MacRumors

Amazon is set to cut its Prime annual membership price from $99 for a year to $79 on Friday, November 18. The one-day sale will run from 12am ET until 11:59pm PT and is only available for new members.

Amazon customers in the U.K. can take advantage of a similar promotion beginning today: Anyone who signs up for Amazon Prime between now and the end of Friday will receive a year's subscription for £59 instead of the usual £79 asking price, essentially amounting to three free months of the service.

The promotion coincides with the release of Amazon's new motoring show "The Grand Tour", the first episode of which can be streamed or downloaded on Friday morning by Prime members in the U.K., U.S., Germany, Austria, and Japan. Amazon says the show will be available to watch in 200 countries from December.

The benefits of Prime membership include free one-day delivery on eligible items, access to Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music, unlimited cloud photo storage with Prime Photos, access to the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, and early access to Amazon's Black Friday "lightning" deals.

Members also get an exclusive discount on subscriptions for Amazon's new Music Unlimited streaming service, giving them access to 40 million songs, compared to the 2 million included in the standard Prime Music package.

Apple's four main OLED suppliers won't be able to meet the production capacity necessary to match demand for the 2017 iPhone, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Supply constraints are expected to last until 2018.

OLED screens are more difficult to produce in mass quantities than LCD screens, which means Apple is "at the mercy" of suppliers who are willing to produce them in the necessary quantities. Bloomberg notes that the supply constraints may force Apple to either restrict OLED use to one version of the next iPhone or push adoption of the technology back.

While Apple and Samsung have an exclusive OLED deal for 2017, it doesn't guarantee that the company will be able to meet Apple's demand. For example, Samsung's OLED supplies have already been constrained due to its own smartphones, like the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Apple's OLED screen order is for displays larger than 5 inches, according to Bloomberg. The Cupertino company has ordered an initial round of 100 million units over the next year, but Samsung will only be able to provide a portion of that for the Holiday 2017 quarter. Apple may face troubles if Samsung can't meet its demand.

If Samsung sees supply constraints in its ramp up of OLED panels for the fall 2017 iPhone launch, Apple may not have another major provider to fall back on. That’s why Apple usually has multiple suppliers for key components. For example, it has sourced LCD panels from all of the major Asia-based display makers. For next year, at least, it appears that OLED supply chain may be a single-company affair.

On Tuesday, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that he believes Apple will launch an all-new OLED iPhone alongside 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch LCD iPhones. While all three iPhones are likely to sport a new design with a glass back, the new OLED iPhone will have a curved edge-to-edge display. Kuo previously said the OLED iPhone would sport a 5.8-inch display with a bezel-free design.

Apple has a team of people working on integrating augmented reality functionality into the iPhone's camera app, reports Business Insider. Employees from several different augmented reality companies Apple has acquired are said to be involved in the effort, including those from Metaio and Flyby Media.

Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, Business Insider says Apple's goal is for consumers to be able point the phone at a real-world object and have that object be recognized. Apple is already working on similar technology using machine learning techniques and has built basic object recognition capabilities into the Photos app.

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Object recognition in the camera app would potentially allow for the real-time recognition of objects, but it is more complex than what is available in the Photos app because it involves 3D objects. Such a feature could be used for spacial recognition and mapping, among other things.

Facial recognition and manipulation may also be a goal, perhaps allowing the camera app to be used to apply Snapchat-style augmented reality filters to people. Apple is said to be planning to release an augmented reality SDK for developers following the debut of the rumored camera feature, which would allow third-party apps access the AR camera technology too.

Another early feature for Apple's AR integration into the camera app could be to recognize and manipulate people's faces. Apple integrated facial recognition technology into the photos app in the most recent version of its iOS software, and purchased FaceShift, a company with similar technology in 2015.

Recent rumors have suggested Apple's ultimate augmented reality ambition may be a set of smart glasses, which would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and display "images and other information" to the wearer.

A recent hire, John Border, seems to confirm Apple's rumored interest in smart glasses. Border, who describes himself as a "subject matter expert" in head-worn displays, plastic optics manufacturing, and camera systems and image sensors, recently joined Apple after serving as the chief engineer at Osterhout Design Group, a company that developed a set of smart glasses.

Apple's work on smart glasses is said to be in the early stages, and no product is expected to debut before 2018 should the project continue. It is not clear when Apple might introduce AR functionality in the camera app.

To appease video content makers and lure new video services to the App Store, Apple plans to cut the fees it charges streaming video apps, reports Bloomberg.

Apple normally takes a 30 percent cut of all App Store app purchases and subscriptions, but for subscription-based streaming video apps like Netflix and Hulu, Apple plans to cut its fee to 15 percent. Apple has already reduced the fees for some of its video partners, and will soon extend the 15 percent rate to all subscription video services that are integrated with the company's upcoming TV app.

Apple's hefty cut of sales made via its App Store has long angered partners, some of whom have accused the technology giant of anti-competitive behavior. The concessions speak to the growing importance of video to Apple, which next month will introduce a new app devoted to TV shows and movies.

For non-video subscription apps, Apple will continue to charge 30 percent, but will reduce that amount to 15 percent after an Apple customer has been subscribed to the service for a year, a change that was announced earlier this year.

Fee reduction rumors come as Apple is preparing to launch the aforementioned TV app, which will be available on both the fourth-generation Apple TV and iOS devices. Currently in beta testing, the TV app is designed to make it easier for users to find content to watch across multiple apps.

Because TV app is reliant on third-party content providers, it is in Apple's best interest to lure as many content providers to its platform as possible for the best user experience.

As of this morning, fourth-generation Apple TV owners running the tvOS 10.1 beta were given access to the new "TV" app, which is designed to be a one-stop destination for finding and watching television and movies across the Apple TV and iOS devices.

The TV app, which works hand-in-hand with features like Live Tune-In and Single Sign On, aims to make it easier for users to locate content that's spread across dozens of television and movie apps. In the video below, you can see that the TV app is now fully functional, with a dedicated store, recommended content, and an Up Next syncing feature.

The TV app is organized into several sections. Watch Now, the main menu, feature a collection of shows and movies available from iTunes and other apps. Up Next, a subsection of Watch Now, keeps track of the TV shows and movies you've watched, remembering which episode of a TV show you're on or where a movie was paused, even across multiple devices.

A library houses all of the content you've purchased from iTunes, while a store section lists recommendations on what you should buy based on other things you've watched. The store not only features content from iTunes, but also several third-party apps like Hulu, HBO Now, and Starz.

The TV app is also available on iOS devices running the iOS 10.2 beta, and it has an interface that's identical to the TV app interface on the Apple TV.

tvOS 10.1 is limited to developers, but is expected to see a public release this December. Apple has promised that tvOS 10.1 features, including Single Sign On and the TV app, will be available before the end of the year.

Apple's new MacBook Pro models feature between two and four Thunderbolt 3 ports that carry power, USB, DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA over a single cable, creating one standard for connecting most accessories and peripherals. Thunderbolt 3 uses the same connector type as USB-C, also called Type-C, meaning the new MacBook Pros are compatible with a growing lineup of USB-C external displays.

USB-C displays can display up to 4K video, transfer data, and charge the new MacBook Pro at up to 60W over a single cable connected between the display and notebook. LG's new UltraFine 5K display, meanwhile, uses Thunderbolt 3 to display 5K video and fully charge the new MacBook Pro at up to 85W. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar can drive dual 5K displays, while the 13-inch model can drive one 5K display.

LG launched its UltraFine 4K and 5K displays in partnership with Apple, which exited the standalone display business after discontinuing its Thunderbolt Display earlier this year. The first USB-C displays from other manufacturers were released just this year, so the current selection remains limited. MacRumors has rounded up most of the options available from LG, ASUS, Acer, and Lenovo below.

LG 27UD88

Display size: 27-inch
Display resolution: Ultra HD (3,840×2,160 pixels)
PPI: 163
Display technology: IPS LED
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Refresh rate: 60Hz
Color gamut: sRGB (over 99%)
Brightness: 350 cd/m2
Ports: 1 input USB-C, 2 USB 3.0, 2 HDMI 2.0, 1 DisplayPort 1.2
Cables included: USB-C to USB-C, USB-C to USB, HDMI, DisplayPort
Power delivery to MacBook Pro: Up to 60W
Price: $699 at B&H Photo Video or $740 on Amazon

LG 38UC99

Display size: 37.5-inch curved
Display resolution: Wide QHD+ (3,840×1,600 pixels)
PPI: 110
Display technology: IPS LED
Aspect ratio: 21:9 (ultrawide)
Refresh rate: 60Hz
Color gamut: sRGB (over 99%)
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Ports: 1 input USB-C, 2 USB 3.0, 2 HDMI 2.0, 1 DisplayPort 1.2
Cables included: USB-C to USB-C, USB-C to USB, HDMI, DisplayPort
Power delivery to MacBook Pro: Up to 60W
Price: $1,499 at B&H Photo Video or $1,699 on Amazon

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Apple has shown a willingness to buy projects that can help promote its services, but its interest in acquiring original content remains tepid, according to The Information. The report claims Apple is not interested in getting into billion-dollar bidding wars over projects with rivals such as Netflix and Amazon.

Apple bought an unscripted TV series based on James Corden's highly popular "Carpool Karaoke" segment to promote Apple Music, for example, while it is also planning an original TV series called Vital Signs, described as a dark semi-autobiographical drama starring Beats co-founder and Apple executive Dr. Dre.

Meanwhile, Apple reportedly met with representatives for comedian Chris Rock earlier this year about a potential video deal, although the discussions did not lead anywhere and Rock ultimately signed a reported $40 million deal with Netflix to deliver two stand-up specials airing in 2017.

Apple's lack of original content is seen as a disadvantage for the company, potentially hurting its efforts to expand the Apple TV's market share.

Not having a slate of originals hurts Apple’s ability to differentiate its video-streaming offerings against rivals like Hulu, Netflix and Amazon, each of which now make their own shows that get them lots of attention, while also licensing reruns from TV networks. That could stymie Apple’s ability to increase market share for its streaming video device, the Apple TV, and lock more people into the Apple ecosystem.

Apple has sent mixed signals to Hollywood about its interest in original programming over the past few years, the report adds.

Apple has reportedly met with TV producers and Hollywood studios about developing original TV shows to offer exclusively on iTunes, but services chief Eddy Cue later said Apple is "not in the business of trying to create TV shows." Instead, he said Apple is willing to offer producers suggestions and guidance where possible.

Independent of its original content efforts, Apple has reportedly been getting more aggressive at landing movies for iTunes. The company was reportedly in discussions with the producers of the Michael Moore documentary "TrumpLand" very early in the process, for example, to secure an iTunes exclusivity window.

Apple got the right to offer “TrumpLand” on iTunes earlier than other online video services, in exchange for prominently promoting it on the iTunes homepage, according to a person involved in the discussions. Having Apple’s promotional commitment is significant enough to help get a movie financed, this person said.

Key players in Apple's content discussions are said to be Jimmy Iovine, along with Apple Music executives Larry Jackson and Robert Kondrk.

A number of new CarPlay-enabled vehicles are making their North American debuts ahead of the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show this week, including models from Audi, Kia, and Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis.

Audi introduced a trio of CarPlay vehicles, including the all-new 2018 A5 and S5 cars and Q5 SUV. Audi's standard smartphone interface provides CarPlay and Android Auto integration via USB connection. The vehicles will arrive at U.S. dealerships in spring 2017. Pricing has yet to be announced.

Kia's latest CarPlay vehicle is the 2017 Soul Exclaim, its all-new five-door crossover with a 201-horsepower turbocharged engine. CarPlay and Android Auto come standard with the vehicle's UVO3 infotainment system. The non-turbo 2017 Kia Soul also features CarPlay support. Pricing and availability was not disclosed.

Genesis, which Hyundai spun into a standalone luxury car brand in 2015, followed suit with the introduction of its all-new 2018 Genesis G80 3.3T Sport trim with CarPlay and Android Auto integration via USB connection. The luxury sedan, available spring 2017, is equipped with a 9.2-inch touchscreen navigation system.

This article will be updated to reflect other new CarPlay vehicles as they are announced at the auto show over the next few days.

Update: The 2017 Jeep Compass and 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio also debuted with CarPlay support.