Astropad today announced an update to the Astropad Studio app, which adds support for the Apple Pencil hover feature that Apple introduced with the new M2iPad Pro models. Astropad Studio is designed to allow you to draw on your Mac using your iPad, so the hover gesture can be used with the macOS software on the iPad.
Astropad says that users have been asking for Apple Pencil hover support for years, and it is one of the last features that Wacom tablets offered that the iPad did not. With the hover option, the iPad serves as a more feature rich Wacom alternative for digital artists.
The update adds 3D gestures for panning, zooming, and rotating the 3D canvas, along with support for new default shortcuts. There are also a range of new Magic Gestures that use combinations of tap, touch, and the Apple Pencil to trigger actions. Per-app custom gestures are available, so users can set up different gesture sets for apps like Photoshop and Blender, and there is a new one-finger tap gesture.
Astropad Studio is currently offering a 30 percent discount off annual subscriptions with the promo code FESTIVE. Subscriptions are priced at $70/year. Astropad's Luna Display software has also been updated with Apple Pencil hover for the M2 iPad Pro models.
Apple and Major League Soccer today announced that the MLS Season Pass is set to launch on February 1, 2023, with the new subscription service available to fans in more than 100 countries and regions. Available in the Apple TV app, the MLS Season Pass can be accessed on Apple devices, Smart TVs, consoles, set-top boxes, and on the web with the tv.apple.com website.
The Season Pass will include every live MLS regular-season match, the playoffs, and the Leagues Cup, with no blackouts. Apple says that the MLS Season Pass will bring MLS to a much bigger worldwide audience.
"There isn't a more perfect time to introduce MLS Season Pass, coming off the heels of the most dramatic MLS Cup in history and with MLS as the fastest-growing soccer league in the world," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services. "We're counting down the days to February 2023 when fans everywhere can enjoy MLS Season Pass on billions of devices -- all with no blackouts."
Apple and Major League Soccer have inked a deal for a 10-year partnership. All 29 MLS clubs will have an Apple TV patch in a different color to mark agreement.
The MLS 2023 regular season will begin on February 25, with the 2022 MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC to face off against the LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl Stadium. All matches during the opening weekend will be free to watch through the Apple TV app.
Apple today rolled out a new design on iCloud.com following several weeks of beta testing. The page now features a colorful wallpaper with tiles for your Apple ID account and Apple apps like Photos, Mail, iCloud Drive, Calendar, and Notes. There is also a tile with icons for additional apps like Find My, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and more.
The page can be customized, with users able to choose which apps appear in each tile or remove a tile entirely. The bottom of the page displays your iCloud storage plan and usage, as well as a link to recover recently deleted files from iCloud Drive and other apps.
In the top menu bar, users can click or tap on the plus sign to create a new email, note, calendar event, and more. The menu also provides access to settings for iCloud+ features such as Hide My Email, iCloud Private Relay, and HomeKit Secure Video.
All in all, the redesigned iCloud.com page provides a more streamlined experience that makes it easier to view information at a glance.
Apple plans to release iOS 16.2 in December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and a report about the update enabling 5G support in India. The update remains in beta testing for now, with many new features and changes already uncovered.
iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide the wallpaper and notifications on the iPhone 14 Pro's always-on display, Live Activities enhancements, a rearchitected Home app, and more.
Freeform App
iOS 16.2 includes Apple's new digital whiteboard app Freeform on the iPhone. The app provides an infinite canvas for you to draw on and insert sticky notes, text boxes, shapes, photos, videos, links, PDFs, and more. The app is also available on the iPad and the Mac, and you can collaborate with others in real time via FaceTime and iMessage.
Freeform is more useful on the iPad given the device supports the Apple Pencil, but you can still use a capacitive stylus on the iPhone.
Two New Lock Screen Widgets
There are two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications on iOS 16.2. With the Sleep widget, you can view your most recent sleep session and sleep stages, while the Medications widget can let you quickly access your medication schedule.
New Always-On Display Options
Starting with iOS 16.2, you can hide the wallpaper and notifications in always-on display mode on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This results in the Lock Screen having a solid black, minimal appearance in always-on mode, similar to Android.
The new "Show Wallpaper" and "Show Notifications" toggles are located in the Settings app under Display & Brightness → Always On Display.
Live Activities: Sports Scores via Apple TV App
iOS 16.2 adds Live Activities support for sports scores via the Apple TV app. The feature allows iPhone users to view live scores of MLB, NBA, and Premier League games at a glance on the Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models.
During a Premier League match, for example, the Dynamic Island shows a live-updating scoreboard with the number of goals scored by each club. When long pressed, the Dynamic Island expands to show the time elapsed and play-by-play action. When an iPhone 14 Pro is locked, and on all other iPhone models, the score is shown in a Lock Screen banner.
To test the feature with an iPhone on the iOS 16.2 beta, open the TV app and tap on the "Follow" button for a supported game. Apple says the feature is available for NBA and Premier League games for users in the U.S. and Canada, and for MLB games for users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K., Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea.
Live Activities: More Frequent Updates
Live Activities will update more frequently on iOS 16.2 when a new "More Frequent Updates" option is enabled, allowing users to view more up-to-date information, but Apple warns this setting can drain your iPhone's battery faster.
It's unclear what the refresh interval is for Live Activities currently, but the new option will be even faster, which would be useful for tracking the arrival of an Uber vehicle or a Starbucks delivery order once those apps support the feature.
New Home App Architecture
After updating to iOS 16.2 and opening the Home app, an update to the app is available with new underlying architecture. Apple says the new architecture improves the app's performance, efficiency, and reliability for controlling smart home accessories. This comes after the Home app gained support for Matter accessories in iOS 16.1.
Unintentional Emergency SOS Call Reporting
If you accidentally trigger an Emergency SOS phone call, iOS 16.2 lets you report the incident to Apple and share iPhone diagnostics.
5G in India
iOS 16.2 will enable support for 5G networks in India on the iPhone 12 and newer, starting with carriers Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Amazon has a fresh batch of all-time low prices on Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro today, starting at $1,999.99 for the 10-Core M1 Pro/512GB model, down from $2,499.00. You can get this sale in both Silver and Space Gray.
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This is $99 below the previous record low price on this model, and right now only Amazon is offering this steep discount.
Additionally, Amazon also has the 10-Core M1 Pro/1TB 16-inch MacBook Pro on sale, available for $2,199.99, down from $2,699.00. This is a match of the model's previous all-time low price, and it's only available in Silver.
If you're looking for even more deals on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models, we have the best early Black Friday deals on these notebooks in our dedicated article. These markdowns include up to $499 off 14-inch MacBook Pro models as well.
We're keeping track of all of the season's best Apple-related deals in our Black Friday roundup, so be sure to check back throughout the month for an updated list of all the most notable discounts you'll find for Black Friday 2022.
Apple earlier this month acknowledged that customers faced longer wait times for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models because of reduced supply chain capacity, but the delays appear to have gotten worse.
On Apple's online store in the United States, the devices' estimated shipping times are currently hovering around the six-week mark, with deliveries for all iPhone 14 Pro models now only available from December 27, already putting them out of reach of many would-be gift-buying customers before Christmas Day.
The delays corroborate analyst expectations that Apple's iPhone 14 Pro models will fall short of earlier shipment estimates for the year, following lockdowns at the main Foxconn factory in China where the devices are assembled.
Foxconn is now expected to ship 79 million units in the current quarter, down from the previous 85 million handsets estimate, due to the stringent COVID-19 restrictions imposed on the factory in Zhengzhou in recent weeks, according to investment firm Morgan Stanley (via Bloomberg).
"The wait time for 14 Pro/Pro Max has extended to four to five weeks as of late versus two to four weeks a month ago, implying demand stays healthy, even with supply gap," wrote the analysts in a note.
Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley predicts higher-than-usual output in the first few months of 2023 to make up for unfilled demand. Meanwhile, operations at the Zhengzhou facility have already resumed, with workers having been ferried to the plant over the weekend as Foxconn seeks to make up for lost ground.
With the third beta of watchOS 9.2 that was provided to developers on Tuesday, Apple has added the new Race Route feature to the Workout app.
Designed especially for runners and cyclists, Race Route lets you compete against yourself on a route you've already completed and tracked as an outdoor run or cycle on Apple Watch.
You can race against your best or last result on any frequently completed outdoor running routes, and the feature also offers in-session pacing guidance to keep your progress competitive.
Coming later this year, Race Route is compatible with Apple Watch Series 4 and later models. The upcoming release of watchOS 9.2 is also likely to include Track Detection, which automatically detects when you arrive at a running track, and combines Apple Maps data with GPS to provide a more accurate route map and more accurate pace and distance metrics.
watchOS 9.2 also introduces support for a new Home app architecture that has also been added to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS Ventura.
Twitter is working on end-to-end encryption for direct messages sent over the social network, according to app researcher Jane Manchun Wong.
"Seeing signs of the feature being worked on in Twitter for Android," wrote Wong in a tweet, which was accompanied by code strings highlighting references to encryption keys.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk later replied to Wong's tweet with a winking face emoji – a heavy hint that the feature is indeed in development.
End-to-end encrypted DMs would put Twitter's messaging platform on the level of apps like Signal and WhatsApp, ensuring that a conversation between users is only ever seen by those sending the messages and not a surveilling third party.
Twitter began work on encryption for Twitter DMs back in 2018 under the moniker "secret conversations," but the feature never materialized. Musk has previously championed privacy-centric encrypted messaging platform Signal, suggesting he is making secure communications a priority for the service.
In related developments, Musk has said that Twitter's $8-per-month subscription plan will relaunch later than originally planned. Twitter Blue Verified will now return on November 29, "to make sure that it is rock solid," Musk announced via tweet late Tuesday.
In a new interview with CBS Mornings, Apple CEO Tim Cook touched on a wide range of topics, including the iPhone 14's new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, the future of Twitter, and what it means for the app on the App Store, and what's next for Cook after he steps down as CEO of the company.
In a teaser for the interview earlier this week, Cook said Apple will be deliberate in its hiring amid economic uncertainty. "That means we're continuing to hire, but not everywhere in the company are we hiring," Cook said, amid reports the company has halted hirings. In the full interview, Cook talked about the iPhone 14's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, which launched earlier this week to iPhone 14 users in the United States and Canada.
I'm a hiker, and so I'm frequently out in places where there is no service, and you don't want there to be poles out there either. But now, to have the ability to contact in the event of an emergency is huge. You know, if you go to national parks, they are largely not covered by cellular service, and so this happens to people all the time, and it feels so great to be able to talk to a satellite hundreds of miles away traveling at 15,000 miles an hour.
Cook also touched on Apple's stance on privacy, saying the company does not believe in "sucking that information [user data] up into the cloud to make decisions off of it." Cook added: "We believe in getting the bare minimum level of information that we need to provide somebody a service."
For the first time, Cook also commented on recent developments at Twitter following its takeover by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. When asked about what the recent changes mean for the relationship between Twitter and Apple and the app's presence on the App Store, Cook said: "They say that they're going to continue to moderate, and so I count on them to do that because I don't think anybody really wants hate speech on their platform."
During the interview, Cook declined to respond directly to a question regarding his future at Apple, saying instead, "it's a privilege of a lifetime to be here," and "I get to work with people I really love to work with and spend time with them. And so, there's a lot of joy in my life because of Apple. And it's really hard to envision life without Apple."
Apple plans to begin sourcing some of its chips from a plant in Arizona, according to a report from Bloomberg. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the information in a meeting with engineering employees in Germany back when he was touring Europe.
"We've already made a decision to be buying out of a plant in Arizona, and this plant in Arizona starts up in '24, so we've got about two years ahead of us on that one, maybe a little less," Cook told the employees. "And in Europe, I'm sure that we will also source from Europe as those plans become more apparent," he said at the meeting, which included Apple services chief Eddy Cue and Deirdre O'Brien, its head of retail and human resources.
Cook did not provide details on the chips that Apple will source from Arizona, but Apple supplier TSMC is currently building a fabrication plant near Phoenix. TSMC started the project in 2020, and it will start mass production on 4-nanometer chips in 2024.
Just last week, The Wall Street Journal said that TSMC plans to open a second factory in Arizona, with the $12 billion plant set to manufacture cutting edge next-generation 3-nanometer chips that will likely be used for future Apple devices.
The Biden administration has been aiming to encourage companies to manufacture chips in the United States through financial incentives, while Apple has also been looking to cut down on its reliance on China. TSMC's primary factories are in Taiwan, but it also operates locations in Camas, Washington, as well as design centers in Austin, Texas and San Jose, California.
Apple today officially launched the new Emergency SOS via satellite feature that's available for the iPhone 14 models, so we thought we'd test it out to see just how it works.
Emergency SOS via satellite is designed to allow users to connect to emergency services when no cellular or WiFi connection is available, such as when out hiking, camping, or driving in remote areas.
It is a feature that only becomes available to use when you don't have a connection and attempt to make a phone call or send a text, but Apple has a built-in demo feature so that users can get familiar with it without having to place an emergency call.
Under Settings > Emergency SOS, there's a new Emergency SOS via satellite section with a "Try Demo" option.
To get help quick, Emergency SOS via satellite starts off by asking a series of questions about your situation, such as whether you're lost, have been in an accident, or are injured. That information, along with your Medical ID (if activated) and location is sent along to the local emergency services.
If the local emergency services location accepts texts, the information is sent directly, and if not, it goes through a relay center with Apple-trained operators that pass the information along.
Details are sent through a text message interface that allows emergency responders to text back and forth with you to garner the information that's needed for a rescue. If you're in a car accident, for example, rescuers might ask for more details on location, your iPhone battery level, what happened, and whether you're in immediate danger from a gas or fluid leak.
Emergency SOS via satellite is meant to work outdoors with a clear view of the sky, and this facilitates the best connection. Reduced size texts can send in just 15 seconds if you have a clear view, and the iPhone guides you where to hold your iPhone for the best connection.
You'll see directions to turn left or turn right to connect to the satellite, and you'll be alerted on screen when you have a poor connection and the steps you can take to improve it, such as moving to a spot with a better view of the sky.
If there isn't a strong connection, it can take several minutes for texts to be sent back and forth, but the iPhone aims to direct you to an ideal location for communication. Emergency SOS via satellite is limited to emergency texts with emergency responders, and it is not able to be used to text friends and family.
The feature can, however, alert your emergency contacts if you are calling for help via satellite, and it can also be used to update your location via Find My when you don't have a cellular or WiFi connection. When no connection is available, you'll see an option to update your location through the "My Location via Satellite" feature under the "Me" tab in the Find My app.
Emergency SOS via satellite is available on all iPhone 14 models, and it is rolling out today. You need to be running iOS 16.1 or later to use the feature, and no software update is required. Emergency SOS via satellite is available in the United States and Canada right now, and it is expanding to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December.
You can use Emergency SOS via satellite for free as of right now, and Apple has said it will be available at no cost to all iPhone 14 owners for a period of two years. There is no word as of yet on what it will cost when that two-year period expires.
With the third beta of iOS 16.2 that was provided to developers this morning, Apple has added new functionality to the always on display feature available for the iPhone 14 Pro models.
There are now two toggles for disabling wallpaper or notifications when always on display is active. The options can be reached by opening up the Settings app, selecting Display & Brightness, and then going to the Always On Display section.
Toggling off wallpaper will remove your wallpaper when you have always on display enabled, and toggling off notifications will prevent notifications from showing, leaving just the time and widgets if you have widgets installed on your Lock Screen.
The updated option makes for a much simpler always on display interface for those who want a more minimal look that may also save some battery life.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Ventura 13.1 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta launching one week after Apple seeded the second macOS Ventura 13.1 beta.
Registered developers can download the beta through the Apple Developer Center and after the appropriate profile is installed, the beta will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Settings.
With macOS Ventura 13.1, Apple has debuted the Freeform app, which is aimed at creative collaboration. It can be used for brainstorming, planning out ideas, jotting down thoughts, sketching, and other creative purposes.
Users can insert drawings, sticky notes, shapes, text boxes, photos, videos, PDFs, links, and other documents, with Freeform serving as a blank canvas. Freeform "boards" can be shared with other people and discussed over FaceTime, with updates from all participants synced to everyone in real-time.
macOS Ventura 13.1 also introduces support for an updated Home app architecture that improves performance for smart home devices, with these features also available in iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2.
Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the betas coming one week after Apple seeded the second betas of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2.
Registered developers are able to download the iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 profiles from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the beta is available over the air.
iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 include the Freeform app, which can be used for jotting down notes, sketching, drawing, brainstorming ideas, creating mood boards, and more. Multiple people can work on the same Freeform board, with changes synced for all participants in real time.
For the iPad, iPadOS 16.2 brings external display support to the Stage Manager multitasking feature, allowing up to eight apps to be used at once. External display support is available for the M1 and M2 iPad models.
Apple has added a new Home app architecture coming in iOS and iPadOS 16.2, which Apple says is designed to bring faster, more reliable performance, especially in homes with a lot of smart home accessories. The new architecture requires the HomePod 16.2 beta software, and it causes the Home app not to work with devices updated to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1.
Unintentional Emergency SOS calls can be reported to Apple in iOS 16.2, there's a new Sleep widget, live sports scores are back for the TV app, and more, with full details available in our iOS 16.2 feature guide. iOS 16.2 is expected to see a release in mid-December.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 9.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming one week after the launch of the second watchOS 9.2 beta.
To install the new watchOS 9.2 update, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center.
Once installed, watchOS 9.2 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update. To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it has to be placed on the charger, and it will need to be in range of the iPhone it is paired with.
watchOS 9.2 introduces support for a new Home app architecture that has also been added to iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS Ventura. No other features that are Apple Watch specific have been found as of yet.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 16.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming one week after Apple released the second beta.
Developers can download the tvOS 16.2 beta by downloading a profile onto the Apple TV using Xcode.
tvOS updates are often minor in scale, focusing on internal bug fixes and improvements rather than notable outward-facing changes, but there are some noteworthy features in the tvOS 16.2 update. It adds support for the new Home app architecture, which is designed to make Home setups faster and more reliable.
tvOS 16.2 also adds a new Siri voice recognition feature, allowing the Apple TV to recognize each person in the household by voice, swapping over to the appropriate profile. This makes it easier to switch between Apple TV users, getting to the correct music, TV shows, recommendations, and more. Voice recognition supports up to six family members.
Apple today shared an ad titled "The Rescue" that demonstrates the iPhone 14's new Emergency SOS via Satellite safety feature in action. The video was first shared during Apple's September event for the iPhone 14, and it has now been shared on a standalone basis and will likely air as a TV commercial over the coming months.
The dramatic video shows first responders boarding a helicopter and flying towards a couple on the top of a mountain after they contacted emergency services with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, which launches today in the U.S. and Canada. The feature is available on all four iPhone 14 models running iOS 16.1 or later.
Emergency SOS via Satellite allows iPhone 14 models to connect directly to a satellite, enabling users to send text messages to emergency services when outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. Apple says a text message might take 15 seconds to send via satellite in "ideal conditions with a direct view of the sky and the horizon," but foliage or other obstructions can result in delays or no connection entirely.
When available, an option to send a text message via Emergency SOS via Satellite will appear after dialing 911 outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. There is also a demo mode in the Settings app under Emergency SOS that allows users to test out the satellite connectivity without contacting emergency responders.
Rare Apple product collector and Twitter user "TheBlueMister" first shared images of the unreleased accessory earlier this month. Since then, other collectors based in Asia seem to have got their hands on Design Validation Test (DVT) versions of the device and are sharing images of it online.
TheBlueMister has set about disassembling the accessory to restore it to working order, showing some of this process on Twitter. Connection to a Mac reveals that the unreleased accessory is called the "Apple Magic Charger."
The accessory features a rubberized white MagSafe charger inside an anodized aluminum rounded square that can be pushed out into a vertical position. It seemingly has a Space Gray finish and includes a white rubberized base to keep it in place on a surface, as well as a built-in braided USB-C charging cable. It also appears to bear a resemblance to the iPhone Lightning Dock. The Twitter user known as "DuanRui" today shared additional images of the unreleased Apple Magic Charger.
The accessory's design is similar to the hinged Apple Watch charger on the MagSafe Duo and the now-discontinued Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock, and is the first time a MagSafe charger has been seen in a hinged implementation on an official Apple accessory.
The design seems to be somewhat limited for the iPhone since it cannot be pushed upright in portrait orientation on the charger, proving useful for watching content in landscape mode only. The MagSafe puck could, of course, still charge an iPhone when flat, as well as AirPods that have a MagSafe Charging Case.
TheBlueMister says that an early version of the Apple Magic Charger's design was limited to keeping an iPhone in the upright, horizontal position only, and these limitations were apparently among the key reasons that Apple canned the product.
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