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Fandango Now Lets You Buy Movie Tickets Through Its Instagram Page

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Fandango today added a "Buy Tickets" button on the company's Instagram profile, letting visitors to the page purchase tickets to films currently in theaters as well as pre-order tickets for unreleased movies (via The Hollywood Reporter). The move is said to be part of an overall push by Instagram into a "shoppable tags" commerce feature, and comes after the social network debuted a native payments option for select users last week.

The Buy Tickets button sits to the right of Fandango's existing Shop button on its Instagram profile, and when you tap it a mobile.fandango.com page loads with movies both now playing and coming soon. You can choose a film, find a showtime, and sign into your Fandango account (or check out as a guest) to complete the purchase.

fandango instagram

"As millions of movie fans have gravitated to social media platforms to discover, share and engage with their favorite movie content, Fandango has been essential to that experience, offering ticketing capabilities and access to the most comprehensive network of U.S. theaters," said Fandango president Paul Yanover. "We're very excited to integrate ticketing into our Fandango Instagram, and look forward to working with our studio partners to help transform consumer passion into advance ticket purchases."

Instagram has featured ads that users can tap and purchase items with for over two years, but it's important to note that Fandango's initiative is housed entirely on the company's profile page and won't be a sponsored Instagram post. This should make it easier to navigate to Fandango and quickly purchase a movie ticket if you're already in the Instagram app.

Although movie subscription services like MoviePass and Sinemia have been gaining more attention over the past few months, Fandango says its traditional ticket ordering business has grown as well. The company says its own sales made up 33 percent of the U.S. box office for the opening weekend of Avengers: Infinity War, which is now the highest-grossing opening weekend at the domestic box office with $257.7 million earned in three days. According to comScore, Fandango nets more than 60 million unique visitors per month.

When pre-purchasing tickets, Fandango's iOS app also integrates with Apple's Wallet app, so movie theaters can easily scan your pass at the box office on the day of the showing.

Tags: Fandango, Instagram
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Microsoft Store's Revenue Sharing With Developers Will Soon Significantly Undercut Apple and Google

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Microsoft on Tuesday announced changes to its revenue sharing model with developers that will significantly undercut Apple and Google.

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Starting later this year, the company says developers will receive 95 percent of the revenue earned from sales of their apps, in-app purchases, and new subscriptions on the Microsoft Store, excluding games and apps sold in volume to organizations, but only when a customer uses a direct link to access and purchase the app.

If the customer was referred to the app by Microsoft, such as in a featured collection on the Microsoft Store, developers will receive 85 percent of revenue. The new fee structure will apply to Microsoft Store purchases on all Windows and Surface platforms, but excludes purchases on Xbox consoles.

Microsoft presumably hopes reducing its commission to just five percent will encourage developers to create apps for its platforms. Microsoft, Apple, and Google all currently pay developers 70 percent of revenue earned from purchases on their app stores in what has long been the industry standard.

As of the end of 2017, the App Store and Google Play had an estimated 2.1 million and 3.5 million apps available. Microsoft last confirmed having over 669,000 apps in what was then called the Windows Store in September 2015.

Tag: Microsoft
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Ring Launches Standalone 'Neighbors' iOS App for Crowdsourcing and Preventing Criminal Activity

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Ring today launched a standalone "Neighbors" app on iOS [Direct Link] and Android devices, pulling out the local security and crime-prevention feature from the main Ring app into a standalone experience.

With Neighbors, Ring connects users in a nearby area who own any model of the Ring doorbell, and allows them to upload footage of criminal activity to make it easier to prevent and catch package thieves, burglars, and more. Users can scroll through their Neighborhood's recent feeds to check out potential crimes and other safety posts shared by nearby Ring owners and the Ring team. Feed posts include text, photo, or video alerts captured via Ring doorbells.

ring neighbors app
The app can warn users about topics like Crime, Suspicious activity, Safety warnings, and Strangers wandering around.

Jamie Siminoff, Chief Inventor and Founder of Ring, said: “At Ring, we come to work every day with the mission of reducing crime in neighborhoods. Over the past few years we have learned that, when neighbors, the Ring team and law enforcement all work together, we can create safer communities.

Neighbors is meant to facilitate real-time communication between these groups, while maintaining neighbor privacy first and foremost. By bringing security to every neighbor with the free Neighbors app, communities can stay on top of crime and safety alerts as they happen.”

Additionally, police and sheriff's departments throughout the United States are now joining Neighbors in an expansion of the crime-stopping program. Local law enforcement will be able to share real-time crime and safety alerts with their communities, and users will see the updates in their Neighbors feeds, which also includes an interactive map.

The debut of a standalone Neighbors app follows Amazon's acquisition of Ring in February, and a price drop to $99 for the Ring Video Doorbell in April. In the wake of the acquisition, Ring promised customers that HomeKit support is still coming, stating that the Ring Pro and Floodlight Cam are currently being tested for HomeKit, "and as soon as testing is completed" the company will "update everyone with a release date."

Neighbors by Ring is available to download for free on the iOS App Store [Direct Link].

Tag: Ring
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Netgear Debuts New 2-in-1 Orbi Modem Router System Starting at $300

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Netgear today announced the "Orbi Tri-Band Wi-Fi Cable Modem Router System," an all-new 2-in-1 device designed to replace an existing cable modem and router setup. The system covers up to 4,000 square feet, and sold-separately Orbi Satellites can expand coverage by an additional 2,000 square feet each.

The new Orbi is compatible with all major cable internet service providers, and Netgear pointed out that it's designed to work "right out of the box" for Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox, and more. This is Orbi's first product that combines its Wi-Fi mesh networking abilities with a modem.

orbi modem router
If users don't own their modem, many ISPs offer leases with rental costs at around $10/month added on top of the cost of an internet bill. Because of this, Netgear is pitching the new Orbi as a cost-saving measure for users to replace their existing products "and save up to $120 per year." The new Orbi starts at $299.99.

“We’re excited to be the first retail offering to combine the benefits of Orbi whole-home WiFi mesh networking with an embedded cable modem in a single, space-saving device,” said David Henry, senior vice president of Connected Home Products for NETGEAR.

“With the Orbi Tri-Band WiFi Cable Modem System, you’ll benefit from incredibly fast cable downloads and blazing-fast WiFi for an uninterrupted data flow to more connected devices, everywhere in your home, plus tons of great Orbi features like voice commands and smart parental controls, which will be added to the offering soon.”

On the modem side of things, the Orbi integrates a DOCSIS 3.0 CableLabs-certified modem with 32x8 channel bonding and download speeds of up to 1.4 Gbps. Netgear said the device's router supports high-performance Wi-Fi up to 2.2 Gbps; multi-user multiple-input, multiple-output technology; and includes a quad-core processor for better 4K video streaming.

Orbi also has "Smart Connect Technology" that chooses the best Wi-Fi band for each device on a network, avoiding interference and optimizing network performance, while Beamforming+ improves speed and range for 2.4 and 5 GHz devices. The Orbi itself includes four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports so that users can attach wired devices and ensure even faster file transfers and reliable connections.

The system uses a connected iOS app that lets users set up the device, manage their network, update software, and other features. Netgear said that Orbi is compatible with voice commands for Alexa and Google Assistant, but didn't mention Siri support.

The Orbi Tri-Band Wi-Fi Cable Modem Router will be available to purchase soon for $299.99, while a bundle with one Orbi satellite runs for $399.99.

Tags: NETGEAR, Orbi
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Twitter Testing 'Secret Conversation' Feature for Sending Encrypted Direct Messages

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Twitter is testing a new feature for its mobile apps called "Secret conversation," which would allow users to send direct messages that are encrypted (via TechCrunch). The end-to-end encryption would put Twitter's messaging platform on the level of apps like Telegram or WhatsApp, ensuring that a conversation between users is only ever seen by those sending the messages and not a surveilling third party.

The Secret DM feature for Twitter was found within the Android application package by Jane Manchun Wong, and it includes "Encryption settings," details about what encrypted messages are, and Encryption keys to verify a secure conversation between you and the message's recipient. Wong also found that users will soon be able to quote tweets with GIFs and place a "Quality Filter" on search results.

twitter encrypted dms

Image via @wongmjane

"Secret conversations" is the same name used by Facebook Messenger's own end-to-end encrypted messaging feature, which completed a rollout in October 2016. At the time, Facebook said Messenger supports the Signal Protocol to encrypt its messages, the same cryptographic protocol that WhatsApp and Google Allo also use.

As TechCrunch pointed out, APKs typically include code for features that companies are testing or will be launching soon, but it's unclear when exactly Twitter's encrypted messaging update will debut.

Last week, Twitter found a bug that "stored passwords unmasked in an internal log," and although no one appeared to have accessed the plaintext passwords it advised all users to update their own passwords "out of an abundance of caution."

Tag: Twitter
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Philips Hue 3.0 App Update Brings Overhauled Interface, Picture-to-Light Feature, and 30 New Scenes

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Philips has announced Hue 3.0 for iOS and Android, a major update to the smart lighting system app that introduces a new-look interface, new scene options, and a redesigned color picker.

Hue app 3 0 scenes

"In designing the upgrade, we took advice from lighting designers, user experience specialists and, most importantly, from our customers," said Philips Lighting marketing chief Jasper Vervoort. "The result is an app befitting the world's most loved smart lighting system for the home."

The new interface allows Hue owners to change the brightness, color, and shade of white of individual lights, and includes more convenient shortcuts for adjusting lights in fewer taps. For example, pressing and holding on a room setup or individual lights lets you change the color or set your four last used scenes.

philips hue 3

The new color picker lets you group and ungroup lights in a room, and choose an exact shade of white or colored light from the palette. The app also comes with 30 new scenes, as well as a much-requested picture-to-light feature that lets you extract relevant colors from your favorite pictures and apply them to your lights.

philips hue app update color pickers
Elsewhere, the app includes lighting routines to automatically dim lights at night and gradually turn them on in the morning, while the location awareness feature means lights can be set to turn on when the owner arrives at home or turn off when they leave. Meanwhile, the timer function activates lights after a specified time by triggering a scene or simply flashing the lights.

Philips hasn't given an exact release date for the Hue 3.0 update, which is said to be coming "this month", but there's a good chance it could begin rolling out as soon as today. [Direct Link]

Tag: Philips Hue
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2018 6.5-Inch iPhone to Be Similar in Size to iPhone 8 Plus, iOS 12 Could Feature Horizontal Face ID Support

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Apple's upcoming 6.5-inch OLED iPhone, one of the three smartphones planned for 2018, will be about "the same size" as the iPhone 8 Plus, according to a "reliable supplier source" cited by Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

The site says the 6.5-inch device could be 0.2mm thicker than the iPhone 8 Plus due to the rear camera design, however, which will include a vertical dual-lens camera. The iPhone 8 Plus measures in at 7.5mm thick, while the iPhone X, which the new 6.5-inch iPhone will be modeled after, measures in at 7.7mm.

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A mockup of the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone, via Mac Otakara

When it comes to dimensions, the 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus is 6.24 inches long and 3.07 inches wide, but on that device, there are sizable bezels at the top and bottom. On the 6.5-inch iPhone, which can be thought of as a sort of "iPhone X Plus," there will be slimmer bezels and no Home button, with the display spanning from edge-to-edge.

As for the next-generation 5.8-inch OLED device that will follow the iPhone X, Mac Otakara says it will use the same body as the current iPhone X, but it will feature a larger rear camera lens attributable to a bigger camera sensor.

Rumors have suggested that the third device Apple plans on introducing, a lower-cost iPhone with an LCD display, will measure in at 6.1 inches, but Mac Otakara believes it could instead be a bit smaller at six inches.

It will feature Face ID, but it may only have a single rear camera like the iPhone 8, compared to the dual-lens setup expected for Apple's two more expensive OLED devices. Former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said to expect a single rear camera.

In addition to predicting features for Apple's 2018 iPhones, Mac Otakara's report suggests that iOS 12, the software that will run on both the new devices and existing devices, will feature improvements to Face ID.

Face ID in iOS 12 will reportedly allow users to unlock a device when it is held at a horizontal angle, rather than limiting unlocking via Face ID to the vertical orientation. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says the horizontal Face ID support is designed for the upcoming iPad Pro models that are expected to incorporate Face ID and the TrueDepth Camera system. It's also likely that the horizontal support being added for the iPads will also work on iPhones.

More information on what to expect in iOS 12, which will be unveiled in just under a month, can be found in our iOS 12 roundup. Additional details on what to expect in the iPhones coming in 2018, likely in the September timeframe, can be found in our 2018 iPhones roundup.

Related Forums: iOS 12, iPhone
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Apple's MacBook Pro vs. Microsoft's Surface Book 2

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One of Apple's biggest competitors in the laptop space is arguably Microsoft, with its line of portable, productivity-focused Surface Book machines. Microsoft in November released its newest product, the Surface Book 2, a 2-in-1 PC that has quite a few selling points to entice Apple customers.

In our latest YouTube video, we took a look at the 15-inch Surface Book 2 and compared it to the 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro across a number of categories including build quality and design, key features, and overall usage experience for someone in the Apple ecosystem.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Both the Surface Book 2 and Apple's most recent MacBook Pro models are powerful machines with some of the latest technology in processor and graphics cards, so modern apps, games, and other software features run well on either device.

The Surface Book 2 and the MacBook Pro are both well-built with attractive, eye-catching designs, but there are some major differences here. While the MacBook Pro is a traditional laptop with a display and attached keyboard, the Surface Book 2 is a 2-in-1 with a touch display that can be converted into a tablet.

Because of its 2-in-1 design, the Surface Book 2 has an unusual hinged design that lets the display be folded backwards or disconnected from the keyboard entirely for use in a tablet mode. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, has no touch screen and it is a unibody machine.

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Microsoft's Surface Book 2 has a wealth of ports that are missing from the MacBook Pro, which only offers 4 USB-C ports (albeit with Thunderbolt 3). The Surface Book 2 has an SD card slot, a USB-C port, and two USB-A ports, something that Apple users unhappy with the MacBook Pro port situation will appreciate.

The Surface Book 2 may have a 3240 x 2160 touch screen display, but it has some faults compared to the MacBook Pro's 2880 x 1800 display. It's nowhere near as bright, and it's also not quite as crisp. As for the trackpad, the MacBook Pro wins out because of its large trackpad equipped with haptic feedback and support for multiple gestures. Trackpad is one area where PC laptops often lag behind Apple, and the Surface Book 2 is no exception.

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When it comes to the keyboard, the Surface Book 2 has a softer keyboard that's not quite as clicky and solid as the keyboard of the MacBook Pro, but as we well know, the keyboard redesign on the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models has been receiving a lot of attention lately for reliability issues and its seemingly frequent failures, so the Surface Book 2 may have the edge here.

The aforementioned 2-in-1 tablet option for the Surface Book 2 is something Apple just can't compete with. You can press a key on the Surface Book 2's keyboard and pull the display right out of the keyboard to use it as a standalone touch-based tablet with the Surface Pen and the Surface Dial, both of which are ideal for creative tasks.

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There are no input devices like a Surface Pen available for the MacBook Pro, and the main feature that it can boast over the Surface Book 2 is the Touch Bar, something that arguably does not get as much use as a 2-in-1 design.

The Surface Book 2 has a lot of perks that aren't available on Apple's MacBook Pro, but choosing to adopt the machine over an Apple device is still going to be difficult for those enmeshed in the Apple ecosystem. There's a lot of integration between macOS and iOS, and features like Continuity, Handoff, and iCloud will be missed if you're used to Apple devices. Certain software, like Final Cut Pro, is also limited to Apple's machines.

So which one is better? As with a lot of devices that are similar in specs, it's tough to say. It largely comes down to preference - do you want to use macOS or Windows? Most people in the Apple ecosystem likely won't want to give up macOS/iOS perks for the Surface Book 2's feature set, but those who don't use a lot of crossover functionality won't miss macOS as much.

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If you're not tied to a specific operating system and don't mind mixing devices across different platforms, Microsoft's Surface Book 2 is absolutely worth considering as a powerful, capable machine that offers functionality you can't get in a MacBook Pro.

Would you switch from an Apple machine to the Surface Book 2? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tags: Microsoft, Surface Book
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro
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Google's Gmail App for iOS Gains Snooze Button, Support for Sending/Receiving Money With Google Pay

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Google today updated its dedicated Gmail app for iOS to introduce two important new features, which include support for snoozing messages and Google Pay integration.

A new snooze button allows Gmail users to choose to snooze emails that need to be put off until a later time, introducing feature parity with many third-party email apps and the Inbox by Gmail app.

gmail logo
Gmail users can also now send and request money as an attachment in Gmail using Google Pay. Anyone with an email address can receive Google Pay funds, a feature that has long been available on the desktop and Android versions of Gmail.

What's New - You can now use the new snooze button to put off emails that you just can't get to right now.
- You can now send and request money as an attachment in Gmail with Google Pay. You can pay anyone with an email address.

Google in April launched a redesigned Gmail web interface with features that include a revamped and customizable sidebar, actions for inbox messages, and the snooze feature that was also introduced today in the Gmail for iOS app.

Inbox by Gmail, also designed for iOS users who use Gmail, received an update today as well, but it was more minor in scale, focusing on bug fixes and performance improvements. Inbox by Gmail continues to not offer support for the iPhone X, Apple's newest device.

Gmail for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tags: Gmail, Google
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All App Updates Must Be Built With iOS 11 SDK and Include iPhone X Display Support Starting in July

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appstorelogocleanApple today informed developers that starting in July of 2018, all app updates submitted to the iOS App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK and must offer support for the iPhone X's taller display.

Introduced in back in September, the iOS 11 SDK includes new technologies for app developers like Core ML, ARKit, revamped camera APIs, additional SiriKit domains, drag and drop features for the iPad, and more.

Going forward, iOS apps will need to adopt these technologies, and more importantly, Apple will be forcing developers who have not yet implemented support for the new display of the iPhone X to do so. While most major apps have added support for the iPhone X, there are still many apps that have not been updated and continue to have ugly black bars when used on the iPhone X.

This includes some Apple apps, such as iTunes Connect, iTunes Remote, Beats Pill+, Music Memos, and AirPort Utility, so presumably Apple will be updating its own apps with full iPhone X support in the near future given the new guidelines.

iOS 11 delivers innovative features and the redesigned App Store to hundreds of millions of customers around the world. Your apps can deliver more intelligent, unified, and immersive experiences with Core ML, ARKit, new camera APIs, new SiriKit domains, Apple Music integration, drag and drop for iPad, and more. Starting July 2018, all iOS app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK and must support the Super Retina display of iPhone X.

Apple's requirement for app updates to introduce iPhone X support will be implemented just a few months ahead of the launch of new 2018 iPhones that will be similar in design to the existing iPhone X. Apple is rumored to be working on three phones: a 5.8-inch OLED device that's a successor to the iPhone X, a 6.5-inch OLED device that can be thought of as a sort of "iPhone X Plus," and a 6.1-inch LCD iPhone that will have a lower price tag.

Apple in April began requiring all new apps to be built with the iOS 11 SDK and with support for the iPhone X's display.

Tag: App Store
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Deals: Best Buy Flash Sale, 10% Off iTunes Cards at Target, and New Anker Discounts

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Best Buy today launched a new 24-hour flash sale, focusing on headphones and portable speakers by brands like Beats, Ultimate Ears, Bose, and Sony. Although BeatsX and Powerbeats3 have been discounted by more in previous sales, Best Buy's deals today are some of the best online for the headphones. You can check out all the products on sale in the list below, and if you're interested place your order by tonight at 11:59 p.m. CT.

bb flash sale may 7Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Headphones

Speakers

If you're on the hunt for savings on iTunes gift cards, Target this week is offering 10 percent off $25, $50, and $100 App Store and iTunes gift cards. This means you can get each respective tier for $22.50, $45, and $90 during the sale. The iTunes gift cards will be delivered via email and are valid only on purchases made in the U.S. iTunes store.

itunes gift card via paypal
If you're a Costco member, you can save more on iTunes gift cards this week with $100 cards marked down to $84.49, and $25 cards marked down to $21.49. The member exclusive deal ends Wednesday, May 9, and codes will be delivered via email, similar to the Target sale.

Anker today also updated its list of deals for the week, introducing sales on wireless and portable chargers, headphones, lightning cables, and more. Below we've listed every Anker product marked down in the new sale, along with the dates they expire and whether or not you'll need a promo code to get the discounts, so be sure to browse them all before the offers end.

anker sale may 7thMay Anker Sales

No Codes Needed

For more details on this week's sales, head over to our full Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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Intel Foundries Continue to Face Issues and Another Spectre-Like Vulnerability Disclosure May Be Looming

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Despite positive first quarter results for 2018, Intel faces continuing issues with its foundries, both with the oft-delayed 10nm, as well as its own modem production in 14nm. Intel revealed in the earnings conference call that volume 10nm manufacturing had been delayed to 2019, without specifying which part of the year.

The debut of Intel's 10nm process has been a particular sore spot, with the forthcoming Whiskey Lake set to be the fifth new architecture debut in the 14nm process. Prior to 14nm, Intel had maintained a two architecture, "tick-tock" strategy for its processors, where a new foundry node denoted a small architecture update over the previous processor as a "tick," and a more significant architectural evolution as a "tock" on a matured process.

We first reported on the demise of the tick-tock strategy in 2016. Things have only grown worse for Intel since then as 10nm has faced further delays. To put this delay in perspective, Intel's original roadmaps had 10nm technology debuting in 2015. There are several reasons for the delay, but Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained that some features in Intel's 10nm process require up to five or six multi-pattern steps, whereas other competing foundries are known for up to four steps in 10nm or 7nm processes.

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This development has consequences for Intel, its customers, and its competitors. First, Intel has lost the technology advantage it once held over the rest of the semiconductor industry. While you cannot compare the dimension in the node name directly across foundries, competitors such as TSMC, Samsung, and Global Foundries have largely reached parity with Intel's 10nm on 7nm processes, with transistor densities besting Intel's own at 10nm. Intel used the transistor density metric to combat the marketing furor that the node names created, but it seems to have lost those bragging rights as well.

More importantly, Intel's competitors are starting to enter volume manufacturing of competing 7nm nodes. While the technology leadership was only important to Intel before as an enabler for superior products, its relatively recent opening of fabs to outside customers has lost some of its luster as a result of these developments.

In the earnings call, Intel also acknowledged that it expects to cede marketshare to rival AMD, as its rival has enjoyed recent success thanks to the debut of new CPU architectures such as Zen that have begun to close the performance gap with Intel's own CPUs. AMD is expected to make significant gains in the server space thanks to recent developments, and after spinning off its own foundry into Global Foundries, has been using a mixture of the former in-house foundry and TSMC. AMD is expected to debut consumer products on the 7nm node in 2019.

XMM7560The impact to Apple is fewer processor updates for its Mac product line with meager performance improvements between successive generations. Apple famously abandoned PowerPC for its stagnation and performance gap to Intel's x86 offerings, and now the situation seems poised to repeat itself with the persistent rumors that Apple could use its own processors for the Mac line of products.

Apple's iPhone and iPad products are affected as well, as the company's increasing reliance on Intel modems is held back by Intel's troubles in producing modems at volume on its own 14nm process.

Intel's modems, the product of its acquisition of Infineon, had been fabricated on TSMC's processes as had been originally designed until recently. The XMM 7560, Intel's gigabit class modem with CDMA support, will be fabricated on its own 14nm process and is widely expected to be featured in Apple's next mobile products.

Intel also has ambitions to enter the fray for RF and analog design wins, and recently disclosed details on its 22FFL process, a combination of the 22nm, 14nm, and 10nm product lines aimed at lower cost and power solutions, as well as analog and RF. However, notably absent from this disclosure is an announcement of any design wins.

Intel's RF transceivers, such as the SMARTi 7 RF transceiver that is paired with the XMM 7560 modem, would have been a prime candidate for a process such as this. The lack of such an announcement suggests it remains fabricated at a foundry with an established RF/analog process history -- most likely TSMC.

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Finally, Intel may be facing another CPU vulnerability disclosure, with Anandtech reporting via c't magazine, that more vulnerabilities are currently being researched in the security community, and Intel has issued its own statement on data security seemingly in anticipation of this disclosure. The magnitude of the exploits appears to be on the scale of the original Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, and Intel is already preparing patches for the newly identified exploits, according to c't.

These vulnerabilities are expected to affect ARM and AMD as well, as at least one of the original Spectre and Meltdown exploits did, but Intel arguably faces the most scrutiny given its high profile position of market leadership.

Tag: Intel
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Microsoft Build 2018: Windows Timeline and Mixed-Reality HoloLens Annotations Coming to iOS

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Microsoft today held its annual Build developers conference where it announced that Windows Timeline is coming to the iOS Edge Browser app later this year. Timeline debuted in the latest Windows 10 update, allowing users to access a list of previously used apps and browser windows across their devices.

When it debuts in Edge on iOS, users on Windows 10 PCs who own iPhones will be able to more easily keep up their workflows when moving between devices. Microsoft first announced Timeline at last year's Build conference, when it also detailed some initial iOS linking features.

hololens iphone x

Mixed-reality annotations from Microsoft HoloLens on iPhone X

Microsoft then touched on its mixed-reality ambitions with the HoloLens headset, showing off multiple scenarios where enterprises can use HoloLens to accomplish tasks across distances with Microsoft Remote Assist. In one video, a woman asks for help using the HoloLens, and then a man annotates onto her field of vision using his iPhone X.

In another video, a man uses a feature called Layout to carefully design a safe space for heavy industrial equipment before an error is made with the physical installation. Remote Assist and Layout will launch May 22.


The company also announced an update for Visual Studio for Mac, which includes several new features along with the usual bug fixes and performance improvements. The app is gaining new editors for Razor, JavaScript, and TypeScript for building web projects as well as updated UI and templates for building serverless solutions with Azure Functions and .NET Core. Additional updates include:

- .NET Standard Library projects are now a fully supported option for sharing code between platforms when building Xamarin.Forms solutions.

- Preview support for Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC) in Team Foundation Server (TFS) and Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) has arrived addressing one of our top UserVoice requests. Developers now have the option to use the existing Git source control integration or the new TFVC integration to manage their code.

For Android users, there will be a new unified "Your Phone" experience that links a PC to an Android smartphone, so users can get "instant access" to texts, photos, and notifications while on their desktop computer. In its press release, Microsoft said: "Imagine being able to quickly drag and drop your phone’s photos into a document on your PC in one swift movement — without having to take your phone out of your pocket." Those in the Windows Insider Program will gain access to this feature sometime soon.

Microsoft also revealed a new Project Ink Analysis service that will let developers add support for handwriting and other shape recognition to apps on Windows "and other platforms." The company announced this alongside a new unified speech services API for its four speech-related AI tools: speech recognition, text-to-speech API, customized voice models, and translation.

Other announcements include an AI for Accessibility program to accelerate the development of AI solutions for people with disabilities, the continuation of Kinect as Project Kinect for Azure, the Azure Blockchain Workbench, Project Brainwave, Microsoft Excel updates, and more.

Overall, Microsoft said that more than 700 million devices now run Windows 10, up from 500 million one year ago. Office 365 has 135 million active monthly commercial users, up from 120 million last October.

Tag: Microsoft
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Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 4.3.1 to Developers

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Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.3.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third watchOS 4.3.1 beta and more than a month after releasing watchOS 4.3.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4.3.1 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.

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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.

Shortly before watchOS 4.3.1 was introduced, Apple stopped allowing developers to update Apple Watch apps built on the original watchOS 1 SDK. In watchOS 4.3.1, there's an alert when launching a watchOS 1 app that warns that the app may not be compatible with future versions of watchOS. This suggests Apple will drop support for watchOS 1 apps entirely in the future, just as it did with support for 32-bit iOS apps in iOS 11.

Code hidden within watchOS 4.3.1 also suggests Apple is working on introducing support for custom third-party watch faces, but this is likely a feature that would be introduced as part of a major watchOS 5 update rather than through watchOS 4.3.1.

There were no major new features discovered in first three watchOS 4.3.1 betas, which is unsurprising as this is a minor 4.x.x update. It's likely this update focuses primarily on bug fixes to address issues discovered since the release of watchOS 4.3.

Apple does not provide detailed release notes for watchOS, so we may not know what's included in the update until it sees a public release.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
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Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of tvOS 11.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

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Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.4 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the third beta and more than a month after releasing the tvOS 11.3 update.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 11.4 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

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tvOS 11.4, paired with iOS 11.4, reintroduces AirPlay 2 features that were present in early tvOS and iOS 11.3 betas but were removed ahead of release. With AirPlay 2, the same audio content can be played on multiple devices (like the Apple TV) throughout your home, and audio playback can be controlled via the iPhone or through Siri commands. After installing iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4, the Apple TV is also once again be listed in the Home app.

There were no other new features discovered in the first two tvOS 11.4 updates, and it's likely it focuses on bug fixes and other small improvements. Apple's tvOS updates have historically been minor in scale, and we may not find any other new additions.

We'll update this post should new features be introduced in the fourth beta of tvOS 11.4.

Update: Apple has released tvOS 11.4 beta 4 for public beta testers.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
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Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

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Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 update to developers, one week after seeding the third beta and more than a month after releasing the macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 update.

The new macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 beta can be downloaded through Apple Developer Center or the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.

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macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 introduces support for Messages on iCloud, a feature that was previously present in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 betas before being pulled ahead of the release of the update. Messages on iCloud is also available in iOS 11.4.

The Messages on iCloud feature is designed to store your iMessages in iCloud for improved syncing. Right now, incoming iMessages are sent to all devices where you're signed into your Apple ID, but it's not true cloud-based syncing because your old messages don't show up on new devices nor does deleting a message remove it from all of your devices, both features enabled through Messages on iCloud.

Messages on iCloud also allows your older iMessages and attachments to be stored in iCloud rather than on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, saving valuable storage space.

The update also likely includes bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that weren't addressed in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, but as Apple does not provide detailed release notes for macOS High Sierra beta updates, we may not know exactly what's included until the new software is provided to the public.

No major outward-facing changes were found in the first three betas of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5, but we'll update this post should any new features be found in the fourth.

The previous update, macOS High Sierra 10.13.4, brought support for external graphics processors (eGPUs) along with Business Chat in Messages and several other bug fixes and smaller feature improvements.

Update: Apple has made a new version of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 available to public beta testers.

Related Forum: macOS High Sierra
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Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of iOS 11.4 to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

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Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming iOS 11.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the third beta and over a month after releasing iOS 11.3, a major update that introduced several new features.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 11.4 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center.

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The iOS 11.4 update introduces a new ClassKit framework for educational institutions, which supports new features announced at Apple's March 27 education-focused event.

For regular users, the iOS 11.4 update adds features that were originally present in the iOS 11.3 beta but removed ahead of release.

It includes support for Messages on iCloud, designed to store your iMessages in iCloud rather than on each individual device, allowing for improved syncing capabilities. Currently, incoming iMessages are sent to all devices where you're signed in to your Apple ID, but there is no true cross-device syncing.

Messages on iCloud will allow you to download all of your iMessages on new devices, and a message deleted on one device will remove it on all devices. Older messages and attachments are also stored in iCloud rather than on-device, saving valuable storage space.

The iOS 11.4 update also includes AirPlay 2 features, with the Apple TV once again available in the Home app. With AirPlay 2, the same audio content can be played in multiple rooms on devices that support AirPlay 2. AirPlay 2 includes a feature that lets you ask Siri on one device to play content on another AirPlay 2-enabled device. So, for example, you can ask Siri on iPhone to play content on your Apple TV in another room if you're running the iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4 betas.

There were initially signs of support for HomePod stereo sound in the first iOS 11.4 beta, a long-promised feature, but stereo sound didn't work properly and the mention was removed in the second beta. It's not clear if it will return for the update's release.

For the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, there is a new (PRODUCT)RED wallpaper available, which is not available on iPhone X.

iOS 11.3, the previous update to iOS 11, introduced a new Battery Health feature for monitoring the status of your iPhone's battery, Business Chat for iMessage, which lets you communicate with companies directly in the Messages app, ARKit 1.5 with augmented reality improvements, new Animoji on iPhone X, Health Records from participating medical providers, and more.

Update: Apple has made a new version of iOS 11.4 available to public beta testers.

Related Forum: iOS 11
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Apple's Stock Price Reaches All-Time High as Warren Buffett Continues to Praise Company

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Apple's stock price has established a new all-time high, as shares exchanged hands for slightly above $187 in intraday trading today.

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Apple's stock price has been steadily increasing for over a week, driven by the company's successful earnings report on May 1 and Berkshire Hathaway buying 75 million additional Apple shares in the first three months of 2018. North American stock markets have also been rallying in general since Friday.

Berkshire Hathaway now holds 240.3 million shares in Apple, worth over $44 billion at the stock's current price, and the holding company's billionaire CEO Warren Buffett continues to praise the company with bullish comments.

"I clearly like Apple… we bought about five percent of the company. I'd love to own 100 percent of it," he quipped, in an interview with CNBC. "We like very much the economics of their activities, and we like very much the management and the way they think, and the way they act," he added.


Buffett was only joking about his intention of owning 100 percent of Apple shares, which wouldn't be possible due to financial and regulatory considerations, but the comment is a testament to his confidence in the iPhone maker.

Buffett wasn't the only billionaire to offer praise, as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Apple is an "amazing company" in an interview with CNBC, at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. "The top tech companies do have a very strong profit position right now but Apple has the most of all."

Apple now has a market cap fluctuating around the $915 billion mark, as it inches closer to becoming the world's only trillion dollar publicly traded company. Amazon is second closest to that milestone, with a market cap around the $775 billion mark, followed by Microsoft and Google's parent company Alphabet.

In a research note following Apple's earnings results last week, Apple-focused analyst Brian White said Apple remains "one of the most underappreciated stocks in the world with a valuation that remains depressed."

"After the Apple supply chain came crashing down over the past couple of weeks and the market quickly cast an ominous dark cloud over Apple's stock, the company delivered strong second quarter results last night and a solid outlook," wrote White, in a note obtained by MacRumors. "Moreover, Apple minted a new $100 billion stock repurchase program and hiked its dividend by 16 percent."

Looking ahead, Apple's guidance of between $51.5 billion and $53.5 billion in revenue in the third quarter of its 2018 fiscal year would be an all-time high for that period. Its current record for the quarter is $49.6 billion in 2015.

Tag: AAPL
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