At IDF 2016 this week, CNET reports that Intel architect Brad Saunders addressed the USB Type-C Digital Audio specification due this quarter, noting that its improved power management for USB headphones and other new features "will really make USB Type-C the right connector for audio."
Apple has adopted USB-C on the 12-inch MacBook, but new iPhones are expected to retain the proprietary Lightning connector in lieu of the open standard. USB-C, meanwhile, continues to see wider adoption in popular Android-based smartphones like Google's Nexus 6P and Samsung's Galaxy Note 7.
Apple has equipped its mobile devices with proprietary connectors for over a decade, including the 30-pin dock connector used for iPhone, iPad, and iPod models between 2003 and 2012. Apple's notebooks, beyond the 12-inch MacBook, are also equipped with a proprietary MagSafe connector for charging.
For that reason, it is likely that Apple will continue to favor Lightning over USB-C for at least the foreseeable future.
Automatic today announced the launch of its next-generation connected car adapter, the Automatic Pro. The Automatic Pro, built on the second-generation Automatic Adapter, is the company's new flagship adapter, equipped with 3G cellular connectivity.
With an always-on 3G connection that carries no subscription fees, the Automatic Adapter is no longer reliant on an iPhone for functionality. Data is collected continuously, even when someone else is driving or when a smartphone isn't in the car.
Like the existing Automatic Adapter, the new version plugs into a car's OBD-II port to provide information like distance traveled, gas used, time spent in the car, and more. In addition to offering notifications to advise drivers on how to optimize speeds, save gas, and monitor engine alerts, the Automatic Pro can also do things like let users know when the time limit on a parking spot is up or connect with emergency services in the event of an accident with real-time vehicle location tracking.
"We're excited to be using the power of cellular connectivity to build upon the offerings of the second generation adapter and combine a beautiful, scalable UI with an extensive range of features that will help consumers the most," said Ljuba Miljkovic, Co-Founder of Automatic.
Along with the Automatic Pro, Automatic is launching a new Automatic app featuring customizable notifications, built-in IFTTT integration, the aforementioned emergency crash alert feature, and more advanced engine light diagnostics.
The Automatic Pro adapter is available beginning today for $129.95. It can be purchased from Automatic.com, Best Buy, or Amazon and it includes no ongoing service fees.
The assumed names of this year's iPhone lineup -- "iPhone 7" and "iPhone 7 Plus" -- have been confirmed by "reliable sources" speaking with Japanese site Mac Otakara. The sources said that Apple is following this name scheme to avoid confusion of having back-to-back iPhones with "S" in the name, even though the iPhone 7 will largely be a minor update over the iPhone 6s.
The new report nixes the chance for an additional third tier "iPhone 7 Pro," which was a rumored dual-lens alternative to the single-lens "iPhone 7 Plus" early in the rumor cycle. The less-powerful camera option was said to be created by Apple as a fallback in case the dual-lens technology didn't pan out. Now that everything seems to be going well for the company in this area, and mockups have repeatedly shown a dual-lens camera enclosure, it makes sense for Apple to revert to the well-known "Plus" moniker for its next-generation 5.5-inch dual-lens iPhone, and drop any reference to "Pro" altogether.
Otherwise, Mac Otakara reiterates on the expected rumors of the iPhone 7: there won't be a 3.5 mm headphone jack, it will house an A10 chip, and it will introduce a new flush, capacitive Home Button in lieu of the traditional physical switch. That last aspect of the new iPhone has been a bit more up in the air in the weeks ahead of the September launch, since it's hard to fully decipher whether recent image mockups confirm one way or the other if the Home Button is pressure-sensitive or not.
It's believed that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be revealed at an Apple event on September 7, with pre-orders beginning two days later on September 9. A recent leak from AT&T has pushed back the reported launch of the new iPhone, however, suggesting that Apple could be preparing a wide release on September 23, although the original rumor of September 16 is also still a viable option.
Alleged leaked images of two new upcoming products from Fitbit were published by TechnoBuffalo yesterday.
The images claim to show promotional shots of the wearable company's Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Flex 2, both of which have been rumored since trademark applications for the Mark II devices were discovered earlier this year.
The image of the Fitbit Charge 2 shows a larger screen than its popular predecessor, offering more space for information to be displayed. The listed features include PurePulse heart rate tracking and interchangeable bands, both of which didn't feature on the original Charge, which debuted in 2014.
The Flex 2 remains display-less like its previous incarnation, although "Swim-Proof" is listed in the included features, whereas the original Flex was only sweat, rain, and splash-proof. Also, the Flex 2 has vertical LED lights instead of the familiar horizontal ones.
Otherwise, the features appear similar to the originals, with smartphone notifications and multi-sport tracking already featured in Fitbit's lineup.
While Fitbit revealed in its recent earnings call that it would be releasing two new products this year, the company gave no specific date. However, some of the promotional images give a date of November 27. Pricing remains a mystery, although Fitbit tends to sell its wearables significantly cheaper than most smartwatches.
Ford Motor Company has announced its plans to build a fleet of fully automated driverless vehicles for commercial ride-sharing by 2021, according to Reuters.
The company said it was increasing its investments in technology firms and tripling its investment in semi-autonomous systems, which would entail doubling the size of its Palo Alto research team while expanding its campus in Silicon Valley.
Ford has more than 100 researchers working at its Silicon Valley campus (Image: AFP)
Ford made no mention of Apple or Google in its announcement, suggesting it sees itself competing against other tech companies who have their own car plans, rather than teaming up with them.
Ken Washington, Ford's vice president of research, told Reuters it was important to signal that Ford intends to win in this space. "We're saying to partners, we are the winning partner. It's not a hollow promise, it's a real intent," Washington said.
"Launching a self-driving car first for ride-sharing is a better way to reach the mass market and make the cars more affordable," said Ford Chief Technical Officer Raj Nair. The company is unlikely to offer a similar driverless car without steering wheel or pedals to consumers until 2025 or later, explained Nair.
Ford said it would invest in "Level 4" autonomy, referring to standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The levels represent the degree of autonomous sophistication, with Level 4 being "high automation", meaning the car is able to drive unmonitored in a specific use case - a city area, in Ford's vision, for instance.
Nair said the company wasn't willing to let drivers take control from a level two or three vehicle at a moment’s notice, citing safety concerns. "We don't yet know how to manage hand over back to the driver and have him engage and have him situationally aware, and be able to do that in a safe aware manner," he said, without mentioning Tesla's recent troubles.
The death of a Tesla driver in May who was using the company's "Autopilot" system but had his hands off the wheel has highlighted the confusion over drivers' responsibilities in a semi-autonomous car. Just yesterday, Tesla went so far as to remove the word "autopilot" from its China website after a driver in Beijing who crashed while the mode was active complained that the company had misled them about its capability.
"We abandoned the stepping-stone approach," added Ford chief executive Mark Fields, who believed there are too many risks involved in the safe "hand-over" of driving responsibility between car and driver.
Several sources indicate Apple is exploring various levels of autonomy in its much rumored car project, and has already met with California DMV officials regarding self-driving laws within the state.
The company's so-called Apple Car, codenamed "Project Titan" internally, is reportedly being headed up by former longtime executive Bob Mansfield, who last served as Senior Vice President of Technologies at the company. Last month it was reported that Apple's rumored 2020 target for launching the electric vehicle may have slipped to 2021.
Apple today added Japan to its list of countries eligible for iTunes carrier billing, suggesting the company is set to fast-track its expansion of the payment feature to regions across the globe (via Mashable).
Japan becomes the fifth market to accept the transaction method, which allows users to charge iTunes content purchases directly to their cellphone bill instead of registering a bank card or using a gift coupon. The feature got its launch in Switzerland and Taiwan yesterday, following its debut in Germany and Russia last year.
According to an anonymous source who spoke to CNBC, customers with Japan's second largest mobile company KDDI will be able to use the payment mode, which has yet to be officially announced in the country. Apple has posted instructions on how to use the convenience feature, which can be found in the Payment Information section of the iTunes Store after users have signed in with their credentials.
Users in Japan make up the third largest market for App Store transactions, behind China and the U.S., indicating Apple's willingness to make carrier billing its next go-to online purchase method behind Apple Pay. There's no word as yet regarding which countries will be next to get Apple's approval for the feature, but the company has several more countries in the near-term pipeline, sources said.
Apple appears ready to go the way of Google, which already offers mobile billing to users of its Google Play store in 45 markets, including deals with Japan's top three cellular carriers.
Apple's more deliberate rollout has likely been dependent on how prepared mobile companies are to cut a deal with Cupertino and accept lower transaction handling rates. While carriers have charged as much as 10 to 30 percent to handle transactions in the past, Apple has previously secured deals for better rates in the single digits.
Apple today announced that Lens Technology, one of its major suppliers in China, has committed to power all its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by 2018. The commitment is a large step in Apple's efforts to help manufacturers lower their carbon footprint in China.
Lens Technology has committed to power all of its glass production for Apple with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2018, as part of Apple’s industry-leading supply chain clean energy program announced last year. Lens is the first supplier to make a clean energy commitment for all of its Apple production, and will meet its goal through an unprecedented power purchase agreement with local wind projects.
The Cupertino company also announced that all 14 of its final assembly sites in the country are now compliant with UL's Zero Waste to Landfill validation. The standard, which started in January 2015, certifies that all manufacturing waste is reused, recycled, composted, or converted into energy (when necessary). Since the program began, nearly, 140,000 metric tons of waste have been diverted from landfills.
"We want to show the world that you can manufacture responsibly and we're working alongside our suppliers to help them lower their environment impact in China," Lisa Jackson, Apple's VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives said in a statement. "We congratulate Lens for their bold step, and hope by sharing the lessons we've learned in our transition to renewable energy, our suppliers will continue to access clean power projects, moving China closer to its green manufacturing goals."
Two Lens facilities in Changsha, Hunan province are currently used for Apple manufacturing. By 2018, Apple and Lens hope wind energy will cover 100 percent of energy consumed by Apple manufacturing. The change would avoid nearly 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Last October, Apple announced two clean energy programs aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of its manufacturing partners in the country. At the time, Apple said the programs would avoid over 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution in China between now and 2020.
Earlier this month, Apple's head of security engineering Ivan Krstic gave a talk at the Black Hat Conference, an annual event designed for the global InfoSec community. During the event, Krstic spoke about Apple security and unveiled the company's new bug bounty program.
Krstic's briefing is now available in full on YouTube, shared this morning on the Black Hat YouTube channel in a video entitled "Behind the Scenes of iOS Security."
In the talk, Krstic covers three major iOS security mechanisms -- HomeKit, Auto Unlock, and iCloud Keychain -- in "unprecedented technical detail," along with other iOS security measures.
HomeKit, Auto Unlock and iCloud Keychain are three Apple technologies that handle exceptionally sensitive user data - controlling devices (including locks) in the user's home, the ability to unlock a user's Mac from an Apple Watch, and the user's passwords and credit card information, respectively. We will discuss the cryptographic design and implementation of our novel secure synchronization fabric which moves confidential data between devices without exposing it to Apple, while affording the user the ability to recover data in case of device loss.
Data Protection is the cryptographic system protecting user data on all iOS devices. We will discuss the Secure Enclave Processor present in iPhone 5S and later devices and explain how it enabled a new approach to Data Protection key derivation and brute force rate limiting within a small TCB, making no intermediate or derived keys available to the normal Application Processor.
Traditional browser-based vulnerabilities are becoming harder to exploit due to increasingly sophisticated mitigation techniques. We will discuss a unique JIT hardening mechanism in iOS 10 that makes the iOS Safari JIT a more difficult target.
The most notable moment of Krstic's briefing features the unveiling of Apple's first ever bug bounty program, which will see the company paying out up to $200,000 to researchers who discover vulnerabilities in Apple software. Apple's bug bounty program, initially limited to a few dozen researchers, launches this September.
Apple has signed some kind of music agreement with Cash Money Records and its co-founder rapper Birdman, marking its first exclusivity deal with a full record label instead of individual artists, reports MusicBusinessWorldwide.
Apple Music head of content Larry Jackson and Birdman himself both confirmed the deal through Instagram posts, with Jackson calling Birdman a "tough negotiator." Details on the deal were not provided, so it is unclear what exactly it might entail.
Cash Money Records represents popular, well-known artists that include Drake, Young Money, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj, suggesting the deal could result in future agreements that will see content from artists signed under Cash Money Records available exclusively on Apple Music. MusicBusinessWorldwide speculates that the deal could involve exclusive releases or co-created content.
Apple may well have stumped up a big cheque to make it happen, potentially alongside some promotional guarantees regarding both iTunes and Apple Music itself.
One possible option: Apple paid out a weighty advance to Cash Money, at least some of which will be recouped from the label's future Apple Music/iTunes income.
Another: the two parties are co-creating content, whether music or video, which will remain exclusive to Apple.
Apple has worked with closely with Cash Money Records artist Drake in the past, and his latest album, "Views," was an Apple Music exclusive for a week when it launched in April. Drake also appeared at the Worldwide Developers Conference where Apple Music was introduced, and Apple produced the music video for "Energy" using its in-house production team.
Apple executives see exclusive and original content as a way to drive subscribers to Apple Music and they have worked hard to establish deals with artists like Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Katy Perry over the course of the last few months. Since its launch in June of 2015, Apple Music has seen steady growth, and as of June 2016, the service has more than 15 million paying subscribers.
Update: According to Bloomberg, Apple's deal with Cash Money Records was about a future documentary rather than exclusivity agreements. Apple and Cash Money Records will team up to make a documentary, which will likely be used to promote Apple Music.
Details on what the documentary might be about are not yet available.
This week, Google released a new app called Duo, which allows for FaceTime-style video calling. Unlike FaceTime, though, Duo allows for cross platform calls that work on both Android and iOS mobile devices, so it isn't limited to users who only have an iPhone. In the video below, we went hands on with Duo to see just how well it works and whether it's a serious FaceTime competitor.
The Duo app is rather simple, with a similar interface on Android and iOS devices. You sign into the app using your phone number, and once logged in, you have a list of contacts to call pulled from the existing contacts in your phone. That's it.
When in a video call, you get many of the features you'd expect from a service like FaceTime, including mute, switching between the rear and front-facing camera, and ending the call. One new feature, however, is called Knock Knock, which is a sort of video caller-ID that lets the person receiving a call see what the caller is doing before answering. Think of it like a FaceTime video preview that's available before the FaceTime call is accepted.
Because Duo uses a phone number for authentication, the app is not available for the desktop, and you are only able to use one device associated with a certain phone number at a time. This may be a deal breaker for those who like to chat on multiple devices, but for those looking for easy video calling, it's worth a try.
We all likely know someone who doesn't use an iPhone, and Duo seems to be a good alternative for those looking for a FaceTime-like feature on Android. Duo is available from the App Store [Direct Link] and Google Play Store and can be downloaded for free.
At today's Intel Developer Forum, Intel announced a new licensing deal with ARM, which will see Intel taking advantage of ARM technology in an effort to attract more manufacturing companies to its factories.
Under the terms of the deal, Intel plans to allow third-party semiconductor companies to use its 10-nanometer production lines for manufacturing ARM-based chips for smartphones, expanding the production options available to companies like Apple.
Apple currently produces custom-designed ARM-based chips that are manufactured by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), but with Intel and ARM's new licensing deal, Apple (and other manufacturers) could potentially use Intel to fabricate its chips.
LG Electronics has already inked a deal with Intel and will use Intel's foundry business to manufacture 10-nanometer chips for future LG devices. It is not clear if Apple will strike a deal with Intel, as rumors suggest Apple already has an agreement in place with TSMC to produce 10-nanometer A11 chips destined for the 2017 iPhone and other 2017 devices, but the possibility exists for future chips.
TSMC is also said to be the sole manufacturer of the A10 chip that will be used in the upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Last week, MacRumors covered photos of what appear to be the front and rear of bare iPhone 7 logic boards, and since that time we've been able to study these boards and compare them to previous iPhone generations' bare and populated logic boards.
Comparing the boards with existing component offerings and information suggests that Apple has indeed moved on from Qualcomm as its baseband modem supplier and switched to Intel for the upcoming iPhone generation. This does not preclude Apple from having other versions of the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus logic boards which feature a Qualcomm modem, such as an international model with differing LTE band options, as has been rumored.
Leaked iPhone 7 logic board with Intel modem location annotated
The image above shows the previously leaked and annotated logic board front with the probable location of the Intel baseband modem annotated. The pad pattern for the part in this location is markedly different than the pad pattern for the Qualcomm MDM9635, as shown in iFixit's parts catalog. The pad pattern of this mystery part also appears to match the dimensions listed on Intel's website for similar baseband modem offerings to the rumored XMM 7360 design solution.
Apple is hiring a Lyrics Curation Manager and Lyrics Curators, presumably to work on the new Apple Music feature in iOS 10 that provides song lyrics alongside each Apple Music song that is playing.
First noticed by MusicBusinessWorldwide, the job listings are for the Content Curation team, responsible for "maintaining the very best user experience possible around content."
We're looking for a manager to lead a team of lyrics curators with excellent writing skills, music knowledge, and attention to detail. Passion for technology and a will to question the current workflows with the mindset to improve tools and processes. General understanding, love, and ideally, experience in writing lyrics.
For the non-manager positions, Apple is seeking candidates with competency in Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, German, and Spanish, so at least some of the Lyrics team will focus on translating song lyrics into additional languages. Other job requirements include the ability to "accurately and quickly transcribe lyrics," "superlative writing skills" and a willingness to learn "new and complicated tools and processes."
In Apple Music in iOS 10, scrolling down on the "Now Playing" window brings up an option to show song lyrics on most Apple Music songs. Lyrics are still a work in progress and are not available for all songs, especially new releases.
It is not clear if Apple's lyric transcriptions are done in-house, but given the sheer number of songs on Apple Music, it seems likely Apple has partner services with lyrics provided by a company specializing in lyric transcription or directly from music labels.
The new Apple Music, which has seen a significant redesign in iOS 10, will launch to the public this fall.
At today's Intel Developer Forum, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and other Intel execs showed off its 7th Generation Core, Kaby Lake. While information shared on Kaby Lake was limited, there was an on-screen demo of two machines equipped with Kaby Lake processors, shown editing 4K video and using built-in graphics to play popular Blizzard game Overwatch.
Kaby Lake is hardware accelerated for the HEVC Main10 profile, meaning it can "play the highest quality 4K premium content on the market today without a hitch." An HP two-in-one laptop on stage was used to edit 4K video and a Dell XPS laptop was used to show off Overwatch, which ran seamlessly on the machine thanks to Intel's efforts to "push the boundaries of processor graphics."
For those unfamiliar with Kaby Lake, it is the third chip manufactured using Intel's 14-nanometer process, following Broadwell and Skylake. It's a semi-tock with optimized microarchitecture, offering support for Thunderbolt 3, native USB 3.1, and DisplayPort 1.2.
According to Krzanich, Kaby Lake processors are already shipping to Intel's manufacturing partners and will launch in new devices coming this fall, something we already knew following a July earnings call. Krzanich did not provide a further breakdown on when chips appropriate for some of Apple's machines long overdue for updates will launch.
Intel often launches low-power 4.5W Y-series chips and 15W U-series chips first, neither of which are suitable for use in the machine that people are most curious about, the MacBook Pro. According to an old Intel roadmap, Kaby Lake chips appropriate for use in the MacBook Pro, the iMac, and the Mac mini won't launch until the very end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017, meaning any Apple machines released in the fall of 2016 may be limited to Skylake chips.
Rumors suggest the MacBook Pro is getting a major overhaul this year, with a slimmer design, Touch ID support, and a built-in OLED touch panel. There's no specific word on a launch date, but it is expected sometime after the September iPhone event and before the end of the year, pinpointing October or November.
During today's event, along with touching on its 7th Gen processors, Intel outlined Project Alloy, a "merged reality" open source hardware project described as "the next version of VR," allowing objects from the real world to be brought into the virtual world and vice versa. On stage, this was demonstrated with a dollar bill that was used to manipulate a virtual object. Intel also announced TXL labs, a production studio "dedicated to pushing the limits of technology for production," and a new drone platform.
With Apple set to launch the iPhone 7 next month rumors about the phone and the event where it will debut have been picking up. We've already heard information suggesting the iPhone 7 will be introduced at an event set to take place on Wednesday, September 7, two days after the Labor Day holiday, and now it appears we may have some insight into the actual release date.
While Apple typically releases the iPhone about two weeks after introducing it, suggesting a September 16 launch date, new scheduling information from AT&T shared by 9to5Mac indicates that the iPhone 7 might not launch until later in the month, on September 23.
A leaked AT&T retail schedule featuring "Merchandising Reset" hours indicates employees will need to spend several hours reorganizing AT&T stores on both September 9, 2016 and September 23, 2016. It's possible this schedule pertains to the iPhone, but there's no concrete proof that it does.
Previous information from notable smartphone leaker Even Blass has suggested pre-orders for the iPhone 7 will take place on Friday, September 9, two days after the prospective debut event, which is in line with the schedule from AT&T.
Blass has also predicted an iPhone launch for September 16, but if this AT&T information is accurate and does pertain to release preparations, that previous prediction could be incorrect. September 16 and September 23 are both likely candidates for an iPhone release date.
Regardless of when Apple plans to release the iPhone 7, we don't have long to wait for an unveiling with only three weeks to go until the rumored September 7 event date. Media invites for the event are likely to go out next week, perhaps on Thursday August 25 or Friday, August 26.
Microsoft today launched a new commercial for its Surface Pro 4, comparing the tablet computer to Apple's iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard. The ad -- titled "What's a Computer? Just ask Cortana" -- was posted on YouTube today with a description claiming that "just because you call something a computer doesn’t mean it fits the description." The new ad is clearly targeting Apple's new "What's a Computer?" ad campaign and "Super. Computer." slogan for the iPad Pro.
The ad centers around a party that Siri is holding for its new Smart Keyboard, telling the Surface Pro 4 "I'm a computer now, like you." The Surface Pro 4 responds, asking if Apple's tablet has an Intel Core i7 processor, full access to Microsoft Office beyond the mobile app versions, a trackpad, and external port options. Siri responds with, "Like I said, I just got a keyboard."
The ad ends with the tagline, "Surface does more. Just like you." The new ad today follows a similar anti-Apple theme of many Microsoft ads, which have previously focused on comparing the Surface Book and MacBook, and Windows 10 and OS X. For Christmas last year, the company released a more peaceful ad that centered around a group of Microsoft Store employees singing seasonal carols outside of an Apple Store.
The Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 for 128GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM, and going up to as much as $1,799 for 256GB of internal storage and 16GB of RAM. Comparatively, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at a smaller $799 for 32GB and maxes out at $1,099 for 256GB, with all models including 4GB of RAM.
Voice dictation company Nuance today announced a collection of new software upgrades, including Dragon Professional Individual (version 15), Dragon Legal Individual (version 15), and Dragon Professional Individual for Mac (version 6). As with all versions of Nuance's software, the new updates are said to feature "powerful dictation, transcription and customization capabilities" to allow users helpful and responsive dictation features with an emphasis on workflow.
The Dragon software lets its users precisely dictate reports, spreadsheets, emails, and other documentation using only their voice. Specifically on the new Mac release, the software has had its accuracy boosted up to 24 percent over previous iterations of Dragon. Helpful tips will get new users "up to speed quickly," while further educating existing Dragon fans into the complexities of Nuance's product.
“This latest suite of professional productivity solutions brings with it some of the most advanced capabilities to drive documentation productivity – with higher accuracy, speed and efficiency,” said Peter Mahoney, senior vice president and general manager of Dragon. “Combined with Dragon’s optimization for portable touchscreen PC’s and the ability to sync with Dragon Anywhere, professionals are able to keep up with documentation demands from just about anywhere their business takes them.”
In the new update, Nuance has introduced a "Batch Mode" to allow users to transcribe multiple audio files at once, as well as introducing full text control to empower "users to work even more quickly and accurately by voice." Using Apple's accessibility API, Dragon Professional Individual for Mac supports Apple Pages, Apple Keynote, Apple Numbers, Microsoft Outlook 2016, Scrivener, and other document creation programs.
The release on the Mac -- as well as Dragon on the PC -- uses Nuance's new "Deep Learning Technology" to learn each of its users' voice patterns and accents. This allows Dragon to recognize and adapt to the environment, be it in a quiet office or outside, which is a possibility thanks to the company's Dragon Anywhere mobile app that launched late last year. Over time, this speech data is accrued to improve Dragon's voice dictation features and result in a more naturalistic readout of transcribed speech.
The English version of Dragon Professional Individual for Mac will go on sale for $300 on September 1 (digital) and September 14 (retail) in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Nuance is also holding a special upgrade pricing scheme, selling Dragon for $150 for users who own registered versions of Dragon Dictate for Mac, versions 4 and higher. Those interested in the other Dragon software bundles can find out more about Dragon Professional Individual for PC and Dragon Legal Individual on Nuance's official website.
BEA customers can add eligible MasterCard and Visa credit cards to Apple Pay and receive 5,000 bonus points between now and August 22, while the first 30,000 customers that complete three or more Apple Pay transactions between now and October 31 will receive a 25% cash rebate of up to $180.
Likewise, HKT Tap & Go customers that add prepaid cards to Apple Pay, and complete three or more Apple Pay transactions between now and August 31, will receive a cash rebate of up to $50.
Eligible cards can be added to Apple Pay by tapping the "Add Credit or Debit Card" option in the Wallet app on iPhone 5 and later running iOS 8.1 or above.
Other banks with Apple Pay support in Hong Kong include the Bank of China (Hong Kong), DBS Bank (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, and Standard Chartered.
Apple Pay retailers in Hong Kong include 7-Eleven, Apple, Colourmix, KFC, Lane Crawford, Mannings, McDonald's, Pacific Coffee, Pizza Hut, Sasa, Senryo, Starbucks, ThreeSixty, and elsewhere contactless payments are accepted.
Apple today added Japan to its list of countries eligible for iTunes carrier billing, suggesting the company is set to fast-track its expansion of the payment feature to regions across the globe (via 
Voice dictation company Nuance today 
