Apple is expanding the available features in its Maps app in Europe according to a briefing that was held in London on Wednesday and shared by Bloomberg.
Apple Maps for iOS devices and Macs now includes locations of electric vehicle charging stations in the UK, thanks to a partnership with Cirrantic Moovility. More than 3,000 EV charging stations are available in the Maps app in the UK.
In the United States, electric vehicle charging stations have been listed in Maps since December of 2016, through a partnership with ChargePoint.
"We think that consistent, live information of the growing charger infrastructure increases the confidence of EV drivers and, especially with Apple Maps, attracts new user groups to sustainable mobility offerings like EV cars," said Arne Meusel, CEO and co-founder of Cirrantic. "In the U.K. we started with supporting the major charger operators, including Podpoint, CYC, Ecotricity, NPower and NewMotion. Any interested operator is welcome to set up a connection with us."
Apple is also introducing public bicycle rental and drop-off points in London, Paris, and New York, an addition that's meant to bring Apple Maps in line with Google Maps, which also lists public bicycle rental locations.
Additional Maps improvements are likely on the horizon as Apple works to open a new Apple Maps development center in Hyderabad, India, which will employ more than 4,000 people. Apple is also employing a team of robotics and data collection experts who will use drones to further bolster Apple Maps.
Ahead of the NAB media trade show, which kicks off on April 22, Adobe today unveiled updates to several of its Creative Cloud apps, including Premiere Pro, After Effects, Character Animator, and Audition.
Better integration between Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition is a key theme in today's updates, as are more powerful Dynamic Link collaborative tools to make group projects easier.
Premiere Pro is gaining a new Essential Graphics Panel, designed to allow users to add titles and motion graphics to videos using controls similar to those found in Photoshop and Illustrator. Included in the Essential Graphics Panel is a Type tool for adding text, which offers customization options for font, size, color, and blending mode.
Shape Layers and Clip Layers for adding images, video, and graphics are included, and designs can be saved as Motion Graphic templates to be quickly added to future projects. Motion Graphic templates can also be created in After Effects and accessed and edited in Premiere Pro thanks to new integrations between the two apps.
Audition's Essential Sound panel is now accessible in Premiere Pro, offering a powerful audio editing experience without the need to leave the Premiere Pro app. The Essential Sound panel lets users assign mix types to clips, with built-in tools for each type of content - dialogue, music, and sound effects. There are also more audio effects available within Premiere Pro, along with seamless transitions to Audition, and Premiere Pro also supports ambisonic audio export.
For 2016 MacBook Pro owners, Adobe is introducing support for the Touch Bar, providing options for touch-based video editing.
Adobe After Effects CC is also gaining the Essential Graphics panel to allow for the creation of Motion Graphics templates for Premiere Pro, and Adobe is introducing a new Camera Shake Deblur feature.
Camera Shake Deblur is designed to cut down on unwanted motion blur artifacts and according to Adobe, it's able to salvage otherwise unusable shots when combined with the Warp Stabilizer VFX. It analyzes frames on either side of the blurry frame and merges the sharper content with the blurry content for a crisper image.
Premiere Pro's integrated Lumetri Scopes are expanding to After Effects to make it easier for After Effects users to accurately adjust color using Vectorscopes, Histogram, Parade, and Waveform to evaluate video, and the After Effects update introduces new GPU-accelerated effects including Fractal Noise, Levels, and Fast Box Blur.
Adobe Character Animator CC is gaining Walk Cycles for animated characters, allowing users to create instant walking animations by tagging a character's legs, arms, and body. Walk Cycles includes features like walk, run, and sneak, plus it can automatically adapt to step speeds and leg length.
Mouth shape editing for pre-recorded audio is available, there's a new Workspaces feature for streamlining the animation process, and Character Animator now supports live streaming through Facebook and YouTube.
For Audition, along with deeper integration with Premiere Pro, Adobe is introducing multichannel audio workflows, Presonus Faderport controller support, updated effects, and a visual shortcut editor to make it easier to find and create custom keyboard shortcuts.
Adobe is also adding new features to Adobe Stock. Video editors can now submit content directly to Adobe Stock using Premiere Pro or Adobe Media Encoder, allowing them to earn royalties for their work.
All of Adobe's Creative Cloud updates will be available starting today. Adobe's Creative Cloud plans, which cover the complete range of Adobe CC software, start at $49.99.
A number of MacRumors readers received an email from Apple today stating that their 50GB iCloud storage plan subscription has been "discontinued" and will no longer automatically renew. Several users on Reddit and Twitter have also reported receiving the email, which may have been sent mistakenly.
Relatedly, some iCloud storage plans were unavailable for purchase on iOS and macOS Sierra. When we checked the "Upgrade iCloud Storage" menu on an iPhone, both the 50GB and 200GB tiers were no longer listed. Later, the 1TB tier disappeared as well. On another iPhone, the menu wouldn't load at all.
Apple has not announced any changes to its iCloud storage plans, and it has not recently updated its iCloud storage plans and pricing support document, so this was likely simply a server-related issue on Apple's backend. Apple's System Status page does not reflect any ongoing iCloud-related issues.
Apple has not indicated why the "discontinued" emails were sent, but all four of the 50GB, 200GB, 1TB, and 2TB tiers appear to be available for purchase again for most users. We'll update this article if we hear anything else, particularly if Apple does have surprise changes to its iCloud storage plans in the works.
LG's UltraFine 5K Display has received a 2017 TIPA Award as the "best photo monitor," the company announced today.
TIPA on its website said the display "brings professional photos and videos to life" with 5K resolution, while it also praised the display's single-cable Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and DCI-P3 wide color support. TIPA said the display reflects a "good demonstration of LG's expertise" with an "eye to the future."
TIPA, short for the Technical Image Press Association, is made up of a group of editors from 27 photography and imaging magazines worldwide. Editors from the magazines met in Havana, Cuba earlier this month to vote on the best imaging products of 2017, and the UltraFine 5K was the only display to win an award.
The render shows an iPhone with a vertically-positioned dual-lens camera and Touch ID located on the back of the smartphone, as seen previously. It's likely one of several designs that Apple is considering, as multiple reports have said the company has been testing multiple iPhone prototypes this year.
Bloomberg in particular said one of the iPhone prototypes that Apple is testing has a "simpler design" with an aluminum back, rather than a glass one, plus slightly larger dimensions, and that description is consistent with this render. But, as mentioned, this might not be the design that Apple selects.
Apple suppliers have so far struggled to reliably produce heavily curved glass in mass quantities, so the company is more likely to ship the version with more subdued curves, the person added. The company is also testing a simpler design that has an aluminum back, rather than a glass one, and slightly larger dimensions, one of the people said.
The prototype measures 149.5mm tall and 72.5mm wide, compared to the iPhone 7's 138.3mm length and 67.1mm width, so the "iPhone 8" would be slightly larger than a 4.7-inch iPhone as expected should Apple choose this design. The dimensions are consistent with a previous design schematic leaked last week.
While a vertical camera is a more likely possibility for what will be Apple's highest-end iPhone, it's less clear if Touch ID will be integrated under the display, on the rear, or elsewhere. Last week, Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri said Apple is facing yield issues with its under-display solution.
One possibility is that the circular cutout on the rear is actually for wireless charging, rather than Touch ID, in order to avoid interference from the aluminum casing. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said all three iPhone models rumored to launch this year will feature wireless charging.
The sides of the iPhone include the usual cutouts for the mute switch, SIM card tray, Lightning connector, speaker grille, and what is likely a second faux speaker grille. In line with the iPhone 7, there is no 3.5mm headphone jack, so don't get your hopes up about a surprise return of the legacy connector.
AlwaysOnline Wireless, one of the data providers for the Apple SIM built into newer iPads, today announced that it is expanding to 14 additional countries, making it available in a total of 88 places around the world.
New countries where AlwaysOnline Wireless is available include Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jordan, Morocco, and Uruguay.
"AOW was designed for people on the go - people who want and need the freedom to connect anytime, anywhere, right when they need it," explained Emir Aboulhosn, CEO and Founder of Otono. "This announcement means that iPad users now have more options for staying in touch in more places worldwide, something that is increasingly important in today's connected world."
Data plans in most countries have also dropped in price by more than 40 percent, with the price adjustments coming after significant price cuts in the UK earlier this year.
A full list of countries and accompanying rate plans can be found on the AlwaysOnline Wireless website. Prices start at 11 cents per hour but vary based on country.
Apple SIM and AlwaysOnline Wireless service works with the new iPad (5th generation), the 9.7 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the iPad mini 4, the iPad Air 2, and the iPad mini 3.
LaCie today announced its next-generation 2big professional 2-bay RAID storage solution, debuting the LaCie 2big Dock with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity for use alongside the new 2016 MacBook Pro, which supports Thunderbolt 3.
The LaCie 2big Dock is a docking station designed for media professionals, offering a wide range of ports for a streamlined creative workflow. There are front-facing SD and Compact Flash Card slots to pull images off of memory cards from cameras and drones, plus it can connect to 1080p and 4K displays.
There are dual Thunderbolt 3 ports for driving a compatible laptop while daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt or one USB-C drive, and included USB-C ports can charge an iPhone or other similar device. An adapter cable is included for use with USB-A devices.
LaCie's latest dock offers up to 20TB of storage, a 25 percent increase over the previous version, enabling it to store up to 650 hours of 4K 30fps footage or up to 200,000 RAW images. It supports transfer speeds of up to 440MB/s, for transferring the equivalent of an hour of 4K footage in a minute.
The dock features a stylish aluminum enclosure and a thermoregulated fan to keep it cool, and it supports Seagate IronWolf Pro enterprise-class devices and RAID optimization.
The LaCie 2big Dock will be available in 12TB, 16TB, and 20TB capacities through LaCie resellers starting this summer.
Apple is likely to pay out just one third of its current royalty rate to Imagination Technologies as it begins winding down its supply deal with the chipmaker over the next two years, according to analysts at UBS financial services (via Reuters).
The prediction includes the expectation that British-based Imagination will become loss-making by 2019 without any Apple royalties to fall back on, and that the firm will have to work out a cost-cutting strategy if it is to survive.
Earlier this month, shares in Imagination plunged after Apple informed the company that it plans to stop using its graphics technology in Apple consumer devices in up to two years' time.
The news delivered a huge blow to Imagination Technologies, which provides the PowerVR graphics architecture found in Apple's full range of iOS devices and receives a small royalty on every sale, amounting to up to half of the British firm's revenue.
Imagination said Apple had made the decision because the tech giant was developing its own independent graphics processing chips, which would reduce its reliance on the company.
Imagination is reportedly in talks with Apple over a new licensing deal, but UBS analysts forecast that Apple is likely to bring down the royalty rate, currently at around $0.30 per unit, to closer to $0.10, which is the rate Imagination currently charges customers such as MediaTek.
Valuing Imagination based on discounted cash flows, UBS estimated the company's Apple business is worth 75 pence per share. Without Apple, the stock tumbles to just 35 pence. That totals 110 pence, using a sum-of-the-parts valuation. Imagination has a market capitalization of $370 million – 2,000 times smaller than Apple's $741 billion valuation – while its stock currently trades at 103.19 pence.
This week the Internet Archive website announced it has curated a range of classic Macintosh software for interested users to download and emulate in their browser, allowing them to get a feel for Apple days of yesteryear.
The selection spans the period 1984-1989 in Macintosh history, and features classic applications like MacPaint and MacDraft, System Software 6, and games including Dark Castle, Airborne! and Lemmings.
If you've not experienced the original operating system for the Macintosh family of computers, it's an interesting combination of well-worn conventions in the modern world, along with choices that might seem strange or off-the-mark. At the time the machine was released, however, they landed new ideas in the hands of a worldwide audience and gained significant fans and followers almost immediately.
In addition, the compilation of System 7.0.1 includes a large variety of software programs and provides a vintage recreation of the later MacOS experience of 1991. Some features that System 7 boasted over its predecessor included virtual memory, personal file sharing, QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and an improved user interface.
The full range of software can be found in the Macintosh Collection. The emulator itself comes prepackaged in each listing and does not require a separate download.
Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 6, its latest flagship smartphone, at a packed-out event in Beijing on Wednesday.
The Mi 5's successor features curved "four-sided 3D glass" and a front that isn't bezel-free like the company's Mi MIX, but the phone does boast a lot of tech for a device that starts at 2499 RMB, or $360 – about half of what a base iPhone 7 goes for in China.
Like the iPhone 7 Plus, the new 5.15-inch Mi 6 includes a 12-megapixel rear dual lens camera combining a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. It also matches Apple's latest smartphone with 10x digital zoom, 2x lossless zoom, image stabilization, and depth of field effects.
Similar to the Mi 5s, the Mi 6 features a Qualcomm-based ultrasonic fingerprint reader built under the glass at the bottom of the phone. The "button-less" technology is said to recognize a 3D map of each user's fingerprint through ultrasonic waves, although it only works within the bezel's concave indentation that marks out the home button.
The Mi 6 includes 2x2 Wi-Fi, which is meant to improve connectivity speed, and does away with the headphone jack, settling for a single USB-C port instead. Elsewhere the handset features the latest Snapdragon 835 processor (also found in the S8), 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage memory on the entry model, dual stereo speakers, a 3,350mAh battery, a new "night display" screen mode, and water resistance.
The Mi 6 with 128 GB option costs 2899 RMB ($420) while a special Ceramic edition goes for 2999 RMB ($435). It's unclear at this time whether the phone will become available in Europe or the U.S.
The announcement of a new flagship phone comes at a particularly important time for Xiaomi, which suffered its first sales slump last year. The company's former VP of Global Efforts Hugo Barra left in February, while CEO Lei Jun recently admitted the firm had grown too fast and was now entering a transitional period, as it focuses on its main markets in China and India.
Blizzard Entertainment today made wildly popular real-time strategy game StarCraft a free download for Mac and PC, nearly two decades after its original release.
The RTS hit was universally acclaimed when it launched in 1998, and went on to become an e-sport phenomenon in South Korea, where big-prize tournaments and TV channels drew legions of fans to the game.
The free download is the game's first in eight years and includes the Brood War expansion pack. The patch 1.18 download also sports a handful of new features, including windowed mode, a better online game search engine, and improved response times during multiplayer battles.
Blizzard's decision to make the title freely available comes ahead of this summer's Remastered edition of StarCraft, which promises enhanced 4K graphics, better audio, high-quality cinematics, and a redesigned matchmaking system.
Making vintage StarCraft free also offers a unique opportunity for getting in some practice before the new version is released: Blizzard says owners of the original game and the remastered edition will be able to play each other online. Nostalgic gamers can find the free download of the original StarCrafthere.
Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the Newseum's Free Expression Awards in Washington, D.C., last night to accept the institution's 2017 Free Expression Award.
Cook was named in February as the recipient of the award in the Free Speech category, which recognized the Apple CEO for having a "profound impact" on communication and for using his position to "take a public stand" on issues like racial equality, privacy, the environment, LGBT rights, and more.
According to AppleInsider, Cook used his acceptance speech to highlight the challenges involved in ensuring First Amendment rights remain a fundamental cornerstone in an increasingly technology-driven world.
"We know that these freedoms require protection," Cook said of First Amendment rights. "Not just the forms of speech that entertain us, but the ones that challenge us. The ones that unnerve and even displease us. They're the ones that need protection the most. It's no accident that these freedoms are enshrined and protected in the First Amendment. They are the foundation to so many of our rights."
"This is a responsibility that Apple takes very seriously," Cook said. "First we defend, we work to defend these freedoms by enabling people around the world to speak up. And second, we do it by speaking up ourselves. Because companies can, and should have values."
Other winners on the night included U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who received an Arts and Entertainment Award shared with Hatch Beauty chairman Christie Hefner.
The Newseum aims to explain and defend free expression and the five freedoms of the First Amendment through a range of interactive museum exhibits. Its annual awards ceremony is used to celebrate positive work achieved by individuals across the occupational spectrum, including government, civil rights, and journalism.
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.
Spotify today expanded its half-price student subscription plan to 31 more countries around the world.
The music streaming service has offered the discounted premium subscriptions to students based in the U.S., the U.K., and Germany for some time, but starting today Spotify is adding several more countries to the list of eligible nations.
The list now includes Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.
The student plan includes all premium features, such as ad-free listening, improved audio quality options, and downloadable tracks for offline listening. To qualify, students must attend an accredited institution. The discounted plan can be used for the entirety of the subscriber's student life.
In the U.S., users get at least a one-year discount, that can be renewed up to three times for a total of four years, but regional variations may apply. Students can head over to Spotify.com/student to sign up to the offer.
Google today announced that its popular Timeline feature for Google Maps on Android has expanded to Google Maps for iOS, making it available to iPhone and iPad users for the first time.
With Timeline, Google Maps keeps track of all of the places that have been visited, so users can have a past account of where they’ve been and what they were doing.
What was the name of that antique store I popped into the other day? Where was that coffee shop we discovered on our last vacation? Did I drop off the dry cleaning on Tuesday or Wednesday? Answering questions like these used to take some guesswork (and a great memory). But with Your Timeline on Google Maps, Android and desktop users could quickly revisit the things they’ve done and places they’ve been. Starting today, Google Maps users on iOS can join in on the fun and see a daily snapshot of their life as well.
The Timeline is fully editable, with users able to delete a day, date range, or complete location history at any time. It’s also customizable with different activity types, so users can mark what they were doing and what mode of transportation was being used.
Place cards of locations or businesses that are searched for in Google Maps will include the dates of past visits and can be used to quickly access Timeline information, plus Google also includes an option to receive monthly emails summarizing all of the places that have been visited.
The new Timeline features are available to iOS users starting today.
Facebook today announced plans to integrate both Spotify and Apple Music into Facebook Messenger, allowing Messenger users to link to Apple Music or Spotify content for sharing songs and playlists directly within the Facebook Messenger app.
Apple has not shared details on how its chat extension will work, but Spotify published a blog post detailing the Spotify chat extension, which will undoubtedly share similarities with Apple Music.
Using the Spotify chat extension, users can search and share Spotify songs, albums, and playlists. Song links will play 30 second clips, with users able to tap on a link to open the Spotify app to listen to a full song.
The Spotify bot, in addition to allowing songs to be shared, will offer up playlist recommendations to users based on mood, activity, and genre. It's not clear if Apple will introduce a similar feature.
Apple has made an effort to make Apple Music widely available on multiple platforms and services. It already integrates with the main Facebook app, and there's also an Android app and an iMessage extension.
Spotify is available in Facebook Messenger first, with Apple Music integration coming at a later date.
Apple today updated several of its Mac and iOS apps, making them available for all Mac and iOS users for free.
iMovie, Numbers, Keynote, Pages, and GarageBand for both Mac and iOS devices have been updated and are now listed in the App Store for free.
Previously, all of these apps were provided for free to customers who purchased a new Mac or iOS device, but now that purchase is not required to get the software. Many Apple customers were already likely eligible to download the software at no cost if they had made a device purchase in the last few years.
Apple's iWork page has not yet been updated and continues to say that customers will only be able to download Pages, Keynote, and Numbers after purchasing an eligible Mac or iOS device, but new wording may be added shortly following the price drop. Apple's apps have also been removed from the Top Free app charts in the App Store.
Apple has been offering these apps for free to new Mac and iOS device owners since 2013, but dropping the price to free for all users makes it less confusing and opens up downloads for those who have not recently made a new device purchase.
Update: According to a support document, today's app changes will make it easier for business and educational institutions to download Pages, Numbers, Keynote, GarageBand, and iMovie through the Volume Purchase Program store.
Display repair components for the iPhone SE are in short supply at Apple Stores right now, so customers who need their iPhone SE display fixed may receive a replacement device instead.
According to a retail source that shared the news with MacRumors, employees have been told that display parts are constrained until further notice, and it's not known how long it will be until display components are more widely available. Stores that have no display repair components on hand will outright replace iPhone SE models in need of repair.
The reason behind the component constraint is unclear, as Apple did not provide details to employees.
Supply constraints are not likely indicative of an imminent refresh because no new iPhone SE model is expected. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who often shares reliable information on upcoming Apple products, Apple will not introduce a new iPhone SE during the first half of 2017.
Apple also recently bumped up the storage space in the iPhone SE, offering the iPhone SE in 32 and 128GB capacities for $399 and $499, respectively.
It isn't yet clear if Apple is planning on introducing another 4-inch device, or if the SE was the last 4-inch phone Apple plans to produce. Kuo's information only covered the first half of 2017, so if another 4-inch phone is in the works, it could come later in the year.
Update: According to a second source, the serial numbers for the displays weren't added to Apple's system correctly, so the displays were unable to be validated. All affected displays were pulled and sent back to Apple, impacting much of the stock at most retail stores.
Some flagship stores have been getting rerouted shipments and will be able to offer repairs.
In honor of Earth Day, which takes place on Saturday, April 22, Apple employees will transition from their standard blue shirts to green Earth Day shirts starting on Thursday, April 20.
Apple also celebrates Earth Day by updating the logos on its retail stores around the world, adding a green leaf accent to the traditional white Apple. Earth Day represents one of the few days a year Apple alters its logo.
Apple often uses Earth Day as a way to highlight its environmental efforts and reaffirm its commitment to recycling, renewable energy, and other initiatives. According to a recent interview with Apple's VP of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson, 96 percent of the energy Apple uses around the world now comes from renewable sources like wind and solar.
Last year, Apple released a host of earth-inspired Apple Music playlists, launched a "Siri and Liam" ad outlining its recycling practices, and launched an "Apps for Earth" promotion, with proceeds donated to the World Wildlife Fund. Similar promotions could take place this year, with announcements coming this week ahead of April 22.
AlwaysOnline Wireless, one of the data providers for the Apple SIM built into newer iPads, today announced that it is expanding to 14 additional countries, making it available in a total of 88 places around the world.
