MacRumors

A patent filing, discovered by AppleInsider, shows that Apple has developed a hybrid "combined" audio system using bone conduction technology.

In a patent granted today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled "Multipath audio stimulation using audio compressors," Apple lays out its conception of an audio device that seeks to overcome the issues usually associated with bone conduction. Bone conduction technology allows users to listen to sound without earpieces by transmitting vibrations through specific points on specific points on a users' skull to reach the ear. While some bone conduction audio devices already exist on the market, they have remained fairly unusual.

Bone conduction works best at lower frequencies, with audio quality deteriorating at higher frequencies, and some users may find the necessary head-contacts uncomfortable. Apple's patented bone conduction system is unique because it combines it with normal air-based sound transmission to overcome the drawbacks of other bone conduction systems.

Apple explains that audio signals could be filtered and compressed into three categories, high-frequency components, mid-frequency components, and low-frequency components. A combined signal of the low and mid-frequency components would be transmitted through the user's skull with bone conduction, but the high-frequency component, that would otherwise be ineffective via bone conduction, would be sent through the air as normal. The patent suggests that the necessary air conduction system in this setup would be constructed in such a way as to not block the ear canal. Apple's hybrid system therefore combines the advantages of both bone and air-based audio conduction.

Apple has previously explored bone conduction technology to bring advanced noise cancellation to earbuds. Unlike this system, the previous patent works in reverse, using accelerometers to detect vibrations in the skull for noise cancellation. While Apple has brought noise cancellation to AirPods Pro, it has yet to institute any bone conduction technologies in its products. The technology would seemingly fit most comfortably into the successful AirPods line, but patents are not always indicative of Apple's immediate plans.

CES 2021 will be an all-digital experience, following a decision made by the Consumer Technology Association amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Taking place from January 6-9, 2021, the show will let companies showcase new products and other tech news through live streaming video feeds.

"Amid the pandemic and growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it's just not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA.

“Technology helps us all work, learn and connect during the pandemic – and that innovation will also help us reimagine CES 2021 and bring together the tech community in a meaningful way. By shifting to an all-digital platform for 2021, we can deliver a unique experience that helps our exhibitors connect with existing and new audiences."

CTA said that it plans to reveal more information about ‌CES 2021‌ as the event gets closer. The association also noted that it plans to return to its typical in-person conference in Las Vegas for CES 2022, where it will "combine the best elements of a physical and digital show."

While Apple typically doesn't attend CES, in 2020 the company did make an appearance to showcase its HomeKit platform. Otherwise, many Apple accessory companies do attend the show and introduce new products each year.

Apple Highcross in the British city of Leicester is set to reopen on Wednesday, which will mark the first time every Apple retail store in the United Kingdom has been open since the country's lockdown began in March in response to the global health crisis.

Michael Steeber on Twitter noted the change on Apple's Highcross store web page, which indicates the retail location will open on July 29 at 10:00 a.m.

Leicester became the first city in Britain to be placed in a local lockdown on June 29, after public health officials voiced concern at the city's alarming rise in coronavirus infection rates.

At the time, Leicester accounted for 10% of all positive infection results in the country, and the seven-day rate was three times higher than the next highest city. The rate is now less than half of what it was when extra restrictions were put in place.

Following a gradual easing of the city's lockdown restrictions, non-essential stores at Leicester's Highcross shopping center began to reopen on Monday. Safety measures remain in place, including a one-way system in the center, clear signs throughout the center reminding everyone of the need to social distance and to avoid shopping in large groups.

For its part, Apple continues to provide face masks to customers and check their temperature at all its brick-and-mortar stores, where it is limiting occupancy. There is also a renewed focus on Genius Support and Apple's one‑to‑one personalized services.

Airbnb and ClassPass have claimed that Apple's demand to take a cut of online sales was wrong, reports The New York Times.

ClassPass helps users to book classes at local gyms, but due to the global situation, they were forced to move their business online and offer virtual classes instead. ClassPass claims that it received a "concerning" message from Apple stating that a 30 percent commission on sales was now required. Apple reportedly explained that long-standing App Store rules entitle it to a significant cut of online sales, although none were required previously because classes were held in person.

With gyms temporarily shut, ClassPass rolled back its usual commission on virtual classes, passing 100 percent of sales directly to gyms. ClassPass explains that Apple was therefore, in effect, asking for a cut of sales from struggling independent fitness centers, yoga studios, and boxing gyms. Instead of complying with the rule, ClassPass pulled virtual classes from its iPhone app.

Airbnb reports a similar experience when it began to offer "online experiences," such as virtual cooking classes and meditation sessions, to respond to the changing demands of customers in recent months. When demanding commission on these online sales, Apple said that it believed that Airbnb had intended to offer virtual experiences for some time, and despite establishing its multibillion-dollar business with the help of its ‌iPhone‌ app, Apple never previously asked for fees. Apple's negotiations with Airbnb are ongoing, but Apple has cautioned that if the two companies cannot come to terms, it may remove Airbnb's app from the ‌App Store‌.

Apple commented that waiving the commission in these cases would not be fair to many other app developers that have paid commission for similar services. "To ensure every developer can create and grow a successful business, Apple maintains a clear, consistent set of guidelines that apply equally to everyone," the company said in a statement. Apple said a small fraction of ‌iPhone‌ apps were subject to its commission, which is in line with the fees other platforms charge, according to a study released by Apple last Wednesday.

Many companies and app developers have recently complained that Apple forces them to pay commission to be included in the ‌App Store‌, which is essential to reach the 900 million potential customers with iPhones. Many complain about Apple's "capricious enforcement" of rules, which can lead to their apps' removal from the ‌App Store‌ and damage to their business.

Both Airbnb and ClassPass have discussed Apple's demands with congressional offices that are investigating how Apple controls the ‌App Store‌ as part of a year-long antitrust inquiry. Tim Cook and various other big tech CEOs are set to participate in an antitrust hearing on Wednesday.

Apple is expected to launch an all-OLED iPhone lineup this year, and while Samsung is understood to be providing the majority of the OLED panels, LG Display is reportedly poised to benefit the most from the extra demand, with Samsung's order volume rising only slightly on previous years.

Of the four new models coming this year, rumors have indicated that Samsung will supply the displays for three models: the 5.4-inch entry-level ‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ and 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch "‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌ Pro" models. Samsung is reportedly planning to ship 30-35 million displays for the 5.4-inch model and 15-20 million displays for each of the high-end 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch models. Meanwhile, LG Display is expected to supply 20 million displays for the low-end 6.1-inch model.

LG Display's contribution is five times the volume from the previous year, according to a new Nikkei report. That's big news for a division that has endured six consecutive quarterly losses, and LG Display believes this will improve its finances considerably in the second half of the year as its OLED panel factories begin to operate at full capacity.

It's also positive news for Apple as it aims to diversify suppliers after paying high charges for Samsung's displays. After failing to meet projected ‌iPhone‌ sales in the second quarter of 2020, Apple was obligated to pay Samsung an estimated $950 million for missing OLED panel purchase targets. Apple is reportedly supporting LG Display's OLED development in part to reduce procurement costs and chip away at Samsung's monopoly on the display standard.

As Nikkei notes, however, there's no guarantee that Apple will continue to favor LG Display, which supplied Apple with LCD panels for the ‌iPhone‌ 11 last year but failed to improve the yield of its OLED panels and fully meet delivery targets the previous summer, which reportedly angered Apple.

Rival Chinese manufacturer BOE has also improved its OLED technology in part by recruiting former Samsung engineers, and Apple has started assessing production quality at BOE plants in the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Mianyang. A previous report even suggested BOE would supply a couple of million OLED displays for the low-end 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ 12, but Nikkei's sources indicate that BOE's panels may be adopted next year, which is good news for LG Display this year, but would diminish its role as the main alternative to Samsung in 2021.

Apple is exploring use of an accessory that would allow two iPads to connect together for notebook-style computing, according to a new patent filing uncovered by AppleInsider.

The patent application titled "Modular multiple display electronic devices," filed today with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, explains that when two iPads or iPhones are connected together via an accessory, one could be used as the display, and the other as a dynamic keyboard.

The envisioned coupling accessory consists of two small connectors and a hinge, with mobile devices attaching mechanically to either side. The connector would facilitate data transfers between the devices so that they could work in unison as one system.

Images included in the patent application mainly suggest that this accessory would allow for a notebook-style setup, with one device flat on a surface, with the hinged connector accessory at the back, propping up a second mobile device, in either portrait or landscape orientations.

Use of a second display for a dynamic keyboard would offer several unique solutions, such as allowing functionality to change based on a users' needs, much like the MacBook Pro Touch Bar. Depth and tactile feedback, the likes of which is only achieved by a physical keyboard, would likely be absent, however.

In addition to the notebook-style set up, the patent suggests that if two devices were attached along their longest edges, they could also be used in a book-style setup. This seems to be similar to the layout of the Microsoft Surface Duo.

Second-screen devices have been the subject of numerous Apple patents, such as the application "System with multiple electronic devices," which describes how two or more devices could act as one when brought close to each other through the use of proximity sensors. While Apple files numerous patent applications on a regular basis and many never materialize practically, they can often offer an intriguing insight into Apple's current areas of research and development.

Taylor Swift's new album has achieved a new high for most streamed pop album on Apple Music since its surprise release last week (via Deadline). Folklore set a record for the most streams in a 24-window on the service, reaching 35.47 million plays.

Its success was even more impressive on Spotify, where the singer-songwriter's eighth studio album racked up 79.4 million listens in its first 24 hours of availability, according to Swift's Republic Records label.

Written and recorded remotely during the first few months of the global health crisis, Folklore finds the 30-year-old singer-songwriter teaming up with The National's Aaron Dessner and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff for a set of ruminative and lo-fi bedroom pop songs.

Since its Thursday release, the album also surpassed 1.3 million global sales in its first twenty-four hours, which should see the album easily debut at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, giving it the best showing since Swift's Lover album came out in 2019.

Swift and Apple have famously had a somewhat rocky relationship in previous years, with the artist in 2015 penning an open letter to ‌Apple Music‌ about the service's initial stance on refusing to pay royalties to artists during the three-month free trial period. Swift opposed this aspect of ‌Apple Music‌, so she decided to keep her 2014 album 1989 off of ‌Apple Music‌ at the time.

Soon after the letter was publicized, Apple reversed course and began paying artists during this period of time when new subscribers are on the free trial of ‌Apple Music‌. This eventually led to a closer relationship between Swift and Apple, with her music debuting on the service along with the launch of a series of Apple Music ads starring Swift that debuted throughout the spring of 2016.

More recently, last year Swift partnered with Apple in the company's retail store-hosted "Music Lab" sessions, in which customers find out what inspired artists to write their songs.

Apple journalist Mark Gurman on Tuesday filed a Bloomberg story summarizing what investors perceive as Apple's lackluster return on its TV+, Arcade, News+ and Apple Card services after their first few quarters on the market.

Apple is due to report results on July 30 for the fiscal third quarter, and analysts have forecast $13.1 billion in revenue from services, up 15 percent from a year earlier. However, most of those gains will be from existing services like the App Store and licensing deals, rather than the new offerings.

Apple's TV+ video streaming service made a late entry into an already crowded market when it launched last November, and Gurman cites one analyst's estimates earlier this year that fewer than 15 percent of eligible customers had signed up, despite Apple offering a one-year free trial with the purchase of an iPhone or other hardware.

It's a similar story for Apple Arcade subscription service, which launched last September. Apple reportedly shifted its strategy recently and canceled contracts for some games in development as it sought other titles that it believes will retain subscribers.

Some developers have speculated that Apple's strategy change indicates subscriber growth is weaker than expected, and Apple also recently began offering some people a second free trial month, which perhaps suggests that users aren't remaining subscribers for a long enough period of time.

As for ‌Apple Card‌, Goldman Sachs Group accumulated about $2 billion in credit lines since it launched last August, which is a fraction of other co-branded cards, according to a February update by the Nilson Report.

The poorest services performer however is believed to be Apple News+, which launched in March 2019. ‌Apple News‌‌+ provides access to hundreds of magazines along with subscription news from The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times, but it has failed to catch on with consumers, perhaps due to the lack of access to publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, which have refused to sign deals with Apple.

Apple has not provided information on how many ‌‌Apple News‌‌+ subscribers it has, but a report in November suggested Apple was struggling to entice people to pay for the service. That report indicated ‌‌Apple News‌‌+ got 200,000 sign ups within 48 hours, but that the numbers have not increased much since then.

In February, Apple's head of business for ‌Apple News‌+ also departed the company less than a year after the $9.99 per month service launched.

That leaves the ‌App Store‌, where Apple's real revenue growth for services lies. Apple takes a cut of 30 percent from all paid apps downloaded from the ‌App Store‌ as well as from in-app purchases. It also takes 30 percent from in-app subscriptions, dropping to 15 percent after the first year.

The ‌App Store‌ generated $32.8 billion in the first half of 2020 for developers, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier, according to Sensor Tower estimates cited by Gurman. Meanwhile, paid subscriptions topped 515 million in the fiscal second quarter.

However, as part of an ongoing antitrust inquiry into Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies, U.S. antitrust regulators are looking into the 30 percent cut that Apple takes from in-app subscriptions. Government lawyers have been meeting with developers over the course of the last several months, and developers have been asked questions about Apple's subscription rules.

Apple chief Tim Cook and other big tech CEOs and are all set to participate in an antitrust hearing on Wednesday held by the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee as part of the investigation on competition in digital markets. Whether or not Apple's ‌App Store‌ revenue stream will be dealt a blow as a result of the inquiry remains to be seen.

Spotify for desktop can now directly initiate Chromecast streams, reports 9to5Google.

Previously, the only way to control Chromecast streams on the desktop app was by initiating the stream on the Spotify mobile app first, but now you can do this directly from your Mac via Spotify Connect.

Starting a Chromecast stream on the desktop app can be done by clicking the Devices Available button on the bottom-right corner of the interface, where Google Cast as well as Spotify Connect-enabled speakers will now appear alongside any Bluetooth or AirPlay devices.

The functionality is available in version 1.1.38 of the Spotify app for Mac, and should delight users who have been asking for it in the Spotify Community forums for years.

In watchOS 7 for Apple Watch, Apple introduced handwashing detection, which helps users wash their hands properly to keep viruses and bacteria at bay.

Washing your hands is one of the most important protections against getting sick and preventing the spread of germs. But only if you do it correctly – and most people don't. One study highlighted by Apple showed that as many as 95 percent of us either wash too fast, use water but no soap, or just don't wash at all.

To increase the chances of proper handwashing, your Apple Watch can display a countdown to help you wash your hands for 20 seconds, which is the recommended duration, according to The World Health Organization (WHO). The countdown will relay haptic feedback when it starts and ends, so you don't even need to interact with or look at your Apple Watch to use it.

What's more, the handwashing timer will appear automatically on your wrist whenever you start washing your hands. That's because watchOS 7 can recognize when you rub your hands and will listen out for the accompanying sound of running water and soap being used.

Here's how to enable the Handwashing feature on Apple Watch running watchOS 7 or later.

1. Launch the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down and tap Handwashing.
3. Toggle the switch next to Handwashing Timer to the green ON position.
4. Do the same on the switch next to Handwashing Reminders, if desired. (When enabled, you'll receive a notification if you haven't washed your hands within a few minutes of returning home.)
   

How to View Your Handwashing Stats on iPhone

1. Launch the Health app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Browse tab.
3. Search for Handwashing using the Search field.
4. Tap the Handwashing result.
   

Use the tabs above the chart to see your handwashing history over the day, week, month, or year.

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and to highlight the milestone, TechCrunch did interviews with several tech companies and advocacy organizations, including Apple, to discuss how technology has improved the everyday lives of people with disabilities.

At Apple, TechCrunch spoke to Sarah Herrlinger, the company's Director of Global Accessibility Policy. According to Herrlinger, Apple has "always believed accessibility is a human right," which is a value that Apple keeps in mind with each new product that's released.

Apple has always been dedicated to making its products accessible for everyone, and implements new accessibility features with each and every new software release. According to Herrlinger, Apple's iPhone has become the most powerful assistive device ever.

"The historical impact of iPhone as a mainstream consumer product is well documented. What is less understood though is how life changing iPhone and our other products have been for disability communities," said Herrlinger. "Over time iPhone has become the most powerful and popular assistive device ever. It broke the mold of previous thinking because it showed accessibility could in fact be seamlessly built into a device that all people can use universally."

One of the most important features that the ‌iPhone‌ has to offer, as TechCrunch points out, is VoiceOver. VoiceOver is an accessibility feature that reads the contents of the ‌iPhone‌'s screen to allow those with visual impairments to navigate through iOS. Over the weekend, Kristy Viers demonstrated how she uses her ‌iPhone‌, and it's a great look at how VoiceOver and other accessibility features work.

Herrlinger said that there's opportunity for growth in the tech industry when it comes to accessibility, and that "representation and inclusion are critical."

We believe in the mantra of many within disability communities: 'Nothing about us without us.' We started a dedicated accessibility team in 1985, but like all things on inclusion -- accessibility should be everyone's job at Apple.

Apple in iOS 14 is introducing multiple new accessibility features like Back Tap for tapping on the rear of the ‌iPhone‌ to perform actions, Headphones Accommodations for amplifying soft sounds and adjusting frequencies to make music, movies, calls, and more sound clearer, and Sound Recognition, a feature able to listen for certain sounds like alarms and send alerts.

There are also iOS 14 improvements for VoiceOver that use on-device intelligence to recognize elements on the screen and to offer support for app and web experiences that don't have built-in accessibility support.

TechCrunch's full ADA article also includes comments from Microsoft, Facebook, and others, and can be read over on the TechCrunch website.

Amazon today unveiled a new version of its Alexa mobile app for iOS and Android users, which as TechCrunch explains, is designed to offer a more personalized experience that provides better instruction on when and how consumers can use Alexa.

There's a new home screen with a large Alexa button at the top that encourages users to tap the button or say Alexa to get started. Amazon recommends tasks that can help users get more out of Alexa, such as linking a Spotify account or using video call features.

Suggestions are personalized based on how customers have used the app in the past and what Amazon services they take advantage of, such as Amazon Music, Audible, reminders, shopping lists, and more. First time users will see more suggestions and tips on what can be done through the mobile app.

The redesign de-prioritizes the third-party voice apps or skills as many Amazon customers weren't using this feature, and Skills & Games can now be found in the "More" tab alongside Reminders and Routines. Amazon's first-party offerings, like shopping and media playback, are now the focal point of the home screen.

The new Alexa app will be rolling out worldwide over the course of the next month on iOS, Android, and Fire OS devices, and should be available to everyone by late August.

Qualcomm today unveiled its latest fast charging standard, Quick Charge 5, which it says can charge a smartphone from 0 to 50 percent in five minutes, or to full in 15 minutes.

According to Qualcomm, Quick Charge 5 is the world's fastest commercial charging solution, supporting more than 100W of charging power for smartphones.

In addition to offering much faster charging, Quick Charge 5 is up to 70 percent more efficient and up to 10 degrees Celsius cooler compared to Quick Charge 4 and 4+. Qualcomm says there are 12 separate voltage, current, and temperature protections included.

Quick Charge is a feature that's built into many Android phones, and not a feature that Apple takes advantage of. Qualcomm is debuting new power management ICs for Android smartphone manufacturers to incorporate in their devices.

iPhones have a fast charging feature, but it charges the iPhone to 50 percent in a half hour. It's not clear if Apple will ultimately come out with an improved fast charging feature, but at this point, there are no rumors suggesting we're going to see anything different in the 2020 ‌iPhone‌ models.

Apple could introduce improved charging in future ‌iPhone‌ models, but Apple tends to be more conservative with its charging specifications in terms of fast charging, heat output, and longterm battery longevity.

Qualcomm says that the first smartphones to incorporate Quick Charge 5 will come in the third quarter of 2020. Quick Charge 5 is supported on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865, 865 Plus, and future high-end Snapdragon mobile platforms.

As we creep closer to the fall unveiling date of the new 2020 iPhones, photos of alleged components are beginning to trickle out, and the latest leak features an A14 chip component.

Leaker Mr. White, who sometimes shares accurate information on Apple's future plans along with component pictures, shared a series of photos of the RAM component of the A14 processor that is typically located at the top of the main chip.

There's nothing that we can glean from these photos of the chip component, but it appears to have a 2016 date numbering, corresponding to the 16th week of 2020. That means it was likely manufactured in April.

Mr. White previously shared a similar photo of the A14 RAM component earlier in July, but the new photos are clearer, even if they don't provide any insight into the 2020 iPhones.

All of Apple's 2020 iPhone models will be equipped with the 5-nanometer A14 chip, which is expected to be faster and more battery efficient thanks to improved thermal management. Apple with the A14 chip will also focus on speeding up artificial intelligence and AR tasks through the Neural Engine.

Rumors so far suggest that the more affordable 5.4 and 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ 12 models will feature 4GB RAM, while the higher-end 6.1 and 6.7-inch ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro models will feature 6GB RAM.

Earlier today, alleged images of a 5.4-inch ‌iPhone‌ 12 display panel were found on Weibo, with the display panel depicting what could be a smaller notch that is in line with some rumors that Apple will slim down the notch size in the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup.

For more on everything that we know about the upcoming ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup, make sure to check out our iPhone 12 roundup.

Apple's upcoming iOS 14 update introduces multiple design changes, including a new look for the hidden Field Test Mode feature on the iPhone.

As noted on the MacRumors forums, Apple has overhauled Field Test Mode to provide more useful information at a glance.

There's now a Home section with LTE Cell Serving Info, along with a menu section that has other details like device info and breakdowns of LTE, UMTS, and GSM functionality.

Much of the info available in iOS 13 and iOS 14 is the same when it comes to Field Test Mode, so the change is primarily related to design and making it easier to navigate through the hidden app.

Field Test Mode is designed to allow ‌iPhone‌ users to access in-depth information about cellular signal and cellular connection. Field Test Mode is designed for engineers and cellular operators and most people will not need to use it on a regular basis.

You can access Field Test Mode on an ‌iPhone‌ by opening up the Phone app, inputting *3001#12345#* and pressing the phone button. It won't make a call, but will instead open the Field Test app.

Field Test Mode was formerly useful because it could turn the cellular signal bars into a numerical measurement, but that is not something that works on modern iPhones with recent versions of iOS.

It can still sometimes be useful to see cellular signal represented as a number, and that's still possible on iOS 13 and 14. After entering the Field Test app, tap on LTE (from the main menu on iOS 13 or the menu list on iOS 14) then tap on "Serving Cell Meas."

The measurements that read "rsrp0" and "rspr1" are your cellular signal strength in decibel-milliwatts. These numbers are always negative, and a lower negative number is better than a higher negative number and represents a stronger connection. Numbers range from about -50 to -130. Closer to -50 is a strong signal strength, and when you get to around -100, that's a poor connection that's spotty with slow data speeds if a connection can be made at all.

Update 6/15/21: Apple appears to have updated Field Test Mode and certain metrics like "Serving Cell Meas" appear to be no longer available to access.