MacRumors

Apple is working on electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding that will individually shield most of the device's major chips, helping to maintain the iPhone's performance as its power and complexity and thus potential for interference increases (via ETNews). The company has used EMI shielding on large portions of the iPhone's circuit board in the past, and a few individual chips have included their own shielding, but the iPhone 7 will apparently include a broader array of single-chip EMI shields, from radio frequency to wireless LAN and Bluetooth chips.

South Korean manufacturers StatsChipPac and Amkor are both said to be responsible for the production of the EMI shielding process on the iPhone 7 line. The cost of that production is also predicted to increase with the intricacies introduced using the technology.

“As clock signals of digital chips have increased and as diverse functions such as 3D-touch and others have recently added, reduction of electromagnetic waves have emerged as major topic of this industry.” said a representative of this industry. “As other Smartphone businesses might be looking to apply EMI Shield technology to major chips just as Apple did, packaging and other related equipment industries will benefit a lot from this.”

According to the report, Apple decided to use the EMI shielding technology due to its effectiveness in preventing interference in wireless communication. Individual EMI shields can also allow for "more elaborate" and more densely packed circuit boards allowing for smaller devices or larger batteries. Similar EMI shielding was applied to the S1 chip package used in the Apple Watch last year

In regards to the general manufacturing of the next-generation iPhone, today a report stated that Apple has already lined up its partners for both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Foxconn and Wistron are said to be heading up production on the 5.5-inch device, while Foxconn will join Pegatron in fulfilling orders for the 4.7-inch smartphone.

Last week, news hit suggesting Apple is in the middle of developing its first original television series, a show called Vital Signs starring Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr. Dre. Described as a dark semi-autobiographical drama that's heavy on sex and violence, Vital Signs seemed like an odd choice for Apple's first foray into television.

As it turns out, Apple is planning to use Vital Signs as a way to promote Apple Music rather than as a serious move into the television arena. According to sources who spoke to Re/code's Peter Kafka, the show is part of an effort to create video content that's designed to "extend Apple Music."

So, again: Is Apple really getting into the TV business? Yes. But also, not really.

The real answer is more modest: Apple has already been financing video content it uses to market Apple Music -- "to extend Apple Music," in the words of an insider. And it's doing that with the Dre show. Full stop.

That's much less exciting than "Apple Is Getting Into TV," but it's more accurate.

While Vital Signs is Apple's first TV show, there were rumors over the summer that the company had produced music videos in-house for several popular songs on Apple Music, including Drake's "Energy," Pharrell's "Freedom," and Eminem's "Phenomenal." Apple also partnered with Taylor Swift to produce her "1989 World Tour LIVE" concert film. Vital Signs appears to be a continuation of Apple's work on original music-oriented content to be shared on Apple Music.

Details on Vital Signs were published by The Hollywood Reporter last Friday, with Apple Music being mentioned at that time as a potential distribution platform. It remains unclear if Vital Signs will also be released via iTunes. The show is said to consist of a series of six 30-minute episodes that reflect at least in part on the life of Dr. Dre. Each episode is said to focus on a "different emotion" and the way Dre's character handles it.

Exclusive video content allows Apple to set itself apart from rival services like Spotify and Tidal, boosting subscriber numbers. Last week, iTunes chief Eddy Cue revealed Apple Music now has a total of 11 million subscribers. Apple reportedly plans to produce more video content for Apple Music, but doesn't have intentions to move into video-making on a larger scale.

Apple Pay has launched in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia to date, and the mobile payments service could expand to a fifth country this week: China. A customer service representative for China's Guangfa Bank, using the bank's public WeChat account, appears to have confirmed that Apple Pay will officially go live in the world's most populous country on February 18 at 5:00 a.m. local time.

Apple previously announced that Apple Pay will expand to China in early 2016 in partnership with UnionPay, a state-run interbank network that holds a monopoly on the country's credit and debit card processing. UnionPay cardholders will be able to use Apple Pay on iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad -- the latter for in-app purchases only. iOS 9.2 or watchOS 2.1 or later will be required, according to the screenshot.

In November, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple reached deals with China's big four state-run banks, including the Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, to launch its iPhone-based payments service in the country. The report said Apple Pay could launch by the weeklong Chinese New Year, which concluded on February 13.

That prospective date has since passed, but a pair of YouTube videos surfaced in January that appeared to show Apple Pay working with UnionPay bank cards in China for both in-store and in-app purchases. It is possible that Apple soft launched Apple Pay in China with select participating issuers in order to test the payments service, ahead of its official launch in the country in a few days.

Meanwhile, French website iGeneration claims that Apple is preparing to launch Apple Pay in France and could make an announcement in the first half of 2016 -- perhaps at WWDC in June. The report claims it is unclear when Apple Pay will become available in French stores, nor does it have information about which banks and participating issuers will support the service upon launch.

Last, new evidence has been uncovered that hints at Apple Pay support coming to Canada's big banks. Specifically, Twitter user ChaseFromm2016 recently discovered a "NetworkInterac" string hidden in iOS 9.2.1 code, as shared by the blog iPhone in Canada. The same string was also shared on Chinese website Feng last month, in the screenshot pictured right, according to the report.

Interac is Canada's official debit card network, adopted by the country's largest banks and credit unions nationwide, including BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, Meridian, National Bank of Canada, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Canada Trust, and many others. TD Canada Trust already stirred speculation in October when it inadvertently listed Apple Pay as a method of payment on its website, before quickly removing it.

Apple Pay is currently limited to American Express cardholders in Canada and Australia, and the same partnership will be extended to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Spain later this year. Apple Pay is now available at more than 2 million retail locations, and Au Bon Pain, Crate & Barrel, Chick-fil-A, Cinnabon, Chili's, KFC, and Starbucks stores now do or soon will accept the payments service in the U.S.

Update: Reuters confirms that Apple Pay officially launches in China on February 18.

Apple has officially acknowledged the "1970" date bug affecting 64-bit iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. The support document does not identify a current fix, but Apple said that an upcoming iOS software update will prevent the issue from occurring in the future.

Manually changing the date to May 1970 or earlier can prevent your iOS device from turning on after a restart. An upcoming software update will prevent this issue from affecting iOS devices. If you have this issue, contact Apple Support.

Manually changing an iOS device's date to January 1, 1970 results in a continuous reboot cycle, effectively bricking the device. Restoring through iTunes in DFU Mode also does not appear to work.

Apple has not provided a reason for the bug, but YouTube video maker and programmer Tom Scott speculates that setting the date close to January 1, 1970, which is 0 in Unix time, may be resulting in an integer underflow -- in this case, a date prior to January 1, 1970.

iOS then handles the underflow by returning the negative integrer to the maximum value, which Scott says results in a date that is some 20 times longer than the universe is expected to last. Scott believes iOS may have difficulties handling this large number, resulting in affected devices crashing.

German website Apfelpage.de shared a second YouTube video showing that opening an iPhone and resetting its battery could fix the problem, but this method could damage your smartphone and void your warranty if done incorrectly. The safer option may be to visit a Genius Bar or contact Apple Support online or by phone.

iOS is a Unix-based operating system, and Unix time starts at 00:00:00 UTC on January 1, 1970. Apple does not allow you to manually set your iOS device to a date prior to then, likely in an effort to prevent a bug like this, but changing the date to May 1970 or earlier still causes issues on 64-bit devices.

Apple today launched a worldwide replacement program for the USB-C charge cables that were shipped with the 12-inch Retina MacBook through June of 2015, as these cables can fail "due to a design issue."

According to Apple, affected cables may cause the MacBook to not charge or to charge intermittently when it is connected to a power adapter. Cables with the issue can be identified by their labeling, which reads "Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China." Redesigned cables have the same text, but also include a serial number.

Apple is providing new, redesigned USB-C charge cables to MacBook owners with faulty cables at no cost. In addition to cables that shipped with the MacBook, the replacement program also includes faulty cables that were sold as standalone accessories.

Customers who supplied a valid mailing address when registering their product or purchasing it through the Apple Online Store will receive their new cables automatically, while other eligible MacBook owners can contact Apple Support, find an Apple Authorized Service Provider, or visit an Apple retail store to get their cables replaced. Affected USB-C charge cables can be replaced under this program until June 8, 2018.

The Retina MacBook first went on sale in April of 2015, so the problematic cables were sold for approximately two months before a redesigned version was released.

Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi spoke with John Gruber in this week's episode of "The Talk Show," where they commented on recent opinions that Apple's software isn't up to snuff and offered some details on a new version of iTunes coming in OS X 10.11.4.

Last week, Re/code's Walt Mossberg wrote a piece entitled "Apple's Apps Need Work," pointing towards a "gradual degradation" in quality in several Apple apps and services like iCloud, Mail, and Photos. iTunes for the desktop was one of the most heavily criticized apps, with Mossberg saying he "dreads" opening it because it's "bloated, complex, and sluggish."

During the podcast, Gruber asked Eddy Cue about Mossberg's opinion, prompting him to give some background on how Apple wanted the iTunes experience to work. iTunes, Cue said, was designed at a time when people synced their devices via cable, so offering a centralized place with all of a user's content was key. With Apple Music, Apple decided on a design that would put music front and center while also integrating cloud music with hard copies purchased through iTunes.

"We decided in the short term that what we wanted to do is really make it when you're in music and iTunes, all you see is music," said Cue. He went on to explain that Apple is continually re-evaluating iTunes, and there are plans to release a refreshed version alongside OS X 10.11.4 next month.

"That's not to say we are continuing... and will continue to think about what's the best way to architect the app and whether it makes sense to do a separate app for some of the components that are in there or all of the components that are in there. But right now, we think we've designed iTunes and you'll see we've got a new refresh with the new version of OS X that's coming out next month that makes it even easier to use in the music space."

Cue and Federighi went on to talk about the issues that arise whenever Apple makes major changes to software, as there are always people who prefer not to see significant changes. According to Federighi, there's a "tricky balancing act" with software updates.

"People are serious about their music and their collection, and so I think we debate pretty heavily internally the right way to evolve these things. We tend to err on the side of being pretty bold, but there's a lot of responsibility.

The two also highlighted the immense scale that Apple is working on, with more than 1 billion active devices and 782 million iCloud users. More than 200,000 iMessages per second are sent at peak times, and there are more than 750 million transactions per week in the iTunes Store and the App Store. Apple Music has grown to 11 million subscribers and more than 2.5 million errors in Maps have been fixed, a number presented as evidence that Apple is continually working on its software.

"I would say first there's nothing we care about more," said Federighi, speaking on Apple's software and services. He believes Apple's core software quality has improved significantly over the course of the last five years, but pointed towards an ever-raising bar that pushes Apple to keep evolving and implementing new features. "Every year we realize the things we were good at last year and the techniques we were using to build the best software we can are not adequate for the next year because the bar keeps going up," he said.

Federighi and Cue's full discussion with John Gruber about the state of software, the desktop version of iTunes, and Apple's efforts to expand its public beta program, can be listed to over on the Daring Fireball website.