MacRumors

WIRED has published a lengthy feature about Apple's foray into streaming video, and while many of the details are known, the article serves as a nice primer ahead of the launch of Apple TV+ on November 1.

In an interview, Apple TV+ co-chief Zack Van Amburg said Apple is focused on quality rather than demographic programming. "No one here is sitting around saying we need to find the next show for males 18 to 34, or the next show for females older than 32. We're defining our programming by quality."

While TV shows on traditional networks are often aimed at capturing viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, a key demographic for advertising, Apple TV+ can avoid this since the subscription-based service has no commercials.

One of Apple TV+'s first series will be Ronald D. Moore's space-race drama "For All Mankind," with the article noting that Moore pitched the series with an impressive level of detail spanning up to seven seasons:

On the wall, a series of timelines and character profiles helped illustrate how the show might progress over the seven seasons that Moore and his writers had broken down. "The level of detail was overwhelming," Erlicht says. "Every aspect of the butterfly effect that would happen from the slightest change in that event." The executives walked out into the hallway, grinned at each other, and negotiated which one of them was going to give Moore the good news.

Apple TV+ will be available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and other platforms, including online at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. Since September 10, customers who purchase any iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, or Mac can get one year of Apple TV+ for free.

Full Article: Inside Apple's High-Flying Bid to Become a Streaming Giant

When Dark Mode was marketed as a headline feature in iOS 13, Apple promoted it as an alternative new look that was easier on the eyes when viewed in dark environments. Oddly though, Apple never mentioned that it also potentially offers energy-saving benefits – particularly for OLED iPhones, since pixels on an OLED panel are individually powered and true black pixels remain inactive.

That potential battery saving has now been put to the test. In an experiment shared on YouTube, PhoneBuff used robotic arms to interact with two fully charged iPhones running iOS 13, with one running in ‌Dark Mode‌ and the other in Light mode. The robots worked their way through various native and third-party apps, all of which support both iOS display modes, until the iPhones died.

The results are pretty conclusive: The test found that an iPhone XS Max using ‌Dark Mode‌ uses up significantly less battery than an ‌iPhone‌ XS Max using Light Mode. When the Light Mode-enabled ‌iPhone‌ XS Max died, the ‌Dark Mode‌ ‌iPhone‌ XS Max still had 30 percent battery life remaining.

PhoneBuff notes one important variable in his test that conditioned the results: The iPhones both had their displays set to 200 nits brightness. At 100 nits, which is what you'd expect indoors, two hours on Twitter saved just 5 percent more battery in ‌Dark Mode‌. The same test performed at 300 nits, which is closer to outdoors use, saw ‌Dark Mode‌ save 12 percent battery.

• How to Enable Dark Mode in iOS 13

Either way, the test appears to prove that ‌Dark Mode‌ is a significant battery saver for OLED iPhones, which include the ‌iPhone‌ X, ‌iPhone‌ XS, and ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro, but not the ‌iPhone‌ XR or ‌iPhone‌ 11. You can watch the video embedded above for the full lowdown.

Apple has targeted a 2020 release for its augmented reality headset, although the timeframe could be pushed back if the product needs more development, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The report claims the glasses are expected to wirelessly pair with an iPhone to display information such as messages, emails, and maps over the wearer's field of vision. It would also be possible to play games on the headset, with Apple reportedly considering having an App Store for the headset.

Apple has a few other releases planned for later in 2020, the report adds, including Apple Watch models with sleep tracking and Macs with custom Apple-designed processors that are expected to be Arm-based.

U.S lawmakers on Friday sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressing concern over Apple's decision to remove the HKMap Live app from the App Store after complaints from the Chinese Government.

The letter [PDF] calls Apple's removal of the HKMap Live app "disappointing" and points out a prior quote from ‌Tim Cook‌ that reads "At Apple, we are not afraid to say that our values drive our curation decisions."

The HKMap Live app, which was used by protestors in Hong Kong to crowdsource information about street closures and police presence, was pulled from the App Store in early October.

Apple later reversed course and approved the app, allowing it back into the ‌App Store‌, but after China accused Apple of "protecting rioters," Apple removed the app once again and it has remained unavailable.

According to U.S lawmakers, the HKMap Live app lets peaceful demonstrators to share locations to keep out of harm's way. Apple, says the letter, has also censored "at least 2200 apps in China," including VPN apps and apps made by and for "oppressed ethnic minorities."

The letter goes on to accuse Apple of complicity in China's efforts to block change, and questions whether Apple is willing to bow to Chinese demands to avoid losing access to Chinese consumers.

You have said publicly that you want to work with China's leaders to effect change rather than sit on the sidelines and yell at them. We, too, believe that diplomacy and trade can be democratizing forces. But when a repressive government refuses to evolve, or, indeed, when it double down, cooperation can become complicity.

The Chinese government is growing more aggressive in its attempts to dictate terms to U.S. corporations, as last week's headlines involving Apple, the National Basketball Association, and Activision Blizzard make clear. Cases like these raise real concern about whether Apple and other large U.S corporate entities will bow to growing Chinese demands rather than lose access to more than a billon Chinese consumers.

When the app was pulled for the final time, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ told Apple employees that based on "credible information" from Hong Kong police, the app was being used to target individual officers for violence.

It is no secret that technology can be used for good or for ill. This case is no different. The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hotspots, and other information. On its own, this information is benign. However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present. This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law. Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our ‌App Store‌ guidelines barring personal harm.

The letter from the lawmakers ends by urging Apple to reverse course and re-allow the HKMaps on the ‌App Store‌.

In promoting values, as in most things, actions matter far more than words. Apple's decisions last week to accommodate the Chinese government by taking down HKMaps is deeply concerning. We urge you in the strongest terms to reverse course, to demonstrate that Apple puts values above market access, and to stand with the brave men and women fighting for basic rights and dignity in Hong Kong.

The letter was written by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. Maro Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., and Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J. A similar letter was also sent to Blizzard following Blizzard's decision to ban Ng Wai Chung, a Hearthstone player who voiced support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

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.

While the status of Apple's electric vehicle plans are unclear at this point, hit-or-miss DigiTimes reports that Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer is currently supplying Apple with unspecified "autonomous driving solutions."

An excerpt from the paywalled report, emphasis ours:

With the test of its autonomous vehicle, Quanta is now able to prove its ability in designing an autonomous driving platform, which is expected to assist the company to obtain more partnerships, said the sources, adding that Quanta is currently one of the suppliers of Google's and Apple's autonomous driving solutions.

Quanta recently confirmed that it has developed and tested its first autonomous vehicle on closed tracks in the United States, according to the report, allowing it to "prove its ability in designing an autonomous driving platform." Quanta did not reveal details of the vehicle or the tests.

While noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that a so-called "Apple Car" could launch by 2025, in line with various reports claiming that Apple has been developing an electric vehicle, other reports have suggested that Apple has been focused solely on underlying autonomous technologies and systems.

Quanta is best known as the primary assembler of the Apple Watch since 2015, but a separate DigiTimes report claimed that the company may stop assembling the Apple Watch in 2020 due to "profit concerns."

Icons possibly depicting the widely rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro have been uncovered by French blog MacGeneration in the first two betas of macOS Catalina version 10.15.1, which has been in testing since last week.

The icon looks similar to the 15-inch MacBook Pro asset that is included in previous versions of macOS, but with slightly thinner bezels. The notebook is depicted in both Silver and Space Gray, with "16" in both filenames presumably referring to the larger 16-inch display expected for the rumored machine.

MacRumors can confirm the files exist in the second beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.1:

The icons also have a corresponding MacBookPro16,1 model identifier that Apple has never used. The latest 15-inch MacBook Pro has a MacBookPro15,1 identifier, according to a support document on Apple's website.

Earlier this year, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple is readying a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an all-new design, including the return of a more reliable scissor mechanism keyboard, for release by the end of 2019. However, it is unclear if the notebook is still planned for this year or has been pushed back to 2020.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is rumored to feature narrower bezels, as the icons above suggest, perhaps allowing the larger display to fit in a notebook with a similar physical size as the current 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the 15-inch MacBook Pro icon (left) with the icon uncovered today (right):

IHS Markit analyst Jeff Lin believes the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will feature a 3,072×1,920 resolution and be powered by Intel's 9th-generation Coffee Lake Refresh processors, suggesting the notebook will be configurable with up to an 8-core Core i9 processor in line with the latest 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week tweeted in support of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, urging the U.S. Senate to move quickly to pass the bipartisan bill, which would eliminate per-country limits on employment-based green cards and increase per-country limits for family-sponsored green cards.

"Immigrants make this country stronger and our economy more dynamic," said Cook. "As a first step toward needed comprehensive reform, I urge the Senate to move quickly to pass the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. The contributions of these workers are critical to America's future."

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the High-Skilled Immigrants Act in July, but the Senate has so far blocked the bill.

Apple and Cook frequently back pro-immigration legislation. Earlier this month, for example, Cook lent his name to Apple's amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy that protects "Dreamers" from deportation.

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.

Google has ignited security concerns over the facial authentication system in its new Pixel 4 smartphone by admitting that it will unlock the device even when the user's eyes are shut.

Google unveiled the Pixel 4 this week to mostly positive reviews, many of which praised the phone for its super-fast new face unlock system, which replaces the fingerprint sensor and works much the same as Apple's Face ID on iPhones, except for one key security feature.

The BBC has discovered that the Pixel 4 can be unlocked even with the user's face even if they're sleeping (or pretending to be asleep). That contrasts with Apple's ‌Face ID‌ system, which engages by default an "Attention Aware" feature that requires the user's eyes to be open for the iPhone to be unlocked. Attention Aware can be disabled for convenience, but the Pixel 4 lacks an equivalent security feature entirely.

To its credit though, Google isn't hiding this fact. A Google support page reads: "Your phone can also be unlocked by someone else if it's held up to your face, even if your eyes are closed. Keep your phone in a safe place, like your front pocket or handbag."

To "prepare for unsafe situations," Google recommends holding the power button for a couple of seconds and tapping Lockdown, which turns off notifications and face recognition unlocking.

In early leaks of the Pixel 4, screenshots revealed a "require eyes to be open" setting for face unlock, so it looks as if Google tried to implement a similar feature to Apple's Attention Aware, but couldn't get it working in time for the device's launch.

Speaking before the launch, Pixel product manager Sherry Lin said: "There are actually only two face [authorisation] solutions that meet the bar for being super-secure. So, you know, for payments, that level - it's ours and Apple's."

Cyber-security experts disagree.

"If someone can unlock your phone while you're asleep, it's a big security problem," security blogger Graham Cluley told the BBC. "Someone unauthorized - a child or partner? - could unlock the phone without your permission by putting it in front of your face while you're asleep."

In a statement given to the BBC, Google said it would "continue to improve Face Unlock over time."

Apple's rumored next-generation noise-canceling AirPods will launch at the end of this month with a new "Pro" moniker and a price tag of around $260, claims a new Chinese-language report this morning.

According to China Economic Daily, Apple's third-generation AirPods will adopt a new in-ear design to support the new noise-canceling feature and enhance the listening experience. The paper claims the "Pro" suffix, which Apple recently adopted for its most expensive iPhone 11 models, will help to differentiate the new wireless earbuds from Apple's existing AirPods and underscores the marketing rationale justifying the higher $260 price tag.

According to a separate report on Friday from the same Chinese-language financial media outlet, the AirPods Pro will also feature a new metal design that increases heat dissipation. Apple AirPods supplier Inventec is said to be cooperating with Chinese manufacturer Lixun to undertake the new orders.

In April, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said two new AirPods models would likely go into mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, with Luxshare, Goertek, and Amkor serving as primary suppliers.

Kuo also claimed one of the new AirPods models will feature an "all-new form factor design" and a "higher price" than the second-generation AirPods, which cost $159 with a standard charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. The other model is expected to be a more iterative update with the same pricing, although it's unclear what any new features would be.

Previously, the AirPods expected to launch later this year were thought to be the more iterative pair that Kuo refers to. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said he expects the higher-priced AirPods with water resistance and noise cancelation to launch as early as 2020. However, today's report suggests they could come sooner.

According to industry sources previously cited by DigiTimes, Apple's suppliers are gearing up to assemble the next-generation AirPods as early as October, suggesting an updated version of the earphones could arrive in time for the holiday shopping season.

In the beta version of iOS 13.2 there's an icon showing redesigned AirPods that appear to have rubber ear tips that would likely be needed as part of a noise cancelation feature. The image is contained in the Accessibility Settings folder, suggesting the new AirPods will contain a new accessibility feature such as being able to use them as hearing aids, or it could be related to existing Live Listen capabilities.

No specific date has been given for when the new AirPods could debut, but Apple has a number of rumored pending announcements that could point toward an October media event.