MacRumors

StarTech's latest Dual-Monitor Docking Station debuted in December, with a feature that sets it apart from other docking stations: dual DisplayPort 1.2 connections.

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The Docking Station has a Falcon Ridge quad-channel Thunderbolt 2 controller for 20GB/s data transfer speeds. It can power two 2560 x 1600 displays through its DisplayPort connections, allowing for a dual-monitor setup that doesn't require a Thunderbolt-equipped display. It can also power a single 4K display (DisplayPort or Thunderbolt) or a DisplayPort display alongside a Thunderbolt display with a 4K resolution on the DisplayPort monitor.

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This Thunderbolt 2 dock lets you connect two displays to your laptop using common DisplayPort monitors. Traditional Thunderbolt docks require that at least one of your monitors is a Thunderbolt display for dual video, which means you might need to spend extra time and money on the additional display. Because it offers two DisplayPort connections, the dock makes it easy to create a highly productive dual-video workstation, with no additional costs or inconveniences.

Along with two DisplayPorts, there are two Thunderbolt 2 connections, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and four USB 3.0 ports (one of which is Battery Charging Specification 1.2 compliant for charging devices when not connected to a laptop). It supports 5.1 digital optical audio output, line input, and includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, plus an eSATA port for connecting external storage devices. Up to 12 peripherals can be connected at one time and Thunderbolt daisy chaining is supported.

The Dual-Monitor Docking Station can be purchased from StarTech for $347.99, but it's also available from Newegg at the much lower price of $290.

Netflix today updated its iOS app to add support for Apple's latest devices, the iPhone 6s and the iPad Pro. The app now includes a layout that's been optimized for the 12.9-inch screen of the iPad Pro for an improved look that offers more content at a glance.

3D Touch support is available in the form of Peek and Pop gestures, providing more information about movies and television shows from the main browsing screen. 3D Touch support does not extend to Home screen Quick Actions.

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Other new features in today's update include episode auto-play and recommendation features on the iPhone, an improved Kids experience on the iPad, and Arabic support on devices running iOS 9 and later.

What's New
- Post-Play experience (episode auto-play/recommendations) now on iPhone
- iPad Pro optimized layout
- 3D Touch support
- Improved Kids experience on iPad
- Arabic support for devices running iOS 9 and later
- Performance improvements

Netflix can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Netflix

ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir recently sat down with Apple CEO Tim Cook for an interview airing tonight that covers Apple's ongoing dispute with the FBI.

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In the interview, Cook will outline the reasons why Apple is objecting to the court order that would require it to help the FBI break into the iPhone owned by Syed Farook, one of the shooters in the December attack in San Bernardino, California.


Over the past two weeks, Apple and the United States government have been embroiled in a monumental dispute over privacy and encryption, stemming from the FBI's request that Apple develop new software to help it hack the passcode on Farook's iPhone 5c. Apple has refused to do so, saying the request sets a "dangerous precedent" that could lead to an overall weakening of encryption policies that endangers the privacy of tens of millions of American citizens.

Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government.

We are challenging the FBI's demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.

Since the request was made public, Apple and the FBI have engaged in a very public sparring match. The FBI called Apple's refusal a "marketing strategy," while Apple shared details on an Apple ID password change that may have prevented the FBI from obtaining the desired information through an iCloud backup.

The interview will air on World News Tonight at 6:30 Eastern Time. Shortly after, the full show will be available on ABCNews.com.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee debuted its Gionee Elife S8 at Mobile World Congress this week, and the new device mimics the iPhone in both look and functionality. Available in silver, gold, and rose gold shades, the Elife S8's exterior design more closely resembles an Android device than an iPhone, but it does have a similar rear camera, a 5.5-inch screen, a body that's 7mm thick, a fingerprint sensor, and an aluminum body.

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Image via GSM Arena

Most notably, it includes a pressure-sensitive display with built-in software features that look a lot like 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s. As described by BGR, the Elife S8 steals both Peek and Pop and Quick Actions from Apple. Pressing on an icon on the Home screen brings up a list of shortcuts, as seen in the image below. For example, a press on the camera app includes Quick Actions to take a snapshot, video, or selfie.

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Image via BGR

There are also Peek and Pop gestures for previewing content, and a press on the left edge of the screen brings up a list of "Edge" apps. This differs from Apple's multitasking functionality, but it's the same general idea. Several hands-on reviews of the Elife S8 have noted the "too close for comfort" similarities between 3D Touch and Gionee's pressure-sensitive display.

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Image via BGR

The Gionee Elife S8's other features include an octa-core Mediatek MT6755 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage with a micro SD card slot, a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It's priced at ~$500 and will be available to consumers in two months.

Gionee is not the first Android phone to include 3D Touch-like features. The Huawei Mate S has a pressure-sensitive display and launched ahead of the iPhone, but it does not attempt to copy the look of iOS or its specific implementation of 3D Touch. A pressure-sensitive display was also one of the features rumored for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge, but the two phones launched earlier this week without the feature.

Apple yesterday released a small update focused on stability improvements and bug fixes to Smart Keyboard users on the iPad Pro (via iMore). When plugged into the 12.9-inch iPad, the device will notify users of an Accessory Update for the Smart Keyboard, which can be updated and installed thanks to the Smart Connector joining the iPad and the keyboard.

The new update is mainly focused at improving the connection stability between the Smart Keyboard and iPad Pro, along with addressing an unexpected wake-up issue some users have faced recently. The update is relatively quick, but users can opt to install it at a later time similar to larger iOS updates.

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Recent numbers on the iPad Pro's sales point to an overall "successful" launch for the plus-sized tablet. During the iPad Pro's launch quarter Apple's device reportedly outsold the Microsoft Surface, despite an overall decline in iPad sales most likely due to the absence of an iPad Air refresh last year.

The Smart Connector allows for more than first-party updates to iPad Pro accessories; recently an update fixing a few significant bugs was pushed out to users of the Logitech CREATE Keyboard Case thanks to the power of the Smart Connector.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)

Siri will make its long-anticipated debut on Mac in OS X 10.12 later this year, following over three years of testing, according to 9to5Mac. The report claims Siri will have an icon in the OS X menu bar, and users will also be able to set a keyboard shortcut and configure other settings through System Preferences.

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When a user clicks the Siri button, a dark, transparent Siri interface will appear in the top right corner of the screen, as shown in our mockup by Michael Steeber. This interface will feature colorful sound waves to indicate speech input. The interface design in testing is not finalized and may still change before the summer introduction, according to sources.

When the Mac is connected to power, users will also be able to make "Hey Siri" voice commands akin to the latest iPhones and iPads. Siri is expected to be one of the headline features of OS X 10.12, codenamed "Fuji," alongside other minor user interface tweaks. The changes will allegedly not be as significant as OS X Yosemite in 2014.

Apple launched Siri on the iPhone 4s in 2011, and it has since expanded the feature to select iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Apple Watch models. The virtual assistant can be used to make web searches, launch apps, look up sports scores, play music, check the weather, set calendar appointments, and more.

OS X 10.12 will likely be announced at WWDC in June ahead of a public launch in the fall.

Related Forum: macOS Sierra

Facebook today announced the rollout of its long-requested expansion of the simple "Like" button, with the introduction of "Reactions" onto its web and mobile platform. The update, meant to give users an easier and more diverse way to react to a friend's post, will begin slowly rolling out to Facebook users worldwide today.

FB Reactions 1
To use Reactions, all you have to do is hover over the traditional Like button on the web (or tap to hold on mobile), and choose from six different animated emoji reactions if a simple thumbs up is not enough. Including Like, the other five Reactions factor in Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry.

We understand that this is a big change, and want to be thoughtful about rolling this out. For more than a year we have been conducting global research including focus groups and surveys to determine what types of reactions people would want to use most. We also looked at how people are already commenting on posts and the top stickers and emoticons as signals for the types of reactions people are already using to determine which reactions to offer.

Specifics on the introduction of Reactions to the mobile app were not given, but presumably the iOS and Android apps will see a slow rollout of Reactions alongside their web-based counterpart. Facebook said its early beta tests of Reactions "have received positive feedback so far," so it's confident users will see the use in an assorted mix of emotive responses in lieu of the previous solitary thumbs up button.

Check out Facebook's blog to see Reactions in action.

BirthdayToday marks what would have been Steve Jobs' 61st birthday, and Apple fans around the world are once again remembering the late Apple co-founder and former CEO on Twitter and in our discussion forums.

Coincidentally, today also marks the 16th birthday of MacRumors, launched by Arnold Kim on February 24, 2000 -- before OS X, iPods, iPhones, iPads, and more. As always, we express our gratitude to the readers, contributors, volunteers, sponsors, and all those who allow us to continue sharing the latest Apple news and rumors.

Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976, and the roots of the company were based in the garage of his childhood home in Los Altos, California. He worked at Apple for 25 years, over two separate stints between 1976 and 2011, in addition to founding NeXT in 1985 and funding Pixar in 1986. Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011 following a lengthy illness.

Five months after launching to the public, iOS 9 has now been installed on 77 percent of active iOS devices as of February 22, according to the newest chart shared by Apple on the App Store support page.

That adoption rate has remained static at 77 percent since the last update on iOS numbers occurred on February 8. Compared to the first adoption rate status update of the year on January 11, iOS 9 has climbed a total of 2 percentage points from 75 percent of active device installations.

iOS 9 adoption rate february
Although adoption has stagnated right now, the numbers are expected to increase in the coming months with new device launches and activations surrounding the rumored mid-March media event. In a similar period last year, iOS 8 sat at 72 percent in early February, and rose to 81 percent in April thanks to the Apple Watch. Later in September, a few days ahead of the launch of the new iPhones and iOS 9, iOS 8 hit an adoption rate of 87 percent.

In the numbers posted this week, iOS 8 still holds a 17 percent share of device activations, dropping from 19 percent in January. Earlier versions of Apple's operating system now sit at 6 percent of the chart, down from 7 percent in the January 11 numbers.

Earlier in the week, Apple seeded the fourth beta for iOS 9.3 to public testers and developers. The incremental update will still be a notable one, with additions including a Night Shift mode, updates to 3D Touch's Quick Actions, the ability to pair with more than one Apple Watch, and a bunch of other all-new features.

Related Forum: iOS 9

Privacy campaigners held organized rallies across the US yesterday to protest the FBI's demands that Apple unlock the iPhone at the center of its San Bernardino shooter investigation.

Following on from limited protests in California last week, rallies extended from Albuquerque to Washington DC to support Apple's insistence that complying with the bureau's demands risked compromising the security of millions of users' data.

Privacy protest

Protestors rally outside an Apple Store (Image: Cult of Mac)

Large crowds are reported to have gathered in front of Apple Stores in Boston, Portland, Reno, Seattle and Los Angeles, with protestors wearing T-shirts and brandishing signs with slogans such as "Don't break our phones". One rally at San Francisco's downtown store – the site of last week's protests – drew around 40 protestors and about 20 members of the press, beginning late afternoon and continuing into the evening.

"We're concerned that if Apple undermines its security in response to the FBI's request it will set a very dangerous precedent that could be used in any number of cases going forward, both by the US government and by international governments, including authoritarian regimes that might seek to access our information," Rainey Reitman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Cult of Mac.

"We're also worried that that key, once it's created, could be a honeypot for hackers that might want to seek access to information or could be misused in many diverse ways. We don't think that it's appropriate that the government order a tech company to undermine its own security in any way."

Apple privacy protestors

Protestors support Apple at The Grove in Los Angeles (Image: John McCoy)

The extended protests come a week after a U.S. federal judge ordered Apple to assist the FBI with unlocking an iPhone belonging to suspected San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple moved swiftly to oppose the court order in an open letter to customers. The company has until February 26 to file its legal response.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly pursuing additional court orders that would force Apple to help federal investigators extract data from twelve other encrypted iPhones that may contain crime-related evidence.

The twelve cases are apparently similar to the San Bernardino case in that prosecutors have sought to use the 18th-century All Writs Act to force Apple to comply, but none are related to terrorism charges and most involve older versions of iOS software.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Regularly creating iCloud or iTunes backups should be routine for every iOS user, but if you want to upgrade to a beta version of iOS or if you think you might want to downgrade shortly after installing a new iOS update, you'll want to make sure create an archived iTunes backup beforehand.

An archived iTunes backup is essential because it saves the current state of your iOS device and prevents it from being accidentally overwritten by subsequent backups. Apple recommends all public beta testers create an archived backup before installing a beta in case something goes wrong and a restore is needed. Here's how to do it.

➜ Click here to read more...

Earlier this month, Apple quietly introduced a new "Podcasts Connect" tool for people who upload their podcasts to iTunes. Previously, podcasters uploaded their content using the "Submit a Podcast" link in the iTunes Podcast Store, but now there's a dedicated portal for managing podcast uploads.

As described by Libsyn, the Podcasts Connect portal lets users submit new podcasts and manage existing podcasts using their Apple IDs. Uploading a podcast is as simple as entering an RSS feed URL and there are new features that make it easier for podcasters to update their content.

podcastsconnect
Refreshing an RSS feed via the portal will allow for quick fixes and changes to be synced to iTunes, and there are tools for hiding podcasts and deleting them from the iTunes podcast directory. The portal will also give podcasters information on the current status of their uploaded podcasts.

Apple has been sending emails to customers who upload podcasts to let them know about the new Podcasts Connect tool, which is also accompanied by improved support resources for podcast providers and HTTPS support for the podcast metadata, cover art, and episode files.

The early iOS 9.3 betas removed key functionality from the Apple Pencil, an unpopular move that eliminated its ability to be used for navigation. There were rumors suggesting the feature removal was intentional, but Apple today told The Verge that's not the case.

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Apple has confirmed that the features that have been removed in iOS 9.3 will be returning in the next beta, and that they have been temporarily pulled as the company works on improvements.

"We believe a finger will always be the primary way users navigate on an iPad, but we understand that some customers like to use Apple Pencil for this as well and we've been working on ways to better implement this while maintaining compatibility during this latest beta cycle," a spokesperson said. "We will add this functionality back in the next beta of iOS 9.3."

Since the first iOS 9.3 beta, the Apple Pencil has not been able to be used for tasks like selecting text, scrolling, swiping between apps, accessing menus, and general editing functions in non-drawing apps. These are all features that are available in iOS 9.2, and their absence from four betas in a row led customers to think the removal was both permanent and intentional.

The inability to use the Apple Pencil for navigating has been frustrating for iPad Pro owners, and many of our own MacRumors readers said they would not upgrade to the new operating system if it meant being unable to use the iPad Pro outside of drawing apps.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer's Guide: iPad Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPad Accessories

Last month's CES saw French wireless tech company Parrot demoing the third model in its Zik range of popular Bluetooth headphones, aptly called Zik 3.0.

Now shipping at a price of $400, the Zik 3.0's inherit the active noise-canceling (ANC), capacitive touch and HD telephony features of the earlier Zik 2.0's, but add some new functions like auto-adaptive ANC and Qi-compatible wireless charging, while they also come in several new colors and textures.

Parrot Zik 3.0
The Zik 2.0's have been reduced from $350 to $200 as a result, so I chose to compare the two versions side by side to see what that extra two hundred dollars gets you.

➜ Click here to read more...

Tags: Parrot, Review

There are some photos circulating around the Internet today that supposedly picture a new Modern Buckle Apple Watch band in a color combination that doesn't currently exist, but it appears the image is simply a Pink Modern Buckle in poor lighting.

In the original photo, a yellow tint causes the Pink Modern Buckle band to look tan, a shade similar to the existing "Stone" color of available with the Leather Loop and the Apple Watch Sport, but when that tint is removed through color correction, it's clear the Apple Watch band in question is indeed a muted pink shade.

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While the images shared today do not provide a hint at what's coming at the March 15 event, we do know that it's likely to include a Space Black Milanese Loop, which was accidentally leaked on the Czech Republic Apple Watch site in January. There have also been rumors suggesting Apple is introducing at least one entirely new band, which may be made from nylon.

Apple's rumored March 15 event will be used to debut new Apple Watch bands, but we'll also see at least two new products. Apple plans to unveil both the 4-inch iPhone 5se and the iPad Air 3. The iPhone 5se is rumored to be a cross between an iPhone 5s and an iPhone 6, with an A9 processor, improved camera, and Touch ID support for use with Apple Pay. The iPad Air 3 is said to be taking on many of the features of the iPad Pro, including its four-speaker design and Smart Connector for accessories.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

DisplayMate Technologies has declared that Samsung's new Galaxy S7 has the "best smartphone display" it has ever tested, making a strong case for Apple's rumored shift to OLED displays within the next two to three years.

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The in-depth display shoot-out found the Galaxy S7 display to be significantly better than the Galaxy S6, including increased brightness by up to 29 percent, improved screen visibility in bright environments, and more efficient power consumption.

The Galaxy S7's display now matches or exceeds the larger Galaxy Note 5's display in terms of brightness, color accuracy, and contrast rating in high ambient light. The results are impressive given the Galaxy S7's display area is scaled down by 20 percent.

The Galaxy S7 also uses sub-pixel rendering, which improves image sharpness by treating red, green, and blue sub-pixels as individual image elements. DisplayMate says the technology can make the screen appear to have up to 3 times the resolution of traditional pixel rendering.

The improvements are directly tied to Samsung's advancements in OLED display technologies, which have a number of significant advantages over LCD panels, including being thinner and lighter with thinner bezels, faster response times, better viewing angles, and always-on mode.

Many of the OLED performance advantages result from the fact that every single sub-pixel in an OLED display is individually directly powered, which results in better color accuracy, image contrast accuracy, and screen uniformity.

Because of their very flexible power management capabilities, OLEDs are not only more power efficient than LCDs for most image content, but they now deliver much higher peak Brightness than LCDs because of this. However, for mostly all white screen content LCDs are likely to remain brighter and more power efficient for a while.

Overall, OLED technology is becoming increasingly competitive with LCD technology. DisplayMate noted that LCDs remain more power efficient when displaying mostly white content, such as text on a white background, but OLEDs are more power efficient for more typical mixed image content.

iPhones have used various LCD display technologies since the original model launched in 2007, but multiple reports claim that the first OLED-based iPhone will be released by the end of 2018. By then, the display technology will likely have advanced even further, making it a suitable option for Apple.

Apple has reportedly been "consulting with display makers" about OLED technology to eliminate potential drawbacks, which currently range from shorter lifespans to higher manufacturing costs than LCD displays. Apple's only current OLED product is the Apple Watch, which has a much smaller 1.4" (38mm) to 1.7" (42mm) screen.

Read more about OLED displays in DisplayMate's Galaxy S7 shoot-out.

There's an adage that says the best camera is the one you have with you, and for most MacRumors readers, that's an iPhone. On popular photography site Flickr, the iPhone has long been the most popular camera, responsible for a significant portion of the photos uploaded to the site.

Apple has fully embraced the iPhone's position as a serious photography device, and over the years, the camera has steadily improved, but getting a great picture is about more than just the camera it's shot with -- factors like lighting and positioning can have a huge impact on the outcome.

With that in mind, our videographer, Mattdgonzalez, has created a basic introduction video on how to take better photos using your iPhone and the stock camera app.


Following the rule of thirds and working with the ambient light around you are two of the most important factors when it comes to good photography, but there are a few built-in iPhone tools that can help you get the perfect shot, like tap to focus, exposure control, and HDR.

There are two iPhone tools you'll want to use sparingly or not at all -- digital zoom and flash. Digital zoom is just going to make your photos look grainy, and it's rare photos using the flash will look halfway decent. Simple tips like additional light sources or moving closer to your subject instead of zooming digitally can make a world of difference when it comes to quality.

Matt's also been producing our iOS Beta walkthroughs and regularly publishing videos on our YouTube channel which don't all make their way to the main site. Other recent videos include:

- How to Create an "Unread" Folder in the iOS Mail App
- Avoid Read Receipts in Messages with 3D Touch
- What happens when you block someone on your iPhone?
- 5 Cool Things to do with 3D Touch!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be automatically notified of future videos.

Related Forum: iPhone

The YouTube app for iOS was today given a small but significant update, adding support for the iPad Pro to improve video quality on Apple's newest tablet. Since the iPad Pro was released in November, people have complained about the poor video quality of YouTube videos within the app as the content was scaled up to match the iPad Pro's resolution.

Three months later, the app is finally getting the update it needs to make watching videos via the YouTube app an enjoyable experience on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

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Today's update also includes a fix for a bug that could cause the keyboard to freeze when commenting and a fix for an issue that caused the app to crash after adding an account on iOS 7.

YouTube can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]