MacRumors

Sonos is gearing up to launch an all-new smart speaker that includes voice control functionality fueled by far-field microphones, picking up on user commands from anywhere in a room. The information was discovered in a filing with the FCC (via Zatz Not Funny), and hints that Sonos could be yet another company planning to enter the smart speaker market, following Amazon, Google, and Apple this December with HomePod.

The Sonos speaker will support "multiple voice platforms and music services," but the filing didn't specify which assistants and services that might be. Sonos has recently been gearing up for a wide integration with Amazon Echo, so Alexa could be a possibility. Sonos products are sold at Apple's retail and online stores, but that's not exactly an indication that a new Sonos voice-enabled speaker would include Siri support, especially since such a high-end music speaker would be a direct competitor to HomePod come December.

Zatz Not Funny theorized that the FCC filing hints at a "refresh of their [Sonos's] entire speaker line," as well as a touch surface or button of some kind to activate the voice assistant. Otherwise, the report is heavily redacted, leaving details sparse. The snippet referencing the new Sonos speaker reads as follows:

The EUT is 802.11 a/b/g/n (HT20) Client Device. Product model S13 is a high-performance all-in-one wireless smart speaker and part of Sonos’ home sound system. S13 adds integrated voice control functionality with far field microphones. Moreover, the device will support multiple voice platforms and music services, allowing customers to effortlessly control their music on Sonos.

A Variety report earlier in August suggested a similar product might be launching from Sonos soon, with changes to the company's privacy policy appearing to lay the groundwork for an internet-connected, voice assistant speaker of some kind. A private beta test is currently underway for users to test controlling Sonos speakers through Amazon Echo devices, but a Sonos spokesperson confirmed to Variety that its privacy policy now covers "future voice experiences" on its own unreleased products that will have "integrated microphones."

According to this policy, the unannounced Sonos speaker will continuously monitor the ambient noise of a home for command terminology spoken by the user, "without retaining or transmitting any voice recordings." The device will notify the user that it is recording thanks to a "visual indicator such as a light on the Product."

If Sonos does enter the smart speaker market, it'll be at a busy time for new voice-controlled home speakers. Amazon is rumored to be working on an Echo successor that would more directly compete with Apple's HomePod. Because Apple billed the HomePod as a high-quality music playback device first and foremost, sources close to Amazon's product development have mentioned that the company is focusing on significantly improving the Echo's sound quality, as well as enhancing its far-field voice technology.

Update 8/29: Sonos has sent out media invitations for an event on October 4. The invite includes artwork related to a mouth, hinting that the company's voice-controlled smart speaker could debut at that time.

Apple is now selling a trio of Beats products in new "Neighborhood Collection" colors on its online store and retail stores around the world.

Solo3 Wireless Headphones and Powerbeats3 Wireless Headphones are now available in Asphalt Gray, Brick Red, Break Blue, and Turf Green. The Beats Pill+ Speaker comes in only Asphalt Gray and Turf Green.

• Solo3 Wireless Headphones ($299.95)
• Powerbeats3 Wireless Headphones ($199.95)
• Beats Pill+ Wireless Speaker ($179.95)

The new Neighborhood Collection products are also available at Target in the United States, and at retailer John Lewis in the UK.

Apple, Target, and John Lewis stores may still be in the process of receiving stock, so it's best to call ahead. Prices vary in other countries.

Fitbit today announced a collection of all-new products and services, centering upon the company's first smartwatch, the Fitbit Ionic, along with a new subscription coaching service, Fitbit Coach. The Fitbit Ionic includes improved GPS and heart rate tracking, is water resistant up to 50 meters, supports contactless payments, smartphone notifications, on-board music, and more.

Like past Fitbit devices, the Fitbit Ionic includes a variety of fitness-focused features for users to take advantage of, including a "Run Detect" mode that starts workout tracking when the smartwatch notices the user is running. When exercising outside, users can also leave their smartphone behind and track their running data solely using the Fitbit Ionic. In terms of the new water resistance, there's also a swim workout to track laps and calories burned in a pool.

All of the Fitbit Ionic's enhanced sensor-tracking features are fueled by the new relative SpO2 sensor, which can estimate blood oxygen levels and "opens the potential" for tracking even more health metrics. Fitbit said that, in the future, this will include sleep apnea. The smartwatch's new display provides up to 1,000 nits of brightness and is protected by a scratch proof Corning Gorilla Glass 3 touchscreen.

“Ten years ago, Fitbit pioneered the wearables category with the introduction of its first health and fitness tracker. Since then, we have become the leading global wearables brand, setting the pace of innovation in the category and establishing the largest social fitness network that helps millions of people around the world be healthier,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit.

“With Ionic, we will deliver what consumers have not yet seen in a smartwatch – a health and fitness first platform that combines the power of personalization and deeper insights with our most advanced technology to date, unlocking opportunities for unprecedented health tracking capabilities in the future.”

Fitbit Ionic users will be able to pay at any retail store that supports contactless payments thanks to a new "Fitbit Pay" feature. The company said that over the coming months it will introduce support for American Express cards, as well as Mastercard and Visa credit/debit cards that have been issued from ANZ, Banco Santander, Bank of America, Capital One, HSBC, KBC Bank Ireland, OCBC Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, UOB and US Bank. Fitbit Pay will be supported in ten markets globally, with more countries and banks rolling out in the future.

Users will be able to get four full days of charge on their Fitbit Ionic, but GPS or music listening will limit the smartwatch's charge to just about ten hours. When using the device, users will also be able to access the new App Gallery, allowing them to select apps and watch faces to customize their Fitbit Ionic. Major partner apps available at launch include Pandora, Starbucks, Strava, and AccuWeather, and app support will be continuously expanded thanks to a new Fitbit Studio SDK launching for developers in September.

The on-board music storage can hold up to 300 songs on 2.5 GB, and Fitbit has simultaneously announced a new pair of Bluetooth headphones so users can take advantage of music listening on the new smartwatch. Called the Fitbit Flyer Wireless Fitness Headphones, the sweatproof headphones have in-line controls for playback and smartphone interactions, customizable ear tips, multiple sound settings, and six hours of playback. The Fitbit Flyer Headphones can be pre-ordered today for $129.95.

The new Fitbit Coach iOS app will connect with the Fitbit Ionic to provide premium workout training at $7.99/month or $39.99/year. The company said that this training includes personalized workout videos, which adapt to each user's activity data gathered from the Fitbit Ionic's various sensors. Guided Health Programs include a six-week beginner's running course and a four-week crash course on reducing sugar in food consumption, with more fitness, wellness, and even sleep-focused programs launching soon.

The Fitbit Ionic is available for pre-order today on Fitbit.com for $299.95, and will launch for pre-order on select online retailers tomorrow and in stores this October. The device will debut in three color combinations: silver gray tracker and clasp with blue gray band, smoke gray tracker and clasp with charcoal band, and burnt orange tracker and clasp with slate blue band. Optional accessories will be available, including a Sport Band ($29.95), Classic Band ($29.95), and Perforated Leather Band ($59.95).

In addition to all of these announcements, Fitbit also unveiled a new smart scale called the Fitbit Aria 2. Within the Fitbit ecosystem, the Aria 2 talks with the company's other devices to provide a holistic view of a user's health, and Fitbit noted that the scale includes improved accuracy and design, easier set-up, and support for multiple users. The Fitbit Aria 2 is also available for pre-order today at a price of $129.95, and will launch alongside the other products this fall.

A recent report by Mac Otakara [Google Translate] has delved into a few of the specifications that could be coming to the inductive-style wireless charging feature of the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and iPhone 7s Plus. According to the site, citing a source well versed in the Wireless Power Consortium, Apple's devices will only support half of the power profile currently standard in Qi version 1.2, meaning the iPhone 8 will charge at a slower rate compared to other devices when using wireless charging.

Specifically, version 1.2 of the Qi standard allows for 15 watts of power transmitted from the wireless charging pad to the receiving device. According to the new report, the iPhone 8 will support half of that standard at a maximum of 7.5 watts of power (5 volts over 1.5 amps). While faster than Apple's current 5W USB power adapter, if the information turns out to be true then Apple's new line of iPhones would lack compatibility with more current Qi wireless charging accessories.

Apple is also expected to require third-party manufacturers to acquire a "Made for iPhone" license before marketing their charging pads as iPhone-compatible accessories.

Also, like the Apple Watch, which is Qi standard but can only be charged with a MFi chip-equipped charger, there is a possibility that the wireless charging function of the iPhone 8 series is bound by the MFi license.

While all three iPhones launching in 2017 are expected to include wireless charging of some kind, the ability might not be available to iPhone 8, iPhone 7s, and iPhone 7s Plus owners at launch. Over the summer it was rumored that software problems related to wireless charging were causing a "panic" at Apple, so the feature might not debut until an iOS 11 update later in the year, potentially alongside the retail releases of these MFi charging pads and Apple's own first-party accessory.

In celebration of Force Friday II later this week, Apple has invited customers to attend free Star Wars–themed sessions and workshops at select Apple retail stores between Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 9.

Participating countries include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Hong Kong, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Most stores will offer a one-hour session called How To: Build Your Own Star Wars Trailer using an iPad and iMovie:

Explore how to create a Star Wars trailer with authentic footage from the films. You’ll discover signature Star Wars trailer-making techniques in an exclusive video from The Last Jedi director, Rian Johnson. Then you’ll create your own trailer complete with titles, transitions, sound effects, and official Star Wars music using iPad and iMovie.

There will also be Kids Hour: Coding the Droids from Star Wars, in which children ages six to 12 can learn how to program a BB-8 droid:

Join us for an exciting Kids Hour starring the galaxy's favorite droids. Using the same code developers use every day, kids will bring Star Wars droids to life by programming simple movements, loops, and more. Then they’ll design a maze and navigate their droids through the obstacles. Kids can bring their own iPad and Sphero robot, or we’ll provide them.

At Apple's flagship Union Square store in San Francisco, Lucasfilm's VFX and animation studio Industrial Light & Magic will explore how they use animation and 3D modeling to bring the Star Wars galaxy to life.

Force Friday II officially begins at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on September 1 and runs through the weekend. The promotional campaign is for the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which debuts in theaters December 15.

An earlier report said Apple retail stores may carry some new Star Wars toys or merchandise starting on Force Friday II.

Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data in the Edmonton, Alberta area, enabling iPhone users in Canada's fifth most populous city to navigate with public transportation, including buses and trains.

Apple Maps can provide routes for both Edmonton Transit System (ETS) buses and Edmonton Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains throughout the Edmonton area, including to and from the Edmonton International Airport.

Apple Maps gained a Transit tab in iOS 9. The feature lags several years behind Google Maps, but Apple's public transportation support is exhaustive, mapping all station entrances and listing departure times. Apple Maps also provides detailed advisories about service interruptions and other changes.

At launch, the feature was limited to Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. Since then, Apple has been working to expand support for public transportation to other cities around the world.

For a regularly updated list of cities with Apple Maps transit, visit the iOS Feature Availability page on Apple's website.

Updated: As pointed out by MacRumors reader Creek0512, Apple Maps transit directions have also gone live in Québec City and Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. In Ottawa, OC Transpo buses and O-Train directions are available. In Québec City, RTC bus and Métrobus directions are available.

(Thanks, Josh!)

Back in October, Apple published its first research paper related to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The paper, titled "Learning from Simulated and Unsupervised Images through Adversarial Training," focused on advanced image recognition techniques and the use of both simulated and real images to train an advanced AI image program.

Apple's research paper was accepted to the 2017 Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) back in July, and as it turns out, Apple's work won a "CVPR 2017 Best Paper Award," coveted in the machine learning field.

MacRumors reader Tom, who holds a PhD in the field, says that CVPR is the most influential AI/machine learning conference, and that winning the award is a rare achievement "even for the top people in the field."

The paper was written by Apple researchers Ashish Shrivastava, Tomas Pfister, Oncel Tuzel, Joshua Susskind, Wenda Wang, and Russell Webb.

In addition to publishing research papers, Apple's AI and machine learning teams now maintain a Machine Learning Journal, detailing the work of Apple's engineers. The blog was just updated this week with articles that were shared at Interspeech 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Thanks, Tom!

This week was a massive week for iOS gaming news, so much so that there's not even time for witty intros. Jumping right in, Ridiculous Fishing was updated to 64-bit. This was a 32-bit title we were watching very closely as we gave it our Game of the Year award in 2013, and Ridiculous Fishing has won basically every other award an iOS game can win outside of that. The update adds haptic feedback, leaderboards, and some other goodies too. In other 32 to 64-bit updates, DotEmu will be updating their catalog as well, which includes games like Another World, Karateka and other classic retro ports.

If you haven't played Reigns yet, you really need to fix that problem. We reviewed the game when it came out last year and loved it. It's an RPG where you manage a kingdom (and your legacy as a king) by swiping right or left with a Tinder-like mechanic. It's remarkably clever, and if there's one bad thing about the game it's that it eventually ends, leaving us very hungry for more. Well, the sequel was announced in January, but recently the developers revealed that the game will launch later this year. Reigns is/was amazing, so, I've got incredibly high expectations for Her Majesty.

Right on time, Darkest Dungeon for iPad has hit the App Store. The game has been received incredibly well on Steam, as it provides a clever twist on the turn-based RPG formula with a beautiful gothic art style. It's easy to call Darkest Dungeon an essential release, particularly for five bucks, for anyone who owns an iPad and is even remotely interested in RPGs. Cross-platform saving sweetens the deal, effortlessly allowing you to pick up where you left off on your iPad on your PC and vice versa. The iOS port is incredibly well done, and while it's a bit of a bummer it's iPad-only, I'm not sure you'd want to play a game like this on the smaller screen of the iPhone.

While Blizzard's Overwatch seems to have unstoppable momentum, there are other entries in the "hero shooter" genre that are worth having on your radar. Paladins by Hi-Rez Studios is a similar game with two distinct differences that have allowed the game to carve out a surprisingly large niche: First, it's free to play, and second, the system requirements are unbelievably minimal. You can play Paladins even if you've got an ancient Core 2 Duo machine. On the mobile front, they're expanding the Paladins universe into a mobile game titled Paladins Strike — it's a MOBA and currently in alpha testing. Check out the Paladins Strike web site for information on how to sign up and check out the alpha.

South Park: Phone Destroyer was one of the only mobile games teased during E3, and every sign is pointing to the game being absolutely packed to the brim with South Park fan service. It is a little amusing that they're releasing a South Park free to play game, particularly considering there have been entire episodes of the show dedicated to skewering freemium. Soft launched in a few regions, Phone Destroyer is a very free to play Clash Royale-ish game. Anyway, if you're excited to play it when it launches worldwide, you can now sign up for their pre-registration to get some free ManBearPig items.

If you've been following along with these roundups, you'll likely have noticed how much we're into Rocketcat Games' Death Road to Canada. (If not, check out our review.) This great game has been made even better with a constant stream of updates throughout the last year. The latest update, titled "DUODENUM," adds a whole new lighting system, and a barricading system which adds another interesting twist to the way you approach the zombie apocalypse. Over 40 new weapons and 11 recruitable characters have been added, along with requisite tweaks and fixes to generally make the game run better. If you don't have Death Road to Canada yet... You're really missing out.

Blizzard released an amazing animated short this week for Hearthstone during its Gamescom 2017 presentation. Titled Hearth and Home, it features a girl lost in the woods who finds her way to the magical Hearthstone tavern. Blizzard's cinematic have been legendary since the earliest days of Mac gaming, so it's not much of a surprise they're still releasing great videos. Also, tangentially related is this Overwatch video that was also released which is of equal sky-high quality. They're both worth a watch.

Some interesting news came out of Sega this week surrounding the future of their free to play with one-time unlock library of classic titles that they're calling Sega Forever. Golden Axe will be released soon, but more exciting is that Sega has both Saturn and Dreamcast titles in the works but they're taking a little longer since they're being ported rather than emulated. So far most/all of the Sega Forever games have been pretty standard Sega titles, so we've got our fingers crossed they start releasing a bit more obscure titles than Sonic and Golden Axe.

High up on the list of most unexpected announcements of the week is the reveal of Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition. Not a ton of details are available just yet, but so far it seems like a free to start episodic iteration of the entirety of Final Fantasy XV, but on mobile and with chibi graphics? If you watch the trailer, the cut scenes, dialog, quests, and game world all seem to be lifted directly from the console version of the game. It'll be spread across ten episodes, and we're super curious how those will be priced. At $5 a pop, it'd be a $50 mobile game, which I suppose isn't that far fetched considering how full fledged of a game experience it'd be if it totally mirrors Final Fantasy XV? That pricing is pure speculation, but, I'm super curious to see how this pans out when it's released this year.

Last, but by no means least, the mobile port of Ron Gilbert's Thimbleweed Park is going to be released "real soon." It first hit Steam last March and has an "overwhelmingly positive" rating. It follows two FBI agents in a murder investigation, with some ultra-classic point and click adventure gameplay. I don't think it's hyperbole to call Gilbert one of the founders of the modern point and click adventure genre, as he was on the ground floor of the whole scene working on Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games (among others). I'm very excited to play Thimbleweed Park on my iPad.

Aside from all of these stories, a ton of other things happened this week in mobile gaming. Be sure to check out TouchArcade where we post this sort of thing day in and day out.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Toddy Gear to give MacRumors readers a chance to win an iPhone prize pack that includes a Bottle Opener Case for the iPhone 7, an iPhone charging cable, a microfiber Smart Cloth, and a Wedge iPhone stand that doubles as a screen cleaner.

Toddy Gear has been known for its colorful, high-quality microfiber cloths for years. The cloths, priced at $9.99, come in a wide range of colors and patterns and are made from 100 percent microfiber that's designed to keep the your iPhone, iPad, and Mac screens free from smudges and fingerprints.

They're dual-sided, with a plush side that's meant to clean off dust and debris and a smooth, silky side for polishing your screen.

Toddy's Wedges, priced at $14.99, are similar to its cloths, as they're made from the same microfiber, but are filled with a heavy sand-like material that lets them serve as a stand for an iPhone or iPad. The plush bottom of the wedge cleans your screen just like the cloths.

Toddy offers a range of charging cables that are durable, fun to look at with unique colors and patterns, and affordable at $14.99. Toddy's cables are Apple-certified and work with all Lightning-equipped devices. There are also microUSB versions and a hybrid with both a Lightning and a microUSB connector.

Along with cloths and cables, Toddy creates a range of cases for the iPhone. The company's Bottle Opener case, priced at $25.99, comes in a range of patterns and includes a bottle opener on the back, making it a solid case choice for parties.

We have five Toddy prize packs 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 winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older 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 (August 25) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 1. The winners will be chosen randomly on August 25 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has arrived in Austin, Texas, the latest destination on his mini trip around the United States this week.

Cook started his day by visiting the Capital Factory tech accelerator and incubator in downtown Austin, where he met with local developers and entrepreneurs like Joah Spearman, the co-founder of local travel recommendation app Localeur, and Whitney Wolfe, the founder of popular dating app Bumble.

Cook also announced that Austin Community College District will be one of more than 30 community college systems across the United States to adopt Apple's "App Development with Swift" curriculum in the 2017-2018 school year.

Austin mayor Steve Adler was in attendance, and Cook complimented him for his leadership and for having the same values as Apple about diversity, the environment, development, and many other areas.

Cook visited the Cincinnati, Ohio and Waukee, Iowa areas yesterday, and it's possible he may have a few more visits or announcements planned in Austin before heading back to Apple headquarters in California later today.

Facebook today announced a few updates and expansions coming to its popular memory features, one of which will present users with monthly and seasonal memory recaps instead of just memories that happened on one specific day. Similar to On This Day, monthly and seasonal recaps will appear on user News Feeds and can be shared with their friends.

The social network is also implementing new celebratory milestones for its users, with new messages that congratulate users for making a notable number of friends and when they receive a significant amount of post likes. In the future, Facebook said it plans to launch new milestones and accompanying messages for its users, as well as eventually make them shareable with friends, which they won't be as of now.

People come to Facebook to experience, share and talk about some of the most important moments happening in their lives, communities and around the world. Many of these moments are reminiscing past memories and moments between friends.

We’ve launched a new experience that packages your recent memories in a delightful way for you to enjoy and share. For related recent memories, we will bundle them into a monthly or seasonal memory recap story. Like On This Day, these memory recap stories will show up in News Feed and are shareable.

Other, smaller tweaks are also coming to the company's memory features, including ways that will make controls and preferences easier to access as well as officially launching the recaps to everyone on Facebook. The company has also developed new ways to discover content that it believes will be "the most relevant and enjoyable" to its users, filtering out negative memories in the process.

Recent Facebook updates include introducing the ability for users to take 360-degree photos in the company's iOS app, making "Safety Check" a permanent feature, introducing non-profit fundraisers for user birthdays, and tweaking and updating its News Feed for better navigation.