Joe Rossignol
Joe joined MacRumors in January 2015, and is now a Senior Reporter. Based out of Stoney Creek, Canada, he has been writing about Apple since 2008, with a focus on breaking news coverage.
Joe Rossignol's Articles
AMD Releases Boot Camp Drivers for 16-Inch MacBook Pro With Radeon Pro 5600M Graphics
As noted on Reddit, AMD has released Boot Camp drivers for the 16-inch MacBook Pro with Radeon Pro 5600M graphics, providing full compatibility with Windows 10. Introduced earlier this month as a $700 upgrade, Apple says the 5600M graphics with 8GB of HBM2 memory are up to 75 percent faster than the 5500M graphics with 4GB of GDDR6 memory in the base model 16-inch MacBook Pro. Boot Camp...
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Apple Watch Executive Kevin Lynch Discusses New Sleep Tracking and Hand Washing Features
Following WWDC last week, Apple's VP of Technology Kevin Lynch has taken time to discuss the Apple Watch's new sleep tracking and hand washing features in watchOS 7 with publications like The Independent, CNET, and TechCrunch. While some third-party apps provide very detailed sleep analysis, Apple's implementation of sleep tracking is fairly basic, focusing only on duration of sleep,...
Rosetta 2 Benchmarks Surface From Mac Mini With A12Z Chip
While the terms and conditions for Apple's new "Developer Transition Kit" forbid developers from running benchmarks on the modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip, it appears that results are beginning to surface anyhow. Image Credit: Radek Pietruszewski Geekbench results uploaded so far suggest that the A12Z-based Mac mini has average single-core and multi-core scores of 811 and 2,781...
3% Daily Cash With Apple Card Now Available at Over 11,500 Exxon and Mobil Gas Stations Across U.S.
ExxonMobil today announced that it is the first U.S. gas station chain to offer 3% Daily Cash to customers who pay with an Apple Card using Apple Pay at Exxon and Mobil stations. 3% Daily Cash is now available for fuel, car washes, and convenience store purchases at over 11,500 Exxon and Mobil stations across the United States. To avoid inserting their card and touching the pin pad, Exxon...
2020 Apple Design Award Winners Announced, Including Darkroom
Apple today named eight app and game developers receiving an Apple Design Award following WWDC 2020. Apple says winners are recognized for outstanding app design, innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement. Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations:Every year, app and game developers demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship and we're honoring the best of the...
Developers Begin Receiving Mac Mini With A12Z Chip to Prepare Apps for Apple Silicon Macs
As part of WWDC last week, Apple announced that it will be switching to its own custom-designed processors for Macs starting later this year. As part of this transition, the company is allowing developers to apply for a modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip and 16GB of RAM to develop and test their apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture. As noted on Twitter and in the MacRumors forums, some...
Kuo: Apple to Launch 10.8-Inch iPad Later This Year, 8.5-Inch iPad Mini in 2021
Apple plans to launch a new 10.8-inch iPad in the second half of 2020, followed by a new 8.5-inch iPad in the first half of 2021, oft-reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors. Kuo did not specify if the 10.8-inch iPad model will be a new version of the existing 10.2-inch iPad or the 10.5-inch iPad Air, but he has previously said that the 8.5-inch...
Kuo: iPhone 12 Models Won't Include Charger in Box, 20W Power Adapter Will Be Sold Separately
iPhone 12 models will not include EarPods or a power adapter in the box, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors. This lines up with a prediction shared by analysts at Barclays earlier this week. Kuo said that Apple will instead release a new 20W power adapter as an optional accessory for iPhones and end production of its existing 5W and 18W power adapters...
WWDC20 Rumor Report Card: Leaked iOS 14 Features, Arm-Based Macs, and More
WWDC was held online this year, but it was still packed with announcements, including iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7, tvOS 14, and Apple confirming its long-rumored plans to transition to its own custom-designed processors for future Macs. Sadly, there was no sight of a redesigned iMac, but that is still on the table for later this year. With so many rumors shared every week, it ...
Neo-Noir Psychological Thriller 'Losing Alice' Coming to Apple TV+
Apple today announced that it will co-produce neo-noir psychological thriller "Losing Alice" from creator, writer, and director Sigal Avin. The series will debut on Apple TV+, but a release date has yet to be provided. Apple describes "Losing Alice" as a "thrilling cinematic journey that uses flashbacks and flash-forwards in a satisfyingly complex narrative that takes the viewer through the...
Microsoft Stores Are Permanently Closing
Microsoft today announced that it is permanently closing its physical stores worldwide. The company's retail employees will continue to serve customers through Microsoft's corporate offices and remotely, providing sales, training, and support. Microsoft will continue to operate its online storefront, and it also has plans for reimagined "Experience Centers" for customers in New York City,...
OWC Announces First Thunderbolt 3 Certified Bus-Powered Storage Enclosure
OWC today introduced the Envoy Express, which it describes as the first Thunderbolt 3 certified bus-powered storage enclosure for Macs and PCs. Designed to support any 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD, the key benefit of the Envoy Express is that users can install their own drive in it, including OWC's Aura SSDs with up to 4TB of storage or larger-capacity options in the future. The Envoy Express...
Barclays on iPhone 12 Lineup: No EarPods in Box and Possibly Not Even a Charger
Apple is widely expected to release four new iPhone 12 models later this year, and ahead of time, analysts at British bank Barclays have outlined their expectations for the devices based on discussions with multiple Apple suppliers. In a research note obtained by MacRumors, the Barclays analysts said that iPhone 12 models will not come with EarPods in the box, in line with a prediction...
PSA for Developers: Mac Mini With A12Z Chip Cannot Be Repaired at Genius Bar or Service Provider
Apple this week announced that it will be switching to its own custom-designed processors for Macs starting later this year. As part of this transition, the company is allowing developers to apply for a modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip and 16GB of RAM to develop and test their apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture. While not too surprising, developers should be aware that this...
Hand and Body Pose Detection in iOS 14 Will Provide New Ways to Interact With Your iPhone Without Touching the Display
Starting in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, developers will be able to add the capability to detect human body and hand poses in photos and videos to their apps using Apple's updated Vision framework, as explained in this WWDC 2020 session. This functionality will allow apps to analyze the poses, movements, and gestures of people, enabling a wide variety of potential features. Apple provides some...
Leaked 20W Power Adapter for iPhone 12 Models Appears to Have Received Certification
Earlier today, the anonymous Twitter account Mr. White leaked photos of what appears to be a new 20W power adapter for upcoming iPhone 12 models. And now, it appears that this charger has been certified in at least one country. As spotted by MySmartPrice, a new USB-C power adapter with the same model identifier of A2305 shown in the leaked photo above has surfaced in an electronics...
iPhone and iPad Apps Coming to Macs With Apple Silicon, Developers Can Manage Availability in App Store Connect
Apple today shared a video with more details about the availability of iPhone and iPad apps on future Macs with custom Apple processors. Macs with custom Apple processors will share the same Arm architecture as iPhones and iPads, meaning that they will be able to run many iOS and iPadOS apps without any modifications or recompilation. Like traditional Mac apps, these iPhone and iPad apps...
Apple Opening U1 Chip to Developers With New 'Nearby Interaction' Framework
Introduced last year, the U1 chip in iPhone 11 models enables Ultra Wideband support for improved spatial awareness, but Apple has so far only used the technology to power a directional AirDrop feature in iOS 13. In the upcoming months, that should change, as Apple has announced that it is opening up its U1 chip to developers with a new "Nearby Interaction" framework for iOS 14. This...
Network Utility Deprecated in macOS Big Sur
Apple has deprecated its long-standing Network Utility app in macOS Big Sur, with the app no longer functioning in the first developer beta. Network Utility provided information and troubleshooting tools to help users check their network connection, view routing tables, trace network traffic paths, check for open TCP ports, and more. Since the release of macOS Mojave, the app had been rather ...
iOS 14 Can Notify Users About Sounds Like Fire Alarms and Doorbells
Apple has added a useful accessibility feature to iOS 14 called Sound Recognition that can notify users about important sounds like fire alarms and doorbells, as noted by Federico Viticci. This is especially helpful for people that are hard of hearing. When the feature is enabled, Apple says your iPhone will continuously listen for certain sounds, and using on-device intelligence, will...