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MacBook Air - Save up to $200 / starting at $849 with Student Deals for students and parents of students
Best Buy is also still offering its in-store iPad trade-in deal that gives users a minimum $125 Best Buy gift card when trading in a working iPad mini 2 or newer, iPad Air/Air 2, iPad Pro, or fifth-generation iPad.
Best Buy's outlet store for refurbished and clearance products offers up to 40 percent on a wide array of products, including some solid deals on refurbished Apple devices. AirPods are priced at $142.99 (save $17 over new), select Apple Watch Series 3 models are available for as low as $294.99 for GPS (save $34 over new) or $319.99 for Cellular (save $79 over new), AirPort Express is just $52.99 (save $47 over new), and BeatsX and Powerbeats3 headphones are 50–60 percent off compared to new. Lots of other non-Apple products are also included in the outlet, so make sure to check our the full listings.
Along with the MacBook Air, iPad, and refurbished deals, there are also multiple savings on accessories launching this week. Best Buy has marked down or introduced new offers for the Beats Studio3 wireless headphones, a few JBL speakers, various smart assistant devices like Google Home Mini and Echo Show, and more. You can check out these sales in the list below:
Philips Hue - Buy a Philips Hue Color Starter Kit and get a $49 Hue Tap Remote at no cost
Finally, Best Buy has launched a new discount that's offering 25 percent off three or more cell phone accessories. These products can include cases, chargers, cables, adapters, screen protectors, and more, as long as they are each priced at $9.99 and above.
Visit our full Deals Roundup for more of the latest sales happening this week.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Tim Cook and other top Apple executives on Saturday at the company's new Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino to discuss app development, education, and other partnership opportunities (via Saudi Press Agency).
For the Saudi prince and his entourage of officials, the visit was part of a whirlwind tour that included stops to visit Virgin founder Richard Branson, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, and Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz.
According to the press release, the aim of the discussion with Apple executives was to talk about technological solutions for "enriching the Arabic educational content in the classroom" as well as the creation of an educational curriculum for Saudi schools. The meeting also covered the potential creation of job opportunities for Saudi youths who received their training at Apple's headquarters.
Following the meeting, members of the official delegation received technology-led presentations on Apple's work in the areas of health and marketing, before visiting the Steve Jobs Theater to learn more about Apple's "modern voice applications", which is likely a reference to the Siri digital assistant.
Apple is known to have been in discussions with Saudi Arabia to open its first retail store in the country as soon as 2019. State officials are said to be in licensing discussions with both Apple and Amazon in an effort to entice major technology companies into the country.
Saudi Arabia also recently lifted a ban on FaceTime and other services that provide access to calling someone over the internet, as part of government efforts attempting to attract more business to the country.
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.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to appear on MSNBC tonight at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time or 8:00 p.m. Eastern time in an interview called "Revolution: Apple Changing the World" with MSNBC's Christopher Hayes and Recode's Kara Swisher.
Much of what Tim Cook had to say was already covered in news stories earlier this week as the interview took place on March 28 and was covered by reporters who attended it live.
It will be well worth watching in its entirety, however, as Cook had a lot to say during the segment. He covered favored topics like education and coding, but he also commented on the current political climate in the United States and talked extensively about the ongoing Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal Facebook is facing.
We could make a ton of money if we monetized our customers. If our customers were our product. We've elected not to do that. ...We're not going to traffic in your personal life.
Cook also said Apple's customers are not the company's product, and that "well-crafted" regulation "is necessary" to prevent another Cambridge Analytica-style scandal.
It's clear to me that something, some large profound change is needed... I'm personally not a big fan of regulation because sometimes regulation can have unexpected consequences to it, however I think this certain situation is so dire and has become so large, that probably some well-crafted regulation is necessary.
Cook also commented on criticism over the fact that the iPhone is manufactured in China. "It's not true that the iPhone is not made in the United States," he said, referencing U.S.-based component manufacturers like Corning and Finisar. Cook also said Apple is always focused on job creation and doesn't need political pressure to do the right thing.
"We know that Apple could only have been created in the United States. We know that. This company would not have flourished in any other country in the world. We love this country. We are patriots. This is our country and we want to create as many jobs as we can in the U.S. We don't need any political pressure for that."
Cook also discussed DACA, a fourth major U.S. campus that's in development, the importance of coding, technology in education, lifelong education, and more.
We already have a full, detailed recap of what Tim Cook discussed during the interview, but should there be other interesting comments that were missed in earlier coverage, we'll update this post.
We'll also plan to provide an update if Recode and MSNBC make the interview available to watch for free after it airs. To watch the interview as it airs, you will need to tune into MSNBC through your cable package.
You can also watch on the NBC website or through the "Live" section of the MSNBC app, but cable authentication is required.
Apple is facing a lawsuit from Omni MedSci, a company that says Apple is infringing on its patented technology with the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor, reports Axios.
Omni MedSci claims to have met with Apple from 2014 until 2016, but Apple ultimately ended discussions for a partnership and then reportedly used Omni MedSci's patented technology.
Omni MedSci filed a lawsuit in the Eastern district of Texas today, claiming that Apple willfully infringed on its patents and asking for an injunction against Apple along with damages.
Apple first introduced the Apple Watch in 2015, and since its debut, the Apple Watch has featured a built-in heart rate sensor. Heart rate sensing is a key feature of the wrist-worn device, and recent studies have suggested it can be used to detect a wealth of health problems, like atrial fibrillation, early signs of diabetes, hypertension, and more.
Omni MedSci, the company suing Apple, is owned by Mohammed Islam, who in 2015 was described by a Detroit news site as a "poster child for a patenting professional." He owns six companies and has collected more than 150 patents.
"There's getting a patent and there's getting a patent that will withstand litigation," he told the site. "It's an art form."
Islam has expertise in optical and laster technology and appears to hold several related patents. His patent holding company, Cheetah Omni, has levied lawsuits against companies that include Fujitsu, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nokia, and Siemens.
In 2015, Islam said that Omni MedSci was working on a wearable glucose monitor that uses lasers to monitor blood sugar levels. At the time, he said that he had met with Apple about the product.
Elevation Lab has been working on docks for the iPhone for several years, ever since a dock Kickstarter project took off back in 2011.
All of that dock expertise has culminated in the simple, versatile CordDock, released in March. Priced at $39, the CordDock is similar in design to the ElevationDock 4, which quickly became my favorite dock after it came out last year.
The CordDock is like the ElevationDock 4, only better, and in my opinion, it's one of the best wired docks you can get for the iPhone. Much like its sister dock, the CordDock has a super small footprint -- it takes up minimal space on your desk.
The base is narrower than an iPhone, so the maximum amount of horizontal space it's going to take up is the width of your iPhone, and it's also less than two inches thick. It's tiny compared to most other iPhone stands, which is nice on a cluttered desk.
CordDock's small base might make it seem like it wouldn't be as sturdy as heavier docks, but it is thanks to a micro air-suction base that feels a little bit like magic. It's not sticky when you touch it, but when you put it on a hard surface, it adheres tightly enough to be super stable.
Micro air suction is strong enough that the CordDock stays in place even when you pick up the iPhone with a single hand, and that's not something that's true for other docks I own. I generally need to use two hands when I undock a phone -- one to hold the iPhone and one to hold the base down to detach it.
You will need to put the CordDock on a solid, smooth surface so it can get a good grip, but it's going to work well on a desk, night stand, countertop, or other location. I've tested it on wood, painted wood, metal, glass, and granite, and it's stuck to all surfaces.
It's also worth noting that it can be picked up and moved at anytime (just twist a bit as you pull). The dock's bottom suction doesn't diminish, and I haven't seen any damage from using it (or the ElevationDock 4, which I've been using for a longer period of time).
The CordDock is made from stainless steel and a reinforced polymer material, and that's perhaps the one downside -- its black exterior is not as fancy looking as some other docks that are made from materials like brushed aluminum. CordDock is small enough that it's not particularly noticeable if you're not a fan of the design, though, especially with the iPhone charging.
Elevation Lab designed the CordDock to work with a naked iPhone or an iPhone with a case, and it has two knobs at the back that let you adjust the depth of the space between the back mount and the Lightning connector.
I use a standard Apple case so I didn't have to do much adjustment, but rotating each knob will move it forward slightly for a tighter or looser fit. Elevation Lab says CordDock will work with cases up to 4mm, which covers all but the thickest cases (think Otterbox). There are also two removable magnetic pads under where the iPhone rests that can be swapped out for thicker or thinner versions, with two options available in the box.
Along with the two adjustment knobs, there's another feature that is unique to CordDock among its competitors -- the ability to pick up the iPhone from the dock with the cable still attached so you can use it while it's charging.
This works because the Lightning cable on the CordDock features two steel ball bearings built into the sides, while the head of the cable has two indents. The two ball bearings slot into the indents, allowing the cable portion to be pulled out with ease.
Pulling forward on your iPhone while it's attached to the CordDock unseats the cable and lets you pull the phone forward to use as you might use any phone attached to a charging cable. To put it back, you just need to line the Lightning connector portion of the cable up with the dock and give it a good push downwards. Elevation Lab's video demonstrates how it works:
Note that this functionality does not interfere with the one-handed iPhone removal feature. You can still disconnect the iPhone from the CordDock by pulling straight up rather than in a forward motion.
Bottom Line
As someone that owns multiple Apple devices and has used several of the popular docks on the market, the latest docks from Elevation Lab, including the CordDock, are some of my favorites.
The CordDock has a small footprint so it takes up little space on a desk, its sticky bottom means it works when you want to pick up your phone one-handed, and if you happen to need to use your iPhone when it's plugged in nearby, the clever detaching cord mechanism is handy.
If you prefer to charge wirelessly, the CordDock doesn't do that, but there are still benefits to wired charging, including much faster charging speeds that people are going to prefer over wire-free options.
At $39 the CordDock may be more expensive than some other options on the market, and it's a little less stylish than some aluminum docks, but its feature set makes it well worth the purchase price.
The Lightning cable attached to the CordDock is covered in an attractive braided chevron fabric, and at six feet long, it's a good length for allowing you to use the detachable feature of the dock. There's an included velcro cable wrap if you don't need the entire length of the cable.
Earlier this week, Apple confirmed it will release an all-new Mac Pro in 2019, as a bid of reassurance to its professional customers who have waited over four years for the company's high-end workstation to be updated.
Apple still sells a handful of other major products that haven't been updated in between three and six years, however, and unlike the Mac Pro, it has remained silent about any future updates. We've outlined those products below.
Apple hasn't refreshed its lineup of AirPort base stations in around five to six years. The high-end AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule, which is an Extreme coupled with up to 3TB of internal storage, were last updated at WWDC 2013. The smaller AirPort Express hasn't been updated since June 2012—it still has old 802.11n Wi-Fi.
The current Mac Pro was previewed at WWDC 2013, when Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller famously quipped "can't innovate anymore, my ass!" The professional desktop became available to order in December 2013, and hasn't been updated since, beyond receiving a price cut across the line in April 2017.
Apple this week confirmed that it will release an all-new Mac Pro with a modular design in 2019. The computer will be influenced by Apple's new Pro Workflow Team, consisting of creative professionals who are experienced in areas such as visual effects, video editing, 3D animation, and music production.
Apple has twice said the Mac mini remains an "important" part of its product lineup, but unlike the Mac Pro, it hasn't provided a timeline for any future updates. While there has been some speculation that the Mac mini could play a role in Apple's modular Mac Pro system, the fate of the machine remains unclear.
While the base model MacBook Air was updated with a slightly faster 1.8GHz processor in June 2017, the notebook hasn't received a significant update in over three years and counting. The latest MacBook Air is powered by Intel's fifth-generation Core processors—again, we're at eight now—and still lacks a Retina display.
The prevailing assumption has long been that once Apple could manage to sell the 12-inch MacBook for $999, that it would replace the MacBook Air. That has yet to happen, however, and now there's rumors suggesting that a new and possibly even cheaper MacBook Air will be released at some point this year.
Once updated on an annual basis like the iPhone, the iPod touch hasn't been refreshed in nearly three years. The portable media player is powered by an Apple A8 chip, which was already around 10 months old at the time, and it has an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and up to 128GB of storage.
At this point, the iPod touch is a niche product at Apple. It's also the only remaining iPod available to purchase, after Apple discontinued the iPod nano and iPod shuffle last year. However, considering the iPod touch is a gateway product to the iPhone, it's certainly possible it will eventually be updated.
Apple introduced the iPad mini 4 at its "Hey Siri" event in September 2015, and hasn't updated it since, beyond adjusting storage and pricing in 2016 and again in 2017. Like the latest iPod touch, the tablet is powered by an Apple A8 chip and has up to 128GB of storage, the sole capacity currently sold.
Like many other products on this list, the fate of the iPad mini is unclear. One possibility is that it will be discontinued once the new 9.7-inch iPad gets slimmer bezels, which would make it closer in overall size to the 7.9-inch iPad mini. The new iPad also has a much faster A10 Fusion chip and Apple Pencil support.
Following the release of iOS 11.3 last week, Apple has stopped signing iOS 11.2.6, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have upgraded to iOS 11.2.6 will no longer be able to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS.
Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.
iOS 11.3 is now the only version of iOS 11 that can be installed on iOS devices by the general public, but developers and public beta testers can download iOS 11.4, an update that is currently being beta tested.
To go along with the AirPods and the HomePod, Apple is rumored to be working on a set of high-end over-ear headphones that, like its other two products, will be Apple branded rather than Beats branded.
The rumor originated in a February report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who often accurately predicts Apple's plans. Kuo says Apple is planning to launch high-end over-ear headphones that marries the convenience of AirPods with better sound quality.
Designers over at Curved.de have taken these rumors and created renderings imagining what Apple-branded over-ear headphones could look like.
The headphones take design elements from the HomePod, such as the acoustic fabric covering and the touch panel that includes a visible Siri waveform, and existing Beats headphones like the Solo3.
On headphones, of course, you wouldn't see the waveform while wearing them so this may not be an entirely realistic concept, but it's interesting to see the HomePod design distilled down into headphones.
Curved.de has imagined the headphones in both black and white, with the touch panel also able to display other graphics like a rainbow Apple logo, and there's a simple wireless charging stand included in the concept.
Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple could release the headphones as soon as the fourth quarter of 2018, which is fairly late in the year, so we could see them delayed until 2019. Kuo's rumor has been corroborated by Bloomberg, with the site adding that noise-canceling features could be included.
Is this what you think Apple-branded headphones might look like? Let us know in the comments.
For this week's giveaway, we've once again teamed up with ROLI, this time to give away one of the company's LightPad Block M music making devices.
For those unfamiliar with ROLI, it's a company that makes a fun, modular music creation system called Blocks, designed for everyone from beginners to professionals.
The Lightpad M, priced at $200, is a key component in the ROLI system. Lightpad M supports pressure-based multi-touch gestures on its light-up grid surface to make music. The Lightpad M can recreate the sounds of cellos, flutes, drums, violins, and hundreds of other instruments with simple, intuitive touch gestures.
It also supports beats, chords, melodies, and more, and it ships with more than 200 sounds, with options to add more through an accompanying suite of apps that work with the Lightpad M.
Gestures include a strike for sounding a note, a side to side glide to change pitch, an up and down slide to modulate sound, a press for a deeper sound, and lift to change resonance.
There's a soft, silicone top layer on the Lightpad M for precise control, and the top of the square-shaped accessory lights up in hundreds of colors when touched. Microkeywaves on the silicone surface of the Lightpad M offer pleasing tactile feedback, and it's sensitive enough that even a light touch makes music.
You can fit the Lightpad M in the palm of your hand, so it's small enough to go anywhere, and it offers a wireless connection.
We have a ROLI LightPad Block M to give away to a MacRumors reader. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach winners and send prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (April 6) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on April 13. The winner will be chosen randomly on April 13 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
Twitter is making changes to its API on June 19, and third-party Twitter clients are worried about the impact and Twitter's lack of communication about the issue.
The developers behind popular third-party Twitter apps that include Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Talon, and Tweetings today teamed up to warn users about the upcoming changes and to hopefully spur Twitter to action.
On June 19, Twitter plans to remove several streaming service APIs that are used by third-party apps. Disabling these APIs will prevent third-party Twitter apps from sending push notifications and refreshing Twitter timelines automatically.
We are incredibly eager to update our apps. However, despite many requests for clarification and guidance, Twitter has not provided a way for us to recreate the lost functionality. We've been waiting for more than a year.
Twitter is replacing its current streaming APIs with a new Account Activity API, which is in beta testing, but third-party developers have not been given access. With access to the Account Activity APIs, third-party Twitter clients say they might be able to enable some push notifications, but Twitter has also provided no detail on pricing. Automatic refresh of the timeline is set to be disabled entirely.
Automatic refresh of your timeline just won't work: there is no web server on your mobile device or desktop computer that Twitter can contact with updates. Since updating your timeline with other methods is rate-limited by Twitter, you will see delays in real-time updates during sporting events and breaking news.
The developers behind Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Talon, and Tweetings are asking customers to contact the @TwitterDev account to correct the situation and to use the #BreakingMyTwitter hashtag to spread awareness.
Update: Twitter has responded to customers unhappy with the changes coming to third-party apps. Twitter plans to delay the scheduled June 19th date for the deprecation of the existing APIs, and it says developers will have at least 90 days before the APIs are retired after being provided with access to the Account Activity API.
Last year we announced our plan to retire Site Streams & User Streams, and replace them with the Account Activity API (currently in beta). We are delaying the scheduled June 19th deprecation date.
— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) April 6, 2018
As always, we’re committed to providing ample time to migrate. We will provide at least 90 days notice of deprecation date from when the Account Activity API becomes generally available to all developers. More specifics on timing to come.
— Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) April 6, 2018
Apple has formally objected the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan in the United States.
In a letter submitted to the agency today, Apple said repealing the policy would subject the company and its manufacturing partners to increased investment uncertainty in relation to clean energy, according to Reuters.
"Repealing the Clean Power Plan will subject consumers like Apple and our large manufacturing partners to increased investment uncertainty," the California-based company said in a filing to the agency.
Apple, which says it runs its U.S. operations fully on renewable energy such as wind and solar power, added that repeal of the plan would also threaten development and investments that have already been made in renewable power.
The EPA proposed to repeal the Clean Power Plan in October 2017 after U.S. President Donald Trump mandated a review of the Obama-era environmental policy, which would have required U.S. power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Apple is the first company to publicly comment on the proposed repeal, which has yet to proceed due to legal challenges, according to the report. The policy's elimination is said to remain a priority of the EPA's administrator Scott Pruitt.
Apple's environmental website notes that 100 percent of the electricity the company uses to power its data centers, and 96 percent used by its facilities worldwide, comes from renewable energy sources like solar, hydro, and wind power. Many of Apple's suppliers have also committed to using 100 percent renewable energy.
Apple's environmental chief Lisa Jackson served as the EPA's administrator between 2009 and 2013 as part of the Obama administration.
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.
The BBC reports today that the Roskomnadzor media regulator has begun legal proceedings to block the app in the country, after Dubai-based Telegram refused to comply with requests that it hand over the encryption keys.
Telegram was given a deadline of 4 April to hand over the keys, but the company has refused, explaining that the way the service is built means it has no access to them.
Russia's main security agency, the FSB, wants the keys so it can read messages and prevent future terror attacks in the country. In its court filing, Roskomnadzor said the legal action was related to the FSB request and Telegram's non-compliance with its legal requirements as a "distributor of information".
Telegram's lawyer, Pavel Chikov, called the Russian attempt to block the app "groundless" and said the FSB's demand to access users' chat logs was "unconstitutional, baseless, which cannot be fulfilled technically and legally".
Telegram had a legal challenge to the demand dismissed in a Moscow court in March, but the platform creator Pavel Durov has said Telegram, which is widely used in Russia, will not "give up" the private data of its users.
Threats to block Telegram unless it gives up private data of its users won't bear fruit. Telegram will stand for freedom and privacy.
— Pavel Durov (@durov) 20 March 2018
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.
Snapchat today began implementing Apple's TrueDepth camera technology in its Lenses selfie feature for the first time. The silent update means iPhone X owners who use Snapchat will see augmented reality masks pop up in the app that make use of Apple's advanced facial mapping technology to superimpose the mask onto the user's face more realistically and track motion more accurately.
Apple first demoed the AR Snapchat Lenses at its iPhone X event last year, as part of its on-stage TrueDepth technology unveiling. Apple's Animojis work using the TrueDepth camera. Face ID also uses its structured-light technique to project a pattern of 30,000 laser dots onto a user's face and measure the distortion to generate an accurate 3D image for authentication.
Apple says the Face ID mathematical image data is encrypted upon generation and never leaves the smartphone's Secure Enclave. Third-party app developers are however able to access TrueDepth's visual face maps separately, including a live read-out of 52 micro-movements in the eyelids, mouth, and other features. At the same time, Apple explicitly forbids this data being exploited for user profiling or ad marketing purposes, but that hasn't stopped privacy advocates and some developers from raising concerns about third-party app access to the TrueDepth Camera.
At present there are three Lenses that utilize TrueDepth, demonstrating closer tracking of facial expressions and head movement. Snapchat says the TrueDepth camera also lets it blur the background and more accurately apply small details and 3D objects, which reflect and react to ambient lighting to project shadows and add highlights. The TrueDepth Lenses only appear for iPhone X owners and more of the AR masks are likely to appear periodically in the future.
Snapchat is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]
While last month's version 5.0 update to the official Apple Store iOS app introduced several significant changes to the user experience, one thing Apple has retained is its tradition of occasionally offering select paid apps for free through the app for a limited time.
Right now, users who scroll down the Discover tab should find an option to download monochromatic platform puzzler Starman: Tale of Light for free, rather than paying $3.99 to download it from the App Store.
Originally released in 2017, this serene title uses a level design reminiscent of Monument Valley, with the player encountering a series of easy to moderately difficult puzzles as they progress through each scene. Optimized for iPhone X displays, Starman currently has an average 4.8 star rating out of 769 App Store reviews, and is described in the official Apple Store app as follows:
In this visually stunning game with breathtaking architectural scenery, you guide Starman through delicate atmospheres and solve elaborate puzzles. No two puzzles are ever the same, so the challenges are always new. Soothing music and haptic feedback enhance the immersive experience further.
To download the app for free, tap on the featured app in the Discover section of the Apple Store app, tap Download now for free, and you will be redirected to the App Store's Redeem code screen. Your free redeem code should already be entered – all you need to do is tap Redeem in the upper right corner to begin downloading the game.
The offer to download Starman for free through the Apple Store iOS app expires on July 15, 2018. Note that free app offers sometimes vary from region to region.
In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.
Thursday, April 5
Mac mini is three-and-a-half years old: Apple today confirmed that its revamped Mac Pro will be released in 2019. It's an opportune time for a reminder that the Mac mini hasn't been refreshed in three-and-a-half years as of April 16. 1,267 days ago as of today, according to our MacRumors Buyer's Guide. We asked Apple for a comment, but it's unlikely they'll break silence.
FCP Exchange takes place at NAB 2018 in Las Vegas next week: The series of free Final Cut Pro workshops begin Monday, April 9 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time in room S219 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Final Cut Pro version 10.4.1, previewed by Apple today, will be released on the same day with support for a new ProRes RAW format and advanced closed captioning.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to attend a deposition in the ongoing Apple v. Qualcomm legal battle on June 27, according to Bloomberg.
Cook will be providing testimony as part of Qualcomm's lawsuit against Apple, which accuses the Cupertino-based company of lying to regulators to cause trouble for Qualcomm, leading to investigations in multiple countries.
The United States Federal Trade Commission in January accused Qualcomm of violating the FTC Act by using anticompetitive tactics and abusing its patent portfolio to remain the dominant supplier of LTE chips for smartphones, and in June, a judge ruled that Qualcomm will face an antitrust lawsuit.
Qualcomm has also faced an antitrust investigation in South Korea, which it accused Apple of interfering in, and it has been fined $1.2 billion by European antitrust regulators for paying Apple to use its LTE chips in iOS devices. In South Korea, Qualcomm was fined 1.03 trillion won, or $902 million.
Qualcomm and Apple have been mired in an ever-escalating legal battle since the beginning of 2017 after Apple levied a $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm accusing the company of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with."
Apple and Apple suppliers have stopped paying licensing fees to Qualcomm in the midst of the lawsuit, and Apple has maintained that Qualcomm's practice of charging a percentage of an iPhone's entire value is excessive. Qualcomm, meanwhile, says its technology is "at the heart of every iPhone."
Following Apple's lawsuit, Qualcomm filed a countersuit accusing Apple of breaching licensing agreements, making false statements, and encouraging regulatory attacks against Qualcomm in several countries.
Given the legal dispute between the two companies, rumors have suggested Apple is considering eliminating Qualcomm chips from its future devices, instead relying on Intel and MediaTek.
Mophie today announced the launch of a new Qi wireless charger for Apple's iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, the Mophie Charge Stream Pad+.
Mophie says the Charge Stream Pad+ is its first universal high-speed wireless charging accessory, compatible with the fast charging capabilities of both Apple and Samsung devices.
For Apple's most recent iPhones, that means the Charge Stream Pad+ supports the faster 7.5W charging introduced back in December. Mophie's existing wireless charger, the Wireless Charging Base, also supports 7.5W charging.
Smart charging circuitry inside of the Charge Stream Pad+ communicates with an iPhone or other smartphone to determine and deliver the optimal amount of power.
Design wise, the Charge Stream Pad+ looks like your average Qi-based wireless charger, with a circular flat base where you rest your phone. A non-slip rubberized finish makes sure your iPhone stays in place, and it also ships with a wall adapter and USB-A to microUSB cable. It comes in black or white to match any decor.
The Mophie Charge Stream Pad+ is also compatible with all Charge Force Mophie Juice Pack battery cases designed for the iPhone and for Samsung smartphones, such as the Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 7, which enables wireless charging.
Prynt Pocket, priced at $150, is a portable printer that's designed to work with the iPhone, allowing you to print small 2x3 photos wherever you go thanks to ZINK paper, which does not require printer cartridges to work.
There are several of these iPhone-compatible miniature printers on the market, but the Prynt Pocket is unique because it's designed to connect to the iPhone using a Lightning connector, a feature that has both benefits and downsides.
Design
Of all the portable ZINK photo printers that I've tested, Prynt Pocket has the most complicated design and the biggest learning curve when it comes to using the device. The ZINK paper needs to be loaded into a separate paper cartridge in the correct orientation, and then the paper cartridge needs to be loaded into the portion of the Prynt Pocket that attaches to the phone.
From there, you need to adjust the size of the Prynt Pocket using a slider and accompanying button in order to fit it to your iPhone of choice. Then your iPhone needs to attach to the Prynt Pocket via the Lightning connector built into the device. With other printers, you basically unsnap a single compartment, load the paper, and then snap it back into place.
Prynt Pocket is designed this way so you can snap a photo with the device attached to your iPhone and then print it right away. I found that connecting the Prynt Pocket to my iPhone in this way was time consuming, and it wasn't a feature that I thought was useful as most of the time, I want to edit before I print. Editing with the Prynt Pocket attached to my phone was cumbersome, but there is a "Print" button right in the app if you want to snap a shot and then print sans editing.
for students and parents of students
for students and parents of students
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Following the 
Russia appears to be following through on its threat last year to 
