Posts

Apple surprisingly released the second beta of watchOS 7.5 to developers on Friday, just a week after releasing the first beta versions of iOS 14.6, watchOS 7.5, and more. The update likely comes with bug fixes and general improvements. Update: watchOS 7.5 beta 2 is now available to public beta users as well. We don’t yet know what is new in watchOS 7.5 beta 2. Even the first beta version introduced last week does not seem to add any new features....

Apple has released an updated firmware version for AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro. The new firmware is version 3E751, and it comes seven months after the previous firmware version was released for AirPods and AirPods Pro users. Unfortunately, there are no release notes for AirPods firmware updates. This means we’ll have to wait until the update is fully rolled out to get a grasp on what’s new. Apple does not have a very robust update mechanism in place for AirPods software, which often leaves users in the dark about changes....

iOS 12.1 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will be available tomorrow as a free software update. The first significant update to iOS 12 brings a variety of features including Group FaceTime, dual SIM support, real time Depth Control for Portrait mode, new emoji, and more. iOS 12.1 is also expected to address the “beauty-gate” issue that affected the front-facing camera on iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. iOS 12.1 Group FaceTime iOS 12 redesigns how FaceTime looks for audio and video calling with new effects like stickers, Memoji and Animoji, and filters....

Apple’s marketing honcho Phil Schiller took it upon himself to unveil a refreshed iPod touch lineup, which now includes both black and white models (remember, we called both), plus a new breakthrough price of just $199. The iPod touch is Apple’s “most popular iPod”, Schiller told the crowd, adding this: The revamped models look the same as the fourth-generation iPod touch, which was available only in black. The new iPod touches now come in both black and white....

Apple has reportedly had to rejig production plans for the iPhone XR after one of its suppliers ran into manufacturing issues with the new phone, due to go on sale on October 26 … Apple generally uses Foxconn for the bulk of its flagship iPhone assembly, with Pegatron used more for secondary models. The company is said to have originally planned to have Pegatron produce 50-60% of iPhone XR units so that Foxconn could focus on the iPhone XS and XS Max....

Apple has released the first beta versions of iOS 10.3.2, tvOS 10.2.1, and watchOS 3.2.2. These new versions follow one day after iOS 10.3, tvOS 10.2, and watchOS 3.2 were officially released. iOS 10.3.2 is currently only available in beta for registered developers. The public beta version of each update usually follows a few days after the developer version if not the same day. tvOS and watchOS are also available as beta updates, although public beta programs are not available....

Apple has released the first iOS 10.3.3 beta for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The update likely includes bug fixes and security improvements. iOS 10.3.3 beta 1 follows one day after the public release of iOS 10.3.2 for all users. iOS 10.3.3 is currently available to registered developers; a public beta version may be available shortly. Major new features for iOS are likely being saved for iOS 11 which we expect to see introduced at WWDC on June 5....

Apple has been expanding its development and use of custom chips over the last few years. Last month we first heard that Apple was looking to poach employees from Qualcomm on its home turf of San Diego to potentially create custom radio chips. Today, a new report from The Information says that Apple is indeed actively working on a custom cellular modem. The report includes a recent job listing that confirms the new chip effort....

Digitimes is reporting that Apple is looking to transition iPhone battery production from labor-intensive processes to fully-automatic machine production lines in 2014. Although the reliability of Digitimes’ reporting is often poor, in this case the trustworthiness of the report is much more likely to be solid. Unlike some of their previous stories in recent memory, automating battery production is a direct matter of the supply chain — which is Digitimes’ area of expertise....

Apple has publicly turned on its March 25 event live stream early this time around, teasing eagle-eyed viewers by occasionally raising the curtain to reveal … something. The stream is playing what appears to be a live feed from inside the Steve Jobs Theater. However, it is most likely a pre-recorded video, complete with faux-CRT CGI effects. There’s about five different camera angles that is cycling through. You can admire the structural craftsmanship of the underground architecture, but apart from that nothing is happening....

Just as it did for the iPhone XS, Apple has issued a press release citing the best bits from a dozen iPhone XR reviews. Apple obviously picked positive remarks from each, but in this case it wasn’t hard to do – the reviews we’ve seen for the latest iPhone were overwhelmingly positive. The company has aimed to highlight different positives from each review, but a commonality to several of the quotes is that the iPhone XR offers great value for what you’re getting....

Apple has released the first developer beta of macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, even though macOS 11 Big Sur has not yet even been released to the public. This comes as rumors about a potential Apple event circulate for sometime in November. Two weeks ago, Apple released macOS 11 Big Sur beta 10 to developers, continuing its focus on making bug fixes and performance improvements to the operating system ahead of its general release....

In addition to launching a new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Force Touch and a cheaper 27-inch Retina iMac, Apple has also introduced its first official iPhone Lightning Dock with compatibility for both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Of course, being this late to the charging dock game means a number of fine solutions already exist at competitive prices. To accommodate both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone models with a single dock, Apple has departed from its usual design of placing the charging connector in a groove fit for the bottom of the iPhone....

Apple today released a long-awaited update to Final Cut Pro X, its video editing software which fell on def ears with pro video editors. CNET reports that the new version takes into account a number of issues professional users took with the application: XML support gives users who previously couldn’t import old projects a workaround solution, requiring them to first export Final Cut Pro 7 projects in XML and then import them into the new Final Cut Pro X....

Apple has just released an updated version of the Safari browser for users on OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion. The update doesn’t add any new features, but does fix several important security flaws in the WebKit engine that powers the app. Users on any of the three most recent versions of OS X can download the update for free through the Updates tab of the Mac App Store. The details of the security changes are listed below....

UPDATE: Apple has also released the third iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4.1 public betas. UPDATE 2: macOS 10.13.6 beta 3 is now available to developers. While not a major update in any way, Apple is today releasing the third developer builds for iOS 11.4.1 and tvOS 11.4.1. Being a bug fix update to the earlier release, we aren’t expecting any new user facing features. If you’re looking for some major changes, take a look at iOS 12, tvOS 12, watchOS 12, and macOS 10....

Apple slightly updated the Mac Pro today and promised a radical new modular design coming next year alongside a pro Apple display. Within the news shared through Daring Fireball were also mentions of a new pro iMac coming later this year and a vague reference to possibly new Mac mini hardware. Apple doesn’t typically pre-announce new hardware like it has today, but the Mac Pro is undergoing another direction shift after the last major change in 2013 which was also pre-announced ahead of time....

While not a major update in any way, Apple is today releasing the fifth developer builds for iOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6. These updates are also available for public beta testers. Being a bug fix update to the earlier release, we aren’t expecting any new user facing features. If you’re looking for some major changes, take a look at iOS 12, tvOS 12, watchOS 12, and macOS 10.14 Mojave. For more information on those releases, check out our coverage:...

Apple has released a new major update to its iAd Producer application. iAd Producer 3.0 includes a slew of new templates, new workflows, a new application user interface to work in, and shared layers between projects. However, it seems that the most notable – and most necessary enhancement – is much deeper integration with iOS. While iAd Producer is an iOS mobile advertising system at heart, iAds never integrated well into the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch operating system’s native functionality....

What a nice Monday morning surprise: the folks in Cupertino have seeded iOS 6.1 beta 2 (build 10B5105c) to developers on the Apple Developer Center and over-the-air less than two weeks after beta one. Additionally, Apple released new Apple TV software and Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 2. We’re compiling a full list of new features below: 1.) Panorama support is back. 2.) Once again, you can download individual songs from iTunes Match....