MacRumors

Apple's Developer Transition Kit equipped with an A12Z iPad Pro chip began arriving in the hands of developers this morning to help them get their apps ready for Macs running Apple Silicon, and though forbidden, the first thing some developers did was benchmark the machine.

Multiple Geekbench results have indicated that the Developer Transition Kit, which is a Mac mini with an ‌iPad Pro‌ chip, features average single-core and multi-core scores of 811 and 2,871, respectively.

As developer Steve Troughton-Smith points out, the two-year-old A12Z in the ‌Mac mini‌ outperforms Microsoft's Arm-based Surface Pro X in Geekbench performance, running x86_64 code in emulation faster than the Surface Pro X can run an Arm version natively.

Apple's DTK provided to developers is just a test machine using an older A12Z chip (it's the same as the A12X chip in the 2018 ‌iPad Pro‌ but with an extra GPU core unlocked). Apple's Arm-based Macs that run ‌Apple Silicon‌ will have new chips designed for the Mac and based on the A14 chip created for the 2020 iPhone lineup with a 5-nanometer process.

Apple says its ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs will bring major improvements in performance and power efficiency, and the first Arm-based Mac is set to be released before the end of 2020.

Following WWDC last week, Apple's VP of Technology Kevin Lynch has taken time to discuss the Apple Watch's new sleep tracking and hand washing features in watchOS 7 with publications like The Independent, CNET, and TechCrunch.

While some third-party apps provide very detailed sleep analysis, Apple's implementation of sleep tracking is fairly basic, focusing only on duration of sleep, movement disturbances, and heart rate. Lynch told CNET that this simplicity was an intentional decision, noting that Apple did research and found that extra data was not entirely useful.

"Movement of your arm is an input, but it's not a complete picture of what's going on inside your brain," said Lynch, as an example.

"You can't really coach yourself to have more or less REM stages," he added. "We felt like that wasn't the best way Apple could add value here on sleep. We focused on the transition to the bed, which we think is way more actionable, and will result in people getting a better night's sleep, which then has secondary effects of perhaps your REM stages sorting themselves."

Lynch said that, through research, Apple ultimately determined that duration of sleep is the most important metric.

"In any of these adventures we go on when building things here we ask, what will make the most difference for people that, from a mainstream perspective, will be easy, helpful and empowering," Lynch told The Independent.

Like many other health features on the Apple Watch, the Sleep app provides positive reinforcement only. If users meet their sleep goals, they receive positive feedback, but if they do not, the Watch stays silent.

"There could be anxiety that people have about going to sleep, and that anxiety itself can actually cause more problems in terms of going to sleep," Lynch told CNET. "Many people are already well aware that they haven't been getting enough sleep, and so we're not adding to that, but we are positively acknowledging when you have achieved your goals."

As for hand washing coaching in watchOS 7, Lynch told TechCrunch that the functionality was the result of "years of work." The feature encourages users to wash their hands for a CDC-recommended 20 seconds by providing a countdown with haptic feedback. If a user opts in, the feature automatically activates when the sound of hand washing is detected.

While the terms and conditions for Apple's new "Developer Transition Kit" forbid developers from running benchmarks on the modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip, it appears that results are beginning to surface anyhow.

It's also worth noting that Rosetta 2 appears to only use the A12Z chip's four "performance" cores and not its four "efficiency" cores.

By comparison, iPad Pro models with the A12Z chip have average single-core and multi-core scores of 1,118 and 4,625 respectively. This is native performance, of course, based on Arm architecture.

ExxonMobil today announced that it is the first U.S. gas station chain to offer 3% Daily Cash to customers who pay with an Apple Card using Apple Pay at Exxon and Mobil stations. 3% Daily Cash is now available for fuel, car washes, and convenience store purchases at over 11,500 Exxon and Mobil stations across the United States.

To avoid inserting their card and touching the pin pad, Exxon and Mobil customers can use the Apple Card with Apple Pay in the Exxon Mobil Rewards+ app for iPhone to pay for fuel at the pump on a contactless basis.

Other brands that offer 3% Daily Cash with Apple Card include Apple, Nike, T-Mobile, Uber, Uber Eats, Duane Reade, and Walgreens.

Apple today named eight app and game developers receiving an Apple Design Award following WWDC 2020. Apple says winners are recognized for outstanding app design, innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.

Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations:

Every year, app and game developers demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship and we're honoring the best of the best. Receiving an Apple Design Award is a special and laudable accomplishment. Past honorees have made some of the most noteworthy apps and games of all time. Through their vision, determination, and exacting standards, the winning developers inspire not only their peers in the Apple developer community, but all of us at Apple, too.

This year's winners are highlighted on the Apple Newsroom:

• Photo and video editing app "Darkroom" by Bergen Co.
• Animation playground "Looom" by iorama.studio
• CAD app "Shapr3D"
• Digital sheet music app "StaffPad"
• "Sayonara Wild Hearts" from Simogo and Annapurna Interactive
• "Sky: Children of the Light" from thatgamecompany
• "Song of Bloom" from Philipp Stollenmayer
• "Where Cards Fall" from The Game Band and Snowman

Apple says more than 250 developers have been recognized with Apple Design Awards over the past 20 years.

As part of WWDC last week, Apple announced that it will be switching to its own custom-designed processors for Macs starting later this year. As part of this transition, the company is allowing developers to apply for a modified Mac mini with an A12Z chip and 16GB of RAM to develop and test their apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture.

As noted on Twitter and in the MacRumors forums, some developers are now beginning to receive this Mac mini, which is officially known as the "Developer Transition Kit."

Apple said that it will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and it also confirmed that it still has some new Intel-based Macs in development in the interim.

Two new camera modes could be coming to some models of Apple's "iPhone 12," according to YouTube channel EverythingApplePro and Max Weinbach.

Specifically, the video modes are said to include the ability to shoot 4K video at 120fps and 240fps. The new modes are thought to be coming to Apple's higher-end "‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro" and "iPhone 12 Pro Max".

Weinbach reportedly tore down the Camera app in the recently released developer build of iOS 14 and found references to the new video modes.

Weinbach's Apple source subsequently confirmed that Apple is internally testing these new camera modes for upcoming iPhones, and that they'll likely be reserved for the higher-end models in this year's upcoming lineup.

Camera improvements are expected in the "‌iPhone‌ 12" lineup. For example, rumors suggest some of the new ‌iPhone‌ models coming in 2020 will feature a 3D camera, which sounds like the LiDAR Scanner feature that Apple added in the 2020 iPad Pro models.

However the new 4K shooting modes are probably something to do with Apple's A14 chip. Current iPhones are limited to 4K at 60fps and 1080p at 240fps.

Apple plans to release four "‌‌iPhone‌ 12‌" models with OLED displays in the fall, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. All of the devices are expected to support 5G and they may sport a new design that includes more of a flat edged metal frame like the ‌iPad Pro‌ or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 4.

In this week's App Recap, we've highlighted utility app "Bluelane," graphics and design app "Originate," and productivity app "Twobird" as three apps that are worth checking out. We've also compiled a list of apps that received major updates this week.

Apps to Check Out

• Bluelane (iOS, Free) - Bluelane is an app that allows for easy sharing of a route and location with anyone. Those who have access to this data are able to track route progress in real-time through the web. While using the app, users can see current route information that includes distance traveled, time, elevation gain, speed information, and more. Although the app is free to download, some features are limited to subscribers of Bluelane Pro, which has options available in monthly, quarterly, and annual plans priced at $2.99, $6.99, and $19.99 respectively. Bluelane Pro features the ability to share routes in real-time, export routes to GPX, download maps offline, and more.
• Originate (iOS, $4.99) - Graphics app Originate lets users create parallax art with up to five distinct layers at once. Once the play button in the top left corner of the screen has been pressed, tilting the device will show different angles of the art in which the layered images appear realistic. Additionally, users have the option to view their creations in AR. The app also contains an import feature that can be used to import and then edit other users' art. Originate features iCloud sync and is available on both iPhone and iPad, so art can be seamlessly stored across iCloud devices.
• Twobird (iOS, Free) - The makers of popular note-taking app Notability have launched Twobird, which is an email app designed to help increase users' day-to-day efficiency. Users can create notes and set reminders right from the inbox. Notes can be customized to include checklists, tables, comments, and more. Another helpful feature is live collaboration, which allows for shared notes to be nested in an email so ideas can be grouped together. Although Twobird provides many collaborative tools and is simple to navigate, it is worth pointing out that the app can currently only be used by connecting an existing Gmail account.

App Updates

• Google Photos - The Google Photos app was updated this week with a simpler and refined user experience with fewer tabs present at the bottom of the screen. The main photo grid will automatically both enlarge featured photos and play videos. The search tab, a feature that takes advantage of Google's artificial intelligence, allows users to search for photos that may or may not be labeled. In addition, the map view lets users search for photos based on the specific location in which they were taken.
• Netflix - Netflix this week announced that its iOS app will soon let users remove shows and movies from their "continue watching" list. The feature has been long desired since the list currently updates with any content that has been briefly sampled or watched in its entirety.
• Opera (Mac) - The Opera browser for Mac has been updated with Twitter integrated directly into its sidebar. To enable the feature, users can simply click the three-dot icon at the bottom of the sidebar and select Twitter in the Messengers section. The update also includes improvements to Workspaces, a new weather widget, and more.

Know of a great new app that we've missed? Let us know in the comments and we'll check it out for next week's App Recap.

Apple plans to launch a new 10.8-inch iPad in the second half of 2020, followed by a new 8.5-inch iPad in the first half of 2021, oft-reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors.

Kuo did not specify if the 10.8-inch iPad model will be a new version of the existing 10.2-inch iPad or the 10.5-inch iPad Air, but he has previously said that the 8.5-inch model will be a new iPad mini. Apple last refreshed the iPad mini in March 2019 with an A12 Bionic chip, an upgraded front camera, and support for the original Apple Pencil.

Kuo expects Apple to include a new 20W power adapter in the box with both iPad models, as seen in leaked photos earlier this week.

As for iPhones, Kuo expects the 20W power adapter to be made available as an optional accessory, meaning that iPhone 12 models would not include a charger in the box. EarPods aren't expected in the box either.

iPhone 12 models will not include EarPods or a power adapter in the box, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors. This lines up with a prediction shared by analysts at Barclays earlier this week.

Kuo said that Apple will instead release a new 20W power adapter as an optional accessory for iPhones and end production of its existing 5W and 18W power adapters later this year. The form factor of the new 20W power adapter is said to be similar to the 18W version, with USB-C Power Delivery for fast charging, as seen in the leaked photo below.

Kuo believes that iPhone 12 production costs will significantly increase due to 5G support, but he expects Apple to sell the new models at a comparable price to its iPhone 11 lineup, and removing the EarPods and power adapter from the box is one way to reduce costs. Apple would likely also tout the environmental benefits of such a move.

Barclays still expects Apple to include a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box as the only accessory included with iPhone 12 models.

Kuo also expects that Apple will stop including a 5W power adapter with the second-generation iPhone SE later this year, but he said that a 12W power adapter will continue to be included with current generations of the 10.2-inch iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini.

Now that WWDC week is winding down, it's good to take a step back and look at all of the biggest announcements and smaller details, as Apple had an awful lot to say about its operating systems, the direction of future Mac hardware, and more.

Check out our video above and read on below for more on this week's biggest stories!

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC20 in 13 Minutes

Apple this week held its first-ever virtual WWDC keynote that was jam-packed with a wide variety of announcements, including iOS 14, macOS Big Sur, watchOS 7, tvOS 14, and confirmation of its long-rumored plans to transition to Arm-based Macs starting later this year.

For those that didn't have a chance to watch the nearly two-hour keynote, we condensed everything that Apple announced into a 13-minute video, providing a quick recap of everything notable.

Be sure to read our WWDC20 roundup for detailed coverage of all of Apple's announcements throughout the event.

iOS 14 Announced With All-New Home Screen Design Featuring Widgets and More

Apple this week took the wraps off of iOS 14 with dozens of new features, including customizable home screen widgets, the App Library, App Clips, pinned conversations and mentions in iMessage, a new Translate app, digital car keys in the Wallet app, picture-in-picture mode for videos and FaceTime calls, the ability to set third-party browser and email apps as default, and more.

Incoming phone calls no longer take up the full screen on iOS 14, nor does Siri, as Apple has made both interfaces more compact. For a closer look at these changes, be sure to watch our video of iOS 14 in action.

iOS 14 is currently available in beta for registered Apple developers, with a public beta to follow next month. The software update will be released to all users with an iPhone 6s or newer in the fall. As always, it is best to install beta software on a secondary device if possible due to potential bugs.

Many of iOS 14's features are also baked into iPadOS 14, plus a few extras like handwriting in any text field with the Apple Pencil.

macOS Big Sur Unveiled With Updated Design, New Features for Safari and Messages, and More

Apple this week previewed macOS Big Sur with redesigned elements like the Dock and Notification Center, the addition of a Control Center, several improvements to core apps like Safari and Messages, battery usage history, the return of the startup chime, and more.

The update is significant enough that Apple decided to brand it as macOS version 11.0, marking the end of an era for Apple's desktop platform. For nearly two decades, every major release of macOS (known as OS X until 2016) was an increment of version 10, from 10.0 "Cheetah" in 2001 through 10.15 "Catalina" in 2019.

For a closer look at macOS Big Sur's new design and features, be sure to watch our video walkthrough.

macOS Big Sur is available in beta for registered Apple developers, with a public beta to follow next month. The free software update will be released to all users with a compatible Mac in the fall.

Apple Transitioning Macs to Custom Chips With 'Incredible' Performance Starting Later This Year

Following years of rumors, Apple has confirmed its plans to switch to custom processors for Macs, promising industry-leading performance per watt. Apple said that it plans to ship the first Mac with its own silicon by the end of the year and complete the transition to Arm-based architecture in about two years.

The first Mac with Apple silicon could be a redesigned 24-inch iMac in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple said that it will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and it also confirmed that it still has some new Intel-based Macs in development.

Developers can apply for a modified Mac mini with the iPad Pro's A12Z chip to test and develop apps on a Mac with Arm-based architecture. The program costs $500 and includes a comprehensive set of resources and one-on-one technical support. Apple says availability is limited.

Given the shared Arm architecture, most iPhone and iPad apps will be able to run as-is on Macs with custom Apple silicon. Check out our guide to Apple's transition to Apple Silicon for more details on all aspects of the plan.

watchOS 7 Announced With Enhanced Face Customizations, Handwashing Detection, and More

Apple Watch will be getting several new features with watchOS 7 this year, including more customizable watch faces, sleep tracking, four new workout types that can be tracked, a handwashing coach with a 20-second countdown, and more.

Apple has also eliminated deep-press Force Touch functionality in watchOS 7, which highly suggests that Apple Watch Series 6 models will lack Force Touch hardware.

watchOS 7 is available in beta for registered Apple developers, and for the first time, a public beta will be available next month. The software update will be released to all users with an Apple Watch Series 3 or later in the fall.

Apple also previewed tvOS 14 with the ability to watch YouTube videos in 4K on the Apple TV 4K, Audio Sharing for AirPods, and more.

iPhone 12 Rumor: No EarPods in Box and Possibly Not Even a Charger

Based on discussions with several Apple suppliers, Barclays analysts believe that iPhone 12 models will not come with EarPods in the box, in line with a prediction shared by Ming-Chi Kuo last month.

Oddly enough, the analysts also heard that iPhone 12 models might not ship with a power adapter of any kind, leaving only a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box. If true, Apple would likely position the move as good for the environment, but it would certainly be inconvenient for customers without a spare charger.

Earlier this week, the anonymous Twitter user Mr. White shared photos of a 20W power adapter that he suggested will be included with iPhone 12 models, so there are some conflicting rumors about this right now.

On a separate note, prominent mobile leaker Ice Universe claimed that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max models will include displays with 120Hz refresh rates, allowing for a smoother visual experience. We've previously heard mixed rumors about whether the feature, known as ProMotion on its iPad Pro models, so we're still uncertain which, if any, iPhone 12 models may adopt it later this year.

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