Introduced earlier this year, the Bamboo Sketch is Wacom's latest precision stylus designed to work with the iPhone and the iPad over Bluetooth. It's meant to mimic the feel of traditional pen-and-paper writing and drawing with interchangeable pen nibs and customizable shortcut buttons.
Priced at $80, Wacom's new stylus isn't a better option than the Apple Pencil for iPad Pro users, but for the iPhone and other iPad models, it's worth checking out.
Design
The all-black Bamboo Sketch looks sleek and stylish. It's made from a textured plastic that's super grippy, so it's easy to hold and feels comfortable when writing.
It's both thicker and heavier than a regular pen, and while it is well-balanced in the hand, my hand did get tired while writing after about 15 to 20 minutes because of its weight and diameter. Size wise, it measures in at 142mm long (about the size of your average pen) and it is 10mm in diameter. Its official weight is 18 grams, which is actually lighter than the Apple Pencil.
Able to fit in the palm of a hand, the Fader is ideal for selfies, landscape shots, sports, and more with its HD camera. The Fader comes in all black and is ultra lightweight, weighing in at just 55 grams. It can fly and capture footage for seven minutes before needing to be recharged.
It's flown using a controller that includes an iPhone mount, and with the accompanying Fader app, you can see a live feed of what the drone's capturing. There are three levels of controller sensitivity, making it ideal for all skill levels.
Fader features auto takeoff and and land functionality, and it features a six-axis gyro module that allows for tricks (there's a built in flip feature) and altitude maintenance when hovering. It's able to capture stable footage from the air, and it can fly as far as 50 meters away. For night flights, it includes LED lights.
TRNDlabs' Fader drone is normally priced at $129, but we have five to give away to MacRumors readers. 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 MacRumorsFacebook page.
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The contest will run from today (July 14) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on July 21. The winners will be chosen randomly on July 21 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
When you purchase an iTunes gift card and redeem it in the App Store, the camera on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac can scan the code on the card to recognize it automatically, saving you the time of typing the numbers in manually.
Equinux, the company behind Mail Designer Pro 3, dug into how Apple's promo code engine works in an effort to make their own scannable cards, and the results are quite interesting. As it turns out, the scanning feature in the App Store is tuned to recognize two things: a unique, hidden font and the dimensions of the box around it.
Equinux tried the box alone with a range of fonts like Courier and Monaco, and attempted to identify the unique characteristics of the font to find it, but were unsuccessful. Ultimately, the team realized the font that Apple's using is hidden deep within iTunes.
The breakthrough came when we noticed that when you scan a card with your iPhone, the app briefly displays a "scanned" overlay of the code. This means the font must be embedded in the app somewhere. We tried the same with iTunes on macOS. And voila - the iTunes on Mac behaves the same way.
When you look at some of the other folders inside iTunes, we found a tantalizing plugin called "CodeRedeemer." It showed promise. But alas, no font files there either. The app binary does give a hint of where the heavy lifting is being done: "CoreRecognition.framework."
Hidden in the CoreRecognition.framework, there are two fonts: "Scancardium," for entering and recognizing codes, and "Spendcardium," which appears to be for obscuring credit card details as they're entered. The two fonts can be found by going to Finder on a Mac, clicking Go, choosing Go to Folder and pasting the following: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreRecognition.framework/Resources/Fonts/
With a simple double click, the fonts can be installed on a Mac and can be used within different apps. While this is a neat breakdown for end users, it's of particular interest to developers because these fonts can be used to create custom App Store promo code cards that can be scanned in the same way as iTunes gift cards.
Equinux outlines the exact font height to use and how to position it within the surrounding box to get Apple's engine to recognize it, details the company uncovered after investing a lot of time in tweaking fonts and the border of the required box.
Equinux even went one step further and created helpful Sketch and Photoshop templates that developers can use to create App Store promo code cards that can be automatically scanned using a device camera and recognized by the App Store.
AT&T and Verizon sell AirPods for $159, the same price as Apple charges, but the carriers only ship to addresses within the United States, excluding P.O. boxes.
AirPods occasionally appear in stock through Apple resellers, but typically not for very long due to a combination of limited supplies and strong demand. For that reason, prospective buyers should order as quickly as possible.
AirPods, driven by Apple's custom W1 chip for one-tap setup, instantly connect to a nearby iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac when taken out of their charging case. The cord-free earphones use optical sensors and a motion accelerometer to detect when they are in your ears and automatically turn on.
Double tapping an AirPod invokes Siri by default, which can be used to adjust the volume, change the song, make a call, or get directions.
AirPods deliver up to five hours of listening time on one charge, and a 15-minute fast charge provides up to three hours of listening time. The charging case holds multiple additional charges for more than 24 hours of listening time.
Apple at WWDC 2017 last month introduced Core NFC, a new iOS 11 framework that enables apps to detect Near Field Communication tags.
Similar to Apple Pay, iPhone users are prompted with a "Ready to Scan" dialog box. After holding the iPhone near an item with an NFC tag, a checkmark displays on screen if a product is detected. An app with Core NFC could then provide users with information about that product contained within the tag.
A customer shopping at a grocery store could hold an iPhone near a box of crackers, for example, and receive detailed information about their nutritional values, price history, recipe ideas, and so forth. Or, at a museum, a visitor could hold an iPhone near an exhibit to receive detailed information about it.
Core NFC will expand the iPhone's NFC chip capabilities beyond simply Apple Pay in several other ways.
A bottle of wine with an NFC tag similar to CapSeal
Cybersecurity company WISeKey, for example, today announced that its CapSeal smart tag will now support iPhone thanks to Core NFC. CapSeal smart tags are primarily used for authentication, tracking, and anti-counterfeiting on products like wine bottles. Many other companies offer similar solutions.
When placed on a bottle of spirit or a bottle of lubricant oil, for instance, and tapped by an NFC phone, the chip is able to securely authenticate and track the bottle like an ePassport does. It offers the same certified security level. It also allows the brand to broadcast personalized messages to the phone-holder detecting whether the bottle has been open or not.
Core NFC is currently supported by the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and the framework is read-only for NFC tags of types 1 through 5 that contain data in the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF).
Australia on Friday proposed new laws that would require companies like Apple to provide law enforcement authorities with access to encrypted communications (via Reuters).
Australia's proposed legislation will compel companies to help security agencies intercept and read messages sent by suspects. It appears to take cues from the U.K.'s Investigatory Powers Bill, which includes provisions that require technology companies to bypass encryption where technically feasible.
"We need to ensure the internet is not used as a dark place for bad people to hide their criminal activities from the law," Australian Prim Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Sydney.
"The reality is, however, that these encrypted messaging applications and voice applications are being used obviously by all of us, but they're also being used by people who seek to do us harm."
The proposal will be introduced when parliament resumes in August and could be adopted within months, according to lawmakers. Other nations have said they will introduce similar laws.
Apple, along with Facebook, Google, and other major tech companies, have historically opposed such law changes, which they say threaten online security protocols.
For example, Apple claimed the U.K.'s recent bill would "weaken security" for millions of law-abiding customers. "The creation of backdoors and intercept capabilities would weaken the protections built into Apple products and endanger all our customers," Apple stated in December 2015. "A key left under the doormat would not just be there for the good guys. The bad guys would find it too."
Facebook rejected the need to introduce the new Australian law, insisting it already had a system in place to work alongside security agencies, while the new legislation could not be implemented on an individual basis.
"Weakening encrypted systems for them would mean weakening it for everyone," a spokeswoman for Facebook told Reuters.
Notably, Australia has not explained how the proposed law would prevent nefarious actors from using open-source encryption tools to encrypt messages that can be transferred through conventional means such as email.
Last month it was reported that Australia attended a meeting of officials from the "Five Eyes" intelligence sharing network, where it pushed for greater international powers to thwart the use of encrypted messaging services by terrorists and criminals.
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.
AT&T today announced plans to unveil a next-generation video platform this fall, which will be introduced first to DirecTV Now customers later this summer.
As part of a beta test for the platform, DirecTV Now subscribers will gain access to a cloud DVR feature, which will allow them to record and access their shows from anywhere. A wide selection of live channels will be able to be recorded, with 4K and HD video quality.
"We all want easy and quick access to our content, regardless of where, when or on what device we watch it," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Entertainment Group. "By developing for a single video platform, we'll deliver new features and platform innovations in a faster, more efficient way. And it will be simple and consistent wherever you watch--TV, phone or tablet."
AT&T also plans to introduce a whole new interface for the video platform, which will provide a "consistent look and feel" across all of the company's consumer video services. DirecTV testers will be able to provide AT&T with feedback on the new design.
Eventually, the next-generation video platform is expected to support features like live TV pausing and parental controls, expected later this year, and user profiles, offline watching (download and go), and 4K HDR are planned for 2018.
According to AT&T, beta testing for the video platform will begin in the summer, and select DirecTV Now customers will receive invites to test the features.
Platform game illi has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, it is available as a free download for the next seven days. illi, which has four stars in the App Store, has only been free once before since it was released in April of 2016.
The game is described as a "one button platform puzzler" that asks players to take control of illi, a fuzzy white horned creature, to travel through a strange world. Illi is able to bend the fabric of the world and defy gravity while traveling through portals to gather up light crystals.
There are more than 60 levels available in illi, and each new world features unique mechanics, traps, and obstacles that players need to overcome. There are also 170 quests to complete, and no in-app purchases.
illi will be available for free from the App Store for the next seven days, at which point a new app will be chosen as App of the Week. [Direct Link]
Apple CEO Tim Cook and iTunes Chief Eddy Cue this week attended the Allen & Co. Sun Valley media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, as they have done for the last several years.
Many well known tech and media moguls attend the Sun Valley event, which is essentially a retreat and is invitation only, but meetings and discussions at the conference are kept under wraps so it's unlikely we'll hear details on anything that goes on. In years past, Cook and Cue have kept a low profile during the week long event.
Described as a "summer camp for billionaires," the conference includes activities like rafting, cycling, and golf, and because it brings so many major media executives together in one place, it's been credited as the catalyst for major deals like the AOL and Time Warner merger, Walt Disney's acquisition of ABC, Google's purchase of YouTube, and Jeff Bezos' acquisition of The Washington Post.
Apple has been taking a more direct approach to media in recent months with its ever-growing interest in original content, so it's no surprise to see Cook and Cue at the event once again.
Other notable 2017 attendees include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Jared and Ivanka Trump, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, Twitter COO Anthony Noto, 21st Century Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, CBS Chairman Les Moonves, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 4 update to developers, just over three weeks after seeding the second beta and more than a month after introducing the new update at its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference. The new version is build 15R5321h.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the watchOS 4 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.
To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 4 features three new watch faces, including a dedicated Siri watch face that displays dynamic information unique to each individual and is perhaps the most significant new feature in the update. There are also new complications for Now Playing and Apple News, and an enhanced Workout app that supports High Intensity Interval Training and new swimming options.
Gymkit, a new technology platform, will let the Apple Watch interface with gym equipment for workout data sharing purposes, and the Activity app will offer up intelligent coaching and tailored workout encouragement along with new monthly activity challenges.
Many other small tweaks and changes have been introduced, all of which are outlined in our dedicated watchOS 4 roundup.
watchOS 4 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers, so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.
British carrier EE today announced it is extending its free six-month Apple Music subscription offer to all new and existing iPhone and Android smartphone customers with a pay monthly plan. SIM-only customers are also eligible.
The offer begins Wednesday, July 19, and customers will be able to register for the deal with a short-code to be revealed next week.
EE said any data consumed by Apple Music will be zero-rated, meaning it will not count against a customer's data allotment. After six months, customers will automatically be charged £9.99 per month for Apple Music until they cancel.
Matthew Roberts has uploaded his latest 4K drone tour of Apple Park, the company's new headquarters in Cupertino, California.
A limited number of Apple employees began moving into the new headquarters in April, but the video shows that construction is still well underway. Among the highlights are a closer look at the main circular building, Steve Jobs Theater, the visitor center across the street, and the overall landscaping.
Roberts also flew his drone over the historic Glendenning Barn, which Apple has now completely reassembled after carefully taking it down and pledging to move it to a new location due to construction of Apple Park.
Glendenning Barn, a historic landmark in Cupertino, has been situated on Apple Park's property since the early twentieth century. After taking over the site of HP's previous campus, Apple reportedly dismantled the redwood barn piece by piece, including every plank, nail, and crossbeam, and made careful notes on its construction.
The drone video reveals that Apple has successfully recreated the barn, although a few of the redwood planks appear to be brightly colored, indicating they might not be original. Apple reportedly stockpiled redwood salvaged from an old grove in case any damaged planks needed to be replaced.
When finished, Apple Park will be surrounded by some 9,000 trees, with a large pond, walking trails, benches, and a fitness center for employees.
Amazon is reportedly working on a successor to its Echo connected smart speaker for release later this year in a clear attempt to one-up Apple and its HomePod speaker, which is due to launch this December.
Sources who saw a working unit spoke to Engadget, claiming that the new Echo will improve on the first speaker "in every way", being shorter and slimmer than the original, with rounded edges and a cloth-like covering preferred over the current Echo's plastic shell and flat ends.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given Apple's focus on the HomePod music experience, Amazon is aiming to significantly improve the sound quality of the next Echo, according to sources. The company's new flagship smart speaker will feature multiple tweeters as opposed to just one large one (Apple's HomePod packs in seven tweeters).
Amazon is also reportedly enhancing the new Echo's far-field microphone technology, but it's not clear how. The current Echo has a seven-mic array, while the HomePod has six and Google Home has two, although the software running the mics significantly dictates their listening quality.
Pricing remains unknown, but Amazon's new Echo is likely to significantly undercut Apple's HomePod, which will retail at $349 and go up against the likes of Sonos in the premium speaker market. The existing Echo costs $180 as a reference.
First impressions of Apple's HomePod were largely positive following its unveiling in June, with journalists agreeing that the 7-inch tall device easily beats the Sonos Play:3 and 9-inch-tall Amazon Echo in terms of pure music playback quality. The HomePod initializes by playing 360-degree audio and listening back so that it can dynamically adjust sound output to fit environmental acoustics. Apple claimed it honed the technology over many years, so Amazon's next smart speaker has plenty to live up to.
Apple is offering users of its Apple Store app free redeem codes to download photo editing app Infltr. Usually $1.99, the acclaimed photo app for iPhone and iPad offers more than 7 million possible filters thanks to a sophisticated color gradient mapping algorithm, and lets users choose a filter before they take a picture or record video.
Moving a finger in any direction over the screen causes the photo filter to change its hue, while double-tapping shuffles the filter for a random pot-luck effect. Users can save customized filters to their collection, which can be synchronized to an online account to make it available on multiple devices.
Using 3D Touch gestures on supporting iPhones brings up a secondary menu that flips the camera front or back, lets users enable Live Photo, add vignette, and change the flash setting.
Infltr can be used to edit photos, videos, animated GIFs, and DSLR shots in HD without a loss in resolution, using over 10 included adjustment and transform tools. Users can also apply Infltr filters to the live camera feed while in iMessage.
Infltr is compatible with Apple Watch, allowing wearers to shoot remotely and adjust filters using the Digital Crown. The app also features an optional Home screen/Notification center widget that showcases new curated filters on a daily basis.
To get the app, first download the free Apple Store app [Direct Link]. The Infltr offer is featured in the Discover section on the main store screen. Offer ends August 15.
Update: Users running the iOS 11 public beta appear unable to redeem the offer through the Apple Store app.
Google has updated its Home smart speaker software so that owners can now listen to music they have uploaded to and purchased on Google Play Music.
Previously, using a free Play Music account through Google Home was limited to playing radio stations, while paying subscribers could listen to tracks in the streaming service's own online catalog. But now both types of account holders can also play music they have personally uploaded to the cloud (up to 50,000 songs) or bought outright on the Play Music store.
As detailed in the company's product forum post, Google Home will now prioritize uploaded and purchased tracks over radio mixes when users ask to play a certain artist, but on-demand content will play before purchased/uploaded content unless paying users specifically ask Home to play something from their library.
The feature is currently rolling out to all regions where Google Home is supported. See Google's help page on the subject for more.
Google today announced the launch of Backup and Sync, a new app for Macs and PCs that's designed to back up files and photos safely in Google Drive and Google Photos. The new app is meant to replace the existing Google Photos desktop uploader and Drive for Mac/PC.
To use Backup and Sync, Google Drive/Photos users just need to download the app and then choose the folders they want to back up. From there, the selected folders will be continually backed up to Google's services, providing an alternative to Time Machine and making it easier to automatically store important files in the cloud.
In addition to specific folders on a Mac or PC, Backup and Sync can also automatically import files from SD cards and USB devices when a camera, SD card, or other device is connected to a computer.
There are also specific options users can set to dictate how file deletions are handled, and users can choose to upload photos at a lower quality if space is a concern.
Apple is working on a rear-facing 3D laser system that will enable better depth detection for augmented reality apps and more accurate autofocus in the iPhone 8, reports Fast Company, citing a source with knowledge of the company's plans.
The iPhone 8 is said to use a VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) system for the rear camera, which analysts have previously speculated could be added to the device. There's also been some evidence that Apple has been sourcing VCSEL components from companies like Lumentum and Finisar, and Fast Company says Apple has tapped both companies along with II-VI for sensors.
VCSEL would offer faster and more accurate depth measurements for augmented reality purposes, along with speedier autofocusing when taking a photograph.
VCSEL laser systems calculate the distance the light travels from the laser to the target and back to the sensor, and generate a Time of Flight (TOF) measurement. The system consists of a source (the VCSEL laser), a lens, detector (sensor), and a processor. The whole thing costs about $2 per phone, our source says.
That Apple is working on improved augmented reality hardware for the iPhone 8 is no surprise given the focus on augmented reality and ARKit in iOS 11. New 3D camera technology was rumored for the rear-facing camera as early as November of 2016, and multiple design leaks point towards a revamped vertical dual-lens camera, suggesting a major camera revamp. The front-facing camera is also expected to include a new 3D sensor that would enable facial recognition.
According to Fast Company's source, the VCSEL system for the rear-facing camera is "probably intended" for the upcoming iPhone 8, but its inclusion "depends on the progress" Apple engineers make integrating it into the iPhone.
As we learned in a report yesterday, the source that Fast Company has spoken to believes iPhone features "can remain fluid until deep in the summer" ahead of an iPhone launch, though it seems more logical that work on the iPhone 8 is complete as we are just two months away from its prospective September introduction. Given the many rumors of a major camera redesign and previous rumors pointing towards 3D capabilities, a VCSEL laser system is a reasonable feature to expect to see in the device.
Fast Company's previous report suggested there is a "sense of panic" in the air at Apple as engineers and designers struggle to work out software problems with wireless charging and the 3D sensors meant for the device. The site also said Touch ID was "likely" to be included in the iPhone 8, despite multiple rumors suggesting it's been removed in favor of facial recognition.
Microsoft today launched a new app called Seeing AI, which the company describes as a talking camera for people who are visually impaired. The app uses artificial intelligence and the camera of an iPhone or iPad to describe the world around it. It's able to recognize text, objects, and people.
The app turns the visual world into an audible experience and using it is as simple as pointing the camera at various objects and people. The app can recognize saved friends, or describe people based on their approximate age and demeanor, and it can read text that it detects aloud.
Seeing AI can scan and read documents like books and letters, helping with formatting, and it can see objects like money to identify specific denominations. Within stores, it can scan barcodes to help users shop, and it's also able to be used within other apps like Twitter for evaluating images.
An experimental "Scenes" feature is available, allowing the app to analyze what's going on in a photograph. Scenes isn't perfect, and Seeing AI is an ongoing research product, so it may not accurately describe every image.
Seeing AI is available in the U.S., Canada, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore starting today, with Microsoft planning to expand it to additional countries in the future. It works on the iPhone 5c and later, but performs best on the iPhone 6s and later.
Australia on Friday proposed new laws that would require companies like Apple to provide law enforcement authorities with access to encrypted communications (via 
Apple CEO Tim Cook and iTunes Chief Eddy Cue this week attended the Allen & Co. Sun Valley media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, as they have done for the 
