MacRumors

During a recent earnings call relayed by CNET, Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said he believes Apple will launch an Internet-based television service and that Apple is "very forward-thinking" when it comes to TV.

"We think Apple is very forward-thinking about television," he said, noting the computer maker's deal with Time Warner as the launch partner of streaming service HBO Now. "It's no surprise to anyone that Apple would be interested in launching a TV product."

It is not clear if Bewkes has insider knowledge regarding Apple's television plans, but Apple and Time Warner have been entwined in deals several times in the past, most recently with the HBO Now deal. Apple and Time Warner, HBO's parent company, partnered up for the HBO Now launch, with Apple's Apple TV and iOS devices being some of the first to offer the HBO Now service.

Aimed at cord cutters, HBO Now is priced at $14.99 and offers all of HBO's content without a cable subscription. Beyond HBO Now, Apple and Time Warner have discussed television many times in the past and have attempted to establish content deals, but those have yet to materialize.

Apple's ongoing difficulties establishing content deals with companies like Time Warner have spanned several years and have repeatedly delayed its television efforts. Apple's inability to convince cable companies and content providers to change the status quo has also caused Apple to scale back on its ambitious television plans.

Apple may have begun having more luck getting companies on board with its television plans, however, as recent rumors have indeed pointed towards the imminent launch of a streaming television service and possibly a new set-top box. Apple's new service may include content from CBS, Fox, Walt Disney, and more, with approximately 25 channels available at a cost between $30 and $40 per month.

Apple's rumored streaming television service may make an appearance in June at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Earlier this year, Microsoft debuted a new browser designed to succeed Internet Explorer. At the time, it was still under development with the code name Project Spartan, but at today's BUILD conference for developers, Microsoft shared additional details on the new browser and unveiled its name: Microsoft Edge.

According to Microsoft, the Edge name refers to being on the edge of consuming and creating. Microsoft is calling Edge "a browser built for doing," with a simple, no-frills design and access to tools for enhancing the browsing experience.

Edge includes a distraction-free reading mode and a tab page for getting to frequently-used apps quickly. There's support for Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana, a competitor to Apple's assistant, Siri. Cortana integration helps to build a user's home tab page, populating it with relevant content and making suggestions on related sites to visit.

One of Microsoft's earlier BUILD announcements covered tools to bring Android and iOS apps to Windows 10, and similarly, the company has built support for Chrome and Firefox extensions into the Edge browser. These existing extensions will be able to be quickly repackaged and submitted to Microsoft's extension portal, giving Edge users a wealth of extensions to use shortly after the browser launches.

One of the Chrome-based extensions that Microsoft demonstrated on stage was the Reddit Enhancement Suite, a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that improves the browsing experience on reddit. The RES extension took "virtually no work" to take it from the Chrome Extension store to Edge.

Microsoft held its annual BUILD conference for developers this morning, where it made several announcements that may be of interest to Mac and iOS users. First off, the company announced cross-platform add-ins that will deeply integrate third-party apps and services into multiple versions of Office, including Office for iOS.

Microsoft's add-ins (which can be thought of as plug-ins) will enable a range of third-party services to integrate with Office on Windows, iOS, Android, and presumably Mac when the new Office 2016 is released. For example, Uber might be built into Outlook, letting users call for rides directly from their calendar appointments. Another example shown on stage was PicHit, an app offering a photo marketplace within the PowerPoint app.

According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, deep cross-platform app integration is aimed at preventing users from needing to jump from application to application to accomplish tasks. The company's vision is to make it easier to use Office apps and various services regardless of the device the software is being run on, turning Office into a platform.

Microsoft is also planning to make it easier for developers to bring their iOS and Android apps over to Windows 10, its upcoming cross-platform operating system, by releasing new tools. iOS developers will be able to compile Objective C code using Microsoft's Visual Studio to quickly create apps compatible with Windows 10.

On stage at the conference, Terry Myerson demonstrated an iPad app that had been converted to a Windows 10 app. Getting Android apps on Windows 10 is even easier, as Windows 10 includes "an Android subsystem" to support Java and C++ code Android apps are already built from. App availability has always been the major downside to Microsoft's Windows mobile devices, as they lag behind iOS and Android when it comes to the number of apps available.

The introduction of tools to make it simple to port existing apps over to Windows 10 could be a huge boon for Microsoft, growing its App Store exponentially in the coming months.

Microsoft's final Apple-related announcement was the introduction of a Mac version of Visual Studio Code, its former Windows-only coding app. According to Microsoft's site, the app is free and aimed at letting developers build and debug modern web and cloud applications.

A growing number of users have turned to social networks claiming that full sleeve tattoos, ones that stretch to cover the wrist, interfere with the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor and skin contact registration. Consequently, some Apple Watch users with tattoos have been unable to receive notifications and are frequently prompted to re-enter their passcode, if one is set, on the wrist-worn device.

A popular Reddit thread discussing the issue has received nearly 700 upvotes and 300 comments since being posted on Tuesday, and some users have unfortunately already coined the phrase "Tattoogate" to describe the problem. iMore soon followed up with a report confirming the issue, with the Apple Watch displaying inaccurate heart rate readings on the wrists of people with dark-colored tattoos.

"So I thought my shiny new 42mm SS watch had a bad wrist detector sensor," writes Reddit user guinne55fan. "The watch would lock up every time the screen went dark and prompted me for my password. I wouldn't receive notifications. I couldn't figure out why especially since the watch was definitely not losing contact with my skin. also I couldn't find anything online with people experiencing this issue. I was about to give up and call Apple tomorrow when I decided to try holding it against my hand (my left arm is sleeved and where I wear my watch is tattooed as well) and it worked. My hand isn't tattooed and the Watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink the watch would automatically lock again."

The severity of problem appears to depend on the color and ink saturation of the tattoo, with darker, solid tattoos causing the most interference with the Apple Watch's sensors. A temporary solution for affected users is to toggle off Wrist Detection in the Apple Watch app under the General menu on the main settings tab, but doing so will disable Apple Pay from being used on the Apple Watch.

The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics reveal that Samsung surpassed Apple to reclaim its position as the world's largest smartphone maker in the first quarter of 2015. The two smartphone vendors were previously tied in the fourth quarter of 2014 after Apple matched Samsung with 74.5 million smartphones shipped on the strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and busy holiday shopping season.

Samsung recaptured the number one position with 83.2 million smartphones shipped in the first quarter, while Apple trailed in second with 61.2 million smartphones shipped during the three-month period ending March. Lenovo-Motorola finished a distant third with 18.8 million smartphones shipped, followed by Huawei at 17.3 million and 164.5 million smartphones shipped by other vendors.

Despite its first place finish, Samsung's global share of the smartphone market dropped to 24.1% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to 31.2% in the year-ago quarter. Apple's global smartphone market share grew marginally to 17.7% in Q1 2015 compared to 15.3% in Q1 2014. The global smartphone market experienced 21% year-over-year growth overall, from 285 million units in Q1 2014 to 345 million in Q1 2015.

While it was impressive that Apple was able to tie Samsung during the fourth quarter, based on the popularity of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it was highly probable that Samsung would eventually reclaim its title as number one again. The electronics giant's smartphone lineup is much larger than the iPhone lineup, with at least a half-dozen current-generation devices available compared to only a handful of iPhones.

Issues with an app on iPads provided to pilots on American Airlines flights have delayed "a few dozen" flights, making it difficult for planes to take off and causing them to return to the gates to fix the issue, according to The Verge.

"Some flights are experiencing an issue with a software application on pilot iPads," American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Huguely later told The Verge. "In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a Wi-Fi connection to fix the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers. We are working to have them on the way to their destination as soon as possible." Another spokesperson said that the issue affected "a few dozen flights" across the airline. "We've identified the issue, we've identified the solution, and we are working on it right now."

Passenger Bill Jacaruso was traveling to Austin from Dallas / Fort Worth when his flight was delayed. He told The Verge that the pilot got on the intercom and told the passengers that his co-pilot's iPad had went blank. About 25 minutes later he got on the intercom again, noting that his iPad had also went blank. At the time, the pilot said that all 737 airplanes were affected, but 45 minutes later he said the issue was affecting "random" American Airline planes. Another passenger told The Verge that "two systems" had failed and needed to be rebooted.

American Airlines received FAA approval for iPad use by pilots in the cockpit back in 2011. In 2013, the airline company began giving its pilots Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) containing the iPads, the first major commercial carrier to do so. The EFB's goal is to use the iPad to replace the 40 pounds of manuals and maps that pilots usually carry. The iPads also come with a long-life battery that keeps the iPad powered for 24 hours.

Just a day after Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that MCX member Best Buy would begin accepting Apple Pay in stores later this year, MCX, the company behind Apple Pay competitor CurrentC, announced that current CEO Dekkers Davidson has left the company. He's been replaced by former Bank of America Merchant Services CEO Brian V. Mooney on an interim basis.

“MCX was created to capitalize on a tremendous opportunity for consumers, and I look forward to taking the company through the next exciting phase of bringing CurrentC™ to the market,” said Mooney. “MCX has a talented team in place backed by the determination and resources of many of the world’s largest and most successful merchants. Building on that foundation, we’re focused on making CurrentC™ the consumer preferred mobile payments app.”

MCX spokeswoman Kristin Parran Faulder told CNET that the move had nothing to do with the Best Buy announcement. Coincidence or not, CurrentC, which is expected to launch widely later this year, will face increasing competition in the mobile payments sector from the more recently announced Samsung Pay and Android Pay as well as a growing Apple Pay. In recent weeks, Apple's payment platform has gained the support of Discover, GameStop, NBA teams and more in addition to Best Buy.

Best Buy was the second MCX member, after Meijer, to offer Apple Pay support. Last October, former MCX CEO Davidson had said that there were no penalties or fines for leaving the MCX program. MCX exclusivity agreements with retailers reportedly end in summer 2015, which means that MCX members like Best Buy would be able to offer Apple Pay in retail stores once the agreement ends. A Best Buy spokesperson told Re/code yesterday that while the company is still invested in MCX they weren't prepared to declare launch support for CurrentC at this time.

Just a few weeks after the 12-inch Retina MacBook became available to order online, a number of early adopters have shared mixed opinions about the notebook within the MacRumors discussion forums. Overall, many users agree that the new MacBook has major design appeal but with too many key compromises, as mentioned by several well-known tech pundits and websites in our review roundup of the notebook.

A handful of users within the discussion forums claimed that they regretfully returned their new MacBooks shortly after receiving one because of those compromises, including the frustration of looking for and purchasing USB-C adapters that are needed to connect various Digital AV, VGA or USB devices, peripherals and cables to the single USB-C port on the ultra-slim notebook. The new keyboard and slow performance were also areas of concern for some users. Some responses have been slightly edited for clarity.

MacRumors forum member Audiopablo:

"Took mine back. It was really a wow factor. So light, so beautiful. But in the end, it just wasn't for me. After spending a day trying to hunt down USB-C adapters in Apple stores (weren't available at Best Buy, where I bought mine), I got to thinking about what I loved and what I didn't.

Could I type on my lap with it? Sure and watch the screen jiggle on my soft legs. Turns out a 13" or even 15" model with weight is more stable for me personally. […] Ports is an issue for a user like me. I knew that going in, but I was going to be patient with it. It finally got to me.

But that doesn't mean it isn't for you. I wouldn't mind one instead of the iPads we have, but I'll wait until the price comes down. It just didn't feel like a step into the future for me. It felt like like some steps back from my 13" Retina MacBook Pro or 15" MacBook Pro. Gone were the Apple touches I felt were worth the premium. I know I'll catch flack for this, but it felt like an iPad running OS X with a great trackpad and great keyboard for light typing. But then I started trying to touch the screen."

MacRumors forum member Newellj:

"With some regret I returned my Retina MacBook over the weekend. The two reasons I ultimately returned it were that the keyboard didn't agree with me and, after some practical thinking, I realized that there were going to be issues managing using two laptops concurrently.

The keyboard — I expected to like it or at least to be neutral and get used to it. In the end, to my surprise, it turned out to be a lot harder to type accurately on the new keyboard than my Retina MacBook Pro or my Apple Bluetooth keyboard. This is totally YMMV (your mileage may vary) territory.

The other thing that pushed me over the line when I was thinking about returning it was managing two laptops (in addition to my Mac Mini). Not so much keeping files current, but license management issues. Most of the programs I use a lot are limited to two installations, and keeping track of what is activated on which laptop presented possibilities like taking one of them on a trip having forgotten to deactivate/sign out on the other one, which could be a real problem."

Not all early adopters of the new MacBook have been disappointed, however, with many other users pleased with the notebook's ultra-thin and lightweight design, high-resolution Retina display, fanless architecture, all-day battery life, Force Touch trackpad, redesigned keyboard with butterfly mechanism, portability and more. Some users also found the notebook's performance to be good enough for everyday tasks.

MacRumors forum member Maclee2010:

"It is a staggeringly great little machine.

Virtually no heat coming from it and silent operation.
Runs a long time on a single charge.
It looks fantastic and is the most fun notebook I have ever used.
It handles everything I have thrown at it like any MacBook I have owned.
The trackpad has some really neat new tricks and feels great.
It sits very comfortable on my laptop lap cushion.
The keyboard looks amazing at night and feels great, I type faster.
I am more productive as I love using this notebook.
The performance is great for 98% of everything most users will do.
It's easy to take anywhere you need to go, light as a feather, packs down nice.
The screen is super sharp and makes my late 2013 13" rMBP screen look fuzzy.
12" is just right, not to big and not to small.
Makes the 13" Retina MBP look very outdated.
Single port is just fine, if you need many ports to use your computer today, you are doing it all wrong. I do all my backups and any necessary restorations wirelessly. I use the cloud, not just Apple, but multiple clouds.

Ultimately, the new MacBook, positioned at the lower end of Apple's notebook lineup, paves the way for the future with its innovative new design and features. If Apple can manage to combine the performance of a MacBook Air with the feature set of the 12-inch MacBook, with a matching or lower than $1,299 entry-level price point, the notebook will be an even more attractive product for prospective buyers in the future.

Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to reflect an Apple Watch rule that it's been enforcing over the past several weeks, which prevents developers from creating Apple Watch apps that display the time. According to the newly added 10.7 rule under "User interface," Watch Apps that have a "primary function" of telling the time will be rejected.

Though this rule, noticed first by 9to5Mac, was not previously listed in the App Store Review Guidelines or in the Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines until today, Apple has previously been using this guideline to turn down Apple Watch apps, and its enforcement of this rule appears particularly strict based on some of the apps that have been rejected.

MacRumors recently spoke to one developer who had his app rejected from the App Store due to the time telling rule, but offering the time was not the main function of the app. Instead, it was an app that used a clock-like face to display sunset/sunrise times along with the position of the sun and the moon.

The developer was told by Apple that Apple Watch apps containing a clock face, the likeness of a clock, or time-telling functionality would be rejected, and the Apple employee he spoke with mentioned that quite a few developers had been rejected due to the policy.

Apple's also advertised the Apple Watch as an "incredibly accurate" timepiece, a claim that it might not be able to guarantee if a third-party time-telling app is allowed to display the time. Watch faces are one aspect of the Apple Watch that Apple is not allowing users or developers to touch. While watch faces can be customized with Apple's options, users cannot select their own backgrounds as they can do on the iPhone or iPad and developers cannot develop their own Apple Watch face experiences.

Apple often has strict rules when a product launches, but the rules can and do relax over time, as we've seen with iOS 8 and the return of the once-forbidden Launcher app. It's possible that Apple will open up watch faces to developers in the future, or become less strict with apps that include time-telling functionality, but for now those types of apps will not make it into the App Store.

Today's App Store Review Guidelines update also included a new bit about HealthKit. Rule 27.10 says that apps conducting health-related human subject research must secure approval from an independent ethics review board.

YouTube channel Unbox Therapy has shared a new video that tests the stainless steel Apple Watch with a basic diamond tester to determine if it actually has a sapphire crystal display like many regular mechanical watches. The video also tests the Apple Watch Sport, LG G Watch R, iPhone 6 and a Tissot watch that is verified to have a sapphire crystal display.

The results of the test confirm that the Apple Watch does have a sapphire crystal display as advertised, with the diamond tester recognizing the thermal conductivity of the scratch-resistant material. The verified Tissot watch also displays a reading on the meter, while the Apple Watch Sport, LG G Watch R and iPhone 6 do not yield any results because all three devices have traditional or ion-strengthened glass displays.

"Sapphire is the second-hardest transparent substance after diamond," reads the Apple Watch materials page. "That’s why we chose it to cover the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition faces, and to make the lenses of the heart rate sensor. Our sapphire crystal comes from the highest-quality boules. Only the purest, clearest, and strongest sapphire crystal is harvested. To ensure a precise fit for the case, the crystal is cut using a diamond-encrusted wire. To make room for an integrated antenna, a tiny groove is laser-ablated around its perimeter. And to create the smoothest possible finish, the crystal is polished with diamond-covered pellets."

Apple Watch has been put through a variety of tests since it was released last week, giving users an idea of how the wrist-worn device manages based on both normal and unrealistic usage. CNET shared an Apple Watch torture test on Friday that, among other things, involved submerging the watch in hot water and pouring ketchup and maple syrup on it, while another video took the Apple Watch into the shower and swimming pool as part of a waterproof test.