MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple quietly updated the "choose your country" selector on its website a few weeks ago in the United Kingdom and other European countries, adding Euro 2016 country groups and a bracket to celebrate the ongoing football tournament in France. Apple also temporarily added a handful of countries and regions that it does not have regional websites for, including Albania, Iceland, Northern...

Apple this evening updated its investor relations page to note that the earnings announcement for the third fiscal quarter (second calendar quarter) of 2016 will take place on Tuesday, July 26. In Q2 2016, Apple saw its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2003 along with its first ever drop in iPhone sales, and that downward trend is expected to continue into the third quarter of the...

Created by Ten One Design, the Blockhead is a simple plug designed to rotate the orientation of the MacBook or iPad Power Adapter so it rests flush against a wall or power strip when it's plugged in. There are, occasionally, some products that are so simple and intuitive that you look at them and wonder why they didn't already exist -- the Blockhead is one of those products. Made from blue...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Plugable to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a thin, light USB-C hub that's perfect for when you need a small hub while on the go. The Plugable USBC-HUB3P can deliver power to a MacBook from the MacBook's included charger while also providing three USB ports that can be used with a range of accessories. It's made from a lightweight silver...

Apple today released a developer beta of Safari 10 for OS X Yosemite and OS X El Capitan users, allowing those who don't yet wish to install macOS Sierra to test out the upcoming Safari update. The Safari 10 beta for Yosemite and El Capitan can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center. Safari 10 for Yosemite and El Capitan does not include all of the same features available in macOS...

Sage Bionetworks president and co-founder Stephen Friend is joining Apple to work on health related projects, according to a press release Sage Bionetworks shared this morning (via Business Insider). Though not specified in the press release, Friend will likely be joining Apple to work on its CareKit and ResearchKit projects. Friend connected with Apple through ResearchKit, which Sage has been ...

Apple has announced that its fifth retail store in Hong Kong opens on Thursday, June 30 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store will be located inside the New Town Plaza shopping mall at 18 Sha Tin Centre Street. The store will be open seven days a week between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time, providing customers in the northern Sha Tin District with access to the Genius Bar and other...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced on March 30, 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into the release version of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 7 includes bug fixes and updates for JavaScript, CSS, Web APIs, Web Inspector, Media, and Rendering. The...

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the second OS X 10.11.6 beta and more than a month after the public release of OS X 10.11.5. OS X 10.11.6 has been in testing since May 23. The OS X 10.11.6 update can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or the...

Adobe today announced the launch of its latest Creative Cloud updates, bringing new tools and more "Adobe Magic" to a range of apps including Photoshop CC, After Effects CC, Premiere Pro CC, Illustrator CC, and more. There are several new features available in Photoshop CC, including Content-Aware Crop, Face-Aware Liquify, and Match Font, plus a new workspace for selections and masking....

The Supreme Court yesterday made it a few steps easier for technology companies like Apple to challenge lawsuits from "patent assertion businesses," or patent trolls. The decision implemented part of a 2011 law that created "quicker and cheaper" avenues into contesting patents with the Patent Office, instead of having to delve into a lengthy court battle or face a federal judge (via The Wall...

Last week Adobe issued a security advisory for Flash Player, indicating that version 21.0.0.242 and earlier had a critical vulnerability that could potentially cause a crash and allow an attacker to take control of the infected system. Adobe issued a fix a couple days later. Apple today published a support document explaining that users with out-of-date versions of the Adobe Flash Player...

Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to co-host a fundraiser for House Speaker Paul Ryan next week in an attempt to strengthen Apple's relationship with key Republicans, reports Politico. The announcement comes following news Apple has decided not to donate money and Apple products to the Republican National Convention, reportedly because of comments made by presumptive nominee Donald Trump. Cook and Ryan ...

The Indian government today announced a few changes to its rules on foreign direct investments (FDI) within the country, which previously required 30 percent of goods sold by a foreign company to be manufactured or produced within India (via The Times of India). The rule stagnated Apple's retail store growth within the country due to most of its products being created in China. Now, Apple is...

Apple has informed Republican leaders it will not be supporting the party's 2016 presidential convention in Cleveland next month, according to sources who spoke to Politico today. The decision is reportedly due to comments made by presumptive nominee Donald Trump which the company takes issue with, in particular his controversial positions on the subjects of minorities, women, and immigrants. ...

In celebration of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is generously offering an 'Everyday Developer Carry Kit' package where one winner can choose a briefcase bag, iPad case, iPhone case, and an Apple Watch band from the company's entire product line-up. Pad & Quill offers several briefcase bag...

Along with expanding its free Beats promotion to Europe, Apple has quietly changed its education incentives for students in the United Kingdom. As of this week, Apple's online higher education store in the U.K. now offers up to 10 percent off Macs and other qualifying purchases, whereas the discount was previously up to 15 percent off. The base model 13-inch MacBook Pro now costs £898.80...

The University of Cambridge has awarded seven "distinguished individuals" with honorary degrees -- known as the highest honor bestowed by the University -- in fields like law, business, and medical science. One of those honored was Apple's own Jony Ive, who received a doctorate in science for the "elegance, purity and beauty" he brought to personal computers in his time at the company. The...