MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

The very first Apple Store opened its doors on May 19, 2001, at the Tysons Corner Center shopping mall in McLean, Virginia, near Washington D.C. Now, just over 17 years later, those doors may soon close temporarily. Apple Tysons Corner Planning documents filed with the Department of Planning and Zoning in Fairfax County, Virginia this month, viewed by MacRumors, reveal that Apple plans to...

It has been an eventful few weeks for MacBook Pro keyboards. Last month, Apple finally acknowledged that a "small percentage" of MacBook and MacBook Pro models with butterfly switch keyboards may experience issues with "sticky" or inconsistently functioning keys, and launched a worldwide service program offering free repairs of affected keyboards for up to four years. The issues are...

Apple this week has begun highlighting the impending grand openings of two new retail locations in Milan, Italy and Walnut Creek, California. Apple Piazza Liberty in Milan will see a grand opening on Thursday, July 26, and in celebration Apple has put together a collection of colorful pieces of art and photographs created by twenty Italian artists and designers. On a new webpage on...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 61 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for CSS, Dark Mode, Web API, Service...

Popular Mac calendar app Fantastical 2 was today updated to version 2.5, introducing a number of important changes that Fantastical users have been asking for. The updated app includes support for sending and receiving time proposals on Exchange, iCloud, Google, and other CalDAV accounts, which means users that are sent an invite and need to offer up an alternate time can click the new option...

Microsoft today highlighted Skype 8 and recommended that customers upgrade to the new software as the company plans to retire Skype 7, aka Skype classic, later this year. Skype 8 includes free HD video and screensharing calls with up to 24 people, reaction options for messages in conversations and @mentions to get someone's attention in a group chat, a chat media gallery for viewing photos and ...

Best Buy today kicked off its latest discount event, marking down prices on MacBook Pros, Apple TVs, Beats headphones, and more for two days only. For students who don't mind purchasing last year's MacBook Pro models, Best Buy's new sale is particularly noteworthy since you can get as much as $350 off certain configurations and an extra $150 off with Student Deals. Note: MacRumors is an...

If you recently purchased a 2017 MacBook Pro prior to today's announcement of the new 2018 models, it's possible that Apple might allow you to return the machine for one of the updated 2018 MacBook Pros. There's a two-week return policy on all Apple products, so if your 2017 MacBook Pro was purchased within the last 14 calendar days, you can return it no questions asked to purchase a new 2018...

Apple will discontinue its physical Photo Books printing service later this year, as spotted by 9to5Mac. Using Photo Books, macOS users can choose from pictures taken on an iPhone or iPad, synced to the Mac Photos app, and build books, cards, calendars, and prints that are then mailed to them. Now, a new message has been spotted in the Photos app on macOS 10.13.6 and states that final...

Apple has confirmed that its new 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models feature support for hands-free "Hey Siri." From its website, emphasis ours:Featured on the 13- and 15‑inch models with Touch Bar, the Apple T2 chip includes a Secure Enclave coprocessor that provides the foundation for secure boot and encrypted storage capabilities. It also consolidates many discrete controllers,...

Apple today launched its annual Back to School promotion in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and unlike the multi-week delay in past years, the 2018 edition has also gone live simultaneously in many European and Asian countries. Participating countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Ita...

Apple.com today gained a new and exclusive external GPU aimed at the MacBook Pro, called the Blackmagic eGPU. According to TechCrunch, the unit's appearance exclusively on Apple's website comes in the wake of a partnership between the two companies as Apple aims to widen the eGPU market after launching support for eGPUs this past spring. Running for $699.00, the Blackmagic eGPU provides...

Alongside the release of new MacBook Pro models this morning, Apple has debuted a new Leather Sleeve accessory that fits the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3. Apple says the accessory is made of high-quality European leather with a soft microfiber lining that ensures protection of the MacBook Pro during travels. Colors include Midnight Blue, Saddle Brown, and Black. Apple...

One week after Apple seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Mojave update to developers, Apple last night released a revised update for the software, fixing an issue where Feedback Assistant would unexpectedly quit for some users. Apple appears to already have fixed the issue ahead of the second public beta release for macOS Mojave, which hit last Friday, and is now issuing the fix to...

Apple today announced that transcripts are now available for all of the WWDC 2018 videos, which can be found both in the WWDC app and on Apple's developer website. Transcripts are searchable and downloadable, so you can quickly locate specific content within each video. Take advantage of transcripts to quickly discover and share information presented in WWDC18 videos. You can search by...

ColorWare this week released custom-painted AirPods with a classic Macintosh design, including a beige finish with faux vents and a six-color rainbow pairing button reminiscent of Apple's logo between 1977 and 1998. The limited edition AirPods Retro, as they are called, are inspired by the Apple IIe, which actually predates the original Macintosh by a year, but the computers shared a similar ...

Enthusiasm for interface dark modes appears to be catching. The Verge reports that Microsoft is planning to introduce such a mode to its Outlook.com web mail service, which has around 400 million active users. The dark mode for Outlook.com is one of the most highly requested features for Microsoft's web mail service, according to listings on the Outlook.com feedback site. The https://t.co/0b ...

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 60 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for Web Animations, Dark Mode, Web...