Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 56 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for JavaScript, WebAssembly, Web API, Security, CSS, Rendering, Media, and Web Inspector.
Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
For the last several months, Apple has been exploring locations for a new campus focusing on technical support, and according to new reports, sites in North Carolina and Northern Virginia are under consideration.
The Washington Post says Apple has explored opening a campus for 20,000 employees in Northern Virginia, an area Amazon is also considering for its new campus.
Image of Apple Park via drone pilot Duncan Sinfield
Apple told economic development officials in Northern Virginia that it is seeking four million square feet of space to accommodate 20,000 jobs, and officials proposed several potential sites.
The sites proposed by Northam's staff for Apple include office buildings and development sites in Crystal City, privately owned Loudoun County land near the Center for Innovative Technology and the Scotts Run development in Tysons.
Two of those locations, Crystal City and the Loudoun land, are part of sites Northam also pitched to Amazon. Both companies plan to make a decision this year.
Separately, the Triangle Business Journal says that Apple is considering establishing its new campus in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Research Triangle Park, a 22 million square foot research park, has become an attractive site for tech companies and is known as North Carolina's technology hub due to its proximity to NC State, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with North Carolina governor Roy Cooper and commerce secretary Tony Copeland while Cook was in town over the weekend to give the commencement speech at Duke University.
Apple in January said that it would invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy and create 20,000 jobs over the next five years, partially through the launch of a fourth major campus. At the time, Apple said that the campus would not be built in California or Texas, which is where its current campuses are located.
The company declined to provide additional details on the campus' location, and has since been exploring its options and negotiating with various states for tax cuts and other benefits.
Apple's upcoming campus will not be like its major corporate campuses in Northern California, One Infinite Loop and Apple Park, as it is expected to be focused on housing customer service and technical support employees.
Apple CEO Tim Cook in March said that Apple is "not doing the beauty contest thing" for its new campus, taking a dig at Amazon's decision to announce 20 finalist cities as the potential locations for its own new campus. "That's not Apple," he said.
"From our point of view, we didn't want to create this contest, because I think what comes out of that is you wind up putting people through a ton of work to select one, so that is a case where you have a winner and a lot of losers. I don't like that," Cook added at the time.
Update: North Carolina news site WRAL says that its sources believe Apple is close to announcing a deal that could bring up to 10,000 new jobs to North Carolina. Many of those jobs are "high-tech research and development jobs."
Apple is said to be planning to lease office space in Cary to start with, hiring approximately 1,000 employees before building and transitioning to a 300 acre campus in the southern part of Research Triangle Park. Apple may also be planning to invest in additional infrastructure, opening another data center in the state.
Apple's widely rumored trio of new iPhone models expected to be announced in September will feature 18-watt USB-C power adapters in the box for much faster wired charging, according to ChargerLab.
ChargerLab's render of European version of Apple's rumored 18W USB-C charger
The new, rounder-shaped power adapter would connect to an iPhone with a Lightning to USB-C cable, also expected to be included in the box, enabling much faster charging speeds than the tiny square-shaped 5W power adapter included with current iPhones. A render of the European version is shown above.
MacRumors tested the iPhone X with various third-party 18W wired chargers last year, for example, and found that the device reached a 79 percent charge after one hour. With a 5W charger, the iPhone X only reached a 39 percent charge in that time. We explained our methodology in detail in that article.
Today's report, based on information from "inside the production line," corroborates a post on Chinese social network Weibo that also claimed 2018 iPhones will come with an 18W USB-C charger and a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box. That report included drawings of what the North American charger may look like.
All in all, the new 18W power adapter would generally charge an iPhone at least twice as fast as the current 5W charger. Fast charging is supported by the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, and presumably future models, rumored to include a new iPhone X, a larger iPhone X Plus, and a lower-priced 6.1-inch iPhone.
Facebook today announced three new mobile app features aimed at helping its users better "create and save memories," with a launch in India first and then rolling out to the global community "shortly thereafter" (via The Verge).
The first feature allows photos and videos taken with Facebook's in-app camera to be saved directly to a user's Facebook account in the cloud, and not onto their device's storage. This is aimed at the India market due to the popularity of cheaper entry-level devices in the country and their inherent storage limitations.
Image via The Verge
These pictures and videos will only be visible to the user after they're saved, but can then be posted to a wide audience. According to The Verge, "If there's a capacity limit to the new storage options, Facebook doesn't mention it."
Also in the camera, users will be able to share voice messages as "Voice Posts" thanks to a new audio option. This is another aim at the Indian smartphone user market, since local users will be able to quickly record a voice message and send it to a friend, without Facebook needing to update its app with more native language keyboards.
Lastly, users will gain an ability to archive their favorite Facebook Stories before they disappear after 24 hours. Facebook debuted a somewhat similar feature for Instagram late last year, allowing users to highlight their favorite stories permanently on their main profile as a way to show off their personality to any visitors.
Facebook is also gearing up to launch a major Messenger update, which will introduce a dark mode, customizable chat bubbles, and a simplified user interface into the chat app. Facebook revealed the update during its F8 conference earlier this month, admitting that Messenger had become cluttered over the last few years and promising that the new update would greatly streamline and simplify the app.
Netgear's line of connected smart home cameras, called "Arlo," currently only support HomeKit for the Arlo Baby camera. However, this could be changing in the near future as release notes posted by an Arlo community manager on the company forums suggest that support for HomeKit will be part of a soon-to-launch firmware update for the Arlo Pro camera.
There are a variety of wire-free and AC-powered Arlo devices, including the base Arlo camera, Arlo Pro, Arlo Pro 2, Arlo Go, Arlo Q, and Arlo Q Plus. According to the release notes in the forums, HomeKit would only be coming to the wire-free Arlo Pro camera. Recent release notes for the Arlo Pro 2 lack a mention of HomeKit support, but it's unclear why the company would limit HomeKit to just the first generation of the Arlo Pro line.
For the Arlo Pro, the update also includes a fix for high pixelation of images, support for new Wi-Fi codes, and more.
Arlo Pro Camera 1.092.0.13_19715 - Fix for high pixilation of images - Include backwards error correction to minimize ghosting - Add support for new wifi codes - Add support for Homekit - Add support for H15 hardware - Bug Fixes
Netgear introduced HomeKit into the Arlo Baby camera in February through an update to the Arlo iOS app. When smart home devices support HomeKit, users can then add them into Apple's Home app, where it's much easier to connect a variety of products into scenes for a home that can then be controlled with a tap of a button or through Siri.
Yesterday, Netgear launched the Arlo Security Light as a companion product to its cameras. The wire-free LED light illuminates outdoor areas, can detect motion, and mainly touts Amazon Alexa support on its web page.
Apple sells the Arlo Baby camera on Apple.com for $189.95, along with other HomeKit-compatible security cameras like the Logitech Circle 2 ($179.95) and D-Link Omna Cam ($149.95). Arlo Pro cameras are comparatively more expensive because they require a base station. Arlo Pro starts at $249.99 for one camera and a station, and the Arlo Pro 2 starts at $479.99 for two cameras and a station.
Following over a year of shortages, Apple has fully replenished its supply of top case assemblies with glued-in batteries for Mid 2012 and Early 2013 models of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display.
Mid 2012 MacBook Pro and its top case with battery via iFixit
A top case is the aluminum enclosure that houses the keyboard, trackpad, and speaker grilles on a MacBook Pro. For the two aforementioned models, the battery is affixed to the underside of the top case with strong adhesive, meaning the entire assembly needs to be swapped out for a simple battery replacement.
Now that inventory of the top cases is widely available again, Apple is "no longer offering free, delayed repairs" to customers with new service orders, according to its internal memo distributed to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers on Tuesday and obtained by MacRumors from a reliable source.
Instead, Apple has resumed charging its standard out-of-warranty fee for all 15-inch MacBook Pro battery replacements, which is $199 in the United States. The fee is waived if the notebook is covered by an AppleCare+ plan.
Apple first notified service technicians about the "severe constraint" of the top cases in March 2017, when it temporarily stopped facilitating battery replacements. Apple expected the shortage to be resolved by September 15, 2017, but it later extended the date to November 15, 2017, and it evidently took longer.
As a temporary solution, Apple permitted customers to delay service until inventory became available, in exchange for Apple covering the full cost of the battery replacement. If a customer was unwilling to wait, however, Apple permitted them to exchange the MacBook Pro for a functionally equivalent model.
This generous policy resulted in many customers being able to exchange a 2012 MacBook Pro for a much newer model, such as a maxed-out refurbished 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, for just the $199 cost of a battery replacement. The only requirement was that the battery failed Apple's diagnostic test.
Apple stopped offering replacement units for repairs initiated after July 26, 2017, due to a temporary improvement in top case availability, but it began offering free, delayed battery replacements again for repairs initiated after August 25, 2017. That policy is what appears to be ending as of this week.
All in all, customers with a Mid 2012 or Early 2013 model 15-inch MacBook Pro who are in need of a new battery should be able to pay for the service without significant delays or other issues going forward. The process can be initiated from the Contact Apple Support page by selecting Mac → Mac Notebooks.
As Apple's iPad and Microsoft's Surface continue to compete in the tablet market, a new report out today by Bloomberg claims that Microsoft is planning its next tablet line to be lower-cost in an effort to attract people to Surface products who aren't interested in the more expensive Surface Pro. The move is directly aimed at competing with Apple's recently launched $329 iPad, and could see Microsoft debut the devices as soon as the second half of 2018.
According to people familiar with the company's plans, the tablets will be priced at around $400, so they would still be more expensive than Apple's cheapest options. They will be the first Surface devices to adopt USB-C and rounded edges "like an iPad," instead of the square corners of the current devices. Storage tiers will include 64GB and 128GB, as well as LTE options, and the devices will feature 10-inch screens.
The Surface Pro
In an effort to make the tablets 20 percent lighter than the high-end $799 Surface Pro, Microsoft is believed to sacrifice battery life by as much as "four hours fewer" than the current generation (13.5 hours for Surface Pro). Not much is known about the insides of the upcoming tablets, but the people said that Intel will supply the main processor and graphics chips.
The devices will continue to have the kickstand for upright typing and video watching seen in current Surface models, and they will run Windows 10 Pro. Ultimately, the company is trying to enter the low-cost market again after previous attempts with the Surface RT in 2012 and the Surface 3 in 2015, which both started at $499 and performed poorly in comparison to the growing Surface Pro line.
Microsoft has struggled to find a high-volume hit with the Surface devices as well as to introduce a flow of new choices to keep growth steady. In the fiscal year that ended last June, Surface revenue declined 2 percent as the company faced lower volume sales owing to an aging Surface Pro line. Revenue rose 32 percent in the most recent quarter, indicating new interest in Microsoft’s hardware.
Apple sold about 44 million iPads that generated almost $20 billion in revenue during the past four quarters. Microsoft’s entire Surface hardware business produced $4.4 billion for the same period.
Microsoft is believed to be looking at Apple's education-focused iPad launch from earlier in 2018, and the new Surface models "could likewise appeal to students and teachers," as well as schools that look into buying cheap tablets in bulk. With the cheaper Surface, the company is planning low-cost updates to its keyboard cover, stylus, and mouse. Prices haven't yet been pinpointed, but as a comparison the current keyboard cover runs for $160.
Apple's low-cost iPad includes Apple Pencil support, an A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, a Retina display, enhanced cameras, and advanced sensors with a gyroscope and accelerometer, which fuel powerful augmented reality apps through ARKit. Although the iPad is normally $329 for consumers when not on sale, Apple sells it at $299 to schools and says that the tablet was built for mobility and durability for students, sporting an aluminum unibody construction.
Instagram is developing a Usage Insights feature for its social media platform that will let users know how much time they're spending in the app.
TechCrunch on Tuesday highlighted code buried in the Android version of Instagram that reveals the new time management controls headed for the app, and Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom has since confirmed the features are indeed in development for the platform as a whole.
"It's true," said Systrom, adding in a series of tweets: "We're building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional. Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it's the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously."
The upcoming feature reflects a recent trend by big tech companies to acknowledge the unhealthy habits that their products can promote, especially among younger users. Facebook-owned Instagram joins Google and Apple in a pool of companies that have recently confirmed they are developing methods to promote more meaningful engagement online and cut down on anti-social browsing.
Last week, Google announced several tools for users of its latest Android operating system that would help them better manage their screen time. These include a new do not disturb mode called "shush" that makes it easier for users to ignore notifications, and a "wind down" mode that gradually changes screen color to grayscale and lowers brightness as bedtime approaches.
Earlier this year, Apple responded to an open letter from two major investors asking the company to do more to reduce growing smartphone addiction among children. The letter cited several studies revealing the negative effects of smartphones and social media on children's mental and physical health, and urged Apple to offer more tools and choices to help prevent harm.
In a statement provided to The Wall Street Journal, Apple said it "thinks deeply" about how its products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them. "We take this responsibility very seriously and we are committed to meeting and exceeding our customers' expectations, especially when it comes to protecting kids," the company explained.
The fruits of Apple's commitment could appear as soon as next month at the Worldwide Developers Conference, where users can expect a preview of iOS 12: Apple plans to offer updated parental controls in the upcoming version of its mobile OS, starting with a new Digital Health tool that will let parents know how much time their children have spent using iOS devices, which will allow parents to better monitor screen time.
With the Magnetic Mount, which attaches right to the bottom of a Logitech Circle 2 camera, you can stick the Logitech Circle 2 on any magnetic surface, like a refrigerator, a metal door frame, a light fixture, a rain gutter, or any other compatible metal.
We were able to test the Magnetic Mount ahead of its launch, and Logitech has made sure to equip it with a strong magnet that offers a solid attachment to any flat surface. We mounted the camera on a variety of magnetic surfaces, including a refrigerator and the metal frame of a mirror, and were pleased with the sturdy connection.
The Magnetic Mount increases the number of places and ways you can position a Logitech Circle 2 camera, allowing it to get into some areas where it previously would have been tough to mount.
You can use this with a wired or a wireless camera, but it's going to work best with the wire-free options just because there's no need for a plug and there's no cord that gets in the way.
If you want to mount the Logitech Circle 2 in an area where there's no magnetic surface, the Magnetic Mount is still worth checking out. Logitech ships the Magnetic Mount with an adhesive-backed metal plate that can be attached anywhere. You'll want to be careful where you put this metal plate though, because Logitech says it's one time use only and has the potential to damage delicate surfaces.
Logitech's Magnetic Mount joins several other mounting options for the Logitech 2 cameras including the Window Mount and the Plug Mount.
You can purchase the new Magnetic Mount from the Logitech website for $19.99. The Circle 2 camera is priced at $139.99 for the wired version and $149.99 for the wire-free version.
At its Google I/O developer conference last week, Google debuted a revamped Google News app focusing on balanced news delivery with personalized news suggestions, and as of today, the new Google News app is available for download on the iPhone and iPad.
According to Google, the News app is designed to use "the best of artificial intelligence to find "the best of human intelligence" by taking advantage of new AI techniques to organize a constant flow of new information into digestible storylines.
A "For You" section offers up personalized news suggestions based on user interests, which is designed to learn user preferences through continued usage. It displays five personalized stories with a mix of important headlines and local news.
A "Headlines" section offers the top headlines in the world, and an accompanying "Full Coverage" feature is meant to provide details on all of the different ways a particular story has been presented by a variety of news sources, aggregating the headlines from multiple publications.
Through the "Newsstand" tab, you can discover various news websites as well as more than 1,000 magazines, and you can subscribe to paid news sites like The Washington Post and The New York Times using a Google Play account if so desired.
Google News for iOS replaces the existing Google Play Newsstand app, which has been overhauled with a new name and a new design with the launch of Google News. Full release notes for the update are below:
Google Play Newsstand is now Google News!
What's new: - Enjoy an entirely new, cleaner look, designed for a better reading experience - Get up to speed with a smarter briefing that shows you the top five stories for you right now - Explore all the coverage of a story in one place. See a timeline of events, FAQs, people and places involved, perspectives, analysis and more for every news story - Subscribe to credible sources with a single click
Google News can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple and Samsung are back in court this week for a damages retrial that will determine just how much Samsung has to pay Apple for infringing on Apple design patents. Samsung was found guilty of violating the patents back in 2012, but the two companies have been fighting over the amount of money Samsung should pay as a result for the last six years.
The core issue between the two companies is whether the damages should be based on the total value of the device, or whether Samsung should pay a fee based just on the elements of the phone that it copied.
Apple is of the opinion that its payment should be based on the full value of the iPhone, while Samsung is arguing that it should pay a lesser amount based only on a portion of the iPhone's value. "They're seeking profits on the entire phone," argued Samsung lawyer John Quinn. "Apple's design patents do not cover the entire phone. They are entitled to profits only on [infringing] components, not the entire phone."
Yesterday was spent picking jurors, while opening arguments and testimony started today. Key Apple executives like Tim Cook and Jony Ive will not be testifying during the trial, but Richard Howarth, senior director of the Apple Design Team will discuss the design process, and Susan Kare will also take the stand to talk about user interface graphics design.
Apple vice president of product marketing Greg Joswiak was first up to testify this afternoon, where he said that the design of the iPhone is central to Apple's products and that Apple took a huge risk with its development.
Joswiak: With the #iPhone, "we were really risking everything that was making Apple successful at the time…We really were betting the company." #appsung
— Mike Swift (@Swiftstories) May 15, 2018
Back when the verdict of the lawsuit was originally decided in 2012, Samsung was ordered to pay $1 billion, but that was eventually reduced to $548 million.
Of that $548 million, which Samsung paid to Apple in 2015, $399 million was earmarked for the design patent infringements. Samsung at the time argued that it had been ordered to pay a "disproportionate" sum for the design violation, and appealed to the Supreme Court for reduced damages.
Apple is asking for a $1 billion award from Samsung during the damages retrial this week, and has argued that while it's a lot of money, "Samsung infringed millions and millions and millions of times." Samsung, meanwhile, has asked the jury to limit damages to $28 million.
There are a sea of plain old AirPods out in the wild, but the AirPods with an alligator leather case from Hadoro are like no other AirPods you've seen before.
Priced at €590 (~$705) these AirPods are aimed at customers who want to stand out from the crowd and are looking for the most luxurious, high-end AirPods option available for purchase.
Each alligator AirPods charging case is made by hand in Besançon, France, using premium grade American alligator leather, chosen for its quality and its attractive pattern. Given the natural variations in alligator leather, each and every charging case is unique.
Alligator leather is naturally expensive and scarce as it is a limited resource due to strict conservation principles enforced in the United States to make sure it's sustainably harvested. Like all leathers, alligator leather will develop a patina over time for an attractive, one of a kind look.
Hadoro's black alligator leather AirPods charging case, which is what we're giving away, comes equipped with custom-painted matte black AirPods, so not only do you get the unique case, you get AirPods in a color no one else has.
Hadoro is using a durable black paint that is resistant to scratches and wear and tear. Hadoro also makes alligator leather charging cases in a wide range of other colors, including green, blue, brown, burgundy, red, and navy blue, with these shipping with standard white AirPods inside.
Both the AirPods and the AirPods charging case retain full functionality just like standard AirPods you can get from Apple, with a W1 chip for easy pairing, a long battery life, a built-in accelerometer for ear detection, iCloud integration for quick device switching, and gesture support.
All of the Hadoro AirPods charging cases feature an unassuming "H" emblem at the front made from stainless steel, and the alligator leather exterior of the charging case does not interfere with normal operation.
We have one set of alligator leather AirPods to give away. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (May 15) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on May 22. The winner will be chosen randomly on May 22 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
The iPad Pro and the iPhone X were today named Displays of the Year by The Society for Information Display (SID) during the annual Display Industry Awards that will take place at Display Week, a yearly symposium and trade show.
The display awards are meant to highlight "high-quality, innovative work that is taking place in the display industry." All 2018 award winners cover products that were available for purchase during the 2017 calendar year.
Apple's 10.5 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, released in June of 2017, won an award for the ProMotion display technology introduced in the two devices. ProMotion introduces a 120Hz display refresh rate, which is designed to make all motion content on the screen smoother, crisper, and more responsive. It improves text, scrolling, gaming, Apple Pencil latency, movies, and more.
The 10.5 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models feature a 2224 x 1168 and 2732 x 2048 resolution, respectively, with a pixel density of 264 pixels per inch. The two devices also include support for True Tone, which adjusts the white balance of the display to match the ambient lighting in a room, and P3 wide color gamut for more vivid, true-to-life colors.
Apple's iPhone X was also given a Displays of the Year award for its edge-to-edge Super Retina display that's entirely screen (aside from the notch) with no physical buttons. It offers the first OLED display in an iPhone, with support for HDR and True Tone.
The 5.8-in. Super Retina display features resolution of 458 ppi and is the first OLED panel to match the standard set by prior iPhone generations, delivering striking colors, true blacks, a million-to-one contrast ratio and superior, system-wide color management. The HDR display supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, which together serve to further heighten the image quality of photo and video content. In addition, True Tone dynamically adjusts the white balance of the display to match surrounding light for a more natural, paper-like viewing experience.
Other non-Apple devices won awards, too, including the Sharp 70-inch 8K LCD TV and new technologies that include Continental Automotive's 3D Touch surface (the first touchscreen with a 3D surface on top of a display), Colorless Polyimide from Kolon Industries (for creating flexible displays), the Optical In-Display Fingerprint Sensor from Synaptics (for infinity displays with no visible Home button), and the LG UHD Crystal Sound OLED (an OLED panel-integrated speaker).
All of the Displays of the Year award winners will be recognized during the Display Week awards luncheon, set to take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Wednesday, May 23.
DirecTV Now is today officially launching its "True Cloud DVR" for all subscribers of the cord-cutting service, while still retaining that the DVR is in beta at this point. The new DVR feature supports 20 hours of recorded shows and movies on DirecTV Now across devices -- including Apple TV and iPhone/iPad -- at no additional cost. When users record a show on the DVR they will be able to skip through commercials, but DirecTV Now noted that the DVR is "not available for select channels."
Recordings will be deleted after 30 days, and if a user is nearing the 20 hour storage limit the app will notify them. If the limit is then exceeded, then the first program listed will make room for the newest one. The DVR lets users record an entire series or just one episode, and "fast forward and rewind at will."
Notably, DirecTV Now says that it's working on debuting "more capacity options" later in the summer so that users can keep more on their DVR lists for longer periods of time. One of these tiers will be a plan that can to record up to 100 hours and store shows for up to 90 days, for an extra $10 per month.
The company is also revamping the "Watchlist" to become "Bookmarks" so that users can pin shows to easily return to later. In general, it said there will be improved navigation, search options, and more UI overhauls that put a user's favorite programs front and center in the app. The guide itself has been revamped to show more information, and viewers can browse for something new to watch while still viewing their current stream.
Additionally, the service is expanding its on demand content of 25,000 titles with more capacity, so that new episodes on select channels will be available on-demand after they air live. The update also brings the option to add a third stream to an account for $5 extra per month, letting three people stream on one account simultaneously, and improves local channel streaming availability for users traveling. Check out more details about the update below:
Travel with your Locals – granted the local is also available in the market you’re traveling to, you can now stream your local channels when you travel. Less Searching, More Streaming – find favorite shows and movies faster with customizable search. Entertainment, Uninterrupted – you’ll never miss a beat with our new layout, because your stream will be playing in the background, or on a pop-up.
DirecTV Now has apps on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, and for Apple's set-top box the company still has the best price available online for the 32GB Apple TV 4K. Under the offer, you can pre-pay for three months of DirecTV Now at $105 and get the Apple TV 4K at no extra cost. Head over to DirecTV Now for more information on both the Apple TV deal and the new DVR update, which should begin appearing across iOS, tvOS, and Chromecast devices as the day progresses.
Tapbots is today launching Tweetbot 3, a new and updated version of its popular Tweetbot for Mac app.
Tweetbot 3 features a revamped interface that was rewritten from the ground up for the Mac. Compared to Tweetbot 2, the new app features a cleaner interface with more white space, persistent icons for replying, retweeting, liking, profile options, and more, and an overall cleaner look.
With the new timeline design, there are single-click tools for muting an account, blocking an account, or filing a report with Twitter so there is no need to go to a person's profile or open a profile in Safari to perform these tasks.
When viewing details for a particular tweet, there are now persistent icons that enable one-click replies, retweets, and likes for existing replies without needing to hover over the tweet.
At the left side of the app, there's a collapsible side bar that offers easier access to your follower count, lists, direct message conversations, and profile options. While the bar is expanded by default, pulling it to the left will collapse it back down so it's similar to the current Tweetbot 2 interface.
The new one-click button for composing a tweet is now located at the bottom right of the app rather than the top right, and it offers quick access to images, location, and emojis. Mentions and Activity notifications have been merged into one single "Notifications" tab, but there's still an option to view these separately if so desired.
It's much easier to work with multiple columns in the new version of the app. Rather than clicking and choosing "open in new column," you can simply drag from the right hand side of the app to create a column, with a drop down menu at the top available to choose what the column displays. Closing a column is as simple as dragging it back to the left.
There's also a new option for allowing media like GIFs and videos to autoplay right in the timeline, which is enabled by default (but you can disable it in the settings section of the app), and there are new one-click options at the top of the app for saving lists, searches, and DM conversations, plus an option to disable in-line media previews.
Both light and dark themes are available through the preferences portion of the app, and there are more options for customizing font size. Tweetbot 3 users will also notice that the app has an entirely redesigned icon, going from the standard square-shaped Tweetbot 2 bird to a rounded bird icon.
Customers who are planning on purchasing Tweetbot 3 may be concerned about some upcoming changes that Twitter is planning to make to its APIs. Twitter initially planned to introduce these changes on June 19, which would have involved deprecating certain APIs used for streaming purposes, but has indefinitely delayed them following developer outcry.
If and when Twitter does opt to disable these APIs, Tapbots says that Tweetbot 3 and other apps will continue to function, but a few features could be slower or removed. Twitter does, however, have replacement APIs, and should access to these be provided to developers, all functionality that is being deprecated will be able to be re-added to Tweetbot.
Tapbots says that the worse case scenario on Mac is that notifications for likes and retweets will not be displayed, and notifications for tweets, mentions, quotes, DMs, and Follows could be delayed by one to two minutes.
Tweetbot 3 is available from the Mac App Store for $9.99. It is a paid upgrade from the existing Tweetbot and Tweetbot 2 apps, so existing Tweetbot users who want to use the new version of the app will need to purchase it. [Direct Link]
Google has offered an Incognito Mode in its Chrome web browser for nearly ten years now, offering users the chance to disable their browsing history and web cache while the mode remains active. Features like Incognito Mode offer peace of mind since users can navigate to any website without being tracked and without cookies being stored, all while maintaining the same features as a normal web browsing experience.
Today, AndroidPolice reports that Google might extend this feature into its mobile YouTube applications, following the discovery that Google is testing an Incognito mode in the Android YouTube app. For users in the test, Google has combined "Switch account" and "Sign out" into one menu item behind account settings, leaving a new slot for "Turn on Incognito."
When this is on, it appears to act similar to Incognito in other Google products, with a pop-up box explaining that all activity from the Incognito session "will be cleared" and the user will go back to the last-used account when they decide to exit the mode. At the bottom of the screen a small bar reminds users that "You're incognito," and AndroidPolice discovered that subscriptions are hidden as well during this time.
However, YouTube warns that "your activity might still be visible to your employer, school, or internet service provider." Otherwise, the mode in testing acts similarly to Google Chrome's Incognito feature and will prevent any video searches and watched videos from being saved to the account history. Notably, this means the service's recommendations would not be affected by anything watched while a user is Incognito.
Apple's Incognito alternative for Safari is called Private Browsing, which prevents a user's browsing history from being saved, while also asking websites not to track users. If you're wondering how to activate Private Browsing on an iOS device, be sure to visit our How To guide on the topic.
Facebook-owned chat app WhatsApp today updated its iOS and Android applications with a collection of new features aimed at making group chats more in-depth and easier to catch up with. The update also introduces revamped administrator controls to enhance a group's privacy during chats.
To start, users can set a short blurb under their group info to highlight the "purpose, guidelines, or topics" that will be the main focus of the discussions. This way, when a new member joins the blurb will appear at the top of the chat and they'll understand the general goal of the group.
When users have been away from a group chat for a period of time, they can now catch up on any messages that specifically mentioned them, in a similar vein to Discord and Slack. Users can find the catch-up feature behind a new @ button at the bottom right corner of chat. Additionally, a new participant search lets users find anyone in their group through a search bar on the group info page.
Groups have been an important part of the WhatsApp experience, whether it's family members connecting across the globe or childhood friends staying in touch over the years. There are also people coming together in groups on WhatsApp like new parents looking for support, students organizing study sessions, and even city leaders coordinating relief efforts after natural disasters. Today, we're sharing improvements that we've made to groups.
For admins, there is a new control to restrict which members can change the group's subject, icon, and description. Admins can also now remove admin permissions of other group participants, while group creators can no longer be kicked out of the group they started. The company said that it has also introduced a safeguard that will protect users from repeatedly being added to groups they have already left.
The updates are rolling out today for WhatsApp on iOS [Direct Link] and Android.
Apple told Digiday that DoubleClick can now be used to serve traditional banner ads on Apple News, including animated GIF ads, but it can't yet be used to serve HTML5-based ads or pre-roll video ads in the app.
The rollout should make it easier for publishers to sell and fill ad space next to their articles on Apple News. Apple lets publishers keep 100 percent of the revenue from the Apple News ads they sell directly.
"We're thrilled with the results we've seen from the Apple News DFP beta," said Beth Lawrence, executive vice president of digital sales for Discovery. "We've seen strong fill rates across our Apple News channels for Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel, with a peak fill rate over 90 percent."
DoubleClick-served ads in Apple News have limited targeting options, in line with Apple's commitment to user privacy:
The ad-targeting options break down into two categories: context-based targeting and audience-based targeting. Contextual ads can be aimed based on the article's publisher, its content category within Apple News and the tags a publisher appends to the individual article as well as according to whether it appears on an iPhone or iPad. Audience-wise, the ads can be targeted by a person's location (though only at the designated market area level), their gender and their age group.
Apple previously used its now-defunct iAd platform to fill unsold ad space in Apple News, but it later outsourced the job to NBCUniversal.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Instagram is developing a Usage Insights feature for its social media platform that will let users know how much time they're spending in the app.
