Nanoleaf today launched Lines Skins, which are designed to attach to the Nanoleaf Lines lights to change the color of the plastic bars to allow them to better blend in with a room's design.
Priced at $20, the Skins are available in either matte black or matte pink, and are able to fit over the Nanoleaf Lines bars and connectors, which are white by default. Each package includes nine skins and nine mounting caps, which is enough to fit over the default Lines package.
Skins change the look of the Nanoleaf Line lights both when they are activated and when they're turned off as the Lines offer up light that radiates out from the light bars. If you're unfamiliar with Lines, it is Nanoleaf's newest lighting product. Lines are modular light bars that feature backlit illumination and that can be arranged into different patterns and shapes.
Twitter has agreed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's offer to buy the company for $44 billion, Twitter announced today. Bloomberg was first to report early Monday morning that a deal between the two parties was imminent.
Two weeks ago, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share. Twitter and Musk, following weeks of speculation and public drama, agreed today to the $44 billion deal. Earlier reports indicated that Twitter's board was concerned that Musk's offer would be undervaluing the company by the time the social-media giant announces its Q2 earnings later this week.
Before his offer to outright purchase the platform, Musk purchased 9.2% of the company following heavy criticism of Twitter, on Twitter. Following his share purchase, Musk was poised to join the company's board to try and enact changes he said would promote "freedom of speech," but Twitter's CEO, Parag Agrawal, unexpectedly announced that Musk would no longer be joining the board.
In a statement, Musk said that he wants to make Twitter "better than ever" with new product features that will defeat spam bots and authenticate all humans.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," said Mr. Musk. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
When Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter is complete, Twitter will become a privately held company. The deal is expected to close in 2022, subject to approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
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.
Apple has been accepting submissions since January, and is today reminding developers have until May 20 to make a claim through the Small Developer Assistance website, which has tools for estimating payments. Developers can claim between $250 and $30,000 based on their historic App Store participation.
Developers must meet the following criteria to be eligible to submit a claim to the website, as outlined by Apple.
Was sold for a non-zero price;
Was sold via Apple's iOS App Store between 2015 and 2021;
Earned, together with any other iOS applications or in-app products (including subscriptions) sold through all of your associated developer accounts, proceeds equal to or less than $1,000,000.00 through the App Store U.S. storefront in every calendar year from 2015 to 2021 in which you had a developer account.
There are approximately 67,000 eligible developers. Developers who earned less than $100 will get the minimum payment of $250, while those who earned more than $1 million will be entitled to a higher-end payment. Minimum payments are subject to change based on the number of total claims.
The settlement comes from a 2019 lawsuit that saw a group of iOS developers accuse Apple of using its App Store monopoly to impose "profit-killing" commissions. The developers were unhappy with Apple's 30 percent cut of App Store sales, an issue that was largely addressed with the App Store Small Business Program that dropped the commission that small developers have to pay to 15 percent.
In addition to providing $100 million to developers, Apple agreed to allow developers to use communications like email to share information about payment methods available outside of the App Store, plus Apple expanded the number of price points available to developers for subscriptions.
Apple also agreed to maintain the App Store Small Business Program and App Store search, making no changes for at least three years, with the company also pledging to create an annual transparency report based on App Store data covering app rejections, apps removed from the App Store, search information, and more.
After the May 20 deadline for submissions passes, there will be a final approval hearing on June 7, 2022. The payout date will vary based on whether there are objections, how long it takes to resolve those objections, and whether the agreement receives final approval from the court.
Apple Music is experiencing an outage at the current time, and according to Apple's System Status page, some users may experience intermittent issues with the service.
A number of Apple device owners are not able to use Apple Music at the current time, and there are many complaints on Twitter and other social networks about the outage. Apple updated the System Status page to reflect an issue at approximately 8:40 a.m. Pacific Time, but people have been having problems for much longer.
The App Store is also listed as experiencing issues, which is perhaps the explanation for why App Store privacy labels seem to have mysteriously disappeared earlier this morning.
There is no word on when Apple will address the outage, but we'll update this article when Apple Music and the App Store are functioning as intended.
Update: Apple now says the issues have been resolved, with the outages lasting from approximately 1:!5 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Apple appears to be removing a large number of apps from the App Store that have not been updated for "a significant amount of time" (via The Verge).
According to an "App Improvement Notice" email sent to affected developers, Apple is removing apps that have "not been updated in a significant amount of time" unless developers issue an update within 30 days:
This app has not been updated for a significant amount of time and is scheduled to be removed from sale in 30 days. No action is required for the app to remain available to users who have already downloaded the app.
You can keep this app available for new users to discover and download from the App Storey submitting an update for review within 30 days.
If no update is submitted within 30 days, the app will be removed from sale.
The notice has been met with concern from some developers, such as Protopop Games developer Robert Kabwe. Kabwe says on Twitter that Apple is threatening to his game, "Motivoto," since it has not been updated since March 2019. Kosta Eleftheriou, the developer of the FlickType Apple Watch keyboard, highlighted that while Apple took down a version of his app because it has not been updated in two years, the once-popular game "Pocket God" remains available despite it not being updated since 2015.
The sense of concern has been echoed by several other developers on Twitter who have also received App Improvement Notices, with developers highlighting that they simply have not had enough time to update their apps and that some apps exist as "completed objects," and therefore do not require "updates or a live service model."
To make it easier for customers to find great apps that fit their needs, we want to ensure that apps available on the App Store are functional and up-to-date. We are implementing an ongoing process of evaluating apps, removing apps that no longer function as intended, don’t follow current review guidelines, or are outdated.
Apple has been known to remove apps that have not been updated for some time from the App Store before, but it is not clear if this policy has been continuously or consistently enforced. It is also unknown what exactly Apple determines "a significant amount of time" to be, and whether it relates to compatibility with the latest version of iOS or time elapsed since the last update.
Apple recently shared a short documentary film about Singapore's hawker food culture that was shot entirely on the iPhone 13 Pro.
The video revolves around two food stalls competing over chicken rice, a popular dish at open-air food courts known as hawker centres in Singapore. The documentary showcases iPhone 13 Pro camera features such as Cinematic mode and time-lapse video.
"Big ambitions clash in tiny kitchens, all in the name of Singapore's beloved hawker dish — chicken rice," the video description reads. "Apple presents a documentary about hawker pride and conviction, set against the backdrop of the famous Maxwell Food Centre. From the creator of Chef's Table and director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, David Gelb."
Apple also shared a companion video that provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the documentary was shot on the iPhone 13 Pro.
All four iPhone 13 models feature a new Cinematic mode that lets users record video with a shallow depth of field and automatic focus changes between subjects, while iPhone 13 Pro models also feature a Macro mode for close-up shots.
As noted on Twitter, privacy labels for apps on the App Store on both iOS and macOS have mysteriously disappeared, and the reason remains unclear. All other functions of the App Store appear to remain online, and Apple's system status page indicates no issues with any services at the time of writing.
Apple's App Store privacy labels aim to give users insight into what information an app collects and shares about them. Privacy labels launched in December 2020 following the launch of iOS 14. We'll update this post when more information becomes available on why they're missing.
Update: The privacy labels have returned to App Store listings on both the iOS and macOS App Stores.
Apple Store customers in Paris, Berlin, and London shopping for a new iPhone were recently presented with a unique and creative surprise when they saw an AirDrop message appear on the devices that aimed to convince them to purchase a refurbished iPhone instead of a completely new model.
The ad campaign by Back Market, a website that specializes in selling refurbished consumer electronics, consisted of sending an AirDrop message to iPhones on display in Apple's retail store that led to a webpage that promotes refurbished devices.
"Quick! Security isn't looking... It's time to go refurbished with a cheaper and greener model," the webpage read. "Did you know this iPhone is available in white, black, blue, and greener?" it added.
Back Market offers a wide range of refurbished devices for sale. Back Market offers a wide range of refurbished devices for sale, with prices varying depending on model and condition. Back Market says that a "refurbished phone represents 176 lbs off of our collective carbon footprint. Manufacturing a new smartphone produces about 191 lbs of CO2e. Refurbishing? Just 15 lbs. Lose the weight: no extra effort, just extra savings."
Apple does have its own refurbished program, but unlike Back Market, it's only currently offering the iPhone 11 Pro from three years ago for $919.
Apple will be forced to allow users to utilize third-party app stores and payment systems, as well as make iMessage interoperable with other messaging services, by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to a newly published document from the European Commission.
In a questions and answers document on the Digital Markets Act titled "ensuring fair and open digital markets," published on Saturday, the European Commission explained and clarified what the Digital Markets Act will mean for companies that are designated as "gatekeepers." Apple is almost certain to be classified as a "gatekeeper," due to the size of its annual turnover in the EU, its ownership and operation of platforms with a large number of active users, and its "entrenched and durable position" due to how long it has met these criteria, and will therefore be subject to the rules set out in the DMA.
Last week, a leaked version of the DMA, seen by MacRumors, indicated that Apple could be forced to make major changes to the App Store, Messages, FaceTime, third-party browsers, and Siri in Europe. The latest document reiterates that gatekeepers will have to allow users to install third-party app stores, while developers will have to be able to interoperate with a gatekeeper's own services, promote their offers outside the gatekeeper's platform and use third-party payment systems, and access data gathered by a gatekeeper.
One of the new additions to the DMA is the requirement to make messaging, voice-calling, and video-calling services interoperable. The document clarifies that a third-party developer will have to request interoperability with a gatekeeper's service, and the gatekeeper will have to comply within a fixed timeframe. Immediately, gatekeepers will be required to support messaging between users on different platforms, but the DMA includes provisions to expand to group chats after two years, and video and audio calls after four years. The interoperability rules theoretically mean that Meta apps like WhatsApp or Messenger could request to interoperate with Apple's iMessage framework, and Apple will be forced to comply.
So far, Apple has heavily resisted attempts by governments to enforce changes to its operating systems and services. For example, Apple simply chose to pay a $5.5 million fine every week for ten weeks in the Netherlands instead of obey orders from the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to allow third-party payment systems in Dutch dating apps.
The DMA says that gatekeepers who ignore the rules will face fines of up to 10 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover, or 20 percent in the event of repeated infringements, as well as periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover. Where gatekeepers perpetrate "systematic infringements," the European Commission will be able to impose additional sanctions, such as obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it, including units, assets, intellectual property rights, or brands, or banning a gatekeeper from acquiring any company that provides services in the digital sector.
EU lawmakers provisionally approved the DMA in March. Once the final document is officially published, the European Parliament and the Council will need to approve it before it can come into effect. Digital competition chief Margrethe Vestager said last month that she expects the DMA to come into force "sometime in October."
Two new smart water bottles from HidrateSpark are now being sold in Apple's online and retail stores, allowing users to automatically track their water intake and sync it to Apple Health.
The $80 HidrateSpark PRO STEEL, available in silver or black, is a vacuum-insulated 32-ounce water bottle with both chug and straw lids and an LED puck at the base that lights up in customizable colors and patterns to remind you to drink water throughout the day. The puck also senses your water consumption, transmitting the data via Bluetooth to your phone and on to Apple Health.
The vacuum-insulated bottle can keep liquids cold for up to 24 hours, and the bottle and lid are BPA free and dishwasher-safe while the rechargeable LED puck should be cleaned with a damp cloth.
For a cheaper and lighter option, the 24-ounce HidrateSpark PRO Smart Water Bottle priced at $60 is available in green or black and is made of shatter- and odor-resistant Tritan plastic rather than vacuum-insulated steel. It includes the same LED sensor puck as on the more expensive model and similarly comes with both chug and straw lids and is BPA-free.
The two new bottles join two other HidrateSpark models that were already available through Apple, the 21-ounce HidrateSpark STEEL priced at $70 and the 20-ounce Hidrate Spark 3 priced at $60.
Apple plans to increase the production of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max by 10 million units for the second calendar quarter of the year, which runs from April to June, according to the Taiwanese version of DigiTimes.
Apple is rumored to expand its production plan for the iPhone 13 in the second quarter of 2022. Among them, the production of high-end models of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max is planned to increase by about 10 million units, and relevant Apple supply chain players are expected to benefit.
The report suggests an improving situation with Apple’s supply chain, which has been struggling to meet demand amid COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in China. Several of Apple's suppliers have been forced to partially or entirely suspend production, threatening the supply and availability of the iPhone, iPad, Macs, and other consumer electronics.
The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, announced in September 2021, offer modest upgrades compared to the iPhone 12 Pro from the year before. The current high-end iPhones benefited from a ProMotion display, bolstered camera capabilities with low-light improvements, a smaller notch, and faster performance. In its spring refresh of the iPhone lineup, Apple introduced a new Alpine Green color for the iPhone 13 Pro.
Apple will announce Q2 2022 earnings this Thursday, covering the company's performance throughout this quarter, the launch of the new Mac Studio, Studio Display, and 5G-enabled iPhone SE and iPad Air, and how well the company is stacking up to supply chain constraints.
Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 16-core GPU, 512GB SSD) has dropped to $2,249.00 on Amazon, down from $2,499.00. This deal is available in both colors, but Silver is beginning to see reduced stock so order soon if you're interested.
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At $250 off, this is the lowest price we've ever seen on this model of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which Apple updated last year. We typically track deals on the 14-inch model of the 2021 MacBook Pro more often, and this is one of the first notable markdowns on the 16-inch notebook in a few months.
These MacBook Pro models feature an all-new design for Apple's notebook lineup, including more ports, the removal of the Touch Bar, the reintroduction of MagSafe, a slimmer bezel, a mini-LED display, and M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Although there's no Touch Bar, there is still Touch ID support with the Touch ID button on the keyboard.
Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains.
The Wemo Smart Video Doorbell, which is also available directly from Belkin, is one of the few doorbells on the market so far to support HomeKit Secure Video, which not only allows video feeds to show up directly in the Home app on your devices, but with a paid iCloud+ subscription, video activity for the past 10 days can be securely uploaded for viewing and sharing.
A home hub device such as a HomePod, iPad, or Apple TV within range of the doorbell will also privately analyze events captured by the doorbell and can identify people via face recognition, as well as distinguish between animals, vehicles, and package deliveries.
The Wemo doorbell includes a 1600x1200 HD camera with a 223º diagonal field of view and low-light sensitivity, as well as infrared technology for nighttime motion sensing, two-way talk capabilities, and dual-band Wi-Fi support. It does require a wired doorbell system and comes with a wedge spacer to allow you to mount it at an angle if desired.
Chip supplier TSMC's Apple business is predicted to grow almost 25 percent this year as the transition to Apple silicon nears completion and the two companies grow closer ties, DigiTimes reports.
Apple is said to be expecting shipments of chips for new iPhones and other devices from TSMC in the first half of June, according to sources speaking to DigiTimes. In addition to year-on-year growth of chips for iPhones in 2022, TSMC is also expected to "substantially" grow its shipments of M-series chips as Apple completes the transition to its own custom silicon chips and "will this year totally wean itself off Intel CPUs for its Mac series."
The report added that TSMC is expected to remain Apple's sole chip supplier for the foreseeable future, with Samsung experiencing problems with advanced process yield performance and Intel unlikely to receive orders from Apple.
In total, TSMC is estimated to make $17 billion in revenue singularly from fulfilling Apple orders in 2022, up from $13.8 billion in 2021. Although Apple's semiconductor manufacturing supply chain "remains little affected" by ongoing lockdowns in China, other parts of Apple's supply chain may be severely impacted depending on how long lockdowns persist, which the report speculates could lead to Apple being forced to delay the launch of new iPhone models this year.
Moreover, Apple is said to have already placed orders for 2nm chips to be fulfilled by TSMC in 2025. The report also claims that Apple and TSMC are jointly developing 1nm chips for use in augmented-reality head-mounted devices and Apple's vehicle project.
The "Pixel Watch," Google's first flagship smartwatch aimed to become a competitor for the Apple Watch, has leaked online after a Google employee who had access to the unreleased watch apparently left it behind at a bar.
The images were shared with Android Central, which stated at the time that it had received the pictures from a source who had found the watch at a restaurant. Thanks to a Reddit thread from a user who claims to have supplied Android Central with the images, however (via The Verge), some more details about how images of the watch made their way online have been shared.
As for the watch itself, the images match with renders shared last year by Jon Prosser. Google is opting for a circular watch design, with a circular dial, a side button, and a hole on the side, likely to be a microphone. The screen size is around 1.5-inches, according to the Reddit user and an additional image shared on Reddit shows the watch with relatively large bezels.
Like the Apple Watch, the Pixel Watch will have a mechanism for changing watch bands, according to the images. An image of a blue silicone-like watch band depicts the Pixel Watch experience being similar to that of the Apple Watch regarding watch bands, letting users easily slide different options in and out. The Pixel Watch has been rumored to launch for some time and could see an official announcement as soon as next month. Google will be holding Google I/O, its annual developers conference, from May 11 through May 12 where additional details could be shared.
The iPhone 14 models will deviate further from the iPhone 14 Pro models with different chips and Wide cameras, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman supported a range of rumors about the iPhone 14 lineup and affirmed that Apple is still working on satellite connectivity features. Gurman outlined how Apple is aiming to further differentiate its Pro and non-Pro iPhone models in the iPhone 14 lineup. The new 48-megapixel Wide camera will be exclusive to the Pro models, while the standard iPhone 14 models will retain a 12-megapixel Wide camera like the iPhone 13 lineup.
As first suggested by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, The non-Pro iPhone models "are likely to stick to the A15 from last year or a variant of it," while the Pro models will feature Apple's new A16 chip. Gurman added that beyond an attempt to differentiate the Pro models, the global chip shortage may have contributed to this decision.
Gurman added that he expects the new "iPhone 14 Max," which will bring a 6.7-inch display to the non-Pro iPhone 14 models, to be available for at least $200 less than the only current 6.7-inch iPhone option, the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Moreover, Gurman claimed that Apple is still working on bringing satellite connectivity features to the iPhone. Apple purportedly intended to introduce the feature with the iPhone 13 models, but the new functionality could be ready this year for the iPhone 14 lineup. The satellite connectivity features are designed to report emergencies and send short texts to emergency contacts when no cellular service is available.
The rumor is said to be supported by satellite company Globalstar Inc. reaching an agreement to buy 17 satellites to support "continuous satellite services" for a "potential" unnamed client that had paid it hundreds of millions of dollars. Gurman recently reported that the Apple Watch is also set to get satellite connectivity features in 2022 or 2023.
Apple is already working on an iMac that features the "M3" Apple silicon chip, alongside development on at least nine new Macs that feature the company's next-generation of Apple silicon, Bloomberg'sMark Gurman has reported.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman has said that work on an iMac with an M3 chip is already underway, but specific details of the iMac, including whether it'll be a follow-up to the updated 24-inch model or a larger model are not disclosed. Gurman added that an iMac Pro is also in the works but that it won't launch "anytime soon."
Since then, I've heard that the M2 chips aren't the only ones in testing within Apple. And if you're waiting for a new iMac, I'm hearing an M3 version of that desktop is already in the works—though I imagine it won't launch until the end of next year at the earliest. Also, for those asking, I still think an iMac Pro is coming. It just won't be anytime soon.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Apple is hard at work on a host of new Macs destined to be released throughout the remainder of this year and early into 2023. The new Macs include a revamped entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip, a completely redesigned MacBook Air, and updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips.
Apple is rumored to showcase its M2 chip later this year, which will be the company's first significant addition to its Mac Apple silicon family since the launch of the original M1 chip in November 2020.
The baseline M2 chip, expected to power the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, is rumored to include the same 8-core CPU as M1 but with speed and efficiency improvements. As for GPU, the M2 will consist of 9 and 10-core GPU options, up from the 7 and 8-core GPU options in the original M1 chip.
For a full roundup of everything we know about the M2 chip, see our guide.
Details of Sony's next-generation WH-1000XM5 headphones have been leaked, revealing a new design and more advanced specifications compared to the company's current premium offering.
When it comes to wireless noise-canceling audio, Sony's existing flagship WH-1000MX4 headphones are among the best on the market and arguably the biggest rival of AirPods Max, so what Sony has next up its sleeve naturally garners interest among Apple users.
According to an anonymous retail source who spoke to Germany-based TechnikNews, the successor to Sony's WH-1000XM4 will sport a redesign that includes thinner hinged arms connecting the earcups to a narrower headband, reminiscent of the Bose 700. This has also led to speculation that the redesigned headband is metal rather than plastic.
The ear cup padding appears to be more substantial, but Sony has seemingly ditched the collapsible foldaway mechanism that tucked one cup inside the other, although as The Verge notes, the case doesn't look likely to take up much more space when stowed away.
According to the retail source, the WH-1000XM5 will have a battery life of up to 40 hours with active noise cancelation on, which is 10 hours longer than the XM4's. Total charging time is said to be 3.5 hours over USB-C, which is about 30 minutes longer than the current generation.
The three microphones have reportedly been repositioned, and an NC/Ambient button replaces the "Custom" one found on the XM4's, although the button is likely to remain reprogrammable to activate voice assistants and the like. These cans are also said to have an additional ANC processor and a new sound driver, suggesting improved noise-canceling and sonics, but details are scant on that front.
The release date of the XM5 headphones is still unknown, but they did appear in FCC documents a few months ago, so they're likely to arrive sometime this year. Until then, the $349 XM4's remain very popular with Apple users who are unhappy with the relative heaviness and high price of the $549 AirPods Max.
There are currently no rumors suggesting a new version of AirPods Max could come in the near future, yet it's worth noting that Apple reportedly removed several features from the originals like interchangeable headbands and a more affordable sport option, so these could always appear in a future model. Apple could also add support for lossless Apple Music playback, which would require a new audio protocol with higher bandwidth than Bluetooth provides.
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