Apple today issued a voluntary recall for certain two-prong AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Continental Europe, New Zealand, and South Korea, due to the risk of electrical shock if touched in very rare cases. Apple has also advised customers to stop using affected plug adapters.
Apple is offering a new, redesigned adapter for free to affected customers.
Customer safety is always Apple's top priority, and we have voluntarily decided to exchange affected wall plug adapters with a new, redesigned adapter, free of charge.
The recalled wall plug adapters shipped with Macs and some iOS devices sold between 2003 and 2015, and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit. Apple says an affected wall plug adapter has 4 or 5 characters or no characters on the inside slot where it attaches to a power adapter.
Affected adapter prong types
Redesigned adapters have a 3-letter regional code in the slot, such as EUR, KOR, AUS, ARG or BRA. Apple says other wall plug adapters, including those designed for the U.S., Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.K., and Apple USB power adapters, are not affected by this program.
T-Mobile today announced the support of four new partners to its free video streaming service Binge On, including Amazon Video, Fox News, Univision NOW, and WWE Network. The new streaming partners join more than 40 services already supporting Binge On, which lets customers watch video content without using data from their T-Mobile cellular plan.
The company also released a few details about the status of Binge On in the three months since its launch, saying that customers using the service are watching "more than twice the video" they were before Binge On. The service is one of the latest programs in T-Mobile's "Un-carrier" marketing campaign, which CEO John Legere says "has literally changed the way millions of people are watching video."
“Binge On is our most disruptive Un-carrier move yet. It has literally changed the way millions of people are watching video – they’re watching more, more than twice as much as before, and most importantly, they’re watching without worrying about bigger bills or surprise overages!” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “Binge On is the Un-carrier solution to satisfy Americans’ growing appetite for mobile video – and the facts are telling us that customers love it!”
T-Mobile conducted a survey of its customers as well, focusing on users' understanding and opinions regarding Binge On. 92 percent of T-Mobile customers surveyed said they plan to watch more video using the service, while 93 percent claimed that they're okay with all video being "optimized to DVD quality," referencing Binge On's baseline 480p video resolution.
After the FCC began scrutinizing similar programs last year, T-Mobile's program became the center of some drama between the cellular carrier and YouTube, which claimed the service throttled its content even though it wasn't a partner with Binge On. After an independent test confirmed such throttling claims, John Legere responded to all of the comments made against the service, reiterating T-Mobile's continued enthusiastic support of Binge On.
Angela Ahrendts spoke yesterday to Fast Company about her first two years as Apple's retail chief and her strategy to improve the company's customer experience at its global chain of retail stores.
In an interview titled "Apple's Angela Ahrendts On What It Takes To Make Change Inside A Successful Business," the Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores explains that, in her first six months at Apple, she travelled to 40 different markets and met with retail leaders to learn about how stores were "uniting people and getting them to collaborate."
When asked if Apple Store staff feel the same pride working for the company as Cupertino employees do, Ahrendts boasted about the company's 81% retention rate in 2015:
We just ended the year with the highest retention rates we’ve ever had: 81%. And the feedback [from Apple Store employees is that it’s] because they feel connected. They feel like one Apple. They don’t feel like they’re just somebody over here working with customers. I don’t see them as retail employees. I see them as executives in the company who are touching the customers with the products that Jony Ive and the team took years to build. Somebody has to deliver it to the customer in a wonderful way.
Ahrendts goes on to explain that her experience at Apple has taught her just how strong the culture is within the company, which was "built to change people's lives", and that the same core value is being continued by Apple's current CEO Tim Cook:
That foundation, that service mentality, that drive to continue to change lives — that is a core value in the company. And Tim Cook has added his on: He says it's also our responsibility to leave it better than we found it. So you have these two amazing pillars and a culture built around that. It's the same in retail and in Cupertino. That is the underlying mission, and how could you know that unless you're inside? But it is deeper than you would ever imagine.
In an interview for 60 Minutes late last year, Ahrendts spoke about how Apple is continually refining new designs for its stores worldwide to achieve a common "wow" factor, so that customers are "transfixed" from the moment they walk through the doors.
Taiwanese touch panel makers General Interface Solution and TPK will share production of a third-generation "4K" iPad Air set to debut in March, according to sources out of the China supply chain (via DigiTimes).
The same sources claim that in addition to a 4K resolution touch panel, Apple's new 9.7-inch tablet will feature up to 4GB RAM and improved battery life, and is scheduled to enter mass production in the second quarter of 2016.
The report goes on to state that both display makers expect a slight on-year increase in demand for touch panel products from Apple in the first half of 2016 due to orders of products equipped with 3D Touch. This comes despite previous rumors suggesting the iPad Air 3 will not adopt the pressure-sensitive display technology due to the production difficulties involved with scaling it up for a larger display.
Taiwan-based website DigiTimes has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming product plans, but its sources within the upstream supply chain have proven reliable in the past. However, the term "4K" may simply refer to the new iPad Air adopting features included in the iPad Pro, which inherited the oxide thin film transistor from the 5K Retina iMac, along with a UV-based photo alignment technique that ensures uniform color and brightness in the display. It also included a variable refresh rate that preserves battery life by cutting the refresh rate in half whenever there's static content on the screen.
Based on details from leaked design drawings, the next-generation iPad Air may be set to adopt the iPad Pro's four-speaker design and gain an LED flash next to the rear-facing camera. Other updates that would make sense include a faster A9 or A9X processor, Smart Connector, and improved cameras.
The second beta of iOS 9.3, which was seeded to developers on Monday and the public earlier today, includes a new feature that allows the iPad Pro's Smart Connector to update accessory firmware. The new feature was first spotted by German developer Stefan Wolfrum (viaCult of Mac) when he plugged his Logitech Create keyboard case into his iPad Pro.
In the past month, several users in the MacRumorsforums have noted that the Create keyboard case suffers from lag and dropped keystrokes. A MacRumors forum member, who also reported that his Create keyboard had its firmware updated when plugged into an iPad Pro running iOS 9.3 beta 2, said that both issues were resolved by the firmware update.
MacRumors was able to recreate the steps that led to the update by updating our iPad Pro to beta 2 and connecting the keyboard. When the keyboard is connected, a pop-up is displayed alerting users to an "accessory update", asking whether they want to update the "Smart Connector Accessory". If a user chooses to update, the pop-up stays on the screen and displays the update progress. Once progress hits 100 percent the dialog box disappears; the update took 30 - 40 seconds. However, there was no dialog or indication of what the update changed once the process was complete.
The Smart Connector's ability to transmit both data and power at the same time has been on full display with keyboard accessories like the Smart Keyboard and Logitech Create, but it was unknown whether the port could be used to update firmware for accessories. It's unclear whether the new iOS beta housed the firmware update or whether it quickly pinged a server to download the update before applying it.
Apple today followed through with plans to expand its lower pricing tier options for the App Store to Canada and New Zealand. Introduced in 2014, alternate pricing tiers A and B allow developers to charge lower prices in countries like China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Australia.
With the new pricing tiers, apps in Canada and New Zealand can be priced as low as $0.99 (CAD and NZD). Apple first announced upcoming Alternate Tier A and Tier B pricing options for Canada and New Zealand just over a week ago, when it raised App Store prices in the two countries due to exchange rate fluctuations.
On January 18, the Tier 1 minimum App Store price was raised to $1.39 CAD in Canada and $1.49 NZD in New Zealand. For reference, Tier 1 pricing in the United States is set at $0.99, meaning apps and in-app purchases priced at $0.99 in the U.S. cost $1.39 in Canada and $1.49 in New Zealand. With alternate pricing tiers, developers will now be able to charge $0.99 in the United States while charging a lower price in Canada, New Zealand, and the other countries listed above.
Lower price tiers, Alternate Tier A and Alternate Tier B, now let you offer paid apps and In-App Purchases at $0.99 (CAD) and $0.99 (NZD). Existing apps that already use these price tiers have been automatically updated.
App Store pricing was also raised in Israel, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, and South Africa, with several of those countries already able to take advantage of lower Tier A and Tier B pricing.
United States Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler introduced a proposal [PDF] this afternoon that would de-couple cable subscriptions from cable set-top boxes. Under the proposal, cable and satellite subscribers would be able to access and watch cable content on any set-top box of their choosing, including the Apple TV, rather than being limited to the set-top box provided by the cable company.
While allowing customers to access the full content provided with a cable subscription through the Apple TV is not quite the cord-cutting solution Apple has been aiming for, it is a step towards a more open relationship between technology companies and cable companies. Such a system would not give Apple control over content, but it would allow Apple to build an interface for that content.
The new rules would create a framework for providing device manufacturers, software developers and others the information they need to introduce innovative new technologies, while at the same time maintaining strong security, copyright and consumer protections. Nothing in this proposal changes a company's ability to package and price its programming to its subscribers, or requires consumers to purchase new boxes.
As The Verge points out, the FCC faces a tough battle attempting to get this proposal passed and implemented due to resistance from cable companies who want to have control over content and how and where it's displayed.
A similar plan for the CableCard, which allows companies like TIVO to offer cable content, has largely failed because of its complexity and because many cable providers refused to make the process simple enough to be widely adopted. Cable companies are against the proposal because of the loss of control and the loss of the revenue from rented cable set-top boxes, and more than 40 telecommunications groups have already formed a coalition to oppose the FCC's plan.
Cable companies argue it would give technology companies unfair access to customer data and potentially disrupt deals that have been established for channel positioning, giving some programmers better spots in the lineup for higher payments.
Having continually failed to reach deals with content providers and cable companies, Apple has settled on focusing on its tvOS operating system and the App Store available on the fourth-generation Apple TV. The tvOS App Store model allows for cable companies to create apps and deliver cable content to consumers on the Apple TV, but it's a fragmented system that's less than ideal because it still doesn't give Apple full control over the interface. The FCC's proposal has the potential to greatly improve the cable watching experience on the Apple TV, at least for cable subscribers.
Ahead of new software releases for iOS devices, Apple provides early copies to both developers and public beta testers to work out bugs and refine features. Major updates often include exciting new additions that people are eager to try out right away, such as iOS 9.3's Night Shift Mode and all of its other new features.
If you want to get your hands on iOS 9.3 ahead of its prospective spring public launch date, there are two legitimate ways to do it: a developer license or a public beta invitation. We'll outline both ways to get iOS 9.3 below, plus we'll include some instructions on downgrading in case you run into bugs.
Both those who sign up for a developer license and those who test betas through Apple's public beta testing program should use caution when installing beta software. It's called a beta because it's unfinished, and there are often significant issues and problems that can prevent apps and features from working, especially in the early beta testing process.
iOS 9.3, though relatively stable, should not be installed on a main iOS device that's used on a daily basis. Testing should be done on an extra device that can be easily wiped should something go wrong.
Earlier today, reputable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the iPhone 7 Plus will likely have a dual-lens camera system based on technology Apple acquired from LinX Imaging. The new hardware could lead to some significant improvements in camera quality on Apple's next flagship smartphone.
LinX's multi-aperture cameras pack impressive image quality in a smaller size than single aperture cameras, meaning the iPhone 7 Plus may lack a protruding camera lens and be able to take SLR-quality photos — think Canon or Nikon. The camera modules are also capable of very interesting technology called 3D depth mapping and more.
We previously provided an in-depth look at LinX's camera modules after Apple acquired the company, but it is worth recapping some of the major advantages of their technology, given today's iPhone 7 Plus rumor.
Noise Reduction
The images captured by the LinX camera are brighter and clearer, with significantly reduced noise levels, compared to smartphone cameras. Available detail when zoomed into a photo was also much greater, as can be seen in the comparison below. View this PDF for more side-by-side image comparisons.
Improved Indoor Photos
In the photo below, the image was taken in mid-levels of light, at approximately 40 to 50 lux, similar to a decently well-lit room in a house or restaurant. The LinX sensor let in more light than the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S4, for a photo that is clearer and sharper with less noise.
Improved Low Light Photos
LinX technology is able to significantly improve low light performance by using multiple channels to increase the sensitivity of the camera for better detail. It also keeps exposure times short to cut down on the motion blurring that can impact photo quality in conditions where lighting is not optimal.
LinX technology doesn't have to compromise between pixel size and resolution, as it can use small pixels but still let in adequate amounts of light.
3D Depth Mapping
LinX's multi-aperture cameras can create detailed depth maps of objects. With depth information on a per-pixel basis along with RGB information, LinX cameras can create 3D point clouds of objects from a single frame or a complete 3D model by combining several frames captured from different angles.
3D depth mapping has a number of useful applications, including 3D scanning of objects, sizing of objects, background removal and replacement and gesture recognition. The depth maps also allow for improved refocusing; by knowing the depth at every pixel, the feature allows for a synthetic blur to be applied that emulates a shallow depth.
Benefits Overview
- Better color accuracy and uniformity - HDR - higher dynamic range - UHDR - ultra high dynamic range - Low noise levels - Higher resolution
- Low module costs - No Autofocus for modules of up to 20MP - Zero shutter lag - Small size allows for slim devices and edge-to-edge displays
Apple today released a minor update to OS X Snow Leopard with a refreshed version of the Mac App Store. According to Apple's release notes, the Mac App Store has been updated to ensure the future compatibility of the app with the OS X Snow Leopard operating system.
Today's Mac App Store update is available to all OS X Snow Leopard users and can be downloaded through the Mac App Store's software update mechanism.
Before becoming available for public release, the OS X Snow Leopard Mac App Store compatibility update was made available to developers on January 20 for testing purposes.
OS X Snow Leopard (aka OS X 10.6) was first released in 2009. As software that has been discontinued and is run primarily on older machines, Snow Leopard updates are few and far between. The last significant Snow Leopard update, aside from security fixes, was introduced in 2011 ahead of the release of OS X Lion.
Apple's Mac App Store first launched in 2011 as part of the OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 update.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 beta to public beta testers, just a few days after releasing the second OS X 10.11.4 beta to developers and just over a week after releasing OS X 10.11.3.
The second beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who are enrolled in Apple's beta testing program. Those wishing to join the program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website.
OS X 10.11.4 includes a couple of new features, such as the ability to support password protected notes in the Notes app, but like the recent OS X 10.11.3 update, it appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements with few noticeable outward-facing changes.
Apple is likely to release OS X 10.11.4 in the spring, alongside iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2.
Apple today released the second beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update for public beta testers, just a few days after seeding the second iOS 9.3 beta to developers. iOS 9.3's second public beta comes a week after Apple released iOS 9.2.1, a minor update, to the public.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the second iOS 9.3 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 OS X betas.
iOS 9.3 is a major update to the iOS 9 operating system, introducing a long list of new features and improvements. iOS 9.3's biggest new feature is Night Shift mode, which is designed to automatically cut down on the amount of blue light an iOS user is exposed to at night by shifting to more yellow tones for the iPhone or iPad's display. With iOS 9.3, there's a number of changes for educational users, and the iPhone is now able to pair with multiple Apple Watches.
The update also includes new 3D Touch Quick Actions for stock apps like Weather, Settings, Compass, Health, App Store, and iTunes Store, plus it introduces password protection for individual notes in the Notes app. News in iOS 9.3 includes in-line video playback, landscape mode on the iPhone, and more personalization, while the Health app introduces a new Apple Watch-style "Activity" interface.
Today's second beta includes support for a Night Shift toggle in the Control Center on iOS devices. Night Shift is denoted by a new eye-shaped icon in between the icons for the timer and the calculator on the iPhone. Tapping on the icon brings up options to turn the feature on or disable it until the next day.
As noted by AnandTech, Intel this week quietly released an updated processor price list which includes several new Skylake chips that could be used in an updated 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
The direct upgrade path for the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro would use the following quad-core chip options: a 2.6 GHz Core i7-6770HQ, a 2.7 GHz Core i7-6870HQ, and a 2.8 GHz Core i7-6970HQ, all coming in at the same price points as the Haswell variants currently used in the MacBook Pro.
Perhaps a more intriguing but less likely scenario involves a series of new mobile Xeon E3 chips. These chips could offer even better CPU, graphics, and memory performance, although pricing becomes an issue with the highest-performing chip in the family.
As for the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, Intel announced chips appropriate for those machines back in September, although it suggested the chips would not actually be launching until early 2016. Those chips have been included on Intel's price lists for several months, but have been slow to show up in the wild. A claimed benchmark for a 13-inch MacBook Pro running one of these chips last week appears to have been a fake.
Most of Apple's Mac lineup is in need of updates, as Intel's Skylake delays have hampered Apple's ability to launch refreshed models. But with the Skylake logjam finally starting to break, Apple appears set to update its entire notebook lineup over the next several months. Opportunities for major product introductions could come at Apple's rumored March media event or at WWDC likely scheduled for mid-June, although smaller updates could come at any time via press release.
Google today introduced a few stability and performance improvements into its Chrome for iOS app, mainly centering around the company's switch from in-process rendering with UIWebView to out-of-process rendering thanks to WKWebView. Tests by Google proved the new update reduces the app's crash rate by 70 percent, letting users pick up where they left off on a page from any device without a crash causing issues.
The biggest change is in stability: with WKWebView’s out-of-process rendering, when the web view crashes or runs out of memory, it won’t bring down all of Chrome with it. As a result, Chrome crashes 70% less with WKWebView. Even when counting the “Aw, Snap!” page shown when the renderer crashes, there’s still a big improvement.
Outside of stability, WKWebView brings many other benefits. Web compatibility is improved with support for features like IndexedDB, bringing the HTML5test score for Chrome on iOS from 391 up to 409. Switching to background tabs will cause pages to reload 25% less often. JavaScript speed on benchmarks such as Octane is an order of magnitude faster, and scrolling is smoother and more responsive.
For the web, Google also created a new extension called "Data Saver," that will allow Chrome users the ability to manage data usage while outside of their home Wi-Fi. Similar in function to the extension available for Android devices, Data Saver reduces the data needed to access the web with the help of the company's "compression technology." The extension lets users see exactly how much data they saved and highlight which websites are using the most while out of the house.
Google said that the iOS Chrome update will begin rolling out starting today, and all users have to do is check for the update in the App Store [Direct Link] if they don't feel like waiting for an automatic update.
The San Jose city council has approved a development agreement for Apple that will give the company fifteen years to build "a maximum of 4.15 million square feet of space" within an 86 acre piece of land in north San Jose (via Silicon Valley Business Journal). Apple is still ironing out plans on exactly what it wants to do with the massive site, according to Kristina Raspe, senior director of real estate and development for the company.
"The opportunity to purchase this site came very quickly to Apple," Raspe said, in response to a question from councilman Donald Rocha about the site's ultimate use. "It was something we jumped on without a firm plan. We’re still studying the site to determine the best use for us. At this point, it looks like it will be office and R&D."
As Raspe pointed out, the San Jose campus will most likely be the focus of a headquarters for R&D and more company offices. Before today's agreement, the 4.15 million square feet of space was slowly purchased or leased by Apple over the past year. This week's development approval by the San Jose city council groups all of the company's previous acquisitions into one large project for the company to move forward with.
San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo called the agreement "a long time coming" during the council meeting, given Apple's long-awaited entry into the Silicon Valley city. As pointed out by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, if solely built up as office space the new campus could house 16,000 employees for the company. When completed, it will be larger than the existing Infinite Loop campus, as well as the "Campus 2" location currently under construction in Cupertino.
T-Mobile has announced a new BOGO promotion that offers qualifying Simple Choice customers half off all iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus models, or any iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with the purchase of another iPhone of equal or greater value. The savings are applied instantly at the point of sale.
Eligible devices can be purchased for full retail price, or through T-Mobile’s Jump financing program, and no smartphone trade-in is required. T-Mobile continues to offer up to $650 towards a balance owing or to pay off early termination fees to new customers that switch to the carrier.
The limited time offer is available in the U.S. at T-Mobile stores nationwide starting today, while supplies last, and also applies to Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note5 lineup and LG’s G4 and V10 smartphones. The promotion can also be requested over the phone by calling 1-800-TMOBILE.
Simple Choice customers with approved credit are eligible to purchase up to 12 devices, meaning 6 devices at half off. T-Mobile@Work customers can also take advantage of the offer. The promotion does not allow customers to mix and match iPhones and Android-based smartphones.
Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed during the company's first quarter earnings conference call that ExxonMobil will be rolling out Apple Pay support in its Speedpass+ app to conveniently pay at the pump with your iPhone.
Speedpass+ is currently supported at ExxonMobil gas stations in Salt Lake City, Houston, Charlottesville, Philadelphia and Nashville. The app supports all major credit cards and select debit cards, and it can also link with your personal checking account.
Most ExxonMobil gas stations across the U.S. are also equipped with Speedpass technology at the pump for RFID payments, and it is possible that Apple Pay support with an iPhone or Apple Watch could be introduced in the future.
Petro-Canada gas pump with NFC payment terminal for Visa and MasterCard
Last year, rival gas station Chevron launched an Apple Pay pilot program in the Bay Area that allows customers to pay for their gasoline directly at the pump by tapping their iPhone, or an Apple Watch paired with an iPhone 5 or newer.
ExxonMobil also operates gas stations in multiple countries outside the U.S. under its Esso brand, including Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and many are equipped with NFC readers that are compatible with contactless payment solutions such as Apple Pay, MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a research note obtained by MacRumors that predicts two 5.5-inch versions of the "iPhone 7 Plus" are in development, one with a single iSight rear-facing camera and another boasting a dual-camera design.
iPhone 7 mockup with dual-lens camera system (Image: Computer Bild)
LinX technology offers several improvements the iPhone 7 Plus could benefit from, including multiple sensors for a smaller size, possibly eliminating the need for a protruding camera lens. The lenses would also have better sensitivity to light and greatly improved image quality in low light.
Specifically, Kuo cites the LinX Imaging algorithm for its unique ability to achieve high-end dual-camera applications such as optical zoom simulation while sidestepping the traditional bottlenecks associated with compact camera module (CCM) assembly.
To that end, Kuo expects a 2-3x optical zoom function to feature in Apple's iPhone 7 Plus. However, owing to supply chain constraints on dual-camera modules, the KGI analyst expects the larger handset to come in single-camera and dual-camera versions.
Apple is well known for headlining improvements to the camera technology in its iPhones and showcasing their photography capabilities as a market-leading feature.
Even so, major improvements to camera technology have typically come in "S" release years, therefore it remains to be seen whether Apple chooses to include such improvements in this or the next generation of its flagship devices.