Kanex today announced that its MultiSync Foldable Travel Keyboard is now available for purchase following its introduction at CES 2017 last month.
The universal keyboard, compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows devices, features an ergonomic V-shape layout with a foldable and compact design, making it a convenient accessory for travel. The keyboard can wirelessly connect to and switch between up to four devices such as iPhones and iPads via Bluetooth 3.0.
The keyboard has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides "hours" of typing time on a single charge, and it recharges with an included micro USB cable.
Apple has ranked fourth in Fast Company's annual list of The Most Innovative Companies of 2017 published today, moving up three spots from its seventh-place finish in 2016. Apple trailed behind Amazon, Google, and Uber, and directly ahead of Snapchat, Facebook, and Netflix in the list of 50 companies.
The publication credited Apple for designing four of its own chips last year, which allows it to "control its own destiny" and create "the most compelling consumer-electronics experiences," including the A10 Fusion chip in iPhone 7, W1 chip in AirPods, T1 chip in the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and S2 chip in the Apple Watch Series 2.
"We pick the projects where we feel like we can make a difference—the big customer-impacting features," says Anand Shimpi, who works on hardware technologies at Apple. So the stunning depth-of-field effect from the iPhone 7 camera? That’s directly enabled by the new A10 chip. "The actual production of the stored portrait image is because of things that we put into the [image signal processor]," Shimpi says.
Each chip has resulted in technological breakthroughs for Apple. The W1 chip in AirPods, for example, is programmed to automatically route the audio to each earphone, and engage the microphone, while its low power usage results in industry-leading battery life up to five hours on a single charge.
The S2 chip in Apple Watch Series 2 models results in performance improvements without sacrificing battery life, and the four-core A10 Fusion chip in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is up to two times faster than the A8 chip in the iPhone 6 and delivers the longest battery life—up to two hours longer—of any iPhone ever.
Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data for the Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area, and for the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario directly across the Detroit River, enabling users in both cities and certain suburbs to navigate using public transportation such as buses and trains.
In the Metro Detroit area, Apple Maps routing supports DDOT and SMART buses, the Detroit People Mover, the Michigan Flyer, and Amtrak. Limited navigation extends to a number of Detroit suburbs in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne Counties, including Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Pontiac, Sterling Heights, and Warren.
In the Windsor, Ontario area, Apple Maps routing supports Transit Windsor buses. Navigation extends to immediate suburbs in Essex County such as Tecumseh, Ontario. Tunnel Bus routing is also available for cross-border trips between Windsor and select locations in the Metro Detroit area.
Apple introduced Transit in Maps as part of iOS 9 in select cities around the world, including Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. The feature has its own tab in Apple Maps on iOS 10 for entering directions.
Transit continues to expand to several other cities, including Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Melbourne, Miami, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Montréal, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Portland, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria.
Target currently has "no plans" to support Apple Pay in its stores, a company spokesperson confirmed to MacRumors today.
Regarding a since-deleted AskTarget tweet that said Apple Pay was "awesome" and suggested support was forthcoming, the U.S. retail giant said "the information shared with this guest was incorrect."
We have no plans or work underway currently to make Apple Pay available in our stores.
We continue to offer Apple Pay for online purchases in the Target app. And while we are exploring mobile wallet opportunities for our stores, we have no updates on our plans to share at this time.
Target has been one of the most notable Apple Pay holdouts since the iPhone-based payments service launched in October 2014.
In May 2015, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer would be "open-minded" about supporting additional payment systems like Apple Pay after implementing chip-and-PIN card support. Target began supporting chip-and-PIN cards in October 2015, but it has yet to accept Apple Pay in its stores.
Target was a founding member of the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), a consortium of retailers that planned to launch the indefinitely-postponed payments platform CurrentC. A number of MCX members have since reversed course and began to accept Apple Pay, including Best Buy and pharmacy chain Rite-Aid.
Target does support Apple Pay in its shopping app for in-app payments.
Google Maps today updated its iOS and Android apps with a listing feature that lets users save and add their favorite locations to customized lists, which they can subsequently share to friends and family. Once a list is created, users can also follow other people's lists for inspiration when visiting new cities.
To add a location into a list, navigate to it in the Google Maps app and tap the "Save" button to choose from a collection of pre-set lists, or users can create their own custom lists. In the left-handed menu on the app, "Your Places" will hold all of the lists saved in Google Maps and also includes share cards to send to friends via text, email, or social networks. When opened inside of Google Maps, users can then choose to follow a shared list so it's always saved within their own "Your Places" tab.
Is your bucket list etched in your memory, or scribbled on a dozen post-it notes scattered around your home? Have you ever promised out-of-town guests an email full of your favorite spots, only to never get around to clicking send? Starting today, you can create lists of places, share your lists with others, and follow the lists your friends and family share with you—without ever leaving the Google Maps app
Lists will be made available to view offline, so if users download the data for an area prior to visiting, they can continue to use both the GPS and list features of Google Maps even without an internet or cellular connection. The update will be rolling out to users on iOS and Android throughout the day.
The so-called "iPhone 8" will adopt a higher-cost stacked logic board design to support longer battery life, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo said the stacked logic board, also known as a "substrate-like PCB mainboard," will result in the "iPhone 8" with an OLED display having similar dimensions to a 4.7-inch iPhone, yet comparable battery life to a 5.5-inch iPhone. He expects the device to have around a 2,700 mAh L-shaped two-cell battery pack.
As battery material tech isn’t likely to see major breakthroughs in the next 3-5 years, mainboard area can only be reduced via stacked SLP, which makes space for larger battery and extended usage time. Thanks to stacked SLP, we expect the OLED iPhone to have similar dimensions to a 4.7” TFT-LCD iPhone, and have comparable battery capacity (equipped with around 2,700 mAh L-shaped 2-cell battery pack) to a 5.5” TFT-LCD iPhone. The battery life of the OLED iPhone could be better than that of the 5.5” TFT-LCD model as OLED panels are more energy-efficient than their TFT-LCD counterparts.
Kuo added that the battery life of "iPhone 8" with an OLED display could be better than that of a 5.5" model with a traditional LCD display, as OLED panels are more energy-efficient than their LCD counterparts. For comparison, the iPhone 7 has a 1,960 mAh battery and the iPhone 7 Plus has a 2,900 mAh battery.
Apple has placed an order to Samsung Display for 60 million OLED panels for this year's iPhone 8, in addition to the 100 million units reportedly ordered by Apple last April. If the numbers are accurate, today's news confirms the display maker as Apple's main source of OLED screens for the next-generation iPhone (via The Korea Herald).
According to those familiar with the display market, Samsung will officially supply around 80 percent of the display panels in the iPhone 8. The company still didn't confirm the Apple-related OLED news, with a Samsung spokesperson saying "we can’t officially comment on anything related to the order."
"Samsung takes pride in small OLED panels," said an industrial source familiar with the matter. "While LG is enhancing its OLED business for TVs, Samsung is likely to focus on mobile OLED panels this year, helped by the Apple orders."
The iPhone 8 is expected to include an OLED screen as a way for Apple to make the device thinner and include an edge-to-edge design with various features -- like Touch ID -- integrated directly into the screen. Apple is believed to launch three total new iPhones this year, two of which will be basic updates to the iPhone 7, referred to as the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus," while the third "iPhone 8" will include the OLED display and more drastic design changes.
Apple, which has since confirmed it is a member, has become one of over 200 companies that belong to the consortium, including Samsung, LG, HTC, Qualcomm, Verizon, ConvenientPower, Aircharge, Dell, Canon, Sony, ST Microelectronics, Toshiba, Texas Instruments, Philips, Panasonic, Bosch, Nokia, and Huawei.
Qi is the leading wireless charging standard, used by more than 200 companies in products ranging from smartphones to cordless kitchen appliances. Samsung's latest Galaxy smartphones, for example, feature Qi-based wireless charging which requires placing the device on one of its "Fast Charge" stands.
Qi, pronounced "chee," is capable of scaling from less than 1 watt to more than 2,000 watts of power, making the standard more than adequate enough for charging any smartphone. With Qi's latest Quick Charge technology, a five-minute charge can provide a smartphone with up to five hours of battery life.
The so-called "iPhone 8" is widely rumored to include wireless charging, so Apple's participation in the consortium is perhaps unsurprising. Moreover, there is increasing evidence to suggest the "iPhone 8" may use inductive technology, which would require a charging puck or pad, rather than long-range charging.
Luxshare is also a member of the Wireless Power Consortium, which is notable given a recent rumor claiming the "iPhone 8" will have a separate wireless charger based on technology from the Chinese company. Luxshare was rumored to be a supplier of wireless charging coils for the Apple Watch charger.
In 2015, the Apple Watch was found to be compliant with the Qi wireless charging standard, but Apple did not submit it for interoperability testing. However, this does not guarantee that Apple will use the Qi standard for future iPhones, but its membership does show its interest in the technology.
Over the course of the last year, there has been ongoingspeculation that wireless charging company Energous has inked a deal with Apple to potentially provide wireless charging technology for the iPhone 8, but patents and other evidence suggest Apple may pursue its own in-house inductive charging solutions instead.
Update: Apple confirmed that it has joined the Wireless Power Consortium in a statement to Business Insider.
Apple is an active member of many standards development organizations, as both a leader and contributor. Apple is joining the Wireless Power Consortium to be able to participate and contribute ideas to the open, collaborative development of future wireless charging standards. We look forward to working together with the WPC and its members.
Apple said it "looks forward to working together" with the other members to help further the "development of future wireless charging standards."
A group of Australia's biggest banks have again applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a bid to negotiate with Apple over Apple Pay. The banks -- including Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac -- today announced that they have "narrowed" their application with the ACCC to focus on gaining open access to the NFC function integral to Apple Pay.
The new application echoes the banks' original, filed last July, which also included gaining access to the NFC-based mobile payments software in iPhones. Apple currently only allows its own mobile payment system to access the NFC-hardware in its iPhone devices, which banks argue is an anti-competitive restriction that hampers consumer choice. The banks say that while Apple has a "stranglehold" on this technology, no actual competition can take place in the mobile wallet marketplace.
Open access to the NFC function on iPhone is required to enable real choice and real competition for consumers, and to facilitate innovation and investment in the digital wallets available to Australians. Without open NFC access on iPhone, no genuine competition in the provision of mobile wallets is possible and Apple will have a stranglehold on this strategically important future market.
Previously, the coalition of banks also sought to challenge Apple on Apple Pay due to the service's fees. In the new application, the banks decided to eliminate arguments over fees and any other items "the ACCC considered may lead to a public detriment." Prior to the new application, the ACCC had denied the banks' request to negotiate over Apple pay twotimes last year.
“The applicants are ready, willing, and able to participate in Apple Pay, alongside being able to offer their customers their own mobile wallet products,” payments specialist and spokesperson on behalf of the applicants, Lance Blockley, said.
“This application has always been about consumer choice, and allowing competition between the makers of mobile wallets to offer the best products and features they can to determine which mobile wallet consumers will use. The applicants want to put up their digital offerings head to head with Apple Pay, and let the market and individual consumers decide which best suits their needs.
According to the banks, full access to NFC on iPhone devices "would enable the delivery of substantial public benefits to Australian consumers," across a variety of categories other than mobile payments, including loyalty programs, member security, and other NFC-related cases. Because of these benefits, the banks said they they "have again been supported by nearly all of Australia's leading retailers."
Last week, Apple responded to the Australian banks' continued obstruction of Apple Pay by saying it was damaging to consumers and small business alike, ultimately referring to their request for access to NFC as a potentially hazardous "Trojan horse" scenario. In today's applications, the banks referred to Apple's comments as a "conspiracy theory" and dismissed it as "fantasy."
The applicants flatly reject Apple’s unsupported assertions that the application is about an objection to the fees that Apple wishes to impose, rather than NFC access. Apple’s conspiracy theories about “Trojan horse fees” are similarly dismissed by the applicants as fantasy.
According to Blockley, who spoke on behalf of the banks, the NFC-targeted application is not an attempt to delay Apple Pay's wider support in Australia as it would be offered alongside other mobile wallets -- similar to how Android supports open access to the NFC function. "Any delay or frustration will be as a result of Apple refusing to negotiate," Blockley said.
Apple has been listed as a contributing sponsor for the non-profit information/security conference BSides that's currently taking place in San Francisco. Apple joins a long list of sponsors including Google, Dropbox, Netflix, Fitbit, and more.
BSides officially began yesterday and ends today, February 13. The conference is described as an "open forum for discussion and debate for security engineers and their affiliates."
BSides SF is a non-profit organization designed to advance the body of Information Security knowledge, by providing an annual, two day, open forum for discussion and debate for security engineers and their affiliates. We produce a conference that is a source of education, collaboration, and continued conversation for information technologists and those associated with this field.
The technical and academic presentations at BSides SF are given in the spirit of peer review and advanced knowledge dissemination. This allows the field of Information Security to grow in breadth and depth, and continue in its pursuit of highly advanced scientifically based knowledge.
Apple has added a small but useful tweak to CarPlay in iOS 10.3, giving drivers a quicker and safer way to switch between apps without having to take their eyes off the road for long periods of time. Before the update, users had to tap twice to get to another app in CarPlay: one tap to go home, and another tap on the designated app icon.
Now, Apple has streamlined that process. In the left-aligned dock on the CarPlay screen users will now see three recently used apps, so it's always easy to just tap one and jump directly back into Music, Messages, Maps, or any of CarPlay's other apps. Prior to iOS 10.3, the CarPlay dock had just one app at a time in this area.
The slight UI tweak should make it easier for drivers to switch back-and-forth between navigation and entertainment apps while in CarPlay. iOS 10.3 includes a number of other updates on iPhone and iPad devices, including changes to the app launch animation, Find My AirPods, and the ability for developers to update their app icons at any time, without needing to include the artwork change in a full update on the App Store.
Apple recently submitted an unnamed "Wireless Device" to the FCC, a U.S. government agency that regulates communications, for the third time. The latest filing lists a model number of A1845, slotting in between A1844 in the first filing and A1846 in the second, but there are no new clues as to what the device could be.
Apple again requested permanent confidentiality for most of the documents in the filing, including photos, user manuals, and schematics, so the entry largely remains a mystery. Test reports completed by UL Verification Services reveal that, just like in the first two filings, the device has Bluetooth LE and NFC.
The model numbers A1844, A1845, and A1846 do not correspond to any existing Apple products. A regulatory label in the first filing showed the device has at least two slightly curved edges and two Torx screws, but Apple cropped the image in the second and third filings, likely to give fewer hints about its design.
When the original "Wireless Device" was uncovered, there was some speculation that it could perhaps be a new Apple TV, but the prominent and lengthy regulatory text etched directly on the device, including a wiring guide, would be uncharacteristic of Apple to include on the exterior of a consumer-facing product.
The more likely explanation is that the wireless device is for internal use. It is possible that the device in question is something that is used in retail Apple stores, such as a product display unit or iBeacon-based equipment used to communicate with customer iOS devices, which Apple has filed with the FCC in the past.
The FCC filing could remain a mystery until the device is released, and we may not ever know if it does end up being a product for internal use. But it's fun to speculate, with predictions ranging from Apple's rumored Siri-enabled speaker to a smart thermostat given the RS-485 control signals listed.
During the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Apple released the first trailer for its Carpool Karaoke series coming soon to Apple Music.
Carpool Karaoke: The Series, based on the popular segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden, will feature 16 celebrity pairings "riding along in a car together as they sing tunes from their personal playlists" and "surprise fans who don't expect to see big stars belting out tunes one lane over."
Apple said the series will feature James Corden, Will Smith, Billy Eichner, Metallica, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Seth MacFarlane, Chelsea Handler, Blake Shelton, Michael Strahan, John Cena, Shaquille O’Neal, and many more. The series is expected to have a different host every episode.
Apple purchased the rights to Carpool Karaoke, produced by James Corden, Ben Winston, and Eric Pankowski, in July 2016 in an effort to drive users towards Apple Music. The series will consist of 16 half-hour episodes, and Apple's version will reportedly feature a format "that is more of an interview series."
U.S. retail giant Target may be planning to accept Apple Pay in the future, according to a recent tweet spotted by 9to5Mac.
AskTarget, the retailer's verified customer service account on Twitter, said Apple pay is "awesome" and that Target is "working on getting this technology into our stores." It even quipped "we'll catch up with the 21st century soon!"
@_MAlN - Apple pay is awesome! We're working on getting this Technology into our stores. We'll catch up with the 21st century soon!
— AskTarget (@AskTarget) February 12, 2017
While the tweet originates from an official Target account, it is possible that a customer service representative tweeted inaccurate information.
In May 2015, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the retailer would be "open-minded" about supporting additional payment systems like Apple Pay after implementing chip-and-PIN card support. Target began supporting chip-and-PIN cards in October 2015, but it has yet to support Apple Pay.
Update: Target currently has "no plans" to support Apple Pay in its stores, a company spokesperson confirmed to MacRumors today. Target has deleted the tweet and said "the information shared with this guest was incorrect."
We have no plans or work underway currently to make Apple Pay available in our stores.
We continue to offer Apple Pay for online purchases in the Target app. And while we are exploring mobile wallet opportunities for our stores, we have no updates on our plans to share at this time.
Target does support Apple Pay in its shopping app for in-app payments.
To coincide with the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Warner Bros. Records today announced that Prince's well-known hits are now available on streaming music services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio Plus and All Access, after a nearly two year exclusivity period with Tidal.
Prince, who passed away in April 2016, had pulled his music from all streaming music services but Tidal in July 2015. Since his death, Prince's estate worked on deals with various services to make his music available for streaming again. As expected, the songs and albums became available today.
Update: A spokesperson for Deezer informed us that it will be actively adding Prince's songs to its playlists over the coming days.
Verizon today introduced its first unlimited data plan since 2011. Verizon Unlimited, which includes unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data, will cost $80 per month for a single smartphone or tablet, or $45 per month for four lines. The plan will be available to new and existing customers starting Monday.
Verizon on Monday confirmed that $80 per month for a single line includes its $20 line access charge. It also confirmed that two lines cost $70 each per month, and three lines cost $54 each per month. Electronic billing with AutoPay is required. Taxes and any device payments if applicable are extra.
Verizon Unlimited includes 10GB of 4G LTE tethering per month, with tethering reduced to 3G speeds after the 10GB of usage. The plan includes full HD video streaming, unlike T-Mobile and Sprint's optimized plans that stream video at 480p, and AT&T's opt-out Stream Saver mode that likewise reduces video quality.
The plan also includes calling and texting to Mexico and Canada, and up to 500MB per day of 4G LTE roaming in those countries.
In line with rivals AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, Verizon may de-prioritize customers who exceed 22GB of data usage in a billing cycle in the event of network congestion, so its definition of "unlimited" will be debated. However, Verizon said customers should not expect this de-prioritization to happen often.
Verizon said customers can add a smartwatch or other connected device for an extra $5 per month. TravelPass, offering customers 500MB per day of 4G LTE data while traveling outside of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, reduced to 2G speeds thereafter, is available for an extra $10 per day.
Apple today shared its latest Apple Watch Series 2 ad called "Close Your Rings — Catch, Swim, Play" on its YouTube channel. The 15-second spot encourages Apple Watch wearers to get moving and exercising to close their rings in the Activity app, be it by throwing a frisbee, swimming, or simply playing around.
The ad is similar to the Apple Watch ad "Dance, Run, Rock" released last month, and reflects Apple's increasingly fitness oriented marketing for Apple Watch. However, ads part of a recent "Go" campaign such as "Go Swim" and "Go Run" appear to have been removed from Apple's YouTube channel.
Tesla has updated its iPhone app with a completely redesigned user interface and Touch ID support for quick access to keyless driving.
The app now has a much cleaner aesthetic, a trio of shortcuts on the main screen for quick access to frequently used controls, and a more detailed render of the vehicle in the "Climate" menu. A new Today widget in Notification Center allows users to monitor their electric vehicle at a glance.
The Tesla app, now at version 3.0, is free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone. The update is also available for Android.
