Headphone jack controversies aside, Apple's cord-free AirPods have contributed to a recent surge of interest in "truly wireless" earphones, with several companies vying for a piece of the market.
Denmark-based audio outfit Jabra has embraced the freedom-of-movement appeal of wireless buds more than most with its Elite Sport headphones ($250), which it calls "the most technically advanced true wireless sports earbuds" around. Boasting a number of features such as in-ear coaching and heart-rate tracking, they're an intriguing prospect for fitness-focused headphone users frustrated by flailing cords.
While Jabra claims the Elite Sport buds improve your workouts while providing great sound, $250 is a lot to pay for a wireless headset. We checked out a pair to see if they deliver on their promises.
The iMessage App Store turned six months old this week, and the app analysts at Sensor Tower have decided to see where Apple's miniature app store stands among users and developers following an initial launch rush last year. According to Sensor Tower, more than 5,000 apps have either added iMessage features, or launched exclusively on the text message-based App Store.
Unfortunately, while the growth is noticeable -- and on par with the original App Store in 2008 -- it has begun subsiding on a month-to-month basis, with Sensor Tower noting it is "seeing signs that the initial rush of excitement over iMessage apps is fading among developers." From September to October the number of iMessage-enabled apps grew 116 percent, from 400 to 1,100. By the end of November, the iMessage App Store had grown 108 percent to include around 2,250 apps.
Things began slowing down in December where growth was marked at 65 percent, with 3,700 iMessage apps stocking the App Store worldwide. As 2017 began, the iMessage App Store hit its slowest growth period yet: it saw an 18 percent increase from December to January, and a 9 percent increase from January to February.
Sensor Tower points to confusion over the iMessage App Store's UI and app discovery that could be leading to an overall lack of user interactivity with the apps, and subsequently resulting in developers' fading interest. The analysts still look forward to the iMessage App Store's "real test" of growth down the line as iOS 11 approaches later in the year.
Any new platform will see an initial surge in offerings due to the aforementioned excitement, rallying cries from the platform holder, and the associated rush by developers to ensure that they’re capitalizing on (what they hope will be) the next big thing. The real test for the iMessage App Store’s catalog will be how its growth looks for the rest of its first year.
Still, consumer platforms such as Apple’s latest are driven by the steady availability of compelling software, and the cadence of releases can say a lot about developer confidence—which, in turn, is reflective of what and how much users are consuming.
Games are the most popular of the iMessage apps, and the category includes regular apps that create iMessage versions with sticker compatibility without any specific gaming features. Following games are Entertainment, Utilities, Social Networking, and Photo & Video apps.
In a bid to bring more awareness to iMessage apps -- and stickers specifically -- Apple this week launched a new ad to promote the wide array of stickers that users can download and share within Messages. The live action commercial featured people running around and sticking colorful, animated stickers, including some from Disney and Family Guy, on everything from other people to food.
Apple's widely rumored 5.8-inch iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display will be flat across the front of the smartphone, and slightly curved along the left and right edges to conform with the layer of 2.5D glass that covers the display, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
Yesterday, a report claimed the high-end iPhone will have a curved display, but with gentler curves than Samsung's Galaxy S7 edge. MacRumors has confirmed the report refers to a display that is slightly curved at the edges below 2.5D cover glass, meaning the display itself cannot be dramatically curved.
This means the report essentially mirrors comments from IHS Markit, which last week told us that Apple will likely "adopt a flat implementation of OLED design on their special iPhone model, which is analogous to the current 2.5D glass design," but "mostly flat" is perhaps a better descriptor.
Yesterday's report said the slightly curved edges will make the iPhone sleeker, but it claimed the new design will not offer significant new functions. But a slightly expanded Multi-Touch area could result in improved gesture recognition along the edges, such as pulling up Control Center in landscape mode.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Chinese research firm TrendForce have also said they expect Apple's special edition iPhone to have 2.5D cover glass, which refers to the slightly curved glass that sits above the actual display. Apple has used 2.5D cover glass since the iPhone 6 lineup in 2014.
Kuo said Apple is unlikely to adopt a fully curved display with 3D glass this year in light of mass production challenges and inadequate drop test performance. Some reports have surprisingly claimed the "iPhone 8" is not even finalized yet due to these yield rate considerations, suggesting stock could be limited at launch.
Apple has been testing multiple iPhone prototypes this year as usual, including one with a more dramatically curved display, but at this point it has elected to use a mostly flat display with only slightly curved edges, based on a flexible substrate, according to sources within Apple's supply chain.
The benefit of the edge-to-edge design is that it will essentially allow for an iPhone 7 Plus sized display to fit on a device that is iPhone 7 sized, which is beneficial for all sorts of reasons, such as one-handed usage and pocketability. OLED displays have many benefits over LCDs, which current iPhones use, too.
The 5.8-inch display is expected to have a primary area of around 5.2 inches, while Kuo expects some of the remaining space to house virtual buttons.
iLuv today announced its first Apple HomeKit certified device called the "Rainbow8," an IoT connected smart lightbulb system that includes Siri compatibility and Wi-Fi connectivity so users can interact with their lights from an iPhone or iPad. One of the distinctions between Rainbow8 and Philips Hue is that iLuv's product doesn't require a central, router-connected hub.
To get started the company said that "all you have to do is simply plug in," and Rainbow8 will search for a nearby smartphone with the company's app. Once it's set up, users can set up schedules and geo-fences that activate and deactivate based on their location. Custom lighting scenes can be created and with the addition of HomeKit support, users can ask Siri to turn them on and off.
As an improvement on the company's Rainbow7 Bluetooth smart bulb, the Rainbow8 includes over 16 million color options, has a dimming feature, offers 800 lumens of brightness, and will last for a lifespan of over 20,000 hours.
This user friendly smart bulb is now brighter and longer lasting, saving you money in the long run. "iLuv is very proud of the direction we are going," said Jason Park, head of marketing at iLuv.
"The Rainbow8 is not our first smart product, but it is definitely one of our most impressive ones. Unlike most smart bulbs on the market, the Rainbow8 does not require a hub. All you have to do is simply plug in and get started. Once set up, users can do everything from schedule their lighting to setting triggers that control the lights based on their location. You can also create your own customized lighting scenes and use Siri to turn them on."
iLuv's Rainbow8 smart bulb is available for $49.99 from Amazon, "and other select retailers," beginning today. At the time of writing, only 10 of the bulbs were left in stock on Amazon's U.S. store.
WePay, an online payment service provider, today announced that its customers can now accept Apple Pay and Android Pay on the web.
WePay's biggest customers include popular crowdfunding website GoFundMe, cloud productivity software company Zoho, and cloud-based accounting software service FreshBooks. Some of its other clients include Constant Contact, Meetup, Chargebee, Infusionsoft, Invoice Ninja, and RallyBound.
Apple Pay on the web launched in Safari on iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, expanding upon in-store and in-app payments. The feature started rolling out in September 2016 on websites such as Indiegogo, StubHub, and Wayfair, with other committed partners including Airbnb, Fandango, Target, Ticketmaster, and more.
Apple Pay on the web works with iPhone 6 and later, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 and later. iOS 10 or later is required. On Macs, Apple Pay on the web requires an iPhone with Touch ID and Apple Pay support or an Apple Watch, as payments are authenticated through the smartphone or watch.
Netflix is planning to offer HDR quality mobile content for viewing on supporting devices because of an increasing mobile subscriber base and the company's belief that the format will eventually be universally adopted on mobile platforms.
The comments were made yesterday by Netflix executive Neil Hunt during a briefing with journalists, as part of a two-day event at Dolby Laboratories and Netflix headquarters in San Francisco. Hunt made the remarks as the two companies prepare to launch new Netflix series Iron Fist, which is being shot natively in HDR.
HDR stands for high dynamic range, meaning a display supporting the standard is capable of reproducing a wider and richer range of colors, brighter whites, and deeper blacks. HDR content is already available on Netflix and Amazon Video, but only for streaming to televisions that support the standard. However, Hunt and Dolby executives told The Verge that HDR is about to make the leap from big-screen to mobile, with Netflix aiming to be at the forefront of a global transition.
It's been about a year since Netflix became available globally — with the exception of a few markets, including China, and since then it has seen mobile usage soar. In established markets like the US and Canada, most Netflix watching still happens on TVs, Hunt said; but in some Asian countries, especially India, "mobile screens are the majority consumption device."
Both Netflix and Amazon are said to be gearing up to stream HDR content on mobile devices, possibly as early as April this year, although a specific date from either company has yet to be confirmed. Samsung's recently announced Tab 3 with AMOLED display is the first tablet to support videos with greater dynamic range, while the LG G6 is the first phone to support both HDR10 (the 10-bit open standard) and Dolby Vision HDR.
Apple is expected to announce new iPad models soon, possibly as early as next week, but apart from plenty of speculation regarding screen sizes, no rumors have mentioned the display technology that could feature. The same can't be said for Apple's rumored "iPhone 8", which will reportedly have a Samsung-supplied OLED display, making it more likely to support the HDR10 standard.
In addition to the mobile HDR announcement, Netflix said it was considering the idea of streaming mobile-specific cuts of its original movies and TV shows.
"It's not inconceivable that you could take a master [copy] and make a different cut for mobile," Hunt said. To date, Netflix hasn't been delivering different cuts for different viewing platforms, Hunt said, but "it's something we will explore over the next few years."
According to The Verge, the idea would be to create a version of the content with scenes or shots that are more easily visible or immersive on a mobile phone, given that certain shots can be hard to see or can appear diminished on a relatively small phone screen.
Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and more than 60 other companies have either decided not to sign, or have yet to sign, a new legal brief filed in federal court in Hawaii this week, constituting the makings of a lawsuit looking to block the second version of President Donald Trump's travel ban (via Reuters). Trump referred to the new order as a "watered-down version" of the original, but a federal judge in Hawaii nevertheless blocked the revised order.
Over a month ago, Apple joined 100 U.S. companies in support of a legal brief that opposed the first immigration ban. That order banned Syrian refugees from entering the United States, blocked citizens of seven countries (Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen) from entering the U.S. for 90 days, and suspended entry of all refugees entering the U.S. for 120 days. The new ban removed Iraq from the list, exempted green card and visa holders, and toned down "contentious language referring to religious minorities."
On Tuesday, a new legal brief was filed in a Hawaiian court on behalf of 58 total Silicon Valley companies voicing support for the state's blocking of Trump's order, down from 127 companies on the first brief. A few companies mentioned on the new opposition brief include Kickstarter, Airbnb, and Dropbox. Although the current list is small, hope for the lawsuit to succeed is growing, and New York lawyer Robert Atkins -- who co-authored the new brief -- said "we do expect the group to expand."
Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc are among more than 60 technology companies that appear to have backed away from the legal fight against U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban, deciding not to put their weight behind a lawsuit seeking to block the second version of his executive order.
A legal brief filed in federal court in Hawaii on Tuesday on behalf of Silicon Valley companies listed the support of 58 companies, less than half the 127 signatories to a similar brief filed in an appeals court last month after Trump's first executive order banning travel from a number of countries the administration said posed a security risk.
It was not immediately clear why fewer of them signed on to the "friend-of-the-court" brief this time around.
Apple was a large part of the opposition to the travel ban last month, helping pen an open letter to Trump explaining that the U.S. is a "nation made stronger by immigrants," while Apple CEO Tim Cook said that it "is not a policy we support." Trump himself said he plans to appeal against the federal judge's halting of his revised order and take the case "as far as it needs to go," including the Supreme Court.
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.
Google has updated its Play Music app with new options to control the quality of music playback over wireless networks and choose the compression level of downloaded tracks.
Previously, users of the streaming service could only adjust the quality of music when listening over their mobile connection, but the additional options offer the same control over WiFi and when listening offline.
The options to adjust streaming and download quality are listed simply as Low, Normal, and High, so it's unclear exactly what bitrate Google is referring to, but it's safe to say any increase in quality will eat further into any data caps, or use more storage in the case of downloaded tracks.
For comparison, Spotify offers a streaming choice of 96kbps, 160kbps, or 320kbps, while Tidal offers 96kbps, 320kbps, and Apple Lossless (Hi-Fi). Apple Music streams at 256kbps by default, but does include a 80kbps option for cellular connections.
The seventeenth annual CanSecWest security conference is underway in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, where researchers are competing in the 10th anniversary Pwn2Own computer hacking contest for over $1 million in prizes.
Day one results have already been published over at the Zero Day Initiative website, with a couple of successful Mac-related exploits already appearing in the list of achievements. Independent hackers Samuel Groß and Niklas Baumstark landed a partial success and earned $28,000 after targeting Safari with an escalation to root on macOS, which allowed them to scroll a message on a MacBook Pro Touch Bar.
In a partial win, Samuel Groß (@5aelo) and Niklas Baumstark (@_niklasb) earn some style points by leaving a special message on the touch bar of the Mac. They used a use-after-free (UAF) in Safari combined with three logic bugs and a null pointer dereference to exploit Safari and elevate to root in macOS. They still managed to earn $28,000 USD and 9 Master of Pwn points.
Later in the day, Chaitin Security Research Lab also targeted Safari with an escalation to root on macOS, finding success using a total of six bugs in their exploit chain, including "an info disclosure in Safari, four type confusion bugs in the browser, and a UAF in WindowServer". The combined efforts earned the team $35,000.
The participating teams earned a total of $233,000 in prizes on day one, including a leading $105,000 earned by Tencent Security, according to published details. Other software successfully targeted by contestants include Adobe Reader, Ubuntu Desktop, and Microsoft Edge on Windows.
Apple representatives have attended the Pwn2Own contest in the past, and affected parties are made aware of all security vulnerabilities discovered during the contest in order to patch them. Pwn2Own day two begins today at 8:30 a.m. Pacific and will involve additional exploit attempts against macOS and Safari.
Apple's partnership with The Conservation Fund to protect working forests has begun to show returns for both Apple and the state of North Carolina, according to information the organization shared with the Triangle Business Journal.
Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson shared the article covering Apple's conservation efforts on Twitter this afternoon.
Jena Thompson Meredith, vice president of business partnerships at The Conservation Fund, says Apple's purchase of forest land in North Carolina and Maine has protected 36,000 acres of sustainable forest.
In 2016, the group harvested more than 13,000 metric tons of wood between the two forests, she says, though she did not break that number down by state.
She says the collective annual production from the forests in North Carolina and Maine was equivalent to about 30 percent of the virgin fiber used in Apple's product packaging for 2015.
With survey work, site prep, and harvesting and planting, the Brunswick Forest portion of the project has employed more than 30 people in logging operations in North Carolina, resulting in more than 10 jobs per 1,000 acres.
The effort has also protected North Carolina's Green Swamp Preserve, which is home to six rare species, including the Venus flytrap. Across 300 of the the 3,600 acres Apple purchased in North Carolina, The Conservation Fund has planted an additional 185,000 trees. 40 acres of those include the native longleaf pine and the Atlantic white cedar, both of which provide a home to a rare butterfly.
Apple first partnered with The Conservation Fund in April of 2015, purchasing thousands of acres of working forest for its paper supplies.
At the time, Apple said it was aiming to use paper more efficiently by increasing recycled paper content, sourcing paper sustainably, and conserving acreage of working forests around the world equivalent to its virgin paper footprint.
More than 99 percent of Apple's product packaging in 2015 came from paper that was recycled or sourced from sustainably managed forests, according to the company's 2016 environmental report.
LG's UltraFine 5K Display returned to the market earlier this month after LG made some changes to the display's shielding following the discovery that the original design left the display vulnerable to interference from Wi-Fi routers and other electronics. The issue was a bit of a black eye for Apple, considering the company recently elected to exit the display market and instead partnered with LG on the new 27-inch UltraFine 5K and its smaller sibling, the 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K.
We purchased one of the original UltraFine 5K units back in December, with our model carrying a manufacturing month of November 2016 based on its serial number. LG has now provided us with a unit manufactured last month after the design revisions were put in place, and we've had a few days to compare the performance of the two units in the presence of Wi-Fi routers.
In day-to-day usage, we failed to see any issues with the original model, even with an AirPort Time Capsule located just three feet from the display, inside the two-meter radius LG recommended users should keep as a minimum once the company discovered the issue.
We were, however, able to induce the issue in the unit by bringing another Time Capsule into very close proximity with the rear of the display, causing it to flicker and disconnect from the host computer. The display sometimes reconnected to the computer on its own once the interference was removed, but other times it required that the Thunderbolt 3 cable be briefly unplugged or even the entire UltraFine 5K be power cycled before it would reconnect.
With the revised UltraFine 5K Display in hand, we've been able to subject both displays to side-by-side testing that confirms the issue has been successfully addressed. While the issue is easily reproducible on the original model as long as the Wi-Fi router is in close enough proximity, we were unable to recreate the issue on the revised model despite extensive efforts.
With Apple once again shipping the UltraFine 5K Display, new orders are currently showing in-stock availability in Apple's U.S. online store, although Personal Pickup remains unavailable.
Apple's discounted pricing on the display of $974 is scheduled to run through the end of this month, at which time the display will return to its normal $1299.95 price. Apple already extended its discounted pricing on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 accessories once and it's possible the promotion could again be extended, but for those who want to make sure they receive the discounted pricing, they should be sure to order by March 31.
Customers purchasing the UltraFine 5K Display, regardless of what vendor they use, should make sure they are receiving revised units to ensure they are protected from the Wi-Fi interference issue. The first three digits of the display's serial number (visible on the exterior of the box) correspond to the last digit of the year and the two-digit month of manufacture, so buyers should look for serial numbers starting with 702 or 703.
Those who purchased earlier units may be eligible for repairs if their units are exhibiting the interference issue, and affected customers should contact LG or Apple for information on repair procedures.
We've arranged for a repair of our affected unit through the live chat option. Once the repair request is initiated it can take a day or two to receive a shipping label and repair details, and LG tells us it can take up to 7-10 business days for the actual repair once the display has been received at the service facility.
Apple today announced that its all-new retail store at the new Brickell City Centre shopping mall in Miami opens on Saturday, March 25 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Apple has four existing stores in the Miami area, but this will be the first to be located in the city's thriving downtown core.
Apple Brickell City Centre will be one of three Apple retail stores to open on that day alongside new locations at Schildergasse in Cologne, Germany and Jinmao Place in Nanjing, China, which also open at 10:00 a.m. local time respectively. All three are brand new stores, not renovated or relocated ones.
Brickell City Centre is a new shopping and mixed-use development in Miami's financial district. Apple's plans to open a retail store there were revealed in February 2016, and construction began shortly afterwards. The location is expected to be one of Apple's largest retail stores in Florida.
Apple continues to renovate and expand a number of its stores across the United States with a new design introduced in 2015, including its relocated St. Johns Town Center store that opened March 11 in Jacksonville, Florida. Apple's Woodland Mall store in Grand Rapids, Michigan is next on the docket.
The newer look often includes wider open spaces with some combination of large glass doors, touch-sensitive sequoia wood tables and shelves, seating areas for community events, large 6K resolution video screens for product marketing, indoor trees, and light boxes extending the length of the ceiling.
Elsewhere in the United States, Apple's expanded Pentagon City store in the Washington D.C. area reopened on March 4, while its Danbury, Connecticut store location closed for renovations in early February.
Although it's late to the mobile ordering trend, McDonald's today has begun testing an update to its smartphone app that will allow customers to create an order anywhere and pay for it through the app when they arrive at their local McDonald's. In a bid to avoid customer congestion, long wait lines, and cold food, the app will use geo-fencing to detect when each customer is getting closer to the McDonald's and alert staff to begin preparing their meal accordingly (via Reuters).
The tests have begun today at 29 McDonald's locations in Monterey and Salinas, California, and will expand to 51 new locations in Spokane, Washington on March 20. Jim Sappington, McDonald's executive vice president of operations, said that the tests are intended to work out any kinks in the mobile order and pay update before a wide rollout in almost all of the 14,000 U.S. McDonald's locations by the end of 2017. Around 6,000 others will also get the update in Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Australia, and China.
In the current state of the McDonald's app [Direct Link] users can browse the menu, get deals, and find nearby locations. Sappington hopes that the update results in an overall experience that's "clearly better" to use.
If its famous french fries are served cold or if mobile customers have to wait for orders, "you get a question of 'Why did I use the app?'," Sappington said. "Our focus is to make the overall experience clearly better."
McDonald's said that automating more orders should cut transaction times, reduce errors and free up workers to do things like deliver food to tables or cars in spots designated for mobile orders.
"It's better to be right than to be first to market," McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook said recently.
While customers will browse the menu and place their order outside of the local McDonald's, the app is said to ask for an order confirmation and payment "when the customer arrives at the restaurant," seemingly when the geo-fencing feature kicks in. After that, the kitchen will begin preparing the order. Janna Sampson, a McDonald's investor, questioned the utility of this process: "If they don't start your order until you pull in the lot, are you really gaining that much time?"
In the final version of the app, customers will also be able to pick table dining, drive-through, or curb-side delivery when they place their meal orders. McDonald's competitors like Chick-fil-A include mobile ordering with counter pick-up as well as a QR code-based checkout option. McDonald's didn't detail how payments work with its new mobile order update, but traditional credit cards tied to user accounts are expected. Given McDonald's early embrace of mobile wallets like Apple Pay, those could be included as well.
Earlier this week, a well-known research firm that requested confidentiality told us that, based on their own sources, it expects Apple to announce new products later this month, most likely during the week of March 20. The research firm did not say which products it expects, or the manner in which they will be announced.
Following our report, some Japanese analysts have predicted that a second-generation 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be announced next week, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara. The analysts are reportedly basing this prediction on supply chain information and the lack of a scheduled Apple event next week.
Given that Apple usually invites the media to a launch event at least 10 days beforehand, and if the information we were provided about Apple announcing new products as early as next week is accurate, it is possible the so-called "iPad Pro 2" could be announced via press release rather than at a launch event.
A press release could be an appropriate manner for Apple to announce a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro, given that rumors suggest it will be an iterative upgrade. One of the only rumored additions to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is quad microphones, while Mac Otakara suggests it could have a faster Apple A10X chip.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to launch a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad Pro this year, likely with its current Apple A9X chip. He did not mention an entirely new 9.7-inch model. If the 9.7-inch iPad Pro is essentially only getting a price cut, then a press release as early as next week would be fitting.
Apple similarly issued a press release when it dropped the price of the fourth-generation iPad to $399 in March 2014. Apple's current low-cost 9.7-inch model, the iPad Air 2, starts at $399, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro starts at $599.
Beyond the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, Apple is rumored to launch an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro with slimmer bezels and an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro in the near future. A few reports claim a new 7.9-inch iPad Pro could also be released, but some analysts disagree and do not expect the iPad mini 4 to be updated.
The 10.5-inch iPad Pro is expected to have slimmer bezels, and there is a slim chance it will have no Home button, allowing it to have the same overall footprint as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. This design could foreshadow the rumored 5.8-inch iPhone. The tablet is also rumored to have a higher-resolution display and quad microphones.
The updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro is said to feature a 12-megapixel rear camera and True Tone display like the current 9.7-inch model, using advanced four-channel ambient light sensors to automatically adapt the color and intensity of the display to match the light in the surrounding environment.
While it is becoming clear that new iPads are on the horizon, Apple's exact launch plans remain convoluted.
If Apple still plans to host an event later this month as one increasingly unlikely rumor said, it would most likely fall between Monday, March 27 and Friday, March 31, given the 10-plus-day buffer for inviting the media.
At this event, the rumor said Apple will unveil its new iPad Pro lineup, a larger iPhone SE model with 128GB storage, and new Apple Watch bands. The report also claimed Apple will add a red color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which could be part of its charitable (PRODUCT)RED campaign.
Of course, the event could be later. Taiwanese website DigiTimes claims Apple is planning to unveil the 10.5-inch iPad Pro at an early April event to "mark the inauguration of Apple's new headquarters in California," but it is unlikely that the supply chain sources cited would know this specific information.
It is also unclear if Steve Jobs Theater would be ready for an April event, as Apple indicated it opens "later this year" while employees start moving to the new campus next month. The latest drone footage by Duncan Sinfield shows that the theater is still under construction and surrounded by mounds of dirt.
Steve Jobs Theater is shown around the 1:45 mark
Apple could hold an event elsewhere, or even wait until WWDC 2017 in June. Or, just like a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad Pro, a red iPhone 7, 128GB iPhone SE, and new Apple Watch bands could certainly be announced by press release or an update to Apple's website in the meantime.
The deluge of stories revolving around Facebook copying Snapchat might hit a zenith today as the social media company begins to launch "Facebook Stories" worldwide, this time in the main Facebook app for iOS devices (via TechCrunch). Previously, Facebook created a facsimile of Snapchat's day-long, vanishing post idea in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which gained 100 million users following the Snapchat-like update last year.
The idea is identical in Facebook Stories, where users will now be able to post a photo or video through a new UI at the top of the Facebook mobile app. Their friends can see the post over the next 24 hours and reply to it within Facebook Messenger. Continuing the trend, last week that app launched "Messenger Day" for users to create the exact same disappearing posts, but centered on creating plans with friends. Facebook originally tested out Facebook Stories in Ireland.
[Update 3/16]: Facebook has contacted MacRumors with a correction, stating that some misinformation has been floating around online and the company is "not rolling this out globally yet." The company mentioned that it is "still testing it in a few countries -- most recently, Chile, Vietnam and Greece as of yesterday," but it has "no global rollout plans or timeline to share quite yet."
Apple's widely rumored 5.8-inch iPhone will feature a curved OLED display, although the curvature will be gentler than Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge, according to Japanese website Nikkei Asian Review.
The curve will be gentler than screens in Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge handsets. This is partly due to the challenges of making curved glass covers to match screens, according to the source.
While the curved screen will allow a viewable area of about 5.2 inches and make the iPhone even sleeker, it will not offer significant new functions, the person said.
The report comes less than a week after research firm IHS Markit said it "anticipates Apple will adopt a flat implementation of OLED design on their special iPhone model, which is analogous to the current 2.5D glass design."
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Chinese research firm TrendForce previously said they expect the premium iPhone to have 2.5D cover glass, which refers to the slightly curved front glass that iPhones have had since the iPhone 6 in 2014. A "gently" curved display could perhaps conform to this design.
The report cites a source that said Apple "would not be using OLED optimally" if it opted for a flat display like existing iPhone models, but it cautioned that the design has not been finalized and could still change.
It added that the curved screen will "allow a viewable area of about 5.2 inches," although it said it will not offer significant new functions. Kuo expects the high-end iPhone will feature a 5.8-inch display with 5.15 inches of usable screen space, but he said some of the remaining space will be reserved for virtual buttons.
The Wall Street Journal recently said Apple's next high-end iPhone will have a curved screen, but the report did not divulge any specific details. The Korea Herald also said the device will have a curved OLED display using a flexible plastic substrate, rather than a flat display based on glass.
After months of reports surrounding iPhone manufacturers like Pegatron and Foxconn potentially moving Apple device construction to the United States, Pegatron CEO Syh-Jang Liao this week commented that the company could build iPhones and iPads in the U.S. on the condition that its client, Apple, is ready to pay for the costs of moving manufacturing stateside (via Focus Taiwan).
Liao was responding directly to questions asked about President Donald Trump's request for American brands to keep their manufacturing in the U.S. In the wake of Trump's presidential win, months of reports have covered speculation about whether or not Apple suppliers could, or should, move production into the U.S. For Pegatron, if such a Trump initiative came into being, the company CEO said that it "already has its production lines in place."
"As long as there is demand, whether the clients are American or Chinese, Pegatron already has its production lines in place," Liao said. "If Trump institutes his Made in America proposal, it will be fine for Pegatron as long the client is willing to absorb the costs."
Just last week, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou raised concerns over the manufacturer's shift of iPhone production to the U.S. In his comments, he cited concern over whether or not the U.S. government could keep up with the regulations and laws needed to be passed before Foxconn would be able to build major iPhone plants in the country. Echoing Apple CEO Tim Cook, Gou also mentioned that the U.S. lacks the skilled labor needed for these plants to thrive.
In recent Apple-related Pegatron rumors, the manufacturer was suggested as to be the exclusive supplier of the 2017 iPhone 8's wireless charger. Along with an edge-to-edge OLED display, wireless charging is rumored to be one of the major selling points of the iPhone 8, in comparison to the more basic "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus." Pegatron will also help produce this year's upcoming iPhone, alongside Foxconn and reportedly Wistron.
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From November 2016 through January 2017, iOS devices accounted for 42 percent of smartphone sales in the United States, growing 2.9 percentage points year-over-year thanks to iPhone sales over the holidays. According to new data released by Kantar Worldpanel, the same period saw a decline for Android smartphones, which still captured the largest share of the market at 56.4 percent in the United States, but was down 1.8 percentage points from the same three month period last year.
A similar growth for iOS and decline for Android -- likely due to the Note7 -- was noted by Kantar in a report focusing on OS market shares ahead of the holiday season. In today's findings, Kantar noted that as iOS and Android continue to battle it out in every market, "no other ecosystem is challenging the two giants." Some re-emerging brands catalyzed nostalgic spending for consumers -- including the Nokia 3310 and BlackBerry KEYone -- but their reliance on Android's OS instead of their own legacy OS helped boost Android's market shares.
Gone are the days when a BlackBerry OS, Symbian, or Windows Mobile could make a significant impact. It is clear that there will only be two smartphone ecosystems moving forward – iOS and Android. To succeed, phone manufacturers will have to play by those rulebooks.
Kantar noted that the iPhone 7 continues to be a top seller in large markets, particularly in Great Britain, France, and Germany. In total, iOS made gains across most regions excluding Japan, Spain, and China. In China specifically, iOS saw its largest year-over-year decline of 8.4 percentage points, knocking its market share down to 16.6 percent below Android's 83.2 percent. Kantar noted that while the iPhone 7 is the top-selling smartphone in China as well, increased competition from local vendors Oppo and Vivo contribute to Apple's continued yearly declines in the country.
iOS saw its biggest growth in the three months ending January 2017 in France, increasing 4.9 percentage points year-over-year to capture 24.2 of the smartphone OS market share in the country. In all of Europe's five big markets -- Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain -- iOS had a 22.7 percent market share, an increase of 2.4 percentage points from the same period last year. Like in the U.S., Android remains dominant in Europe at 74.3 percent of the smartphone market.
A redesigned "iPhone 8" will help boost Apple's share of the market when it launches later this year, although recent rumors suggest that the tenth anniversary iPhone might launch much later than more iterative 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch "iPhone 7s" devices in September. When it does, the all-new iPhone is predicted to include an edge-to-edge OLED display, lack a traditional Home Button, and potentially have wireless charging capabilities.
