MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that debuted on March 30. Release 2 includes a long list of feature tweaks and updates to JavaScript, CSS, Web APIs, Web Inspector, Accessibility, Rendering, Media, and Networking, plus bug fixes. Release notes are available on Apple's Safari Technology Preview website. The Safari Technology Preview...

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) today announced the launch of the USB Type-C Authentication specification, a software protocol that will serve as a line of defense protecting USB-C products from non-compliant USB-C cables that are potentially able to damage a device. With the USB Type-C Authentication specification, computers and other devices with USB-C ports will be able to confirm the...

Audio device manufacturer JBL recently announced the Reflect Aware C headphones, which will give users noise-canceling abilities without the need of a separate battery pack, thanks to its USB-C connector (via The Verge). Using the new input, the headphones draw both power and audio from a USB-C port, like the one on Apple's 12-inch MacBook or the just-announced HTC 10 smartphone. The Reflect ...

Apple is reportedly working with China-based server vendor Inspur to help transfer its iCloud data services in-house, according to sources out of the China supply chain (via DigiTimes). Currently Apple is thought to rely heavily on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host many of its cloud server requirements, but the company’s data center plans suggest it is looking to scale back the money it...

Adobe has issued Flash Player security updates for OS X, Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS to address "critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system" by way of ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a user's hard drive and demands payment in order to decrypt it. These type of threats often display images or use...

Apple today updated the Developer Center portal designed for developers an interface redesign for the account page that makes it easier to access all of the different developer resources. The new account page, which features a clean look with quick access to Certificates, Identifiers, & Profiles, and iTunes Connect, replaces the previous "Member Center" for developers. Along with...

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.5 beta to public beta testers, just a day after releasing the first OS X 10.11.5 beta to developers and two weeks after releasing OS X 10.11.4, the fourth update to the OS X 10.11 operating system. The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who are enrolled in Apple's beta testing...

Apple today updated GarageBand for Mac, improving compatibility with GarageBand for iOS and Live Loops projects. The update also includes support for Music Memos projects, allowing them to be opened in GarageBand, and it offers support for Logic Remote for iPhone and iPad Pro. The Music Memos app, designed for musicians and songwriters, was introduced in January alongside a GarageBand for iOS...

Google's Chrome browser has long supported push notifications, but it's always used its own notification center instead of relying on the OS X Notification Center that was built into Apple's operating system in 2012. That may change in the near future, as Google is experimenting with the built-in OS X Notification Center. Available to all Chrome users as an experimental feature, OS X...

Disney today released Star Wars: The Force Awakens onto digital platforms, including iTunes, Disney Movies Anywhere, and other Digital HD platforms. The company first confirmed the release date in early March, also announcing the long-awaited film will launch at physical retailers on April 5. The iTunes version of the film has the same bonus content as the standard retail editions set to...

The discovery of a change in file naming conventions in OS X 10.11.4 is behind a recent growth in speculation that Apple is set to rebrand its OS X desktop operating system. Screenshot from Mac OS 8 released in 1997. The rumor appears to have begun on Tuesday after Brazilian Apple blog MacMagazine reported that a name used for an Interface Builder document tucked away in the OS X System...

Designer Martin Hajek, who often creates renderings of upcoming devices based on rumors, has mocked up what a thinner 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with some MacBook-style design elements could look like. The design, which also includes a conceptual version of "macOS," features smaller side bezels and a much thinner chassis, one that's not quite as thin as the Retina MacBook but much thinner than ...

Popular calendar app Fantastical 2 for Mac was today updated with a long list of new features, introducing a multitude of small but significant changes. The new version of the app includes Exchange support with native account syncing so Exchange users can respond to invitations and use availability lookup, categories, and people lookup. With the new availability feature, enabled through a...

Seagate today announced the launch of the Innov8, which it claims to be the world's first desktop-class external hard drive that does not need to be plugged into a power outlet. The HDD is compatible with the Retina MacBook and other USB-C notebooks. Innov8 is an 8TB hard drive powered by a single USB-C cable, eliminating the need for a dedicated power source or adapter. The achievement was...

Amazon has tightened restrictions on the sale of USB-C cables and adapters on its online store in an effort to protect customers from risky substandard products (via The Verge). The online retailer added non-compliant USB-C cables to its list of prohibited items, following a flood of potentially damaging third-party cables onto the market. The new note on Amazon's page of undesirables...

Apple officially opened one of its first Jony Ive-inspired "next-generation" retail stores in the U.S. over the weekend. The new-look store is located at the Shops of Saddle Creek South in Germantown, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and shows off some of the new design elements, as shown in photos provided to AppleInsider. The store is described as having a high-flung ceiling lined with...

Apple today updated its investor relations page to note it will announce its earnings for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2016 on Monday, April 25. The earnings release will provide a look at sales of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus following Apple's record first quarter, which saw the company announce 74.8 million iPhone sales and $18.4 billion profit on $75.9 billion in...

Alongside OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan, Apple has released an iTunes 12.3.3 update, introducing support for the iPhone SE and iPad Pro. Following the update, those who purchase a 9.7-inch iPad Pro or an iPhone SE will be able to sync their devices with their computers once they are available for purchase. In a recent interview, Apple iTunes chief Eddy Cue promised Apple would introduce a new...