The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published an Apple patent application for a "sublimator/vaporizer" invention, leading to sensational headlines suggesting Apple might release a vape or enter the vaping industry. In actuality—and this could go without saying—the invention is completely unrelated.
The patent instead relates to a semiconductor device fabrication process Apple uses to create chips for its devices. The application describes a canister that can be used to vaporize or sublimate a substance, which in Apple's case would be for delivering substances to a substrate during the deposition or etching process.
The patent's assigned inventor Tetsuya Ishikawa, a senior manager at Apple in the nanotechnology field, lists photolithography as one of his skills on his LinkedIn profile. He also holds several other patents related to semiconductor fabrication. So, in the end, it is pretty safe to say, no, Apple is not working on a vape.
Microsoft on Thursday reported a 5% increase in revenue from licensing Windows to PC makers as part of its latest quarterly earnings results.
In a subsequent conference call, Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said its "partner ecosystem continued to see growth and share gains in the Windows premium device category," according to Business Insider. The comment has been interpreted by some as Microsoft stepping up its game against the Mac.
Microsoft reportedly defines "premium devices" as computers that are in the $900-plus price range, which equates to the higher end of the market traditionally led by Apple products such as the MacBook Pro. By its own definition, this includes Microsoft's latest Surface Book and Surface Studio desktop.
Last month, Microsoft said "more people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before" following "the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro." The company has not released actual sales numbers to back that claim, however, while Microsoft's latest results include licensing to all Windows PC vendors.
While research firm Gartner says the worldwide PC market continues to decline, Mac sales grew by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Lenovo, HP, and Dell, the top three vendors, saw an estimated 5.4%, 4.3%, and 1.6% growth respectively during the quarter as well, while Asus, Acer, and others faced declines, according to Gartner.
After teasing fans to "come see our latest creation" in the weeks leading up to one of its famous media events, seven years ago today former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first-generation iPad to the world. The iPad was announced as a larger-screen counterpart to the company's three-years-old iPhone, with Scott Forstall pointing out during the conference that the tablet could run "virtually every" iPhone app thanks to an on-screen button that users could press to scale the app's resolution up and down on a whim.
The original iPad launched with a 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 resolution touch screen, in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities. The 1.5lb tablet included Apple's A4 chip and was priced at $499, $599, and $699 for Wi-Fi only models, and $629, $729, and $829 for Wi-Fi + 3G models in each respective capacity. The Wi-Fi version debuted on April 3, 2010, while users interested in Wi-Fi and 3G had to wait until April 30 for Apple's new tablet.
Steve Jobs on the iPad:
“iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”
After the event in 2010, initial reactions to the iPad were largely positive, with sites like Engadget calling it "blazingly fast" and remarking that the tablet had no lag when hopping around its various apps. The screen was thought to be "stunning" and the iPad's iBooks application impressed, thanks to its flipping page animations and library-inspired bookshelf space for eBooks that upheld Apple's then popular skeuomorphic iOS design.
The original iPad's largest drawback centered on its substantial 1.5lb weight, as well as the lack of Flash in its operating system, no multitasking, and no camera. Seven years later, Apple has iterated on its original design and addressed most of these user complaints with each update to the iPad.
The current 12.9-inch iPad Pro weighs about the same as the original iPad at 1.57lbs, and still runs a larger version of iOS, but it's thinner (6.9mm vs 13mm) and is the "most capable and powerful" iPad yet, according to Apple, putting it on par with desktop-class machines.
While the iPad saw strong early adoption, Apple has experienced sales declines in the past few years, with users replacing their iPads less frequently than iPhones. Most commonly, users update their iPhones every year or two, while finding their iPads remain serviceable for longer.
In the company's annual earnings report last October focusing on the fourth fiscal quarter of 2016, iPad sales were down slightly to 9.3 million from 9.9 million in the same year-ago quarter. Although they were also infamously down in sales in 2016, Apple still sold 45.5 million iPhones in the same quarter, down from 48 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
New iPads are consistently part of the Apple rumor cycle, and 2017 has been no different, with current reports pointing towards the launch of three new iPad Pro models sometime during the calendar year. Apple is believed to put out a new 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad, but the exact screen size of a mysterious middle size model has been up for debate, including 10.1, 10.5, and 10.9-inches.
When it launches, the new 10-inch model may look very different from the 2010 iPad, reportedly doing away with the iconic Home Button, further reducing the size of the tablet's bezels with an edge-to-edge display, and include the usual iterative bumps to camera resolution and speed. One of the ports that the 2017 iPad is rumored to keep intact from its seven-year-old progenitor is the 3.5mm headphone jack, which the iPhone 7 ditched last year.
The full press conference covering Steve Jobs' introduction of the iPad can be viewed on YouTube here.
Apple has joined the Partnership on AI as a founding member. The company has been involved and collaborating with the Partnership since before it was first announced and is thrilled to formalize its membership alongside Amazon, Facebook, Google/DeepMind, IBM, and Microsoft.
Siri co-founder Tom Gruber, who heads advanced development of the assistant at Apple, will serve on the Partnership's inaugural Board of Trustees.
The Partnership on AI is a non-profit research consortium established in September to "study and formulate best practices, to advance the public's understanding of AI, and to serve as an open platform for discussion and engagement about AI and its influences on people and society," according to its website.
Apple has always been notoriously secretive, but it recently started allowing its AI and machine learning researchers to publish papers. The company's contributions to the broader artificial intelligence research community could help it attract top talent that would not otherwise want to join the tech giant.
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense has chosen Apple's iPhone 7 over Samsung as the "device of choice" for its military personnel, according to a report by TechRepublic this week.
Telecoms company BT is said to be working with the country's MoD to harden the security of the phone so that military officers can discuss and store sensitive information on the device. Steve Bunn, technical business manager for defense at BT, said the phone would eventually be capable of being switched between different modes depending on which security level was appropriate.
Photo: Harland Quarrington/MOD
"We've been working very closely with them to develop what we've commonly called a 'dual-persona device'. Essentially this means you can have voice at official and at secret."
BT is also working with the MoD to create "secure storage containers" on the device to hold sensitive data, revealed Bunn.
BT is said to have begun using a Samsung Note 4 to develop the bespoke military communications device, but testing quickly revealed that the security of the Android OS wasn't sufficient and the project was transferred to Apple's phone.
Despite Apple's high-profile reputation for upholding iOS security standards, the MoD's switch to iPhone bucks a trend in the defense industry, which tends to prefer phones running Android because of the ease with which the operating system can be altered.
As noted by TechRepublic, the GSMK CryptoPhone, which runs a heavily stripped-down version of Android, is currently in active use among military and security bodies around the world.
Update: BT has since contacted MacRumors with the following statement: "We would like to clarify that the MoD has not expressed any views about the suitability of dual-persona technology from specific handset/technology vendors and is prototyping a range of devices."
Mozilla has added more than 20 new languages to Firefox Focus, its privacy-centric browser that automatically blocks all trackers as users navigate around the web.
The latest update to the stripped-down web browser – which features an "Erase" button at the top of the app to erase all browsing history, searches, cookies, and passwords instantly – means users can now browse privately in 27 languages.
The additional support includes Arabic, Azerbaijani, Czech, Welsh, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, among many other tongues.
One of the complaints about the previous version of Focus was that it forced users to use a default search engine. Mozilla says it's listened to criticism and added a new option that allows users to select an alternative search service, which includes non-tracking engine DuckDuckGo.
When using Focus's most stringent tracker blocking setting, occasionally some sites visited in the app may fail to display as intended, making viewing content difficult. To compensate for this, Mozilla has also added a new button that allows users to open the web page in Firefox or Safari instead.
The first incarnation of the Focus brand came in 2015 in the form of a content blocker for iOS 9. In November of last year, Mozilla launched Focus as a fully functioning privacy browser.
Version 56 of Google Chrome browser started rolling out to Macs today, bringing with it several new security enhancements, lower power consumption, and a performance boost.
To begin with, Chrome now presents a clearer warning to users when a website requests password or credit card information over a non-HTTPS, unsecure connection. Chrome 56 is also the first version to make HTML5 the default standard for all users, with Flash content automatically blocked by the browser.
Support for the HTTPS-secure Web Bluetooth API has also been included, allowing websites to connect to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices like printers and lightbulbs for a more interactive online experience. Chrome 56 also brings 51 additional security fixes to the browser.
According to a Google blog post, in the latest version of Chrome, changes to page reload behavior now produce reloads that are 28 percent faster and result in 60 percent less validation requests. The new behavior is said to maximize the reuse of cached resources which results in lower latency, power consumption, and data usage.
In addition, Chrome 56 brings built-in FLAC support for the first time, meaning users of the (non-iTunes compatible) audio format can listen to tracks from within the browser.
Lastly, in an attempt to deal with resource hogging Chrome tabs, Google has introduced a new Browser Timer feature that automatically throttles background pages overstepping their allotted runtime allowance, provided they aren't playing media.
Chrome 56 is available to download for Mac users now. Existing users can update by selecting Chrome -> Preferences via the menu bar and clicking the About section. Users downloading Chrome for the first time will automatically receive the updated version from the Chrome download page. An update for the iOS browser app is expected soon.
Lawmakers in Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts and Kansas have introduced legislation aiming to legalize "Right to Repair" rules for electronic devices, including Apple's iPhone, reportsMotherboard. The laws would require manufacturers to sell replacement parts to independent repair shops and customers, and force them to make service and diagnostic manuals public.
The bills are aimed at diluting the "authorized repair" model that most tech products subscribe to, making electronic device repair more similar to the car repair. The legislation is modeled after the Motor Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act, which passed in Massachusetts in 2012. That law effectively became national legislation as auto manufacturers didn't want to bother dealing with different legislation in each state.
The legislators behind the New York bill say that authorized repair shops result in "high repair prices and high overturn of electronic items." Additionally, many independent repair shops end up purchasing parts from Chinese grey markets or taking parts from recycled electronics to compete. This results in raids from the Department of Homeland Security as the independent shops end up unknowingly selling counterfeit parts.
Apple currently runs the Apple Authorized Service Provider Program, which allows companies to obtain Apple-genuine parts, reimbursement for repairs covered by Apple's warranties, a performance-based bonus program, on-the-spot technical service, comprehensive repair information, inclusion on Apple's website and more. However, the program requires businesses to allow Apple to review financial records, maintain high levels of customer service, establish a credit line with Apple and agree to promote the Apple brand and AppleCare. It also does not include individual customers who may want to repair their devices on their own.
The bills are being pushed by Repair.org, a lobbying firm representing independent repair shops. Repair.org tells Motherboard that it is focusing its effort on the New York bill since it's being considered for the third year and even had momentum last year until lobbyists from groups backed by Apple and other manufacturers stepped in to kill the legislation.
HBO today updated its HBO GO app for iOS devices and the Apple TV with support for Single sign-on, allowing subscribers to access HBO content more quickly.
With Single sign-on, HBO customers will no longer need to enter their cable credentials separately when logging in to the HBO GO app. Instead, the app will use universal credentials that are stored by Apple. HBO GO is also now available in the TV app, with full support for "Watch Next" tracking functionality.
Single sign-on, introduced in December, is one of the first steps Apple has made towards streamlining the television watching experience on the Apple TV and iOS devices. It's designed to allow all cable subscribers to sign in once with their cable credentials to gain access to all cable-restricted content available within apps.
Single sign-on is limited to the United States and requires both service providers and app developers to implement support for the feature. Along with HBO, more than 20 popular television apps support the Single sign-on, with a full list available via a Single sign-on support document.
Not all cable providers are offering support for Single sign-on yet, so the feature is limited to Cable ONE, CenturyLink Prism, DIRECTV, Dish, GVTC, GTA, Hawaiian Telcom, Hotwire, MetroCast, Service Electric, and Sling TV.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.4 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, two days after seeding the first 10.12.4 beta to developers and three days after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.3.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the 10.12.4 macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas should not be installed on a primary machine due to the potential for instability.
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's popular Night Shift mode to the Mac, allowing users to cut down on blue light exposure. Believed to affect sleep by upsetting the body's circadian rhythm, blue light is thought to be more harmful than yellow light.
With Night Shift, the Mac's display automatically shifts from cool to warm at sunset and then shifts back at sunrise. Users can also set custom times for the display's colors to shift, or toggle the effect on manually. A Toggle to turn Night Shift on is available in the Notification Center, and Siri can also be used to activate the feature. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 also includes Shanghainese dictation support, cricket scores for Siri, and PDFKit improvements.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 10.3 update to public beta testers for testing purposes, more than a month after releasing iOS 10.2 and two days after providing the iOS 10.3 beta to developers.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 10.3 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on their iOS device.
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas are not stable and include many bugs, so they should be installed on a secondary device.
A major 10.x update, iOS 10.3 introduces a new "Find My AirPods" option to help users locate a lost AirPod. Located in the "Find My Friends" app, the Find My AirPods feature marks the last known location where AirPods were connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth and it allows the AirPods to play a sound to make finding them nearby easier.
Along with a Find My AirPods feature, the update also includes a shift to Apple File System (APFS). First introduced in 2016, APFS is optimized for Flash/SSD storage and includes strong encryption and other important features.
Apple recommends all users make an iCloud backup before installing iOS 10.3, as the update will cause the iPhone's file system to switch over to Apple File System.
iOS 10.3 also introduces a tweaked app animation, a new Apple ID profile in the Settings app, a better breakdown on how iCloud storage is being used, SiriKit improvements, new iCloud analytics options, and more. For a full list of what's new in iOS 10.3 beta 1, make sure to check out our dedicated post.
Last October, Twitter began testing out an enhanced version of a new "Explore" tab on its iOS app, giving a small group of users access to trending topics, simplified search tools, and "Moments," the news aggregating feature which previously had its own dedicated tab within the app. Beginning today, the "Explore" tab will be available to all users on the iOS Twitter app, giving them one-stop access to trends, search, Moments, and live video.
According to Twitter, the tests from last year went well, and users told the company "that the new Explore tab helped them easily find news, what’s trending, and what’s popular right now." In the blog post today, Twitter also pointed out that "nothing is going away," simply that various parts of the app are moving into the new Explore section.
When users tap on Explore, they'll see breaking news via a live video header with trending topics underneath, and further news stories under a "Today's Moments" section.
Over the past year, we’ve been exploring different ways to make it simpler for people to find and use trends, Moments, and search. During our research process, people told us that the new Explore tab helped them easily find news, what’s trending, and what’s popular right now.
Nothing is going away – we’re just making it easier to find what you want. Explore will begin rolling out today on Twitter for iOS, and in the coming weeks on Twitter for Android. Make sure you have the latest version of your app to check it out. And of course, we will continue to listen to your feedback to make Explore even better, based on your thoughts and some ideas we have up our sleeve!
Last December, the company began a new test to see if a rebranding of "retweet" to "sharing" would increase traction on the social network for new users confused by the Twitter-specific lingo of the word "retweet." One of the most user-requested features -- Tweet editing -- is still not available on Twitter, but CEO Jack Dorsey admitted recently that it's "definitely needed."
Twitter is available on the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link] The company noted that the update will be rolling out throughout the day, and "in the coming weeks" it will arrive on Android.
Popular freelancing website Upwork today released its quarterly study ranking the fastest-growing skills employers are looking for, and Apple's Swift programming language scored the number two spot, meaning it's one of the most sought after skills for freelance developers.
Swift, along with the other top 10 skills that made the list in the fourth quarter of 2016, experienced more than 200 percent year-over-year growth. Other skills that have become more essential on Upwork alongside Swift include natural language processing, Tableau, Amazon Marketplace Web Services, and Stripe.
Introduced in 2014, Swift is Apple's programming language, developed in part by Chris Lattner who made headlines recently when he left Apple for Tesla. Designed to be concise yet expressive, Swift replaces Objective-C and is being increasingly adopted by developers.
Swift is meant to be simple to learn, something Apple highlights with Swift Playgrounds, an app that teaches children to code using the Swift language. Apple has been updating and refining Swift since its 2014 debut, and is set to unveil Swift 3.1 in the spring of 2017.
Upwork's Skills Index measures year-over-year growth rates based on freelancer billings through the Upwork site.
IGG Software today announced the upcoming launch of Banktivity 6, the latest version of the popular personal finance app for Mac. The software, previously known as iBank, has been redesigned for macOS Sierra and updated with several new features, including Workspace, Tags, Quick Reports, Find, and more.
Banktivity 6 introduces Workspace, a new feature that enables customers to view any account, budget, report, or other view side by side. "For example, users can put transactions for an account next to a budget to see how recent spending affects the budget," the company said.
Tags have also been added, allowing individuals and small business owners to see and analyze their income and spending habits across categories. "Now when a person goes on vacation and spends money on dining out, gas, air fare and hotels they can tag all those transactions as a 'vacation,'" said IGG.
A new Quick Reports feature lets users select transactions and then quickly bring up a detailed report based on the selection. "For example, if a customer were wondering how much money was donated to a specific charity last year, a Quick Report answers that question with one click," the company said.
Find is a new document-wide search feature that enables customers to search "almost any part of any transaction" within an entire Banktivity document.
The app's sidebar has a new feature called Portfolio that provides quick access to the performance of investments. Portfolio's customizable view shows high-level information such as cost basis, value, gain/loss, security price, and IRR, and clicking on a security brings up a complete analysis of that holding.
Banktivity 6 features over 100 changes and enhancements, including more flexible report grouping, new transaction editor with improved keyboard support, new reconciliation process, a new summary view, improved transaction downloads, more flexible budgeting, easier in-app navigation, redesigned reports, and more.
IGG said Banktivity 6 will be released in the Spring for $64.99. Users upgrading from Banktivity 5 will qualify for upgrade pricing of $29.99. Customers who purchased Banktivity 5 from the IGG Store between January 23 and Banktivity 6's launch will receive a free registration code to unlock the new version.
Dong Nguyen, creator of the popular iOS game Flappy Bird, today launched an all-new game on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store called Ninja Spinki Challenges!! [Direct Link] (via TouchArcade). The game is a collection of six mini-games that task users with completing a set of trials centered around training to become a ninja.
TouchArcade went hands-on with the game earlier this week, and noted that while it's a "kinder" entry in comparison to the difficulty of Flappy Bird, it can "quickly become tough as nails."
I had the chance to try the game a little bit ahead of its release, and while it's certainly a little more polished than Nguyen's previous titles, Spinki's got its creator's fingerprints all over it. The main character is drawn from the cast of Swing Copters, and the gameplay focuses on performing relatively simple actions in increasingly challenging circumstances. At the same time, this is a kinder, gentler game than Nguyen's previous releases, at least initially.
After a boom of social media attention surrounding Flappy Bird back in 2014, Nguyen quickly removed the game from the App Store because he believed it became an "addictive product" for all of the players devoted to beating their high scores. The game's popularity reached such heights that Apple began rejecting apps on the App Store with "Flappy" in the title, because they were attempting to "leverage a popular app" to gain success.
Google Translate recently updated its iOS and Android applications, bringing Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese translation support to its augmented reality "Word Lens" feature. Thanks to the added support, English-speaking users can point their smartphone camera at Japanese text and instantly get an English translation on screen. The same can be done for Japanese tourists visiting predominantly English-speaking countries.
Before the update, Google mentioned that users could snap a picture of Japanese text and get an English translation, but thanks to the AR in Word Lens, "it's a whole lot more convenient" to figure out where you are in a foreign city with the live translation feature. Notably, users don't have to worry about having an Internet or data connection when using Word Lens during travel, as the translation software works offline.
The Google Translate app already lets you snap a photo of Japanese text and get a translation for it in English. But it’s a whole lot more convenient if you can just point your camera and instantly translate text on the go. With Word Lens, you just need to fire up the Translate app, point your camera at the Japanese text, and the English translations will appear overlaid on your screen—even if you don't have an Internet or data connection. It’s every savvy traveller’s dream!
Back in November Google announced an update to Google Translate that made longer articles and paragraphs "a lot smoother and easier to read." Using new AI learning software called Neural Machine Translation, Google Translate can now learn over time "to create better, more natural translations."
The app mirrors Apple's support website, providing users with a list of their Apple devices, options to receive support by phone, chat, or email, and the ability to schedule a Genius Bar appointment or repair with an Apple Authorized Service Provider. The app also features how-to articles and other helpful information.
The app is now available in 22 countries around the world as planned:
Facebook has hired Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra to lead its virtual reality business, following the vice president's announcement earlier this week that he would be leaving the Chinese smartphone maker.
On Monday, the former Android executive at Google said he would be returning to Silicon Valley next month to reunite with friends and family, and to take some time off before "embarking on a new adventure".
His appointment at Facebook was announced on Wednesday by company founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who said Barra would lead all of Facebook's virtual reality efforts including the Oculus team.
"I've known Hugo for a long time, starting when he helped develop the Android operating system, to the last few years he's worked at Xiaomi in Beijing bringing innovative devices to millions of people.
"Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I'm looking forward to having him on our team."
Sometimes referred to as "the Apple of China", Xiaomi announced a VR headset last year under Barra's watch. The device was certified to work with Google Cardboard apps and some of its mobile phones. In reply to Zuckerberg's welcome, Barra said he aimed to make VR a mainstream technology.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun always says that the highest calling of an engineer is to make technology breakthroughs quickly and readily available to the widest possible spectrum of humanity. That will be my mission at Facebook and I look forward to building the future of immersive technology with Mark Zuckerberg, Brendan Trexler Iribe, Mike Schroepfer, and the visionaries in the Oculus team.
Facebook has made VR and augmented reality two focal points of its long-term innovation roadmap, with artificial intelligence and connectivity being the additional lynchpins for future research.
Version 56 of 
HBO today updated its HBO GO app for iOS devices and the Apple TV with support for Single sign-on, allowing subscribers to access HBO content more quickly.
Popular freelancing website Upwork today released its 
