Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing watchOS 3.1, the first watchOS 3 update, and more than a month after releasing watchOS 3 to the public.
watchOS 3.1.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 3.1 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.
It is not yet known what new features might be included in the watchOS 3.1.1 update, but we'll update this post with any new discoveries. watchOS updates are often minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements.
watchOS 3 completely overhauls the interface on the Apple Watch, introducing a dedicated app dock, instant launch apps, new watch faces, and new complication options. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides users through deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and an SOS feature can automatically call emergency service.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 10 update to developers, one week after releasing the iOS 10.1 update and more than a month after launching the iOS 10 operating system. As a major 10.x update, iOS 10.2 will likely bring bug fixes, performance improvements, and perhaps a few new features to iOS 10.
Registered developers can download the new iOS 10.2 beta from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air with the proper configuration profile installed.
We don't yet know what features are included in iOS 10.2, but the prior update, iOS 10.1, introduced a new Portrait photography mode for the iPhone 7 Plus' dual-lens camera system. Should new features be discovered in today's update, we'll update this post.
Apple has called iOS 10 its "biggest release ever" for iOS users, with a revamped lock screen, a Siri SDK for developers, an overhauled Messages app, a dedicated "Home" app for HomeKit users, new facial and object recognition capabilities in Photos, and redesigned Maps and Apple Music apps.
What's new in iOS 10.2:
Emoji - Unicode 9 emoji are included in iOS 10.2. Some of the new emoji include clown face, drooling face, selfie, fox face, owl, shark, butterfly, avocado, pancakes, croissant, and more.
Wallpapers - There are new wallpapers in iOS 10.2, which use the same graphics that were shown off in iPhone 7 marketing materials.
Camera settings - There's a new option for saving your last known camera settings. This will let you preserve the last Camera Mode, Photo Filter, or Live Photo setting. "Preserve Settings" is available in the Settings App under "Photos & Camera."
Videos widget - There's a new widget available for the Videos app, accessible on the widgets panel by swiping to the right on the Home screen of an iPhone or iPad. The Videos widget displays movies and TV shows in the Videos app, and a tap will cause content to play automatically.
Emergency contacts - There's a new feature that will automatically notify your emergency contacts when you use the Emergency SOS feature on iPhone or Apple Watch. A popup notification shows up when you open the Health app after installing iOS 10.2.
Apple Music - There's a new option to sort playlists in Apple Music by type, title, and recently added.
Apple is continuing to expand the availability of transit directions in the Maps app, today adding transit support in several cities in Ohio, including Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton, Canton, Athens, and some areas of Cleveland.
Transit directions in these cities come following the introduction of transit information in Columbus, Ohio, which was added in September.
Public transit options in Ohio encompass bus and light rail routes available in each city, including the Cleveland RTA, Cincinnati Bell Connector, Akron Metro, Dayton RTA, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority, and more.
Apple first added transit directions to Maps in 2015, as part of iOS 9. At launch, transit information was only available in a small handful of cities around the world, but Apple has been working hard to expand the feature to additional locations.
Transit data is now available in more than 30 cities, along with dozens of places in China.
While the iPad Pro lineup has increased Apple's tablet revenue based on higher price points, helping offset a lengthy slide in units sold, the latest data from market research firm IDC claims the iPad Air and iPad mini lines accounted for more than two-thirds of Apple's tablet shipments in the fourth fiscal quarter.
Apple officially reported 9.26 million iPads sold in the quarter, representing late June to late September, but it does not break down its tablet sales by individual model. IDC did not share its methodology behind calculating iPad Pro sales specifically, but vaguely notes that it uses proprietary tools and research processes.
Despite selling some 600,000 fewer iPads compared to the year-ago quarter, Apple's tablet revenue remained flat at just over $4.2 billion in the quarter. The reason: iPad Pros cost more. The higher ASP is important for Apple as the worldwide tablet market continued its slump last quarter.
IDC estimates tablet shipments dropped to an estimated 43 million units in the quarter, marking a 14.7% year-over-year decline. Apple led all vendors with 21.5% market share, up slightly from 19.6% in the year-ago quarter, while Samsung trailed in second with an estimated 6.5 million shipments and 15.1% market share.
Amazon and Chinese competitors Lenovo and Huawei rounded off the top five with an estimated 3.1 million, 2.7 million, and 2.4 million tablet shipments respectively in the quarter. Amazon saw explosive 319.9% growth due to its Amazon Prime Day sale in early July that led to a huge surge in shipments of its Fire tablets.
During its recent earnings call, Apple financial chief Luca Maestri said the company is "highly successful" in the tablet market, with 82% market share of premium tablets priced above $200. Meanwhile, IDC said other vendors are "racing to the bottom" with low-cost, sub-$200 traditional and detachable 2-in-1 tablets.
"The race to the bottom is something we have already experienced with slates and it may prove detrimental to the market in the long run as detachables could easily be seen as disposable devices rather than potential PC replacements," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC.
Apple today released iOS 10.1.1, the third official update to the iOS 10 operating system, one week after releasing iOS 10.1 with Portrait Mode and just over six weeks after providing the new iOS 10 operating system to the public.
Today's update fixes bugs including an issue where Health data could not be viewed for some users. iOS 10.1.1 can be downloaded as a free over-the-air update on all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models compatible with iOS 10.
iOS 10 is a major update that includes features like a redesigned Lock screen experience, a revamped Messages app with a full App Store, a Siri SDK for developers, new looks and features for Maps and Apple Music, and tons more. Make sure to check out our iOS 10 roundup for details.
Update: Apple has subsequently stopped signing iOS 10.0.2 and iOS 10.0.3, meaning that users can no longer downgrade to those software versions.
Benchmarks for Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar are beginning to collect on Geekbench, providing a closer look at the notebook's performance improvements and energy efficiency.
The entry-level model, powered by a Skylake-based 2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, currently has an average multi-core score of 6,970, indicating the notebook is only up to 7% faster than the early 2015 base model 13-inch MacBook Pro. Last year's comparable model, equipped with a Broadwell-based 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, currently has an average multi-core score of 6,497.
The late 2016 model is also slightly faster than last year's mid-range 13-inch MacBook Pro, while slightly outperformed by the higher-end model.
The notebooks are each calibrated against a baseline score of 4,000, which is the score of Intel's high-end Core i7-6600U processor.
While the performance improvements are negligible, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro sans Touch Bar's 15-watt chip is more energy efficient than the 28-watt chip in last year's entry-level model. The lower power consumption gives the 2016 base model comparable battery life to last year's model despite having a smaller 54.5-watt-hour battery versus the 74.9-watt-hour battery in last year's comparable.
Given that the non-Touch Bar model's 6360U chip would typically be appropriate for the MacBook Air, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar should be a more accurate comparable to last year's base 13-inch model. However, it is also $500 more expensive. Benchmarks for that model should be available next month when Apple begins shipping the Touch Bar notebooks to customers.
One week ago, Apple released watchOS 3.1 to the public, bringing various bug fixes and performances improvements to the first version update of watchOS 3. Over the past few days a hidden advantage of 3.1 has been discovered, with users on the MacRumors forums and Reddit mentioning that they have vastly improved battery life on their Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 following the new update.
In a thread that started last Wednesday, forum member tromboneaholic posted a topic about the "great battery life" found on their Series 1 Apple Watch after updating to 3.1. Sixteen hours after charging the device, it still had 75 percent battery, even "with everything turned on like location services and background app refresh." Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watch owners note the same beefed up battery life in 3.1, with one forum member saying that they "can now comfortably skip charging every other night" if they wanted.
I read reports that beta users were getting great battery life under 3.1. I wasn't prepared for how big the improvement would be. I have a Series 1, and I had 75% battery left after 16 hours yesterday. After charging it over night, I have 97% battery after 6 hours. This is with everything turned on like location services and background app refresh. So far I haven't had any strange reboots like I had under 3.0. I would say this is an amazing update for the watch.
My field test with watchOS 3.1 on my AW S2: took it off the charger Friday at 5:00 am and it lasted until Sunday 7:00 pm. Great! I think I'll go for a charge every other night and see how that works. For once a great software update, Apple!
Some users have even managed to get a Series 2 Apple Watch on 3.1 to last all weekend. Most Apple Watch owners have known in the past that Apple's recommended 18 hour battery life could get them through at least one day without a charge, but now it appears watchOS 3.1 has improved that to a point where users can easily get to the two day mark, as long as there aren't many intensive tasks running on the wearable. Understandably, some apps -- like Apple's stock Workout app -- increase battery loss when running in the background, which offsets the statistic for users working out heavily throughout the day.
Some owners of the original Apple Watch, known online as "Series 0," appear to not have gotten the same battery boost, however. One forum member said their Series 0 "has actually gotten a little worse" on 3.1, with the end-of-day battery percentage down by 10 percent on average. Another user worried about their iPhone 7 potentially being the culprit behind major battery drainage issues, but 3.1 doesn't seem to have helped their case. That forum member mentioned their battery "drops like a stone" after each workout, so it's most likely a specific hardware issue and not a widespread bug.
My series 0 has actually gotten a little worse. I even unpaired/repaired. In WatchOS 2 I generally finished my day with roughly 25-35% left, with a 1-hour workout. Now i'm down to 10-15% with a 25-45 minute workout.
Sadly my 3.0 and 3.1 experience with original watch is very different. Have unpaired, repaired, reset, restarted but still battery drops life a stone after a workout has run. Have removed all but the one face, background refresh off, handoff off. Genius Bar went through diagnostics and reported all ok. Have a worry that it could be my iPhone 7 causing the problem as the few days with 3.0 on old iPhone 6 I didn't notice the drain.
Still, the battery improvements for the newer Apple Watches appear to be one of the more notable changes to watchOS for most users. As one Redditor shared yesterday, on a 42mm Series 2 Apple Watch they managed to keep a battery of around 82 percent after 11 hours of standby and 1 hour of usage. That percentage was with prominent haptics, max brightness, and background app refresh all turned on, as well. Since posting, many have shared similar experiences.
Check out the full watchOS 3.1 battery improvement thread over in the MacRumors forums to see more stories related to the update.
Multiple rumors have pointed towards Apple releasing at least one new iPhone with an OLED display next year, and now the best confirmation yet has surfaced.
The move was spoiled by Sharp President and CEO Tai Jeng-wu, who told students at Tatung University in Taiwan that Apple is switching from LCD to OLED panels, according to Japan's Nikkei Asian Review.
"The iPhone has been evolving and now it is switching from LTPS (low-temperature poly-silicon) to OLED panels," Tai told students at Tatung University, his alma mater, during a ceremony in which he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree.
"We don't know whether Apple's OLED iPhones will be a hit, but if Apple doesn't walk down this path and transform itself, there will be no innovation. It is a crisis but it is also an opportunity," Tai said.
Sharp said it is building a new OLED facility in Japan to manufacture the displays for a "key customer," but it has not ruled out U.S. manufacturing if required.
"We are now building a new [OLED] facility in Japan. We can make [OLED panels] in the U.S. too," he said. "If our key customer demands us to manufacture in the U.S., is it possible for us not to do so?"
Tai did not specify when new iPhones will switch to OLED displays, but the transition is widely expected to start next year.
Nikkei previously said Apple is planning to release at least three new iPhones next year, including a high-end model with a 5.5-inch-or-larger OLED display that is curved on both sides like Samsung's Galaxy S7 edge.
The report said the other two models would be traditional 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones with LCD displays as used currently.
When applied to the height of an existing 5.5-inch iPhone, a 5.8-inch display would leave an extra 7.25mm of display on each side. This would extend the display across the front and sides of the iPhone, perhaps allowing for a wraparound display with side-based gestures as featured on the Galaxy S7 edge.
In addition to Sharp, Korea's BusinessKorea today reported LG and Samsung are in a "do or die" fight to secure OLED display orders from Apple.
OLED displays can have sharper color contrast and brighter colors compared to LCD displays, while the technology allows for flexible, curved designs. OLED panels also typically have faster response times and better viewing angles compared to LCD technology, with the option for always-on mode.
CNET has published an extended interview with Jony Ive in which the Apple design chief discusses some of the design decisions that went into developing the Touch Bar in the company's new MacBook Pro lineup.
The contextual OLED Touch Bar replacing the function keys on the new Macs was developed for at least two years, during which time Ive's team explored the idea of larger, haptic-rich trackpads. According to Ive, "a number of designs" were explored that "conceptually make sense", but were later rejected.
When we lived on them for a while, sort of pragmatically and day to day, [they] are sometimes less compelling. This is something [we] lived on for quite a while before we did any of the prototypes. You really notice or become aware [of] something’s value when you switch back to a more traditional keyboard.
Ive explained that his team's point of departure was to see if there was a way of designing a new input that could be contextually specific and adaptable, yet also something that was mechanical and fixed. This required the development of a "difficult prototype" with a mature software environment, in order to work out if the idea had any real-world traction.
One of the things that remains quite a big challenge for us is that you have to prototype to a sufficiently sophisticated level to really figure out whether you’re considering the idea, or whether what you’re really doing is evaluating how effective a prototype is.
Ive said that after testing the designs, his team were unanimously "very compelled" by the Touch Bar as a viable input device, but that the real challenge was to integrate it into a specific product without compromising its existing design.
You sort of change your hat, because you have to figure out how do you then productize it, and develop the idea, and resolve and refine to make it applicable to a specific product. To do that in the context of the MacBook Pro — while at the same time you’re trying to make it thinner, lighter and more powerful — the last thing you want to do is burden it with an input direction that now has a whole bunch of challenges specific to something like touch.
Asked if the Mac community's expectations and emotional ties to their devices affects his design considerations, Ive emphasized that his team "don't limit ourselves in how we will push – if it's to a better place", although "what we won't do is just do something different that's no better".
Apple has published detailed design guidelines on how developers should use the Touch Bar, steering them away from use cases that would suggest it functions as a second display. When pushed, Ive refused to elaborate on why Apple "doesn't think a touchscreen is a particularly useful or appropriate application of multitouch", because it would lead him to have to talk about things his team are currently working on.
However, reiterating comments made in an earlier interview with Apple executives Phil Schiller and Craig Federighi, Ive said that incorporating the Touch Bar "is the beginning of a very interesting direction" for the Mac. Rumors have circulated recently that Apple is considering introducing a customizable e-ink keyboard in future Macs, possibly next year, although the veracity of these claims remains unclear.
You can read CNET's full interview with Jony Ive here.
In the newest collection of drone videos capturing the ongoing construction of Apple's upcoming spaceship campus in Cupertino, California, noticeable progress has been made in the month since the last update, mainly in the surge of landscaping additions to the grounds. Apple has been working on the construction at its second campus for over two years, and was just completing the nearby parking structures and making headway into the main building one year ago.
Today, the end of the project is finally in sight, as important structural parts of the constructrion finish up and more focus is placed on additive elements, including solar panels. In Matthew Roberts' drone video, solar panel installation is estimated to be 50 percent complete, and "major landscape changes" have been seen on the site, with large trees sprouting up everywhere around the campus.
On the inside of the ring-shaped building, the garden, pond, and outdoor dining areas are being prepped for their final stages of construction. In the last few updates, the large water feature at the center of Apple Campus 2 received a lot of focus from workers, gaining an outline, large boulders, and its foundation over the last few months. This central area is also expected to include a few jogging and cycling trails, which are just a few amenities for employees coming to the campus, also including basketball and tennis courts.
In a second video, shared by Duncan Sinfield, it's mentioned that the Cupertino City Council have approved of the partial demolition of the nextdoor apartment complex, called The Hamptons. Apple wanted to buy all 342 units at The Hamptons to own the entire property, but negotiations ultimately failed to go through. Now, it's expected for the company to renovate the portion it does own and create "nearly 3x as many units" in the area.
Construction on Apple Campus 2 is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, with employees moving in towards the beginning of 2017. The campus will continue to be touched up as Apple employees get settled in, however, as landscaping projects are expected to be continued through at least the middle of next year.
Apple has done away with the traditional startup chime on its new MacBook Pro lineup because the machines automatically power on when the lid is opened.
Pingie.com was first to note the removal of the sound from Apple's new 13-inch and 15-inch laptops – both the models featuring Apple's new Touch Bar (as well as the 13-inch version without a Bar) automatically boot when opened or when connected to a power source if the battery is dead, so the sound has apparently been deemed surplus to requirements.
The iconic chiming startup sound was originally made to indicate that diagnostic tests have found no hardware or software issues. A similar sound has accompanied almost every Mac boot sequence since 1991 and the most recent F-sharp chord incarnation was first used in the iMac G3.
Originally, a C major chord was recorded by Apple engineer Jim Reekes using a Korg keyboard, and what most people hear these days is a pitch-shifted version of the sound made by the Macintosh Quadra family of professional computers, first released in 1991.
According to the book The Sonic Boom: How Sound Transforms the Way We Think, Feel, and Buy, Reekes' "earconic" sound came out of a desire to replace the older tritone boot sound heard on earlier Macs. Reekes wanted to use a more meditative sound to indicate the Mac had passed its initial Power On Self Test (POST) checks, a sound he later called a "palate cleanser for the ears".
According to Reekes, Apple executives didn't particularly like the sound, but it managed to make the final code that was shipped in all Quadra 700 Macs. The chime was tweaked a few times in subsequent Macs, but allegedly, Steve Jobs himself prevented any further alteration of the sound when he came back to Apple in 1996.
The Mac startup sound can also be heard in 2008 Disney-Pixar movie WALL*E. When the titular robot character has reached 100 percent power after positioning his solar array, the booting chime goes off.
Apple has updated its support documents to reflect the change. As noted previously, Apple has also removed the backlit Apple logo on new MacBook Pro models.
Apple has published a detailed support document highlighting the capabilities of the Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports on the new MacBook Pro, unveiling some previously unknown details and outlining the different adapters that are needed to connect various accessories.
According to the document, while all of the ports on the 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar offer full Thunderbolt 3 performance, only two of the four ports on the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar support Thunderbolt 3 at full performance.
The two ports on the right side of the machine have Thunderbolt 3 functionality but with reduced PCI Express bandwidth. For that reason, Apple recommends plugging higher-performance devices into the left-hand ports on that machine.
Late-2016 MacBook Pro models vary slightly in the data speeds they provide to each Thunderbolt 3 port.
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on all four ports.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) supports Thunderbolt 3 at full performance using the two left-hand ports. The two right-hand ports deliver Thunderbolt 3 functionality, but have reduced PCI Express bandwidth.
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on both ports.
As for USB, all of the USB-C ports on all MacBook Pro models offer USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) transfer speeds when connected to a USB accessory.
Other interesting tidbits in the document include the fact that six devices can be daisy-chained to each Thunderbolt 3 port on the MacBook Pro, and only one power supply can be used to charge the machine. You can attach multiple power supplies, but it's only going to draw power from the one that provides the most power.
Power supplies that exceed 100W have the potential to damage the Macbook Pro, and accessories like the USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter or the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter can only provide up to 60W of power, which will offer slow or delayed charging in the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Apple recommends charging the 15-inch model with the power supply it ships with.
Apple also outlines powering attached devices with Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar can power two devices that use up to 15 watts and two additional devices that use up to 7.5 watts. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with no Touch Bar and two Thunderbolt 3 ports can power one device that uses up to 15 watts and one device that uses up to 7.5 watts.
If you're planning to purchase a new MacBook Pro and are confused about which adapters you're going to need so it will work with your existing equipment and accessories, Apple's support document is a good reference to check out.
Apple today announced that it is now letting developers create promo codes for in-app purchases, giving developers a way to allow early testers, reviewers, and press to unlock content that would normally only be available through a purchase.
Developers have long been able to offer promo codes to download a paid app, but until today, there was no simple way to offer access to in-app purchases.
Developers are able to give away up to 100 promo codes for each in-app purchase item, up to a maximum of 1,000 codes per app every six months.
The new entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar has only been available for a day and just made its way into Apple retail stores, but OWC has already managed to take apart one of the machines to get a glimpse inside.
The teardown is still underway, but OWC can confirm that the new MacBook Pro has a removable SSD, meaning it is replaceable and can potentially be upgraded after purchase. Previous MacBook Pro models have also featured a removable SSD, but the MacBook SSD is soldered to the logic board, so it was unclear if the new MacBook Pro would continue to offer a removable SSD due to its thinner body.
OWC has noted a number of other observations about the new MacBook Pro:
- Solid State Drive module is removable - Bottom was more difficult to remove than previous generations, but it was not glued - Speaker module needs to be removed to pull SSD back - SSD had very strong tape covering the interface port - Laptop automatically turns on when you open it regardless of pressing power button
OWC's discoveries only apply to the 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar. It's likely models with a Touch Bar have a similar build, but the internal hardware is different because it incorporates a new component. We'll need to wait a few more weeks to see what's inside the higher-end 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro machines, as they won't be available until mid-November.
Softorino today announced the launch of its next-generation WALTR app, introducing WALTR 2 for Mac. WALTR 2 builds on the features introduced with the original WALTR app, making it easier than ever to transfer any file from a Mac to an iOS device.
With WALTR 2, you can transfer all kinds of media file types to an iPhone or iPad, even if they're not in a format that's normally compatible with iOS. It supports music, ringtones, videos, PDFs, ePubs, and more, converting files when necessary. If you transfer an MKV or AVI, for example, WALTR 2 will convert it to a usable format and put it directly in the built-in iOS video app.
The same goes for music -- upload any music file and it'll be transferred to the Music app with no loss of quality. Uploaded music is even properly recognized in Apple Music.
Using WALTR 2 is simple. You open the WALTR 2 app, plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac (or use the new Wi-Fi feature) and then simply drag and drop the file you want to transfer to an iOS device into WALTR 2. WALTR 2 works with all iPods, iPads, and iPhones, starting with the iPod Classic from 2001.
With Automatic Content Recognition for music, movies, and TV shows, WALTR 2 can fill in metadata information, and a new Wi-Fi detection feature allows WALTR 2 to automatically find nearby iOS devices so transferring content can be done without a USB cable if desired. File transfers go much quicker with a cable though, with Softorino promising average transfer speeds of 2GB per minute.
New to WALTR 2 is support for ePUBs, PDFs, and audiobooks, which are automatically uploaded to the iBooks app. WALTR 2 can also be used to upload full-length ringtones to the iPhone and it supports subtitle files. Supported audio formats include MP3, FLAC, APE, ALAC, AAC, AIFF, WAV, WMA, OGG, OGA, WV, TTA, and DFF, while supported video formats include MKV, AVI, MP4, MOV, MPEG, m2ts, 3GP, WMV, H264, and H265.
WALTR 2 is available for download from the Softorino website for $39.95. Existing WALTR users can upgrade for $19.95. Downloading the app offers users with a 24-hour free trial to try it out.
We're also giving away 10 copies of WALTR 2 to MacRumors readers. 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 the winners and send the 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.
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The contest will run from today (October 28) at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time through 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time on November 4. The winners will be chosen randomly on November 4 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond before new winners are chosen.
The Naked Case, a new Kickstarter project, aims to protect the new scratch-prone Jet Black iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with car-grade materials.
Naked Case creator JP Richards plans to use XPEL Ultimate Paint Protection films, known in the car world as offering excellent protection from rock chips and other road abrasions, to create skins designed for Apple's newest devices. The Naked Case measures in at 0.2mm thick, and it is guaranteed to be resistant to yellowing for up to 10 years.
XPEL makes highly scratch-resistant paint protection films that are able to heal themselves from scratches. Because they're designed for use on cars, the films are rugged and high quality, offering protection without causing damage to the finish or marring the look of the vehicle.
Those same qualities transfer well to skins for the iPhone, and the Naked Case delivers car-grade scratch protection that will keep the Jet Black iPhone 7 looking pristine. According to the Naked Case Kickstarter, while the product was designed for the Jet Black iPhone 7, since it's clear, it can be used with any iPhone 7.
Naked Case has even developed a special version for the Black iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which have a matte finish. The standard shiny finish of the XPEL film ruined the look, so for those devices, customers can order a Naked Case made from "Stealth" XPEL film designed for high-end cars with black matte finishes.
It should be noted that the Naked Case isn't going to be easy to install. On cars, XPEL films are generally installed by professionals. On the iPhone, the installation process requires water, soap, a hair dryer, and a whole lot of patience.
Naked Cases already has the XPEL film on hand, which will be custom cut to size for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus at the conclusion of the Kickstarter project. Estimated delivery is listed as October, so backers should receive their skins quite soon.
The Naked Case for the iPhone 7 can be ordered for $30 CAD ($23 USD), while the iPhone 7 Plus version is available for $35 CAD ($26 USD).
Apple's "Hello Again" event has come and gone, leaving us with an abundance of Apple-related news and updates heading into the weekend. Below, we have shared some of the more interesting tidbits that have surfaced over the past 24 hours.
Image Credit: Edgar Alvarez, Engadget
Backlit Apple Logo Removed: As it did with the 12-inch MacBook, Apple has removed the backlit Apple logo on new MacBook Pro models. In its place is a glossy Apple logo in black on the Space Gray model and in white on the Silver model. Apple's older MacBook Pros and 13-inch MacBook Air are now its only notebooks with backlit Apple logos that remain available for purchase. Apple's first notebook with a lit-up Apple logo was the third-generation PowerBook G3 released in 1999.
No Power Extension Cable: In line with the 12-inch MacBook, new MacBook Pro models do not come with Apple's Power Adapter Extension Cable in the box. Previous MacBook Pro models included the extension cable in the box for several years. The extension cable, which provides extra length between the power brick and wall outlet, can be purchased as a standalone product for $19.
Touch Bar Has Automatic Brightness: Jason Snell at Apple blog Six Colors spent time with the new MacBook Pro yesterday and discovered the Touch Bar's brightness is not manually adjustable. Instead, the mini Retina display's brightness varies based on lighting conditions, using the MacBook Pro's built-in ambient light sensor. Apple calls this feature Automatic Brightness on iOS devices. "I wasn't able to try and trick it or confuse it, but the entire time I was using it—in a dark room and in a much more brightly lit one—it seemed to match the keyboard well," he explained.
Price Changes: Apple's price changes extend beyond the United Kingdom. The 12-inch MacBook, for example, has increased $100 in price in Canada, where the 256GB model now sells for $1,649 and the 512GB model retails for $1,999. Meanwhile, the reverse has happened in Norway, where 12-inch MacBook prices have dropped by 1000 kroner for each model. Likewise, in New Zealand, 12-inch MacBook prices are now $200 to $250 lower depending on the model. These adjustments are common as Apple keeps its pricing in foreign currencies in line with the U.S. dollar.
1Password Shares Touch Bar Concepts: AgileBits was so excited about Apple's MacBook Pro event yesterday that it has created some mockups of how 1Password could work with the Touch Bar. 1Password users will be able to unlock the app with Touch ID, for example, while Touch Bar will make it easy to switch between password vaults, select new item types, and create website logins. 1Password also anticipates allowing users to slide their fingers across the Touch Bar to generate a strong password.
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Alongside the new MacBook Pro, Apple introduced a 27-inch 5K UltraFine Display made in partnership with LG, calling into question future plans for an Apple-branded display product.
While rumors have suggested Apple is working on a Thunderbolt Display replacement powered by an integrated GPU, Apple's LG partnership seems to indicate that Apple may have shelved plans to build a new display, something that's been confirmed by The Verge's Nilay Patel. According to Patel, Apple told him it is out of the standalone display business.
The last rumors about an Apple-branded display came in June of 2016 from BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski, a reliable source, so if Apple has ceased work on its own display product, it's a decision that may have been made rather recently.
In lieu of its own display, Apple is selling the aforementioned 5K display product from LG and a second LG-branded 4K display, both of which have been designed with input from Apple and optimized for Apple products. As pointed out by Jason Snell of Six Colors, the brightness and settings of the LG display can be adjusted from the Mac, suggesting a deeper level of hardware integration than you'd get with a standard 5K display.
Priced at $1,299.95, the 5K LG UltraFine display uses multi-stream transport and connects to the new MacBook Pro using a single Thunderbolt 3 cable. Because it requires Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, it's only compatible with the MacBook Pro (and any future Macs equipped with Thunderbolt 3).
LG's 21.5-inch 4K UltraFine display is more affordable at $699.95, and because it doesn't require Thunderbolt 3, it's compatible with any USB-C Mac, including the new MacBook Pro and the less powerful MacBook.
Both displays offer charging capabilities, support for wide color gamut, built-in stereo speakers, and include additional ports on the back for connecting accessories. The larger 5K display also includes a camera and a microphone, offering all of the features that might have been included in an Apple-designed display.
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