Later this year, Apple is expected to release four OLED iPhones in three display sizes, including 5.4, 6.7, and two 6.1-inch models. Rumors suggest the 6.7-inch iPhone and one 6.1-inch model will be higher-end devices, and now leaker @L0vetodream has corroborated previous rumors about the internal specs of Apple's upcoming lineup.
Rumors suggest Apple will use 5-nanometer A14 chips in its 2020 iPhone lineup that will be smaller, faster, and more battery efficient due to improved thermal management. And to accommodate these improvements, @L0vetodream claims the Pro models will feature 6GB of RAM, while the mid-level models will retain the same 4GB of RAM that all iPhone 11 models have.
Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis previously said he believes the iPhone 12 Pro models will feature 6GB RAM, while the iPhone 12 will have 4GB RAM. UBS analysts also believe the four iPhones in development will feature varying amounts of RAM. They're expecting a 6.7-inch iPhone with 6GB RAM, a 6.1-inch iPhone with 6GB RAM, a 6.1-inch iPhone with 4GB RAM, and a 5.4-inch iPhone with 4GB RAM.
Professional 6GB General 4GB
— 有没有搞措 (@L0vetodream) July 9, 2020
The anonymously-run Twitter account @L0vetodream accurately revealed several details about the new iPhone SE before any other leakers that we know of, including that the device would launch in the second week of April and come in three storage capacities. Likewise, the account accurately claimed that new iPad Pro models would launch in the third week of March. It has also hinted at a 2021 release for a rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple's latest Apple Pay promotion provides 50 percent off when purchasing custom photo books, cards, and more from Snapfish with promo code APPLEPAY.
The promotion will be available until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on July 15, 2020, and it is valid in the United States and Canada. Apple Pay must be used in during checkout and purchases must be made through the Snapfish app.
Apple in iOS 14 redesigned the Home Screen for the first time in a long time, introducing an App Library that lets you hide apps, widgets that can be placed among apps, and more.
This guide walks through all of the new Home Screen changes from widgets to the App Library, and includes how tos with walkthroughs on using all of the new features.
Quick Start Video
Our hands-on video of iOS 14 shows you how to quickly set up your home screen to your specifications, and also dives into other topics of interest in iOS 14:
Widgets
Widgets have been available in the Today View, which can be accessed by swiping from left to right on the Home Screen, but in iOS 14, widgets got a design and functionality overhaul.
Apple overhauled all of its widgets, introducing a fresh design that uses less transparency, more spacing, and richer content to make widgets more useful. The redesign was implemented because for the first time, widgets can move out of the Today View and right onto the Home Screen.
Widget Sizes and Functions
Widgets can be customized with up to three sizes: small, medium, and large. A different amount of information is provided with each widget size.
In the Apple News app, for example, a small widget shows just one headline, but a large widget shows three. A small Weather app widget shows the current temperature, the medium version shows the full daily forecast, and the large version shows the weekly forecast. Not all widgets have all three sizes, but most do, and you can also create multiple widgets of the same app.
Some apps also have different widget options based on function. In the Apple News widget, you can choose to see relevant news from the day or get stories about a specific topic of interest.
Developers will be able to create widgets using the new sizes and widget design language for widgets that will blend better with Apple's new options.
Widget Stacks
Multiple widgets can be stacked on top of one another so you can put all of your favorites together and then swap between them with an upward or downward swipe of the finger.
Apple has also added a special "Smart Stack," which is a widget stack that uses Siri Intelligence to surface the most relevant and useful widget based on your iPhone usage habits.
If you often order coffee in the morning, for example, the widget for a coffee app might pop up. If you always listen to a podcast on the way home from work and have the Podcast app widget in your stack, the iPhone will surface the widget at the appropriate time.
There's a separate Siri Suggestions widget that on the surface sounds similar to Smart Stack, but is in fact different. The Siri Suggestions Widget surfaces app suggestions based on your iPhone usage habits, similar to what shows up under Siri Suggestions when you use the iPhone's search function.
There's also an option to have the Siri Suggestions widget display Shortcut suggestions based on your most used Shortcuts and Shortcut usage patterns.
Widget Gallery
Adding and customizing widgets can be done through the Widget Gallery, accessible by long pressing on the Today View of the widget list and then tapping the "+" button in the upper left corner.
From there, you can search for a specific widget or scroll through the available options. Tapping on a widget in the list lets you see the size and content options that are available for the widget. Adding a widget to the Today View can be done by tapping the "Add Widget" option.
If you long press on the Today View screen and do not tap the "+" button, you can rearrange widgets, delete widgets, or scroll down to the "Edit" option that lets you see all of your widgets in a quick view list, including those from third-party developers.
Widgets on the Home Screen
Any widget that's available in the Today View can also be added to the Home Screen. You can drag them out from the Today View or long press on the Home Screen to get to the interface editing options.
In this view, tap on the "+" button to get to the Widget Gallery to put a new widget right on the Home Screen. Widgets on the Home Screen behave just like app icons, they're just a bit bigger.
Widgets can be placed on the Home Screen right alongside apps. A small widget takes up the space of four apps in a square shape, a medium widget takes up the space of eight apps in a rectangle shape, and a large widget takes up the space of 16 apps in a square shape.
You can have widgets next to apps or a screen that's all widgets, and everything can be rearranged by long pressing on the Home Screen to get to jiggle mode and then just dragging icons around.
Along with widget redesign and the option to add widgets to the Home Screen, Apple added an App Library, designed to let you see all of the apps that you have in one easy to access place.
App Library can be accessed by swiping from right to left through all of the Home Screen app pages until you get to the end. The App Library features smart organization, and all of the apps installed on your iPhone are separated into smart folders.
Some of the folder options include Productivity, Utilities, Social, Creativity, Reference & Reading, Health & Fitness, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Games, Apple Arcade, and Education.
There is no way to change the organization of the folders because it's automatic. Each folder displays your top three most used apps along with a collection of four app icons that you can tap on to see all of the other apps in that particular folder.
Apple has also added a "Suggestions" folder based on your app usage habits that houses apps you might want to use at a particular time. There's also a "Recently Added" folder to make it easy to find your newest apps. If you want your App Library apps to show notification badges, open up the Settings app, choose "Home Screen" and then toggle on the "Show in App Library" option under Notification Badges.
Long pressing on the main App Library page causes the apps to jiggle, letting apps be deleted right from the App Library. Alternatively, you can also long press on any app icon and select the "Delete app" option.
The App Library has another view, which is an alphabetical list of all of the apps you have installed. You can get to it by tapping on the search bar at the top of the App Library interface.
In the alphabetical list, you can scroll through all of the apps, search for an app, or use the letter bar at the right side of the app to skip to a specific app. You can launch apps from the alphabetical list in the App Library, but you can't delete apps from that location.
Hiding Home Screen Pages and Apps
With all apps available in the App Library, there's no longer a need to have apps on your Home Screen or Home Screen pages if you'd rather have a cleaner look for your iPhone.
In fact, you can hide entire app pages (the pages you swipe between to get to different screens of apps) or you can hide specific apps one by one. To hide whole app pages, long press on the Home Screen or any app page to enter the jiggle editing mode, then tap on the icon at the bottom that has a series of dots representing each page of apps.
From here, you can check or uncheck any app page that you want to hide. You can hide all but one app page, because at least one needs to be visible.
If you want to hide a specific app rather than an entire page, just long press on the app's icon, tap "Edit Home Screen," tap on the "-" icon on the app, and then choose the "Remove from Home Screen" option. If you want to add the icon back to the Home Screen, find the app in App Library, long press on the icon, and then choose the "Add to Home Screen" option.
To download all new apps to the App Library rather than the Home Screen, go to Settings > Home Screen and tap the "App Library Only" option under New App Downloads.
Apple's worldwide Mac shipments were up 5.1 percent during the second quarter of 2020, according to new PC shipping estimates shared this afternoon by Gartner.
Gartner's Preliminary Worldwide PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q20 (Thousands of Units)
Apple shipped an estimated 4.4 million Macs in Q2 2020, up from the 4.2 million shipped in Q2 2019, with shipments growing even amid the ongoing public health crisis.
Apple's market share during the quarter grew to 6.7 percent, up from 6.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. Apple's rising shipments came as the overall PC market saw growth of 2.8 percent.
Apple continues to maintain its position as the number four PC vendor in the world, trailing behind Lenovo, HP, and Dell. Lenovo was the top PC vendor during the quarter with 16.197 million PCs shipped and 25 percent market share, followed by HP with 16.165 million PCs shipped and 24.9 percent market share.
Apple's Market Share Trend: 1Q06-2Q20 (Gartner)
Dell was the number three vendor 10.65 million PCs shipped and 16.4 percent market share, but Dell was the only one of the major vendors to see a drop in shipments. Acer shipped 4 million PCs and ASUS shipped 3.6 million PCs, with both vendors trailing Apple.
Apple also saw Mac shipment growth in the United States, shipping 2 million Macs in Q2 2020, up from 1.9 million in Q2 2019 for 4.3 percent growth. Apple also continues to be the number four vendor in the United States, coming in after HP, Dell, and Lenovo. Overall U.S. PC shipments were also up 4.6 percent year over year.
Gartner's Preliminary U.S. PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q20(Thousands of Units)
According to Gartner, PC shipment growth during the quarter was driven by purchases necessary for working from home and online education. The upward tick in shipments is not expected to continue.
"Additionally, mobile PC growth was particularly strong, driven by several factors including business continuity for remote working, online education and consumers' entertainment needs. However, this uptick in mobile PC demand will not continue beyond 2020, as shipments were mainly boosted by short-term business needs due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic."
IDC also released its own PC shipment estimates this afternoon, and its estimations are wildly different. IDC's data suggests Apple shipped 5.6 million Macs during Q2 2020, up 36 percent from the 4.1 million estimated to have shipped in Q2 2019.
IDC believes that the overall worldwide PC market saw 11.2 percent growth with 72.3 million total PCs shipped, while Gartner believes there were 64.8 million total PCs shipped during the quarter.
It's important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is estimated and not reflective of Apple's actual sales, which accounts for the large discrepancy in estimated shipments.
In the past, we were able to check estimated shipment data when Apple provided quarterly earnings releases with actual Mac sales information, but Apple no longer breaks out unit sales for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, which makes it impossible to know precise sales numbers.
Apple at WWDC introduced a new version of tvOS, the software that's designed to run on the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. tvOS updates are often more minor in scale than iOS, watchOS, and macOS updates, but tvOS 14 has some useful new features.
Apple in tvOS 13 introduced a Picture in Picture option for the Apple TV app that allowed TV and movie content from the app to be watched while doing other things on the Apple TV, and in tvOS 14, that functionality is expanding.
Picture in Picture now works across tvOS, but it's worth noting that third-party apps need to implement support so apps like YouTube don't work with the feature at the current time.
AirPlay works with Picture in Picture so you can AirPlay video content from iOS apps like YouTube, Disney+, and more to the Apple TV and then watch them in windowed mode while you play a game or use a workout app.
Speaking of YouTube, the YouTube app in tvOS 14 will support 4K video streaming for the first time, allowing for higher-resolution content to be viewed. YouTube presumably needs to implement support, so the feature isn't functional as of yet. The Apple TV also supports sharing and viewing 4K videos taken with the iPhone.
With Audio Sharing for the AirPods, two people can connect their AirPods to the Apple TV to watch a TV show or movie without bothering the other people in the room.
tvOS 14 introduces support for multi-user gaming for Apple Arcade, so when you swap profiles, the TV will keep track of each person's levels, leaderboards, and more. Apple also added support for the Xbox Elite 2 Wireless Controller and the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
In tvOS 14, you can choose a specific screensaver group like ocean, space, or cities rather than having tvOS choose randomly, and there's a whole new HomeKit feature for the Control Center.
If you use the remote to navigate to the Control Center and tap on the Home app icon you can see your HomeKit accessories and access scenes. This view also includes camera feeds from HomeKit connected cameras, so you can watch your home security video in full screen on the TV or in Picture in Picture mode.
The Apple TV can even let you know when someone is at the door if you have a HomeKit-connected video doorbell, popping up the video when someone rings the bell.
tvOS 14 is available for developers and, as of today, public beta testers. It will see a few months of testing before Apple releases it to the public in the fall.
Belkin today added to its lineup of wireless chargers with a range of new special Boost Charge wireless charging options.
The Boost Charge 3-in-1 Wireless Charger Special Edition, priced at $130, allows the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods to be charged at the same time. There's an upright charger for the iPhone, a charging puck for the Apple Watch, and then the AirPods charge right behind the Apple Watch in a dedicated charging space.
The design of the special edition charger is similar to the original 3-in-1 Boost Charge, which we reviewed back in June. The special edition version has a different upright charging base and a rectangular shape, plus it comes in black or white. It charges the iPhone at 7.5W and the AirPods at 5W.
Belkin's Boost Charge Portable Wireless Charger and Stand Special Edition, priced at $80, is a wireless charger with a built-in battery pack that can be used for charging on the go.
The 10,000mAh battery pack attaches to the charging stand and wirelessly charges the iPhone in an upright landscape or portrait position when connected, but it can be detached and used when traveling. The battery pack charges the iPhone wirelessly, and also has an extra USB-A port.
Belkin's last new product, the $70 Boost Charge Wireless Charging Pad Special Edition, is a standard round wireless charging pad that comes in either black or white. Like Belkin's other charging options, it chargers your iPhone at 7.5W, the maximum available charging speed.
The Charging Pad is made from chrome and stainless steel with a non-slip charging surface that ensures the iPhone stays in place.
All of Belkin's new wireless chargers are available today from the Belkin website and will also be available soon from Apple.
Apple today updated its iWork apps for the Mac to version 10.1, introducing new features for Pages, Keynote, and Numbers.
The Pages app now supports importing books from iBooks Author, which Apple discontinued and removed from the App Store on July 1. The update app also allows videos from YouTube and Vimeo to be played right in documents, with release notes below.
- Play YouTube and Vimeo videos right in your documents. - Easily add captions and titles to images, videos, shapes, and other objects. - Create more flexible formulas using new functions. - Import an iBooks Author book to work on it in Pages.
Numbers also supports playing YouTube and Vimeo videos in spreadsheets, plus it has new functions that include XLOOKUP, XMATCH, and REGEX for matching patterns, manipulating text, and creating flexible formulas.
- Play YouTube and Vimeo videos right in your spreadsheets. - Easily add captions and titles to images, videos, shapes, and other objects. - New functions, including XLOOKUP, XMATCH, and REGEX, let you match patterns, manipulate text, and create flexible formulas.
Keynote has a new "Play Slideshow in Window" option that lets you access other applications when presenting slides locally or through video conferencing, along with some other new features outlined in the release notes.
- Use the new "Play Slideshow in Window" option to have access to other applications while presenting locally or via video conferencing. - Movies can now play through slide transitions. Add the same movie to multiple slides to play from one slide to the next. - Use the Align to Path option to have objects stay pointed in the correct direction while following a motion path. - Easily add captions and titles to images, videos, shapes, and other objects.
Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for Mac are all free downloads that can be accessed in the Mac App Store.
Update: Apple has also updated its iWork for apps for iOS with many of the same features, and updated iOS apps are available from the iOS App Store.
Apple today seeded the first public betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 14 updates to its public beta testing group, two weeks after first providing the updates to developers after the WWDC keynote and a day after seeding the second developer betas.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the iOS/iPadOS 14 updates over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website on an iOS device, with instructions available in our how to. The updates should not be installed on primary devices as this is beta software and could have serious bugs.
iOS 14 brings changes to the Home Screen, including widget support. Widgets can now be placed right next to your apps, and with the focus on widgets, Apple has introduced new widgets from default apps and is allowing them to be customized in three sizes.
You can put widgets anywhere on any app page, with new widgets able to be found in the widget gallery. Along with widgets, Apple has introduced an App Library, which is an interface that shows all of the apps on your iPhone both in smart folders that are created automatically and in an alphabetical list.
With the App Library providing access to all your apps, there's now an option to hide entire app pages from your iPhone, so you can avoid a cluttered Home Screen.
Apple has worked to make the iPhone's interface more compact, and incoming phone calls and Siri requests no longer take over the whole screen and are instead presented in a banner style, a feature also available on iPadOS.
There's a Picture in Picture mode for watching videos or using FaceTime while doing something else at the same time on the iPhone. The Messages app has new features focused on group conversations like pinned conversations, mentions, and inline replies.
A new App Clips feature lets you use small bite sized bits of an app without the need to download the whole app, useful for times when you need an app to buy a coffee, rent a scooter, or make a restaurant reservation. App Clips will work through Apple-designed App Clip codes, NFC tags, or QR codes, and can also be shared in Messages or from Safari.
The Health app supports the Sleep Tracking feature added in watchOS 7, and the iPhone will support the Sleep Mode and Wind Down features designed to help you get a better night's sleep. There's also a new Health Checklist that makes it easier to manage health and safety features like Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, and Medical ID.
The Weather app now provides info on severe weather events and minute-by-minute precipitation readings (U.S. only), and the Maps app supports cycling directions for the first time so bike riders can plan routes with info like busy streets, elevation changes, stairs, and more. Maps also now lets electric vehicle owners plan routes with EV charging spots.
The Home app is smarter with automation suggestions and an Adaptive Lighting feature that lets HomeKit lights adjust their color temperature throughout the day, plus there are new features for HomeKit Secure Cameras.
A new Apple-designed Translate app provides text and voice translations to and from 11 languages, and with an on-device mode, translations can be done entirely on your phone.
Tons of new privacy features have been added in iOS and iPadOS 14. Apps need permission before accessing devices on a local network, you get notified when an app accesses the clipboard, and there are little icons in the status bar of the Home Screen when an app is using the camera or the microphone.
There are also new options for limiting access to select photos and providing apps with an approximate location rather than an exact location for better privacy protection. Safari has Privacy Report that tells you which trackers sites are using, and in the future, the App Store will include a summary of developers' privacy practices in an easy-to-read format.
AirPods can now seamlessly and automatically switch between devices, and AirPods Pro gain a new spatial audio feature for surround sound complete with dynamic head tracking.
As for iPadOS 14, it includes most of the new iOS 14 updates, minus the Home Screen redesign. The biggest change is the new Scribble feature that lets you use the Apple Pencil to write on any text field, with the written text converted to typed text.
Scribble works throughout the operating system so you can use the Apple Pencil for Safari searches, adding new items in Calendar and Reminders, sending Messages, handwriting in the Notes app, and more.
iOS and iPadOS 14 beta 2 introduced a handful of tweaks and changes such as a new Calendar app icon, a Files widget, tweaks to Control Center, and more, with a full list available in our iOS 14 beta 2 tidbits article.
For more on everything that's new in iOS and iPadOS 14, make sure to check out our iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 roundups, which have a detailed look on all of the new features.
Apple today seeded the final betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.6 updates to developers, a week and a half after seeding the third betas and over a month after releasing iOS/iPadOS 13.5 with Exposure Notification API, Face ID updates, Group FaceTime changes, and more.
iOS and iPadOS 13.6 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over the air once the proper developer profile has been installed.
The iOS 13.6 update adds a toggle for customizing software updates, providing users with more granular control over the downloading and installing of new software. iOS users can decide if their iPhone or iPad should automatically download iOS updates when connected to WiFi, and when those updates should be installed.
There's a Download iOS Updates toggle for turning automatic downloads on or off over WiFi and an Install iOS Updates toggle for installing software updates overnight as an iPhone charges. The new feature will be a welcome change for those who do not want their iPhones to automatically download new software.
In the Health app, there's a new "Symptoms" section that allows users to add symptoms of various illnesses, choosing from options like body and muscle aches, appetite changes, coughing, dizziness, fainting, headache, nausea, and more.
Health app users are able to add symptom data through the Health app by tapping on the "Add Data" option, providing a way to track and log various illness-related symptoms over time and to share that information with doctors.
iOS 13.6 also brings support for Car Key, a feature available in both iOS 13 and iOS 14. Car Key is designed to allow an iPhone or an Apple Watch to be used in lieu of a physical key to unlock an NFC-enabled vehicle.
Car Key needs to be implemented by car manufacturers to function, and BMW is one of Apple's first partners. BMW's Digital Key for iPhone feature will let iPhone owners tap to unlock their vehicles, start the car by placing the iPhone in the smartphone tray, place limitations on young drivers, and share keys with up to five other users.
In the Apple News app, iOS 13.6 adds a feature that's designed to save your place in an article when you start reading something and then exit out of the article or the app.
Though the feature is not live yet, iOS and iPadOS 13.6 include new Apple News+ Audio feature, which will see Apple offering some news stories in an audio capacity.
Apple has been working with publishers to garner permission to create audio versions of some stories. Apple also plans to offer a recap of the day's top stories for subscribers to listen to.
Code in iPadOS 13.6 also suggests Apple is working on keyboard shortcuts that will allow users who have a Magic Keyboard or other attached keyboard to adjust the brightness level of the keys, but it's not clear if this will be a feature included in the update. Apple's GM version of iOS 13.6 has the full release notes for the update:
iOS 13.6 adds support for digital car keys, introduces audio stories in Apple News+, and contains a new symptoms category in the Health app. This release also includes bug fixes and improvements.
Digital car keys - Unlock, lock, and start your compatible car with your iPhone - Securely remove digital keys from a lost device via iCloud - Share digital keys easily with iMessage - Driver-specific profiles so you can configure shared keys for full-access or restricted driving - Power reserve lets you unlock and start your car for up to five hours after iPhone runs out of battery
Apple News - Audio stories are professionally narrated versions of some of the best reads from Apple News+, selected and produced by the Apple News editors as part of your Apple News+ subscription - Apple News Today is a new, free audio briefing on the day's top stories from the Apple News editors, also available in the Podcasts app - A new Audio tab makes it easy to find Apple News Today and Apple
News+ audio stories - CarPlay allows you to listen to Apple News Today and Apple News+ audio stories while on the road - Local news in your Today feed provides extensive coverage of San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City - More stories available from local news providers with a subscription to Apple News+ - Your daily newsletter from Apple News can now be personalized with stories that reflect your interests
Health - New category for symptoms in the Health app, including symptoms logged from Cycle Tracking and ECG - Ability to log new symptoms, like fever, chills, sore throat or coughing, and share them with third-party apps
This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements. - Adds a new setting to choose if updates automatically download to your device when on Wi-Fi - Addresses an issue that could cause apps to become unresponsive when syncing data from iCloud Drive - Fixes an issue that could cause data roaming to appear to be disabled on eSIM even though it remained active - Fixes an issue thats causes some phone calls from Saskatchewan to appear as originating from the United States - Addresses an issue that could interrupt audio when making phone calls over Wi-Fi Calling - Fixes an issues that prevented some iPhone 6S and iPhone SE devices from registering for Wi-Fi Calling - Resolves an issue that could cause the software keyboard to appear unexpectedly when connected to certain third-party hardware keyboards - Fixes an issue that could cause Japanese hardware keyboards to be incorrectly mapped as a U.S. keyboard - Addresses stability issues when accessing Control Center when Assistive Touch was enabled - Provides a mechanism for administrators to specify domains to exclude from traffic carried by always-on VPN connections
iOS 13.6 is likely to be one of the last versions of iOS 13 that Apple will release as focus shifts to iOS 14, set to be released this fall.
Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming tvOS 14 software update to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to try the software ahead of its fall public release.
Public beta testers can download the new update by opening up the Settings app on the Apple TV, navigating to the Software Updates section under "System" and then toggling on "Get Public Beta Updates" after signing up to beta test on Apple's public beta website.
tvOS 14 brings a new Picture in Picture mode so you can watch TV, movies, and videos while using other apps. You can even AirPlay to a Picture in Picture window.
Multiuser gaming support for Apple Arcade lets each tvOS user keep track of game levels, leaderboards, and invitations, and there's now support for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controller.
A new Home section in Control Center on the Apple TV provides a way for you to control your HomeKit-connected products right on your TV, plus there's an option to view HomeKit camera feeds on the big screen.
You can pick your favorite screensaver family to play rather than having to rely on random choice, and there's now an option to watch YouTube videos in 4K on the 4K Apple TV.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.6 update to developers for testing purposes, a week and a half releasing the third beta and over a month after releasing macOS Catalina 10.15.5 with battery health management features for Macs.
The macOS Catalina 10.15.6 beta can be downloaded from the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after the proper profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center.
There's no word yet on what improvements the new update to macOS Catalina brings, but it likely includes performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be addressed in the previous update. No new features were found in the first three betas, but we'll update this article should anything new be found in the fourth beta.
Apple today seeded the golden master version of an upcoming watchOS 6.2.8 update to developers, a week and a half after releasing the third beta and a over month after releasing the watchOS 6.2.5 update with new Pride Apple Watch faces.
watchOS 6.2.8 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.
To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.
It's not clear what's included in watchOS 6.2.8, but it likely focuses on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the prior update, as well as adding support for Car Keys, the feature that allows an Apple Watch to be used in lieu of a physical key for compatible cars.
No new features were found in the first three betas of watchOS 6.2.8, but the GM version has release notes that confirm the update also brings ECG support and irregular heart rhythm notifications in Bahrain, Brazil, and South Africa.
Apple today seeded the golden master version of an upcoming tvOS 13.4.8 update to developers for testing purposes, a week and a half after seeding the third tvOS 13.4.8 beta and more a month after the release of the tvOS 13.4.5 update. The GM version represents the final version of tvOS 13.4.8 that will be released to the public.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 13.4.8 beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV through a profile that's installed using Xcode.
tvOS updates are generally minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements instead of major outward-facing changes. There's no word on what's included in tvOS 13.4.8 as of yet, and no new features were found in the first three betas.
While we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so developers can download it on release.
Apple at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference announced its intention to transition away from Intel processors to Macs powered by its own Apple Silicon chips starting in late 2020. Apple says that by using its own Arm-based processors, it will be able to build better Macs that will boast better performance while also being more energy efficient.
Apple's announcement at WWDC 2020 was expected, but the timing of the transition has left many people in the market for a new Mac wondering whether they should buy one now, or wait until the first Macs powered by Apple Silicon arrive. If you count yourself among those facing the same dilemma, then keep reading. This article summarizes the most salient points to consider.
Where Have I Heard of Arm Before?
Apple is no stranger to Arm-based architecture, and if you're already wedded to the Apple ecosystem, you probably own a device powered by Arm chips. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV all use Advanced RISC machine (Arm-based) processors instead of Intel chips, which use the CISC instruction set.
In fact, the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Pro are already equipped with Apple-designed Arm processors, in the form of the T1 and T2 chips that power the Touch Bar, Secure Enclave, and other features in these machines.
Indeed, Apple's familiarity with the architecture is one of the reasons the company has decided that it's time to make the wholesale switch for its desktop and notebook machines.
Will Arm-Based Macs Be Better Than Intel Macs?
Apple says it has been working on a family of system-on-chip processors for its desktop and notebook Macs that will usher in a new set of features and deliver "incredible performance."
Apple loves superlatives, but the details are still thin, so it's hard to know exactly what performance gains are in store. But based on past and current architecture, there are some benefits we can be sure of.
Thanks to Apple's years of experience honing power-efficient chips for its Apple Watch and iOS devices, it's fair to say that we can expect a better balance of high performance and low power consumption. Apple's custom chips will also provide best-in-class security with the Secure Enclave, along with high-performance graphics capabilities for professional apps and games.
Apple Silicon chips will also include Neural Engines and Machine Learning Accelerators, making Macs ideal platforms for machine learning. Other technologies set to feature include a high-quality camera processor, performance controller, high-performance DRAM, unified memory, and cryptography acceleration.
In addition, Apple has developed several custom technologies that it can build into Apple Silicon to integrate the system and further boost the Mac's capabilities, making it stand out from the competition. Just take the T2 chip in current Macs, which integrates the system management controller, the image signal processor, the SSD controller, and a Secure Enclave with a hardware-based encryption engine, not to mention the Touch Bar and Touch ID. By going all-in with its own silicon, Apple is increasing its ability to control both the software and the hardware, just like it does for iPhones and iPads, which should make for an improved user experience overall. Not only that, apps designed for the iPhone and the iPad will run on Apple Silicon natively when the first Mac with an Apple-designed chip is released.
How Much Faster Will Apple Silicon Macs Be?
The truth is we don't know yet. Apple seems confident in the future performance of its Arm-based Macs. Presently, Apple is providing developers with a Developer Transition Kit, which is a Mac mini with an A12Z iPad Pro chip. This is based on a 2019 Arm CPU that was designed for the iPad, so shouldn't be seen as representative of what Arm Mac performance will ultimately be.
Due to the change in CPU architecture, current Intel Mac software will be translated under Rosetta -- this means that performance of unoptimized software will be slower until developers have a chance to support the new Arm processors.
Early benchmarks show how the developer kit performs with unoptimized software, and delivers benchmarks roughly on par with 2013 to 2015-era MacBook Pros.
It's worth noting, however, that the Arm-powered 2019 iPad Pro running Arm-native benchmarking software is faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2019) in single core and multi-core benchmarks.
Overall, these early benchmarks seem promising, bearing in mind that Apple's Arm-based Macs that run Apple Silicon will have new chips designed for specifically for the Mac and based on the A14 chip created for the 2020 iPhone lineup with a 5-nanometer process.
When Are the First Apple Silicon Macs Due to Launch?
At WWDC in June, Apple said that the first Mac that uses Apple Silicon will be introduced before the end of 2020. The company didn't offer any more details beyond that, but rumors suggest Apple is developing at least three Mac processors all of which are based on the A14 chip in the upcoming 2020 iPhones.
Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the first Macs that will adopt Apple's custom chips will be a refreshed 13.3-inch MacBook Pro and a redesigned 24-inch iMac, with the updated machines to launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 or early in 2021.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said that Apple plans to release at least six Mini-LED products by the end of 2021, including 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, so it's possible that these new Macs will be among the first to run on Apple Silicon.
Apple has already confirmed that its Apple Silicon Macs will continue to offer support for the Thunderbolt USB-C standard, so there will continue to be an Intel element in the new machines after all.
What Does Apple Silicon Mean for Intel-Based Apps?
Apple has said it will continue to support Intel Macs for years after the transition to Apple Silicon is complete, so if you buy an Intel-based Mac today, you can expect to receive software updates throughout the life of the machine.
As indicated by its Developer Transition Kit, Apple expects most developers to start building native apps immediately. However, users will still be able to run Intel apps on Arm-based Macs thanks to Rosetta 2, a translation process that runs in the background and is invisible to the user.
Apple has demoed Rosetta 2 with apps and games, and shown that there's no apparent difference between running an Intel app on an Intel machine versus an Apple Silicon machine. Everything works as you'd expect, but if performance is important to you it may take some time for all your software to be updated to support the new processors.
If you rely on Adobe software, the good news is that Apple has given Adobe early access to its Arm-based architecture, and Photoshop and Lightroom are reportedly already running smoothly on Apple Silicon.
What If I Need My Mac to Run Windows?
Unfortunately, Boot Camp won't be available on Macs that run Apple Silicon, and existing virtualization solutions also won't support running Intel Windows. Even if VMWare or Parallels were to offer that support, it would suffer from slower performance due to the different CPU architectures involved.
Microsoft does have its own native Arm version of Windows it uses on its Surface Pro X, but that is only available to manufacturers who resell Microsoft products under their own name and branding. As far as we know, there are no current plans make an Arm-based version of Windows available for Macs. Even if that were to become available for the Mac, it has its own compatibility and performance issues with traditional Intel Windows applications.
Should I Buy a Mac Now or Wait for Apple Silicon?
Apple is committed to supporting Intel-based Macs long into the future, and even says it has new Mac models in the pipeline that run on Intel processors.
In addition, Apple's existing Mac lineup has never looked in better shape. The 16-inch MacBook Pro and the recently updated 13-inch MacBook Pro in particular are well-rounded machines that offer very impressive performance across the board.
If running Windows is an important factor, then buying a current generation Intel Mac makes more sense than waiting. Intel Macs will be supported for years to come with new Intel Macs still in the pipeline.
In addition, if you are looking to buy a higher end Mac with specific software where performance is important to you, it also may not be worth waiting. Early Apple Silicon Macs may not replace the top-of-the-line for some time and native software will take some time to arrive.
If you don't need to buy a new Mac right away, and the idea of Apple Silicon excites you, it might be worth holding out for a little longer to see how things evolve. Apple says the first Arm-based Mac is set to be introduced before the end of 2020.
That said, Apple has also stated that it will take two years to transition its entire Mac lineup to Apple Silicon, so depending on what kind of Mac you want, you could be in for a long wait.
Epic Games has launched a new iOS app, Live Link Face, that lets creators using the company's Unreal Engine game engine leverage Apple's ARKit platform and the iPhone's TrueDepth camera to capture and stream facial expressions for real-time rendering (via The Verge).
Capable of working with just a single actor at a desk or as part of a complex motion-capture stage setup, Live Link Face supports timecode syncing to ensure it stays synchronized with any other recording devices involved in the capture process.
And when used at a desk setup, Live Link Face can track head and neck rotation data in addition to facial expressions, for more realistic avatar behavior using nothing more than an iPhone.
For more details on what Live Link Face can do, check out Epic's blog post.
MacRumors and password management platform 1Password have partnered up to offer our readers 50 percent off their first year of the 1Password Individual plan. Only new 1Password users will be able to claim the discount.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with 1Password. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
The 1Password Individual account regularly runs for $2.99/month, billed annually at $35.88. With our exclusive discount, you can get this plan for $17.94 for the first year of 1Password. Additionally, you'll receive a 30 day free trial when first signing up for the Individual Plan.
This sale doesn't require any discount code, so simply follow this link to the 1Password website. New 1Password users can enter their email address to sign up for a 1Password account and automatically get 50 percent off their first year.
1Password is a password management app that is compatible across Apple devices, including iPhone and Mac. It allows you to create and store strong passwords across all of your most important online accounts, and alert you when your passwords are compromised.
The 1Password app also informs you when sites that you're storing information for support two-factor authentication, helping you improve and strengthen your login information. If you're on a Touch ID or Face ID-supported Apple device, you can also open the 1Password app even quicker with Apple's biometric authentication systems.
Our readers will have until August 31, 2020 to claim this deal. Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.
Apple today announced significant enhancements for its Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code educational programs, delivering free curricula and a new Develop in Swift online course to help teachers get up to speed for teaching app development in Swift.
“Apple has worked alongside educators for 40 years, and we’re especially proud to see how Develop in Swift and Everyone Can Code have been instrumental in helping teachers and students make an impact in their communities,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Markets, Apps, and Services. “We’ve seen community college students build food security apps for their campus and watched middle school educators host virtual coding clubs over summer break. As part of our commitment to help expand access to computer science education, we are thrilled to be adding a new professional learning course to help more educators, regardless of their experience, have the opportunity to learn coding and teach the next generation of developers and designers.”
Develop in Swift, which is aimed at students in high school and above, has seen its curriculum completely redesigned and includes four free books available through Apple Books: "Develop in Swift Explorations," "Develop in Swift AP CS Principles," "Develop in Swift Fundamentals," and "Develop in Swift Data Collections," with the first three available now and the fourth coming this fall.
For younger students and other beginners, Apple is also expanding its Everyone Can Code curriculum, launching a new "Everyone Can Code Adventures" book that builds on previous content in the program to allow for more advanced coding exercises using Swift Playgrounds.
Apple's iPad mini 5 with 64GB of storage and cellular support is on sale for $449.00 today on TigerDirect, down from $529.00. This sale is among the lowest we've ever tracked for this version of the iPad mini 5, and the best available online right now.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with TigerDirect. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Only the Space Gray version of the tablet is available at this price. For those who are unaware, prominent Apple reseller MacMall recently consolidated its sales under its sibling TigerDirect brand. The site provides solid discounts on iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, and other Apple products.
Apple updated the iPad mini line in March of 2019 with the iPad mini 5. The tablet includes Touch ID for biometric authentication, a headphone jack, a Lightning charging port, and Apple's A12 Bionic chip. Thanks to these internal upgrades, the iPad mini 5 is three times faster than the previous generation and has a 10 hour battery life.
For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with 1Password. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with TigerDirect. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
