MacRumors

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.

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.

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.

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.

Today 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 update to public beta testers, just a day after releasing the fourth OS X 10.11.4 beta to developers and just over a month after releasing OS X 10.11.3.

The fourth 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 focuses primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes, security enhancements, and performance optimizations, but there have been a few outward-facing changes. In the Notes app, OS X 10.11.4 offers both password protected notes and an import function for importing Evernote notes. The OS X 10.11.4 update also includes Live Photos support in the Messages app.

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 seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming iOS 9.3 update to public beta testers, just a day after seeding the fourth iOS 9.3 beta to developers. iOS 9.3's fourth public beta comes more than a month 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 fourth 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 company's beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and OS X betas. For an in-depth walkthrough on downloading the iOS 9.3 beta, make sure to check out our dedicated how to.

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. As of iOS 9.3 beta 3, Wi-Fi Calling is available to Verizon users.

A list of the changes in iOS 9.3 can be found in our "What's New" post. iOS 9.3 will launch to the public this spring, likely alongside watchOS 2.2, OS X 10.11.4, and tvOS 9.2.

The U.S. Department of Justice is 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, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The revelation comes nearly one week after a U.S. federal judge ordered Apple to assist the FBI with unlocking an iPhone belonging to suspected San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple strongly opposed the court order last week in an open letter to customers.

The twelve cases are 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.

In the past, Apple has extracted data from iPhones under lawful court orders, but the company stopped storing encryption keys for devices running iOS 8 or later. As a result of this stronger protection, Apple cannot assist the FBI without circumventing iOS security and putting the privacy and safety of its customers at risk.

Apple has acknowledged that creating a "government-ordered backdoor" is technically possible, but CEO Tim Cook said cooperating with the FBI would set a "very dangerous precedent." Apple said it has "done everything that's both within our power and within the law to help in this case," adding that it has "no sympathy for terrorists."

The U.S. government previously said that investigators are only seeking access to a single iPhone related to the San Bernardino attacks, but Apple argued that the technique could be "used over and over again, on any number of devices" once created. "The only way to guarantee that such a powerful tool isn’t abused and doesn’t fall into the wrong hands is to never create it," the company said.

The Apple-FBI dispute has fueled a public debate over the past week. Google, Facebook, Twitter and some campaigners have publicly backed Apple, while U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and some San Bernardino victims have sided with the FBI.

Apple has until Friday, February 26 to file its first legal arguments in a California court.

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.