MacRumors

Elevation Lab, known for its popular line of wired dock options for the iPhone, recently came out with its first wireless charging dock, the NightPad.

The NightPad, which is a 7.5W charger, looks like a lot of other wireless chargers on the market, but there are some premium features to be aware of. It's covered in a soft silicone material that holds the iPhone in place while it's charging, and there's also a raised ring that makes sure the iPhone stays secure.

While the design of the NightPad is simple, that silicone material has such a matte finish that it makes the charging pad look super black, so it does stand out from your average charging pad. There is subtle Elevation Lab branding on the top of the charger, but it can be hard to see just because it's so dark.

Size wise, the NightPad is palm-sized and a little larger than a coaster. As with most wireless chargers this size, you do need to make sure to get the iPhone lined up in the center because if it's off to the side a bit (which can happen -- especially in the dark) it won't charge.

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One week after Comcast officially bowed out of the bidding war for 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets by ceding to Disney, shareholders of both Fox and Disney have today approved Disney's $71.3 billion acquisition offer for Fox (via The Wall Street Journal).

At two separate gatherings this morning in Manhattan, both company's shareholders were said to have "voiced their support" for the acquisition in brief meetings that lasted less than 15 minutes.

There are still a few hurdles before Disney officially acquires 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets, mostly related to approval from overseas entities. Specifically, Disney is waiting for the European Union and China to grant approval for the acquisition, as well as "more than a dozen" other international territories.

Still, with the United States Justice Department approving the acquisition last month (with one condition for Disney) and now the shareholders voting to approve, it's believed Disney's acquisition of Fox will be done by early 2019.

News of Disney's interest in Fox dates back to last December when Disney initially announced its bid to acquire Fox for $52.4 billion in stock. Comcast entered with its own $65 million cash offer for Fox's assets, leading to Disney's increased $71.3 billion cash and stock bid in June. At the time that it bowed out of the running for Fox, Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts congratulated Disney and its CEO Bob Iger and commended the Murdoch family and Fox "for creating such a desirable and respected company."

Disney's plans for Fox line up with its intent to launch a streaming service in late 2019, showcasing a lineup of content from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and likely a back catalog of films and TV shows owned by Fox, further enticing customers to sign up. Under the agreement Disney will acquire Fox assets including Twentieth Century Fox Film and Television Studios, Fox-related cable and international TV businesses, Fox's 30 percent stake in Hulu, the film rights to the X-Men and Avatar franchises, and more.

Disney has already launched its first streaming service in the form of ESPN+ this past spring, granting subscribers access to live sports, original shows and films, studio programs, and an on-demand library of content. Ahead of the debut of its main streaming service a little of a year from now, Disney has warned Netflix users that it will begin removing its TV shows and films from Netflix before its own platform launches.

New Disney-owned movies have still appeared on Netflix at a decent rate this year -- including Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Coco, and Thor: Ragnarok -- but a few have begun to disappear, including the impending removal of Pixar's Finding Dory in August.

A Disney streaming service filled with Fox content will be a direct competitor to Apple's upcoming streaming service, also believed to see a launch at some point in 2019. Apple's partners in the original TV content space include Oprah Winfrey, M. Night Shyamalan, J.J. Abrams, Kumail Nanjiani, and more.

Amazon has begun testing a small but useful new feature across its iOS app and mobile/desktop websites, allowing users to invite friends and family members to collaborate on a shopping list together. Amazon customers have long been asking for such a feature, and it seems like a small set of them have been selected to test it out ahead of a potential wider launch in the future (via Android Police).

On iOS, after you open the Amazon app and navigate to one of your wish lists, you'll see a new prompt that says "Invite others to add or remove list items." If you tap this, you'll get the usual iOS sharing sheet with options like AirDrop, Message, E-Mail, and simply copying a URL to share with someone.

Once the recipient gets the list invite, Amazon will open up in a browser (both mobile and desktop appear to work), and your list will now effectively appear as one of their own in their Amazon account. They'll be able to view it, add items to it, remove items, edit quantity, and edit comments. Collaborative lists will be designated as such at the top of the list near its name with two user icons and a "Shared" banner.

Once multiple members are sharing a list, a new conversation icon will appear on the right of the list's page and act as a hub for users to send messages and discuss items on the list. Above this is an ellipsis icon that lets the list's original owner manage members and remove any they don't want to be able to access the list anymore. It appears that a few of these features are missing for some users at the time of writing, likely due to the feature still being in a testing phase.

The feature is in testing on iOS and Amazon.com on mobile and desktop websites, but Android Central reports that it does not appear to be on the native Android app yet. As with all feature tests, it's unclear when -- or if -- collaborative shopping lists on Amazon will roll out to all users.

Apple has announced that it will repair any Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, iPod, or Thunderbolt Display directly damaged by heavy rains in Japan in July, free of charge, so long as the product is actually repairable.

Affected customers can contact Apple by dialing 0120-27753-5 to arrange for pick up of any eligible products through the end of September, according to a notice on Apple's website spotted by Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

Apple will service the damaged products free of charge and then return them to customers, although there may be delays, as delivery services by courier companies are suspended in some areas due to damage from the floodwaters.

Record rainfall in southwestern Japan in July resulted in widespread flooding, landslides, burst riverbanks, and collapsed buildings across the region.

LinkedIn has introduced a new voice messaging service that's built in to the latest version of its mobile app.

Called LinkedIn Messaging, the feature gives users the ability to record and send audio messages up to one minute long.

Voice messaging is rolling out now in the LinkedIn app on iOS and Android, and you can receive voice messages on mobile and on web. This feature will be available globally to all members in the next few weeks.

We hope this makes it easier than ever to communicate when you want, how you want with your professional community.

Voice messages are recorded by tapping the microphone icon on the mobile messaging keyboard. Users then tap and hold the microphone symbol in the circle to record their voice message and release their finger to send.

The business networking platform is touting voice messages as an easier way to communicate when you're on the go or multi-tasking, but many account holders will likely be wary of the feature given the already high volume of unsolicited messages sent over LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a free download for iPhone available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

The Apple Store app for iOS devices was today updated to version 5.1, introducing improvements for the search feature.

The new version of the app features a redesigned look for the search section, with both search suggestions and support for voice-based searches. You can tap on the microphone icon located in the search bar to conduct a search using speech rather than text.

Some of the new search suggestions include options like "Stores near me," "Cases compatible with this device," "Sessions near me," "iPhone upgrade information," and more. Aside from the new search interface, the app is otherwise unchanged and uses the same design.

What's New Search has been updated with an enhanced design. And it's now powered with speech recognition technology for better search results.

The Apple Store app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Koogeek is one of the more interesting HomeKit accessory manufacturers, with an array of relatively low-cost and in some cases unusual products that can help users expand their Apple-focused smart home ecosystems.

The company offers HomeKit-compatible smart outlets, switches, bulbs, and sockets similar to other manufacturers, but also has some less common products like light strips, door/window sensors, environmental monitors, and even power strips.

LS1 Light Strip

One of Koogeek's more popular HomeKit accessories is the LS1 Light Strip, a 2-meter string of LED lights that lets you choose from 16 million dimmable colors, whether you're looking for bias lighting behind your television or monitor, accent lighting in a kitchen, or any of a number of other applications. While Koogeek offers its own app for setting up and managing the LS1 Light Strip, HomeKit support means you can access it from the centralized Home app on iOS (and soon macOS Mojave) or Siri, and you can integrate it with other HomeKit devices to activate as part of a scene or other automations.

Consisting of 60 LEDs, the LS1 is a 2-meter strip with some additional cord and a single-button controller that allows you to turn the lights on and off manually. The light strip is USB-powered, which can be a benefit as it gives you some interesting flexibility in terms of mounting locations when you can use a USB port on your TV, a computer, a dock, or a power bank to run them.

On the downside, Koogeek doesn't provide a power adapter in the box, so you'll need to provide your own if you want to power it from a wall outlet. The light strip is rated for 10-watt power draw, and Koogeek recommends a 2A power adapter for maximum brightness. The power cord isn't terribly long (about 0.5 meters), so that may also be an issue depending on where you want to install the light strip.

The LS1 Light Strip offers a total of 500 lumens of light output for the entire string, which is a decent amount of light but less than some competitors like Hue and LIFX Z that offer 1400–1600 lumens. Particularly for ambient lighting in darkened or semi-darkened rooms as many people are likely to use light strips, I found Koogeek's light strip plenty bright.

Setup of the light strip is extremely simple, requiring you to download the Koogeek app, create an account, and grant permissions for Home and location access. From there, just plug in the light strip, scan the HomeKit code on the controller or instruction manual, allow it to connect to your Wi-Fi (requires a 2.4 GHz network), and give it a name and room location. Colors can be adjusted either in the Koogeek app or the Home app, but the Koogeek app is a bit more powerful in that regard.

Overall documentation is a little bit weak, and there are a few language issues here and there in written materials, the app, and Koogeek's website. They could certainly benefit from some polish by native English speakers, but it's clear enough to let you figure out what you're doing.

Mounting the light strip is fairly straightforward, with 3M adhesive running along the entire back of the light strip portion. It's very strong, so you shouldn't have to worry about your lights falling down, although it does give me pause about whether certain surfaces might be damaged in the removal process.

As with pretty much every light strip, it's a little tricky making the LS1 conform to the exact shape you want, as it's thick enough that bends and corners become tricky. The adhesive is strong enough to help secure the light strip, but you'll want to be careful not to bend the strip too much as Koogeek says you shouldn't bend to less than a 30-degree angle. The LED portion of the light strip is rated IP65 for water and dust resistance, but Koogeek says it shouldn't be used outdoors or in a bathroom or other humid environment.

The LS1 Light Strip can be cut to shorten it to a desired length, but obviously only the portion with the controller will be functional, so the removed pieces will need to be thrown away. Unlike some other light strip brands, the LS1 is also not extendable. Hue and LIFX Z, for example, come as 2-meter strips like the LS1, but you can purchase extensions in various lengths up to a total length of 10 meters with one controller and plug. With the LS1, you'll need to use separate strips if you want to go longer than 2 meters.

While the light strip will remember your selected color when you turn it on and off, if the strip is ever unplugged or completely loses power for any other reason, it will default back to white and you'll have to set your desired color again.

The Koogeek Home app can serve as a nearly full substitute for the Home app, as it shows all of your HomeKit devices and offers you quick access for controlling them, but I wouldn't recommend the app for regular use. While it's good enough to get your Light Strip set up, the design is certainly lacking and there are some bugs such as my thermostat's temperature being displayed in Celsius units despite Fahrenheit being selected in its options within the app. During the World Cup, the Automations tab also included an odd ad offering prizes and discounts for participating in Koogeek's contest related to the event.

For the light strip in particular, Koogeek's app offers quick access to a brightness slider, as well as a selection of favorite colors. But you can also dig in further to customize your colors using a color wheel or temperature wheel. You can even upload photos and let the app automatically select a single color that represents the photo, and you can configure Alexa and Google Assistant integration.

Controls in Apple's Home app are somewhat similar, with a quick tap on the light strip's tile toggling it on and off and a deeper press bringing up a brightness slider. From there, you can dive in further to choose from favorite colors or customize by color and temperature.

While Koogeek's LS1 Light Strip comes up short in the feature department compared to other strips that are brighter, can be extended, and perhaps support multiple color zones (LIFX Z) or syncing with music and movies (Hue), where it wins out is in the price department, and that's a big one. The LS1 is currently available for $35 at Amazon, compared to $90 for Hue and LIFX and more like $55–60 for Sylvania's offering. Unlike Hue, Koogeek also doesn't require a hub, making for simpler installation and less clutter attached to your router.

So if price is a significant consideration for you, the Koogeek LS1 Light Strip is definitely worth checking out as a HomeKit light strip solution. It's not as full featured as some of the other available light strips on the market, and it lacks some polish in the app and documentation areas, but if those aren't deal-breakers for you it's hard to beat the value of Koogeek's LS1.

DW1 Door & Window Sensor

Among Koogeek's other products is the DW1 Door & Window Sensor, a simple magnet-based contact sensor for letting you know whether a door or window is open or closed. We looked at similar sensors as part of the Ring Alarm kit, but other companies like Koogeek also sell standalone sensors that with HomeKit support can send you notifications when there is a change in status of the monitored door or window. You can also check on the status at any time via Siri, the Home app, or Koogeek's app.

Aside from simple status checks and updates, HomeKit support allows you to integrate Koogeek's Door & Window Sensor with other HomeKit products in the form of scenes and automations. For example, you can trigger a light to come on when a door is opened, either for security purposes or to simply provide light in a dark closet or room without needing to fumble for a light switch.

Setup of the DW1 is again very simple, with the Koogeek app pulling up a Home app interface to handle the addition. Pulling the battery protection tab on the sensor turns it on, allowing it to be automatically discovered by the app via Bluetooth. Once you've scanned the HomeKit code, it'll take a minute to get fully activated, and then you'll be able to give it a name and a room location for grouping and automation purposes.

Stick the sensor and the magnet on your door or window, and you're good to go. The two pieces must be within 2 cm of each other to register the closed state, and Koogeek recommends that the lighter magnet portion be mounted on the movable door or window while the larger sensor sits on the frame. Attachment is via adhesive included on the rear of the parts, and an extra set of adhesives is included in case the initial set wears out or you decide to change locations.

Once you're up and running, you can use Siri, the Home app, or the Koogeek app at any time to check on the status of the door or window, and you can configure notifications and see battery level in the Home app.

As with the LS1 Light Strip, the Koogeek app leaves a bit to be desired when it comes to managing the Door & Window Sensor. It similarly displays battery level and pertinent information like open/closed state and room location. It also has a section for "Logs Records" which shows a history of the last 100 open and close events, but date and time formatting are rudimentary and events are shown as non-intuitive "On" and "Off" states rather than "Open" and "Closed."

The DW1 Door & Window Sensor uses a replaceable CR2450 button battery, and should last up to a year on a single battery. The DW1 is currently available for $31.99 from Amazon and includes the sensor and magnet parts, an extra set of adhesives, and a SIM removal tool to access a pinhole reset button on the sensor if needed. That's a bit cheaper than the Eve Door & Window and significantly cheaper than Fibaro's Door/Window Sensor, so the Koogeek DW1 might be a good option for those looking to integrate this type of sensor into their HomeKit setups.

Note: Koogeek provided the LS1 light strip and DW1 door and window sensor to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

Best Buy has opened up its new "Black Friday in July" sale with early access for its My Best Buy members, ending later tonight at 11:59 p.m. CT. Afterwards, the deals will expand to all customers shopping on the retailer's website.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Savings in the sale include $150 off MacBook Air, $125 off iPad Pro, up to $75 off Apple Watch Series 3, $55 off BeatsX, $10 off the fourth generation 32GB Apple TV, and more. We've listed some of these sales below, but be sure to head to Best Buy's landing page for the Black Friday in July sale for more information.

• MacBook Air - Save $150 on select models / as low as $699.99 with Student Deals
• 21.5-inch iMac (3.0 GHz i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB HD) - $1,099.99, down from $1,299.99 (matched at B&H Photo)
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro - Save $125 on select models / as low as $474.99 for 64GB Wi-Fi model with Student Deals
• Apple Watch Series 3 - Save up to $75 / as low as $279.00 for 38mm Aluminum GPS
• BeatsX - Save $55 / $94.99 in select colors
• Smart home products - Save $10-$40 on devices like the Nanoleaf Aurora Rhythm Smarter Kit, WeMo Mini Smart Plug (with HomeKit), and more

Other than Apple products, Best Buy has a large selection of items discounted in its new sale, including up to $20 off select video games, up to $100 off select laptops from HP and Dell, and savings on a variety of 4K UHD televisions, beginning as low as $299.99 for brands like Hisense and TCL.

A few audio accessories marked down include the UE BLAST Speaker for $89.99, down from $179.99, and the Sony XB950N1 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones for $124.99, down from $199.99. My Best Buy members can also get Insignia's portable Bluetooth speaker for just $9.99, down from $19.99 during early access today.

For other sales and discounts happening this week, head over to our full Deals Roundup.

Update 7/27: Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale is live today for all shoppers, and the retailer is now offering 15 percent discounts on $25, $30 $50, and $100 App Store and iTunes gift cards. Options include both physical and e-mail delivery gift cards, so head over to Best Buy to load up on iTunes credit before the sale ends.

Dashlane today announced the release of Dashlane 6, which the company describes as an "all-in-one solution for online risk prevention," beefing up the password manager's suite of features with a collection of online privacy and security additions.

The first new feature introduced is an "Identity Dashboard," which provides each user with a complete picture of their online security, as well as steps toward how they can improve it. The dashboard includes features like Dark Web Monitoring, credit score monitoring, identity restoration support, and Identity Theft Insurance so that users are "in complete control of their digital identities."

Of course, Dashlane still provides in-depth password management tools, and the new update includes an "enhanced" password health section with real-time analysis of how secure each password is. The company says that this helps users better understand which of their accounts are really secure and which could use a little more attention, and if they want to update their passwords Dashlane provides tools to easily randomize and strengthen each one.

"Managing digital identity has become too complex for almost everyone," says Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of Dashlane.

"Massive breaches and data abuses—like the ones at Facebook, Equifax, and Exactis—affect us all, and while protecting accounts with unique and complex passwords is a critical step, it is no longer enough. People must be able to easily manage and monitor all aspects of their digital footprint, whether it's monitoring credit reports for fraudulent activity or personal information for sale on the dark web. That's why we created Dashlane 6—to solve that very problem."

Dashlane 6 also has 1GB of storage across devices for Premium and Premium Plus users, secure sharing with friends and family members, and an included VPN for Wi-Fi protection. The VPN is available for Premium and Premium Plus users as well, and the company says it can be operated on an unlimited number of devices with unlimited data use.

Dashlane has three plan tiers: free, Premium at $4.99/month, and a new Premium Plus option at $9.99/month (both billed annually). Premium includes unlimited passwords (the free tier has only 50) on unlimited devices, Dark Web Monitoring, the secure VPN, and secure file storage. Premium Plus adds these features plus the new credit monitoring, identity restoration support, and Identity Theft Insurance coverage.

Those interested can download Dashlane 6 for macOS and iOS today.

In its Q2 2018 earnings report shared today -- the second since filing for an IPO -- Spotify revealed that it has grown to 83 million paid subscribers globally and 180 million total monthly active users (including the free tier) as of the end of June 2018 (via TechCrunch). This is an increase from 75 million paid subscribers and 170 million total users that Spotify had in Q1 2018.

Spotify is in a heated battle for new subscribers with Apple Music, which has been growing fast over the last few quarters. While Spotify still has more than double Apple Music's global paid subscriber count (Apple Music was last counted to have about 40 million), recent reports have suggested Apple's streaming service could be beating Spotify in terms of paid subscribers in the United States.

Spotify didn't specify U.S. paid subscriber numbers, but it says that 31 percent of its total 180 million monthly active users are located in North America. This places around 56 million paid and free tier Spotify users across regions including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Spotify attributes its subscriber growth to strong performance and lower churn rate of its Family Plan, as well as partnerships like the Spotify + Hulu bundle.

While the company grew its revenue 26 percent year-over-year to €1.27 billion, it still isn't making a profit and saw an operating loss of €91 million and net loss of €394 million this quarter. It's believed that the company's spending on marketing campaigns to stay ahead of Apple Music and the high royalty payments to record labels and artists continue to be a barrier to profitability for Spotify.

The company also pointed towards the new GDPR rules set in Europe this past May as a "disruptor" across its European markets during Q2. The rules were said to have slowed down subscriber growth where 37 percent of its total user base resides (its biggest region), but Spotify says it "seems to be largely past that now."

Looking into Q3 2018, Spotify expects paid subscribers to rise to 85-88 million and total users to rise to 188-193 million.