iOS 10.2, currently being beta tested, introduces new artwork for many existing emoji. Apple has made an effort to add more detail to emoji, for a more realistic, vivid look that works well with the Messages feature in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra that displays larger emoji.
Almost all of the food emojis were redesigned in iOS 10.2, but one redesign received a lot more attention than others - the peach. The iOS peach emoji, in addition to representing the fruit, has long been used as a symbol for a person's rear end due to its design and angling, which Apple changed in iOS 10.2 beta 1.
The iOS 10.2 beta 1 peach emoji was much rounder and more peach-like, eliminating its resemblance to a butt. The shift was widely noted (and mourned) on the internet, and the attention the redesign received seems to have prompted Apple to change the emoji back to its original look.
As The Next Web points out, the peach emoji has been overhauled again in iOS 10.2 beta 3, and now it once again resembles a derriere. The colors have shifted a bit and there's more detail included, but it is undeniably -- and perhaps more so -- butt-like.
It's an insignificant change, but the reversion of the peach emoji to its original state suggests Apple listens to and takes into account the feedback of its users, even when it comes to small details.
🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑SAVE THE PEACH BUTT
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) November 1, 2016
In addition to changing the look of the peach emoji, iOS 10.2 beta 3 also further refined the new TV app, adding "Up Next" functionality and fully eliminating the Videos app in the United States. iOS 10.2 is still in beta testing, but we expect to see a public release in December, which is when Apple has said many of the iOS 10.2 features will debut.
Back in September, Apple announced plans to start removing outdated apps from the App Store, promising to eliminate apps that are non-functional, not compatible with recent versions of iOS, or that do not adhere to current review guidelines.
According to data app analytics firm Sensor Tower shared with TechCrunch, Apple has made good on that promise. In October of 2016, the number of apps removed from the App Store increased by 238 percent, with Apple purging a total of 47,300 apps throughout the month.
On an average month, Apple removes approximately 14,000 iOS apps, so October's much larger purge represents a significant step towards cleaning up the App Store.
Developers with problematic apps were notified starting in September, and Apple gave them 30 days to make changes to prevent their apps from being eliminated from the App Store. Apps that did not see updates were then removed.
Apps across all categories were subject to removal, but many of the 47,000 apps that were culled from the App Store were games. 28 percent of removed apps fell into the Games category, 8.99 were in the Entertainment category, 8.96 were in the Books category, 7 percent were in the Education category, and 6 percent were in the Lifestyle category.
The App Store purge is part of Apple's effort to improve the App Store. In recent months, Apple has opened up app subscriptions to all product categories, introduced more favorable revenue splits, improved sharing tools, and added ads to App Store search results to give developers new ways to promote their apps.
Apple will release a trio of new iPhones next year, according to a new research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo believes Apple will launch a 4.7-inch model with a single-lens camera and LCD display, 5.5-inch model with a dual-lens camera and LCD display, and an all-new OLED model with a dual-lens camera in 2017.
We look for new 2017F iPhones to come in three models: one OLED model, and two TFT-LCD models with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display. We believe the OLED and 5.5-inch TFT-LCD iPhones will feature dual-camera. Based on this prediction, our forecast of dual camera adoption rate in new 2017F iPhone models is revised up from 30-40% to 65-75%. We view this increase as favoring Largan’s sales and profit momentum as it is the exclusive supplier of wide-angle and telephoto lens. It also bodes well for Apple’s dual camera software ecosystem.
Japanese website Nikkei likewise said Apple will release three new glass-backed iPhones next year, including 4.7-inch, 5-inch, and 5.5-inch sizes. The report reiterated that one of those iPhones will be a premium model with a curved edge-to-edge OLED display to be sold alongside two models that have standard LCD displays. Barclays analysts said that model's screen will be extended "vertically as well as horizontally."
Popular Mac image editing app Pixelmator today received a major update that incorporates many features included in macOS Sierra and introduces support for the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro.
With macOS Sierra compatibility, Pixelmator supports tabs, so multiple windows can be combined for easier management, and it includes the Universal Clipboard feature introduced in Sierra, allowing for cross-device copy paste.
Pixelmator now works with P3 wide color gamut, so you'll see brighter, more vibrant colors when using the app with the new MacBook Pro or one of the new LG 4K or 5K displays. Most importantly, this version of Pixelmator includes support for the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar.
End users won't be able to access Touch Bar features until the first MacBook Pro orders begin arriving next week, but Pixelmator is launching it early. The Touch Bar keeps the most useful Pixelmator tools right at your fingertips for quicker editing and streamlined workflows. It automatically changes based on what you're doing within the app, and it can be customized to suit your individual needs.
Touch Bar: - Set the most useful tool options for your selected tool right in the Touch Bar. - The Touch Bar is customizable, so you can choose exactly which tools you'd like to keep in it. - Use the Touch Bar to change color, alignment, and other text properties. - When previewing effects or adjustments, a Show Original button lets you take a peek at the original image. - Use Rotate and Scale sliders to transform layers. - And do a lot more!
Pixelmator also now includes a new content-aware Smart Refine feature that's designed to make selecting content quicker and more accurate. Smart Refine is able to detect object edges in an image to automatically refine a selection outline. It naturally smooths the edges of a selection for easier blending, and there's a new workflow for making quick edits to a selection through painting.
After a decade-long search, Apple is believed to be in the final stages of negotiating a deal to open a new AU$50 million flagship retail store in Melbourne's iconic Federation Square, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia (Image: Architecter)
Apple has reportedly been in lengthy and secretive negotiations with Federation Square's management and the Victoria state government to demolish the Yarra building in the square and replace it with a standalone, glass retail store. No timeline was provided, but a grand opening would likely remain years away.
Federation Square is a government-owned public space home to, among others, public broadcaster SBS and the Australian Centre for Moving Image. The 344,445-square-foot postmodern development, opened in 2002, is primely located in Melbourne's central business district in the inner city.
Apple has three existing stores in the Melbourne area, but they are located in shopping malls in the suburbs of Chadstone, Doncaster, and Southland.
Apple's new next-generation store in Liverpool, England
Apple's new retail layout often includes wide, open spaces with some combination of large glass doors, indoor trees, touch-sensitive sequoia wood tables and shelves for displaying products, large 6K resolution video screens for marketing and events, and light boxes extending the length of the ceiling.
Apple recently opened three other next-generation stores in Edison, New Jersey and Liverpool and Sheffield in England.
Almost three months after news first broke that Twitter was planning to launch new features in order to address a bevy of concerns leveled at the company in regards to bullying and harassment among its users, the company today announced the launch of a few anti-abuse steps it'll be taking to make its platform more inclusive. The final product is slightly different from what was detailed in August, and comes as a simple expansion of Twitter's pre-existing "mute" ability.
Whereas mute was limited to entire accounts before, now users will be able to mute keywords, phrases, and even entire conversations within notifications in Twitter. This way, users can block specific content they don't want to be notified about, without having to completely mute an entire account. The expansion of mute is still a step behind third-party apps like Tweetbot, which let users mute words, hashtags, and users everywhere they appear on Twitter, not just in notifications.
The amount of abuse, bullying, and harassment we've seen across the Internet has risen sharply over the past few years. These behaviors inhibit people from participating on Twitter, or anywhere. Abusive conduct removes the chance to see and share all perspectives around an issue, which we believe is critical to moving us all forward. In the worst cases, this type of conduct threatens human dignity, which we should all stand together to protect.
Because Twitter happens in public and in real-time, we've had some challenges keeping up with and curbing abusive conduct. We took a step back to reset and take a new approach, find and focus on the most critical needs, and rapidly improve. There are three areas we're focused on, and happy to announce progress around today: controls, reporting, and enforcement.
The company also announced, although vaguely, a new way for users to report abuse that violates Twitter's parameters for prohibiting harmful language "that targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease." It's unclear how this update differs from Twitter's current "report Tweet" option, but the company said that it offers "a more direct way" for users to report negative conduct when they see it happening.
The process behind the anti-harassment move at Twitter has gotten an overhaul as well, with retrained support teams ready to address user reports of bad behavior, and also overhauled system tools so its employees can "deal more effectively with this conduct when it's reported." Twitter said that its goal is "a faster and more transparent process," with the final outcome aimed to be a "culture of collective support on Twitter."
All the same, the company noted that it understands such improvements won't stop hate speech overnight, or "suddenly remove abusive conduct from Twitter. No single action by us would do that. Instead we commit to rapidly improving Twitter based on everything we observe and learn." The new features will begin appearing on Twitter for iOS, Android, and the web in the coming days. More information on how to install mute keywords and Twitter's hateful conduct policy can be found in the company's help center.
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.
While the new entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with function keys has a removable SSD, the same cannot be said for the Touch Bar model.
MacRumors reader Jesse D. unscrewed the bottom lid on his new 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar and discovered, unlike the 13-inch model sans Touch Bar, there is no cutout in the logic board for removable flash storage. Another reader said the 13-inch model with a Touch Bar also has a non-removable SSD.
Given the SSD appears to be permanently soldered to the logic board, users will be unable to upgrade the Touch Bar MacBook Pro's flash storage beyond Apple's 512GB to 2TB built-to-order options on its website at the time of purchase. In other words, the amount of flash storage you choose will be permanent for the life of the notebook.
The discovery also increases the importance of backing up data using Time Machine or a similar solution in case of logic board failure.
These are the first MacBook Pro models to ship with non-removable SSDs, following in the footsteps of the 12-inch MacBook.
The photos also show "pretty large, nearly index finger width gaps" around the battery cells, possibly to keep the MacBook Pro's overall weight lower and to encourage better airflow. The fan placement and internal layout of Touch Bar models is significantly different than the standard function key model.
Official teardowns from the likes of iFixit and OWC should confirm and provide a better look at the non-removable SSDs.
Nintendo today confirmed that its iOS endless runner game, Super Mario Run, will launch on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on December 15 for $9.99, a price that will allow users "full access" to the game's three modes. Players will also be able to download the game for free, gaining limited access to elements from each mode so that they can try out the game before deciding whether or not they want to buy it.
“The wait is almost over for a Super Mario game that can be played on mobile devices,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Developed under the direction of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario Run brings a new take on the series’ beloved action-platforming gameplay to iPhone and iPad for the first time.”
The game will be compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS 8 or later, and launch in 151 countries on December 15. Additionally, Super Mario Run will support the following languages: English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian and traditional Chinese.
The game was first announced at Apple's September 7 iPhone event, and will have Mario running to the right with users tapping to make him jump and avoid enemies in order to complete each level.
Music-recognizing app Shazam retains access to the Mac's microphone, keeping it in a constant on state, even when Shazam has been turned off. The potentially worrisome feature was discovered by security researcher Patrick Wardle, who developed an app called "OverSight" to warn users of when other apps are using their webcam and microphone. After its launch, one OverSight user contacted Wardle and told him Shazam kept listening even after it was toggled off in settings.
Wardle, who's also an ex-NSA hacker, reverse-engineered Shazam's Mac app and posted his findings in a personal blog. What he discovered was that the app essentially keeps the Mac's microphone on to create a snappier user experience when song detection is required, but Wardle doesn't believe there's "any malice" to the company's desktop and laptop app.
In a statement sent to Motherboard, Shazam's vice president of global communications, James Pearson, confirmed that the app keeps the microphone on but "the audio is not processed unless the user actively turns the app 'ON.'" In essence, Shazam for the Mac is constantly accessing the computer's microphone, but only gaining access to audio and processing user data when turned on.
“There is no privacy issue since the audio is not processed unless the user actively turns the app ‘ON.’” James Pearson, the VP of global communications for Shazam, said in an emailed statement. ”If the mic wasn’t left on, it would take the app longer to both initialize the mic and then start buffering audio, and this is more likely to result in a poor user experience where users ‘miss out’ on a song they were trying to identify.”
As Wardle summed it up on his blog:
In other words what 'OFF' appears to mean, is simply, "stop processing the recorded data" ...not cease recording.
Pearson refuted the idea that the always-on microphone was a bug, reiterating that the lack of audio processing in Shazam's off state was always the company's intended purpose for that mode, saying that "the user's decision not to leverage our app's functionality is fully respected" because of it. Since the report has become more widespread, Shazam's Chief Product Officer Fabio Santini confirmed to CNET that the company will be updating the Mac app within the next few days to change how the app works, in order "to show that we care, and we pay attention, and we want them to feel good about using Shazam on their Mac."
Despite Wardle's confirmation that Shazam appears to be largely truthful, with no recorded audio being sent, saved, or processed by the company when the app is turned off, he remained wary of Shazam's failure to disclose exactly how much access it has to the Mac's microphone before his discovery. This is mostly due to the fact that, although Shazam's intentions appear wholesome, another party could design malware that resides within the app and steals its toggled-off recordings, without the user ever being warned.
Again, though it appears that Shazam is always recording even when the user has toggled it 'OFF' I saw no indication that this recorded data is ever processed (nor saved, exfiltrated, etc). However, I still don't like an app that appears to be constantly pulling audio off my computers internal mic. As such, I'm uninstalling Shazam as quickly as possible!
On iOS, users have a bit more insight into Shazam's background functionality thanks to Apple's hard-to-miss red banner that sticks to the top of the screen when an iPhone's microphone is on in another app. Wardle's main problem appears to be a lack of a similar warning for users on the Mac side of things, saying that "users should know" what has access to their computer's input devices and when.
Check out his full breakdown of the Shazam Mac app here.
Update: Shazam's Vice President for global communications James Pearson contacted MacRumors to emphasize that Shazam has not actually recorded audio using the Mac's microphone using this behavior.
Contrary to recent rumors, Shazam doesn’t record anything. Shazam accesses the microphone on devices for the exclusive purpose of obtaining a small fingerprint of a subset of the soundwaves, which are then used exclusively to find a match in Shazam’s database and then deleted.
Apple today announced the release of a new hardbound photo book, called "Designed by Apple in California," that chronicles 20 years of Apple product designs through 450 photographs. The book ranges from the iMac in 1998 to the Apple Pencil in 2015, and "also documents the materials and techniques used by Apple’s design team over two decades of innovation." It is dedicated in the memory of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
The photographs in the book were shot by Andrew Zuckerman and are said to showcase each product's design process as well as its final form. Apple chief design officer, Jony Ive, gives the foreword for the book, explaining that its purpose is not to illustrate the success of Apple's design team, but to "describe how we work, our values, our preoccupations, and our goals."
“The idea of genuinely trying to make something great for humanity was Steve’s motivation from the beginning, and it remains both our ideal and our goal as Apple looks to the future,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. “This archive is intended to be a gentle gathering of many of the products the team has designed over the years. We hope it brings some understanding to how and why they exist, while serving as a resource for students of all design disciplines.”
Apple developed the book over an eight-year period, paying close attention to its own design and look. Because of this, the linen-bound, hardcover book is printed on specially milled, custom-dyed paper with gilded matte silver edges, using eight color separations and low-ghost ink. It will be published by Apple itself, and only be available to purchase from the Cupertino company.
"Designed by Apple in California" will go on sale tomorrow, November 16, in small (10.20" x 12.75") and large (13" x 16.25") sizes, running $199 and $299, respectively. Fans will be able to order the photo book from Apple.com in Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as at select Apple retail stores across the world.
Apple today was granted a patent that essentially updates an older wearable sports and health tracking device invention with features similar to those found in the company's new AirPods wireless headphones.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent on Tuesday with the title "Sports monitoring system for headphones, earbuds and/or headsets", which AppleInsider notes is nearly identical to a patent of the same name granted in 2014. However, the new document adds some new details hinting that Apple may be planning on integrating the technology into a forthcoming version of the company's AirPods.
The patent describes an earbud-based fitness monitoring system which integrates an advanced biometric sensor that can detect physiological metrics including temperature, heart rate, perspiration levels and more, through skin contact and via built-in motion sensors.
The updated document does away with references to a head gesture-controlled user interface and replaces them with details of a UI that users interact with via voice and touch. The newer invention allows users to touch areas of the headphones to trigger controls such as changing music track or invoking Siri. Alternatively, users can speak commands through a microphone, which are then processed by the headset or sent to a host device such as an iPhone.
The changes bear clear similarities to Apple's recently delayed AirPods, which include embedded infrared and motion sensors for controlling various system functions. AirPods automatically detect when they are removed from the ear and can power off independently. The AirPods' tap controls also enable wearers to invoke Siri which can then be used to control music playback, volume, and other options.
With Apple's first-generation AirPods already being delayed suggesting technical issues, it's unlikely we'll be seeing a biometric sensor-equipped version of the earbuds soon, but the patent suggests Apple still has long-term designs on in-ear health and activity tracking, possibly being readied for a future model.
Apple says it needs "a little more time" before its AirPods are ready for customers, but a recent report indicated they could enter production in December possibly in time for availability going into the holiday season.
WhatsApp messenger service is today officially rolling out end-to-end encrypted video calling to over 1 billion users of the app across the globe (via TechCrunch).
Video calling had recently been spotted in beta versions of the Facebook-owned chat service on Android, but the feature is now becoming available across all platforms.
Tapping the call button in the top right corner of an open chat thread now brings up the option to initiate a voice or video call. During video calls, users see typical options like switching between front-facing and rear-facing camera, muting the call, or hanging up.
The addition of video calling to WhatsApp aligns the service with Facebook Messenger, Viber, Google Duo, and other chat apps which already include the feature. However, WhatsApp's huge user base and cross-platform support gives it a significant advantage over similar services such as FaceTime, which currently only works on Apple devices, and Google Duo, which only works on later versions of iOS and Android.
"We obviously try to be in tune with what our users want," said WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum, speaking to Reuters. "We're obsessed with making sure that voice and video work well even on low-end phones."
WhatsApp recently tested two-factor authentication in beta versions of the app, suggesting the next update could have a significant security focus. WhatsApp rolled out end-to-end encryption on the platform earlier this year, making it impossible for the company or state authorities to gain access to the contents of messages.
WhatsApp is available as a free download on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone.
Popular shoe brand TOMS today unveiled a new line of Apple Watch bands, each of which is made of a durable grosgrain fabric with leather detailing.
Apple Watch bands are divided into two collections, Utility and Artisan. Utility bands, priced at $49, come in Light Blue Stripe, Black, and Olive for 42mm Apple Watch models, and Dusty Pink, Light Blue Stripe, and Clay for 38mm Apple Watch models.
Artisan bands, priced at $75, feature a full leather backing on the band and are more expensive than Utility bands. Artisan bands come in Black Diamond (38mm and 42mm), Royal Blue Diamond (38mm), and Red Diamond (42mm).
All of TOMS Apple Watch bands feature stainless steel lugs and buckles, which match the stainless steel Apple Watch models. GIVE TIME is etched on each buckle with gold TOMS embossing on the band itself.
Each TOMS Apple Watch band purchase provides one year of solar light to families who lack access to reliable electricity.
As part of its effort to expand further into wearable devices, Apple is working on a set of smart glasses, reports Bloomberg. Citing sources familiar with Apple's plans, the site says the smart glasses would connect wirelessly to the iPhone, much like the Apple Watch, and would display "images and other information" to the wearer.
Apple has contacted potential suppliers about its glasses project and has ordered "small quantities" of near-eye displays, suggesting the project is in the exploratory prototyping phase of development. If work on the glasses progresses, they could be released in 2018.
Google Glass
Apple's glasses sound similar to Google Glass, the head-mounted display that Google first introduced in 2013. Google Glass used augmented reality and voice commands to allow users to do things like check the weather, make phone calls, and capture photographs. Apple's product could be similar in functionality.
The glasses may be Apple's first hardware product targeted directly at AR, one of the people said. Cook has beefed up AR capabilities through acquisitions. In 2013, Apple bought PrimeSense, which developed motion-sensing technology in Microsoft Corp.'s Kinect gaming system. Purchases of software startups in the field, Metaio Inc. and Flyby Media Inc., followed in 2015 and 2016.
Google Glass was highly criticized because of privacy concerns, and as a result, it never really caught on with consumers. Google eventually stopped developing Google Glass in January of 2015.
It is not clear how Apple would overcome the privacy and safety issues that Google faced, nor if the project will progress, but Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed Apple's deep interest in augmented reality multiple times over the last few months, suggesting something big is in the works. "AR can be really great," he said in July. "We have been and continue to invest a lot in this. We're high on AR in the long run."
Past rumors have also indicated Apple is exploring a number of virtual and augmented reality projects, including a full VR headset. Apple has a full team dedicated to AR and VR research and how the technologies can be incorporated into future Apple products. Cook recently said that he believes augmented reality would be more useful and interesting to people than virtual reality.
As the new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar begin arriving to customers, Apple has updated the Mac App Store with a featured section highlighting a selection of Mac apps that have been updated with Touch Bar support.
Apple's list includes 14 apps that now work with the Touch Bar, like Day One, OmniGraffle 7, PocketCAS, Mail Designer Pro 3, Focus, and 1Password. Some of the apps, like Final Cut Pro and djay Pro, were previously shown off by Apple on stage when the MacBook Pro was announced.
The scope of Touch Bar support varies by app, but in many apps, once-buried settings and frequently used shortcuts are now available in the Touch Bar, allowing users to speed up their workflows. In djay Pro, for example, the Touch Bar can be used for full music manipulation, while in 1Password, it offers options for quickly adding or finding passwords.
One of the chief complaints in MacBook Pro reviews released today was the lack of support by third-party apps, but that should soon improve as developers finish updating their apps with Touch Bar compatibility.
Many apps, including popular titles like Pixelmator, Photoshop, Affinity Design, and Microsoft Office, will be introducing Touch Bar support in the coming weeks.
As can be seen in the video below, the TV app is more fully functional, with support for the "Up Next" feature that keeps track of what you're watching across multiple devices. TV has now completely replaced the former Videos app in the United States, which has now been eliminated.
Here's a full list of changes that can be found in iOS 10.2 beta 3:
SOS - The SOS functionality that allowed users to call emergency services by pressing the power button multiple times on the iPhone has been removed in this beta. According to Apple's release notes, SOS is currently only available in India, perhaps for testing purposes before a wider rollout.
Messages - There's a new "Send With Love" Screen Effect option in Messages that sends a heart along with a text message.
TV settings - In the Settings app, there's a new section for the TV app. It allows users to choose whether to use cellular data for playback and choose the streaming quality over Wi-Fi and Cellular. There's also an option to choose whether to make purchases and rentals from the store in HD or SD.
TV functionality - The TV app now supports the "Up Next" feature that keeps track of the television shows and movies you're watching, saving your place or recommending next episodes across multiple devices.
Videos - The Videos app has been removed from iOS entirely in the United States and replaced with the TV app. The Videos widget, introduced with iOS 10.1, has also been removed, but there is a replacement TV widget that's been available since beta 2. In countries outside of the United States, the Videos app is still available.
Apple has only provided the third beta of iOS 10.2 to developers today, but will likely make the new features available to public beta testers later this week.
Because Apple has promised a December launch for several of the features in iOS 10.2 (including Single Sign-On and the TV app), the update could be officially released during the early weeks of the month.
Apple dropped Intel's integrated Iris Pro graphics in favor of dedicated AMD graphics across its entire new 15-inch MacBook Pro lineup, resulting in performance improvements over previous models. Perhaps more interestingly, the switch to AMD provides expanded external display support that desktop users have patiently waited for.
As Andrew Cunningham at Ars Technica explains, AMD's Polaris-based Radeon Pro 450, Radeon Pro 455, and built-to-order Radeon Pro 460 GPUs in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro support up to six displays, whereas Intel's integrated GPUs affixed to the logic board can drive a total of three displays.
The expanded support enables the new MacBook Pro to drive two of Apple and LG's new UltraFine 5K displays at 60Hz simultaneously. Intel's GPUs can't because, due to bandwidth limitations of the DisplayPort 1.2 spec, the two 5K displays technically function as four displays. This method is known as Multi-Stream Transport (MST).
When you hook one of LG's 5K monitors to one of the new MacBook Pros, what you're actually seeing on the screen is two pictures stitched together to make a single seamless image. This is because the version of the DisplayPort spec supported by Intel's GPUs and almost all monitors these days—version 1.2—doesn't have enough bandwidth to drive a 5K display at 60Hz all by itself. […] Apple is actually pushing two DisplayPort 1.2 streams to the monitor over the single Thunderbolt 3 cable.
There’s nothing wrong with this method, except that it cuts down on the number of external displays your computer can support. Intel’s integrated GPUs can drive a total of three displays, but you use up two of those three streams to drive one 5K monitor and one of them to drive the laptop’s internal display. AMD’s GPUs support up to six displays, so you can use two of those connections for one 5K monitor, two of them for the other 5K monitor, one for the laptop’s internal display, and still have one left over for yet another monitor if you really wanted to use one.
Apple could have used Nvidia's faster Pascal-based GPUs, which support DisplayPort 1.3, but Thunderbolt 3 and most monitors do not support the higher-bandwidth spec yet. In the meantime, Nvidia's GPUs can only drive up to three displays beyond the main MacBook Pro screen — not enough for dual 5K displays over MST.
Apple will have more flexibility again when DisplayPort 1.3 becomes more common. Those future laptops will be able to drive two 5K screens plus a laptop’s internal screen using just three DisplayPort streams instead of five. For now, though, if pushing two high-end 5K screens at once was a design goal for Apple, AMD was the only way to go.
In terms of performance improvements, Cunningham benchmarked the mid-range 2.7GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro with the Radeon Pro 455 graphics chip to determine just how much faster the notebook truly is compared to the 2016 12-inch MacBook and older MacBook Pros released over the past few years.
He found the Radeon Pro 455 to be a "significant boost" over the built-to-order dedicated GPUs available in the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro models, namely the Nvidia GeForce GTX 650M, Nvidia GeForce GTX 750M, and AMD Radeon R9 M370X respectively, but said the new MacBook Pro remains unsuitable for high-end gaming and VR.
Is it disappointing that Apple didn’t decide to push the envelope a little more? Sure. Is it too bad that performance and power efficiency were apparently sacrificed in the name of external display support? Yes. Are these midrange GPUs in any way inconsistent with any MacBook Pro released in the last decade? No.
Apple officially says the 15-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 130% faster graphics performance, and up to 2.5x more computing power per watt, compared to the previous-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro, but those stats are based on the built-to-order Radeon Pro 460 chip that costs between $100 and $200 extra.
Apple today announced that nonprofit organizations in the United States are now able to accept accept donations using Apple Pay, allowing donors to send money to various charities more quickly.
Many nonprofits like UNICEF, charity:water, American Red Cross, (RED), Save the Children, World Wildlife Fund, and more will begin accepting Apple Pay payments starting this morning, while others will adopt Apple Pay support "over the coming months." A total of 19 charities are supporting Apple Pay as of today.
Charities will be able to accept Apple Pay on their websites using Apple Pay for the web, and donations can also be made through specific charity apps that support Apple Pay.
"We're making it incredibly easy to give back with Apple Pay," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay. "Websites and apps tell us they see twice as many people actually completing a purchase with Apple Pay than with other payment methods. We think offering such a simple and secure way to support the incredible work nonprofits do will have a significant impact on the communities they serve."
Many charities are hoping the ability to accept payments over Apple Pay will drive Apple customers to make more donations this holiday season because it makes the donation process both simpler and more secure.
"Apple Pay removes obstacles like forms or concerns about security, allowing donors instead to focus on the impact their gift will make on communities waiting for water." -- Peter Chasse, President & Founder, The Water Project.
As TechCrunch points out, nonprofit organizations could not previously accept Apple Pay because Apple's rules prevented iOS apps from collecting funds for charities or fundraisers using Apple Pay. Charities previously had to collect funds outside of their apps, but will now be able to include built-in donate buttons.
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