Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the first tvOS 11.2 update and a little under a week after the launch of the tvOS 11.1.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.2 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.
According to Apple's release notes, the tvOS 11.2 update enables a new AVDisplayManager feature for developers, designed to allow the device to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content.
The update includes support for switching the Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR and it re-introduces the Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos.
Apple says it also adds new features, bug fixes, and security improvements to the tvOS operating system.
The macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.
It's not yet clear what improvements the second update to macOS High Sierra will bring, but it's likely to include bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that weren't addressed in macOS High Sierra 10.13.1.
The previous update, 10.13.1, introduced fixes for some serious security flaws and brought new emoji to the macOS operating system. No new features were found in the first beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13.2, but we'll update this post should new features be found in the second beta.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the first watchOS 4.2 beta and a little under a week after releasing the watchOS 4.1 update.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 4.2 appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and security updates. No major outward-facing changes were found in the first beta, but should new features be found in the second beta, we'll update this post.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 11.2 update to developers, one week after releasing the first beta of iOS 11.2 and a little under a week after releasing the iOS 11.1 update.
Registered developers can download the iOS 11.2 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center. Apple already released beta 2 for the iPhone X, but this new beta will be available for all devices.
iOS 11.2 addresses an animation bug in the Calculator app that caused some numbers and symbols to be ignored when entered in rapid succession. The update removes the animations from the calculator app so calculations can be done quickly with no need to pause between entering numbers to obtain the correct result.
In addition to the Calculator bug, iOS 11.2 introduces a new Now Playing option for controlling content on the Apple TV in Control Center, redesigned camera emoji, and a new loading animation for Live Photos effects, and it appears to introduce the TV app for Sweden and Norway.
Several other promised iOS 11 features have not yet shown up in the current beta but could be added ahead of the update's release, including AirPlay 2, peer-to-peer Apple Pay, and iCloud support for iMessages.
Update: According to Apple's release notes, iOS 11.2 beta 2 adds a feature that lets developers offer new customers discounted introductory pricing for auto-renewable subscriptions on the App Store.
As it does for each iPhone launch, DisplayMate has released a display shoot-out for the iPhone X, praising Apple's technology in areas like the higher resolution OLED screen, automatic color management, viewing angle performance, and more. According to DisplayMate, the iPhone X has the "most innovative and high performance" smartphone display it has ever tested. DisplayMate also congratulated Samsung Display for "developing and manufacturing the outstanding OLED display hardware in the iPhone X."
iPhone X matched or set new smartphone display records in the following categories: highest absolute color accuracy, highest full screen brightness for OLED smartphones, highest full screen contrast rating in ambient light, and highest contrast ratio. It also had the lowest screen reflectance and smallest brightness variation with a viewing angle.
New Aspect Ratio and Higher Resolution
The iPhone X's 5.8-inch OLED display includes a taller height to width aspect ratio of 19.5:9, 22 percent larger than the 16:9 aspect ratio on previous iPhone models (and most other smartphones). Because of this DisplayMate noted that the iPhone X also has a new 2.5K higher resolution with 2436x1125 pixels and 458 pixels per inch.
The iPhone X's display resolution provides "significantly higher image sharpness" than can be analyzed by a person with normal 20/20 vision at a 12-inch viewing distance. DisplayMate said this means that it's now "absolutely pointless" to increase the display resolution and pixels per inch of the iPhone any further, since there would be "no visual benefit" for users.
As a result of its larger display size and larger Aspect Ratio, the iPhone X has a new 2.5K Higher Resolution Full HD+ display with 2436x1125 pixels and 458 pixels per inch, with 2.7 Mega Pixels, 32% more than an HDTV. The display has Diamond Sub-Pixels (see below) and Sub-Pixel Rendering with 458 pixels per inch (ppi), providing significantly higher image sharpness than can be resolved with normal 20/20 Vision at the typical viewing distances of 12 inches or more for Smartphones, so the display appears perfectly sharp. As a result, for Smartphones it is absolutely pointless to further increase the display resolution and pixels per inch (ppi) up to 4K (3940x2160 pixels) for a silly marketing wild goose chase into the stratosphere, with no visual benefit for humans!
Viewing Angle
DisplayMate noted that the iPhone X saw a smaller percent decrease in brightness at a 30-degree viewing angle when compared to LCD smartphones, also earning "Very Good" to "Excellent" ratings for categories related to color shifts with viewing angles.
While Smartphones are primarily single viewer devices, the variation in display performance with viewing angle is still very important because single viewers frequently hold the display at a variety of viewing angles. The angle is often up to 30 degrees, more if it is resting on a table or desk. While LCDs typically experience a 55 percent or greater decrease in Brightness at a 30 degree Viewing Angle, the OLED iPhone X display shows a much smaller 22 percent decrease in Brightness at 30 degrees. This also applies to multiple side-by-side viewers as well, and is a significant advantage of OLED displays. The Color Shifts with Viewing Angle are also relatively small. See the Viewing Angles section for the measurements and details.
Color Accuracy and Automatic Color Management
iPhone X supports two industry standard color gamuts: the sRGB / Rec.709 color gamut used for "most current consumer content," and a new wide DCI-P3 color gamut found in 4K Ultra HD TV sets. The DCI-P3 -- also found in the iPhone 7 last year -- is 26 percent larger than the sRGB / Rec.709 gamut, and the iPhone X can automatically switch to the proper color gamut for displayed image content ranging in the wide DCI-P3 color space with an ICC profile.
DisplayMate said this results in images that automatically appear with "the correct colors, neither over-saturated or under-saturated." In total, the publication said the iPhone X has the "highest absolute color accuracy of any display we have ever tested," with a display that is "visually indistinguishable from perfect."
Most Smartphones and Tablets generally provide only one to up to several fixed Color Gamuts. The iPhone X has Automatic Color Management that automatically switches to the proper Color Gamut for any displayed image content within the Wide DCI-P3 Color Space that has an ICC Profile, so images automatically appear with the correct colors, neither over-saturated or under-saturated. Color Management with multiple and varying Color Gamuts are a very useful and important state-of-the-art capability that all manufacturers will need to provide in the future.
The Absolute Color Accuracy of the iPhone X is Truly Impressive as shown in these Figures. It has an Absolute Color Accuracy of 1.0 JNCD for the sRGB / Red.709 Color Gamut that is used for most current consumer content, and 0.9 JNCD for the Wider DCI-P3 Color Gamut that is used for 4K UHD TVs and Digital Cinema. It is the most color accurate display that we have ever measured. It is Visually Indistinguishable From Perfect, and is very likely considerably better than any mobile display, monitor, TV or UHD TV that you have.
Ultimately, DisplayMate mentioned that what makes the iPhone X's display truly impressive is something called "Precision Display Calibration," which it says transforms the OLED hardware "into a superbly accurate, high performance, and gorgeous display." More in-depth analysis of the iPhone X's OLED screen can be found in DisplayMate's shoot-out right here.
Apple enabled an iPhone X availability tool on its website over the weekend, allowing customers to check stock at nearby stores, but those looking for more of a bird's-eye view may prefer to use iStockNow.com.
iStockNow has a live map of iPhone X availability at Apple's retail stores around the world, with filters that allow you to search for specific storage capacities, colors, and carrier-specific or SIM-free models.
Apple stores with the iPhone X in stock are marked with green pins, while locations that are out of stock have red pins. There is an option to hide stores that don't have any availability at the time of your search.
iStockNow is not much different than Apple's availability tool, but it may be useful to those looking for a visual look at iPhone X stock around the world, rather than only at nearby stores based on a ZIP or postal code.
On a related note, Apple has expanded its iPhone X availability tool to two more countries: Japan and Singapore.
Simply visit the iPhone X purchase page for your country from the list below, select a carrier if required, choose a color, and then click on "Pickup: Check Availability" below your desired storage capacity.
A window will pop open with iPhone X availability—if any—at nearby Apple stores based on your ZIP or postal code.
At stores where the iPhone X is available, customers can complete the checkout process and reserve the device for same day in-store pickup. We recommend bringing at least one valid government-issued photo ID with you.
Update: iPhone X availability can also be tracked on IsInStock.com.
Chipotle Mexican Grill today launched a significantly redesigned mobile ordering app for iPhone and Android smartphones.
The app has a streamlined user experience and several new features, including quick reordering of favorites or recent orders, a more user-friendly store locator, and the ability to receive, store, and redeem Chipotle offers.
The app's order-ahead functionality also supports mobile payment services Apple Pay and Android Pay. To accommodate online orders, most Chipotle restaurants are now equipped with a dedicated line for customers using the app.
As early adopters began to experience the iPhone X for the first time this past weekend, many users took to the MacRumors forums, Reddit, and Twitter to discuss the gap that exists below the keyboard within iOS 11 on iPhone X. As some users pointed out, this space was likely meant as a way to more easily swipe up to go Home, and potentially for ergonomics reasons since a lower keyboard could be more difficult to type on, but many iPhone X owners are still getting used to the way the keyboard looks across all apps on the device.
The iOS keyboard on iPhone X
On the new keyboard, the Globe or Emoji icon and the Dictation icon both sit below the space bar at the very bottom of the screen. Between these two buttons is a wide, empty gray area that isn't sitting well with some iPhone X owners, and which some early reviews of the device pointed out last week.
BuzzFeed, for example, wondered why Apple didn't do more with this space, potentially including adding "common punctuation, frequently used emojis, or literally anything."
It’s when the keyboard, in any app, is on screen (which, for me, is most of the time): There’s all this dead space on the bottom, where Apple could have put common punctuation, frequently used emojis, or literally anything, but instead left it blank. Other full-screen apps on other phones put navigation or other design elements in that area, and it doesn’t look crowded or crammed. It looks fine. It’s puzzling why Apple didn’t put something more useful down at the bottom, or why it didn’t add a row of numbers or emojis up top and push down the keyboard to make it more thumb-accessible.
Alex Muench, a UI/UX designer for apps like Todoist and Twist, went a step further and created a mockup of how this could look on future versions of iOS on the iPhone X. Muench likened this space on iPhone X to be a potential area for recently used emojis, "like Touch bar on Mac."
Unused space on the iPhone X keyboard could be used for frequently used emojis like Touch bar on Mac. ♀️ pic.twitter.com/OZx48cSVWl
— Alex Muench (@alexmuench) November 6, 2017
Twitter user @Yespur asked third-party keyboard SwiftKey if the company will "fill the bottom part of the screen," to which SwiftKey responded: "We'll have to look into it. Nothing to comment on beyond that." It's unclear whether third parties will have any ability to design for this area of iOS on iPhone X. In the Human Interface Guidelines for the new smartphone, the only direct mention of the keyboard asks developers to not duplicate the Globe and Dictation keys.
Don't duplicate system-provided keyboard features. On iPhone X, the Emoji/Globe key and the Dictation key automatically appear beneath the keyboard—even when using custom keyboards. Your app can't affect these keys, so avoid causing confusion by repeating them in your keyboard
The iPhone X comes with a variety of new interface gestures, features, and interactions that take some time getting used to following years of the traditional iPhone experience. Without a Home Button, unlocking the iPhone X requires you to swipe up from the bottom edge of the device, and also rearranges some physical commands like taking a screenshot by pressing the Side Button and Volume Up Button. For more information on Apple's newest smartphone, check out our iPhone X Roundup.
While the iPhone X launched just three days ago, we're already starting to hear rumors about what to expect from next year's models.
Specifically, oft-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he believes iPhones released in 2018 will feature a "more complex" metal frame design and casing assembly for the purpose of improving data transmission quality.
An excerpt of Kuo's research note with KGI Securities, obtained by MacRumors:
Orders for 2H18F iPhones are market focus; both Catcher and Casetek have won new orders. We believe the metal frame of 2H18F iPhone models will be composed of more parts (iPhone X has four parts) for improving data transmission quality. We believe Apple will need more metal frame and casing assembly capacity and new suppliers because of more complex metal frame design and casing assembly, while models equipped with AMOLED and stainless steel metal frame will increase to two (vs. only one — iPhone X — in 2H17). We expect Catcher will obtain stainless steel metal frame and casing assembly orders. If Casetek can pass certification in late 4Q17 or early 1Q18, it also may win aluminum metal frame and casing assembly orders.
Kuo said Taiwanese suppliers Catcher Technology and Casetek have won orders from Apple for the new metal frames, including two models with stainless steel frames, which likely includes the iPhone X and so-called iPhone X Plus.
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday rejected Samsung's request to appeal a $119.6 million verdict awarded to Apple in an over six year old "Slide to Unlock" patent infringement lawsuit, according to Reuters.
In October 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated Apple's award after a lower court found Samsung to have infringed upon several popular iPhone features, including slide-to-unlock and autocorrect.
The lawsuit, from 2011, is so old that slide-to-unlock isn't even used on iPhones anymore. Unlocking an iPhone on iOS 10 or later requires using Face ID on iPhone X, and Touch ID or pressing the Home button on older iPhone models.
This case is not to be confused with another 2011 lawsuit in which Apple accused Samsung of copying the iPhone's design with its Galaxy-branded smartphones. A damages retrial in that lawsuit is scheduled for next May.
Pizza chain Domino's today announced integration with work-based chat platform Slack, introducing the ability for coworkers to talk about and order lunch all directly within Slack. After visiting the Slack App Directory, and installing the Domino's ordering app into a workspace, team members can begin discussing what they want to order from Domino's in a Slack channel.
When the decision is made, members can call up Dom, the Domino's Slack bot, and specify crusts, toppings, sizes, and more. When the team is waiting for their food, a Domino's tracker will show what stages the pizza is in, from prep to delivery.
Domino's knows that getting everyone in the office together to figure out the lunch order can be frustrating, so the recognized world leader in pizza delivery and digital ordering platforms is here to make it a little easier, thanks to the enterprise software platform Slack. Starting today, ordering a pizza lunch for that work meeting is as simple as having a quick group chat.
"Collaboration on a big project can now carry over to collaborating on a team lunch order," said Dennis Maloney, Domino's senior vice president and chief digital officer. "We love to make ordering as easy and convenient as possible, and that includes ordering for the workplace. Now you can organize a group lunch with your coworkers down the hall, all from the comfort of your cubicle."
Domino's has previously integrated with technology platforms, this past May announcing support for automation platform IFTTT and multiple connected smart home products. With this integration, Philips Hue bulbs can change colors when your Domino's order hits different stages, like lighting up blue when the pizza begins cooking at the restaurant.
IFTTT even allows support for turning off the Rachio Smart Sprinkler system when an order is out for delivery (to prevent potential mishaps for the delivery person), and activating the Samsung POWERbot vacuum when the order is being prepped (to clean up for guests).
In regards to the Slack integration, Domino's says it's the "first national pizza chain to offer group ordering on the platform." If your Slack team wants to try out Domino's order and delivery, download the app from the Slack App Directory here.
If you're looking to start stocking up on iTunes gift cards for the holidays, PayPal's Digital Gifts storefront on eBay today has the $100 iTunes gift card at $85 for customers in the United States. You'll need to be logged into a PayPal account, and once you complete the purchase the digital gift card will be emailed to you with a code to add the credit to your iTunes account.
Discounts on iTunes gift cards are getting more frequent as holiday shopping nears, with most deals marking $50 and $100 cards off by 15 percent. As Black Friday gets closer, you can expect larger discounts -- of around 20 percent off -- to begin popping up at various retailers. We'll be sure to notify you when these holiday deals begin happening; you can also keep an eye on our Black Friday Roundup and Deals Roundup for even more of the latest Thanksgiving and Christmas sales.
Apple says the iPhone X has the most durable glass ever used in a smartphone, with a strengthening layer that is 50 percent deeper, but a series of drop tests show that glass and concrete still don't play well together.
SquareTrade, a company that provides extended warranties for electronic devices, conducted several breakability tests on the iPhone X, and found that its glass back and lack of a home button make it "the most breakable iPhone ever."
Not only did the iPhone X's glass shatter when dropped on its front and back from a height of six feet, but the display also malfunctioned. Keep in mind that pocket height for most people is about three feet.
SquareTrade is naturally using the opportunity to push its two-year smartphone protection plan, which was recently reduced to $129 plus a $99 deductible for most claims, in the United States.
The plan covers cracked screens, liquid damage, battery failure, Lightning connector failure, and speaker failure. It doesn't cover loss or theft.
SquareTrade customers now have an in-home repair option with a lower $25 deductible to fix cracked screens. The service is currently available in more than 700 cities across the United States, with new cities added monthly.
A few YouTube channels also tested the iPhone X in extreme conditions to determine how durable and water resistant the device is.
EverythingApplePro placed the iPhone X in a 20-foot tube of water for 35 minutes without any signs of liquid damage occurring. He also put the iPhone X into a running washing machine, and the device still remained functional.
JerryRigEverything scratched the iPhone X with a utility knife, including the cameras, stainless steel frame, and rear Apple logo. He also tried to bend the device, without much success, and burn the display with a lighter.
While breakability tests are generally unscientific, the videos reveal that even the most durable glass in a smartphone isn't shatterproof.
Apple recently confirmed it will charge out-of-warranty rates of $279 for iPhone X screen repairs, and $549 for any other damage to the device, unless it is a manufacturing defect covered by Apple's standard one-year limited warranty.
There's also AppleCare+, an optional, premium warranty plan that extends an iPhone's warranty coverage to two years from the original purchase date of the device, and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage.
With AppleCare+ for iPhone X, the price of a repair would be the $199 upfront cost of the plan plus a $29 or $99 incidental fee.
If you shatter your iPhone X's screen once, for example, you would pay $279 out of warranty. With the upfront cost of AppleCare+ coupled with the screen repair incidental fee, you would pay $228.
If you shatter your iPhone X's back glass, having AppleCare+ is even more worthwhile. Apple's flat rate is $549 for this type of damage, while the upfront cost of AppleCare+ coupled with a $99 incidental fee totals $298.
All prices above are listed in U.S. dollars. AppleCare+ and Apple's out-of-warranty repair fees vary in other countries.
SquareTrade conducted breakability tests for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus a few months ago with similar results. Both of the glass-bodied models shattered on all sides in every single drop test, including front and back drops at a distance of six feet, a 22-foot shot drop test, and a tumble test.
Following a report last week that stated Broadcom was "exploring" the possibility of buying Qualcomm, which has made LTE chips for Apple's iPhone line for many years, today Bloomberg reports that this offer is moving forward. Broadcom has offered to acquire Qualcomm for $70 per share in cash and stock, in a transaction valued at a total of $130 billion. If completed, it would be marked as "the largest technology acquisition ever."
Through the deal, Broadcom would become the third-largest chipmaker in the world, behind Intel and Samsung Electronics, and the combined Broadcom-Qualcomm business would "instantly become" the default provider of certain components required to build more than one billion smartphones sold every year. The acquisition would eclipse Dell's $67 billion purchase of EMC in 2015, considered at the time the biggest in the technology industry.
“This complementary transaction will position the combined company as a global communications leader with an impressive portfolio of technologies and products," Hock Tan, resident and chief executive officer of Broadcom, said in a statement Monday. “We would not make this offer if we were not confident that our common global customers would embrace the proposed combination.’’
In the midst of the acquisition news, Qualcomm and Apple have been embroiled in a legal battle since January after Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion. Apple accused Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and failing to pay for quarterly rebates. As the disagreement escalated throughout 2017, with a new lawsuit emerging just last week, Apple is said to be considering eliminating Qualcomm chips from its devices completely moving forward.
However, through a newly combined Broadcom-Qualcomm company, which could bring about new management, analyst Stacy Rasgon pointed out that the acquisition could finally "smooth things over" between Apple and Qualcomm.
If Broadcom can pull off a deal, it could help smooth things over with Qualcomm’s biggest adversary. A change of management at Qualcomm might help resolve the dispute with Apple more quickly, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Stacy Rasgon.
Broadcom also said that its offer stands whether or not Qualcomm completes its pending acquisition of NXP Semiconductor, which is currently facing regulatory scrutiny in Europe and resistance from NXP shareholders. Following the signing of a definitive agreement, Broadcom said it expects the proposed deal to be completed "within approximately 12 months."
Update 11/13: Qualcomm has rejected Broadcom's offer, stating the following in a press release: "It is the Board's unanimous belief that Broadcom's proposal significantly undervalues Qualcomm relative to the Company's leadership position in mobile technology and our future growth prospects."
Apple is likely to expand its supply chain for Apple Watch, following significant unit growth for the wearable over the third fiscal consecutive quarter this year (via DigiTimes).
Apple Watch's overall shipments are expected to reach at least 25 million units in 2018 and most of the sales will be contributed by first-time buyers instead of replacement demand from users of previous-generation models, the sources estimated.
During last week's earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Watch had seen unit growth of over 50 percent for the third consecutive quarter and "continues to be the best selling and most loved smartwatch in the world".
The fiscal quarter ended September 30, so it's not clear how many Apple Watch Series 3 units were included in the recorded growth and Apple doesn't provide a breakdown of numbers. The Apple Watch Series 3 was released on September 22. Cook also revealed that Apple's entire wearables business was up 75 percent year over year in the fourth quarter, and in fiscal 2017, already generated the annual revenue of a Fortune 400 company.
Apple's upstream suppliers include Quanta Computer, Universal Scientific Industrial (USI), Career Technology, Kinsus Interconnect Technology and E&R Engineering, all of which are expected to see increasing orders for the Apple Watch, according to sources.
Foxconn affiliate ShunSin Technology has also recently landed orders for providing SiP (system in package) packaging services to Apple Watch and are said to begin the supply in March 2018. The fact that ShunSin is entering the supply chain means Foxconn may also have interest in obtaining Apple Watch assembly orders, according to market watchers.
Apple will hold a special Apple Watch Activity Challenge on Veterans Day, November 11. As with past holidays, Apple Watch owners can earn an exclusive badge and an iMessage sticker if they complete the challenge (via 9to5Mac).
To earn the badge and sticker, Apple Watch wearers must clock up an eleven-minute workout on Veterans Day. To record the activity, wearers need to use Apple's stock Workout app or a third-party app that feeds data to Apple's HealthKit.
Veterans Day is a U.S. holiday, so the Challenge won't show up for Apple Watch users set to other regions. The last special activity challenge Apple promoted occurred in summer in coordination with the National Parks Foundation.
An issue with Apple's autocorrect feature emerged over the weekend after users began updating to iOS 11.1. First noted by Reddit user The Cravin, typing the letter "i" can result in autocorrect replacing it with the uppercase letter "A" and a question mark symbol. The problem isn't universal, but is affecting enough users for Apple to publish a support document that offers a workaround until it can be resolved in a future update.
The workaround involves setting up a Text Replacement for the letter "i". To do this, go to Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Text Replacement, and tap the plus (+) button. In the Phrase field, type an uppercase "I", and in the Shortcut field, type a lowercase "i". This should fix the problem until Apple addresses it properly in the next iOS update, which shouldn't be far off.
Apple has updated its vintage and obsolete products list with three additional products: the Time Capsule (4th generation), AirPort Extreme (5th generation), and the Mac Pro (Mid 2010).
The Mac Pro and two wireless routers listed above are now classified by the company as vintage in the United States and Turkey, and obsolete in the rest of the world. Apple defines vintage products as those that have not been manufactured for more than five but less than seven years. Macs and other products on the vintage and obsolete list are generally no longer eligible for hardware service.
Apple radically redesigned the Mac Pro in 2013, but a new high-end high-throughput modular Mac Pro machine is in the works and will debut after 2017. As customers wait for a new Mac Pro, current machines have seen a significant price drop. The 4-core Mac Pro has been discontinued, and the 6-core machine is now available at entry-level pricing.
Apple dismantled its wireless router division last year, sending engineers who worked on the AirPort line-up into other product teams, including one that works on Apple TV. Currently, Apple still sells the AirPort Express ($99) and high-rise 6th-generation AirPort Extreme ($199) wireless routers. The company also sells one wireless router with built-in network-attached storage – the AirPort Time Capsule in 2TB ($299) and 3TB ($399) capacities – but the device hasn't seen a refresh since 2013.
