Rogue Amoeba developer Quentin Carnicelli, who works on Mac software like Airfoil, Audio Highjack, Loopback, and Fission, this week penned a critique of Apple's Mac lineup and the company's recent lack of Mac updates, and that missive has been gaining some attention from Mac fans.

Using MacRumors' own Buyer's Guide, Carnicelli points out that it's been more than a year since any Mac, with the exception of the iMac Pro, has been updated.

It's been 375 days, for example, since the iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air machines were last updated, and it's been 437 days since the Mac Pro saw the price drop Apple implemented as it works on a Mac Pro replacement.


The Mac Pro has not seen a hardware update since December of 2013, more than 1600 days ago. Apple has promised its professional users that a high-end high-throughput modular Mac Pro system is in the works, but we thus far have no details on when it might see a release.

The Mac mini, Apple's most affordable desktop Mac, has gone 1338 days without an update, with the last refresh introduced in October of 2014. While Apple has made promises about a refreshed Mac Pro, no similar statement has been provided about a future Mac mini, aside from a comment from Apple CEO Tim Cook stating that the Mac mini continues to be important to Apple.


According to Carnicelli, the state of the Mac lineup is "deeply worrisome" to him as a person who works for a Mac-based software company. Customers are, he says, forced to choose between "purchasing new computers that are actually years old" or "holding out in the faint hope that hardware updates are still to come."

It's very difficult to recommend much from the current crop of Macs to customers, and that's deeply worrisome to us, as a Mac-based software company. For our own internal needs, we've wound up purchasing used hardware for testing, rather than opting to compromise heavily on a new machine. That isn't good for Apple, nor is it what we want.

As Carnicelli points out, Apple could reassure its Mac users with updates and speed bumps to its Mac lineup on a "much more frequent basis," calling the current lack of updates "baffling and frightening to anyone who depends on the platform for their livelihood."

Apple in 2017 refreshed much of its Mac lineup (iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and MacBook) at its Worldwide Developers Conference, but this year, Apple opted to focus instead on software, with no new Mac hardware announced. With no new hardware in June, based on past release history, we could be looking at an 18-month upgrade cycle this time around, as pointed out by iMore's Rene Ritchie, with new Macs making an appearance in September or October.

Some of the blame for Apple's lack of updates can perhaps be placed on its reliance on Intel, and in the past, some Mac refreshes have been pushed back due to delays with Intel chips. This is likely one of the reasons why Apple is planning to transition from Intel chips to its own custom made Mac chips as early as 2020.

MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, and MacBook Air upgrades are not in the dire state that Mac Pro and Mac mini upgrades are in, but increased attention on issues with the MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboards has left Apple customers eager to see those machine updated, especially as Apple has not acknowledged these keyboard issues despite their prevalence in the media.

"Apple needs to publicly show their commitment to the full Macintosh hardware line and they need to do it now," writes Carnicelli.

Carnicelli's comments on the state of the Mac lineup came just before Apple released a new Mac advertising campaign. Called "Behind the Mac," the campaign highlights creators who use their Macs to "make something wonderful."

The first ad spots in the series focus on photographer and disability advocate Bruce Hall, who uses his Mac for editing photographs, musician Grimes, who uses the Mac "from start to finish" to write all of her music, edit music videos, and more, and app developer Peter Kariuki who used his Mac to code the SafeMotos app, which is designed to connect passengers with safe motorcycle drivers in Rwanda.

These ads, while inspiring, may be seen as too little too late by those who have grown frustrated with Apple's Mac lineup and have come to see the lack of updates as an indicator of a lack of commitment to the Mac.

Apple has hired Jaime Waydo, an autonomous vehicle expert who previously worked as a senior engineer at Google's Waymo, reports The Information. An Apple spokesperson confirmed the hiring, but declined to provide details on what she would be working on.

Waydo, who served as head of systems engineering at Waymo, was "instrumental," according to former colleagues that spoke to The Information. She was in charge of verifying the safety of Waymo's prototypes and provided input on when it was safe enough to launch on-the-road tests in Phoenix in 2016.


Prior to working at Waymo, Waydo was a senior engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for more than a decade, where she helped develop a rover vehicle that has driven on Mars.

The Information speculates that Apple's hiring of Waydo could indicate that it is making progress towards launching a prototype vehicle, but the report also says that the car project continues to suffer from a "lack of communication among teams."

Apple originally had ambitious self-driving vehicle plans that included a full autonomous vehicle, but those plans were scaled back and Apple shifted focus to autonomous driving software. Apple has been testing Lexus vehicles equipped with its autonomous driving software since April 2017.

In May, Apple signed a deal with Volkswagen to use Volkswagen vans for its on-campus shuttle program called "PAIL," which is designed to transport employees around its various campuses and office buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Volkswagens will be autonomous, powered by Apple's self-driving software.

Apple's self-driving shuttle program has been described as behind schedule and "consuming nearly all of the car team's attention," with the company having no clear idea of what it will do with the autonomous driving project beyond the shuttle efforts.

Apple has formed a multi-year production partnership with Oprah Winfrey to create shows for a new video subscription service that is in the works, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Apple and Winfrey did not share details on the kind of content that she plans to create, but in a statement, Apple said it would team up with Winfrey to "create original programs."

Apple today announced a unique, multi-year content partnership with Oprah Winfrey, the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist and CEO of OWN.

Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world.

Winfrey's projects will be released as part of a lineup of original content from Apple.

Apple has signed deals for dozens of original television shows, ranging from ranging from science fiction series "Amazing Stories" to podcast-based drama series "Are You Sleeping" to cartoon series "Central Park." A full list of Apple's TV shows can be found in our Apple TV roundup.

The first of Apple's television shows may debut as early as 2019 and while Apple has not clarified how the shows will be distributed, today's report from The Wall Street Journal suggests Apple is working on a streaming video service to deliver its content.

Apple is widely rumored to introduce three new iPhone models in September, including a second-generation iPhone X, a larger version dubbed the iPhone X Plus, and a lower-priced but lesser-featured version.


Given the iPhone X Plus is expected to have an OLED display, like the iPhone X, it would be reasonable to assume that the majority of iPhones that Apple plans to manufacture in 2018 will be of the OLED variety. According to The Wall Street Journal, however, that might not be how things play out.

The report cites sources involved with Apple's supply chain who claim that Apple now expects LCD models to make up the majority of iPhone sales in its upcoming lineup, expected to be released this fall.

Apple initially wanted roughly equal production of iPhone models with LCDs and OLED displays, but now plans to make more of the LCD model, referring to the rumored lower-priced, lesser-featured 6.1-inch iPhone, as it supposedly anticipates strong customer demand for the more affordable X-like model.

It's not entirely clear if "LCD models" will include iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and iPhone SE models, which will likely remain for sale alongside the 2018 iPhones, and would certainly help tip the scale towards LCD.

The Wall Street Journal says Apple's plans are a "sign of consumers' sensitivity to the price of smartphones," citing analysts who believe demand was weaker than their initial forecasts for the iPhone X "due mainly to its price tag." The flagship device is priced from $999 in the United States.

The report adds that Apple will likely retain at least one lower-priced, LCD-based iPhone in its 2019 lineup too, rather than shift entirely to OLED, to ensure customers have an affordable option to choose from.

A report out of Korea last month said Apple will switch to OLED for all of its 2019 iPhones, a claim that some analysts had already cast doubts on.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, now with research firm TF International Securities, expects the next iPhone X to start at $800-$900, the so-called iPhone X Plus to start at $900-$1,000, and the 6.1-inch iPhone to start at $600-$700 in the United States, with orders for all three beginning in September.

Kuo has previously said the 6.1-inch iPhone will have a nearly edge to edge display, with a notch for Face ID, but with tradeoffs, including an LCD instead of OLED display, an aluminum frame rather than stainless steel, no 3D Touch, and a single-lens rather than dual-lens rear camera system.

If accurate, many customers may indeed opt for what is essentially a budget iPhone X, with a $300 to $400 cheaper price tag. That doesn't mean the current iPhone X was too expensive, though, as in February, Apple said it was the "top selling iPhone" every week since it launched in early November.

If you are attempting to navigate with Apple Maps right now, you may be unable to do so, as the service appears to be experiencing downtime.


"Directions Not Available," the app says, when attempting to search for or navigate to destinations. "Route information is not available at this moment."

The issue appears to be widespread, with many users reporting that Apple Maps is down across the United States, Canada, and other countries. The outage affects all platforms with Apple Maps, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and CarPlay.

iPhone, iPad, and Mac users can simply use an alternative such as Google Maps or Waze in the meantime, but CarPlay doesn't currently support third-party mapping apps, something that is changing with iOS 12.

Apple has yet to update its system status page to reflect any issues. We'll update this article if that changes or when the issues are resolved.

Update 8:18 AM: Apple has now acknowledged and is "investigating" ongoing issues with Maps Search and Routing & Navigation, according to its system status page. Apple says "all users are affected."

Update 10:13 AM: Directions appear to now be working in Maps, although Apple has yet to update its status page to confirm the issues have been resolved.

Update 10:28 AM: Apple has updated its status page to note the issues have been resolved as of 10:05 AM Pacific Time.

Ahead of the HomePod launching in Canada, France, and Germany in three days from now, the speaker has gained the ability to read the news in those countries.


Siri can now provide news briefs from a handful of sources in Canada, for example, including CBC, Global TV, CTV, and CNN. To start, say "Hey Siri" and then say something like "read me the news" or "what's the news today?"

MacRumors reader Pedro Marques, who lives in Toronto, Canada, shared a demonstration of the feature with us today:

Meanwhile, in Germany, the same functionality works with sources such as public broadcasting radio station Deutschlandfunk, according to MacRumors reader Marco.

Apple previously announced that HomePod sales will begin in Canada, Germany, and France on Monday, June 18. The speaker will be available to order in white and space gray through Apple's online store, retail stores, and the Apple Store app on iPhone and iPad, and at select authorized resellers, including Best Buy.

The speaker will be priced at $449 in Canada, and €349 in Germany and France, according to Apple's online store.

HomePod first launched in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia in February. Canadians, of course, could simply drive south of the border, purchase a HomePod in the United States, and bring it back to Canada, where it worked fine, beyond a few features like news that are now being added.

Late last month, Apple pushed a software update to the HomePod that enables Siri to speak in French, German, and Canadian English. Apple notes that Canadian French will be added later this year in a subsequent software update.

In related news, Apple's TV app recently gained live news in Canada. CBC News is available for free, or $4.99 per month without ads, while CTV News Go is offered through authentication with a cable provider like Bell or Rogers. Other options include CNN, BNN Bloomberg, and online news network Cheddar.

Apple today launched a new ad campaign focused on the Mac, carrying the tagline "Behind the Mac" and highlighting a trio of creators who have used Macs to "make something wonderful." There are four ads in the series, with the first, set to Daniel Johnston's "Story of an Artist," showing a variety of people using Macs as part of their creative processes.

Three other ads focus on specific Mac users from various disciplines:

- Photographer and disability advocate Bruce Hall, who is legally blind, uses his Mac and iPhone to help "see the things that always felt out of reach." Some of Hall's work is part of the permanent collection of the U.S. Library of Congress.

- Music artist Grimes uses a Mac "from start to finish" to write all of her music, edit music videos, and create digital art for her singles.

- App developer Peter Kariuki from Rwanda used his Mac to code the SafeMotos app for connecting passengers with safe motorcycle taxi drivers. The app monitors motorcyle riders on the road to "detect unsafe driving habits and help them become better drivers."

Apple has highlighted the campaign on its homepage and Mac section of its website.

watchOS 5, the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch, was introduced last week alongside iOS 12 and macOS Mojave. The update doesn't include design changes or new watch faces, but it does introduce some fun new features that make the Apple Watch more useful than ever, like Walkie-Talkie.

We went hands-on with the new watchOS 5 update in our latest YouTube video to give MacRumors readers an idea of what to expect from the software when it launches this fall.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Walkie-Talkie, the coolest new feature in watchOS 5, will let you use the Apple Watch like, well, a Walkie-Talkie, with opt-in push-to-talk communication. In the first beta of watchOS 5, which is available to developers, the Walkie-Talkie app is unfortunately not functional, listing a "Coming Soon" message when you open it up. We'll have a separate video when it launches, so make sure to stay tuned for that.

There are other great new features in watchOS 5, though, like a new Podcasts app that lets you listen to podcasts right on your wrist without needing to open up your iPhone.

For those of you who like competition, Apple's added a new Workout option that lets you challenge your friends to a 7-day fitness competition to see who can earn the most activity points, which is great for motivation.

Yoga and Hiking, two new Workout types, have been added, while runners will be pleased to see rolling mile pace, custom pace alerts, and cadence for better than ever tracking. Automatic Workout detection means your watch will never fail to start or stop recording your workouts, even if you forgot to manually use the Workout app.

The Siri Watch face now supports sports, maps, heart rate, and third-party apps, so you'll see more useful suggestions, plus notifications are now actionable so you can do more right from your wrist. watchOS 5 also introduces limited support for WebKit, so you can view website menus, see full Mail messages, and click links in the Messages app without needing to pick up your iPhone.

It's worth noting that watchOS 5 is going to be limited to Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models. That means that it won't run on the original Apple Watch.

What are you most excited for in watchOS 5? Let us know in the comments and make sure to check out our watchOS 5 roundup for more details on the new operating system.

Apple is working on dozens of original television shows and may also expand into feature films, with the company said to be close to signing a deal for an animated movie.

According to Bloomberg, Apple may soon sign a deal with Cartoon Saloon, an animation studio based in Ireland. While Cartoon's Saloon's movie has yet to be made, Apple is aiming to secure distribution rights for the United States and other countries.

It's unclear how Apple plans to make the movie available, but a theatrical release, necessary to qualify for Academy Awards, is possible, one of the people said. Apple and Cartoon Saloon had no immediate comment on Thursday.

Cartoon Saloon has previously produced Academy Award-nominated animated films including "The Secret of Kells," "The Song of the Sea," and "The Breadwinner."

Bloomberg warns that the talks have not yet finished and that the deal could still fall apart, but Apple's discussion with Cartoon Saloon suggests the company is interested in content beyond TV shows.

At the current point in time, Apple has established deals for at least 16 television shows, ranging from science fiction series "Amazing Stories" to podcast-based drama series "Are You Sleeping."

It is not yet clear how Apple's television shows (and potentially films) will be distributed, but it does have a TV app where it recently made one of its first shows, "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" available to watch.

The first of Apple's TV shows could see a debut as soon as 2019, though it's not known if the content will be free, available as part of Apple Music, or distributed through an as-of-yet unannounced video service.

Verizon today announced the launch of a third "Unlimited" data plan option, which provides users with 75GB of LTE data, 20GB of LTE hotspot access, 720p video streaming, 5 TravelPass sessions per month, and 500GB of Verizon Cloud storage.

The new "Above Unlimited" plan joins Verizon's two other "Unlimited" plans, Go Unlimited and Beyond Unlimited. While Verizon calls these plans unlimited, all three have data caps on the amount of LTE data that users can access per month before having their speeds downgraded or limitations on video quality.

The existing Go Unlimited plan, Verizon's cheapest option, provides users with unlimited LTE data, but it restricts streaming video to 480p and limits mobile hotspot speeds to 600Kb/s.

The current Beyond Unlimited plan provides users with 22GB of LTE data per month, with access to 720p video streaming and 15GB of hotspot data.

Neither of the two current plans include TravelPass access or extra cloud storage. Verizon's TravelPass is designed to let customers use their domestic talk, next, and data allowances while traveling outside of the United States for $5 to $10 per day, with Above Unlimited offering five free days.

Verizon's new Above Unlimited plan is priced at $95 for one line, compared to $85 for Beyond Unlimited and $75 for Go Unlimited. For a family of four, pricing for Above Unlimited is at $60 per line. The new plan option will be available for Verizon customers and those new to Verizon starting on June 18.


Unlimited data plans from carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have become increasingly complicated in the year and a half since carriers readopted unlimited data options. All three carriers now offer different unlimited tiers with various add-ons and restrictions, making unlimited cellular data plans as difficult to decipher as prior non-unlimited plans.

In the United States, carriers began seriously embracing affordable "unlimited" data plans starting in 2015, when T-Mobile introduced its simple T-Mobile ONE plan with unlimited talk, text, and 4G data for $70 per month. Verizon followed in February of 2017 with its first unlimited plan, as did AT&T.

Prior to 2015 and T-Mobile's intervention, carriers primarily relied on limited data plans that provided 2-10GB of data to customers after largely eliminating unlimited data plans in the years following the launch LTE networks.

A few weeks after Apple rejected Valve's planned Steam Link app due to App Store review guideline violations related to in-app purchases, among other things, the company has made a key change to the app in hopes of getting it approved.


Namely, in the latest beta version of Steam Link on TestFlight, Valve has removed the option to purchase games within the app. Instead, the app now informs users that games are available to purchase on a PC, or Mac, according to Eli Hodapp, editor-in-chief of MacRumors sister website TouchArcade.

Moments ago, Valve pushed out an updated version of the Steam Link app to TestFlight testers which […] removed the ability to buy anything through the actual app itself. When you connect to your PC via the Steam Link app and browse the store, the button you used to be able to push to buy things has been changed to say "Available to purchase from your PC."

Shortly after Steam Link was rejected, Apple's marketing chief Phil Schiller explained that it had "discussed these issues with Valve" and would "continue to work with them to help bring the Steam experience to iOS and Apple TV in a way that complies with the store's guidelines," in an email shared by MacStories.

Steam Link app now says games are available to purchase on PC
Steam Link, unveiled early last month, will allow users to stream Steam games to an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV from a Mac or PC via a 5GHz Wi-Fi network or a wired Ethernet connection. The app, originally set to launch May 21, will include support for both the Steam Controller and Made for iPhone controllers.

In his hands-on last month, Hodapp said the app works so well that "it feels like there's some kind of actual wizardry powering it all."

If you're the kind of person who is always hungry for "real" PC-like game experiences on your Apple device, but have been dismayed by the amount of junk on the App Store, you can basically delete everything else but the Steam Link app. I'm still dumbfounded by Apple apparently allowing this on their platform, as I could see a very real situation where many people just straight up stop buying things from the App Store and exclusively purchase Steam games through Valve instead.

Valve hasn't specified when it will resubmit Steam Link to Apple for reconsideration, and it remains to be seen if the change will satisfy Apple's guidelines, but it sounds like the app is one step closer to being released on the App Store.

Russian company ElcomSoft today claimed that the latest version of its Phone Breaker software can remotely access iMessage conversation histories stored in iCloud, although there are several strings attached.


Namely, the person attempting to extract iMessages from an iCloud account would need the following before being able to do so:

• Elcomsoft Phone Breaker version 8.3
• The associated Apple ID email and password for the iCloud account
• The passcode, if an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or system password, if a Mac, of at least one device on the account enrolled in Messages in iCloud, which requires iOS 11.4 and macOS 10.13.5 or later
• Access to a two-factor authentication method, such as a trusted secondary device, which may or may not have the same passcode or system password, or a SIM card for a phone number that has been authorized to receive one-time verification codes via SMS

It's worth noting that if the perpetrator has obtained physical access to at least one of your trusted secondary devices, and its passcode, they would be able to read at least part of your iMessage history regardless by simply opening the Messages app.

Apple obviously cares very deeply about the security of its customers, but if a bad actor has gained access to another person's Apple ID credentials, your passcode, and at least one of your Apple devices, or your SIM card, there arguably isn't really much the company can do at that point to protect you.

That's why it's so important, as Apple routinely stresses, to set a strong password for your Apple ID, not share that password with others, enable two-factor authentication, and keep careful possession of your devices. It also helps to set a strong alphanumeric passcode on an iOS device, rather than a four-digit one.

Apple says iMessages are protected with end-to-end encryption, and notes that messages can't be accessed by anyone without your device passcode. As an additional safeguard, Apple requires that users have two-factor authentication turned on for their Apple ID accounts to enable Messages in iCloud.


ElcomSoft's tool seems to be taking advantage of the fact that, if iCloud Backups are turned on, a copy of the encryption key protecting iMessages is included in the backup, according to a support document on Apple's website:

If you have iCloud Backup turned on, a copy of the key protecting your Messages is included in your backup. This ensures you can recover your Messages if you’ve lost access to iCloud Keychain and your trusted devices. When you turn off iCloud Backup, a new key is generated on your device to protect future messages and it is not stored by Apple.

Given the extenuating circumstances required, the vast majority of users shouldn't have anything to worry about. But it's a good reminder to maintain strong security practices on all of your devices to stay safe.