MacRumors

Apple's online Apple Store is down at the current time, and attempting to access it to make a purchase gives the standard "Be Right Back" message.

Given that it's a Tuesday night/afternoon in the United States and we're not expecting any new products this week, it's likely that this is a temporary maintenance outage that is not related to a new product release. The ‌Apple Store‌ app is also down at the current time.

We'll update this article when the online ‌Apple Store‌ is back up and functional, and we'll let MacRumors readers know if there are any notable changes.

Update: The online ‌Apple Store‌ is back up. Apple has re-added a "Store" tab to its main site, but that appears to be the only change, suggesting the outage was mostly a behind-the-scenes maintenance update.

OtterBox today expanded on its gaming accessory offerings with the launch of the Mobile Gaming Clip for MagSafe, which is designed to work with the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.

Priced at $40, the Mobile Gaming Clip attaches to an Xbox controller using a fitted clip and holds an ‌iPhone‌ with the magnetic mount. It can be used when playing an ‌iPhone‌ game with an Xbox controller, and OtterBox says the magnetic mount and clip design will not interfere with Xbox controller functionality.

The Mobile Gaming Clip allows for one-handed angle and tilt adjustment for a more comfortable gaming experience, and according to OtterBox, the design offers optimal controller balance to cut down on wrist stress. The magnetic mount offers "strong magnetic alignment and attachment" to keep the ‌iPhone‌ in place during gameplay.

The clip is able to detach from the base to serve as a table top stand, and when not in use, it folds flat for easier storage and transportation.

The Mobile Gaming Clip for MagSafe can be purchased from the OtterBox website for $39.95. It is compatible with the Xbox Series X/S Controller, the Xbox One Controller, and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2.

Apple is teaming up with Canadian payment services company PayBright to launch a buy now, pay later program for Apple products in Canada, reports Bloomberg.

PayBright, which is owned by Affirm, offers payment plans that are designed to break the cost of a purchase down into biweekly or monthly installments. PayBright already works with a number of companies in Canada including WayFair, Sephora, Samsung, eBay, Dyson, and more. "Shop now, and pay over time at your favorite stores," reads the company's website.

Canadian customers will be able to purchase iPhones, Macs, and iPhones, and pay for purchases over the course of 12 to 24 months instead of paying up front. The program will work with device trade-ins that can serve as a down payment, and AppleCare can be included in the installment plan. As a launch bonus, the new installment option will be offered interest-free for a limited time.

Apple and PayBright will debut the payment program online and in retail stores in Canada starting on August 11. Retail employees have already been informed about the initiative, according to a note sent to staff that was seen by Bloomberg. Some customers visiting Apple want to buy now and pay later. Now, they have a new option that lets them pay over time for their favorite Apple products," reads the letter.

Apple already offers installment payment plans for device purchases made with the Apple Card in the United States, but a similar program has not been available in Canada.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on an "Apple Pay Later" feature that will allow customers to make Apple Pay purchases with monthly installments, a program that will be separate from the new buy now, pay later initiative launching in Canada.

Apple will partner with Goldman Sachs for the ‌Apple Pay‌ Later feature, and installment payment options will be available for all ‌Apple Pay‌ purchases and will not be limited to Apple products.

Apple today previewed two new games that will be released exclusively on its subscription-based gaming service Apple Arcade.

Listed as coming soon in Apple Arcade, the new titles include "MasterChef: Let's Cook" from Tilting Point and "Layton's Mystery Journey+" from Level-5. No specific release dates have been announced for either game at this time.

"MasterChef: Let's Cook" is an all-new game that will challenge players to prepare and serve food dishes in a fast-paced cooking competition inspired by the world-renowned TV show. Players will attempt to showcase their cooking abilities to become the number one chef as they are matched with other players around the world, according to Apple.

The game will also be updated with weekly in-app events based on specific themes and seasons such as Gourmet Burger Show and Spooky Show.

"Layton's Mystery Journey" is an existing game on the App Store that is now becoming available to Apple Arcade subscribers. Players will join Katrielle Layton in the heart of London as she becomes embroiled in a quizzical quest to search for her missing father, Professor Hershel Layton. Kat's bicycle-based journey will have players experiencing London's famous landmarks, from the Houses of Parliament to Tower Bridge.

Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit" has also received an update on Apple Arcade with a new competitive daily mode inside of Plankton's Chum Bucket lab.

Priced at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, Apple Arcade provides access to a catalog of around 200 games without ads or in-app purchases across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, with additional titles added periodically.

Apple today began offering new high-end AMD Radeon Pro W6000 series graphics options for brand new Mac Pro configurations, and now the graphics modules are available for purchase on a standalone basis for customers who already own the computer.

Three new MPX modules are available for the latest Mac Pro, including the Radeon Pro W6800X for $2,800, the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo for $5,000, and the Radeon Pro W6900X for $6,000. Apple says customers can install up to two of the modules in a Mac Pro using Infinity Fabric Link technology for enhanced multi-GPU performance in applications like Final Cut Pro.

Announced in June, AMD said the Radeon Pro W6800 graphics module delivers up to 79% faster graphics performance than the previous-generation Radeon Pro W5700, although this was based on a test system powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X processor rather than an Intel processor. The W6800 also features 32GB of high-speed GDDR6 memory.

The current Intel-based Mac Pro was released in December 2019 in both tower and rack versions. Apple is reportedly working on a new Mac Pro powered by an Apple silicon chip with up to 32 high-performance cores and up to 128-core graphics.

Apple today told developers that it is updating App Store pricing in some countries due to taxes and changes in foreign exchange rates.

Over the course of the next few days, app and in-app purchase pricing is set to decrease in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and all territories that use the Euro currency. Pricing of auto-renewable subscriptions will not change.

Apple is increasing prices in Georgia and Tajikistan due to new value-added taxes of 18 percent, and there will be an increase in proceeds developers collect in Italy due to a change with the Digital Services Tax effective rate.

Apple says that once the changes go into effect, the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps for developers will be updated. Developers can change the price of apps and in-app purchases in ‌App Store‌ Connect at any time.

One of the new App Store features coming in iOS 15 is something called ‌App Store‌ events, which will see Apple highlighting timely events within apps and games.

Apple is now experimenting with ‌App Store‌ events on iOS 15 devices, and in the Today view of the ‌App Store‌ on iPhone, users can now see a notice about a TikTok Summer Camp event that's set to take place today. The event is also being shown on iPadOS 15, as noted by 9to5Mac.

Listed as a card in the Today view, the first ‌App Store‌ event has a label with the time that it takes place and a link to download TikTok, which is the app that has the event going on. Tapping into it provides more information on just what the event is, and in this case, it is a Summer Camp session where creators and artists can share their expertise with fans.

According to Apple, ‌App Store‌ events will be used to tell customers about game competitions, new movie premieres, livestreams, and more. Events will be shown in the Today view, but can also be found in the Games and Apps tabs, in search results, and on the app product page.

‌App Store‌ events are limited to iOS 15 devices, so the TikTok Summer Camp event does not show up on devices running iOS 14.7.1. Events will pick up as the launch of iOS 15 approaches, and everyone will have access when iOS 15 sees a public release.

Other new app-related features in iOS 15 include an ‌App Store‌ widget that lets you see stories, collections, and events in the Today View or the Home Screen, and a privacy-focused feature that tells you which apps have accessed your location, camera, microphone, and contacts during the last seven days.

Nomad today announced the launch of the MagSafe Mount Stand, a new MagSafe charging accessory that's designed to integrate with Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ Charger.

Like Nomad's prior MagSafe Mount accessory, the ‌MagSafe‌ Stand is a holder for the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger rather than a standalone charging option. It is an upright stand with a cutout for the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger and a space to route the cord behind it.

The ‌MagSafe‌ Mount Stand is made from a dark gray aluminum material, and it is heavy enough to keep the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger well secured on a desk. An iPhone 12 used with the ‌MagSafe‌ Mount Stand can be oriented upright in either portrait or landscape mode, and the ‌MagSafe‌ Charger is held in place with microsuction.

Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ Charger is able to charge the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models at 15W (though the iPhone 12 mini is limited to 12W) so long as the proper 20W+ power adapter is supplied. You will need to supply your own ‌MagSafe‌ Charger and power adapter with the ‌MagSafe‌ Mount Stand.

The ‌MagSafe‌ Mount Stand can be purchased from the Nomad website for $59.95.

Google today announced new updates that are coming to the Google Maps app designed for the iPhone. The most notable new feature is dark mode, which Google Maps app users have long been wanting. Dark mode is an alternative to light mode and allows for a darker user interface to match other dark mode apps on iOS devices.

According to Google, dark mode is going to be rolling out "in the coming weeks," and once available to you, it can be enabled in the Settings section of Google Maps. Google says that dark mode in Google Maps will save battery and "give eyes a break."

Apple first introduced the Dark Mode feature with iOS 13, but it has taken Google some time to bring support to its apps. Google earlier this year began rolling out a true dark mode feature to Android users, and the iOS version of dark mode for Google Maps looks similar to the Android version.

Along with dark mode, Google today announced the launch of new Messages integration. With this feature, Google Maps users can share their real-time location with friends in an iMessage using the Google Maps button in the Messages app. Location is shared for one hour by default, but there is an option to extend access by up to three days or stop access at any time.

Google's blog post also highlights the recently introduced widgets feature, which allows ‌iPhone‌ users to add a Google Maps widget to the Home Screen or the Today View. Widgets can be used to check traffic conditions or find nearby places.

The Google Maps app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Delta Air Lines will upgrade all of its pilots to the cellular M1 iPad Pro, AT&T has today announced.

Following the announcement that all Delta flight attendants would receive an iPhone 12 in April, the airline has now said that all pilots will be given an ‌M1‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ as part of their pilot electronic flight bags (EFB).

The ‌iPad Pro‌ will be used for a range of pre-flight management tasks and processes, where flight data and aircraft load information will be delivered directly to each pilot's EFB, which use custom-built apps. 5G connectivity, supplied by AT&T, will also be essential to how pilots use the device.

iPad Pro is extremely versatile in aviation, with its thin and light design, and bright, immersive display. The powerful new iPad Pro with 5G features the breakthrough Apple-designed M1 chip for a massive leap in performance, an all-new 12MP Ultra-Wide front camera, and advanced Liquid Retina display technologies with ultralow reflectivity for an unmatched viewing experience on the ground and in the air.

Delta follows JetBlue, which started rolling out the ‌M1‌ ‌iPad Pro‌ to pilots last month, but the airline has been equipping its staff with iPhones and iPads since it dropped Windows devices in 2017.

Apple's fleet of self-driving vehicles roaming the streets of California for testing now includes 69 vehicles and 92 drivers, according to information from the California Department of Motor Vehicles obtained by macReports.

This means that Apple has added one self-driving car and 16 drivers since May this year. Apple has been expanding its autonomous vehicle test since it was granted a permit from the California DMV in April 2017, enabling it to test its self-driving technology on public roads in the state. Beginning in early 2018, multiple sources reported on the number of vehicles in Apple's fleet, which steadily expanded throughout that year.

Each of Apple's testing vehicles is equipped with the company's in-development autonomous driving software, along with advanced LiDAR equipment and an array of cameras to detect the vehicle's surroundings. The actual cars are Lexus RX450h sports utility vehicles and must have safety drivers inside of them, since, unlike rival companies that are self-driving technology, Apple's permit still does not include driverless testing.

Apple's fleet of self-driving vehicles are reportedly gathering data for the company's long-rumored autonomous vehicle software. In June of 2017 Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed Apple's work on autonomous software: "We're focusing on autonomous systems. It's a core technology that we view as very important. We sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects... it's probably one of the most difficult AI projects to actually work on."

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Apple had more than doubled its self-driving mileage in 2020, reaching a total of 18,805 miles, up from the 7,544 miles the previous year. There were a total of 130 disengagements in 2020, up from 64 in 2019, but Apple's cars experienced a disengagement every 144.6 miles, which is a better metric than the previous year where there was a disengagement every 117.8 miles, indicating an improvement in the technology.

Apple today announced that for this coming school year, mobile student IDs in the Wallet app will be expanding to Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University, and many more colleges across the United States.

Mobile student IDs in the Wallet app will also be expanding to Canada this year, starting with the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College.

"We're excited to work with more schools in the US and introduce mobile student IDs in Canada to provide a secure and convenient way to get around campus with iPhone and Apple Watch," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay. "Students and faculty have embraced using their iPhone and Apple Watch as the best way to access buildings, purchase meals, and more."

Many colleges and universities already support student IDs in the Wallet app in the United States. At participating institutions, students can simply hold their ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch near a reader anywhere physical student ID cards are accepted — on and off campus. An optional Express Mode bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode, allowing for the quickest entry possible to buildings.

Apple is researching ways to hide the iPhone's notch when it is not in use and expand the display, according to a newly granted patent.

The patent, first spotted by Patently Apple, is titled "Electronic devices with adjustable display windows" and was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It explains how a device's display could move as to show and hide the front-facing camera and other optical components.

Apple describes this mechanism as creating a "window region" in the display, through which a camera or other TrueDepth array components, such as a dot projector for Face ID, can work. Then, when these parts are not in use, the display would move back over the window region to hide the sensors underneath it. The summary of the patent reads:

An electronic device may have a display with an array of pixels for displaying images. The display may have a window region. During operation, a component such as an optical component may operate through the window region. The window region may overlap a movable portion of the display. The window region may be operated in open and closed states. In the closed state, the movable portion of the display overlaps the window region and pixels in the movable display portion emit light through the window region. In the open state, the movable portion of the display is moved away from the window region so that light for the optical component may pass through the window region. The optical component may be a camera or other component that receives light through the window region or may be an optical component that emits light through the window region.

The patent describes two main mechanical means through which the display could move to create a window for the notch components. The first is a display that is a flap formed either by a flexible display or a separate rigid display layer that moves about a hinge. This flap would be bent away from the rest of the display to open up the window region.

The second embodiment is a flexible display that moves via an electrically adjustable actuator, which would slide the entire display down to open the window region and show the notch components. These mechanical movements would occur under the glass of the display.

Apple mentions that the display window may have a coating to help it reflect light for the optical components and that it may be transparent to light emitted by pixels when the movable display portion is closed. The patent also explains that the window region could use a mirror in a periscope-like formation to conceal the optical components, much like the folded camera configurations on some Android smartphones.

While patents are not a confirmation of Apple's exact plans for future products, they do highlight the company's specific areas of research. Apple is believed to be exploring a hole-punch front-facing camera layout for the ‌iPhone‌ as soon as 2022, with the total removal of the notch expected by 2023. The technology outlined in this patent is one way in which Apple could achieve this objective.

Apple today began offering new high-end graphics upgrade options for both the tower and rack versions of the Mac Pro desktop computer. This comes on the same day that Apple started selling the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID on a standalone basis.

As noted by CNN Underscored's Jake Krol, the Mac Pro can now be configured with new AMD Radeon Pro W6800X, W6800X Duo, or W6900X graphics when ordering the professional workstation through Apple's online store. The new options come at steep prices, ranging from $2,400 for a single W6800X module to $11,600 for two W6900X modules.

Apple's descriptions of the graphics modules:

AMD Radeon Pro W6800X
For workstation-class graphics and demanding pro applications, choose the AMD Radeon Pro W6800X with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. This graphics option features AMD’s RDNA2 architecture, delivering up to 16.0 teraflops of single-precision or 32.0 teraflops of half-precision computing. It supports up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays, or three Pro Display XDRs.

The full-height MPX Module fills an MPX bay and uses extra power and PCIe bandwidth to deliver four additional Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port on the card. You can install two W6800X MPX Modules in your Mac Pro and connect them using Infinity Fabric Link for enhanced multi-GPU performance in applications like Final Cut Pro. When you select the option with two GPUs, the Infinity Fabric Link connector comes preinstalled.

AMD Radeon Pro W6900X
For the maximum workstation-class graphics and demanding pro applications, choose the AMD Radeon Pro W6900X with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. This graphics option features AMD’s RDNA2 architecture, delivering up to 22.2 teraflops of single-precision or 44.4 teraflops of half-precision computing. It supports up to six 4K displays, three 5K displays, or three Pro Display XDRs.

The full-height MPX Module fills an MPX bay and uses extra power and PCIe bandwidth to deliver four additional Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port on the card. You can install two W6900X MPX Modules in your Mac Pro and connect them using Infinity Fabric Link for enhanced multi-GPU performance in applications like Final Cut Pro. When you select the option with two GPUs, the Infinity Fabric Link connector comes preinstalled.

AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module
To push your graphics performance even further, choose the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module, which is ideal for even the most demanding multi-GPU pro applications. The module has two W6800X GPUs, each with 32GB of GDDR6 memory delivering up to 512GB/s memory bandwidth. The two GPUs are connected onboard with Infinity Fabric Link, and two W6800X Duo modules can be bridged to allow four W6800X GPUs to communicate.

Install two modules in your Mac Pro for intensive tasks like GPU rendering or advanced color grading. Get up to 30.2 teraflops of single-precision or 60.4 teraflops of half-precision computing. The Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module supports up to eight 4K displays, four 5K displays, or six Pro Display XDRs. And the full-height MPX Module fills an MPX bay and uses extra power and PCIe bandwidth to deliver four additional Thunderbolt 3 ports and an HDMI 2.0 port on the card. When you select the option with two GPUs, the Infinity Fabric Link connector comes preinstalled.

For customers who already purchased a Mac Pro, Krol said the new graphics modules will also be available on a standalone basis through Apple's online store, but the product listings have yet to go live, so pricing remains to be seen.

Facebook is researching ways to analyze encrypted data, such as WhatsApp messages, without actually decrypting the information, according to a new report from The Information.

The report cites that Facebook has confirmed it is building a team of artificial intelligence researchers to "study ways of analyzing encrypted data without decrypting it." While it is still early in development, the research could enable Facebook to use users' encrypted WhatsApp messages and then utilize that information for targeted advertising.

This specific field of research is called "homomorphic encryption," which is hoped to allow companies to read information from encrypted sets of data while also preserving privacy to protect against cybersecurity threats. Facebook has advertised several related job roles on its website, noting that it wants to work on privacy-preserving technologies while "simultaneously expanding the efficiency of Facebook's market-leading advertising systems."

The company continues to recruit researchers with backgrounds in privacy-related technologies including homomorphic encryption, secure computation and data anonymization, according to job advertisements on its website. The technologies are aimed at preserving privacy while "simultaneously expanding the efficiency of Facebook's market-leading advertising systems."

Facebook has famously been the subject of scrutiny from lawmakers and members of the public over its privacy practices. The Information believes that homomorphic encryption could be Facebook's response to growing concerns over user privacy and its relation to the platform's business model of running ads.

For Facebook, homomorphic encryption could offer a way to continue to make money from ads that are targeted based on what it knows about individual users while also answering calls from lawmakers to take privacy more seriously and prevent the misuse or breach of its data. And it could aid the company's effort to make money from WhatsApp, whose messages are encrypted, meaning Facebook can't use them to target ads.

Facebook has considered a workaround to target ads to WhatsApp users in the meantime, but homomorphic encryption could allow Facebook to analyze the data without actually reading it or sharing it directly with advertisers.

A Facebook spokesperson told The Information that it is "too early for us to consider homomorphic encryption for WhatsApp at this time." The timing of Facebook's apparent ramp-up of research into new ways to target ads to users through their WhatsApp messages comes not long after Apple's rollout of ATT or App Tracking Transparency.

ATT is a framework on iOS 14.5 and later that requires that all apps to ask for user's consent before tracking them across other apps and websites. Facebook had been a vocal critic of the framework in the weeks leading up to its official launch; however, after its rollout, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it has had little impact on his company's performance so far.

Update: Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, has tweeted in response to The Information's report that WhatsApp is not exploring the use of homomorphic encryption. Cathcart states that there should be skepticism of "technical claims that apps like ours could see messages in "good" cases only."