enabled charging mat, but Apple never ended up featuring the image publicly. We found it hidden within a CSS stylesheet.
There was some hope that Apple would announce the AirPower today after announcing new iPads on Monday, new iMacs on Tuesday, and new AirPods on Wednesday, but that never materialized. We also didn't get a new iPod touch, although Kuo and other sources have indicated that one is coming at some point this year.
AirPower is designed to charge multiple Apple devices at once, including the iPhone 8 and newer, Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, and AirPods when they are placed in the new optional wireless charging case introduced yesterday. The images on the AirPods page have simply never showed the Apple Watch on the mat.
AirPower was in fact shown with an Apple Watch on it when previewed on stage and on the Apple Watch page earlier last year:
Early reviews and hands-on impressions of the new iPad mini came out today. Most publications agree that the iPad mini is a great update for fans of the smaller 7.9-inch tablet with almost identical tech specs to the new iPad Air.
That includes the same A12 Bionic chip, 8-megapixel rear camera, 7-megapixel front camera, Touch ID, Lightning connector, 64GB and 256GB storage options, two speakers, headphone jack, Gigabit-class LTE, first-generation Apple Pencil compatibility, and up to 10 hours of battery life.
The new iPad mini's only notable differences versus the new iPad Air are its smaller screen and lack of Smart Keyboard compatibility.
As The Verge's Nilay Patel notes, however, the iPad mini design is now very old:
You're still looking at the exact same external design, which is now nearly seven years old. If you secretly replaced any previous iPad mini with the new one, there's a chance you might not even notice the difference. All the changes to this new mini are on the inside, and they're significant — which they should be, given the amount of time since it was last refreshed.
And while the iPad mini finally supports the Apple Pencil, it comes with all of the downsides of the first-generation version:
…the iPad Pro came out late last year with a new second-gen pencil that magnetically clips onto the side of the iPad and charges wirelessly, but this new mini doesn’t have any of that. Instead, you’ve got Apple’s first-gen Pencil, which has never been a triumph of design or usability. You still pair and charge it by plugging it into the bottom of the iPad, which looks even more ridiculous on the mini, and the cap is still insanely easy to lose.
As for the iPad mini sticking with the Lightning connector, Apple told Patel that it views USB-C as a "pro" feature — aka iPad Pro.
Patel added that "the display is very nice" on the new iPad mini despite not having the iPad Pro's ProMotion variable refresh rate for smooth scrolling, but found that its same old 8-megapixel rear camera "takes at best medium-good photos."
Most reviews conclude that if you want the smallest iPad possible, the new iPad mini is quite capable and at least somewhat reasonably priced at $399. And with little competition from Android tablets, the iPad mini is one of the only small tablets worthy of consideration in the first place.
Patel's closing paragraph:
But the decision to get an iPad mini is simple: do you want a small, capable tablet? If you do, the mini is obviously worth $399, especially when you consider how long Apple has supported iPads for in the past. There’s just nothing else like it. Let’s just hope that next time we don’t have to wait four years for Apple to remember it exists again.
I haven't fallen in love with the new Mini, just as I never felt the need to buy one before. But I could see why people would. It's less burdensome than a lot of other things we carry. It's not quite pocketable, but it's close. Again, I can't hold it in one hand, but some people can, I'm sure. The Mini feels personal in a way that other devices no longer do. Not because of its actual newness, but because it is still here, and slightly reinvented once again.
It still looks like an iPad Mini–complete with home button and headphone jack. But after three loooooong years, Apple’s little tablet is finally getting the features it needs to qualify as a modern iPad.
I'd actually argue it's perhaps the best small tablet out there right now. There's more than enough power here for most people, and if portability is your biggest concern, there's no denying the mini is more convenient to lug around.
There simply isn't a tablet as powerful as the new iPad mini with the same or similar dimensions. You can get a 7-inch Kindle Fire for $50, but it's demonstrably inferior in every way from the construction, to the app selection, to the performance, to the storage, to display, and etc.
An iPad Mini with a faster processor and Pencil support is filling a specific need not everyone will have. It's like a specifically sized screw, or a particular TV size. As Apple keeps splitting its iPad line into more variants, the Mini feels far less essential than ever, particularly as the iPhone screens creep to six inches or more. But if you need an efficient iPad this size and don't want a bigger iPhone for the job... well, this is what you're looking for.
With Apple Pay's latest promotion, you can get free delivery through Instacart when you use Apple Pay to checkout. To get the free delivery, you'll have to spend $35 or more on your order.
This promotion lasts through March 27, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and is subject to availability as Instacart is not available in all zip codes.
Apple's new promotion is themed around grocery shopping, and encourages users to shop using Apple Pay at Aldi, Hy-Vee, Sprouts, Giant Food Stores, Stop & Shop, Giant Eagle, Meijer, and Raley's.
Apple in March debuted second-generation AirPods, featuring several updates over the original massively popular wireless earbuds of the same name.
So what's improved in the new AirPods compared to the older model, and what's stayed the same? Read on to find out.
Price of New AirPods vs. Old AirPods
Buying Apple's original AirPods was straightforward as they came with a single $159 price tag, but that's changed with the second-generation models.
The new AirPods still start at the same price, but customers now have the option to buy the earbuds with a Wireless Charging Case for $199.
Apple is also offering the Wireless Charging Case separately for $79, so if you already own first-generation AirPods you can buy the case and charge your earbuds using any Qi-compatible charging mat. The Wireless Charging Case still includes a Lightning port so you can charge your AirPods via cable if you prefer.
Apple's new AirPods can be ordered on Apple's website and will be available in Apple Stores and resellers from March 26, 2019. Apple no longer lists first-generation AirPods on its website, but you should be able to find them elsewhere online at a lower price now that the new AirPods are available.
Design of New AirPods vs. Old AirPods
Apple's new AirPods look identical to the first-generation models, save for a single LED on the front of the Wireless Charging Case. This light simply tells you the charging status of the AirPods when you place them on a Qi-compatible charging mat. On the standard charging case, which came with the original AirPods, the LED was inside the lid between where the two AirPods go.
Otherwise, both versions of AirPods have the same dimensions and weight, and both are only available in white.
Processor in New AirPods vs. Old AirPods
Apple's second-generation AirPods use a new proprietary chip called the H1, whereas the original AirPods run on the W1 chip.
Both chips are responsible for the earbuds' seamless one-tap pairing process, but Apple claims the H1 allows the new AirPods to connect to calls up to 1.5 times faster and generally provide a more stable wireless connection to devices like iPhones and iPads, while making them up to twice as fast when switching between active devices.
In addition, the H1 chip delivers up to 30 percent lower latency, which means you should experience fewer delays between onscreen events and their accompanying audio when playing games.
Using Siri With New AirPods vs. Old AirPods
One of the headline features of the new AirPods is the ability to invoke Siri handsfree when you're wearing them, thanks to Apple's new H1 chip.
With the first-generation AirPods you have to double tap the earbuds before you can talk to the personal assistant, but the new models allow you to say simply "Hey Siri" for it to register your spoken query or command. This is particularly neat if you wear them when your hands are busy or you want to exclusively control your music using Siri commands.
Battery life in New AirPods vs. Old AirPods
Apple's new AirPods offer the same overall battery life as the original AirPods, which is 5 hours on a single charge and over 24 hours of additional battery capacity in the charging case. According to Apple, the second-generation AirPods offer 50 percent more talk time due to the H1 chip.
In other words, the new AirPods get up to three hours of talk time per charge, compared to up to two hours with the previous generation. So that's something to think about if you'd be using them to take a lot of calls.
Bottom Line
Apple's second-generation AirPods aren't an earth-shattering upgrade over its original wireless earbuds, with the company seemingly holding rumored features like health monitoring, noise cancellation, and water resistance for the next generation, expected in 2020.
That said, new features like handsfree "Hey Siri" activation and wireless charging are still welcome improvements, and even if you're not convinced they present a worthwhile upgrade over your first-generation AirPods, you still have the option to buy the new wireless case to charge your existing earbuds using a Qi-compatible charging pad.
Whatever you decide, be sure to check out our complete guide to AirPods to learn a lot more about what AirPods can do and how you can make the most of them, and read our roundup for more details on the new second-generation AirPods.
AltConf, a popular alternative conference that takes place at the same time as Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, is returning in 2019. Developers unable to get a ticket to WWDC can instead attend AltConf to meet and mingle with others in the iOS and macOS communities.
This year's AltConf event will take place at the Marriott San Jose, located close to the McEnery Conference Center where WWDC will be held. AltConf will kick off on Monday, June 3, and will last through Thursday, June 6.
There will be speakers at AltConf, along with a community labs feature where attendees can get expert advice on their apps, discuss ideas, and more. On Monday, AltConf will kick off with viewings of Apple's keynote event and State of the Union for developers, with the venue able to accommodate more than 900 attendees.
New to AltConf this year is an Apple-themed escape room that will require attendees to use their "Apple skills and knowledge" to save a doomed Apple keynote from failure. Tickets are priced at $5.
AltConf is free to attend, but there is an option to become a Hero Supporter to show support for the event.
For developers unable to make it to San Jose who still want to attend a developer-centric event, AltConf is hosting a number of satellite events in Europe that will be all-day conferences.
AltConf satellite events will take place in London, Madrid, Paris, and Berlin, with each hosted and curated by local community volunteers. There will be speakers and events, which will be followed by a viewing of Apple's keynote event at night.
Tickets to the satellite conference events will range in price from 29 to 50 pounds based on location, though keynote viewing in the evening will be available for free.
Michelle Dockery, best know for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in PBS's "Downton Abbey," has signed on to star in "Defending Jacob," one of the TV shows Apple has ordered.
"Defending Jacob" is a thriller based on William Landay's bestselling novel of the same title. The book covers the murder of a 14-year-old boy and his friend Jacob, who may have committed the crime.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Described as a character-driven thriller, the show will star Chris Evans and also Jaeden Martell, who starred in the recent remake of Stephen King's "IT."
Evans will be playing Andy Barber, the father of a 14 year old (played by Martell) accused of murder. Dockery will be playing Laurie Barber, Andy's wife and Jacob's mother.
Apple has more than a dozen television shows in the works, and the company is set to give us a first look at its upcoming streaming service on Monday, March 25 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
The Wall Street Journal plans to join Apple's subscription news service that's set to be announced Monday, reports The New York Times. Other publications like the Washington Post and The New York Times itself are not on board, however, due to the revenue split Apple has requested.
Apple and The Wall Street Journal plan to announce the partnership at Apple's planned media event on March 25. Apple's subscription service for Apple News will provide readers with access to news articles and magazines from "hundreds" of participating publishers for one monthly fee, thought to be $9.99 per month.
Rumors have suggested that Apple has been having trouble securing deals with news sites like The New York Times and the Washington Post because Apple wants to keep 50 percent of all subscription revenue, splitting the other 50 percent of the revenue between publishers according to the amount of time users spend engaged with their articles.
Major paywalled news sites offer their own subscription access to articles, with revenue that does not need to be shared with Apple. Participating in Apple's service could cause current subscribers to swap over, leading to overall lower revenue.
Apple is also declining to provide credit card information or email addresses to publishers, details that news sites use to create customer databases and market their products, and they're asking partners to provide unlimited access to content.
To lure publishers to join its Apple News service, Apple executives are citing the scale of Apple News, which is installed on all iOS devices out of the box. Apple is telling publishers that millions of new customers could be introduced to their content, but some are not convinced.
Many magazine publishers are on board with Apple's proposed revenue terms, but most magazines have no existing online revenue streams. Magazine publishers have also already been working with the 50/50 revenue split following Apple's acquisition of Texture, the magazine subscription service Apple is basing its new offering on.
Apple will debut its new subscription service for Apple News at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 25. Apple will also use the same event to unveil its rumored streaming video service.
Just hours after Apple unveiled new second-generation AirPods with "Hey Siri" support and a new Wireless Charging Case, they've started selling out.
At launch, Apple listed a U.S. delivery date of March 27 to March 29 for the new $199 AirPods paired with the Wireless Charging Case, but now, those delivery estimates have slipped to April 2 to April 5.
The $159 second-generation AirPods with a standard Charging Case continue to be available for March 27 to March 29 delivery, as does the standalone $79 Wireless Charging Case Apple introduced for current AirPods owners.
Those who want to pick up the new AirPods with Wireless Charging Case should do so soon, as historically, Apple has had trouble keeping its AirPods in stock due to high demand.
We may soon see these delivery estimates slip even further into April.
Apple's new second-generation AirPods do not bring exciting new features that were rumored like a new black color and health updates, but they're a solid upgrade over the previous version.
There's a new H1 wireless chip inside that powers hands-free "Hey Siri" functionality so you don't need to tap to access the voice assistant.
Your AirPods are able to switch between devices two times faster when playing music, and there's an extra hour of talk time, bringing total talk time to three hours.
The new Wireless Charging Case allows the AirPods to charge using Qi-based wireless charging accessories, and it perhaps heralds the upcoming launch of the AirPower.
Apple is designing its own wireless charging mat meant to charge AirPods, the iPhone, and the Apple Watch all at once, but it's not yet entirely clear when it will launch given the many delays since its 2017 introduction.
In the meantime, with no AirPower, AirPods can charge on any Qi-based accessory that you might already have for your iPhone.
Apple will likely have some stock of the new AirPods models in its retail stores next week for those who were unable to order and receive a March delivery date. If you order online, though, you can get your AirPods case engraved, a feature new to the second-generation model.
We expect AirPods to be in stores right around March 25. The new AirPods require iOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, and macOS Mojave 10.14.4, all of which are in beta testing right now. Those releases are expected on March 25, so AirPods could be in stores soon afterwards.
AppleCare+ extends the warranty period of a Mac by an additional three years from the AppleCare+ purchase date, and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee that varies by model. AppleCare+ is available for every Mac that Apple sells - prices vary.
Until now, only the basic AppleCare Protection Plan was available for the Mac in these regions, which provided 24/7 priority access to Apple support advisors via online chat or phone, but did not include accidental damage coverage.
Without AppleCare, most Apple products have a limited one-year warranty and an initial 90 days of complimentary support.
AppleCare+ for Mac expanded to Canada, Mexico, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom in October 2018. It is also available in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
Apple on Tuesday unveiled new iMac models that support up to 64GB RAM. Apple charges high prices for RAM upgrades, though, but luckily, there are do-it-yourself options for replacing an iMac's memory after purchase.
Other World Computing this week announced memory upgrade kits designed for the 2019 27-inch 5K iMacs, which let you upgrade your available RAM more affordably.
There are three RAM kits available depending on your needs:
OWC's RAM kits let you save 40 to 60 percent over Apple's upgrade pricing, and there is an option to trade in the existing RAM in your machine to get a discount.
OWC says that it is testing 128GB of memory in the 27-inch iMac models and will confirm whether or not the machine supports it in the near future. So far, the 27-inch iMac has been able to see 128GB of memory, which seems promising for even further RAM upgrades. OWC offers a lifetime limited warranty for its memory kits, along with a 30 day money back guarantee.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with OWC. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced three years ago in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 78 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Pointer Events, Web Inspector, WebDriver, Web API, Accessibility, and Media.
The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS High Sierra and macOS Mojave, the newest version of the Mac operating system that was released to the public in September 2018.
Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
The company earlier this year approved production of a wireless-charging pad called AirPower, according to people familiar with the matter. It had announced the product in late 2017.
AirPower, which would allow users to charge the new AirPods and an iPhone simultaneously, has been delayed by product-development challenges, the people said. Apple typically announces new products within months of beginning production.
Last month, reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the AirPower will launch in the first half of 2019 alongside new AirPods, which were announced today, but a specific release date is unclear. Kuo also expects a new iPod touch with a faster processor in the first half of this year, but there has been no sign of one so far this week.
Apple has announced new iPads on Monday, new iMacs on Tuesday, and new AirPods on Wednesday of this week, so it is possible the AirPower could follow on Thursday or Friday, but no reliable rumors have indicated that will be the case.
Apple initially said the AirPower would be released in 2018, but the year came and went without a release, and the company hasn't said a word about the mat in many months. Apple removed the last remaining reference to the AirPower on its website, a photo of the mat, from its AirPods page earlier today.
Apple is holding a media event on March 25 at Steve Jobs Theater, where it is widely expected to unveil news and streaming video services, but this week's product announcements suggest the event might not see much if any hardware on stage.
AirPower is designed to charge multiple Apple devices at once, including the iPhone 8 and newer, Apple Watch Series 3 and newer, and AirPods when they are placed in the new optional wireless charging case introduced today.
Apple today announced that all new and updated iPhone and iPad apps submitted to the App Store on and after March 27, 2019 must be built with the iOS 12.1 SDK or later and support the iPhone XS Max and/or the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro. App Store screenshots for those devices will also be required.
Likewise, all new apps and app updates for Apple Watch will need to be built with the watchOS 5.1 SDK or later and support the Apple Watch Series 4.
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