Apple today seeded the first beta of the upcoming macOS 11 Big Sur update to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to give the software a try ahead of its public release this fall.
Beta testers who signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the macOS Big Sur beta through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile.
Mac users who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate on the beta website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS betas. Potential beta testers should make a full backup before installing macOS Big Sur, and it may not be wise to install the update on a primary machine because betas can be unstable.
macOS Big Sur introduces a refined design for the macOS operating system, which is more similar to iOS but immediately familiar to Mac users with tweaks to window design, color palette, app icons, system sounds, menu bars, and sidebars.
The update brings Control Center to the Mac for the first time, providing quicker access to system controls for things like volume, keyboard brightness, screen brightness, Wi-Fi connection, and more.
An updated Notification Center includes more interactive notifications and redesigned widgets that mirror the new widgets in iOS 14. Notifications are now grouped by app, and you can customize which widgets show up.
Safari has a new customizable start page, built-in translation, and a Privacy Report feature that lets you know which trackers each website is using to follow you across the web. There's a new Mac App Store category for extensions, and you can now control the specific sites that extensions are able to work with for more privacy.
The Messages app for Mac has been overhauled to bring it more in line with the Messages app for iOS and it supports features like pinned conversations, mentions, inline replies, Messages effects, and Memoji creation and Memoji stickers. Search is also better to make it easier to find old conversations, photos, links, and more.
A redesigned Maps app in macOS Big Sur adds support for Look Around, indoor maps, Guides, and Shared ETA updates, plus it can be used to generate cycling routes and routes with charging stops for electric vehicles, which can be sent to iPhone.
There are also smaller updates for apps like Photos, Music, and Home, with a full list of everything new in macOS Big Sur available in our roundup.
Apple today seeded new public betas of upcoming iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates to its public beta testing group. Today's software releases, which Apple labels as fourth betas to keep them in line with developer betas, are actually the third betas that Apple has provided and they come two weeks after the prior beta releases.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS/iPadOS 14 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device, with instructions available in our how to. The updates should not be installed on primary devices as this is beta software and could have serious bugs.
iOS 14 brings changes to the Home Screen, including widget support. Widgets can now be placed right next to your apps, and with the focus on widgets, Apple has introduced new widgets from default apps and is allowing them to be customized in three sizes.
You can put widgets anywhere on any app page, with new widgets able to be found in the widget gallery. Along with widgets, Apple has introduced an App Library, which is an interface that shows all of the apps on your iPhone both in smart folders that are created automatically and in an alphabetical list.
With the App Library providing access to all your apps, there's now an option to hide entire app pages from your iPhone, so you can avoid a cluttered Home Screen.
Apple has worked to make the iPhone's interface more compact, and incoming phone calls and Siri requests no longer take over the whole screen and are instead presented in a banner style, a feature also available on iPadOS.
There's a Picture in Picture mode for watching videos or using FaceTime while doing something else at the same time on the iPhone. The Messages app has new features focused on group conversations like pinned conversations, mentions, and inline replies.
A new App Clips feature lets you use small bite sized bits of an app without the need to download the whole app, useful for times when you need an app to buy a coffee, rent a scooter, or make a restaurant reservation. App Clips will work through Apple-designed App Clip codes, NFC tags, or QR codes, and can also be shared in Messages or from Safari.
The Health app supports the Sleep Tracking feature added in watchOS 7, and the iPhone will support the Sleep Mode and Wind Down features designed to help you get a better night's sleep. There's also a new Health Checklist that makes it easier to manage health and safety features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Medical ID.
The Weather app now provides info on severe weather events and minute-by-minute precipitation readings (U.S. only), and the Maps app supports cycling directions for the first time so bike riders can plan routes with info like busy streets, elevation changes, stairs, and more. Maps also now lets electric vehicle owners plan routes with EV charging spots.
The Home app is smarter with automation suggestions and an Adaptive Lighting feature that lets HomeKit lights adjust their color temperature throughout the day, plus there are new features for HomeKit Secure Cameras.
A new Apple-designed Translate app provides text and voice translations to and from 11 languages, and with an on-device mode, translations can be done entirely on your phone.
Tons of new privacy features have been added in iOS and iPadOS 14. Apps need permission before accessing devices on a local network, you get notified when an app accesses the clipboard, and there are little icons in the status bar of the Home Screen when an app is using the camera or the microphone.
There are also new options for limiting access to select photos and providing apps with an approximate location rather than an exact location for better privacy protection. Safari has Privacy Report that tells you which trackers sites are using, and in the future, the App Store will include a summary of developers' privacy practices in an easy-to-read format.
AirPods can now seamlessly and automatically switch between devices, and AirPods Pro gain a new spatial audio feature for surround sound complete with dynamic head tracking.
As for iPadOS 14, it includes most of the new iOS 14 updates, minus the Home Screen redesign. The biggest change is the new Scribble feature that lets you use the Apple Pencil to write on any text field, with the written text converted to typed text.
Scribble works throughout the operating system so you can use the Apple Pencil for Safari searches, adding new items in Calendar and Reminders, sending Messages, handwriting in the Notes app, and more.
For more on everything that's new in iOS and iPadOS 14, make sure to check out our iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 roundups, which have a detailed look on all of the new features.
The 2020 27-inch iMac was announced earlier this week with updated 10th-generation Intel chips, new AMD 5000 graphics, a True Tone display, and an improved webcam, but unfortunately, the machine features no design changes. Apple began shipping iMac orders out earlier this week, and as the new devices arrive to customers, media sites have also released their own reviews.
Many of the reviews have pointed out that the new iMac is great for working from home, highlighting the upgraded 1080p webcam, improved speakers, and new microphone array as noteworthy features.
True Tone Display
The iMac features the same 5K display that's been used in prior generations with millions of colors, 14.7 million pixels, and 500 nits brightness, but it also features True Tone for the first time, allowing the color temperature of the display to be adjusted to the ambient lighting.
Most reviewers didn't have too much to say about True Tone because we've been using it for years in other Apple products, but TechCrunch called it a nice addition:
This is the first time the company has brought True Tone technology to the iMac, using light sensors to adjust the screen to more true to life colors. It's a nice addition, and it all leads to a screen that positively pops. At the end of a long day, I've taken to swiveling the iMac around and using it to watch movies from my couch.
Nano-Texture Glass
Apple added the same nano-texture matte glass option to the iMac that it first introduced with the Pro Display XDR.
Image via The Verge
Not all reviewers received an iMac with nano-texture glass, but those that did were impressed. From Gizmodo:
I absolutely love this glass, though. There's absolutely no glare, at any angle, regardless of what I'm watching or the ambient light in the room. Bright light streaming in from the giant window to my left while watching Tom Hanks' dimly lit drama-on-the-high-seas flick Greyhound (on Apple TV+, natch) was no match for the nano-textured glass. Late afternoon sun hitting the display from behind my shoulder wasn't reflected in the screen one bit. I need this on every device in my life.
The Verge said the nano-texture is "great," but questioned whether it was worth the $500 price tag given that there are unknowns about durability.
My first two big reservations are, unfortunately, the sorts of things that can't be resolved with just two days of testing. One is the price: at $500, it's a super expensive upgrade, and only your tolerance for glare can tell you if it's worth the price. Another thing that might help you decide if it's worth is whether the finish is durable. That's my second reservation: I just don't know. [...]
I asked Apple about the durability of the finish. I was told that they don't want to give anybody the impression that it's fragile, but that, yes: over time, using something too abrasive could mess up that finish. Unlike other screens, there's really no coating on top of the nano finish; it's just etched, bare glass.
Mashable said the nano-texture glass gives the iMac "an updated look" and said it's fingerprint resistant.
While it's not all that noticeable unless you physically feel it, it gives the iMac an updated look. More importantly, it reduces glare and reflectivity, and makes everything look a lot more vibrant. And, unlike the standard glossy display, it's not a fingerprint magnet.
10th-Generation Processors and Radeon GPUs
Gizmodo was impressed with the performance and called the 10-core iMac it tested a "powerhouse" that will last for years to come.
The couple of benchmarks I've run since the iMac arrived on Tuesday indicate that this desktop is a powerhouse. In the Blender test of CPU performance, the iMac rendered an image in 2 minutes and 19 seconds, which is incredibly fast--it's more than two minutes faster than when we benchmarked Intel's 10th-gen Core i9-10900K processor on its own. On Geekbench 4, a synthetic test of overall system performance, the iMac's single-core score of 6382 and multi-core score of 42417 impressed us all. Joanna Nelius, Gizmodo's resident PC and processor expert, exclaimed: "What the hell did Intel do to this CPU?" We plan to run more benchmarks in addition to real-world tests, but these early numbers are promising.
Mashable said that its 10-core review unit with 32GB RAM and Radeon Pro 5700 XT graphics card was too powerful for everyday use.
My review unit was a bit too powerful for my everyday tasks: a 3.6 GHz 10-Core Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of storage, and that aforementioned Radeon Pro 5700 X graphics card. I can easily say it handled everything I threw at it with ease, but my typical workday doesn't require all that much heavy lifting in terms of hardware.
1080p Camera
The iMac uses an upgraded 1080p camera that's also been improved with the T2 chip, which adds an image signal processor that includes tone mapping, exposure control, and face detection.
Image via The Verge
TechCrunch says the camera is clear and "more than acceptable for teleconferencing needs."
The system sports a number of on-board sensors designed to augment the experience, including face tracking for better shot framing and increased performance in low light.
CNBC liked the face tracking feature that was included because it keeps your face in focus.
Apple tweaked the camera software so that your face is always in focus, even if you move it around the screen, and it does a good job keeping you well-lit even in a relatively dark environment. That's important, say, when you're on a video chat with your team during a cloudy day and don't want it to look like you live in a cave.
The Verge said that for videoconferencers, the 1080p webcam is likely to be the biggest day-to-day improvement.
But there's one spec bump that is wildly out of character for Apple, even in this pandemic year: the quality of the webcam has finally been improved. If you're videoconferencing a lot, the new 1080p webcam is likely going to be the thing that improves your day-to-day the most. I hate to tell you this, but you really do look more professional to your colleagues when your camera is just a little sharper. I don't think it's worth upgrading to a new iMac just for the webcam, of course, but I am glad that Apple has made it better. I also don't know that I'd say it's the best I've used, but it's no longer vaguely embarrassing like most of Apple's other webcams.
Microphone and Speakers
The microphone also got a boost, with Apple adding a studio quality microphone array to accompany the higher-end camera, while the speakers benefitted from the T2 chip, gaining variable EQ for improved balance, higher fidelity, and deeper bass
Image via TechCrunch
TechCrunch deemed the microphone "clear and perfectly suited to teleconferencing," and had the same thing to say about the speakers.
The speakers, too, fill roughly the same needs. They're perfectly good for a teleconference, audio playback and even casual movie watching and music listening. As someone who's slightly obsessive about music listening, I would likely invest in some external speakers to pair with the desktop in the home setting, but the computer audio is well suited for an office.
CNBC: Called the microphone excellent, and said that it a recording made with the microphone sounded like it came from a studio.
The microphones are excellent. Previous iMacs had two front-facing microphones but the new 27-inch iMac adds a third rear-facing one to cut down on background noise. I had a 90-minute video chat last night with folks who were also using the new 27-inch iMac and they sounded really clear. I also heard a demo track recorded by a musician named Mary Spender who recorded herself singing and playing guitar in front of the iMac. I'm no audiophile, but it sounded really clear to me, like it was recorded in a studio.
Complaints
There were few complaints about the new iMac, but almost all of them focused on the outdated design of the machine. The iMac's design has not been overhauled since 2012 and it continues to feature thick borders.
Some reviewers also expressed interest in the addition of a Touch ID Home Button, which is on Macs like the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but not the new iMac. From The Verge:
One thing that doesn't feel modern at all with the 2020 iMac is logging in. Unless you have an Apple Watch and use it to unlock your computer, the only way to get in is to type out your password like an animal. Apple's T2 chip controls Touch ID fingerprint login on Mac laptops, but Apple opted not to add a fingerprint sensor to the keyboard or a Face ID array in this iMac.
Review Videos
A number of YouTubers made hands-on videos with the new iMac for those interested in seeing it in action.
Google plans to release a foldable Pixel phone in the fourth quarter of next year, according to leaked internal documents (via 9to5Google). Codenamed "Passport," the device is explicitly referred to as "foldable," and appears alongside a list of past and future Pixel devices.
MacRumors concept
Google confirmed last year that it is developing technology that could be used in foldable devices, although the company played down the prospect of actually launching a foldable any time soon, saying it didn't see "a clear use case yet." Today's leak suggests one is indeed in the works for a possible 2021 release.
Samsung was first to launch a consumer foldable device, but the Galaxy Fold suffered from major issues that impacted the durability and performance of the device. The tablet-sized device was unveiled in early 2019, but its launch was delayed until September while Samsung fixed the problems. Samsung has since launched the Galaxy Z Flip, a smartphone-sized device that folds in half and can be tucked into a pocket, but it has durability issues, too.
The launch of Huawei's first foldable, the Mate X, was also delayed last year before arriving in September. The Chinese smartphone maker said it was being more "cautious" that it had a quality device, after witnessing Samsung's troubles.
It is unclear if Apple will ever release a folding mobile device, but there is one rumor that it's working on a foldable iPhone prototype that features two separate display panels that are connected by a hinge rather than a single display like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Whether or not such a device materializes, Apple has certainly explored the idea of foldable devices for years, as various patents show. Recently the company has been investigating ways to circumvent the issue of foldable displays creasing and cracking at the fold over time – a problem that has plagued many of the consumer foldable devices that have made it to market so far.
An image supposedly of an iPhone 12 display unit has been shared online by leaker "Mr. White".
Compared to images of an iPhone 11 Pro display piece, this new unit has a reoriented display connector, reaching up from the bottom of the display, rather than from the left-hand side on iPhone 11 Pro. This may be due to the logic board moving to the other side of the device. A change of logic board position was rumored earlier this year, in order to accommodate the 5G antenna module expected in all four iPhone 12 models. The SIM tray is also expected to move to the left side of the device under the volume button as a result of this change. In May, a logic board also seemingly from iPhone 12 leaked.
Apple is expected to release four OLED iPhones this fall, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model. Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch iPhone and one 6.1-inch model will be "Pro" devices with triple-lens cameras, while the 5.4 and 6.1-inch models will be lower-end iPhones with dual-lens cameras and a more affordable price tag.
It is not immediately clear which size of iPhone 12 this display unit may be from. Given the size of the notch components, it seems likely that this unit is from the anticipated 5.4-inch iPhone 12. Last month, display panels allegedly from iPhone 12 leaked.
The leaker suggests that the notch on this unit is the same size as previous models. Numerous minor disparities between this display unit and that of iPhone 11 Pro suggest that the internal redesign of iPhone 12 could be substantial.
Leaker Mr. White has been known to share accurate information on Apple's future plans and pictures of components from upcoming devices. They have previously released images purportedly of the A14 processor and a 20-watt power adapter, both set to arrive with iPhone 12.
Benchmarks from the new 2020 iMac have today been shared online by Mac Otakara.
The Geekbench benchmarks are from the newly-released 27-inch iMac with 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 processor and Radeon Pro 5300 graphics, compared to multiple specs of the previous 2019 iMac.
The lowest spec 27-inch i5 iMac from 2020 performs about 20 percent better in multicore than the lowest spec 27-inch i5 iMac from 2019. Although the lowest spec 27-inch 2020 iMac has a Intel Core i5 3.1GHz processor, it seems to perform better than an equivalent Intel Core i5 3.7GHz model from 2019. This is likely thanks to new 10th-generation Intel Core processors, which Apple says offer up to 65 percent faster CPU performance.
The 3.1GHz iMac gave a Geekbench Single-Core Score of 1090 and a Multi-Core Score of 5688.
Graphics capability has been measured using Geekbench Compute benchmarks. Compared to the 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 2019 iMac with AMD Radeon Pro 570X graphics, the 2020 iMac's Radeon Pro 5300 performs about 40 percent better. The Radeon Pro 5300 does not surpass the performance of the 2019 iMac with AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 graphics, however. Apple states that the next-generation AMD Radeon Pro 5000 graphics deliver up to 55 percent faster performance than the previous generation.
MacRumors reader Stefan tested the high-spec 2020 iMac with 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz, giving a single-core score of 1141 and a multi-core score of 7006. This is approximately 36% higher than the equivalent chip from the previous generation.
Stefan also offered Blackmagic speed tests of the 3.8GHz iMac's SSD, giving write speeds of 1963.3 MB/s and read speeds of 2250.2 MB/s.
The new iMac's SSD is soldered to the motherboard and therefore is not user-replaceable, according to ifun.de. Previous iMacs have not been soldered in place, allowing for upgrade or replacement. Supposedly according to internally published technical information, the 2020 iMac's individual SSD modules are soldered directly onto the motherboard, similar to how storage in MacBooks have been soldered down for several years. As a result, the storage configuration at the point of purchase is fixed and cannot be changed afterwards.
New information regarding the new 27-inch iMac's redesigned microphone array has also emerged today. The new iMac apparently features two microphones installed in the lower area of the iMac behind the screen, as opposed to the single microphone on previous models. This allows the 2020 iMac to deliver what Apple calls "studio-quality audio."
The new 27-inch iMac was unveiled by Apple on Tuesday, with faster 10th-generation Intel Core processors, next-generation AMD graphics, up to 128GB of RAM, a higher-resolution 1080p front-facing FaceTime camera, a True Tone display with a nano-texture glass option, a T2 chip, higher fidelity speakers, and more.
Update 9:30 a.m.: A source with access to Apple's repair manuals tells MacRumors that the SSD is in fact not soldered to the logic board but is connected to a proprietary Apple slot on the board.
OWC today announced the upcoming launch of its Rover Pro wheels kit for the new Mac Pro, an innovative quick-change solution to convert back and forth between feet and wheels at a much cheaper price than Apple's official wheels kit.
Designed to attach to the stock Mac Pro feet rather than replace them, the OWC Rover Pro wheels can be attached in just two minutes by hand-twisting and are made of stainless steel with soft rubber treads and a silicone rubber pad at the interface between the wheel and the Mac Pro's foot to absorb vibrations.
While swapping the wheels on or off only takes a couple of minutes, OWC also provides a set of wheel stops that clip to the casters to prevent rolling without needing to remove the wheels at all.
The OWC Rover Pro wheels kit is available for pre-order now and will begin shipping next month. It's available for an introductory price of $199 that will eventually rise to $249, a significant saving over Apple's $699 wheel kit.
The U.S. government is stepping up efforts against Chinese technology companies as it prepares to purge App Stores of "untrusted" Chinese apps, reports Reuters.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. "Clean Network" program would focus on five areas and include steps to prevent various Chinese apps and telecoms companies from accessing the sensitive information of American citizens and businesses. One U.S. official said it was a push back against a "massive campaign to steal and weaponize our data against us."
The announcement comes the week after President Donald Trump threatened to outright ban TikTok within the United States.
"With parent companies based in China, apps like TikTok, WeChat and others are significant threats to personal data of American citizens, not to mention tools for CCP (Chinese Communist Party) content censorship," Pompeo said.
In an interview to Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Wednesday, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said the U.S. had "no right" to establish the Clean Network program and called the actions by Washington "a textbook case of bullying."
"Anyone can see through clearly that the intention of the U.S. is to protect its monopoly position in technology and to rob other countries of their proper right to development," said Wang.
Microsoft now faces a deadline of September 15 to purchase TikTok, or the platform will be banned in the U.S.
Moreover, Pompeo explained that the United States is working to prevent Chinese telecoms company Huawei from being able to install popular U.S. apps on its devices. The exact apps and services to be banned from Huawei devices is as yet unknown.
"We don't want companies to be complicit in Huawei's human rights abuses, or the CCP's surveillance apparatus," Pompeo stated.
Pompeo said the State Department would work with other government agencies to protect the data of American citizens and intellectual property, including vaccine research, by preventing access from cloud-based systems run by Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Baidu, China Mobile, China Telecom, and Tencent.
The Secretary of State is joining Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to urge the U.S. telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, to terminate the authorization of China Telecom and three other Chinese companies to provide services in the United States.
He also drew attention to new State Department precautions to ensure China could not compromise information carried by undersea cables that connect the United States to the global internet. He called on U.S. allies "to join the growing tide to secure our data from the CCP's surveillance state and other malign entities."
Huawei, ByteDance, and various other Chinese companies deny allegations that they spy for the Chinese government, and says the United States seeks to frustrate its growth because no domestic U.S. company can offer the same technology at a competitive price.
The U.S. government now regards more than 30 territories as "Clean Countries" with "Clean Telcos" in the program. The statement from Pompeo and expansion of the Clean Network program reflects an accelerated push by Washington to limit the access of Chinese technology companies 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.
Twitter has updated its official iOS app to allow all users to limit who can reply to their tweets. The company has been testing the "conversation participants" feature with select users since May, but it now appears to be ready for a wider rollout.
"In May, we tested a new way to have a chat with exactly who you want, so you can create and consume more meaningful changes," reads the update release notes on the App Store. "Now, everyone can try this new feature and choose who can reply to their tweets."
The feature appears in the compose tweet screen as a box above the keyboard that says "Everyone can reply." Tapping the box brings up three options to allow everyone to reply to the tweet, allow only people you follow to reply, or allow only people you mention to reply.
The "everyone" represents how Twitter traditionally works and it's the default setting that's selected for every tweet, while the other two options limit replies. Tweets that have limited replies are labeled and the reply icon is grayed out so it's clear to people that they're unable to reply.
Even when replies are limited to followers or people mentioned in a tweet, people unable to reply will be able to view, Retweet, Retweet with Comment, and like the tweets.
The feature should help cut down on online abuse and harassment, and it could also potentially be used to promote more focused discussions on the social platform with a select few users.
Update: Some users are reporting that the feature is not accessible to them, despite updating the Twitter app to the latest version, suggesting it is still rolling out.
Update 2: Twitter said that the release notes suggesting limited replies to tweets were available to everyone were incorrect. The feature has not rolled out to all users, and it still remains limited to a small number of Twitter users.
Update 3, August 11: As of August 11, the feature that lets Twitter users limit who can reply to their tweets is rolling out to everyone. It's available on Twitter for iOS, Twitter for Android, and Twitter on the web.
Google has announced a handful of mobile enhancements for its Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps that are active now or will be rolling out on iOS soon.
First up, Google has completed the rollout of dynamic email in the Gmail iOS app. Google says dynamic email brings the richness and interactivity of AMP to mobile devices, allowing users to take action directly within a message. So instead of receiving individual email notifications when a user is mentioned in a comment in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, they'll now see an up-to-date comment thread in Gmail, and be able to reply or resolve the comment, directly within the message.
Earlier this year, Google launched Smart Compose in Docs on the web to help users write documents faster and reduce the chance of spelling and grammatical errors. Now its bringing the power of Smart Compose to mobile, with the aim of making it even faster and easier to write documents on the go. Smart Compose will roll out to G Suite customers on iOS over the next few weeks.
Google says it's improving the user interface for comments and action items in Docs, Sheets, and Slides on mobile. The larger, clearer commenting UI should make it easier to scroll through and respond to comments, while a quick access button to reply and @mention others aims to enable more focused discussions. These updates will be rolling out to iOS in the coming months.
Office editing was introduced on the web last year, and is designed to make it easy to edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files using Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Google is rolling out Office editing to its Docs, Sheets, and Slides mobile apps on Android in the coming weeks, with iOS to follow later this year.
Elsewhere, a new viewing experience is coming to Slides, with a vertically scrollable stream of slides that users can pinch-to-zoom. Google says this new view helps review slides faster, and users can easily switch to editing or presenting content. The feature will roll out on iOS in the coming months.
Lastly, Docs, Sheets, and Slides will be getting a Dark mode on iOS in the coming months, to make it easier for users to work in low-light environments and keep their iPhone battery alive for longer.
Apple's latest 27-inch iMac comes with an optional nano-texture glass, which is etched at the nanometer level to cut down on reflectivity and glare for a matte look.
The nano-texture glass is available on the 27-inch iMac as a $500 upgrade option, and like Apple's Pro Display XDR with nano-texture screen (a $1,000 option), Apple has very specific cleaning instructions that it wants iMac owners to follow.
A support document updated overnight advises that those who purchase the iMac model with nano-texture glass must use the polishing cloth that Apple provides. No water or liquids should be used to clean the glass either. iMac owners can at most moisten the cloth with a 70-percent isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solution to deal with hard-to-remove smudges.
Apple warns that iMac owners should never use any other cloths to clean the glass, and if the included dry polishing cloth is lost, Apple Support should be contacted so another cloth can be ordered. Apple told MacRumors it charges $9 for replacement cleaning cloths.
Apple also has specific instructions for washing the polishing cloth, which includes using dish soap and water, rinsing thoroughly, and then letting it air dry for at least 24 hours.
The standard iMac glass can be cleaned with a regular microfiber cloth and a small amount of water, while the casing can be cleaned using a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth.
Nano-texture glass was first seen on the Pro XDR Display, which was the butt of multiple jokes because Apple charges $4,999 for the display, and an extra $999 for the stand. The need for a specific Apple-designed cleaning cloth was seen by some as, well, typically Apple.
Apple says its nano-texture finish on the new iMac "maintains contrast while scattering light to reduce glare to the barest minimum." Currently, 27-inch iMac orders with standard glass ship in 1 business day, while the 27-iMac with nano-texture glass ships in 1 to 2 weeks.
Apple today shared a new video in its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" series, this time highlighting a short film that was captured by director Damien Chazelle, known for films like "La La Land" and "Whiplash."
The nine minute short film was shot with an iPhone 11 Pro and all of the footage was captured in a vertical aspect ratio. Apple also included a behind the scenes look at how the film was shot.
When shooting the video, Chazelle used iPhone features like extended dynamic range, video stabilization, the ultra wide-angle lens, and more.
Apple has shared several prior videos and photographs in the "Shot on iPhone" series, but this marks one of the first vertical videos that Apple has uploaded in the "Shot on iPhone" saga.
The fourth beta of macOS Big Sur, released yesterday, adds a new toggle in System Preferences that's designed to disable the wallpaper tinting feature that's meant to make windows blend in with the desktop wallpaper.
For those who have Dark Mode enabled, turning off wallpaper tinting can make windows on the Mac noticeably darker, especially when a lighter color background is in use.
Apple introduced the wallpaper tinting feature in an earlier version of macOS, and some Mac users who prefer Dark Mode have been hoping for a toggle to disable it. Prior to now, there was a method for turning it off, but it involved enabling the graphite accent color.
With wallpaper tint on
As 9to5mac points out, being forced to choose graphite was not ideal because it eliminated many of the colored elements of the operating system. With macOS Big Sur, wallpaper tinting can be disabled while leaving the rest of the interface untouched.
With wallpaper tint off
Disabling wallpaper tinting will only make a difference to those who use Dark Mode, as it does not change the way that windows look in Light Mode. It's small but subtle change that some Dark Mode users will appreciate, and it only applies to windows, and not other elements of the interface like side bars.
The feature can be accessed by opening System Preferences, selecting General, and then clicking on the toggle that says "Allow wallpaper tinting in windows."
Google this week launched its newest smartphone, the $349 Pixel 4a, a low-cost device that's designed to compete with other affordable devices like Apple's iPhone SE.
We picked up one of the new Pixel 4a smartphones and thought we'd check it out to see how it measures up to the iPhone SE, given that the two devices have such similar price points.
Both the Pixel 4a and the iPhone SE are "budget" phones that lack some of the features available in more expensive smartphones available from the two companies, but both are capable devices that offer similar performance.
The Pixel 4a feature a 5.81-inch OLED panel, which is larger than the iPhone's 4.7-inch LCD display. It has a pinhole camera cutout but is otherwise all screen, which gives it a more modern look and more viewable display area. The iPhone SE continues to feature thick top and bottom bezels that cut down on screen viewing area.
When it comes to a straight display quality comparison, you might think the Pixel 4a would be leagues better with the OLED panel, but both are close in quality (see video for comparison). The 4a wins out with OLED, but the iPhone SE's LCD panel still looks good.
The iPhone SE has a Touch ID Home Button in the bottom bezel, and the Pixel 4a also uses a fingerprint sensor, but it's located at the rear of the device. Touch ID beats out most other fingerprint sensors when it comes to accuracy and phone unlocking time, and there's no exception here. Google's fingerprint sensor is fine, but Touch ID is more accurate and less prone to failure.
To keep costs low, Google built the Pixel 4a out of plastic, so when it comes quality, the iPhone SE's glass and aluminum design wins out. It looks and feels like a more premium smartphone than the Pixel 4a, but the glass has more potential to break.
The iPhone SE is equipped with Apple's latest A13 chip, which is blazing fast. It puts the iPhone SE on par with Apple's flagship iPhones when it comes to performance, a factor that makes the iPhone SE's $399 price a good deal for those who are more focused on performance.
The Pixel 4a has an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor, but it doesn't perform at the level of the A13. You may not notice a significant difference in every day usage, but there are some tasks where the iPhone SE will outshine the 4a, which is just a bit laggier and less smooth.
When it comes to battery life, the Pixel 4a has a 3,140mAh battery while the iPhone SE has a 1,821mAh battery, and MacRumors videographer Dan felt that the Pixel 4a had noticeably better battery life in his testing. The Pixel 4a also sports 6GB RAM and 128GB base storage, while the iPhone SE has 3GB RAM and 64GB base storage, so you're getting more storage for a lower price point with the Pixel.
While the iPhone SE offers a Lightning port and wireless charging, the Pixel 4a has no wireless charging and a USB-C port, which is a consideration for those who prefer wireless charging or USB-C port access.
The iPhone SE has an older camera that was first used in the iPhone 8, and it's a 12-megapixel single-lens setup. The Pixel 4a also has a single-lens 12.2-megapixel camera, but it has some of Google's computational photography and image processing features, so photos on the 4a look better.
iPhone SE photos feature a more natural color palette while the Pixel 4a's photos are cooler in tone, but the Pixel 4a images are sharper and crisper, even when lighting is poor. Google gave the Pixel 4a Night Sight, but Apple's iPhone SE doesn't support the Night Mode feature available in more expensive iPhones.
Apple does win out when it comes to video quality, though, because the iPhone SE supports 4K 60fps video and it has much better image stabilization than the Pixel 4a.
The iPhone SE runs iOS and the Pixel 4a runs Android, and since most of us are locked in to one ecosystem or another, operating system is one of the biggest factors when it comes to choosing a smartphone. Someone who has always used iPhones is likely going to opt for the iPhone SE, and the same goes for Android and the Pixel 4a.
Both of these phones offer solid value for the price point, so it really comes down to ecosystem. Apple guarantees iOS updates for years to come, so the iPhone SE should be supported until at least 2024. Android smartphones don't often get as many updates, but Google is better about providing new software for Pixel phones and has pledged to provide updates for the Pixel 4a for at least three years.
In the future, we may actually see an Apple-designed lower-cost smartphone that more closely mirrors the design of the Pixel 4a because Apple's rumored to be working on a new version of the iPhone SE called the iPhone SE Plus. It allegedly features an all-display design with a fingerprint sensor built into the power button, but it's not coming out until 2021.
One of the biggest new features of iOS 14 is Home Screen widgets, which provide information from apps at a glance. The widgets can be pinned to the Home Screen in various spots and sizes, allowing for many different layouts.
When the iOS 14 beta was first released in June, widgets were limited to Apple's own apps like Calendar and Weather, but several third-party developers have begun to test the feature for their own apps. As shown in our screenshots below, this includes:
TestFlight slots are limited, so some apps may be full.
Keep in mind that Home Screen widgets are fairly limited in scope. This is because Apple only allows the widgets to present read-only information, with interactive elements such as scrolling elements or switches not allowed, presumably due to battery life considerations. Tapping on a widget opens the corresponding app.
Also be aware that, as of the fourth developer beta of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple says that all widgets must be rebuilt using the latest SDK and will not run on previous beta versions. This has temporarily broken some widgets, such as the Aviary widget, which is currently displaying new tweets on a very delayed basis.
Users interested in trying out these widgets can download Apple's free TestFlight app, tap on the TestFlight links above using an iPhone or iPad, and download a beta version of each app. Not all of the widgets are fully polished yet, so expect some glitches.
Apple this week updated its "Jobs at Apple" website with a new Benefits section that's designed to explain to potential employees the perks that Apple offers to its workforce.
The Benefits part of the site is organized into different sections highlighting various perks of working for Apple, such as:
Flexible medical plans
Coverage for physical and mental healthcare
Free counseling
Family medical plans
Paid parental leave
Onsite doctors and nurses for those working on campus
Fitness centers on campus
Fitness-related financial help for those not on campus
Equal pay for men and women
Eligibility for stock grants and discounts for stock purchases
401(k) matching
Apple University learning opportunities
Some tuition reimbursement
One-for-one donation matching
Deals on Apple products and accessories
Apple says that its benefit programs vary by country and are subject to eligibility requirements. Those who want to learn more about Apple's benefits can check out the Jobs at Apple website.
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 given a straight to series order for a detective drama series executive produced by Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey's Team Downey production company, reports Variety.
The show is based on co-producer Michael Lista's Toronto Life article "The Sting," which follows a Canadian detective who reopens a decades-old cold case with the aim of winning a confession and becoming a hero.
The case spirals out of control when the detective launches an elaborate sting with playacting cops, taxpayer resources, and an unexpected friendship with the target of the investigation.
The Downeys, Amanda Burrell, and Michael Lista will executive produce, while Adam Perlman will write the series and serve as an executive producer. Downey may also have a supporting role in the series.
Downey's production company currently produces HBO Drama "Perry Mason" and is working on Netflix series "Sweet Tooth."
macOS users could be targeted with malicious attacks using Microsoft Office files that have macros embedded, according to details on the now-fixed exploit shared today by security researcher Patrick Wardle, who also spoke to Motherboard.
Hackers have long used Office files with macros embedded in them as a way to get access to Windows computers, but the exploit is also possible on macOS. According to Wardle, a Mac user could potentially be infected just by opening a Microsoft Office file that has a bad macro in it.
Wardle shared a blog post on the exploit that he found for manipulating Office files to impact Macs, which he's highlighting during today's online Black Hat security conference.
Apple fixed the exploit that Wardle used in macOS 10.15.3, so that particular vulnerability is no longer available for hackers to use, but it offers an interesting look at an emerging method of attack that we could see more of in the future.
Wardle's hack was complicated and involved multiple steps, so those interested in full details should read his blog, but basically he used an Office file with an old .slk format to run macros on macOS without informing the user.
"Security researchers love these ancient file formats because they were created at a time when no one was thinking about security," Wardle told Motherboard.
After using the antiquated file format to get macOS to run a macro in Microsoft Office without letting the user know, he used another flaw that let a hacker escape the Microsoft Office Sandbox with a file that uses a $ sign. The file was a .zip file, which macOS didn't check against the notarization protections that prevent users from opening files not from known developers.
A demonstration of a downloaded Microsoft Office file with a macro being used to open up Calculator.
The exploit required the targeted person to log in to their Mac on two separate occasions as logins trigger different steps in the exploit chain, which makes it less likely to happen, but as Wardle says, only one person needs to fall for it.
Microsoft told Wardle that it has found that "any application, even when sandboxed, is vulnerable to misuse of these APIs," and that it is in contact with Apple to identify and fix issues as they arise. The vulnerabilities that Wardle used to demonstrate how macros can be abused have long since been patched by Apple, but there's always a chance that a similar exploit could pop up later.
Mac users are not invulnerable to viruses and should exercise caution when downloading and opening files from unknown sources, and sometimes, even known sources. It's best to stay away from suspicious Office files and other files that have shady origins, even with the protections that Apple has built into macOS.
