Messages users sending texts in iOS 11 this fall will be able to share iMessages with two all-new Screen Effects in Apple's texting app.
Specifically, a new "Echo" option sends any selected piece of text to friends by multiplying the message all over the screen. The second, "Spotlight," puts an emphasis on your message by placing a large spotlight on the text as it's sent over to your friend's iOS device.
No new Bubble Effects have been added to iOS 11, at least not in the first developer beta of the software.
Screen Effects and Bubble Effects made their debut in iOS 10 last year, where Messages as a whole received a major overhaul thanks to the addition of the Messages App Store. On the new platform, apps have become available to download as miniature versions within Messages, including apps for payments, games, dinner reservations, and stickers.
Messages will be getting another overhaul in iOS 11, although one that's not as big as last year's update. This fall, the app's main new addition will be a redesigned App Drawer for your Messages apps, which are placed as a scrollable toolbar below the texting field. Apps should be easier to access in comparison to iOS 10's user interface, which requires one tap to get into the App Drawer, and another to go to Recents to find the app you want.
Check out the full MacRumors iOS 11 roundup for more features coming to Messages, including peer-to-peer payments using Apple Pay and full chat archive synchronization in iCloud, so transferring over to a new iPhone retains all of your old conversations.
It's just under a month until the one year anniversary of Pokémon Go, which began appearing on the iOS App Store in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in early July of 2016. To celebrate the occasion, developer Niantic today revealed a few events coming to Pokémon trainers both inside of the game and outside, in the form of real-life Pokémon Go Festivals.
Starting off within the game, the Solstice Event will kick off next week on June 13 and feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon prominently in the wild, increased XP bonuses for accurate Poké Ball throws, and Lucky Egg discounts in the shop. Further updates and events were left vague by Niantic, but the company said that trainers can look forward to a new update soon "focused on collaborative group gameplay."
Gyms will be temporarily disabled for a period of time to prepare for the Solstice Event, but the developer didn't specify when that will happen. Additionally, Niantic announced that its game has reached 750 million global downloads.
We’re celebrating two amazing milestones—Pokémon GO’s one-year anniversary and 750 million global downloads—and you’re invited to join in on the fun! Over the next few months, we’re hosting real-world and in-game events planned alongside some very exciting new features that will get you outside exploring the world with family and friends. Get ready for an action-packed couple of months!
Staying true to Pokémon Go's gameplay, Niantic also announced Pokémon Go Fest Chicago, which will encourage players to get outside and visit downtown Chicago's Grant Park on July 22 to participate in various Pokémon-themed activities. Tickets for the event, as well as more detailed information, will go live on June 19. Similar festivities will be held across Europe from June to September, as well as in Yokohama, Japan where a "Pikachu Outbreak" event will debut in August.
Earlier this week, Apple announced a new augmented reality developer platform called ARKit at its WWDC keynote, describing how the technology will generate more true-to-life AR interactions within games like Pokémon Go. At the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm this week (via Bloomberg), Niantic CEO John Hanke reinforced the idea that Apple's push into AR should not be taken lightly.
“I don’t think anyone should bet against Apple,” John Hanke said at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm. "I personally think AR is going to be a really important next computing platform that can succeed the mobile phone. It’s a few years off."
According to Hanke, the new and ARKit-backed version of Pokémon Go will be released this fall. During WWDC, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi presented ARKit and the Pokémon Go update enhancements coming soon, stating, "The Pokémon is so real, he's right there on the ground. As the ball bounces, it actually bounces right there in the real environment. It's AR like you've never seen it before."
Apple's latest MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac models are now widely available at all but a few of its retail stores across the United States, and customers now have the option to reserve a model for in-store pickup on its website.
Apple began accepting online orders for the new MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac models on Monday, but delivery estimates currently range between June 12 and June 22 in the United States, so customers looking to purchase a new Mac earlier than next week may have better luck visiting an Apple Store.
Apple's in-store pickup tool shows the new MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac models are also in stock today at select Apple Stores in Canada, but we recommend calling ahead to ensure supplies remain available.
The refreshed MacBook and MacBook Pro feature Intel's seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, improved Intel and AMD graphics options, and faster SSD storage in 12-inch models, while the new iMac models received the same treatment plus Thunderbolt 3 ports and brighter Retina displays compared to the previous generation.
Former Apple employees who worked on Siri believe the virtual assistant is struggling to catch up with its rivals because of a lack of ambitious goals stemming from the company's overarching concern with user privacy, a report by The Wall Street Journal revealed on Thursday.
Unlike Amazon and Google, which leverage and retain user data off-device to inform and enhance queries put to their respective smart speakers, Apple is said to work within a culture that prioritizes user privacy, "making it difficult to personalize and improve" Siri, according to ex-Apple employees. The project has also reportedly suffered from the departures of key members as a result, some of whom went to competitors.
About a year after [Steve] Jobs’s death, Apple hired Bill Stasior, an Amazon search executive, to oversee Siri. Mr. Stasior studied artificial intelligence at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but his expertise was in search rather than speech or language. This led some members of the Siri team to believe he didn't fully appreciate the product's original vision: to expand beyond the iPhone to third-party apps.
Former staff reportedly offered this loss as the main reason behind the departure of Siri co-founders Adam Cheyer and Dag Kittlaus, who left to found Viv, which was acquired by Samsung and is now working closely with Samsung's Bixby assistant team. Apple finally started opening up Siri to third-party developers last year, but many former Siri engineers believe it didn't come soon enough, while developers still remain unhappy at the lack of openness behind the scenes.
The limited scope of Siri's commands disappointed many developers, said Brian Roemmele, a developer who attended the announcement. "People went from being happy and excited to sitting in workshops and realizing, 'I can’t use it,'" he said. "Some went back to that attitude: Siri's always going to be dumb."
According to the article, the first inkling Apple got that it was falling behind its rivals came when members of the Siri team arrived at an Amazon event in 2014.
Apple's three-year-old product had gained popularity for its ability to handle calendar appointments, text messaging and a few other simple tasks based on voice commands. Siri had no real competitors.
The outlook quickly changed as the team watched Amazon's video showing off a small, voice-controlled speaker that could play music, order products and search the web. It demonstrated Amazon had figured out how to isolate voices from background noise and have a digital assistant respond to requests from a distance — abilities Siri hadn't yet mastered.
'People at Apple's anxiety level went up a notch,' said a former member of Apple's Siri team who was there that night.
WSJ notes that Siri's performance still doesn't match Amazon's Echo or Google Home because of the collective weight of Apple's self-imposed limitations. For example, in tests across 5,000 different questions, Siri answered accurately 62 percent of the time, lagging the roughly 90 percent accuracy rate of Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, according to Stone Temple, a digital marketing firm.
It remains to be seen whether Apple feels it needs to compete on these specific AI metrics, or if it sees a future for Siri in other areas, such as linguistics – Siri works across 21 language, while Alexa and Google Assistant only speak English and German.
During this week's Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a number of forthcoming enhancements to Siri with iOS 11, including live language translation, contextual query comprehension, and an ability to learn a user's interests. It also unveiled its own Siri-powered premium smart speaker, HomePod, but emphasized sound quality and music enjoyment over the general intelligence of its virtual assistant, which some might say speaks volumes as to Apple's future ambitions in the AI space.
iFixit has published a teardown of the new 4K 21.5-inch iMac, which reveals that – surprisingly – Apple's smallest all-in-one desktop machine has both removable RAM and a Kaby Lake processor that's not soldered onto the logic board.
iFixit made the discovery by disassembling Apple's $1,299 mid-range 3.0GHz stock option, which includes 8GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory, a Radeon Pro 555 graphics card with 2GB of VRAM, and a 1TB 5400-RPM hard drive.
After slicing through the adhesive that secures the 4K display to the iMac's housing and removing the power supply, hard drive, and fan, iFixit discovered that the memory modules aren't soldered onto the logic board like previous models, but instead sit in two removable SO-DIMM slots.
Similarly, after detaching the heatsink and removing the warranty voiding stickers on the backside of the logic board, iFixit found that the Intel SR32W Core i5-7400 Kaby Lake processor sits in a standard LGA 1151 CPU socket, making it possible to replace or upgrade the CPU without a reflow station.
As iFixit notes, an upgradeable iMac is a big shift in direction from Apple. The last 21.5-inch iMac with expandable memory was the 2013 model, while the last to include a modular CPU came in 2012. iFixit speculates that the change to a socketed processor may be because Intel's desktop class Kaby Lake line-up currently lacks any permanently mountable chips, but it's conceivable Apple could have requested one if it so chose.
It's important to note that Apple officially considers these parts non-user-replaceable, which is easy to see given the relative difficulty accessing them – compare the work involved in accessing the 21.5-inch iMac's RAM slots, with the external memory hatch found in the 27-inch iMacs, for example. That said, the fact that replacing these components is practically possible will come as music to the ears of tinkerers armed with the right tools and instructions.
Despite the upgradeable RAM and CPU, iFixit awarded the 2017 21.5-inch iMac a 3 out of 10 for repairability (10 being easiest to repair) because of the challenge involved in accessing the components. Still, that's an improvement on the 2015 model, which was given a 1 out of 10 for repairability.
Other minor changes of note discovered in the teardown include a single microphone below the iMac's LG-manufactured display (where previously there were dual mics), a replaceable CMOS battery, and an upgradeable 3.5-inch SATA hard drive, but no SSD connector.
Check out the full teardown on the iFixit website.
WhatsApp gained a handful of new features this week, including photo filters, quick replies, and automatic albums in chat threads.
The photo filters in WhatsApp 2.17.30 are similar to those found in Snapchat and Instagram: users can now add one of five filters to photos, videos, and GIFs before sending, enabling them to enhance the look or correct poor lighting. Pop, black and white, cool, chrome, and film filters can be selected with a simple swipe up on the image.
In addition, WhatsApp now automatically generates album views when multiple images or videos are sent consecutively in the same chat window, thereby avoiding the usual stream of individual images that clog up a thread.
Elsewhere, users can reply to a specific message in a thread by swiping across it, which takes it to the bottom of the chat window where they can type a response. WhatsApp says the feature is particularly useful during fast-moving group chats when a particular message can get quickly lost higher up the thread.
Finally, WhatsApp is said to be readying a much-requested hidden "unsend" feature in another imminent update to the app.
According to fan site WABetaInfo, Whatsapp will enable "Recall" in version 2.17.30+, allowing users to delete texts, images, videos, GIFs, documents, quoted messages, and even Status replies after they have been sent, as long as the Recall feature is used within a five-minute window.
Apple has taken steps to make its HomeKit smart home platform more accessible to third parties in order to encourage faster adoption, the company announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Wednesday (via Forbes).
Apple told developers in session that they no longer need an MFi (Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad) license to test out HomeKit smart products before bringing them to market, and are even free to experiment with the platform using popular custom-fit boards like Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
The looser licensing should make it easier for developers to test out prototypes of smart home gadgets, although certification must still be obtained before the products are ready for commercial sale, Apple noted.
In addition to the licensing change, Apple has updated its HomeKit specification so that compatible smart products no longer have to include a hardware authentication chip. The update means authentication will go through software instead, with a firmware update allowing existing or future products to go through the same software-based authorization. Despite the change, Apple said the authentication process would use the same hardened encryption as it always has.
HomeKit has enjoyed reasonably wide support among smart gadget manufacturers, although users have sometimes had to wait for products to add the standard well after they have come to market. With a little luck, yesterday's announcement should minimize the time it takes for third parties to integrate HomeKit into their smart gadgets.
Apple announced a refreshed range of iMacs during its keynote at the Worldwide Developers Conference this week, offering three stock configurations of the new 27-inch model with Kaby Lake processors, Thunderbolt 3 ports, and faster graphics, with optional memory and storage upgrades at purchase.
While Apple offers a 64GB RAM upgrade option for its mid-range 3.5GHz and high-end 3.8GHz 27-inch iMacs, it only offers up to 32GB RAM for the least expensive 3.4GHz base model, which has led some observers to question whether the limit is arbitrarily imposed by Apple or hardware-related.
To answer the question, hardware maker OWC tested the low-end 3.4GHz iMac through its MaxRAM Certification program, which determines the maximum amount of memory that can be installed in a Mac as validated by a series of in-house laboratory tests, and found that it does indeed support up to 64GB of RAM, despite Apple not offering the option at sale.
OWC is offering its own 2017 27-inch iMac memory upgrade modules at MacSales.com, including a 64GB Kit (16GB x 4) for $579.99 that users can install themselves. Apple's 5K 27-inch iMacs come with four user-accessible memory slots that support up to 16GB per slot, so Apple customers are advised to select the lowest RAM configuration when buying an iMac if they want to replace the existing modules with the less expensive OWC memory.
OWC notes that while MaxRAM configurations exceed Apple's officially supported maximums, all OWC-brand memory upgrades are "assured to perform flawlessly" and are covered by a Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty and Money Back Guarantee.
Apple tonight shared a new ad in its line of "Shot on iPhone" commercials, this one focused on iPhone users who have taken impressive photos and videos of vistas around the planet.
Well-known astronomer Carl Sagan narrates the spot, reading out a few quotes from his book "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space." The theme of the commercial focuses on reminding viewers about the importance and responsibility of taking care of "our only home."
"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is no where else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we've ever known."
Apple's ads have lately been focused on providing tutorials for features of the iPhone 7, as well as a fewcommercials specifically highlighting Portrait Mode. On Earth Day the company shared a few videos with similar pro-environmental messages as the Carl Sagan-narrated ad posted today, centering on topics like solar farms and zero waste.
Following Monday's keynote event, Apple released its newest iPhone operating system, iOS 11, to developers.
iOS 11 won't be available for public beta testers until June and the general public will need to wait until the fall, but if you want to get a quick taste of what's coming in the update, check out our hands-on video below.
There are subtle design changes throughout iOS 11, with a focus on bolder fonts and borderless buttons. One of the most significant design changes can be seen in the Control Center, which has been entirely overhauled with a new look, deeper functionality, and better customization.
An entirely new App Store has been developed for iOS 11, and for the first time, apps and games are split out into their own sections. There's a "Today" view that's updated on a daily basis with recommendations, developer stories, and more.
Files, a new app, mimics the Finder in macOS and makes it easier to manage files on iOS devices, and Siri has a new, more natural voice. Messages has a new app drawer to make it easier to use stickers and apps, and there's a new built-in person-to-person Apple Pay feature for sending money to friends.
Maps includes indoor maps for malls and airports in select cities, and a Do Not Disturb While Driving feature is designed to keep users safe in the car. Apple Music features friend sharing, Photos includes new Live Photo editing options, and Notes supports handwriting recognition.
Along with these new features, there are several changes that are specific to the iPad. A new bottom Dock has been added, for example, and that dock is accessible from anywhere with a simple swipe up from the bottom of the display. A new App Switcher on the iPad (accessed with a double swipe) shows a tiled view of all the open apps to make switching faster and more Mac-like.
We'll have more videos covering iOS 11 features over the course of the week, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors.com.
Apple this week refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup with Intel's seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors, and early benchmarks for the notebooks suggest the 2017 models are up to 20 percent faster than the equivalent 2016 models equipped with Intel's sixth-generation Skylake processors.
Specifically, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro configured with a 2.9GHz Core i7 processor has average single-core and multi-core scores of 4,632 and 15,747 respectively based on nearly a dozen Geekbench 4 results so far.
By comparison, last year's 15-inch MacBook Pro configured with a sixth-generation 2.7GHz Core i7 processor, which was the equivalent high-end stock configuration, has average single-core and multi-core scores of 4,098 and 13,155 respectively based on over 4,800 Geekbench 4 results.
On a model-vs-model basis, the benchmark results suggest the 2017 MacBook Pro with a 2.9GHz processor is up to 13 percent faster in single-core performance, and up to 19.7 percent faster in multi-core performance, than the equivalent 2016 MacBook Pro model. Its price remains unchanged at $2,799.
There's only one Geekbench result for the new 15-inch MacBook Pro's base configuration with a 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, but the benchmarks suggest that model is up to 9.5 percent faster than the equivalent 2016 MacBook Pro equipped with a sixth-generation 2.6GHz Core i7 processor.
There are no Geekbench results yet for the new 15-inch MacBook Pro's highest-end built-to-order configuration with a seventh-generation 3.1GHz Core i7 processor, so its performance cannot be compared to the equivalent built-to-order 2016 MacBook Pro with a sixth-generation 2.9GHz Core i7 processor.
At the WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple announced a collection of hardware refreshes for the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac, which users are already able to order on Apple.com. Across the line of Macs, Apple added faster Kaby Lake processors, faster SSD options, made a Fusion Drive standard in the iMac, introduced more maximum RAM in the iMac, and improved GPUs.
Now, the company has allowed members of the press to test out both the MacBook and iMac refreshes to see how the computers stack up in comparison to the previous generation, as well as to Apple's competition. Below we'll round up opinions on the MacBook, 21.5-inch iMac, and 27-inch iMac. As many sites noted, first impressions and reviews for the all-new iMac Pro aren't expected to arrive until later in the year, ahead of the computer's December launch.
12-inch MacBook
Apple sent reviewers the base 1.2GHz Core m3 model ($1,299) of the new 12-inch MacBook, and CNET came away largely impressed by the slightly beefed up machine. The site noted that the biggest and most welcome addition was found in the new and improved keyboard with a second generation butterfly mechanism, which has been adopted from the same keyboard on the MacBook Pro line from last year.
Now the 12-inch MacBook has adopted that improved second-gen butterfly mechanism from the Pro line. Even using it in just a few initial typing sessions, I can totally tell the difference -- there's a click and spring to the keyboard that was lacking before. As someone who has typed hundreds of thousands of words across both previous generations of the 12-inch MacBook, I'm very pleasantly surprised by how good this keyboard feels.
Otherwise, CNET liked the default Intel Core m3 CPU in the MacBook, which remains fine for activities like web browsing and streaming video but still lacks any sort of power needed for heavy multitasking or high-end video editing. Upgraded configurations of the MacBook are available with 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 ($1,599) and dual-core Core i7 ($1,749), along with available RAM bumps from 8GB to 16GB ($200), but Apple has kept review units focused on the base tier. All versions retain the MacBook's slim 2.03lb body and Retina display.
Image via CNET
Both The Verge and CNET noted that power users will remain disappointed with the MacBook, which still only has one USB-C port. But for everyday tasks and low-power activities, anyone who can get over the port and power limitations should still find a lot of usage out of the 12-inch MacBook in its third generation.
The Verge:
The big question a lot of people are asking is whether the little MacBook is finally over that power hump that’s kept users from switching over to it. I sadly cannot answer that for you, but my hunch is that the basic calculus isn’t going to change. If you need speed, get a MacBook Pro or a Windows PC or maybe even a MacBook Air.
CNET:
The improved keyboard and the faster CPU options feel like a real step forward, although the system is still not quite as updated as we'd like.
You're still stuck with the same not-great 480p webcam, and there's just that single USB-C port for all your power and connectivity needs, which will be a deal-breaker for many. But if you can work with those limitations, this is the best version of the 12-inch MacBook yet.
Each year, Apple chooses a selection of exceptional apps and games that are given the company's coveted Apple Design Award to honor design and innovation.
The 2017 design winners include popular titles like Severed, Enlight, Things 3, and Old Man's Journey.
2016 Apple Design Award winners included Lara Croft Go, Frame.io, Chameleon Run, Auxy Music Creation, Streaks, Complete Anatomy, INKS, Zova, Ulysses Mobile, and djay Pro.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced one year 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 32 includes new features for Safari 11, which is built into macOS High Sierra. A list of the new additions is below:
WebRTC and Media Capture WebAssembly Auto-Play Improvements
With Safari 11 now available to developers through the macOS High Sierra beta, Apple is providing two versions of Safari Technology Preview, one for macOS Sierra users and one for those using macOS High Sierra.
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.
Best Buy has launched a limited time promotion offering customers up to a $50 Best Buy physical gift card with their pre-order of the latest iPad Pro models, announced at WWDC 2017 this week, through its website.
Specifically, Best Buy is offering a $50 gift card for the second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a $25 gift card for the all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. Best Buy estimates both models will begin shipping on Tuesday, June 13.
For the latest MacBook and MacBook Pro models, also unveiled at WWDC 2017 this week, Best Buy is offering college students an extra $100 off when they sign up for College Student Deals. The discount is provided in the form of an emailed coupon that can be redeemed online or at one of its stores.
Best Buy currently charges the same price as Apple for all of the latest iPad Pro and MacBook models prior to the gift cards and coupons.
Best Buy said customers can also get a minimum $250 Best Buy physical gift card with the trade in of select MacBook models at one of its stores. All three deals are valid in the United States and Puerto Rico only.
Disclaimer: MacRumors.com is an affiliate partner with Best Buy and may get paid if you click one of the above links and make a purchase.
Apple's micro-LED plans are making headlines again today, with Nikkei quoting industry sources that believe the Cupertino company is still on track for a wide adoption of micro-LED screens in its wearable devices "as soon as 2018." That timeline fits into a previous report from May, which pegged Apple for a trial production of micro-LED displays by the end of 2017, and a predicted inclusion on an Apple Watch launched in 2018 or later.
If true, analysts speculate as to whether this means Apple would then cut dependence on Samsung and its production of OLED screens currently used on Apple Watch. Separately, another rumor has suggested that Samsung is looking into purchasing micro-LED manufacturer PlayNitride, which could then lead into a scenario where Apple sources micro-LED screens from Samsung for Apple Watch. Falling in line with previous reports, Nikkei's sources state that Apple's micro-LED efforts will be housed in a plant in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
According to a person with knowledge of the display industry, Apple remains "the only company" that could potentially roll out micro-LED on a wide scale at this early stage in the technology's development. Devices with micro-LED have the chance to be thinner, lighter, see an improved color gamut with increased brightness, and sport higher resolutions. Micro-LED isn't expected to become a leader in the smartphone display supply chain, including that of iPhone, until 2020 at the earliest.
"Apple is working very hard to foster the micro-LED technology ... the company could push the use of new display tech as early as next year," said an executive with close knowledge of display technology.
"At this point, Apple is the only company who is able to roll out micro-LED, a technology that is still at an early stage of development, and cover the high costs incurred by the low yield rate," the person said.
According to Eric Chiou, an analyst at research company WitsView in Taipei, "With micro-LED, Apple is looking to bestow brand-new products with unique designs to really differentiate itself from rivals such as Samsung." Of course, being so far out from a product launch with a micro-LED screen, it's impossible to know exactly what Apple plans to do with the technology, whether it's placed within a next-generation Apple Watch or a separate, unannounced device.
Apple's production ramp-up on micro-LED is said to be the final realization of its acquisition of low-power microLED-based display maker LuxVue in 2014, with rumors specifically surrounding a new micro-LED-powered Apple Watch beginning in summer 2016. Foxconn is also entering the micro-LED supply chain, with plans to acquire display startup eLux, "for development of next-generation micro-LED display technology."
One year after rising to claim the third spot on the annual Fortune 500 list, Apple hasn't moved places in 2017 and remains #3 on the list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue. Going back seven years, Apple's previous rankings include 5th place in 2015 and 2014, 6th place in 2013, 17th place in 2012, 35th place in 2011 and 56th place in 2010.
A few rankings surrounding Apple have shifted around in 2017, however, with Berkshire Hathaway and Exxon Mobil swapping places this year. In 2016, Berkshire Hathaway sat at #4 on the Fortune 500 while Exxon Mobil was #2, and this year Berkshire Hathaway climbed to second place while Exxon Mobil dropped below Apple to sit in fourth place.
Otherwise, Walmart is still #1, with the rest of the list rounded out by companies like CVS (#7), AT&T (#9), Alphabet (#27), Microsoft (#28), Disney (#52), Netflix (#314), and Tesla (#383).
A chart of Apple's Fortune 500 history, including its lowest spot at #325 in 2002
Apple's profile on the Fortune 500 list this year talked about the company's recent sales troubles with Apple Watch and iPad, as well as an increasing reliance on iPhone sales, stating that, "Apple finally appeared to hit a wall." References were also made to Apple's look forward into an self-driving vehicle system and its focus on software services.
After more than a decade of solid growth fueled first by the iPod music player and then by the even more popular iPhone, Apple finally appeared to hit a wall, with lackluster sales—relatively speaking—for other products such as the iPad and Apple Watch and a heavy reliance on upgraded phone models. But the most profitable publicly-traded company in the world is investing heavily in software and its efforts in new areas of opportunity, including automobiles, remain in development (and under wraps). Apple was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Cupertino, Calif.
This year marks 23 years that Apple has been on the Fortune 500 list, with $215.6 billion of revenue in the 2016 fiscal year, down 7.7 percent from the previous year. Apple's annual profit also dipped down to $45.6 billion -- a 14.4 percent decrease -- but still remained more than the annual profits of Walmart ($13.6 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway ($24 billion).
The season premiere featured the developers of Pair, Twist, and Companion, who each pitched their apps to influencers Gary Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, and will.i.am. The apps which make it to the final round of the show will receive up to $10 million in funding and featured placement in the App Store.
The overall theme of the show is comparable to Shark Tank, but with more of a reality TV spin like The Voice. The developers appear at the top of an escalator, make a brief pitch about their apps, and as long as they receive at least one "green light" from the judges, they can continue their pitch.
Variety called Planet of the Apps a "bland, tepid, barely competent knock-off of Shark Tank" in its review, but noted the show is "not terrible."
Planet of the Apps, hosted by Beats 1 radio DJ Zane Lowe, will be released on a weekly basis through Apple Music.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Former Apple employees who worked on Siri believe the virtual assistant is struggling to catch up with its rivals because of a lack of ambitious goals stemming from the company's overarching concern with user privacy, a report by 
Apple today 
