MacRumors

Amazon is planning to update its Amazon Echo line with a new speaker that includes a screen and video calling capabilities, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The upcoming speaker will feature a 7-inch touchscreen, used to make internet-based video/telephone calls and display visual results for spoken queries. Camera functionality could also be included, mirroring the capabilities of the recently introduced Echo Look.

The new Echo screen device will likely support some of the same functionality as the Echo Look, which will enable consumers to take videos and photos of their outfits and compare them via algorithms, according to one of the people. It is unclear why Amazon is launching the two devices so close together or how the market segments they target may differ.

Amazon may be planning to unveil the speaker, which has been in beta testing for a few months, as early as tomorrow, Tuesday, May 9.

Amazon's existing Echo device is currently priced at $150, but it normally sells for $180. The new speaker is expected to be sold for over $200, due to the included display.

Along with the new speaker, Amazon is also said to be planning to roll out telephone services to existing Echo devices over the next few weeks. To begin with, intercom functionality may be available, allowing two Echo devices to communicate with one another.

The imminent launch of an Amazon Echo device with a display comes as Apple is rumored to be nearing the final stages of development on its own Siri-based speaker, which would compete with the Echo and the Google Home.

Rumors have not suggested Apple's upcoming device will include a display, but Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller recently made some comments suggesting voice-activated smart speakers would be better with screens.

According to Schiller, a voice assistant without a screen doesn't "suit many situations," especially when it comes to social networking services, photos, and games.

I have yet to see any voice-only games that, for me, are nearly as fun as the one that I play on my screen. And so I think voice assistants are incredibly powerful, their intelligence is going to grow, they're gonna do more for us, but the role of the screen is gonna remain very important to all of this.

Amazon's new Echo product will be the first of the in-home smart speakers that includes a display. Apple's own device, which is said to include Siri integration and "excellent acoustics performance," reportedly has an "over 50 percent chance" of debuting at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

When T-Mobile first began offering cellular iPads in the fall of 2013, the company included a plan that provided customers with 200MB of free LTE data each month for the life of the tablet, a promotion that is now coming to an end.

As noted by TmoNews, T-Mobile has updated its Free Data for Life support page to note that the program is no longer available for new activations as of May 7, 2017. Customers who signed up for Free Data for Life on or before May 6, 2017, are able to keep the 200MB data plan with their current iPads so long as they continue to be T-Mobile subscribers.

T-Mobile's free data plan has always been tied to a specific device rather than an account, so when upgrading to a new iPad, customers who use Free Data for Life will not be able to keep the data plan. Going forward, no new tablets that are released will be eligible for the program.

Important: As of May 7, 2017, Free Data for Life is no longer available for new activations. If you signed up for FDFL on or before May 6, 2017, you can keep it with your current tablet as long as you own and use your tablet with T-Mobile.

Free Data for Life was originally introduced as one of T-Mobile's Un-carrier initiatives, and T-Mobile was the only company to offer a free data plan for iPads.

T-Mobile currently offers just one data plan, T-Mobile One, with unlimited data. T-Mobile One customers can add a tablet to their plans for $20 per month.

Apple-owned Workflow was updated to version 1.7.4 today, re-introducing features that were removed when Apple acquired the app and adding new Apple Music actions.

For those unfamiliar with Workflow, it's an automation tool that can be used to create a variety of workflows to accomplish tasks like creating GIFs from photos, pulling images from a website, calculating a tip, posting photos to multiple social networks at once, and much more.

When Apple purchased Workflow back in March, several actions were removed, but support for Google Chrome and Pocket has now been re-added and workflows involving those apps are now functional once again.

Along with support for Google Chrome and Pocket, today's update introduces new actions for Apple Music users. There's now an "Add Music to Up Next" action and a "Clear Up Next" action for automatically adding content to an Apple Music playlist.

Today's update also includes a long list of bug fixes, which are outlined below:

- Get Distance now supports getting the distance from a specified location
- The order of items passed from a Dictionary action to Choose from List is now preserved
- Fixed getting prices for books in Search iTunes Store
- Fixed making archives with special characters in the filename on iOS 10.3 and later
- Fixed an issue where workflow glyphs in the Today Widget may be stretched and cut off
- Fixed an issue where latitude and longitude may be formatted incorrectly in international locales
- Fixed an issue where .wflow files may fail to open on iOS 10.3 and later
- Fixed an issue where improperly formatted URLs from Pinboard could cause Workflow to crash
- Fixed an issue where booleans may not update when their value is changed inside dictionary fields
- Fixed an issue where handing off clipboard content from the Today Widget or Action Extension may throw a "The file Clipboard could not be opened" error
- Fixed an issue that could cause Workflow to crash on launch
- Other bug fixes and minor additions

When Apple purchased Workflow, the Workflow team said app integrations and the Gallery would be updated on a regular basis, but a later report suggested Apple planned no more updates. Based on today's update, which adds new features, that report was incorrect.

Though two new actions have been re-introduced, there are still features missing from the Workflow app. Maps actions are restricted to Apple Maps, and translating text only works with Microsoft's translation services. Other previous app actions, including Uber, Telegram, and LINE, are still unavailable.

Mother's Day takes place in the United States this Sunday, May 14, and Apple is gearing up to launch an all-new challenge in the Activity app for Apple Watch owners in order to celebrate the national holiday. The challenge will begin showing up in the Activity app this Friday, May 12, but will only be open on Sunday.

To accomplish the challenge, users will have to complete a walk, run, or wheelchair workout that lasts for one mile or longer on Mother's Day. Users who meet that goal will get a Mother's Day achievement in the Activity app, and a sticker to use in Messages. The challenge will only be available to Apple Watch owners in the United States (via 9to5Mac).

"Earn this rose badge and a special Messages sticker on Mother's Day. Just do a walk, run, or wheelchair workout of a mile or more in the Workout app or in any third party app that writes these workouts to Health."

Mother's Day will mark the fourth public challenge that Apple has debuted for Apple Watch owners, coming after a 3.1-mile workout on Thanksgiving, an Activity ring competition in January to celebrate the New Year, and a 30-minute outdoor exercise on Earth Day.

Apple Watch owners can track their Mother's Day workout through Apple's own Workout app, or using any third party app that can connect and track exercise data through the Health app. Similar to the previous Activity challenges, users will have only the designated window -- in this case, one day -- to complete their workout before the achievement and sticker are no longer able to be earned.

Apple's stock is currently trading above the $153 mark for the first time ever, after factoring in a 7-for-1 split in 2014, giving the company a record-high market cap of roughly $800 billion. That means Apple is within $200 billion of becoming the world's first trillion dollar company.

Google Finance values Apple at closer to the $810 billion mark today, but the tool appears to be overcounting the company's number of outstanding shares, which totaled 5,225,791,000 as of last quarter. Apple's outstanding shares have declined as the company continues its share buyback program.

Apple's stock has been on an impressive run since dropping to as low as $89.47 in 2016, when the iPhone maker reported its first decline in annual revenue since 2001, and its first drop in iPhone sales ever.

Apple analyst Brian White of Wall Street investment firm Drexel Hamilton continues to believe Apple "remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the world," with "attractive upside" for investors. White raised his 12-month price target for Apple's stock to $202 today, up from an already bullish $185.

An excerpt from White's research note, distributed today and obtained by MacRumors:

Apple's valuation has been depressed for years as investors grew concerned that Apple would fall victim to the missteps of consumer electronic companies of the past. However, Apple has proven its resilience through its unique ability to develop hardware, software and services that work seamlessly together. We believe this positions Apple very well to capitalize on the trend toward more "things" becoming a computer.

White's price target implies that Apple could become the world's first trillion dollar company within the next year. Apple shares trading for $202 would currently give the company a market cap of around $1.05 trillion.

Over a dozen prominent Wall Street analysts remain upbeat about Apple's stock price heading into the second half of the year, with lots of excitement surrounding the significantly redesigned "iPhone 8" expected to launch in the fall. The smartphone's sales may be boosted by a large "supercycle" of users due to upgrade.

Apple's stock had briefly declined to as low as $144.27 last week after its second quarter earnings results fell slightly below Wall Street expectations, but the drop proved to be only a blip on the radar.

Update: Apple's market cap has reached $800 billion. This article has been updated accordingly.

Following a few reports from last year that centered upon Apple's intent to restore the historic Carnegie Library in Washington D.C. and outfit it as a prime destination for Apple retail, the company has now shared a few renderings and details about the location with The Washington Post.

The location will be home to Apple's new "Today at Apple" events, which will include concerts, art exhibitions, photography classes, coding sessions, and more. Still a retail location, Apple will generate customer interest in purchasing a new product through its Genius Grove, where users can get product assistance on a tree-lined sales floor. The Genius Grove will be located where the Carnegie Library's book collection was previously housed.

What long ago were reading rooms would become places to browse and sample Apple products.

“This is a way of creating a reason to come to the store, to touch and feel our products, but also to have an engaging experience with someone who is passionate about the same thing,” said B.J. Siegel, Apple Retail’s senior design director.

One of Apple's major intentions for the Carnegie Library location is to make its presence there subtle while restoring the building to its "original grandeur." The Apple logo won't be prominently featured on the sides of the Carnegie Library, and the company hopes that it will "take a little work to find the store’s signage and logo." In the render below, the logo appears as small double signage flanking the main entrance to the building.

Carnegie Library is said to take on the history-focused renovations of previous Apple retail locations, including Apple Opéra in Paris and the upcoming location in Brooklyn. Although Apple plans a few changes to Carnegie Library, like a major new skylight above a central events area, the company's intent to find and preserve historic landmarks beloved by a local community is "part and parcel to the experience Apple is trying to create," according to Apple Retail senior design director B.J. Siegel.

Rather than plastering the buildings with the company’s logo, Apple’s designers say they will focus on restoring the building’s historic character. It can take a little work to find the store’s signage and logo — which is the point.

“For us, it wasn’t about coming in and leaving our mark,” Siegel said. “It was about bringing the history back out and respecting it.”

“We’ve discovered that big garish logos on historic buildings don’t work very well, so often we try to find more subtle ways to brand the building,” he added.

For its part, the Washington, D.C. government is on Apple's side, with mayor Muriel E. Bowser stating that Apple's location in Carnegie Library "could link D.C.’s rich history to our continued economic renaissance, will demonstrate the strength of our retail market, and will tell companies across the globe that the District is open for business." The Historical Society of Washington D.C. will remain in offices on the second floor of the building.

Later this evening, Apple is set to present its plans to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Washington, D.C., but the exact opening date for the Carnegie Library location has not yet been set.

Apple has initiated a new three-year service policy for the Smart Keyboard for both the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, MacRumors has learned.

Apple has determined that some Smart Keyboards may experience "functional issues" during use, such as the Smart Connector not working or certain keys sticking, repeating, or not responding, according to an internal memo distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers last week.

Apple says it will service any qualifying Smart Keyboard free of charge within three years of the date it was originally purchased.

We recommend affected customers call an Apple Store to schedule a Genius Bar appointment or visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider to initiate the repair process. Affected customers can also contact Apple support by phone, online chat, or email by selecting iPad > iPad Accessories on this page.

Due to the newness of this service policy, some Apple support employees may be unfamiliar with its existence, in which case we recommend escalating your request to a senior AppleCare advisor.

Update: In May 2019, we received an email from a customer who claims that Apple denied existence of this policy. Your mileage may vary.

Apple will begin selling its new range of iPhones in October this year following a September unveiling, according to a report out on Monday. Previous rumors have claimed that Apple will struggle to meet its usual fall launch timeframe for its upcoming OLED iPhone, which is set to debut alongside two more typical LCD models, with several sources claiming the "tenth anniversary" phone faces a possible delay late into the fourth quarter because of production yield rate issues.

Japanese site Mac Otakara earlier this year suggested the "iPhone 8" would launch "very much" behind the LCD models, while KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will debut the OLED iPhone in September, but the device will face "severe supply shortages" until as late as October-November, two months later than previous ramp-ups in August-September. Similar delayed production rumors have been circulated by analysts and media outlets in recent months.

In contrast, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News claimed on Monday that there will be no delay for the launch of the next-generation phones, signaling the usual ramp-up in the production of parts related to the iPhone beginning next month.

Upstream to downstream suppliers in the iPhone supply chains, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), SLP (substrate-like PCB) makers Zhen Ding Technology and Kinsus Interconnect Technology, and battery supplier Simplo Technology, are ready to ramp up related iPhone parts starting June.

TSMC will begin to fabricate the wafer starts needed for the production of A11 processors on June 10 and to deliver the chips in volume quantity in the second half of July, the report indicated.

Both Zhen Ding and Kinsus have reportedly managed to improve the yield rates of SLP products which will allow for volume production of the materials in June. Meanwhile, iPhone assemblers Foxconn, Winston, and Pegatron are said to be accelerating the recruitment and training of new workers in China in preparation of mass production of the new iPhone.

Apple has a major redesign planned for the "iPhone 8", with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that may include an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor if the company can overcome the technical challenges involved. Other potential features include wireless charging, a vertically oriented rear dual-lens camera, and a front-facing camera with 3D sensing and facial recognition capabilities. The OLED iPhone is expected to be sold alongside upgraded (but standard) 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones.

(Via DigiTimes.)

Apple has updated its website to indicate that its Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Connecticut for the first time this month.

For nearly two years, Apple has been driving vehicles around the world to collect data for Apple Maps—widely believed to be street-level imagery. Since 2015, the vehicles have surveyed over 30 states in the United States, in addition to parts of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Sweden.

Apple said it will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication, suggesting that it could be working on adding a Street View feature to Apple Maps, similar to what Google Maps has offered for several years. But, the imagery and other mapping data could be used for a variety of purposes.

When Apple's fleet of Dodge Caravans first hit the streets, it was speculated they could be the basis of an Apple Car. But those rumors quieted down after the vans were labeled with Apple Maps decals, and because Apple has shifted towards autonomous driving software, rather than an entire vehicle, at least for now.

Moreover, the California Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed that Apple is using a fleet of Lexus SUVs, which have since been spotted on the road, to test self-driving software. It's known that Apple's platform currently uses a Logitech wheel and pedals, and drivers can take over manually if necessary.

Nevertheless, so-called Apple Maps vehicles could still be playing a role in the company's autonomous driving plans.

Neil Cybart, an independent Apple analyst at Above Avalon, told MacRumors that Apple Maps vehicles are "very likely capturing mapping data," such as street level imagery, that will aid Apple's autonomous driving efforts.

I don't think these Apple Maps vehicles are just meant to improve Apple Maps. Instead, my suspicion is they are part of Project Titan. Specifically, the vehicles are likely playing a role in building the groundwork for Apple's autonomous driving technology. The data collected by these vehicles may be used for testing autonomous driving technology using indoor simulation.

Cybart, who confirmed seeing an Apple Maps vehicle in Connecticut earlier this week, said the mapping data collected could be a "foundation" for Apple's autonomous driving technology platform.

Apple Maps vehicles are not autonomous cars. Instead, they are very likely capturing mapping data (i.e. imagery) that will aid Apple's autonomous driving efforts. My view is that this mapping data isn't just for Apple Maps Street View, which wouldn't be too useful, but rather for building a mapping foundation for Apple's autonomous driving technology platform.

Connecticut and many other states that Apple has surveyed don't currently allow autonomous vehicle testing on their public roads, so Apple very likely is collecting data only, as it says. Whether that data is used for a Street View feature, autonomous driving software, or both, remains to be seen.