Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Foxconn, two companies who work with Apple, are teaming up to place a bid for a stake in Toshiba's memory chip unit according to Chinese site Liberty Times (via DigiTimes).
The partnership could perhaps give TSMC and Foxconn the tools to gain a serious foothold in the flash memory market that's currently dominated by Samsung.
Via the cooperation, the report claimed, TSMC will be able to challenge Korea-based Samsung Electronics' leadership in the flash memory market, allowing the pure-play foundry house to achieve a new wave of growth. The two companies' bidding team is currently in Japan aggressively preparing for document submission prior to the March 29 first-round bidding.
Bidding is set to start on March 29, and Foxconn and TSMC are said to have representatives in Japan that are preparing to place a bid. According to Foxconn chairman Terry Guo, the company is interested in pushing into the flash memory industry as storage demands will increase as screen resolutions go up.
Guo says Foxconn is highly interested in Toshiba's memory business and would be willing to use the same business strategy it adopted when partnering with Sharp -- keeping the business intact. Foxconn purchased Sharp in 2016 and has since begun using the business to build OLED displays, perhaps for future iPhones.
Toshiba is planning to sell a portion of its flash memory unit to raise funds to cover a significant $6.3 billion loss, with the company planning to split off the memory unit from the main business on April 1, 2017. Toshiba originally hoped to sell a minority stake in the business, but later said it would consider selling most, or all, of the new flash unit.
Apple, SK Hynix, Western Digital, and Micron Technology have also been named as parties potentially interested in acquiring Toshiba's memory business.
The fifth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who have previously installed a beta.
macOS Sierra 10.12.4 brings iOS's Night Shift mode to the Mac for the first time. First introduced on iOS devices with iOS 9.3, Night Shift is designed to gradually shift the display of a device from blue to yellow, cutting down on exposure to blue light. Blue light is said to disrupt the circadian rhythm and is believed to interrupt sleeping patterns.
Night Shift can be 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. Night Shift can also be toggled on manually through the Notification Center or via Siri.
The 10.12.4 update focuses mainly on Night Shift, but also includes dictation support for Shanghainese, cricket scores for Siri, improved PDFKit APIs, and iCloud Analytics options.
Update: The fifth macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta is now available for public beta testers.
LG's UltraFine 5K Display now ships in 1-2 business days on Apple's website in the United States and Canada, signaling that the display is finally back in stock after having been backordered for up to 4-6 weeks due to an interference issue.
Specifically, some users experienced flickering issues with the UltraFine 5K Display when it came within close proximity of a Wi-Fi router, or in some cases, simply made contact with a MacBook Pro. LG apologized for the issue last month and said all models manufactured after February 2017 would be fitted with enhanced shielding.
Apple stopped sales of the LG UltraFine 5K Display at its retail stores and delayed shipments on its website about a month ago while LG worked on the fix, and it appears the issue is now resolved.
Those who purchased an UltraFine 5K Display prior to February can contact LG to have their model retrofitted with the same improved shielding.
LG's UltraFine 5K Display is still on sale for $974 until March 31, when the price will return to $1,299.95. Longer shipping times are still quoted in some other regions, such as Singapore and the United Kingdom.
In a new series of leaks focusing on the United States Central Intelligence Agency, code named "Vault 7," WikiLeaks has revealed 8,761 documents discovered within an isolated network in Langley, Virginia that "amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code." The code contains what WikiLeaks referred to as a "hacking arsenal" of malware, viruses, trojans, and weaponized "zero day" exploits for iOS devices, that could give anyone in possession of the code "the entire hacking capacity of the CIA."
This "Year Zero" release is the first in the full Vault 7 series by WikiLeaks, and is said to act as an introduction to the capacity and means of the CIA's covert hacking program. The agency's abilities can take aim at a number of popular consumer products from companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft, turning everything from an iPhone to a smart TV into a "covert microphone."
In its analysis of the released documents, WikiLeaks looked at how iPhones and iPads have been targeted by the CIA in the past, and how they can continue to be exploited in the future. Although Android remains a dominant force in the global smartphone market, WikiLeaks argued that a "disproportionate focus" has been placed on iOS devices by the CIA, most likely due to the Apple-branded phone's popularity.
Because of this, the agency has a specialized unit in place within the Mobile Development Branch that creates and executes malware to infiltrate, take control of, and exfiltrate sensitive information from iOS products. The MDB's methods are said to include a collection of zero day exploits, which are vulnerabilities in a piece of software unknown by the software's creator and subsequently exploitable by hackers.
Including the iOS malware, WikiLeaks claimed that the CIA has recently "lost control" of the majority of its hacking arsenal.
Despite iPhone's minority share (14.5%) of the global smart phone market in 2016, a specialized unit in the CIA's Mobile Development Branch produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. CIA's arsenal includes numerous local and remote "zero days" developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites.
WikiLeaks noted that in the wake of Edward Snowden's NSA leaks, a group of technology companies convinced the Obama administration to disclose any zero day exploits and bugs to each company, rather than hoard the information. The Vulnerabilities Equities Process underlined this agreement in 2010, and the U.S. government said it would reveal any vulnerabilities discovered to the company in question.
Documents in Year Zero paint a further negative image for the CIA, which is said to not have abided by the agreement between the technology companies and the U.S. government. An example was given by WikiLeaks centering on one malware that can control both the Android phone and iPhone software "that runs or has run presidential Twitter accounts." The government is said to not have brought the information forward to Apple or Google in the time it has had the hacking data.
As long as the CIA keeps these vulnerabilities concealed from Apple and Google (who make the phones) they will not be fixed, and the phones will remain hackable.
The same vulnerabilities exist for the population at large, including the U.S. Cabinet, Congress, top CEOs, system administrators, security officers and engineers. By hiding these security flaws from manufacturers like Apple and Google the CIA ensures that it can hack everyone at the expense of leaving everyone hackable.
The scope of the new WikiLeaks documents includes detailed information on the iOS exploits, hacks that could potentially infest vehicle control systems, and even attacks against Samsung smart TV sets. This last point, dubbed "Weeping Angel," was said to have been developed by the CIA in conjunction with the United Kingdom's MI5 as a way to convert turned-off television sets into secret microphones.
The full list of the Year Zero documents can be found on WikiLeaks, and complete analysis of the documents by independent security experts will take some time in order for the impact of the release to be determined.
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.
Smart home accessory company Nest today announced the addition of two-step authentication into its mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, which will act as an extra layer of security that prevents intrusions into a user's Nest account. The company said that these extra security measures can help prevent malicious access to private information, particularly camera feeds of Nest Cam products.
To activate two-step authentication, users can find a toggle menu in the Account Security settings of the official Nest app. After "2-step verification" is toggled on, users will have to sign in again by typing in a traditional email and password. Two-step authentication makes the process more secure by then texting a verification code to an approved device, which Nest owners will then have to enter into the app to gain access to their Nest products.
We all know data security is a moving target. Technology keeps advancing, but so do the people who want to break into your email, your credit card or any other account they can get their hands on. But your home is your safe haven, where private information should stay private. So today we’re adding a new layer of security with the introduction of two-factor authentication.
You may have seen or used two-factor authentication before, probably to get into your email or bank account. It’s simple but very effective – even if someone figures out your password, they still need to actually get their hands on your phone to get into your account. It takes a minute or two for our customers, but for hackers working from computers all over the world, things get a whole lot harder.
Nest said that this isn't the first time it has updated security across all of its products, and the company intends to continue rolling out security and privacy-focused tweaks to Nest Thermostats, Nest Protect smoke alarms, and Nest Cameras "as new technologies become available or we learn about new threats."
While the next major version of macOS likely won't be announced until the WWDC 2017 opening keynote on June 5, eagle-eyed blogger Pike's Universum has discovered what appears to be Apple's first public sign of macOS 10.13.
Specifically, the blog shared a portion of the App Store URL, otherwise known as a CatalogURL, for macOS 10.13. We were subsequently able to pinpoint the full URL by tweaking an older CatalogURL link, and it appears to be a secure HTTPS link originating from Apple's servers, so the screenshot is legitimate.
The full URL: https://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.13seed.merged-1.sucatalog.gz
We don't know much about what's coming in macOS 10.13 at this point, but visits we're receiving from Macs running pre-release versions of macOS 10.13 have been picking up steadily since the beginning of the year, presumably as Apple's engineers work on the operating system update ahead of its unveiling.
Visits to MacRumors from Macs running macOS 10.13
We don't know what the successor to macOS Sierra will be called, but in 2014, Apple trademarked a long list of names that could be used for future updates. Names range from popular beaches and well-known cities in California, where Apple is headquartered, to mountains, deserts, and animals.
A list of known trademarked names that have yet to be used: Redwood, Mammoth, California, Big Sur, Pacific, Diablo, Miramar, Rincon, Redtail, Condor, Grizzly, Farallon, Tiburon, Monterey, Skyline, Shasta, Mojave, Sequoia, Ventura, and Sonoma. An entirely different name is certainly possible too.
macOS 10.13 will likely be seeded to developers for testing purposes in early June ahead of a public release by the end of October. The beta will likely be available to public testers over the summer as well.
Porsche and Honda today each announced new sports cars that will be compatible with Apple's CarPlay infotainment system. In its unveiling, Porsche detailed the all-new 2018 911 GT3 street-legal sports car with a 4.0 liter flat-six engine that produces up to 500 horsepower -- an engine based on the one used in all of Porsche's 911 race cars.
Other than CarPlay, the Porsche 911 GT3 has a navigation system that can detail real-time traffic information, and the vehicle's diagnostics can connect to the Porsche Track Precision App [Direct Link]. On a connected smartphone, drivers can analyze and record various pieces of data, like steering angle and braking pressure.
The 2017 Honda Civic Type R, which the company referred to as "one of the most anticipated models in its history," has a similar sports car build and marks the first Type R Honda model to be sold in the United States. The new Type R shares the style of the automaker's 5-door hatchback with a boost in performance, including a 4-cylinder engine with peak ratings of 306 horsepower.
"The fastest, most powerful Honda ever sold in America, the Type R caps off the incredible success story of our 10th generation Civic lineup," said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president & general manager of the Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We're happy to inform our U.S. enthusiasts that the long wait for the forbidden fruit of Honda Type R performance is nearly over!"
The 2017 Civic Type R will come with a 7-inch Display Audio touchscreen that has Honda Navigation embedded in it, along with compatibility for both CarPlay and Android Auto. Honda also mentioned that the included 540-watt, 12-speaker audio system will be able to drown out the vehicle's engine.
In terms of pricing and availability, the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 is scheduled to debut at U.S. dealerships in fall 2017 at a base MSRP of $143,600. The Honda Civic Type R is launching sometime in late spring 2017 with an MSRP in the mid-$30,000 range. Both suggested retail prices exclude the usual $1,050 delivery, processing, and handling fee.
Adobe has announced that the latest update to its Lightroom mobile app now allows users to capture HDR images in RAW format.
The upgrade means the app now automatically determines the ideal exposure range of the subject before capturing three photos as RAW DNG files, before applying align, merge, and tone mapping algorithms to generate the final 32-bit RAW image.
We're excited to announce that Lightroom Mobile now has a new raw HDR capture mode that lets you achieve a dynamic range on your mobile device that was previously only possible shooting with an DSLR or mirrorless camera.
[...]
You get a 16-bit floating point DNG, with all of the benefits of both an HDR and a raw photo, which is processed by the same algorithms with the same quality as the HDR technology built into Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom.
In addition to the RAW mode, the update adds an Export Original option, enabling users to to export the original files, including DNGs captured in the camera as well as raw files imported through Lightroom Mobile and Lightroom web. Adobe has also added Gestures to the Rate & Review mode, to speed up the review process.
Lastly, there's a new 3D Touch and Notification Center widget, to make it easier and faster to launch Lightroom's camera.
Lightroom for iOS devices is a free download, but its sync and cloud features require a subscription to Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography plan, priced at $9.99 per month. A 30-day free trial is available.
Apple was awarded a patent today that details a method of detecting faces in a digital video feed through the use of depth information.
Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the document describes how face detection algorithms could identify the presence of faces in a live video when people in the scene are located at different distances from the camera.
To reduce processing overhead and minimize error rates, the system applies depth information to existing face detection algorithms used in photography and intelligently scales the face window sizes according to their depth coordinates – i.e., the further away a face is from the lens, the smaller the capture frame around it.
The method utilizes a special infrared light to project an optical radiation pattern onto the scene, which is then converted into a depth map. As noted by AppleInsider, the depth mapping system referenced in the patent is based on motion tracking technology developed by Israeli motion capture firm PrimeSense, which Apple acquired in 2013.
While the system is able to recognize faces in general, it lacks the ability to identify individual differences between faces, so this isn't a bio-recognition solution in itself, but it could become a crucial enabling step in a wider authentication system.
Apple is said to be developing a "revolutionary" front-facing camera system for the upcoming "iPhone 8". The technology is rumored to consist of three modules to enable fully-featured 3D sensing capabilities. While there's no way to know for sure if this particular patent describes one of those modules, the upgraded camera system is said to be fueled by PrimeSense algorithms.
Apple has updated its Italian website with an Apple Pay page, confirming its introduction in the country is close at hand.
Last month, Apple added complete translations of Apple Pay support documents to its Italian and German regional websites, indicating the launch of the mobile payment system in those countries is just a matter of time.
Today, for Italy at least, that launch appears one step closer, with the "arriving soon" web page listing UniCredit, Boon, and Carrefour Banca as participating banks.
Also today, Apple Pay launched in Ireland, making it the 14th country to accept Apple's mobile payments service.
Apple Pay became available in Ireland this morning, marking the 14th country to accept Apple's payments service.
Visa and MasterCard holders that bank with KBC and Ulster Bank can use Apple Pay in the country, and the service also works with the Boon prepay system. Apple Pay is available to all customers with an iPhone SE, 6, 6s, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, or an iPhone 5 or later when paired with the Apple Watch.
Apple Pay can also be used within apps and on the web with an eligible iPhone, iPad, or MacBook Pro with Touch ID. Apple Pay can be set up using the Wallet app on all supported devices.
Participating retailers in Ireland include Aldi, Amber Oil, Applegreen, Boots, Burger King, Centra, Dunnes Stores, Harvey Norman, Lidl, Marks and Spencers, PostPoint, SuperValu, and more, with a full list of participating retailers available on the Ireland Apple Pay website.
Along with Ireland, Apple Pay is available in U.S., UK, China, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, and Spain.
Taiwan is next on the list to get Apple Pay, with seven banks in the country having recently obtained permission from the Financial Supervisory Commission to offer the payments service.
Sonos today announced the PLAYBASE, its newest speaker designed for home theater sound systems. According to Sonos, the PLAYBASE is a thin, powerful speaker that sits under a television set to offer enhanced sound for TV shows, music, and movies.
The PLAYBASE measures in at just 58mm tall, but it includes 10 drivers (six mid-range, three tweeters, and one woofer) for what Sonos says is great sound. Design wise, it's meant to meld into a home's decor, with a polycarbonate body that features clean lines, no visible seams, and 43,000 holes for a transparent grill.
"We have built a product that can not only handle the complexities of home theater - delivering open and natural sound, clear dialogue, and immersive bass that fills the room - but also fits perfectly in any home environment," said Giles Martin, Sound Experience Leader at Sonos. "The challenge with PLAYBASE was upholding the desire for it to be beautiful from all angles without compromising any of our design, acoustics or engineering principles. We were obsessive in our approach and decisions, resisting every urge to pack anything in here that wasn't needed, and custom built everything else to find the perfect fit - it's our thinnest, most beautiful speaker yet."
PLAYBASE is specifically meant to be used with TVs that sit on furniture rather than those that are wall mounted. It includes two cords and connects to other Sonos speakers for a whole house sound solution. Like all Sonos products, it can be used with more than 80 music services.
Sonos will begin selling the PLAYBASE on April 4, 2017. It will be priced at $699 and it will be available in black or white to match any home decor. Existing Sonos owners will be able to pre-order the PLAYBASE starting today.
While a 5.8-inch iPhone with an OLED display is likely around six months away from being announced, the stock market is always looking ahead, and several analysts think the smartphone will be a hit among customers.
Accordingly, over the past month, several financial analysts have raised their price targets for Apple's stock to between $150 and $185, per research notes obtained by MacRumors.
Citi analyst Jim Suva, for instance, raised his Apple stock price target to $160 today. Likewise, BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long rose his target to $160 in late February.
Apple's stock has already been on an impressive run this year so far, closing at $139.34 on Monday, just cents off its record-breaking high of $139.79 set last week.
Long in particular said he expects Apple's trio of new iPhone models, presumably arriving this September, to drive the "biggest refresh cycle" since the iPhone 6 in 2014.
For the 2017 iPhone refresh, we expect some cannibalization by the premium model. While we expect like-for-like units to be 23 million lower, we model 34 million of unit volume from the new model. On balance, we estimate 11 million of incremental volume, the best launch since iPhone 6, though still less impactful. We believe this reflects conservatism in our estimates.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were runaway hits as Apple's first smartphones with screen sizes as large as Samsung's competing Galaxy smartphones, but the iPhone's overall look and feel has gone largely unchanged since those models were introduced three years ago, and iPhone sales declined for the first time ever last year.
The so-called "iPhone 8," or whatever Apple names its tenth-anniversary iPhone, will likely be something fresh and new, however, which Long expects could drive existing iPhone users to upgrade.
Long estimated that the number of iPhones in use was around 715 million, including 228 million second-hand devices, as of December 2016. Of the new models, he estimated 31% of the installed base will be 2 years or older at the time of Apple's presumed September launch event.
This larger than usual base of customers with older iPhone models has led analysts such as Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty and UBS's Steven Milunovich to expect a "supercycle" of iPhone upgrades through next year.
Huberty recently raised her price target to $154, up from $150, but with an "overweight" rating. She expects the 5.8-inch iPhone's significant form factor change, and rumored features such as wireless charging, longer battery life, 3D sensors, and more advanced AI software capabilities, to drive the accelerated upgrade cycle.
Milunovich raised his price target to $151 in late February, up from $138, and he maintained a "buy" rating.
Huberty and Milunovich are far more conservative than Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White, who has maintained a $185 price target since last year. "We continue to believe that Apple remains one of the most underappreciated stocks in the world," he said in a research note shared with investors in early February.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway went on an Apple stock buying spree over the past few months, increasing his position in the iPhone maker to around 133 million shares prior to the company's record-breaking earnings results at the end of January. His holding has likely netted him several billions.
Each year, Apple offers free WWDC scholarships to students and STEM organization members who don't have the funds to attend the company's developer conference.
For 2017, Apple will begin accepting scholarship submissions on March 27, as is outlined on an updated scholarship website Apple shared today. Submissions will be accepted from March 27 at 10:00 a.m. until April 2 at 5:00 p.m. Winning applicants will be notified of their status on Friday, April 21.
Scholarships traditionally offer free tickets to WWDC, a huge benefit as a ticket is normally priced at $1,599. Flights and accommodations are not typically included, but starting this year, Apple is providing free lodging.
WWDC scholarship applicants must be at least 13 years old, registered as an Apple developer, and enrolled in a part-time or full-time course of study. Members and alumni of a STEM organization are also eligible.
Apple instructs 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 Worldwide Developers Conference will take place from June 5 to June 9 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. It is the first WWDC that hasn't been held in San Francisco since 2003.
While the conference is designed to allow developers to interact with Apple engineers and employees, Apple will hold a keynote event on June 5 to announce new software updates, including iOS 11 and macOS 10.13.
While the Genius Bar is the focal point of the Apple Store, it turns out the idea was initially panned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
On the Recode Decode podcast, Apple's former retail chief Ron Johnson recalled the day he told Jobs about the Genius Bar.
Steve's initial reaction to the idea: "That's so idiotic! It'll never work!"
Jobs went on to tell Johnson that the Genius Bar may in fact be the "right idea," but he was not convinced at the time that people who knew technology would be able to communicate effectively with customers.
“I remember the day I came in and told Steve about the Genius Bar idea and he says, ‘That’s so idiotic! It’ll never work!’” Johnson said. “He said, ‘Ron, you might have the right idea, but here’s the big gap: I’ve never met someone who knows technology who knows how to connect with people. They’re all geeks! You can call it the Geek Bar.’”
“And I said, ‘Steve, kids who are in their 20s today grew up in a very different world. They all know technology, and that’s who’s going to work in the store.’”
The following day, Johnson said Jobs instructed Apple's top lawyer to file a trademark for "Genius Bar."
In an earlier interview, Johnson said it took some time before the Genius Bar gained traction, but within three years Apple was forced to create a reservation system due to its popularity. Nearly sixteen years later, the Genius Bar and the newer, more open concept Genius Grove remain a mainstay at most Apple Stores.
Fitbit today announced the Fitbit Alta HR, which the company is calling the "world's slimmest fitness wristband" that has a continuous heart rate monitor. The Alta HR launches just over a year after Fitbit debuted the original Fitbit Alta, which included new "Reminders to Move" to tell users to stand up and move around a bit, like Apple Watch stand notifications.
The main upgrade for the Fitbit Alta HR revolves around its ability to detect the user's heart rate throughout the day, thanks to the company's PurePulse technology. Additionally, the Alta HR will include all of the usual Fitbit benefits, like automatic exercise recognition, sleep tracking, a seven day battery life, smart notifications, and more.
Thanks to the bolstered heart rate technology, the Fitbit Alta HR also has a few improved sleep tracking features. "Sleep Stages" can detect how long each user spends in light, deep, and REM sleep, as well as detect how many times the user wakes up. "Sleep Insights" accumulates the large picture of each user's Fitbit data and actively tries to help "improve your sleep for better overall health."
Sleep Stages will be available on Alta HR, Blaze and Charge 2 Fitbit devices, while Sleep Insights will be available on any Fitbit "that tracks sleep via the Fitbit app."
“Alta HR and these powerful new sleep features demonstrate our continued focus on evolving our innovative technology to deliver deeper, more actionable insights to help our users improve their health,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. “The miniaturization of our PurePulse heart rate technology opens up exciting opportunities for future generations of devices and new form factors. Our advances in sleep will provide millions of users around the globe accessibility to invaluable insights that previously could be obtained only through expensive lab tests.”
The company said that the Fitbit Alta HR is 25 percent slimmer than the Fitbit Charge 2, which is Fitbit's other heart rate-compatible wearable. The addition of heart rate monitoring will bolster the Alta HR's ability to better measure calorie burn all day, and subsequently help users stay on track for their fitness goals, according to Fitbit.
Like other Fitbit devices, the Alta HR will also be available in a variety of colors and bands. The basic models come in black, blue gray, fuchsia or coral with a matching aluminum tracker for $149.95. Two special editions include a soft pink classic band with 22k rose gold plated tracker and black classic band with matte gunmetal tracker for $179.95. The Fitbit Alta HR can be pre-ordered today and will launch online and in stores this April.
Although Fitbit remains the leader in the wearable field, the Apple Watch has proven to be a major contender in the market with a strong holiday 2016 boosting consumer knowledge of the Watch, most likely thanks to Apple's marketing pivot from presenting it as a fashion accessory to a workout/fitness companion. The numbers come from research firm IDC, which simultaneously marked the same quarter as one of Fitbit's "largest declines ever," although it still remains atop the market in terms of units shipped and market share.
Bragi announced its Dash earphones at CES way back in 2015, when wireless Bluetooth headsets were still relatively niche. Since then we've seen Apple, Samsung, and a host of other companies launch their own "truly wireless" headphones, prompting Bragi to give the market another pop with "The Headphone" ($149), a less expensive, more awkwardly named variant of its original cord-free buds.
Announced last September two days before the Apple iPhone 7 event, The Headphone only began shipping in January, so Bragi has had plenty of time to iron out any last-minute kinks. Not that there should be any. The Headphone buds are a lot less ambitious than the Dash.
They don't have touch-sensitive controls, for one. Bragi has also done away with the internal music player, heart-rate monitoring and fitness tracking features found in the company's original wireless buds. Are they susceptible to the same connection problems that initially befell the Dash? And how do they compare against Apple's AirPods? Let's find out.
A few Facebook Messenger users have noticed that the company's "Reactions" are available to use within the app and on the web, along with a long-requested dislike -- or thumbs down -- button (via TechCrunch). Similar to Tapback in the iOS 10 Messages app, to use Reactions in Facebook Messenger users simply have to hover over a specific message and tap the small emoji button.
Images via TechCrunch
From there, the app will provide the standard set of Facebook Reactions, including emojis for love, laughter, amazed, sad, and angry. Thumbs up is still available, as well as the all-new thumbs down, which Facebook has said in the past that it wants to avoid using on the main social media site to avoid overt negativity among friends and family members. When Reactions originally launched around a year ago, Facebook aimed for them to be a more nuanced and diverse way to react to posts that was more varied than a simple thumbs up or thumbs down response.
Facebook confirmed this new feature to TechCrunch, saying “We’re always testing ways to make Messenger more fun and engaging. This is a small test where we enable people to share an emoji that best represents their feelings on a message.”
But, according to a statement from the company, within Facebook Messenger the dislike button is being seen as a simple "no" response. Similar to iOS Messages and Slack, Facebook said that its Messenger app is used for coordination and planning, and the addition of message-specific reaction buttons helps streamline plans among large groups of friends.
As is the case with these small tests, it's unclear whether or not Reactions in Facebook Messenger will expand to all users at one point. Last year, the company began testing out a disappearing post feature within Messenger in Poland and Australia, called "Messenger Day." Earlier this year, it launched a similar feature, now called "Facebook Stories," but within the mainline Facebook app for users in Ireland. Neither Snapchat-like update has launched worldwide.
Update 3/23: Facebook has launched Reactions in Messenger worldwide, as well as introduced a new @ mentions feature for the separate messaging app.
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.
While a 
While the Genius Bar is the focal point of the Apple Store, it turns out the idea was initially panned by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
