MacRumors

After what may have seemed like an endless wait for Sky customers in the U.K. and elsewhere across Europe, the Sky Go app is now available to download on Apple TV.

The availability of the Sky Go app means that subscribers will be able to stream live Sky's broadcast content on their Apple TV HD and ‌Apple TV‌ 4K devices, rather than having to rely on Sky's set-top box or the equivalent app on their iPhone or iPad.

Over 100 channels can be streamed through the Go app, as well as on-demand access to box sets of popular TV series, all through the familiar blue Sky programming interface. However, it doesn't include the full gamut of Sky channels, and there are some other restrictions to be aware of.

The Go app is only available for Sky Q Multiscreen and Sky Glass Whole Home customers, and allows them to access content included in a Sky Cinema or Sky Sports package, but the app can't be used on ‌Apple TV‌ to stream content if the Sky Go account subscription was an add-on purchase for a mobile device.

The availability of Sky Go on ‌Apple TV‌ will be a welcome addition for many customers, given that the app has been on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ for years. Last December, Apple's own TV+ app rolled out to Sky Glass TV and Sky Q set-top boxes, allowing subscribers to access ‌Apple TV‌+ movies and shows on Sky's platform.

Twitter is testing a new status feature that lets users tag posts with pre-defined labels, similar to the statuses that the old LiveJournal and MySpace platforms allowed.

Several users this morning began reporting that they could post Twitter statuses with an accompanying emoji, and the company has since confirmed to TechCrunch that it is currently testing the feature with a select group in the U.S. and Australia.

"For a limited time, we are testing a feature that allows you to add a status topic from a predetermined list to your Tweets to provide more context for your followers," a Twitter spokesperson said. "So whether you are about to drop a hot Tweet thread, share your shower thoughts, or have a bad case of the Mondays, your Tweets can better convey what you are up to."

By the looks of it, Twitter intends for the statuses to replace certain common pre-ambles that people often add to their tweets, thereby saving valuable characters. For example, some of the statuses in the test include "Shower thought," "Picture of the day," "Spoiler alert," "Hot take," and "Unpopular opinion."

The statuses, which appear underneath the user's name, only apply to singular tweets and are non-editable, while clicking on a status badge also displays what other posters have shared using the same status.

It's unclear how many users have access to the statuses, and Twitter hasn't said how long the test will last for or what the likelihood is that the feature will stick around.

Currently Twitter is testing a number of other features designed to improve the usability of the social network, including Twitter Circles for sharing tweets with a small group of people, and a downvote button.

Following the launch of iOS 15.6 last Wednesday, Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.5, the previously available version that came out in mid-May. Since iOS 15.5 is no longer being signed, it is not possible to downgrade to that version of iOS after installing iOS 15.6.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date, so it is not unusual that iOS 15.5 is no longer being signed.

iOS 15.5 was a relatively small-scale update, with improvements to Apple Cash in the Wallet app and a new setting that lets Podcasts users limit the number of episodes stored on their devices.

Released on July 20, iOS 15.6 was a similarly minor update and introduced a handful of features including an option to restart, pause, rewind, and fast-forward a live sports game that's in progress. It also addressed some small bugs, including an issue that could cause the Settings app to continue to display that device storage is full even when it's not.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of iOS 16 to developers for testing. The latest beta contains a handful of new features and changes involving the Messages app, Home app, Mail app, Lock Screen notifications, CarPlay, and more.

iOS 16 is currently in beta for developers and members of Apple's free public beta testing program, and the software update will be released for all users with an iPhone 8 or newer in September. A second public beta of iOS 16 that corresponds with today's fourth developer beta is also now available.

We've outlined notable new features and changes in iOS 16 beta 4 below. Thanks to Steve Moser and @AppleSWUpdates for their contributions.

iMessage Edit/Undo Send Changes

You can now tap on the small "Edited" label below an edited iMessage bubble to view the original version of the message and any other previous edits. In addition, iMessages can now only be edited a total of five times before the "Edit" option disappears.

While there's still a 15-minute window for editing an iMessage, Apple has reduced the time limit for unsending an iMessage to two minutes after it is delivered.

Live Activities API

Apple has released ActivityKit in beta, allowing developers to begin testing the Live Activities feature on the Lock Screen in their apps on the iOS 16 beta. For now, apps that implement the feature will only be available via TestFlight.

Live Activities will provide real-time glanceable information on the Lock Screen. For example, a sports app might allow the user to start a Live Activity for a live sports game. In that scenario, the Live Activity would appear on the Lock Screen for the duration of the game and offer the latest updates about the game at a glance.

Apple says Live Activities will not be included in the initial publicly released version of iOS 16, with the feature to be enabled in an update later this year — perhaps iOS 16.1. At that time, apps offering Live Activities will become available in the App Store.

New Wallpapers in Home App

The fourth beta of iOS 16 adds new Wildflowers and Architectural wallpapers to choose from in the Home app, alongside existing wallpapers.

New Time Limits for Undo Send in Mail

In the Mail app on iOS 16, it is briefly possible to unsend an email in the Mail app. In the first three betas, the time limit for unsending an email was 10 seconds, but the fourth beta provides users with options of 10, 20, or 30 seconds.

Lock Screen Notification Settings

Apple has enhanced the look of Lock Screen notification options in the Settings app. In the fourth beta of iOS 16, Apple now includes images that visualize the Count, Sack, and List options for how Lock Screen notifications are displayed.

New Lock Screen Customization Interface

Apple has revamped the interface when customizing the Lock Screen, with options for colors, gradients, photos, and more at the bottom.

Bolder Music Player on Lock Screen

Apple has updated the music player on the Lock Screen with bolder elements.

New Wallpapers for CarPlay

A static version of the iOS 16 wallpaper for the iPhone is now available for CarPlay, with multi-colored, blue, and gray options to choose from.

Other Changes

• Apple has made numerous bug fixes in iOS 16 beta 4, according to the release notes.
• There is a new "Add Widgets" prompt displayed when customizing the Lock Screen to indicate where the widgets are placed.

If you spot any other changes, let us know in the comments section.

A former Lamborghini executive has joined Apple to work on the company's long-rumored electric vehicle, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The report notes that Apple hired Luigi Taraborrelli, a 20-year veteran of Lamborghini, to help lead the design of the vehicle. Taraborrelli oversaw chassis and vehicle dynamics engineering/R&D at Lamborghini, according to his LinkedIn profile. Taraborrelli helped lead the design of suspension components, rims and tires, steering and brake systems, exhaust systems, fuel systems, driver assistance technologies, and more.

"For over twenty years I have been in the automotive business working on designing amazing cars and simultaneously adapting and re-shaping my team's organization in order to meet company's vision and mission," wrote Taraborrelli on his LinkedIn profile. He also said technology is one of his passions, which makes Apple an ideal fit for him.

Apple has been rumored to be working on an electric vehicle since 2014. The project remains under the leadership of Kevin Lynch, who is also has a lead role on the Apple Watch team, and John Giannandrea, the company's head of machine learning.

Earlier this month, The Information's Wayne Ma reported that Apple's vehicle design goals included four seats facing inwards, a curved ceiling that resembles the roof on a Volkswagen Beetle, and a trunk that automatically rises for easy access. The report also claimed Apple has pushed for exemptions from the U.S.'s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to release a vehicle without a steering wheel and brake pedal.

Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have both claimed that Apple aims to begin mass production of the vehicle by 2025, but the project has faced numerous leadership changes and other technical challenges, so the launch timeframe may continue to be pushed back.

With the fourth betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 that were released today, Apple tweaked the edit and unsend features that are available for iMessages. When you edit a message, the edit history is now sent to the recipient along with the edit, so the original content is visible.

On an edited iMessage, you can tap on the small blue "Edited" label to see the edit history, and it can be hidden again by tapping on "Hide Edits." Prior to this beta, an edited message noted that it was edited, but there was no option to tap and see the previous messages that were sent.

In addition to adding an edit history, iMessages can now only be edited a total of five times before the "Edit" option disappears, but there's still a 15 minute window for making an edit.

As noted by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Edit history can be avoided by unsending an iMessage and resending it, but Apple has also implemented an Undo Send limitation. You're now only able to unsend an iMessage for up to two minutes after it's delivered, down from the original 15 minute timing.

It is worth noting that Undo Send and Edit are limited to iOS 16 devices, and the original messages are displayed on devices running iOS 15 or earlier.

Alongside the fourth betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 that were released to developers today, Apple has provided an ActivityKit beta, which will let app developers start creating apps that are able to take advantage of the Live Activities feature introduced in iOS 16.

Announced at WWDC, Live Activities are interactive notifications that stay up to date, allowing you to keep an eye on things happening in real time right from the Lock Screen. If you're following a sports game, for example, you can see the updated score on the Lock Screen, or if you're waiting for a Uber ride, you can watch for your driver to approach.

With the ActivityKit framework, you can start a Live Activity to share live updates from your app on the Lock Screen. For example, a sports app might allow the user to start a Live Activity for a live sports game. The Live Activity appears on the Lock Screen for the duration of the game and offers the latest updates about the game at a glance.

Developers can use ActivityKit to configure, start, update, and end a Live Activity. Apple says an app's widget extension creates the user interface of the Live Activity, but Live Activities are not widgets and ultimately use a different mechanism to receive updates.

On Apple's iOS 16 Preview page, Live Activities is listed as a feature that are not going to be available when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 launch, but Apple is allowing developers to get a head start on adding the experiences into their apps. Apple says that Live Activities will come in an update to iOS 16 set to debut later in the year.

Developers will not be able to submit apps that support Live Activities until the feature launches in the future.

Update: In the sixth beta of iOS 16, Apple has disabled some Live Activity functionality, rendering TestFlight apps that include the feature unable to operate at the current time.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of macOS 13 Ventura, the next-generation version of the Mac operating system that's set to launch this fall. The fourth beta comes three weeks after Apple provided the third beta to developers.

Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.

macOS Ventura introduces Stage Manager, a new feature that lets Mac users focus on a task while keeping other apps at the ready for easy swapping between tasks. The update adds Continuity Camera, which is designed to let you use the iPhone as a webcam for your Mac. It supports Center Stage, Desk View (for showing off your desk), and Studio Light.

Handoff is now available for FaceTime so you can transfer calls between ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac at will, and Messages supports features for marking an iMessage as unread, unsending an iMessage, and marking as unread. SharePlay also now works in the Messages app.

The Mail app supports scheduling and undoing emails for up to 10 seconds after they're sent, and there are now Weather and Clock apps that are available on the Mac. System Preferences has been renamed System Settings, and it features an iOS-like design.

Safari supports Shared Tab Groups and Apple is working on Passkeys, a next-generation credential that replaces the password. There are updates to Spotlight, Photo Library has new features, and Metal 3 is included in macOS Ventura for better graphics in games.

For everything new in macOS Ventura, we have a dedicated roundup that goes through all of the features. macOS Ventura is set to see a public release this fall.

Apple today seeded the fourth betas of upcoming iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming three weeks after Apple released the third developer betas.

Registered developers can download the iOS and iPadOS 16 profiles from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the betas will be available over the air.

iOS 16 introduces a revamped Lock Screen that offers a new level of personalization and customization through widgets, a notification redesign, and adjustable fonts and colors for the time. Multiple Lock Screens are supported, similar to watch faces, and can be associated with Focus modes.

Focus is easier to set up than before and more customizable, with Focus filters available to cut out distracting content within apps. The Messages app now features tools for editing a iMessage, unsending an iMessage, and marking messages as unread, plus it supports SharePlay, much like FaceTime.

The Mail app has improved search and tools that include undo send, schedule send, and follow up so you can get a reminder to check up on an email if you haven't gotten a response. Safari supports Shared Tab Groups and Apple is working to replace passwords with Passkeys, a more biometrically secure way to log in to accounts.

iCloud Photo Library allows users to more easily share photos with family members, and Live Text is supported in video. There's a neat new feature for lifting the subject from a background with a tap, which is part of Visual Lookup.

Dictation has improved, Maps now supports multi-stop routing, Apple Pay Later lets you split up purchase payments, and the Home app has been entirely overhauled with a new look. On the iPad, the update adds a new Stage Manager feature for more Mac-like multitasking, but it's limited to M1 iPads.

There are tons of other new features in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, with a full rundown on everything available in our dedicated roundup.

As is common with most credit cards, the Apple Card's interest rate on overdue balances is steadily rising as the Federal Reserve continues to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate in an attempt to slow inflation in the United States.

As of July 1, the Apple Card's variable APRs now range from 12.49% to 23.49% based on creditworthiness, compared to 11.74% to 22.74% previously. This is in line with the Fed's 0.75 percentage point increase to its overnight rate in June.

Apple Card interest rates were as low as 10.99% to 21.99% for much of 2020 and 2021 as the Fed lowered rates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Fed is expected to announce another 0.75 percentage point increase to its overnight rate later today, which means the Apple Card's APR range will likely see another increase to 13.24% to 24.24% based on creditworthiness. This would be the Apple Card's highest interest rate range since 2019.

All in all, if you are carrying an overdue balance on your Apple Card, be aware that interest charges have been increasing and will cost you extra.

Apple Card remains limited to the United States.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.

Adorama this week has Apple's Magic Trackpad 2 for $89.99 in white, down from $129.99. This price is a match of the previous all-time low price on the accessory, which we last tracked at Woot earlier in July.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Adorama. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

The Magic Trackpad 2 is in new condition and is in stock and ready to ship from Adorama, with free shipping options available. The Magic Trackpad 2 is compatible with Macs and iPads (running iPadOS 13.4 or later), and only the white color option is on sale today.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.

iOS 16 beta testers have now waited longer for the fourth developer beta version than any new full iOS release since iOS 6 and iOS 7.

The minor landmark, highlighted on Reddit, was hit when Apple did not release the fourth beta version of iOS 16 yesterday. In 2012 and 2013, both iOS 6 and iOS 7's betas were in their third version for 21 days, the same as iOS 16's third developer beta as of today.

If the fourth beta version of iOS 16 is not released later today, iOS 16's third beta version will become the longest ever ".0" third beta of its kind. Regardless of exactly when the fourth beta version is seeded to developers and public beta testers, it is highly likely to occur sometime this week.

Most indications suggest that the development of iOS 16 has not been quite as smooth as recent years, with beta releases often not conforming to the patterns that have come to be expected of Apple based on previous years. Earlier this year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman speculated that the beta versions could be running behind since internal seeds are currently a "bit buggy."

As rumored, iOS 16's public beta version was late this year. iOS 16's public beta became available on July 11, over two weeks later than the equivalent timeframe for iOS 15's first public beta last year.

Initial betas are often riddled with bugs that need to be fixed, which is why Apple goes through a months-long beta testing period before the updates are officially released to all device owners in September. Apple often recommends beta testers run the new software on a secondary device due to these issues.

Mozilla has released a new version of Firefox that promises improved browsing performance on displays running at 120Hz and higher refresh rates, which should appeal to owners of 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with ProMotion displays.

Launched last October, Apple's redesigned ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips feature Liquid Retina XDR displays with ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates ranging from 24Hz to 120Hz.

When viewing a static webpage that doesn't require a high refresh rate, the ‌MacBook Pro‌'s display adopts the lower refresh rate to preserve battery life, but when gaming, scrolling, or doing other activities where a higher refresh rate will result in smoother content, the higher frame rates will kick in.

According to Mozilla's release notes, the latest Firefox 103 update brings improved performance on displays capable of refresh rates upwards of 120Hz, suggesting the 14-inch and 16-inch Macs with ProMotion stand to benefit.

As some readers will recall, soon after Apple launched 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with Apple silicon last October, many users began reporting issues with stuttering, janky scrolling when browsing in Apple's Safari.

While some users reported noticing smoother Safari scrolling and performance on these Macs after upgrading to macOS Monterey 12.2, Apple has never officially confirmed that ProMotion is functional in its native browser for Mac. Therefore, anyone still unconvinced that they are seeing optimal refresh rates in Safari now at least has an alternative option to use a browser that should be capable of running ProMotion at full tilt.

In addition to the above, Firefox 103 also offers improved responsiveness on macOS during periods of high CPU load, which it achieves by switching to a modern lock API, according to the release notes.

Also new in this update is the ability to change the subtitles font size directly from within a Picture-in-Picture window, as well as support for subtitles on platforms including Funimation, Dailymotion, Tubi, Hotstar, and SonyLIV.

In other tweaks, required fields in PDFs are now highlighted, and there are a number of bugs and security vulnerabilities that have also been fixed. Firefox 103 for macOS is available now from the Mozilla website, where users can find a full list of changes.

Google is rolling out some new Maps features to its iOS and Android apps for the summer, including new location sharing options, cycling directions enhancements, and photorealistic aerial views of famous city landmarks.

First, location sharing. Google says it wants to make it easier to see when someone who has shared their location with you arrives or leaves a place, "so you can more easily coordinate schedules" and meetups. To that end, it's introducing location sharing notifications, which work similarly to the equivalent feature in Apple's Find My app.

Google offers the following use case:

Say you're headed to a concert with a group of friends. If they've already chosen to share their location with you, you can set a notification for the concert venue's address so you can see when they've arrived and meet up quickly. You could also set a notification to see when they've left the venue — just in case you get split up.

Google says it has built the feature with privacy in mind, which is why notifications can only be set for someone who has already chosen to share their location with you. In addition, that person will receive multiple reminders to let them know they are sharing their location, in the form of push notifications and recurring monthly emails, and users can stop sharing their location anytime.

Next up, Google is adding more granular information to cycling directions in the more than 100 cities where they are available, including things like whether a particular route involves a major or a minor road, if the route suggested includes stairs or steep hills, and when you should be prepared to encounter heavy traffic.

Lastly, Google is bringing photorealistic aerial views of "nearly 100 of the world's most popular landmarks" in cities including Barcelona, London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo. Google says the aerial views are a "first step" toward integrating its immersive view feature for cities that the company previewed in May and which is scheduled to roll out later this year.

Google says the aerial views of landmarks and location sharing notifications are rolling out now globally on Google Maps on Android and iOS, with cycling route information launching in the coming weeks in those cities where cycling directions are available.

Meta is in a "very deep, philosophical competition" with Apple over the future of technology and the metaverse, the social network's CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an internal meeting last month, reported by The Verge.

It's no secret Meta and Apple have been competitors for several years, with the rivalry ramping up in recent years over privacy and the different approaches to user tracking. The competition is expected to heat up as both companies take seemingly different approaches to the "metaverse" and AR/VR. While Meta has begun its journey into the "metaverse," revealing its vision for the future of the internet and releasing accompanying VR headsets, Apple has yet to make a big entrance into the AR/VR space.

That is all set to change, however, as Apple is nearing the launch of its first AR/VR headset for early next year. Responding to a question from an employee over how Apple's launch of an AR/VR headset could impact Meta's plan, Zuckerberg responded by saying it's "pretty clear that Apple is going to be a competitor for us." Zuckerberg continued, saying the competition will go beyond simply offering the best AR/VR hardware and will also play out "philosophically."

I think it's pretty clear that Apple is going to be a competitor for us, not just as a product but philosophically. We're approaching this in an open way and trying to build a more open ecosystem. We're trying to make more stuff interoperable with Android. We're trying to develop the metaverse in a way where you can bring your virtual goods from one world to another. We created the Metaverse Open Standards Group with a bunch of other folks that you just mentioned, and Apple didn't join.

This is a competition of "ideas," Zuckerberg went on to claim in the June 30 meeting. Apple believes in "doing everything themselves and tightly integrating that to build a better consumer experience," he said. On the other hand, Meta sees the need for a "larger ecosystem to exist."

Zuckerberg admits, however, that it's unclear whether a "closed ecosystem," which he claims Apple to have, or an open ecosystem from Meta, would be better suited for the metaverse.

One of the things I think is interesting is that it's not really clear upfront whether an open or closed ecosystem is going to be better. If you look back to PCs, Windows was clearly the one that had a lot more scale and became the default and norm that people used. And Mac did fine, but I think PC and Windows were, I think, the premier ecosystem in that environment.

On mobile, I would say it's more the other way. There's more Android devices than there are iOS devices, but I think in developed countries and places like the US or Western Europe in kind of the high end, [and] a lot of the culture-setters and developers, I do think that skews quite a bit more towards iPhone and iOS. So I'd say on mobile, Apple has really carved out quite a good position for themselves, and that's why they're the most valuable company in the world, or maybe one of the couple most valuable companies in the world.

Zuckerberg said that Meta's north star should be, and is, whether it will be able to get over a billion people into the metaverse, shopping and spending hundreds of dollars in digital commerce.

Our north star is can we get a billion people into the metaverse doing hundreds of dollars a piece in digital commerce by the end of the decade? If we do that, we'll build a business that is as big as our current ad business within this decade. I think that's a really exciting thing. I think a big part of how you do that is by pushing the open metaverse forward, which is what we're going to do.

Wrapping up his response to the question, Zuckerberg summed up Meta's competition with Apple as going beyond simply the metaverse but also the future of the internet as a whole.

So yeah, Apple is going to be a competitor. I think that that's pretty clear, but it's actually a very deep competitor. It's not just [that] they have a device that has some more features than us. It's a very deep, philosophical competition about what direction the internet should go in. And I am proud of the investments that we're making to help push forward the open metaverse on this and hopefully make the next version of computing a bit more open.

You can learn more about Apple's AR/VR plans by visiting our comprehensive roundup.

Apple is facing quality control issues with the rear iPhone 14 camera lens, causing some lenses to crack due to a coating, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today on Twitter. The issue has resulted in Apple reallocating iPhone 14 camera orders to a different supplier, helping mitigate the impact on device shipments later this fall.

Kuo said the impact on iPhone 14 shipments will be minimal thanks to a new supplier stepping in and hopefully addressing the issue. iPhone 14 shipments are expected to be higher than the iPhone 13 with Samsung reportedly preparing 80 million iPhone 14 display shipments for the third quarter of this year.

Mass production of the iPhone 14 series, which will include the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, is set to begin in August ahead of a launch in September. The iPhone 14 is expected to be a noteworthy upgrade on the higher-end models, which rumors suggest will feature a new pill-shaped cutout and hole to replace the notch, a 48MP rear camera, faster RAM, and an always-on display.