Powerbeats Pro will eventually be available in Ivory, Moss, and Navy alongside the standard Black color, with Apple offering a greater range of colors than are available with the AirPods.
Powerbeats Pro in Black availability begins in May. Ivory, Moss and Navy will be available this summer. Color availability is subject to change.
Apple announced the Powerbeats Pro in Early April, positioning the $250 earbuds as an AirPods alternative focused on fitness with included earhooks for keeping them in place and sweat resistance.
Powerbeats Pro offer many of the same features first introduced in the AirPods 2, including an H1 chip for fast connectivity to an iPhone and simple switching between devices, Hey Siri support, and a dedicated charging case, though one without wireless support. Automatic ear detection, microphones for phone calls, and physical buttons are all included with the Powerbeats Pro.
Compared to the AirPods, the Powerbeats Pro offer longer battery life with nine hours of listening time per earbud along with more than 24 hours of additional battery life via the charging case.
Apple says sound was its "highest priority" when developing the Powerbeats Pro, and because these earbuds offer silicone tips that fit in the ears, sound isolation is an included feature.
Powerbeats Pro will be launching in May, though Apple has not provided a specific release date or specified whether preorders will be available. For more on the Powerbeats Pro, make sure to check out our guide.
Apple has indicated that most MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboard repairs will be required to be completed at Apple Stores until further notice, rather than being shipped to an off-site Apple repair center, according to an internal memo shared with Apple Store employees last week and obtained by MacRumors.
Apple's memo, titled "How to support Mac customers with keyboard-related repairs in store," advises Genius Bar technicians that these keyboard repairs should be "prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time":
Most keyboard-related repairs will be required to be completed in store until further notice. Additional service parts have been shipped to stores to support the increased volume.
These repairs should be prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time. When completing the repair, have the appropriate service guide open and carefully follow all repair steps.
Apple did not provide a reason for this change, but the company is known for customer satisfaction, so it could be trying to speed up the process a bit to alleviate frustration.
The turnaround time for MacBook and MacBook Pro repairs shipped to Apple's off-site facilities has typically ranged between three to five business days, and sometimes longer, so next-day turnaround would be much more convenient for customers if Genius Bars can actually fulfill that ambitious timeframe.
Shortly after the 2015 MacBook and 2016 MacBook Pro were released with lower-profile butterfly mechanism keyboards, complaints began to emerge about "sticky" keys causing repeating letters and other inconsistent behavior during routine use. In more severe cases, keys pop out of position or stop working altogether.
Following a few years of anecdotal complaints, and no less than three lawsuits, Apple finally initiated a worldwide service program offering free repairs of 12-inch MacBook models released between 2015 and 2017 and MacBook Pro models released in 2016 and 2017 for customers with expired warranty coverage.
That program remains in effect, but Apple has yet to extend free repairs to the still-under-warranty 2018 MacBook Pro or 2018 MacBook Air, which are still prone to keyboard issues to a lesser extent – despite both having third-generation butterfly keyboards with a silicone membrane designed to mitigate the issues.
2018 MacBook Pro keyboard with silicone membrane via iFixit
We are aware that a small number of users are having issues with their third-generation butterfly keyboard and for that we are sorry. The vast majority of Mac notebook customers are having a positive experience with the new keyboard.
Affected customers should visit Apple's Get Support page to book an appointment with a Genius Bar or an Apple Authorized Service Provider, who are also authorized to complete free repairs under Apple's service program.
"What I heard is without adapters, you will be able to use any USB mouse on your iPad, but as an accessibility device," said Viticci. "The iPad Pro has a USB-C port, so just plug in a USB mouse and if you have physical impairments, if you have any other kinds of motor impairments, just use a USB mouse in accessibility mode."
It has long been possible to use a compatible adaptive accessory like a joystick or trackball with Apple's accessibility feature AssistiveTouch to control an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but USB mouse support would seemingly eliminate the need for any specialized hardware or adapters.
Viticci cautions this is something he "heard months ago" and he isn't sure "if it'll happen," but as noted by iDownloadBlog, well-known developer Steve Troughton-Smith tweeted that "as far as I'm aware, that is indeed in the works."
If you missed last week's @_connectedfm, @viticci had a pretty interesting scoop that he'd been sitting on re mouse support coming to iPad as an accessibility feature. As far as I'm aware, that *is* indeed in the works. I feel like every pro user will turn that on, day one 😂
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) April 22, 2019
As noted by Viticci, this wouldn't be the first time Apple enables a feature "under the catch-all umbrella of accessibility." Any user would presumably be able to toggle on USB mouse support in the Settings app, with Troughton-Smith adding that "I feel like every pro user will turn that on, day one."
In a follow-up tweet, Troughton-Smith speculated that iOS could perhaps have "a small circle or dot" for a cursor rather than a traditional pointer, but the exact implementation of mouse support if any remains to be seen.
No specific timeframe has been provided for USB mouse support on the iPad, but it could presumably be added as early as iOS 13, which is expected to be unveiled at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The software update should be publicly released in September alongside new iPhones.
Listen to Connected on Relay FM. Viticci's remarks about the potential for USB mouse support on the iPad begin at the 1:08:35 mark.
Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with former TIME managing editor Nancy Gibbs at the first-ever TIME 100 Summit in New York City today to discuss the need for regulation in the tech industry, privacy, education, health, and more.
We've paraphrased some of Cook's comments from the interview:
Cook on Apple's values:
It's been an interesting time period to be a CEO. I've always deeply felt that people should have values. A corporation is nothing more than a collection of people, so by extension a corporation should have values. It's not unique to Apple. We've always had a unique set of values important to us. Part of that is how we treat the environment. Advocating for high-quality education. Privacy. I tend to think as I look at the world today, the issues that we face cannot be addressed solely by government. We cannot be looking to the government to solve all the problems. I think it takes the public sector, the private sector, and academia working together to solve these problems. Climate change is not going to be solved by government -- as just one example. We've readily stepped up and participated in the conversations because we think how we do is important as what we do.
And:
I would hope that every CEO stands up and represents its employees. This will upset some people. I try not to get wrapped up in a pretzel about who we upset. … In the end, we'll be judged for "did we stand up for what we believe in?" I think people still appreciate that, even when they disagree. We've taken some unpopular opinions, I recognize that, but we do so believing deeply that they are right. We do not focus on politics. Unfortunately, everything tends to break down that way, but we tend to focus on the policy. … Apple doesn't have a PAC (Political Action Committee). Apple's probably the only large company that doesn't have a PAC. … The company donates zero to political candidates.
Cook on the need for regulation in the tech industry:
Technology needs to be regulated. There are now too many examples where the no rails have resulted in a great damage to society. When things are out in society and they don't represent the true cost, then you need to do something about it. … You have to regulate it. I've been on the regulation kick, which surprised even me, for a while, because I didn't see companies laying the basic rails in place, and then refusing to step over those.
And:
I think this is an example where Europe is more likely to come up with something. GDPR isn’t ideal, but GDPR was a step in the right direction, on the privacy side obviously. There are plenty of things it doesn’t do that it needs to do. Moving the ball forward starts in Europe, and may eventually come to the US. I think in some cases, and I think I am part of this problem, in the US we typically either… business thinks all regulation is bad regulation. Therefore, there is lots of gravity around not doing something. I think that’s a very difficult tide to work through. We are advocating very strongly for regulation because I do not see another path at this point.
Cook on privacy:
Privacy is much more meaningful to mainstream Americans now … people that I would talk to, if they were in the military, they really got it, because they fought for our civil liberties, and they knew how important those civil liberties to were Americans… in mainstream America, people didn’t really grasp it… now much more meaningful… when it begins to affect our democracy, it means even more, and you get a more visceral response. I still think that all of us, including Apple, need to talk about what it means to the user, what it means to the citizen. Why it’s important. Why the folks who wrote our Constitution thought it was important. What it means to expression. In a world where everything is totally open, people begin to guard what they will say. Think about where society will go if we are afraid to share our opinions — if we fear we are being listened to, surveilled, monitored. … However, I’m still worried that some of the tools such as encryption… could the government force Apple to create a tool that puts hundreds of millions of people at risk to get into a phone… I wish that case would have gone to court to be honest, it was dropped the day before, now that the Inspector General’s report has come out, our worst fears have been confirmed, it was a very rigged case. … This was not the government’s finest hour. … I hope we’ve advanced much further than that. It hasn’t reoccured. It’s occurred in no other country in the world … I do think for the everyday American, privacy is materially more important sitting here in 2019…
Cook on his relations with U.S. President Donald Trump:
I would never share my talks with the President. The things I’m passionate about as the leader of Apple is getting DACA fixed, getting the immigration system fixed for America, fixing these green card backlogs … Trade is very important — it’s good for America, we need to figure out that it’s good for everyone…
Cook on education:
When your founder doesn't have [a degree], it kind of says a lot about what people can do without college education. … Pushing for every kid to learn coding. I think every kid in the world should learn to code. I think it’s the most important second language to know. … Basic creativity skills are not taught in a lot of schools, so we've created our own Everyone Can Create curriculum and made it available to schools…
Cook on Apple's push into health:
We began to recognize it was important to monitor your body on a real-time basis, versus just going to the doctor once per year and having vital signs checked. … Last year, as you know, we launched the Series 4 that has an ECG in it. This is a huge thing. … Some people only have one of these in their lives. … Now you can monitor ECG on your wrist. I'm getting tons of notes from people around the world… "I would have died or had a serious issue if I didn't know this." This is what the people are telling me. I think it's a big idea to monitor your body… As we pull this string more, and recognize things we can uniquely do… as long as you have the technology and privacy, which is even more important in the health arena, if you're really solid in these things, we think you can increase the learning cycles and make significant contributions to healthcare over time. We're at the early stages of this with the Watch, and obviously we're working on a bunch more things. I do think there will be a day we look back and say Apple's greatest contribution to mankind has been in healthcare. I think that will happen.
Cook on Screen Time:
Apple has never wanted to maximize user time. We're not motivated by this by a business point of view, and certainly not by a values point of view. We want to enable things for your life, empower you to have experiences you couldn't have. It is clear there are certain apps that people can get in the mindset of just scrolling through mindlessly and continually picking up their phones to see what is happening right at this second. So, we looked at this, and we said, number one, people should know what they are doing. There is a human trait in all of us to underestimate the degree of something bad we are doing. If you ask someone how many calories they had yesterday, I bet you they will tell you they had less than they actually had. So we're telling people how much time they are spending in apps, here's how many notifications you got. If you have an iPhone, I would encourage you to do this. I've gone in and gutted the number of notifications I receive… do I really need to get thousands of notifications per day? … If you're looking at your phone more than you're looking into someone's eyes, you're doing the wrong thing. This thing will improve through time just like everything else we do. We'll innovate there just like we do in other areas. Basically, we don't want people using their phones all the time. This has never been an objective for us.
One day after Samsung said it was delaying the public launch of the Galaxy Fold smartphone, the company has now announced that it will be retrieving all Galaxy Fold devices that were distributed to reviewers (via Reuters). For many reviewers, the Galaxy Fold proved to be an unreliable smartphone as the display experienced multiple issues while being tested.
These issues included a random bulge appearing on the display, as well as flickering and failing screens. In many cases, the issues were enough to make the Galaxy Fold devices completely unusable. Now, Samsung will retrieve these units and prepare for the re-launch of the smartphone at an unspecified date in the future. The Galaxy Fold was originally set to launch on April 26.
“On the bright side, we have an opportunity to nail down this issue and fix it before selling the phones to a massive audience, so they won’t have same complaints,” said a Samsung employee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a few cases, reviewers removed a protective layer on the smartphone's screen that looked similar to plastic films that are meant to be peeled off of displays after you open a device. For the Galaxy Fold, this layer is not meant to be removed, leading to some of the display issues.
Still, not every reviewer with a broken Galaxy Fold removed the plastic film, suggesting that there are multiple issues with the device that Samsung will have to address before a wide launch to the public. In an email to pre-order customers about the delayed launch, Samsung said that it will update customers with more specific shipping information in two weeks. "Your pre-order guarantees your place in the queue for this innovative technology," the company promised.
When it does launch, the Galaxy Fold will be available for $1,980.
In April 2016, Beyoncé launched her sixth studio album "Lemonade" worldwide. While the album was available for Apple users to buy for $17.99 on iTunes at launch, it was never put on Apple Music or Spotify and remained a streaming exclusive on Tidal for three years, until today.
Now, both Apple Music and Spotify subscribers can listen to the 13 track album (with an original demo version of "Sorry") for the first time. Apple is highlighting the launch on the main carousel in the Browse tab on Apple Music, along with the live album of "Homecoming," the documentary about Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance.
More recently, Beyoncé and Jay-Z launched a collaborative album under the name "The Carters," which only remained a Tidal exclusive for two days and then launched across streaming services in June 2018. Before that time, Jay-Z quietly removed many of his albums from Apple Music in April 2017, but most eventually came back. His own album "4:44" had one week of Tidal exclusivity before appearing on Apple Music in July 2017.
Although it's three years old at this point, "Lemonade" was a huge bonus for Tidal and a way for the company to encourage fans to sign up for the service. The end of its exclusivity follows a rough year for Tidal, with numerous reports about late royalty payments to artists, inflated streaming numbers, and potential data breaches emerging in 2018. The news of late royalty payments and inflated numbers came from Norwegian site Dagens Næringsliv, which specified that Tidal had inflated streaming numbers for "Lemonade".
Ousmane Bah, an 18-year-old from New York, is suing Apple for $1 billion for false arrest, reports Bloomberg.
According to Bah, Apple's in-store facial recognition software mistakenly linked him to a series of thefts from Apple Stores, leading to his arrest back in November.
In a lawsuit filed today, Bah said that the arrest warrant included a photo that did not resemble him, and that during one of the thefts he was charged with in Boston, he was attending a senior prom in Manhattan.
Bah says that he at one time had a learner's permit without a photograph stolen, which could have been found or stolen by the real thief and used as identification in Apple Stores, leading to his name being mistakenly linked to the thief's face in Apple's facial recognition systems.
Bah says that he was forced to respond to "multiple false allegations which led to severe stress and hardship." Apple has declined to comment on the case, which also involves Security Industry Specialists Incoming.
Update: Apple told The Verge that it does not use facial recognition in its stores, though that does not appear to be the entire story. The NYPD detective in the case said that Apple uses security technology to identify suspects of theft using facial recognition.
There is a security company also involved in the lawsuit (Security Industry Specialists), so it's possible that security footage captured in Apple retail stores is analyzed after the fact by this company.
A spokesperson for AT&T today told Law360 that the matter has been "amicably settled." Details on the terms of the settlement have not been shared, but AT&T is planning to continue to use its 5GE branding.
AT&T earlier this year began displaying a 5GE icon on some iPhone and Android smartphones. 5GE is AT&T's misleading name for an enhanced 4G LTE network and is not actual 5G connectivity, which incensed Sprint.
After AT&T rolled out the 5GE terminology, Sprint filed a lawsuit in federal court against AT&T in an attempt to prevent AT&T from using 5GE labeling. Sprint accused AT&T of damaging the consumer reputation and understanding of true 5G and potentially hurting Sprint's planned 5G rollout this summer.
Sprint also took out a full page ad in The New York Times to call AT&T out for the misleading labeling, calling 5GE "fake 5G." From Sprint's ad:
While Sprint is working hard to deliver mobile 5G and the first 5G smartphone in the U.S., AT&T is hard at work trying to convince you that they already won the race to 5G with something they call "5G Evolution." That is simply untrue.
Don't be fooled. 5G Evolution isn't new or true 5G. It is fake 5G.
They would love for you to believe they are different ... better. The truth is AT&T is simply offering customers a nationwide 4G LTE network just like Sprint and all the other major wireless carriers. It's not 5G.
AT&T uses 5GE for its 4G LTE networks that offer features like three-way carrier aggregation, 256 QAM, and 4x4 MIMO to provide faster connection speeds to consumers. These features are in no way limited to AT&T and are offered by other carriers, but no other carrier is using fake 5G branding.
Unsurprisingly, speed tests have confirmed that AT&T's 5GE service is no faster than LTE from Verizon and T-Mobile.
AT&T has defended its 5GE branding by calling 5G Evolution "first step on the road to 5G" and by claiming that customers "love" the 5GE branding because they "want and deserve to know" when "better speeds" are available.
"We understand why our competitors don't like what we are doing, but our customers love it. We introduced 5G Evolution more than two years ago, clearly defining it as an evolutionary step to standards-based 5G. 5G Evolution and the 5GE indicator simply let customers know when their device is in an area where speeds up to twice as fast as standard LTE are available. That's what 5G Evolution is, and we are delighted to deliver it to our customers.
Smartphones that support true 5G connectivity are only now just beginning to trickle out, and Apple isn't expected to launch one until 2020. No existing iPhone will be able to connect to a 5G network because it requires new hardware.
5G networks from the four major carriers in the United States are going to be available starting in 2019, but expanded coverage and full rollouts will take some time.
The latest version of Apple's "Hey Siri" feature works hands-free without being plugged into power, and it can be found in several recently announced Apple mobile products, including the fifth-generation iPad mini, third-generation iPad Air, and second-generation AirPods.
What's perhaps less well-known is that many of Apple's new Macs also support "Hey Siri" hands-free, meaning that users no longer have to click the menu bar icon or press a keyboard shortcut before they can start talking to the digital assistant.
What follows is a list of Macs that support "Hey Siri" hands-free, and below that you can find instructions on how to enable it on your machine. Note that future Mac models that include Apple's T2 security chip are likely to support the feature, too.
Click the Apple () symbol in the top left corner of your Mac's screen and select System Preferences....
Click the Siri icon in the preference pane.
Tick the checkbox next to Listen for "Hey Siri".
Click Continue to follow the Siri setup process, repeating verbally the commands shown on the screen.
Click Done and then close the preference pane.
Now that you've enabled the feature, simply say "Hey Siri" to invoke the digital assistant and ask a question or give a command. If you're familiar with the Siri function on iPhone or iPad, you should find most of the same general commands work on Mac, too. For more information on how the feature can be useful on the desktop, check out our dedicated guide to using Siri commands in macOS.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming iOS 12.3 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the second beta and a month after the launch of iOS 12.2, an update that introduced Apple News+, new Animoji, and more.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.
iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 introduce a new version of Apple's TV app, which has been updated with a new look and fresh functionality.
In the new TV app, "Watch Now" and "Up Next" are still front and center for keeping track of what you're watching, but there's a new machine learning-based recommendation engine that will suggest content based on your viewing preferences and history.
The app's interface has been streamlined with sections for movies, TV shows, sports, and kids content, and on iOS, there's a separate bottom bar for the library, search, and Watch Now options.
There's a new "Channels" feature in the TV app, which is one of the major new components of Apple's services push. Channels are subscription services that you can sign up for and watch within the TV app without having to open up another app.
So, for example, if you come across a show you want to watch on your iPhone or Apple TV that's on Showtime, you can tap to subscribe to Showtime right in the TV app, and then you can watch that show without leaving the app.
Some of the new Channels that will be supported include CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now. During the beta, though, users can subscribe to Showtime, Starz, Smithsonian, EPIX, and Tastemade.
You'll still get recommendations for content from services that aren't a part of Channels, you'll just need to watch non-channel content in a third-party app. The TV app also houses iTunes TV shows and movies.
When Apple debuts its Apple TV+ service this fall, all of the company's original TV shows and movies will also be accessible in the TV app. iOS 12.3 will be in beta testing for the next few weeks ahead of a May launch, the month when Apple said the new TV app will be released.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave 10.14.5 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after launching the second beta and a month after the launch of macOS Mojave 10.14.4.
The new macOS Mojave 10.14.5 beta can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after the proper profile has been installed from Apple's Developer Center.
It's not yet clear if there are new features in macOS Mojave 10.14.5, but it likely includes bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues that weren't able to be fixed in the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 update.
This update will make macOS more secure because after macOS 10.14.5, new Mac apps released outside of the Mac App Store that want to have Apple's seal of approval will need to go through Apple's notarization security process.
There were no major changes to macOS discovered in the first two macOS Mojave 10.14.5 betas, but if we discover anything new in this beta, we'll update this post.
The prior update, macOS Mojave 10.14.4, brought the Apple News+ subscription service, expanded Apple News to Canada, and introduced a new automatic Safari Dark Mode feature for websites.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.2.1 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second beta and almost a month after the release of the watchOS 5.2 update, which introduced AirPods 2 support and expanded the ECG feature to Europe.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
It's not yet clear what features will be introduced in the watchOS 5.2.1 update, but as 5.x.x software, it's likely to focus on bug fixes and other under-the-hood performance improvements.
No changes were found in the first two watchOS 5.2.1 betas, but should we find new features in the third watchOS 5.2.1 beta, we'll update this post with details.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 12.3 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode. There's also a new second beta software update for the third-generation Apple TV model.
tvOS 12.3 brings a revamped TV app that was first shown off at Apple's March 25 services-focused event. The TV app is an updated version of the original TV app, providing access to TV shows, movies, sports, news, and more, along with a dedicated section for children's programming.
The TV app features a refined interface with a fresh look and feel that's more modern. It keeps the "Watch Now" section with the "Up Next" feature for keeping track of the TV shows and movies you're watching, and there's a new machine-learning based "For You" feature that surfaces content based on what you've previously watched.
There's a new "Channels" option built in to the app, which is a major part of Apple's new services push. Channels are subscription services that you can subscribe to and watch right in the TV app without having to swap over to a third-party app.
During the beta, you can subscribe to Showtime, Starz, Smithsonian, Tastemade, and EPIX, but additional Channels will be available when the new TV app launches.
In the future, Apple plans to add its new TV+ subscription service to the TV app, with TV+ offering all of Apple's original TV shows and movies. The TV app is available on the Apple TV and iOS devices so you can pick up whatever you're watching no matter which device you're on.
The new TV app is set to be released in May, so tvOS 12.3 will be in beta testing until then.
While Apple has built out a significant network of data centers to support iCloud and other services, it still relies on other companies to help support those services. According to CNBC, Apple has a multiyear agreement with Amazon Web Services that sees Apple paying Amazon $30 million per month.
In a February job posting, Apple said it was looking for someone who could “lead and architect our growing AWS footprint.”
Indeed, that expenditure is on track to expand.
At the end of March, Apple’s spending was on track to average more than $30 million per month in the first quarter of 2019. That would be more than 10 percent higher than a year earlier, according to two people familiar with the spending.
The report's sources indicate that Apple's current agreement with Amazon involves a commitment to spend at least $1.5 billion on AWS over five years, making Apple one of the top customers for Amazon's rapidly growing AWS business.
Apple is of course continuing to invest heavily in its own cloud infrastructure, revealing last December as part of its new Austin campus announcement that it planned to spend $10 billion over five years on U.S. data centers, including $4.5 billion by the end of 2019.
Samsung initially said it remained committed to launching the Galaxy Fold on April 26, but the rollout is now expected in the "coming weeks." The company has yet to confirm the delay, but it wouldn't be surprising given that at least some of the folding smartphones appear to have a serious hardware issue.
Galaxy Fold launch events in Hong Kong and Shanghai have already been postponed, according to Engadget's Richard Lai.
Samsung earlier confirmed that it would "thoroughly inspect" the affected devices to determine the cause, but it has yet to provide an explanation. Samsung also cautioned that removing the protective layer on the display could cause damage, but some displays failed even with the protective layer in place.
The delay would be an embarrassing mishap for a smartphone that starts at $1,980, but the right move before the Galaxy Fold gets into the hands of thousands of customers around the world and potentially turned into a larger problem.
Update: Samsung has confirmed the delay in a statement provided to CNBC, noting that it will announce a new release date "in the coming weeks" and "will take measures to strengthen the display protection."
We recently unveiled a completely new mobile category: a smartphone using multiple new technologies and materials to create a display that is flexible enough to fold. We are encouraged by the excitement around the Galaxy Fold.
While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience.
To fully evaluate this feedback and run further internal tests, we have decided to delay the release of the Galaxy Fold. We plan to announce the release date in the coming weeks.
Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affected the display performance.
We will take measures to strengthen the display protection. We will also enhance the guidance on care and use of the display including the protective layer so that our customers get the most out of their Galaxy Fold.
We value the trust our customers place in us and they are always our top priority. Samsung is committed to working closely with customers and partners to move the industry forward. We want to thank them for their patience and understanding.
In a recent interview with TechRadar, Beats president Luke Wood discussed how the company has changed under Apple's leadership, and the upcoming Powerbeats Pro headphones.
The new Powerbeats Pro
According to Wood, the Powerbeats Pro is "the culmination of the full integration of [Beats and Apple] working together from a technological standpoint." The company even took into consideration its reputation for creating bass-heavy products when building the Powerbeats Pro.
Wood said the company has "learned the tools of [its] trade" over the years and improved its products, particularly after being acquired by Apple.
“We thought we were pretty good until we got to Apple, and then we started learning what ‘good’ really was”, he admits between sips of green tea.
What was Apple doing that Beats wasn’t? “Apple had so much incredible discipline and rigor around product quality” Wood says.
When asked if a Beats product would ever add in biometric sensors for heart rate monitoring, Wood said he doesn't think that will happen: "We never want to labor customers with a bunch of useless, borderline avant-garde tech." He pointed out that many users already have smart watches with this ability, and having it in a headphone would be unnecessary.
Apple announced Powerbeats Pro earlier in the month, with a launch planned for May 2019. The $250 headphones are completely wireless and are sweat and water resistant, with earhooks and tips in four sizes that ensure they will stay put during workouts. Apple said the headphones feature up to nine hours of listening time, and they also come with a charging case like the AirPods.
iOS 13 will enable developers to integrate Siri into their apps for several new use cases, including media playback, search, voice calling, event ticketing, message attachments, flights, train trips, and airport gate and seat information, according to 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo.
In a report today, Rambo detailed several other developer-focused features that he expects Apple to announce at WWDC in June, including the ability for iOS apps ported to the Mac to use Mac-specific features such as the Touch Bar and keyboard shortcuts along with support for multiple windows.
Rambo says enabling Mac support for an existing iOS app is "as easy as checking a checkbox" in Xcode, akin to adding iPad support to an iPhone app.
Apple's augmented reality platform ARKit is said to gain "significant improvements" this year, including a brand new Swift-only framework for augmented reality and a companion app that lets developers create augmented reality experiences visually. ARKit is also said to gain the ability to detect human poses.
Developers are also expected to gain access to a handful of new frameworks that allow for expanded use of the Taptic Engine, document scanning in third-party apps, and the ability to capture photos from external devices such as cameras and SD cards without having to go through Apple's Photos app.
Last, on the Mac, apps will supposedly be able to offer file provider extensions, improving the integration of apps like Dropbox with Finder.
Today is Earth Day, an annual event celebrated around the world that brings attention to various environmental causes. Apple is taking part in the event in a variety of ways, from green Apple logos in retail locations to providing an update on its mission to conserve mangrove trees in Colombia.
As it does every year in its retail stores, Apple has turned the leaves of the Apple logo green in honor of Earth Day. Select locations have also provided workers with green t-shirts to mark the event, and all Apple stores today will promote environment-themed Today at Apple sessions.
The company is also hosting an Apple Watch challenge today, asking users to get a 30 minute workout done before the day ends. Apple usually hosts Activity Challenges for major holidays and well-known events, and for the past several years there's been an Earth Day Challenge with the same goal as 2019 -- complete a 30 minute workout.
Apple today also shared a press release that provides an update on its efforts to preserve the mangrove trees in Cispatá Bay in Córdoba, Colombia. Last year on Earth Day, Apple partnered with Conservation International to protect and restore Cispatá Bay, due to the area's importance in the battle against climate change. "Globally, we've lost half of the world's mangrove forests since the 1940s," said Apple VP of Environment Lisa Jackson. "So it's high time we start preserving and protecting them."
The company has also marked Earth Day across its services. Beginning with Apple Music, the Mixtape for Mother Earth has been refreshed this year with curation by Jaden Smith. It includes tracks like "Come Together" by The Beatles, "Summertime Magic" by Childish Gambino, and more. Jaden joined his parents Will and Jada at Apple Park last week to discuss the environment and Jaden's company, Just Water.
Apple is also marking down a collection of environmentally-friendly films on iTunes Movies in a new sale. This includes a suite of Disneynature documentaries for $9.99, and films focused on climate change, the natural wonders of the planet, and animated features for kids with environmental messages like Wall-E and FernGully.
A similar section has appeared in iBooks as well, providing readers with books themed around the environment. These include books that allow you to "Explore the Natural World," "Get Informed," "Do Your Part," and a section focused on kids' books like Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax" and "Curios George Plants a Tree."
Earlier in April, Apple announced that it has nearly doubled the number of suppliers that have committed to run their Apple-specific production on 100 percent renewable energy, bringing the total number to 44. This includes iPhone assemblers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron; Gorilla Glass maker Corning; Face ID module provider Finisar; A-series chipmaker TSMC; Apple Watch manufacturer Quanta Computer; and AirPods assembler Luxshare.
The company continued its environment-friendly announcements later in the month by revealing a new "Material Recovery Lab" had opened in Austin, Texas, dedicated to looking for innovative solutions that will improve on traditional methods of recycling. Apple also revealed a major expansion of its recycling program, quadrupling the number of locations where United States customers can send their iPhone to be disassembled by its recycling robot Daisy, which was introduced around last year's Earth Day.
