Night Shift, the feature first introduced in iOS devices with iOS 9.3, has expanded to the Mac with the release of 10.12.4. Night Shift is compatible with 2012 and newer Macs, so it won't work on older machines.
For those unfamiliar with Night Shift, it's designed to cut down on the amount of blue light you're exposed to during the evening by shifting the display of a Mac to a more yellow tone. Blue light is said to have a harmful effect on your circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Studies suggest that eliminating blue light exposure at night might help you sleep just a bit better, but it does significantly change the look of your display. Many Mac users have been using blue light reduction software f.lux for years now, but with Night Shift, there's no need to install an additional app because it's an operating system feature.
Night Shift's controls can be a little bit difficult to find when you go to use the feature for the first time. The Night Shift options are located in the display section of System Preferences.
Apple's manufacturing partners will begin limited production of the rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro this month, according to IHS Markit analyst Rhoda Alexander, who spoke with Forbes over the weekend.
At this point, however, it remains unclear whether the 10.5-inch iPad Pro will be announced later this spring, at WWDC 2017 in June, or in the fall or later, as rumors are lacking consensus.
Alexander believes an April launch "still looks somewhat tentative," but she said "the necessary elements are starting to come together," so it's possible Apple could do a limited spring launch in the United States and select other countries, followed by a wider rollout as production ramps up.
A person with sources within Apple's supply chain told MacRumors that they still expect the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to launch in the spring. The person requested full confidentiality due to the nature of their position.
It looks like Apple is doing the releases in a staggered fashion. I still expect a 10-inch-range iPad sometime in the spring. The supply chain is pretty clear that it is coming, maybe as soon as April.
A handful of Apple analysts that we spoke to reiterated that a fall launch is more likely, however, and if volume production has yet to begin, then a launch later this year rather than sooner is certainly a possibility.
Apple pundit John Gruber made a good point last week about why it would make sense for Apple to wait until at least October to announce the 10.5-inch iPad Pro: to avoid spoiling the design of the much-rumored iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display, which is expected to be announced in September.
I think the most likely explanation is that Apple is working on a new edge-to-edge design iPad with a 10.5-inch display, but that it’s a 2018 thing, not a 2017 thing. Or, at the very earliest, a late 2017 thing — something they could unveil in October. […]
Among all the other aforementioned things that don’t make sense regarding the rumor that a 10.5-inch iPad is imminent is the idea that the new design language would debut on an iPad, not an iPhone.
But just how much of a spoiler the 10.5-inch iPad Pro might be remains to be seen, as rumors are conflicting about whether the tablet will have an edge-to-edge display or simply a narrow bezel design. It is also uncertain if Apple will remove the Home button on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro in line with the "iPhone 8."
Back in August, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple would launch a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in "2017," and he generally shares accurate information, so there is a good chance the tablets are coming at some point this year. He also predicted the low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.
Just a few weeks ago, mobile marketing firm Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers in its device data. As it turns out, these model identifiers are not for the new 9.7-inch iPad, suggesting that they could be for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would suggest a release by the end of April.
Apple has a "Find my iPhone" feature for lost iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more, but there's also a "Find my AirPods" feature that can be useful if you happen to misplace your AirPods.
Find My AirPods has its limitations because it's not able to work when the AirPods aren't connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth, but the feature can help you locate AirPods lost nearby and it gives clues as to where your AirPods might be found if they're lost out of the range of the iPhone.
It's worth noting that Find My AirPods only works for the AirPods themselves -- it can't locate a lost AirPods Case, nor does it work when the AirPods are disconnected from the iPhone and stored in the case.
Find My AirPods is located within the "Find My" app on iOS devices and iCloud.com. If the AirPods are out of the case and connected to the iPhone, they'll show up on the Find My map just like an iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, or Mac.
If your AirPods are in the case or not currently connected, the last known location will be displayed. If your AirPods haven't been in use at all recently, they'll be listed as "offline."
How to Find AirPods Lost Nearby
Your AirPods are most likely to be misplaced or lost when you set them down momentarily because there are no cords to keep them together or to make them easier to find. Find My AirPods is mostly designed to locate an AirPod that's nearby by playing a sound.
Open "Find My" on an iOS device or iCloud.com.
Tap the AirPods in the list.
Tap "Actions."
Tap "Play Sound."
A soft chirping sound will start playing after you initiate the "Play Sound" command, which will gradually get louder and louder with each chirp to make the AirPods easier to locate.
If just the left or just the right AirPod is missing, you can also mute the sound coming from the left or the right. To stop the sound once the AirPods are located, you'll need to tap "Stop Playing." Putting the AirPods back in the case will also turn the sound off after a few seconds.
How to Find AirPods Lost Far Away
If your AirPods aren't connected to your iPhone, their exact location is not relayed to Find My. In this situation, the last known location of the AirPods when they were connected to an iPhone is displayed.
So, for example, if you use them while at the airport and then leave them behind, their location when they were last connected to your iPhone over Bluetooth will be displayed, even if the AirPods are moved somewhere else.
When the AirPods aren't connected to the iPhone, the last online location is displayed. It is not up to date.
For this reason, using Find My AirPods to locate an AirPod that's been left behind isn't going to be particularly accurate, but it will give you a general idea of where they were lost so you can go back to the location.
When attempting to locate an AirPod this way, tap the little car icon and it will give you Apple Maps directions to the last known location.
Limitations with Find My AirPods
Your AirPods will not play a sound while they're in the case, so if you lose the AirPods and the AirPods Case somewhere in the house, you're out of luck.
There's also no way to track the AirPods case because a Bluetooth connection is needed for Find My AirPods, so there is no option for locating a lost case.
Replacing a lost AirPod or AirPods Case
Apple offers AirPods replacements if one is lost and can't be located. It costs $69 to replace a single AirPod or to replace the AirPods Charging Case.
Back in mid-March, mobile marketing company Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers in its device data, hinting at the imminent release of new hardware.
We did indeed see a new low-cost 9.7-inch iPad introduced via press release on Tuesday, March 21, but as it turns out, the identifiers for the new 9.7-inch iPad don't match up with the iPads Fiksu saw, suggesting there could still be additional iPad models set to be released in the not-so-distant future.
The new iPad's identifier is "iPad6,11" and "iPad6,12," with one number each for for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models. Fiksu, meanwhile, saw the following identifiers in its device logs:
- iPad7,1 - iPad7,2 - iPad7,3 - iPad7,4
These numbers could perhaps refer to new iPad Pro models in two sizes, 12.9-inch and either 9.7-inches or perhaps the new rumored 10.5-inch model. The identifiers Fiksu saw are similar to the existing identifiers for the current 9.7 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) - iPad 6,7 - 12.9 inch iPad Pro (Cellular) - iPad 6,8 - 9.7-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) - iPad 6,3 - 9.7-inch iPad Pro (Cellular) - iPad 6,4
In the original report, Fiksu said the number of new iPad models in its data was steadily ramping up, and that in its experience, those increasing numbers indicate an "imminent" release. Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would put a release somewhere around mid-April.
There has been a lot of confusion around iPad Pro launch timelines. Rumors originally suggested a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model, and perhaps a new 12.9-inch model would launch in the spring alongside the low-cost 9.7-inch model, but we only got the latter.
It is now unclear when we will see new iPad Pro models. The release of a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad (and a new iPhone color and new Apple Watch bands) via press release seems to suggest we aren't going to see a spring event and thus no spring launch of new iPads, but it's not an impossibility.
If a spring debut doesn't happen, we could potentially see a launch at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June or Apple could hold off on a launch until the fall, introducing iPads alongside new iPhones in September. At this point, Apple's iPad plans are murky at best, and we'll need to wait for more information to narrow down a release timeline.
Apple today updated its Apple TV Remote app to introduce iPad support, allowing the Remote app to be used on the iPad for the first time. Prior to today's update, the Apple TV Remote interface was only designed for the iPhone.
For those unfamiliar with the Apple TV Remote app, it's designed to be used with the fourth-generation Apple TV and functions similarly to the hardware-based Siri Remote. It includes support for navigation via touch gestures, Siri commands, gameplay, and more.
On the iPad, the control interface is similar to the iPhone interface, but there's more screen space to display features like the Now Playing window alongside broader controls.
Along with support for the iPad, today's update introduces an enhanced "Now Playing" experience that includes lyrics and playlists for music and chapters, audio tracks, and captions selection for movies and TV shows.
General performance and stability improvements have also been baked into the update.
Apple today updated its iWork apps for iOS devices, Numbers, Pages, and Keynote, to version 3.1, introducing a range of new features and improvements in each app.
Pages, Apple's word processing app, has gained new text formatting options, bookmarks to link sections of a document, support for equations, Touch ID support for password protected documents, and more. A full list of changes for Pages is below:
What's New -Format text as superscript or subscript, use ligatures, and change text background color -Add bookmarks to easily link from one part of your document to another -Add elegant mathematical equations using LaTeX or MathML notation -Quickly open password-protected documents using Touch ID -Import and export documents in Rich Text Format (RTF) -Easily replace missing fonts in your document -New leader lines make pie charts easier to read -Customize dates, times, and currencies for your language or region
Numbers, Apple's app for creating spreadsheets, has new options to add new or historical stock information to documents, a revamped editing experience, a new action menu that makes it easier to get to the most common tasks, Touch ID support, and more. A full list of changes is below:
What's New -Easily add current or historical stock information to spreadsheets -Use the new My Stocks template to easily track your portfolio -A powerful new editing experience makes entering data and formulas fast and easy -New action menu keeps most common tasks one tap away -Quickly open password-protected spreadsheets using Touch ID -Format text as superscript or subscript, use ligatures, and change text background color -New leader lines make pie charts easier to read -Easily replace missing fonts in your spreadsheet -While collaborating on a spreadsheet, you can now cut, copy, paste, and duplicate sheets -Customize dates, times, and currencies for your language or region -Edit rich text within table cells
Keynote, Apple's presentation app, includes an improved rehearsal feature with slide, presenter notes, and timer in one view, new options for customizing slide backgrounds, Touch ID support for opening password protected documents, and more. A full list is below:
What's New -Change slide master and customize slide background -Rehearse a presentation with current slide, presenter notes, and timer all in one view -Quickly open password-protected presentations using Touch ID -Format text as superscript or subscript, use ligatures, and change text background color -Easily replace missing fonts in your presentation -New leader lines make pie charts easier to read -Import Keynote 1 presentations -Post interactive presentations on Medium, WordPress, and other websites -Customize dates, times, and currencies for your language or region
All three of the new updates are available for download immediately. Customers who already own Apple's iWork apps will be able to obtain the new updates at no cost.
Many of the same changes have also been introduced in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for Mac, all of which also have updates available this morning.
Developers hoping to attend Apple's 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California can now apply for a chance to purchase a ticket, with Apple's lottery having kicked off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Tickets are priced at $1,599.
Tickets will be doled out using a random selection process, implemented because in past years, tickets sold out within a matter of minutes. Approximately 5,000 attendees are expected at the conference, which will also be attended by Apple executives and more than 1,000 Apple engineers.
The 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference will start on Monday, June 5, and will last through Friday, June 9. Apple announced the conference in mid-February this year, as it is the first that will be held outside of San Francisco in many years. In 2017, WWDC will take place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, which should be a welcome change for many developers as it is less expensive to secure accommodations.
Apple says that it is working with the city of San Jose and local businesses to plan "very special experiences" around San Jose during the week of the conference, so this year's event promises to be unique.
Along with the ticket lottery, Apple is now accepting WWDC scholarship applications for students and STEM organization members who don't have the funds to attend the conference. Scholarship applicants, who must be at least 13 years old, have a chance to earn both tickets and accommodations for the 2017 event.
Apple is asking prospective scholarship attendees to share a visually interactive scene created in Swift Playgrounds that can be experienced in three minutes. Swift Playgrounds for iPad or Xcode on macOS must be used, and Apple will judge applications on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and the content of written responses.
Apple's ticket lottery will end on Friday, March 31 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, while Apple will take scholarship applications until Sunday, April 2 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Lottery winners are likely to be notified on April 3 by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time as that is when Apple will begin charging credit cards.
Developers and students who are not selected to purchase a ticket will be able to watch both the keynote event and sessions with engineers through the Apple Developer website and through the WWDC app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Apple today released tvOS 10.2, marking the second major update to the tvOS operating system that was released in September of 2016. tvOS 10.2 has been in testing since January 24, with Apple having seeded six betas to developers before releasing the software to the public.
The tvOS 10.2 update can be downloaded on the fourth-generation Apple TV using the Settings app. Go to System --> Software Update to install. For those who have automatic software updates turned on, the Apple TV will be upgraded to tvOS 10.2 automatically.
According to Apple's beta release notes, tvOS 10.2 introduces improved scrolling behavior, allowing tvOS users to scroll through large lists of information more quickly. A longer swipe on the Siri remote activates the new scrolling mode, and a swipe on the right side of the remote allows users to navigate specific indexes.
While Apple's release information only focused on the new scrolling mode, the update also likely includes other small feature tweaks under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements.
Apple today released macOS Sierra 10.12.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sierra operating system that launched on September 20. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 has been in testing since January 24, with Apple having seeded eight betas ahead of its public release.
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 is a free update for all customers who are running macOS Sierra. The update can be downloaded using the Software Update function in the Mac App Store.
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's Night Shift mode to the Mac for the first time. Night Shift, first introduced on iOS devices in iOS 9.3, is designed to gradually shift the display of a device from blue to a subtle yellow, cutting down on exposure to blue light. Blue light is believed to interrupt the circadian rhythm, disrupting sleep patterns.
Night Shift is activated through the Displays section of System Preferences, where a setting to have it come on at sunset and turn off at sunrise is available. It can also be set to turn on and off at custom times. Night Shift can also be toggled on manually using the Notification Center or Siri.
The 10.12.4 update focuses primarily on Night Shift, but the update also includes dictation support for Shanghainese, cricket score integration for Siri, improved PDFKit APIs, and new iCloud Analytics options.
Apple today released a new software update for the Apple Watch, upgrading watchOS 3.1.3 to watchOS 3.2. watchOS 3.2 is the second major update to the watchOS 3 operating system that was released in September of 2016. watchOS 3.2 has been in testing since January 30 and Apple seeded seven betas ahead of release.
watchOS 3.2 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 must have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
An iPhone running iOS 10 or later is required to download the new software, but it is available for all Apple Watch models.
watchOS 3.2 introduces Theater Mode, which is designed to let Apple Watch owners mute the sound on their device and disable Raise to Wake, preventing the screen from lighting up with arm movement.
Apple Watch users are still able to receive haptic feedback-based notifications, and incoming information can be viewed by pressing down on the Digital Crown or tapping on the screen.
The update also brings SiriKit to the Apple Watch, letting users ask Siri to do things like send messages, send payments, book a ride, log a workout, make a call, or search through photos. SiriKit has been available on iOS devices since the release of iOS 10, but is new to the Apple Watch.
Apple today released iOS 10.3 to the public, marking the launch of the third major update to the iOS 10 operating system since it launched on September 13, 2016. iOS 10.3 has been in testing since January 24 and Apple seeded seven betas to developers and public beta testers before releasing the software.
iOS 10.3 is available as a free over-the-air update for all iOS 10 users, and it can also be downloaded via iTunes. Xcode 8.3 with support for Swift 3.1, iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4, tvOS 10.2, and watchOS 3.2 is also available today.
As a major 10.x update, iOS 10.3 includes both significant additions and more minor design tweaks and changes. The biggest new consuming-facing feature is "Find My AirPods," which has been added to the Find My iPhone function to help AirPods owners locate a lost earphone should one be misplaced.
Find My AirPods can play a sound to help users find an AirPod misplaced nearby, and it also saves the last known location of when an AirPod was connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth, but it can't locate the AirPods when the iPhone isn't nearby nor can it locate the Charging Case.
iOS 10.3 introduces a new Apple File System (APFS), which is installed when an iOS device is updated. APFS is optimized for flash/SSD storage and includes improved support for encryption. Other features include snapshots for freezing the state of a file system (better for backups), space sharing, and better space efficiency, all of which should result in a more stable platform. Customers updating to iOS 10.3 should first make a backup given that the update installs a new file system.
Some App Store changes are coming in iOS 10.3, allowing developers to respond to customer reviews for the first time. iOS users are also able to label reviews in the App Store as "Helpful" or "Not Helpful" for surfacing more relevant review content, and Apple plans to limit the number of times developers can ask for a review. The update even adds a master switch that lets customers turn off app review request prompts all together.
Other new features in iOS 10.3 include a revamped open/close animation for apps, an Apple ID profile in Settings, a better breakdown of iCloud storage usage, warnings about outdated apps that may not work with future versions of iOS and could slow down devices, HomeKit support for programmable light switches, improvements to SiriKit (bill paying, bill status, and scheduling future rides), CarPlay interface improvements, and iCloud analytics options.
Following in the footsteps of Google Maps and Find My Friends, Facebook today announced that users will be able to track their friends and family within Facebook Messenger using a new feature it calls "Live Location."
The hour-long location sharing feature is beginning to roll out globally today, and Facebook said it should help friends coordinate with one another when making plans, as well as notifying a significant other when you're on your way home. The plan-making focus falls in line with Facebook Messenger's recent Snapchat-like addition "Messenger Day."
Facebook gave users a step-by-step guide to the process of location sharing within Messenger, which they can follow using the steps below:
To share your Live Location in a message on iOS, tap the Location icon or tap the More icon and then select Location.
With today's update, you'll see a map of your current location and the option to tap a blue bar to share your Live Location.
If you choose to share your Live Location, the person or people you share it with will be able to see where you are on a map for the next 60 minutes.
You'll be able to see an estimate of how long it would take to get to others' locations by car. (The ETA is seen by the person with whom the location is shared.)
You can stop sharing your Live Location at any time; just tap Stop Sharing.
A small clock in the lower right hand corner of the map will also let you know how much longer you’re sharing your location for.
The social media company also mentioned that today's location sharing update is "completely optional" and that users "are always in control." Facebook has been beefing up Facebook Messenger over the past few months, previously adding Reactions, Messenger Day, group video chat, and more into the split-off messaging app.
Apple today released its 2017 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, outlining progress that the company has made in its supply chain by highlighting its "highest ever" work hour compliance, advocating the success of Apple's Supplier Education Program, and celebrating more than 2.4 million workers who were trained on their rights last year. Apple releases such progress reports each year as a transparent move to show the strides it takes to improve the work lives of its device manufacturing employees, who work to create products including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more.
The company said that over the past year it audited 705 total suppliers and discovered that compliance with its 60-hour maximum work week mandate has reached 98 percent, increasing from 97 percent last year. Throughout the year, Apple tripled the number of suppliers taking part in its Energy Efficiency program, leading to the reduction of over 150,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, "the equivalent of taking 31,000 cars off the road for a year."
Apple also said that its successes in supplier responsibility included waste reduction, Clean Water initiatives, and more "responsible sourcing efforts" to expand beyond so-called "conflict minerals" to include cobalt for the first time.
Apple’s responsible sourcing efforts expanded beyond conflict minerals to include cobalt for the first time. For the second year in a row, 100% of Apple’s tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold (3TG) smelters and refiners are participating in independent third-party audits. Apple has also partnered with numerous NGOs to drive positive change on the ground, including Pact who are working to provide essential health and safety training to artisanal mining, and are building programs to help children stay in school.
An article by BuzzFeed today highlights Apple's expansion beyond conflict minerals, which are referred to in that way due to their source within war-torn countries that mine the minerals -- tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold -- with little to no respect for workers' rights. Apple's transparency on the subject comes at a time when the Trump administration is said to be considering suspending legislation that previously required companies to disclose whether or not their products contained conflict minerals.
According to Apple's senior director of supply chain social responsibility, Paula Pyers, the company removed three total suppliers (of the 705 audited) for failing to meet its various labor and human rights, environmental standards, and health and safety codes. Conflict mineral suppliers were more harshly cracked down upon, with 22 total suppliers tied to the controversial practice removed from Apple's supply chain over the past year.
“We’ve been really clear with our suppliers that, notwithstanding any changes to regulations — or deregulation, if you will — we’ll continue to run the same program we’ve been running for the last six years,” Pyers said. “We will continue to drive third-party audit programs. We’ll continue to dig really deep, and stand up accountability and our incident report system. Candidly, we don’t plan any change in that which we are doing.”
The company's transparency in 2017 has stretched to include cobalt mining for the first time, including a list of every cobalt supplier in its supply chain, all of which are facing third-party audits. Cobalt is not officially considered a conflict mineral, but recent investigations into the cobalt supply chain potentially violating child labor laws has led to tech companies joining up to form the Responsible Cobalt Initiative to fight the human rights abuses.
Pyers told BuzzFeed that, even in the face of lax legislation potentially passed by the White House, Apple will "continue to do what we're doing" in regards to its annual Supplier Responsibility reports and audits. "We'll continue to call for collective action because we truly believe, whether it's regulated or self-regulated, this is the way business should be run, and the way we'll continue to run our business."
Read more about Apple's Supplier Responsibility initiatives here.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
Apple is "stepping up" its augmented reality eyewear efforts, with an eventual goal of releasing a consumer-facing product, according to the Financial Times.
Apple first began to build a team to examine the feasibility of a head-worn device more than a year ago. Now, it is devoting more resources to its augmented-reality efforts, with the aim of taking it from a science project towards a consumer product, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
Don't expect to be wearing a pair of Apple-branded augmented reality glasses in the near future, however, as the report said any potential launch remains at least a year away, or "perhaps much longer."
Bloomberg was first to report that Apple is exploring digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to iPhones and "show images and other information in the wearer's field of vision." The report said the digital glasses, which may use augmented reality, would not launch until 2018 at the earliest if at all.
One person who expects a sooner launch is tech evangelist Robert Scoble, who insists that Apple is working on a pair of "mixed reality" glasses that will debut alongside the 2017 iPhone lineup, according to his sources. He also said Apple and German company Carl Zeiss are working together on augmented reality optics.
Scoble's information has yet to be corroborated by other sources, so 2018 or later remains a more likely timeline at this point.
Last year, Cook said that Apple continues to "invest a lot" in augmented reality, and the company has filed several patents related to the technology over the past decade, confirming its interest in the field. However, Apple routinely tests new products and technologies that are never publicly released.
Apple's augmented reality efforts have been preceded by the Microsoft HoloLens, a cordless, self-contained Windows 10 holographic headset that mixes virtual reality with augmented reality. Microsoft began shipping the HoloLens Development Edition in March 2016 for $3,000 in the United States and Canada.
Wells Fargo today has deployed card-free access to all 13,000 of its ATMs in the United States, while also announcing that transactions through NFC-enabled mobile wallets -- including Apple Pay -- will launch later this year. Customers will be able to make NFC withdrawals with Apple Pay, Wells Fargo Wallet, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay through a simple NFC-enabled tap and PIN authentication when the feature launches sometime in 2017.
Launching today, however, is Wells Fargo's new One-Time Access Code feature, which lets customers authenticate at an ATM by entering an 8-digit code along with their debit or ATM card PIN, all without needing their physical card. To do so customers will log into the Wells Fargo app and choose "Card-Free ATM access" within Account Services to receive their 8-digit access code. After entering the code and their PIN, the company said that the ATM transaction process is the same as when using a physical card.
“At Wells Fargo, we believe the future is cardless, and the launch of One-Time Access Code provides our 20 million mobile banking customers another convenient way to manage money,” said Brett Pitts, head of digital for Virtual Channels. “This new ATM feature exemplifies Wells Fargo’s commitment to innovation.”
In addition to One-Time Access Code, later this year customers will be able to initiate a cardless ATM transaction with the “tap and pay” technology in an NFC-enabled smartphone. When this feature is live, a customer will be able to initiate a transaction by signing into a leading mobile wallet (Wells Fargo Wallet, Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay), and holding the phone near an NFC-enabled ATM terminal. Once authenticated, the customer will input their debit or ATM card PIN and complete their transaction.
Apple Pay support at Wells Fargo and Bank of America ATMs has been reported on for well over a year, with Bank of America adding in NFC Apple Pay withdrawals to around 2,400 of its ATMs last summer. Wells Fargo today didn't mention a specific launch date for the debut of Apple Pay at its ATMs, but it did hint that the feature could launch on more than 5,000 of its machines in the U.S., which represent the number of its ATMs that are already NFC-enabled.
T-Mobile customers who purchase a smartphone or tablet on an Equipment Installment Plan, which divides the device's cost into monthly payments, can enroll in JUMP! for $12 per month and upgrade to a new smartphone or tablet once half the cost of their current device is paid off. T-Mobile covers the remaining payments following trade in.
Now, the carrier has added a perk for iPhone and iPad owners that makes JUMP! more competitive with Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program.
T-Mobile today announced that JUMP! now includes "AppleCare Services" for no additional charge. These services include typical AppleCare+ perks such as 24/7 priority access to AppleCare technical support via chat or phone and accidental damage coverage, including the same $29 fee for iPhone screen damage.
- 24/7 priority access to AppleCare technical support via chat or phone - Low service fees such as $29 for iPhone screen damage - $0 for battery service - Apple-certified repair or replacement at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers - Hardware service with genuine Apple parts - Software support for iOS, iCloud, and Apple-branded iOS apps - Hardware repairs and service backed by Apple
By comparison, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program spreads out the full cost of an iPhone and AppleCare+ into monthly payments over two years with zero percent interest, with the option to upgrade to a new iPhone after as few as 12 payments. A base model iPhone 7 with AppleCare+, for example, costs $32.41 per month.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will begin volume production on Apple's A11 chip in April, with a production capacity of 50 million units of the chip aimed to be completed before July. The A11 chip is slated to power the new iPhone lineup launching later in 2017, including what is believed to be iterative "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus" updates, along with the specced-out "iPhone 8."
The A11 chips will be built on a 10-nanometer FinFET manufacturing process and are packed with a "wafer-level integrated fan-out" technology, according to a report by the Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes). For the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, TSMC currently manufactures the A10 chip on a 16nm FinFET process. The jump to 10nm is tipped to yield chips that are more power efficient, and subsequently provide end user experiences that are snappier.
Before the end of 2017, TSMC is expected to "maintain a capacity" for producing a total of 100 million of Apple's A11 chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will begin volume production of Apple's A11 chips in April and will prepare a capacity for production of 50 million units of the chip before July, according to a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report.
The A11 chips, which will power the upcoming iPhone series slated for launch in September 2017, will be built on a 10 nm FinFET process and packed with a wafer-level integrated fan-out (InFO) packaging technology, said the report.
Last summer it was confirmed that TSMC would become the sole supplier of the A11 chip, with the design of the chip reportedly being completed around that time as well. The supplier was also the sole maker of the A10 chip in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which ultimately helped lead TSMC to revenue growth towards the end of last year.
TSMC company spokesperson Michael Kramer earlier this month said that an official decision regarding the creation of a major production plant in the United States would now be held off until 2018. Kramer said the company would lose much of its "flexibility" if it moved production stateside, but if it does end up building a U.S. plant for the production of Apple chips it could become an investment worth upwards of $16 billion.
Amber Rudd, the United Kingdom's home secretary, recently mentioned that it is "completely unacceptable" that the government could not gain access to messages stored on mobile applications protected by end-to-end encryption, such as WhatsApp. Rudd is calling for the UK police and other intelligence agencies to be given access to such apps to thwart any future terrorist plots, coming in the wake of the attack in London last week (via The Guardian).
Rudd's next step is summoning leaders of various technology companies to a meeting with the UK government on March 30 "to discuss what to do." The home secretary mentioned that the government would be willing to pass completely new legislation focusing on encrypted messaging and mobile apps if the talks this Thursday don't go her way. Rudd referred to WhatsApp, and similar apps, as potential "secret places" for terrorists to hide.
But she stressed it was her desire to persuade internet and social media companies to cooperate voluntarily with the government on this and also the posting of extremist material online.
Rudd added: “It is completely unacceptable. There should be no place for terrorists to hide.
“We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp, and there are plenty of others like that, don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.”
Rudd's focus on WhatsApp is spurned by information that Khalid Masood -- the individual behind the London attacks outside Parliament -- used the Facebook-owned messaging app just minutes before the attack. While police believe Masood worked alone, they are seeking as much information about him as possible, including what or who he might have messaged through WhatsApp. While the police know Masood opened WhatsApp before the attacks, it is unknown whether or not he sent or received any messages.
In a statement, WhatsApp itself said that it was "horrified" by the events in London and would be "cooperating with law enforcement" as events proceed. The situation in the United Kingdom has already drawn parallels to the Apple-FBI dispute that lasted a few months last year, with Rudd directly mentioning Apple CEO Tim Cook at one point in an interview with the BBC.
Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple which also uses end-to-end encryption, has previously said it would be "wrong" for governments to force Apple to "build a back door" into products. But Ms Rudd said: "I would ask Tim Cook to think again about other ways of helping us work out how we can get into the situations like WhatsApp on the Apple phone."
Apple, and those that side with the company, argued last year that it would be a slippery slope to place a backdoor into iOS for the sole purpose of assisting the government in its anti-terrorism measures. The company said that a "master key" would be able to get information from any iPad and iPhone, despite the FBI saying that all it wanted was key information from the iPhone 5c at the center of the debate.
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Apple is "stepping up" its augmented reality eyewear efforts, with an eventual goal of releasing a consumer-facing product, according to the 
