New charging case on left and new AirPods with H1 chip labeled in red on right via iFixit
The repair website also pried open the new wireless charging case, which continues to have a 398 mAh battery capacity, and said there is a new "water-repellent coating" on the circuit board. The teardown notes that the updated charging case "seems designed for increased durability, but not repairability."
Unsurprisingly, the new AirPods earned a zero for repairability, as iFixit says they remain "disappointingly disposable." AirPods are not designed to be serviced, as no hardware components can be accessed without damaging the earphones, and sealed-in batteries make the AirPods a consumable product.
Many of these details were already known, but the teardown still provides an interesting look at the internal differences compared to the first-generation AirPods. More photos and tech specs are available over on iFixit's website.
Serial phone leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (@OnLeaks) has shared another alleged leak of Apple's next-generation iPhone, presumably scheduled to launch around September this year.
The shared picture, above, depicts handset chassis schematics newly posted to Slashleaks alongside Hemmerstoffer's earlier CAD rendering of an iPhone, all with a large patch on the rear of the device that appears to house three lenses.
Hemmerstoffer says the chassis leak supports his claim that at least one version of the next iPhone will feature a rear triple-lens camera system in a triangular configuration, based on information he has sourced previously.
In January, Hemmerstoffer released renderings of the supposed iPhone 2019 model, with a similar unusual-looking patch on the rear for three lenses, a flash, and a mic.
A few days later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple is planning on introducing a triple-lens camera system in at least one of the iPhones coming in 2019, while Bloomberg seemingly confirmed the rumor later the same month.
@OnLeaks rendering released in January of alleged triple-lens 2019 iPhone prototype
Based on the two reports, the second-generation iPhone XS Max will feature a three-lens camera, while the successors to the iPhone XS and iPhone XR will continue to use dual-lens cameras. However, neither report mentioned how the lenses would be arranged on the rear of the case, and other rumors have suggested Apple is planning to use a horizontal triple-lens camera layout.
At any rate, a triple-lens rear camera would allow for a larger field of view, a wider zoom range, improved low light performance, and it would capture more pixels. Hemmerstoffer has previously claimed that one rear camera will be 10 megapixels, while a second will come in at 14 megapixels. The details of the third sensor are apparently unknown.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is also working on a feature that would use the extra pixel data afforded by three lenses to provide tools for automatically repairing a photo or a video to fit in a subject that "may have accidentally been cut off from the initial shot."
Sony threatened to topple the apple cart in 2016 when it unleashed its flagship MDR-1000X cans on a headphones market which up until then had been dominated by Bose in the premium travel-grade noise-canceling department.
Combining excellent wireless sound with active NC that made even QuietComfort fans sit up and take notice, Sony's awkwardly named headset proved that the Japanese company's extensive acoustic R&D had finally hit on a winner, giving rival NC headphone makers due cause for worry in the process.
Unsurprisingly, Sony has sought to improve upon this winning formula in the intervening years, starting with another tongue-twisting rebrand of its flagship range (the inexplicably named WH-1000X series) and two follow-up models boasting incremental improvements, both of which have been well received.
What's perhaps more surprising about these developments is Bose's lack of response to them, having released in that time only a tweaked version of its flagship QC35 cans with support for Google Assistant. Whether that's down to complete confidence in the quality of its existing noise-canceling smarts or just lack of innovation is a moot point, given that Sony's adaptive NC technology and sonic prowess has essentially overtaken the company, as these latest cans exemplify.
The WHX-1000XM3's are essentially an upgrade to last year's 1000XM2's, featuring a series of minor improvements that Sony believes collectively justify a new model number. Let's take a look at them and see just how far the company's noise-canceling range has come.
Design
On the face of it, Sony's WH-1000XM3 headphones boast the same design signature of previous 1000X models. They're available in two understated colors – beige and black – and the ear cups swivel inwards so they pack up neatly in the supplied carry case. The only distinctive marks on the outside of each cup remain the minimal Sony logos and tiny microphone grilles, although they have picked up some neat brass-colored accents.
Sony WH-1000XM3 (left) beside original MDR-1000X headphones
A closer look reveals more notable differences though. Gone is the exposed steel headband, which is now concealed between the adjustable slats under thicker, more comfortable padding than on previous models. The foam urethane ear pads are also slightly larger and cushier, and allow for a deeper ear space inside.
The most obvious ergonomic shift to occur however is in terms of weight. The XM3's are 22 grams lighter than the XM2's (and 10 grams lighter than Bose's QC35 II's) which might not sound like much, but after wearing them for several hours straight it does make a real difference.
Sony WH-1000XM3 (left) beside original MDR-1000X headphones
Like previous cans in the WH-1000X range, the two buttons on the left ear cup control power and noise-canceling/ambient sound features, making blind selection a lot easier than the indistinctive three-buttoned affair on the original MDR-1000X cans. As before, the power button can be quickly pressed for a battery level update, and a long press activates the pairing sequence, while software-based options let you change the function of the ambient sound/NC button (more on those later). Unfortunately, the blue LED next to the power button still continually flashes during operation, which can be vaguely annoying if you're wearing them in the dark.
Sony has also switched up the connectivity in this model: The microUSB port on the right ear cup is gone, replaced with a more up-to-date USB-C connection (the charging cable terminates in USB-A). One thing that hasn't changed is Sony's love for gesture controls: The right ear cup has a touch-sensitive back that responds to taps and swipes to control music playback, skip tracks, change volume, and invoke your preferred virtual assistant. Like most modern headphone gesture pads, it can also be used to take calls. The good news is that the material Sony is now using to coat the pads is a little smoother, which makes the gestures in general a lot more responsive than models past, so kudos for that.
Performance and Features
As we mentioned at the start of this review, Sony pulled something special out of the bag when it released its MDR-1000X headphones, which boasted next-level noise cancelation previously only achieved by the likes of Bose. With the 1000XM3's, Sony has somehow done it again and made these cans four times more effective at damping down sounds from the outside world than the 1000XM2's. After plenty of testing, we can state that they consistently outperform Bose's flagship headphones when it comes to killing external noise in a range of environments and use cases.
This stepwise improvement is partly to do with the ambient sound controls being more flexible and a little smarter than previous models. Fire up the Sony Headphones Connect app and you can manually drag a slider that changes the degree of noise-cancelation, allowing you to select maximum isolation, wind noise reduction, or choose from among 20 levels of varying ambient attenuation. It's great for finding your ideal NC range while you're stationary, but you can also switch to adaptive sound control when you're on the move and the built-in QN1 processor will do just as good a job, automatically adjusting its corresponding inverted frequencies to block out whatever environmental sounds come your way.
As before, the headphones make low-frequency sounds like jet engines and traffic swiftly melt away, but Sony has also improved its proprietary chip in this model to attenuate high-frequency sounds like voices. That doesn't mean you won't hear when someone shouts at you from the other side of the room, but it does make short work of background chatter in a busy coffee shop. On the flip side, the Focus on Voice feature is much better than its earlier incarnation. It aims to let you hear in on important announcements – when you're waiting to be called to a boarding gate, say – while still allowing you to enjoy your music in relative quiet. The old Voice mode had patchy performance and often failed to filter out other ambient sounds, but the WH-1000MX3's are much more discriminating in this regard.
The QN1 chip doesn't just excel at controlled NC either. Sony has also thrown in an onboard DAC and an analog amplifier, along with 32-bit audio signal processing and support for reproducing the full range of frequencies up to 40 kHz. Those smarts allow the cans to consistently deliver a higher signal-to-noise ratio and lower distortion, and allowed me to enjoy clear, crisp audio in all of the supported AAC (iPhone), aptX/aptX HD (Mac/Android), SBC (everything) and LDAC wireless codecs. The mid-range remains wonderfully balanced and the highs sparkle on instrumental tracks, while a powerful yet controlled bass provides a solid foundation.
You'd be forgiven for thinking all the tech in these cans would inevitably be a power drain, but Sony impresses by eking out 30 hours of wired/wireless battery life on a single charge, and you can get five hours' worth of charge after just 10 minutes connected to a power outlet with the optional AC adapter (as opposed to 70 minutes on the WH-1000XM2's). That gave me oodles of time to play with the additional app features, including the sound position controls that let you change the perceived directional source of your audio, not to mention the welcome surround sound modes and EQ sliders.
Digging deeper into the software controls, it's now possible to adjust the automatic power-off feature, which is activated when no audio signal is detected. You can even turn it off, which is super-convenient if you just want to have NC active without listening to audio. You can also optionally change the function of the NC/ambient button on the left ear cup to activate Google Assistant, Siri, and (most recently added) Alexa. It's a neat way to quickly ask general queries, but it also means you can use your virtual assistant of choice to play music and skip tracks on the fly.
Happily, Sony has also carried over all its popular features from previous models. The left ear cup still includes an NFC chip for fast pairing with compatible devices, while Sony's unique innovation in the NC space lives on: Hidden inside both ear cups are the same microphones that Sony's "personal NC Optimizer" uses to sample ambient noise and cancel out a wider range of sounds with corresponding inverted frequencies. Hold down the NC button, and the headphone speakers emit a series of tones that bounce back and forth between the mics to analyze the shape of your head, work out whether you have big hair, wear glasses, and so on.
Sony has actually tweaked the optimizer in this model to include atmospheric pressure, and I found it to work better during flights. This was easy to test thanks to another feature unique to the company's Sense Engine, called "Quick Attention." Cup your fingers over the right ear cup and the volume instantly lowers to let in the outside world – bring your hand back down and the music returns to its prior volume. It's genuinely useful for situations in which you'd usually have to take off the headphones – like when a flight attendant offers you refreshments.
As with previous models, the WH-1000XM3's pack one of the strongest Bluetooth connections I've come across in headphones, and consistently retain a connection in areas where rival Bluetooth headsets regularly falter. By default, the headphones automatically select the highest quality Bluetooth protocol available, but you can still manually switch the priority between most stable connection and highest audio quality, which is now done in the iOS app.
Before we wrap up, it's worth noting that, inexplicably, Sony's 1000X range still doesn't support dynamic switching between audio sources. Bose's QC35's have no trouble pairing with two devices and automatically switching between them based on which one is transmitting an audio signal, so it's baffling that the 1000XM3's lack this ability, and in our Bluetooth saturated age, it's hard to overstate just how convenient the feature is. Having to manually disconnect the 1000XM3's from your iPhone so that you can connect to your Mac and vice versa just feels clunky, yet Sony's cans had no trouble auto-pairing with the last known device whenever I turned them on.
Bottom Line
Sony's ability to continue improving its WH-1000X series of wireless headphones is largely thanks to its dedicated acoustics research, which currently leaves rival makers of premium noise-canceling cans with much work to do to get anywhere near the same quality.
The customizable and adaptive NC smarts prove Sony's tech has come on in leaps and bounds since the original MDR-1000X model, while improvements in battery life and sound quality make for a well-rounded listening experience. If the company can just take a leaf out of Bose's book and add dynamic device switching in the next version, they'll be virtually untouchable for a long while to come.
Pros
Best noise canceling in the business
Exceptional sound in both wired and wireless modes
Superb battery life
Improved design and touch controls
Cons
Lacks dynamic audio device switching
Flashing operating LED can be annoying
How to Buy
The Sony WH-1000MX3 headphones come in beige or black, cost $349.99, and can be ordered via the Sony website or on Amazon. Note: Sony supplied the WH-1000MX3's to MacRumors for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be heading to San Diego next month to testify in the Apple v. Qualcomm trial that will see Apple challenging Qualcomm's patent licensing practices, reports Bloomberg.
Along with Cook, Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf will testify, and other Apple witnesses could include former head of Apple hardware Bob Mansfield, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, and former general counsel Bruce Sewell.
Cook will testify on Apple's business strategy, financial performance, and agreements with other tech companies.
Executives from Foxconn and Samsung are also expected to make an appearance at the trial, as Qualcomm will be attempting to recoup royalty payments from Apple suppliers that stopped paying royalties on Qualcomm patents back in 2017.
The April trial pertains to the first lawsuit that Apple filed against Qualcomm back in January 2017 over Qualcomm's failure to pay royalty rebates. Apple has accused Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and using exclusionary tactics and high patent licensing fees to remain the dominant baseband chip supplier. The trial is set to kick off on April 15.
Apple this summer will introduce the Apple Card, a new credit card that it's offering in partnership with Goldman Sachs. Apple presented the Apple Card at its March 25 event and launched an Apple Card website, but there were still many questions about how it will work.
TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino today shared some new details on the Apple Card that were provided by Apple, giving a little more insight into how it will work and answering a few of the questions we saw from MacRumors readers.
First and foremost, Apple Card is not going to support multiple users. People who use a single account with two shared credit cards at the current time are not going to be able to do the same thing with Apple Card. It's one card per person and one card per account.
There is no cost associated with the physical Apple Card, even though it's made of laser-etched titanium. Apple isn't going to charge you for the card itself and there isn't going to be a penalty fee if you lose it and need a replacement. There is an in-app option to freeze your card in the event that it's stolen.
Speaking of the physical Apple Card, Apple has implemented a neat activation method - you'll just tap it against the iPhone when you get it, without the need to place a phone call for activation like you have to do with existing credit and debit cards. When using the physical card, no signatures will be required.
Though it's tap to activate, the physical card itself isn't going to support contactless payments. You need your iPhone for that.
Paying your balance can be done in the Wallet app using a linked bank account or Apple Pay Cash, and while not mentioned by TechCrunch, there is an option with Apple Pay Cash to get an emailed statement, so Apple will presumably offer the same option with Apple Card. There's no word on whether transactions can be imported into financial software like Quicken as of yet.
As for fees, there are no foreign transaction fees but the exchange rate for foreign transactions is determined by Mastercard. Making a late payment will not result in penalty rates, aka increased interest rates. You're still going to have to pay interest on the outstanding balance, and a late payment will impact credit score, but interest rates won't increase.
TechCrunch says that when it comes to interest rates, Apple will make an effort to sign you up at the lower end of the interest rate tier that you qualify for.
While Apple Card's interest rates fail to break the mold in any major way (they are roughly between 13-24%), Apple will place users who sign up at the lower end of the tier that they land in due to their credit score. This isn't some incredible re-imagining of how to offer credit or an intensely low interest option, but it could shift you to the bottom of a tier when you qualify instead of paying a few points higher at your 'exact' score.
As Apple announced on Monday, there are no credit card numbers or other information on the physical titanium Apple Card. This data is instead available in the app, leaving some questions about online purchases where you often need a number and a CVV.
Apple Card is able to generate virtual card numbers for these kinds of purchases. The Wallet app will provide a virtual card number and a virtual confirmation code, with the number being semi-permanent and able to be regenerated whenever you want. This info can be used for non-Apple Pay online purchases, over-the-phone purchases, and other similar situations.
There is not, however, support for single-use numbers or single-merchant numbers for having separate card numbers for different merchants. Purchases will be further protected by a one-time use dynamic security code, and two-factor authentication will need to be turned on for you to use Apple Card.
When it comes to privacy, Apple said on stage that it won't know what you're buying or how much you spent, and its partner, Goldman Sachs, will not be selling or using data for external or internal marketing or advertising.
There's one other neat tidbit about Apple Card that's worth pointing out, which, while wasn't included in TechCrunch's details, has been circulating on Twitter. Apple Card uses different colors to categorize and code your purchases for labeling purposes, with entertainment in pink, food in orange, shopping in yellow, and so on.
It appears that when you use Apple Pay, the color of your card in the Wallet app will have a rainbow gradient based on your spending habits, so if you're buying a lot of food and purchasing a lot of movie tickets, it'll trend toward orange and pink.
TechCrunch has some additional details on privacy and security that are well worth reading through for those interested in the Apple Card, and our own Apple Card guide also has more information on what you can expect when it launches.
Geekbench's John Poole this afternoon shared a series of 2019 iMac benchmarks, giving us a look at the performance boosts offered by Intel's 8th and 9th-generation Coffee Lake chips.
All of the new 27-inch 5K models offer superior performance compared to their 2017 counterparts, with single-core performance up an average of 6 to 11 percent and multi-core performance up 43 to 49 percent for six-core models. The higher-end models with 3.6GHz 8-core Core i9 chip offer the biggest boost in multi-core performance, with speeds up 66 percent.
The highest-end iMac earned a single-core score of 6157 and a multi-core score of 32293, compared to the 5864/1971 single and multi-core scores of the equivalent high-end machine.
Even the base model 2019 27-inch iMac with a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-gen chip saw notable gains, earning a single-core score of 5222 and a multi-core score of 20145, compared to the 4767/13682 scores the low-end 2017 models earned.
These chips are two years apart, so it is no surprise that even the mid-level chips are outperforming the higher-end chips from 2017.
6-core and 8-core chips in the 27-inch models are now competitive with the 2017 iMac Pro models with 8 and 10-cores. The high-end 8-core iMac offers 16 percent higher single core performance and just 10 percent lower multi-core performance than the 10-core iMac Pro.
Gains are more modest for the 21.5-inch 4K iMac models, but still significant. Single-core performance is up 5 to 10 percent, while multi-core performance has increased by 10 to 50 percent.
As Poole points out, the performance gains in the 2019 iMac models are due to higher frequencies and core counts as the underlying architecture hasn't been updated.
Poole says that while there's a significant boost when it comes to multi-core performance in the new iMacs, along with a decent boost in single-core performance, the increase isn't enough to "justify upgrading from a 2017 iMac."
Apple's newest iMac models were announced last week and have been arriving to customers this week. Aside from Intel's new 8th and 9th-generation Coffee Lake chips, Radeon Pro Vega graphics options, and faster RAM, there have been no other improvements to the 2019 iMac models.
Expercom has launched a new coupon code that's discounting new models of the iMac, including standard configurations and configurations that Expercom has upgraded with additional RAM. Expercom offers custom-configured models with either standard Apple RAM or Expercom-branded RAM that can in some cases save you substantial amounts of money.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Expercom. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
To see the discounts, head to Expercom's iMac section and browse to add one of Apple's desktops to your cart. In the checkout screen, enter the coupon code "newimac" in the relevant field and click apply. This code works with iMacs only on Expercom's website, and will expire on Monday, April 1.
Configurations with Apple RAM are also available, but discounts are smaller. Expercom is an Apple Premium Partner, so all RAM upgrades performed by Expercom staff are certified and do not affect your warranty.
You can view the full list of available iMacs compatible with the coupon code by visiting Expercom's website. Remember that the code "newimac" will last all weekend and expire on Monday, April 1, so be sure to browse and place your order soon if you're interested.
More sales and bargains can be found in our full Deals Roundup.
As promised earlier in March, Apple today introduced major updates for all of its iWork for iOS apps, including Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
Today's update brings enhanced Apple Pencil functionality, coinciding with the addition of Apple Pencil support on the new iPad Air and the fifth-generation iPad mini.
The new version of Keynote allows you to draw paths with your finger or with the Apple Pencil to animate an object, and there are options to add action build effects, like new move, rotate, and scale animations.
You can create and share animated GIFs by exporting one or more slides, and there's an option to edit presenter notes while presenting or rehearsing a slide show. With Keynote and the other iWork apps, you can also save custom shapes. Keynote's full release notes are below:
- Draw a path with your finger or Apple Pencil to animate an object across the slide. - Add emphasis to presentations with action build effects, including move, rotate, and scale animations. - Create and share an animated GIF by exporting one or more slides. - Edit presenter notes while presenting or rehearsing a slideshow. - Save custom shapes for use in other presentations and access them on any device using iCloud. - Create themes to use as a model for new presentations, and access them on any device using iCloud. - Slides with custom wider aspect ratios now display better in the slide navigator, light table, and presenter display. - Create image placeholders to easily replace images without affecting the formatting of your slide. - Improved performance while collaborating on presentations. - Edit grouped objects while collaborating. - Support for vertical text in shapes and text boxes in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages.
In the Numbers app, there's a new feature for making precise changes to table row and column counts with the format pane, the maximum zoom level has been increased to 400 percent, collaboration features have been improved, and there's an option to create templates to use as a model for new spreadsheets. The full Numbers release notes are below:
- Make precise changes to table row and column counts and sizes with the format pane. - Performance and usability improvements to Smart Categories. - Save custom shapes for use in other spreadsheets, then access them on any device using iCloud. - Create templates to use as a model for new spreadsheets, and access them on any device using iCloud. - Increased maximum zoom level to 400%. - Enhancements to Excel and comma separated value file import. - Create image placeholders to easily replace images without affecting the formatting of your spreadsheet. - Improved performance while collaborating on spreadsheets. - Edit grouped objects while collaborating. - Support for vertical text in shapes and text boxes in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages.
Pages features a new table of contents view to navigate through a document or book, and a table of contents can be inserted into a page. Custom shapes can be saved and used in other documents, and image placeholders can be added to replace images without affecting page formatting. Release notes for the Pages update are below:
- Use the new table of contents view to easily navigate your document or book. - Insert a table of contents onto a page in a word-processing document. - Save custom shapes for use in other documents and access them on any device using iCloud. - Create templates to use as a model for new documents, and access them on any device using iCloud. - Create image placeholders to easily replace images without affecting the formatting of your page. - Switch your document between word processing and page layout. - Improved performance while collaborating on documents. - Edit grouped objects while collaborating. - In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages, you can now type vertically in your entire document or in an individual text box.
Apple has also updated its iWork for macOS apps with some of the same features that have been added to its iOS apps. All of Apple's iWork apps for both macOS and iOS are free for you to download.
Apple first announced all of these updates on Monday, March 18, when debuting the new iPad mini and the new iPad Air models. All of Apple's iPads now support either the original Apple Pencil or the Apple Pencil 2 (iPad Pro models), both which can be used in all of the iWork apps.
Google today announced that its Gmail for iOS app has been updated with customizable swipe actions that can be set to do the following things: Archive, Trash, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, and Move To.
These are the actions that will be enabled when you use the left and right swipe gestures on emails in your inbox in the recently redesigned Gmail for iOS app.
You can customize the gestures by opening up the Gmail for iOS app, selecting the Settings section, and choosing Swipe Actions.
Google says that the same swipe actions can now be used for notifications. On an incoming Gmail notification on iOS, if you long press or 3D Touch, you can get your swipe options to interact directly with emails without opening up the app.
Google says that the customizable Gmail swipe actions are rolling out to users today, but it could take up to 15 days for the option to become available to everyone.
Verizon, one of the four major cellular carriers in the United States, today announced the launch of a new free version of its Call Filter service that will identify, filter, and block incoming spam phone calls.
Verizon has offered its Call Filter service for some time now, but prior to today, all of the filtering technology required a $2.99 per month fee.
As of today, the spam detection, filtering, and number reporting features of the service are free, but there continues to be a $2.99 per month fee for Caller ID, a personal spam list, a personal block list, a risk meter, and spam lookup functionality.
For Verizon customers, the free call filtering option will provide alerts when an incoming call is likely a spam caller, it will report unsolicited numbers, and, if the option is selected, automatically block incoming robocalls.
All of Verizon's postpaid wireless customers with a compatible device are able to enroll, but the service is not available to prepaid customers.
Verizon says that in addition to making Call Filter free for all customers, it has made advancements towards blocking spoofed phone numbers. STIR/SHAKEN technology will verify that the phone number displayed on Caller ID is the phone number that has actually placed the call.
Verizon says this new call authentication standard will be deployed on the Verizon network in conjunction with other major carriers in the coming months.
"Far too frequently, customers tell me they want relief from the bombardment of bothersome robocalls," said Ronan Dunne, president of Verizon's consumer unit. "I'm confident that our new, free version of Call Filter and STIR/SHAKEN will put a big dent in the problem."
Verizon customers that want to sign up for the Call Filter service can do so through the Verizon website. The Call Filter app for iOS will need to be downloaded to unlock the full functionality.
Twitter today announced that the Twitter app for iOS devices has been updated with a new "Lights Out" feature that makes the existing Dark Mode option even darker.
The new Lights Out toggle is available in the Settings section of the Twitter app and it can be used in conjunction with the current Dark Mode feature to make Dark Mode just a bit darker for OLED displays.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in January that Twitter was working on a new Dark Mode option in response to complaints suggesting that the existing Dark Mode was more of a dark blue than a black.
It was dark. You asked for darker! Swipe right to check out our new dark mode. Rolling out today. pic.twitter.com/6MEACKRK9K
— Twitter (@Twitter) March 28, 2019
The Dark Mode that existed before today's update is now the "Dim" Dark Mode in a blue/gray color, while Lights Out uses a pure black color palette. Twitter has also added an Automatic Dark Mode feature on iOS for turning on Dark Mode automatically based on timezone.
👋 Twitter, welcome to the dark(er) side.
We’re excited to finally share the updated dark mode, and @design will talk about it from (you guessed it) a *design* perspective on behalf of @sofo, @bhaggs, @davidk, and many other awesome teammates who brought this to life. pic.twitter.com/JCNhZ365I6
— Twitter Design (@design) March 28, 2019
Right now, the new Lights Out option is limited to iOS devices, but it should be expanding to the desktop and Android devices in the near future.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 12.3 update to its public beta testing group, one day after providing the beta to developers and a few days after releasing tvOS 12.2.
The tvOS 12.3 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.
tvOS 12.3 includes the revamped Apple TV app that Apple debuted at its services-focused event on Monday. The new TV app is a better version of the original TV app, offering up access to TV shows, sports, news, and more in one spot.
There's still a "Watch Now" section with an "Up Next" feature for keeping track of what you're in the middle of watching, but there's a new "For You" feature that recommends new content based on what you've previously watched.
A new "Channels" option lets you subscribe to third-party services like Showtime, Starz, and HBO right within the TV app, and you can even watch all of the content from the services included in Channels right in the TV app without having to open a third-party app.
Channels will include CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now, but during the beta, only Showtime, Starz, Smithsonian, and Tastemade are accessible. You can subscribe in the TV app and get a one-week free trial before you're charged.
The TV app is on the Apple TV and iOS devices, and it's even available on the third-generation Apple TV through an upcoming software update that Apple plans to release.
Apple has said the new TV app is coming in May, so we can expect tvOS 12.3 to be released then.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 12.3 update to its public beta testing group, one day after seeding the beta to developers and a few days after the launch of iOS 12.2, an update that brought Apple News+, among other features.
Beta testers who have joined Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 12.3 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device. The update will become available right around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time or 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Those who want to download the new beta can do so after signing up for the beta program, which gives access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.
iOS 12.3 brings the new TV app that Apple first introduced at its March 25 event. The TV app is an updated version of the original TV app, offering up TV shows, movies, sports, news, and more all in one easy-to-access spot.
The updated TV app has improved content recommendations available through a new "For You" section in the app, which will suggest shows and movies you'll like based on your past watched history.
There's also a new feature called Channels. Channels are subscription services that you can sign up for and watch in the TV app without having to open up another app. Some of the new Channels include CBS All Access, Starz, Showtime, HBO, Nickelodeon, Mubi, The History Channel Vault, and Comedy Central Now. During the beta, users can subscribe to Showtime, Starz, Smithsonian, and Tastemade.
In the future, the TV app will also house Apple TV+, Apple's upcoming streaming service for its original TV shows and movies.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.2.1 update to developers, just a day 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.
Should we find new features in the watchOS 5.2.1 beta, we'll update this post with details.
YouTube TV this week completed its nationwide rollout and is now available in every television market in the United States, with Glendive, Montana marked as the final area gaining the service (via The Verge). The end of the rollout comes two months after YouTube TV expanded to cover 98 percent of U.S. markets.
Now, YouTube TV will be even more of a competitor in the live TV streaming market, where rivals include Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, SlingTV, FuboTV, and more. Although YouTube TV is available in every market, not every area will have all four major local networks, which is an issue some users have with many over-the-top services.
At the same time that YouTube TV completes its expansion, FuboTV this week announced its first price hike in over a year (via CordCutters). With this change, FuboTV's base backage, Fubo Standard, is now priced at $54.99/month. Previously, this entry-level package was priced at $39.99/month for the first month and then $44.99/month afterwards, so this is a $10/month price hike.
Fubo Standard includes 82 channels, a 30 hour cloud DVR, and two-screen streaming. According to Fubo, the reason for the price increase is because of the addition of popular channels over the past year, like AMC, CNN, TBS, and others. The change takes effect today for new customers signing up for Fubo Standard (with a $10 discount for the first month), and also coincides with a reorganization to its plan tiers that emerged earlier in the week.
Price hikes for live streaming TV services have been quite popular this year, most infamously for DirecTV Now. Earlier in March, the AT&T-owned company confirmed a $10 price hike for all its customers on every plan, meaning that the cheapest DirecTV Now tier is $50/month. The service also changed up its subscription plan lineup for new subscribers and increased the prices for its premium channel add-ons for existing customers.
Just under a year ago DirecTV Now increased its base "Live a Little" tier from $35/month to $40/month to be in line with the market, because most OTT services hit the $40/month price point. With all of the recent price hikes, $50/month is now closer to becoming the standard entry level price for these services, and FuboTV now has one of the most expensive entry level plans.
SlingTV - $25/month for "Orange and Blue" with limited-time discount
Hulu With Live TV - $44.99/month
PS Vue - $44.99/month for "Access" tier
DirecTV Now - $50/month for "Plus" and "Live a Little"
Apple today shared a humorous new privacy-focused ad on its YouTube channel, highlighting the ad tracking prevention features that have been built into Safari.
In the spot, a 15-year-old boy with a wispy mustache stands in front of a mirror and looks up when he should be shaving, a search he presumably wouldn't want to be tracked. It's followed with text that reads: "Safari limits sites from tracking you across the web, because what you browse should be your business."
Apple has been highlighting the privacy features of the iPhone in its recent advertising campaign, and today's video follows a funny video from earlier in the month highlighting situations where people would want their privacy protected in everyday life.
Safari on iOS and macOS has had Intelligent Tracking Prevention features since 2017, making it harder for companies to gather data about you and track your browsing habits across multiple websites.
The new 256GB RAM option consists of four 64GB memory modules, and in an internal document distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, Apple states that the new configured-to-order iMac Pro is the only model designed to work with those 64GB memory DIMMs. No reason is provided.
This information suggests that Apple Authorized Service Providers will not be able to upgrade an iMac Pro to 256GB of RAM, nor will third-parties like OWC. In other words, purchasing an iMac Pro with 256GB of RAM will only be possible via the CTO option on Apple's online store during the checkout process.
256GB of RAM is a $5,200 upgrade option on Apple's online store, in addition to the iMac Pro's base $4,999 price.
The standard iMac is a bit more fortunate, as OWC has confirmed that the new 27-inch models released last week can be upgraded with up to 128GB of RAM, despite maxing out at 64GB on Apple's online store.
Note: Sony supplied the WH-1000MX3's to MacRumors for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.
