MacRumors

Apple may introduce a new 5-inch iPhone model that sports a unique vertical dual-camera system that sits alongside the existing 4.7- and 5.5-inch models, according to Japanese blog Mac Okatara. The 5-inch model would act as the medium size in the 2017 lineup.

The report, which comes from a Taiwanese supplier, says that the new models, dubbed the iPhone 7s, would be an updated version of the iPhone 7. The new 5-inch model, however, would rearrange the iPhone 7 Plus' dual camera into a vertical alignment rather than a horizontal one.

Earlier this month, Mac Okatara reported that the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus would retain the aluminum design of the iPhone 7. However, the report said the new phones would come in an all-new red color. Multiple reports have stated that there will be three new iPhone models in 2017, including updated 4.7- and 5.5-inch models with LCD screens and a premium model with an OLED display and glass casing.

The new report corroborates an earlier Nikkei report that said a new 5-inch iPhone would arrive in 2017. However, Nikkei reports that the three iPhone models in 2017 will have new glass-backed designs. In November, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said it's likely the 2017 iPhones will switch to new glass casings to support wireless charging.

While Mac Okatara was the first to report that Apple would replace the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 and debut a new gloss black color, its track record is not perfect. In November, it reported the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus would get a new "Jet White" color that has not yet materialized.

Just after the Christmas shopping period, B&H Photo is offering impressive deals on the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. B&H is offering $200 off with a free copy of Parallels 12, which is worth $79.95.

2.6 GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar - $2,199, down from $2,399 ($200 off)
2.7 GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar - $2,599, down from $2,799 ($200 off)

B&H is also offering non-Touch Bar 13-inch MacBook Pros for $100 to $150 off. Those who purchase those models will also receive a free copy of Parallels 12.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo Video and may sometimes get paid if you click one of the above links and purchase a product or service.

Earlier in December, Apple announced that it would begin allowing its artificial intelligence and machine learning researchers to publish and share their work in papers, slightly pulling back the curtain on the company's famously secretive creation processes. Now, just a few weeks later, the first of those papers has been published, focusing on Apple's work in the intelligent image recognition field.

Titled "Learning from Simulated and Unsupervised Images through Adversarial Training," the paper describes a program that can intelligently decipher and understand digital images in a setting similar to the "Siri Intelligence" and facial recognition features introduced in Photos in iOS 10, but more advanced.

In the research, Apple notes the downsides and upsides of using real images compared with that of "synthetic," or computer images. Annotations must be added to real images, an "expensive and time-consuming task" that requires a human workforce to individually label objects in a picture. On the other hand, computer-generated images help to catalyze this process "because the annotations are automatically available."

Still, fully switching to synthetic images could lead to a dip in the quality of the program in question. This is because "synthetic data is often not realistic enough" and would lead to an end-user experience that only responded well to details present in the computer-generated images, while being unable to generalize well on any real-world objects and pictures it faced.

This leads to the paper's central proposition -- the combination of using both simulated and real images to work together in "adversarial training," creating an advanced AI image program:

In this paper, we propose Simulated+Unsupervised (S+U) learning, where the goal is to improve the realism of synthetic images from a simulator using unlabeled real data. The improved realism enables the training of better machine learning models on large datasets without any data collection or human annotation effort.

We show that this enables generation of highly realistic images, which we demonstrate both qualitatively and with a user study.

The rest of the paper goes into the details of Apple's research on the topic, including experiments that have been run and the math proposed to back up its findings. The paper's research focused solely on single images, but the team at Apple notes towards the end that it hopes to sometime soon "investigate refining videos" as well.

The credits on the paper go to Apple researchers Ashish Shrivastava, Tomas Pfister, Oncel Tuzel, Josh Susskind, Wenda Wang, and Russ Webb. The team's research was first submitted on November 15, but it didn't get published until December 22.

At the AI conference in Barcelona a few weeks ago, Apple head of machine learning Russ Salakhutdinov -- and a few other employees -- discussed topics including health and vital signs, volumetric detection of LiDAR, prediction with structured outputs, image processing and colorization, intelligent assistant and language modeling, and activity recognition. We'll likely see papers on a variety of these topics and more in the near future.

Starting on January 2, Apple plans to hold a special New Year's Sale both online and at all of its retail locations in Japan, continuing a long tradition of offering something special on January 2 in the country.

Up until 2016, Apple took part in the Japanese tradition of offering "Fukubukuro" or "lucky bags" to customers. Fukubukuro used to contain an assortment of random Apple products at a price of approximately $300. Some bags contained things like backpacks, speakers, and other small accessories, but there was always a chance to win a larger product, like a MacBook Air or an iPad.

The Fukubukuro tradition is still ongoing in Japan, but 2015 was the last year that Apple participated, opting instead for in-store sales and doing away with the long lines retail locations used to see as people hoped to snag one of the limited edition bags.

It is not clear what kind of discounts Apple will be offering on January 2, but it could be similar to the Black Friday event in the United States, which saw the company offer Apple Store gift cards up to $150 with the purchase of Macs, iPads, iPhones, and more.

Apple is also likely to offer additional sales in various countries around the world ahead of Lunar New Year, set to take place on Saturday, January 28.

iTunes gift cards are a common gift for the tech enthusiast during the holidays. The cards can be used to purchase apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, books, and more, making it difficult to decide what to buy with your freshly unwrapped gift. We're here to help with some hand-picked recommendations.

Didn't get an iTunes gift card under the tree? PayPal is offering 10% off iTunes e-gift cards through December 30 in the United States for use on U.S. storefronts only. Available denominations include $25, $50, and $100 for $22.50, $45, and $90 respectively. PayPal is also offering a $50 iTunes e-gift card for $42.50 via eBay in the United States for a limited time. While iTunes gift cards can occasionally be found for 15% off, these are a few of the best deals currently available.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the script for a two-part play based on a new original story J.K. Rowling helped to write. The book was released in July as the eighth story in the Harry Potter series, nearly a decade after the final Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book was released.

The story begins 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Harry Potter is now an overworked Ministry of Magic employee, a husband, and father of three school-aged children, including his youngest son Albus, who struggles with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is available in a digital format for $14.99 on the iBooks Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Texture — Unlimited Access to 200+ Magazines

Texture is an iPhone and iPad app that provides unlimited access to over 200 of the world's most popular magazines for $9.99 per month. New users who purchase a subscription as an in-app purchase get a 7-day full trial.

Some of the magazines available include People, Vogue, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, GQ, Sports Illustrated, Wired, Maxim, Men's Health, GQ, Bloomberg Businessweek, ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, and many others.

Magazines can be read on up to five devices per subscription, including offline by tapping download on a specific issue. Both new issues and a searchable archive of over 5000 past issues are available. A full catalog of available magazines, additional details, and sign-up promotions can be found on the Texture website.

Texture is a free download on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad. The app won a Best of 2016 award on the App Store.

Super Mario Run

Super Mario Run launched on the App Store for iPhone and iPad ten days ago, becoming the first official smartphone and tablet game featuring the iconic Nintendo character. The game is free to try for the first three courses, while unlocking all 24 courses in the World Tour requires a one-time $10 in-app purchase.

The game is a timed runner designed for one-handed gameplay. Mario runs forward automatically as players tap to jump, collect coins, pounce on Goombas, avoid obstacles, and reach the flagpole at the end of each course before the timer runs out. In the end, Mario must rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.

A challenge mode called Toad Rally allows players to compete with friends or strangers to see who can obtain the highest score while performing stylish moves. Toad Rally requires Rally Tickets, which can be acquired in a variety of ways, such as clearing worlds or through bonus games in your own kingdom.

Meanwhile, a Kingdom Builder mode enables players to create their own kingdom and customize it using coins and toads gathered in Toad Rally. Super Mario Run has since gained a new Friendly Run mode similar to Toad Rally, but items, coins, or new toads collected do count toward a player's public totals in this mode.

Super Mario Run has been downloaded over 40 million times, but some players have criticized the $10 cost to unlock the full game due to limited gameplay. But, in the game's defense, there are technically 72 courses given players have to collect pink, purple, and black challenge coins on each of the 24 courses.

Super Mario Run is available on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad. An always-on Wi-Fi or cellular connection is required.

Apps on Sale

A number of popular iPhone and iPad apps are on sale through the holidays, including Day One, Tweetbot, Alto's Adventure, Byword, djay Pro, Duet Display, NBA 2K17, Limbo, SteamWorld Heist, Severed, Battleheart Legacy, PCalc, Pennies, Drafts, Don't Starve: Pocket Edition, Broken Age, and many others.

More deals, including discounts on Mac apps, can be found on AppShopper or in the App Santa promotion, which runs through December 26. TouchArcade has also finalized its list of the 100 best games available this year. As a reminder, no new or updated apps will appear on the App Store until after December 27.

Apple Music Subscription

iTunes gift cards can be used to pay for an Apple Music subscription, which costs $9.99 per month for individuals, $14.99 per month for families with up to six people, and $4.99 per month for students in the United States and Canada. Prices and student plan availability vary in other countries.

Those looking for a slightly better deal on an annual Apple Music subscription should consider a 12-month Apple Music gift card, which Apple sells for $99. A 12-month subscription to Apple Music normally costs $120 when paying for the service directly with iTunes credit or another form of payment, so you can save $20.

Minecraft for Apple TV

Minecraft for Apple TV launched last week, giving players the familiar task of venturing into a randomly generated world and customizing it to their liking.

Minecraft: Apple TV Edition is $19.99 and can be purchased directly from the tvOS App Store on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

Holiday Movies

With the holidays and winter weather upon us in the northern half of the world, now is a better time than ever to snug up on the couch and relax. Apple is offering a wide range of holiday movies in HD for $10 or less in the United States for a limited time, so this may be a good way to spend some iTunes credit.

For those lucky enough to find a new iPhone, iPad, or AirPods under the tree today, now is the perfect time to outfit your home, car, work desk, bedside table, or elsewhere with extra Lightning charging cables.

Apple charges $19 for its 1-meter Lightning to USB charging cable, but you can save yourself $13 by purchasing an Apple-certified 0.9-meter Anker Lightning to USB charging cable for just $5.99 on Amazon.

The cable qualifies for free two-day shipping in the United States for Amazon Prime members. Without a Prime membership, free standard 6-8 days shipping in the U.S. is available on orders over $49 in total.

While counterfeit Apple cables and chargers on Amazon are common, and potentially dangerous, Anker claims its cable is certified by Apple under its MFi Program. MFi-certified products have been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards. The Wirecutter, owned by The New York Times, said Anker has the best Lightning cable.

This article is not affiliated with Anker, but MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may get paid if you click one of the above links and make a purchase. Thank you to our readers for their continued support this year.

Yesterday Consumer Reports revealed that Apple's 2016 MacBook Pro became the first MacBook to fail to achieve a recommendation due to inconsistent battery life. Apple SVP Phil Schiller today tweeted that the Cupertino company is working with Consumer Reports to understand the battery tests.

"Working with [Consumer Reports] to understand their battery tests, " Schiller tweeted. "Results do not match our extensive lab tests or field data." Apple claims its internal testing has seen the new MacBook Pro providing up to 10 hours of battery life when watching iTunes movies or browsing the web.

Consumer Reports' test has come under scrutiny since publication of the non-recommendation. The tests were conducted by opening a series of 10 web pages sequentially on Safari. This tests' inconsistency had the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar registering 16 hours, 12.75 hours and 3.75 hours of battery life. A 15-inch MacBook Pro ranged from 18.5 hours to 8 hours of battery life.

When Consumer Reports tried the test with Chrome rather than Safari, it found consistently high battery life. "For this exercise, we ran two trials on each of the laptops, and found battery life to be consistently high on all six runs," the report said. Consumer Reports did not think it was enough data to draw a conclusion, though they also point out their test results only take default browsers into consideration.

Critics, like iMore's Rene Ritchie, argue that inconsistent test results require more testing to ferret out whether the issue is easily fixable, like a Safari glitch. Consumer Reports noted in its report that if Apple issues a software update that it claims will fix battery life inconsistency, they will conduct fresh tests.

In the wake of its legal dispute with Nokia, Apple has pulled all Withings-branded accessories from its online store and presumably from all of its retail stores around the world.

Apple appears to have pulled the accessories in the last day or two, eliminating Withings products like the Body Cardio Scale, the Smart Body Analyzer, and the Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor. When searching for these products on Apple's site, they are no longer listed as available for purchase.

Apple has stopped offering all Withings products because Withings is owned by Nokia following a spring 2016 purchase worth an estimated $192 million. The Withings brand has been integrated into Nokia's Digital Health unit and is led by Cedric Hutchings, formerly the CEO of Withings.

Earlier this week, Apple filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing Nokia and several patent assertion entities of illegally transferring patents to attempt to extort excessive royalty fees from the Cupertino company. Apple had established FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) deals with Nokia, but by transferring patents to patent holding companies, additional royalties can be demanded.

In response, Nokia filed 40 patent infringement lawsuits against Apple across 11 countries, accusing the Cupertino company of failing to establish licensing deals for Nokia patents that cover displays, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets, and video coding.

According to Apple, Nokia has been conspiring with patent assertion entities (Acacia Research and Conversant Property Management) in an "illegal patent transfer scheme" to wring money out of Apple because Nokia's cell phone business is failing. Nokia, meanwhile, says that it has not been able to reach a licensing agreement with Apple and must defend its rights.

While the LG UltraFine 5K Display went on sale earlier this week, it was actually the second time it became available for purchase. Apple very briefly accepted orders for the display in late November, possibly by mistake, and some lucky customers who bought one received six to eight week shipping estimates.

Apple emailed some of those first-wave customers earlier this week to let them know their order would be shipping sooner than expected, typically with an expected delivery date of December 28 to December 29. But, in the United Kingdom at least, at least a few lucky customers received their displays today.

"I ordered literally within seconds of them going on sale, with estimated delivery of December 28-30," said MacRumors forum member Stealth66, who ordered two LG UltraFine 5K displays. "I received a shipping email out of the blue yesterday afternoon, and they were delivered today by UK Mail."

"I've used Apple's Thunderbolt Displays for a few years and I must say these LG 5Ks are awesome," he added. "Very bright, incredibly sharp, and worked flawlessly out of the box, just like an Apple product! It works fine with the Belkin Ethernet adapter plugged into the back of the display."

The forum member noted the Thunderbolt 3 cable included in the box with one of the displays was defective, prompting him to make a Genius Bar appointment to obtain a replacement cable.

MacRumors forum member iBrooker, located in Wales, said his LG UltraFine 5K Display coincidentally arrived today at the same time as his new MacBook Pro, with the deliveries handled separately by couriers DHL and DPD.

"I've spent a couple of hours setting it all up and have to say the display itself is stunning," said iBrooker. "However, I'm still a bit peed that there is no headphone out—so I will have to waste one USB-C port for that. I am not fussed on the built in speakers, and didn't really want/need a camera."

LG's UltraFine 5K Display, designed in partnership with Apple, connects to the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with a single Thunderbolt 3 cable, which provides up to 85W of power to charge the notebook. The 27-inch IPS LED display has peak brightness of 500 nits and a wide DCI-P3 color gamut for more accurate and vivid colors.

The display has an adjustable and removable stand with VESA mount, built-in camera, microphone, stereo speakers, and three downstream USB-C ports at 5 Gbps speeds. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and 217 PPI. The display can be purchased from Apple for $974 until March 31, when it increases to $1,299.95.

The majority of orders placed in late November should begin arriving to customers in the United States and elsewhere next week. Orders placed this week were initially estimated to ship in as few as 3-5 business days, but orders quickly became backlogged and shipping estimates slipped to 2-4 weeks.

For those still looking into purchasing a 4K or 5K display, be sure to consider the smaller LG UltraFine 4K Display or other USB-C displays available.

Today marks the first day of Apple's annual iTunes Connect holiday shutdown, meaning the App Store will be void of any new or updated apps between now and Tuesday, December 27. In the meantime, iPhone and iPad users have plenty of time to capitalize on holiday sales for a number of popular apps.

Alto's Adventure
$3.99 → 99 cents
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A beautiful endless runner with procedurally generated terrain based on real-world snowboarding.

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Day One
$4.99 → $2.99
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A popular journaling app for capturing everything from once-in-a-lifetime events to everyday moments.

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Tweetbot
$9.99 → $4.99
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A popular Twitter app with granular mute filters, support for multiple accounts, timeline syncing across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and more.

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djay Pro for iPad
$19.99 → $9.99
iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A popular app for DJs that integrates with your media library and Spotify. 2016 Apple Design Award Winner.

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Byword
$5.99 → $2.99
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A popular app for writing with text-to-HTML tool Markdown.

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Duet Display
$19.99 → $9.99
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: Turn a plugged-in iPad or iPhone into an extra display for your Mac or PC. Praised for lag-free experience in reviews.

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Don't Starve: Pocket Edition
$4.99 → 99 cents
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: MacRumors sister website TouchArcade called this game a masterpiece of horror, humor, and hunger.

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Broken Age
$4.99 → 99 cents
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: A popular animated puzzle-filled adventure game. Apple Editors' Choice Winner.

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Pandemic: The Board Game
$6.99 → $1.99
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: An award-wining board game in which players are put in an apocalyptic situation where they must work as a team to save the world.

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Out There: Ω Edition
$4.99 → 99 cents
iPhone and iPad
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: MacRumors sister website TouchArcade gave this galactic adventure game 5 out of 5 stars.

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NBA 2K17
$7.99 → $2.99
iPhone
AppShopper | App Store

Editor's Note: The latest iPhone version of the popular NBA 2K franchise.

More deals can be found on AppShopper and through the ongoing App Santa promotion, which in addition to some of the apps above, includes discounts on Vee, Screens, Soulver, Pennies, Launch Center Pro, Drafts 4, Interact, Deliveries, Castro, Group Text+, Star Walk, Rando Emoji, and PCalc.

The annual App Store holiday shutdown has also provided TouchArcade with an opportunity to finalize its list of the 100 best games available this year. Nintendo franchises ruled with Pokémon GO and Super Mario Run this year, alongside popular titles like Clash Royale, Lumines, and Deus Ex GO.

Sources in Apple's supply chain are suggesting that "lower-than-expected" yield rates for the 10-nanometer manufacturing process could "disrupt the schedule" of next year's iPad launch, previously rumored to be coming in March 2017 (via DigiTimes). Specifically, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung are said to be facing the biggest issues with their 10nm processes, and TSMC's in turn has the potential to delay production for the A10X chips in the next-generation of iPads.

Apple typically sticks to the same manufacturing process for "X" labeled chips, and the current-generation A10 chip was crafted using the 16-nanometer process. The move to a more efficient 10nm chip in a new iPad line, while still unconfirmed, would go towards making the tablet more power efficient and able to fuel a speedier operating system experience for users.

TSMC has reportedly obtained 10nm chip orders from Apple, HiSilicon and MediaTek, with volume production set to kick off in the first quarter of 2017. Nevertheless, yield rates for TSMC's 10nm process technology are not what the foundry expected, the sources said.

TSMC is scheduled to start making Apple's A10X chips for the next-generation iPad series slated for launch in March 2017. Unsatisfactory yields for the foundry's 10nm process could disrupt the schedule, the sources indicated.

Recent rumors suggest that the 2017 line of iPads will include three models: refreshed 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch versions, along with an all-new bezel-free 10.9-inch model. The new bezel-free model is said to be a thicker iPad at 7.5mm (the current 9.7-inch iPad Pro measures 6.1mm) and not include a Home Button. The specific size of the new iPad has varied in reports, including rumors that it will be 10.1 inches, 10.5 inches, and -- most recently -- 10.9 inches.

In the same report, DigiTimes mentioned that TSMC is also gearing up to produce A11 chips in the upcoming "iPhone 8." According to supply chain sources, volume production for those chips is expected to begin in Q2 2017, which aligns with Apple's annual September iPhone launch schedule.