Multiple high-profile Instagram accounts belonging to celebrities may have been breached due to a bug related to an Instagram API, reports TechCrunch.
The bug, which has since been fixed, allowed at least one hacker to access the email address and phone number on an unknown number of "high-profile" Instagram users. According to Instagram, the only data accessed was email address and phone number, and no passwords were exposed.
It's not clear how many users were affected, but TechCrunch speculates it's a small number as hackers were only targeting celebrities.
Instagram notified all verified users of the breach in an email, letting them know the bug has been addressed and that company's security team is further investigating the issue. Instagram says verified users should "be extra vigilant" as they may receive calls, texts, or emails.
Instagram recommends all users implement two-factor authentication to as a precaution to prevent unauthorized access to their accounts even though no passwords were stolen.
Like all Pad & Quill products, the new Messenger Bag is made from high-quality full-grain bridle leather by hand and outfitted with nickel and copper hardware.
It features a padded laptop pocket that can accommodate a laptop up to 15 inches, like Apple's 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro models, and it includes a padded, secure pocket designed for the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. The pocket will accommodate 9.7-inch and smaller iPads as well, but not the 12.9-inch model.
Expandable pleated front pockets on the bag offer space for an iPhone, cables, and other accessories, and at the back, there's a quick access newspaper pocket.
Inside, the entire bag is lined with a soft suede, and it's built with UV-resistant Marine-grade stitching for durability. A zipper pocket holds valuables, and two additional bucket pockets inside the bag hold other essentials. There's a main pouch for books and other accessories, and a set of pen holders.
The bag measures in at 14 inches wide by 12.5 inches high, and it's 5 inches deep with a weight of five pounds. It comes in several colors, including whiskey, chestnut, and chocolate. All Pad & Quill bags feature a 25-year leather warranty.
Pad & Quill's new Attaché Leather Messenger Bag is available for pre-order from the Pad & Quill website for $495. Orders will ship out in mid-September.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Pad & Quill and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.
Seventeen automotive engineers who previously worked for Apple left the company to join self-driving startup Zoox following Apple's shift away from developing a full autonomous car, reports Bloomberg.
The group of engineers, who originally came to Apple from several Detroit carmakers and suppliers among other automotive companies, are said to specialize in designing hardware like braking and suspension systems.
One of the Lexus SUVs Apple is using to test its self-driving software
Many engineers who were recruited for Apple's car project left as Apple pivoted away from developing its own autonomous vehicle and instead began work on an autonomous driving system. Under the leadership of Bob Mansfield, the "Project Titan" car team is now developing autonomous software and testing that software out on the road in Lexus SUVs.
The latest exodus to Zoox suggests Apple is less likely to revive ambitions to make a car itself. The engineers found themselves increasingly sidelined and surplus to requirements at Apple, and were hired by the startup in piecemeal fashion in recent months, the people said.
It's not entirely clear yet what Apple plans to use its autonomous driving software for, but the company is exploring options like self-driving shuttles to ferry its employees from campus to campus as part of further testing. In the future, Apple could partner with a ride-sharing company or a car manufacturer to deploy its software.
Zoox, meanwhile, is working on an a full autonomous car in order to create a fleet of autonomous vehicles. The company has raised more than $250 million and has a valuation of more than $1 billion.
Back in January at CES, Chamberlain announced plans to release MyQ Home Bridge, a hardware hub to allow connected garage openers in the company's MyQ ecosystem to work with HomeKit. The MyQ Home Bridge was initially scheduled to launch in April, but as is common with these types of products needing to gain HomeKit certification, it was pushed back a bit and had a brief quiet launch earlier this month with an official launch coming just yesterday.
The MyQ Home Bridge requires that your existing garage door opener already support MyQ wireless connectivity through one of three methods: built-in MyQ Wi-Fi support within the opener, a non-smart garage door opener linked to a MyQ Garage hub, or add-on Wi-Fi connectivity for a MyQ-enabled opener using a MyQ Internet Gateway.
Box contents of MyQ Home Bridge (left) and MyQ Garage (right)
I own a Chamberlain chain drive garage door opener from 2009, but it does not include any MyQ technology built in, so in order to add HomeKit support to my setup I needed to install two separate pieces of hardware: a MyQ Garage for basic Wi-Fi support and then the new MyQ Home Bridge to add HomeKit compatibility.
Alongside the original MyQ Home Bridge announcement in January, Chamberlain also disclosed plans for a Smart Garage Hub that will consolidate both the MyQ Garage and MyQ Home Bridge functions into a single piece of hardware. The Smart Garage Hub was originally planned to debut in July, but Chamberlain tells me its launch has been delayed and the company is not yet sharing any new target dates for it.
MyQ Garage
Working with my current dumb garage door opener, the first step was to install the MyQ Garage to get my opener online. It was a simple, straightforward process that only took about 15 minutes. The system uses a couple of screws to attach a metal bracket to the ceiling in the general vicinity of the garage door opener, at least two feet away from the opener itself but still visible when standing in the garage door opening.
MyQ Garage bracket screwed to garage ceiling
The MyQ Garage slides onto the metal bracket and a power adapter plugs into an outlet, with excess cord able to be wrapped around the metal bracket.
MyQ Garage hub mounted on ceiling
A separate door sensor is affixed to the top panel of the garage door itself, with either velcro strips or screws. The simple sensor wirelessly informs the MyQ Garage hub whether the door is up or down, based on the sensor's orientation. It runs on a replaceable CR2450 button battery.
Door sensor
The rest of the setup happens within the Chamberlain MyQ app, which requires you to create a MyQ account and instructs you to connect to the MyQ Garage via Bluetooth to enable sharing of your device's Wi-Fi settings during setup. Once the MyQ Garage is online, the app walks you through the steps of pairing the MyQ garage with your opener through the opener's program button, tests the door sensor's communication with the main hub, and lets you name your opener in the MyQ system.
The app isn't particularly pretty and it hasn't even been fully optimized for recent larger-screened iPhones, but it gets the job done. It does support Touch ID, so it's easy to authenticate your MyQ account credentials whenever you open the app. The app lets you easily see your garage door opener(s) and their current status, as well as how long they've been open or closed for. Tapping on the door in the app will raise or lower it.
On the safety side, it's important to note that garage doors are inherently dangerous, as children who are not paying attention have occasionally been injured or killed by closing doors. As a result, modern garage door openers are equipped with sensors that detect if there is anything underneath the garage door at ground level as the door is descending, automatically reversing the door if an obstruction is detected. Garage door opener instruction manuals also encourage users to visually supervise the door as it opens or closes to ensure safe operation.
Because connected garage door openers can be operated remotely via app and thus without visual confirmation of safe operation, the MyQ Garage includes warning signals just prior to the door closing. Tapping the garage door in the app to lower it results in several seconds of fairly loud, high-pitched beeping, accompanied by flashing, bright white light from the MyQ Garage hub prior to the door starting to come down.
The audio and visual warnings alert anyone in the vicinity that the door will be descending, and the beeping continues for the entire time the door is closing. It's an important safety feature, but it also means you may want to avoid using the app to close the door at certain times if the opener is, for example, located directly below a bedroom where someone may be sleeping.
Alerts and Schedules
The Chamberlain MyQ app allows you to set up alerts and schedules for your garage door, making sure you're kept up to date on the status of your door and letting you automatically ensure the door is closed every night, for example.
With alerts, you can choose to receive them via push notifications, email, or both, and you can be alerted whenever your garage door is open or closed. Options allow you to specify only certain days and times during which you want to be alerted, as well as whether you want to be notified as soon as the event happens or after a certain time threshold is reached.
For example, you can set up an alert to be notified only if the garage door has been open for more than an hour. With multiple alerts, you can account for your daily schedule, such as setting up immediate alerts during the workday when no one is expected to be home, but only notifying after an hour or so at other days and times when people are more likely to be around the house.
Schedules, as the name suggests, allow you to set up a fixed time of day (every day or only specific days of the week) to close the door, for example. For garage doors, only closing the door is supported, so you can't set the garage door to open on a specific schedule within the MyQ app.
If you have other devices such as remote lights integrated with your MyQ system, you can also schedule them to turn on or off. Even without HomeKit, schedules are a great way to automatically make sure your garage door is closed in the evenings before heading to bed, and you can receive confirmation via email or push notification.
Chamberlain's MyQ system also supports integration with Nest (including the ability to adjust Nest thermostats and view Nest Cam video), as well as smart home integrations through XFINITY Home, Wink, and IFTTT.
MyQ Home Bridge
If you're lucky, you already have a garage door opener with MyQ support built-in and you can start the process of getting it integrated with HomeKit here. Similarly, if you already had a MyQ Internet Gateway, you'll be able to replace that with the MyQ Home Bridge. And if you're like me, you just went through the process of installing a MyQ Garage and now you're ready to install your second hardware box.
Installation of the MyQ Home Bridge is very similar to the MyQ Garage, using the same style of mounting bracket and then sliding the bridge onto the bracket, plugging it in, and wrapping excess cord around the bracket.
The Chamberlain MyQ app then walks you through setting up the bridge with the MyQ and HomeKit systems. It just takes a few steps, after which you'll need to reset your MyQ Garage or MyQ-enabled opener to transfer over to connecting through the bridge.
Once that's done, you're all set and you can control your garage door through Apple's Home app or using Siri, or you can continue to use the Chamberlain MyQ app to control the door.
HomeKit integration in iOS 11: Control toggle in Home app (left), Siri control (middle), and scene creation (right)
HomeKit support also means you can include your garage door within scenes in the Home app, such as for making sure your home is secured, lights turned out, and thermostat adjusted at bedtime.
Wrap-up
The MyQ Home Bridge is available from Chamberlain's website for an introductory price of $49.99, with the price rising to $69.99 at some point in the future. If you need to add on a MyQ Garage, that's an additional $129.99 from Chamberlain, although some retailers such as Amazon at $99 may have it for less. Regardless, the total is a good chunk of change to lay out if your garage door doesn't already support MyQ, enough to give me pause about whether it's worth the expense.
The MyQ app could also use some updating. It generally works just fine, but its lack of large-screen optimization leading to an oversized status bar, keyboard, and date/time pickers is glaring, and there's really no excuse for not having fully updated the app for the larger screens seen on the vast majority of iPhones bought in the past three years.
I must admit, however, that the garage door is a nice addition to my HomeKit setup, and if my opener was already MyQ-enabled and I only had to spend the $50 for the MyQ Home Bridge, it would be a no-brainer for me. With HomeKit integration and other compatible devices around the house, you can easily set up scenes and triggers involving your garage door opener to maximize your security and convenience. It's extremely handy to be able to do things like make sure the garage door is closed as part of a "Good Night" scene that also turns off lights and adjusts the thermostat, or turn on other lights in the house when you open the garage door at night.
If you're going all-in on HomeKit integration and already have a MyQ-enabled garage door, the new MyQ Home Bridge is a worthy purchase. But if you have an older opener that would require installing both a MyQ Garage and a MyQ Home Bridge, I'd probably hold off a bit longer until the announced Smart Home Bridge integrating both functions into a single box becomes available. That should simplify installation and setup and hopefully come in at a cheaper total price than having to purchase two separate hardware boxes.
Note: Chamberlain provided the MyQ Home Bridge and MyQ Garage 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.
Samsung today held an event at the IFA trade show in Berlin, where the company introduced two new smart watches and a second-generation version of its Gear IconX wireless earbuds. The two new watches come just weeks ahead of the prospective launch date of Apple's third-generation Apple Watch, which is expected to feature LTE as its main selling point.
The new Samsung Gear Sport is positioned as a fitness-focused smart watch with a round 1.2-inch 360 x 360 AMOLED display and a 20mm strap, making it one of Samsung's slimmest smart watches. It features an improved interface, "military-level durability," and comes in two colors - blue and black.
Inside, there's a 1.0GHz dual-core processor, 4GB storage space, 768MB RAM, a 300mAh battery, and the traditional sensors, including a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, and more. It runs the Tizen operating system and is compatible with Android and iOS devices. Pricing for the Gear Sport has yet to be announced, and Samsung says it'll be available for purchase during the holiday season.
Samsung's Gear Fit2 Pro, available in red and black, is described by the company as an advanced GPS fitness band rather than a true smart watch. It includes GPS tracking functionality and a curved 1.5-inch 216 x 432 AMOLED touchscreen display. It also features a Dual Core 1.0GHz processor, 4GB storage, 512MB RAM, a 200mAh battery, and it comes in two sizes to fit different wrists.
The Gear Fit2 Pro, priced at $199.99, will be available for preorder starting on August 31 at 9:00 a.m from retailers like Amazon. Shipments will start arriving on September 15.
Both the Gear Sport and the Gear Fit2 Pro feature heart rate monitoring that Samsung says offers improved accuracy, water resistance and swim tracking in collaboration with Speedo, auto activity detection, and personalized wellness plans with fitness goals to reach.
Samsung's final new wearable is a second-generation version of its Gear IconX wire-free earbuds, which are Samsung's equivalent to Apple's AirPods. Samsung says the new IconX earbuds are lighter weight and more ergonomic, making them more secure and comfortable in the ear. They come in Black, Gray, and Pink, and support features like Bixby with gestures to activate the personal assistant.
The new Gear IconX features improved battery life (up to five hours of music streaming or seven hours of standalone playback), 4GB internal storage per earbud, and a charging case. The Gear IconX is set to be released this fall, but pricing has yet to be announced.
Apple's newest 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models offer new features like the Touch Bar and an expanded Trackpad, but they also lack features many deemed necessary, most notably any port other than USB Type-C. That means adapters, adapters, and more adapters.
DockCase is hoping to help by introducing a case for the MacBook Pro that has a USB-C dock built in, eliminating the need for most adapters.
As detailed in our video above, the case is made from a leather-like material that held up well in everyday use during our testing. The inside of the case is lined with micro fiber, and a magnetic flap helps keep your MacBook inside. The bottom of the case is what makes the DockCase different, with a full USB-C dock with Ethernet, HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, and SD card ports built right in. The dock connects to your MacBook Pro with an included USB-C to USB-C cable that tucks inside the case when not in use.
This case is currently a fully funded Kickstarter project so changes may come before the final release, but even with this pre-production model, everything works as it should. There are no connection issues and the data read speed is fast with support for USB 3.1 transfer speeds.
As for issues, it would have been great to see the included USB-C cable built into the case instead of free floating. Also, the case is rather large, particularly the 15" model. While it protects your 15" MacBook Pro, the case won't fit into many bags and will have to be carried.
DockCase will retail for $129 for the 13" MacBook Pro and $139 for the 15" MacBook Pro, and there's also a limited edition version for the MacBook for $119. However, if you back the Kickstarter campaign, you can snag the case for $50 cheaper. DockCase says the first orders will begin shipping out in November, but as with all Kickstarter projects, there could be delays, so use caution when backing a product from a first time manufacturer.
Earlier today, well-connected Apple reporter Mark Gurman said the so-called "iPhone 8" will have a thin software-based bar along the bottom of the home screen, controlled by gestures, in lieu of a physical home button.
Gurman also said the Dock, which houses up to four commonly used apps, will be redesigned with a new interface similar to the one on the iPad version of iOS 11. Above it, there will still be six rows of apps, with up to 24 apps per page.
The status bar is said to be split into left and right sides, which some Apple employees supposedly call "ears" internally. By default, the left side shows the time, while the right side displays Wi-Fi, signal bars, and battery life.
With those details in mind, graphic designer Olivier Charavel created a mockup of what the Home screen could look like on the iPhone 8.
Charavel also shared a mockup of Apple's Health app as an example of what apps could look like on the iPhone 8 accordingly.
Gurman said users can drag the gesture bar up to the middle of the screen to unlock the device. When inside an app, a similar gesture starts multitasking, and users can continue to flick upwards to close the app and go back to the home screen.
Guilherme Rambo shared a video that demonstrates how it could look once the Dock has been summoned, based on Apple's iOS simulator for developers.
Apple appears to have informed some customers that its repair center in Houston, Texas is unsurprisingly closed due to Hurricane Harvey, which has caused catastrophic flooding and damage in the area since making landfall five days ago.
In a discussion on Reddit, one user said his Mac has been sitting at a FedEx shipping facility since Friday. FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service have temporarily halted service in many areas of coastal Texas and western Louisiana.
Another user from Austin, Texas said he visited an Apple retail store and learned that Apple has supposedly been calling customers with repairs routed through Houston to inform them about the possible delays.
Apple appears to be diverting at least some new repairs to its other repair facilities elsewhere in the United States.
Apple's retail stores in the Houston area are also unsurprisingly closed, including its Highland Village, Houston Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook, The Woodlands, and First Colony Mall locations.
In related news, accessory maker Twelve South said it will be donating 12 percent of all sales from Wednesday, August 30 through Monday, September 4 to the American Red Cross, in support of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
Harvey made another landfall in western Louisiana on early Wednesday as a tropical storm. Heavy rains continue to be expected along the Texas-Louisiana coast as the storm makes its way farther inland and eventually dissipates.
Bidding for Toshiba's much-sought-after memory chip unit was supposed to end in June 2017, after first kicking off in March, but the manufacturer is still fielding bids from multiple interested parties, most recently including a $17.4 billion offer from Western Digital. Likely due to Western Digital's legal action against Toshiba's decision to sell the NAND chip unit, talks surrounding that offer have reportedly "stalled" and now a new consortium of companies -- including Apple -- has entered a "last-ditch" effort to win the bidding.
Led by Boston-based global investment firm Bain Capital, the consortium also includes Apple and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix (via Reuters). This group plans to offer Toshiba $18.2 billion for its memory chip unit, with a goal of reaching a final decision by Thursday, August 31 now "unlikely." This is said to be due to bickering over exactly how much Western Digital might own of the memory chip unit after it's sold, no matter who wins the bidding, because of the Western Digital's business ties with Toshiba.
A consortium led by Bain Capital has made a revised last-ditch offer for Toshiba Corp’s chip unit worth about $18 billion, bringing in Apple Inc to help bolster its bid, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The revised offer is worth some 2 trillion yen ($18.2 billion). Bain and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc will be responsible for 1.1 trillion yen, while Apple will provide up to 400 billion yen and Japanese banks will give around 600 billion yen in support, one of the sources said.
Many companies have entered bidding proposals for Toshiba's memory chip unit this year, including TSMC, Foxconn, Amazon, Google, Broadcom, and multiple private equity firms. Apple has already been associated with bidding interest as well, reportedly willing to spend several billion dollars to obtain a "substantial stake" -- potentially more than 20 percent -- of the chip unit. If Bain Capital's bid is the winner, Apple's stake would likely remain around that percentage.
Toshiba confirmed plans to sell its NAND flash memory unit in January 2017, as a way to raise funds that the company hopes will cover significant losses associated with its U.S. nuclear subsidiary Westinghouse. If part of the winning bid, Apple could obtain a stake in a unit that already provides flash storage to the Cupertino company, including 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB flash storage for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Update 9/7: Yet another group of interested companies has formed to press forward in trying to win Toshiba's memory chip unit as the end of bidding grows nearer: Foxconn is leading the consortium, with Apple, SoftBank, and Sharp showing their support.
Amazon and Microsoft today jointlyannounced that Alexa and Cortana will soon be able to communicate with each other.
Microsoft said the collaboration will allow access to Alexa via Cortana on Windows 10 PCs later this year, and via the Cortana app for iOS and Android at an unspecified point in the future. Similarly, users will be able to access Cortana on Alexa-enabled devices like the Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show.
iPhone users should eventually be able to open the Cortana app and say "hey Cortana, open Alexa," to access Amazon's virtual assistant. Alexa can be used to shop and manage orders on Amazon, ask a variety of questions, stream music and audiobooks, check the news and weather, and many other tasks.
However, iPhone users won't be able to say "hey Cortana, open Alexa" from the Home screen, or when the device is locked. Apple only allows third-party virtual assistants to function within their apps, so accessing Alexa via Cortana will be a lot more cumbersome than simply using Siri.
For a complete virtual assistant experience, iPhone users could also say "hey Siri, open the Cortana app" and then say "hey Cortana, open Alexa."
Alexa can already be used in the Amazon app on iOS [Direct Link], while Cortana has been available on the App Store [Direct Link] since December 2015.
In early 2016, AT&T began its first test of a fixed wireless 5G cellular network within Austin, Texas and expanded that test to new local businesses this past June, including a car wash, an apartment unit, and a church. Today, the carrier announced that its test of next-generation 5G cellular connectivity will be expanding to new businesses and residential customers in three new U.S. cities by the end of 2017: Waco, Texas; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana.
AT&T noted back in 2016 that the 5G trials introduced download speeds in gigabits per second, improving upon the normal megabits per second that customers on current wireless networks see, allowing 5G customers to "download a TV show in less than 3 seconds." In today's press release, AT&T said that it has seen speeds up to 1 gigabit per second in Austin, and latency rates "well under 10 milliseconds." In 2016, the carrier predicted 5G latency at somewhere between 1 to 5 milliseconds. In the Austin apartment unit, AT&T set up a fixed wireless 5G home with various apps running simultaneously on the same connection, with usage centering on streaming DIRECTV NOW, 360-degree video, and international video calls without lag. While the test remained at fixed locations in Austin for over a year, AT&T said that its findings demonstrated "how people can live, work, and play in a connected home of the future."
AT&T said that its findings in Austin will help during the expansion to the three new cities, with new insights gained into millimeter wave performance and propagation, and how obstructive objects (foliage, buildings, etc), the weather, and device placement can impact the 5G signal in the real world. As with other carriers, AT&T's 5G test data is being contributed to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a group of telecommunications organizations that oversee the development and maintenance of major communication networks.
“In Austin, we see all types of weather and substantial foliage,” said Marachel Knight, senior vice president, Wireless Network Architecture and Design, AT&T. “Taking our fixed wireless 5G trials out of the lab and into the real world helps us learn important factors about mmWave and 5G. And in doing so, we’re learning how to better design our network for the future.”
As it expands, the carrier said it will apply the knowledge it gained from the Austin tests, while also increasing the number of participants and expanding the physical footprint of the 5G network trials in each new city, hinting at much larger tests coming to Waco, Kalamazoo, and South Bend. In these three cities, trial participants are said to potentially include universities, hospitals, churches, restaurants, and other small businesses, bringing the ability to stream live TV and experience faster broadband services over the 5G connection.
AT&T will continue to test both fixed and mobile wireless solutions based in the millimeter wave spectrum in these field trials, and in closed "testbed" settings. The goal for the new expansion is to "help speed up" the deployment of new 5G network standards, with AT&T hoping that this deployment will happen as soon as late 2018. AT&T is working with Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia, and Intel during these trials, which also includes a test location in Indianapolis as of July, 2017.
Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon have also announced interest in 5G networks, with Sprint saying its own wide-scale 5G network will launch by 2019, and T-Mobile aiming for nationwide 5G coverage by 2020. Of course, all of this progress hinges on the 3GPP first completing the 5G Release 15 standard. According to AT&T, once Release 15 is out then 5G-supported "commercial equipment" will be available within six months.
Apple's upcoming "iPhone 8" could rely entirely on gesture controls for carrying out tasks like navigating to the home screen and opening the new multitasking App Switcher in iOS 11, a new report on Wednesday claimed.
Apple has tested the complete removal of the home button – including even a virtual one – in favor of touch-based gestures, according to images of the new OLED iPhone viewed by Bloomberg and seen by people familiar with the company's plans. Those gestures are said to begin by dragging up a "thin bar" from the bottom of the screen to open the device to the home screen, where an app dock resides.
Across the bottom of the screen there's a thin, software bar in lieu of the home button. A user can drag it up to the middle of the screen to open the phone. When inside an app, a similar gesture starts multitasking. From here, users can continue to flick upwards to close the app and go back to the home screen. An animation in testing sucks the app back into its icon. The multitasking interface has been redesigned to appear like a series of standalone cards that can be swiped through, versus the stack of cards on current iPhones, the images show.
The iPhone dock will appear on the home screen in a similar way to the iPad dock as seen in the iOS 11 beta, but with six rows of up to 24 icons per screen, according to the report.
In addition to the software-based changes, Bloomberg said that the new OLED screen on Apple's "premium" handset is rounded on the corners, whereas current iPhone screens have square corners. The power button on the right side of the phone is also reportedly longer so that it's easier to press while holding the device in one hand, according to images.
Elsewhere, in perhaps a more contentious move, Apple has apparently opted not to hide the notch area at the top of the OLED screen, so a definite cutout area will be visible when using apps with non-black backgrounds.
The cutout is noticeable during app usage in the middle of the very top of the screen, where the status bar (the area that shows cellular reception, the time, and battery life) would normally be placed, according to the images. Instead, the status bar will be split into left and right sides, which some Apple employees call "ears" internally. In images of recent test devices, the left side shows the time while the area on the right side of the notch displays cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity and remaining battery life. Because of limited space, the status bar could change based on the task at hand, according to a person familiar with the testing.
Bloomberg also claims that when the display shows black, the superior color reproduction of the OLED screen ensures that it "blends in perfectly" with the notch and thin edges on the front. The screen is also reportedly flat like previous iPhones, in contrast to the fully curved displays found on Samsung's latest smartphones.
Lastly, the report adds that Apple plans to include a stainless steel band around the phone which the glass curves into. According to images seen by Bloomberg, the steel band "has small antenna cuts on the corners like past iPhones to improve reception".
While Apple often tests different designs of its products, the hardware details covered here will have been finalized long ago, although the software interface could still change before iOS 11 gets its official public release. Apple is expected to debut the redesigned OLED iPhone at a September 12 launch event alongside iterative updates to its current smartphone line-up, as well as a new upgraded Apple TV with 4K support and Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE capability.
Bicycle sharing service Citi Bike released version 6 of its iOS app on Tuesday to bring Apple Pay support to customers in New York City and New Jersey.
Now that Apple's mobile payment system is supported by the service, riders using the app are able to purchase a single pass or Citi Bike membership using their digital wallet instead of plastic.
The app includes a color-coded map of New York City and New Jersey which help users discover nearby bicycle stations including live information on bike and dock availability, with the option to reserve a bike supported in selected locations.
In addition to Citi Bike's core service features, the app also includes recent ride stats such as start and stop location, ride time, distance, and calories burned, while push notifications alert customers to their ride time and when they have securely docked their bike.
Citi Bikes are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Jersey City. The Citi Bike app is a free download for iOS from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Xiaomi has announced that it will unveil the second-generation version of its nearly bezel-free Mi MIX smartphone on September 11, just one day ahead of Apple's expected "iPhone 8" launch event in California.
The Chinese mobile maker confirmed rumors of its event in Beijing next month by sharing a launch poster over microblogging site Weibo featuring a profile of the "full screen" Mi MIX 2 and the accompanying phrase "Evolution, approach to final perfection".
Xiaomi turned heads in October of last year when it unexpectedly announced the 6.4-inch Mi MIX, which it called "the world's first edgeless display" smartphone, just as iPhone 8 rumors were beginning to gain steam. The device was pooh-poohed by some as "vaporware" when Xiaomi described it as a "concept phone", but the company began shipping the Mi MIX in December in limited quantities and received some respectable reviews.
Once again, French designer Philippe Starck is said to have worked with Xiaomi on the Mi MIX 2, which is expected to feature an even higher screen-to-body ratio than its predecessor, but will adopt a slightly smaller 6-inch display with an 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio.
Speculation suggests Xiaomi may choose a metal rather than ceramic chassis to make the handset easier to mass produce this time. Internally, the Mi MIX 2 is thought to include a Snapdragon 835 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 3,400mAh battery. Prices are expected to start at around $600, with a higher tier model featuring 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for around $750.
Other China-based smartphone vendors rumored to be launching all-screen handsets to rival Apple's so-called "iPhone 8" include Huawei and Gionee, with others expected to follow suit. Apple will reveal its first iPhone with edge-to-edge OLED display alongside upgraded versions of its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus next month.
Western Digital today announced the launch of its latest personal cloud storage solution, the My Cloud Home. My Cloud Home is designed to make it easy for customers to set up and use a personal cloud storage solution to meet all of their storage needs.
The company is aiming to make My Cloud Home the one stop storage destination for all of a person's devices, aggregating photos, videos, and files from smartphones, computers, USB devices, social media accounts, and more.
As a connected cloud solution, the My Cloud Home is available on any tablet, smartphone, or computer with an Internet connection using the My Cloud Home mobile app, and because it's a local storage product, there is no subscription fee.
Consumers seek a way to effortlessly consolidate their growing mounds of photos, videos and other files with a solution flexible enough to accommodate content from all of today's devices - from smart phones to computers and from drones to social sites," said Jim Welsh, senior vice president, Client Solutions, Western Digital. "Enabling consumers and professionals to master their digital lives from anywhere in the world is a priority for Western Digital."
My Cloud Home can be set up to automatically copy content from smartphones and computers to provide a hassle-free backup solution, and it connects to social networks and other cloud services like Dropbox. TV Shows, movies, and other content stored in My Cloud Home can be played in Plex through an integration with the Plex app.
Western Digital is offering the My Cloud Home in 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8TB configurations. There's also a My Cloud Home Duo with 4, 12, and 16TB of storage space, designed with RAID 1 functionality to duplicate content onto a second drive for extra security should one drive fail.
The My Cloud Home next to the My Cloud Home Duo
The My Cloud Home and My Cloud Home Duo are available today from Best Buy and other major retailers. Pricing starts at $159.99 for the 2TB solution. 3TB is available for $179.99, 4TB for $199.99, 6TB for $259.99, and 8TB for $319.99.
The My Cloud Home Duo is priced at $309.99 for 4TB, $399.99 for 8TB, $549.99 for 12TB, and $699.99 for 16TB.
Apple today updated its online store for refurbished products to add the new 21.5-inch iMac models that were initially released in June of 2017.
Today marks the first time the new 2017 iMacs in the 21.5-inch configuration have been available through the refurbished store since their launch at the Worldwide Developers Conference. The new iMacs feature Kaby Lake processors, upgraded displays, faster solid state storage, and discrete graphics.
Apple's refurbished store features only 4K models with Retina display at this time and does not have any refurbished non-Retina 21.5-inch iMac models available for purchase.
At the time of this post, there were eight different refurbished 4K 21.5-inch iMacs available in various configurations, with prices discounted by approximately 15 percent. An entry-level 4K model with 8GB RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and a Radeon Pro 555 is available for $1,099, for example, a $200 discount off of the regular $1,299 starting price.
Apple has a several different configurations available, from low-end to top-of-the-line. As with all refurbished products, stock will fluctuate regularly based on the machines Apple is getting in for repair. The addition of the new 2017 21.5-inch models follows the introduction of refurbished 2017 27-inch iMacs earlier this month.
All of Apple's refurbished products go through a rigorous refurbishment process before being offered for sale, which includes inspection, repairs, cleaning, and repackaging. Refurbished Macs come with a one-year warranty that can be extended with an AppleCare+ purchase. For more info on purchasing a refurbished product from Apple, make sure to check out our guide.
As two new episodes of "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" air tonight, Apple has shared trailers for next week's episodes, which will pair Michael Strahan with Jeff Gordon and Shaquille O'Neal with John Cena.
The first trailer features media personality and former football player Michael Strahan and Fox NASCAR announcer and former professional race car driver Jeff Gordon. The two dress up with props, race on bicycle rickshaws, and sing along to songs like Olivia Newton-John's "Physical."
The second trailer pairs former basketball player Shaquille O'Neal with wrestler John Cena. The two athletes sing songs like "Maneater" by Hall & Oates and "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J.
The episodes shown off in the trailer featuring the two athlete mashups will air on Tuesday, September 5.
Tonight's Tonight's "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" episodes are now available to watch. The first episode stars Miley Cyrus, her dad Billy Ray, her sister Noah, her mom Tish, her brother Braison, her sister Brandy, and her brother Trace. The second episode Queen stars Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith with appearances by Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish.
"Carpool Karaoke: The Series" debuted on August 8. Since then, Apple has been uploading two episodes per week. Carpool Karaoke is available solely to Apple Music subscribers.
Amazon today added a new Alexa feature that allows several Amazon Echo devices to be synchronized and controlled across multiple rooms in a home. Echo owners can now target music to a specific Echo device or play the same music on more than one Echo.
The feature works with a variety of music services, including Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRatio, and Pandora, with support for Spotify and SiriusXM coming soon. To use multi-room support, users will need to use the Alexa app to create groups with two or more Echo devices, giving the group a name like "downstairs." Once the group is enabled, commands like "Alexa, play John Mayer downstairs" will work.
"In just the last few months, we've added dozens of new features to Alexa that enhance your entertainment experience--control of Amazon Fire TV and your home entertainment systems via Echo; music lyrics, Amazon Video, and movie trailers on Echo Show; and activity-based music searches--and we're just getting started," said Toni Reid, Vice President, Amazon Alexa. "Today, we're making Alexa even smarter with an all-new feature that lets you play music synchronized on multiple Echo devices to provide room-filling music throughout your home."
Amazon's move to add support for multiple Echo devices comes as Apple prepares to launch both the HomePod and an AirPlay 2 protocol. Multiple HomePod devices can be used simultaneously, and with AirPlay 2, speakers that support the feature can be paired together for a whole-home music experience.
Multi-room music support is available for the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show in the United States, UK, and Germany starting today. Amazon says it plans to extend the ability allow users to control multi-room music on other connected speakers with just a voice command through a new Multi-Room Music SDK that device makers can build into their speakers. Amazon plans to work with brands like Sonos, Bose, Sound United, and Samsung, and some of these manufacturers are also working to support AirPlay 2 in future devices.
In other Echo-related news, the original Amazon Echo is out of stock on Amazon.com, fueling speculation that a new device launch is imminent. Rumors have suggested Amazon is working on a new version of the Echo that's designed to better compete with Apple's upcoming HomePod. The new Echo device is said to feature improved sound quality, better microphone technology, and a new design.
Multiple high-profile Instagram accounts belonging to celebrities may have been breached due to a bug related to an Instagram API, reports TechCrunch.
In the Austin apartment unit, AT&T set up a fixed wireless 5G home with various apps running simultaneously on the same connection, with usage centering on streaming DIRECTV NOW, 360-degree video, and international video calls without lag. While the test remained at fixed locations in Austin for over a year, AT&T said that its findings demonstrated "how people can live, work, and play in a connected home of the future."
