Apple this week announced that two of its retail stores, located at CambridgeSide Galleria in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Connecticut, will reopen Saturday, July 8 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Both locations have been closed for renovations for the past several months.
Apple Store with next-generation design in Brussels, Belgium
Each store has received a makeover based on Apple's next-generation retail design, which typically includes wide, open spaces with some combination of large glass doors, sequoia wood tables and shelves, large video screens for Today at Apple sessions, and light boxes spanning the length of the ceiling.
In February, we reported that the Apple Store at Danbury Fair Mall would also expand into a few neighboring units to accommodate more customers.
All new Apple Stores opened since mid 2015 have been based on the new design language, including flagship-tier locations such as Apple Union Square in San Francisco and Apple World Trade Center in New York City. Apple has also renovated over 30 other stores to reflect the newer aesthetic.
Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming iOS 10.3.3 update to developers and public beta testers, one week after seeding the fifth beta and over a month after the release of iOS 10.3.2, which was a minor bug fix update.
Registered developers can download iOS 10.3.3 beta 6 from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air with the proper configuration profile installed. Public beta testers can also download the beta over-the-air after installing the configuration profile.
There were no significant features or notable bug fixes found in the first five iOS 10.3.3 betas, suggesting iOS 10.3.3 is an update that's minor in scale, focusing primarily on security updates, bug fixes, and other small improvements.
iOS 10.3.3 is likely to be one of the last updates to the iOS 10 operating system, as Apple has shifted development to iOS 11. The first beta of iOS 11 was released to developers on June 5 following Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, and two betas have been seeded so far.
Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.6 update to developers and public beta testers, one week after seeding the fifth beta and more than a month after releasing macOS Sierra 10.12.5, a minor bug fix update.
The sixth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.6 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
We didn't find any significant feature changes, design tweaks, or notable bug fixes in the first five macOS Sierra betas, and because Apple does not provide beta release notes, we may not know what's included in the update until it sees a public release.
macOS Sierra 10.12.6 is likely to be one of the final updates to the Sierra operating system as Apple transitions to macOS High Sierra, which was introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Apple News attracts millions of monthly readers on iPhone and iPad, but some publishers have been reluctant to adopt the platform due to limited revenue and hassles placing ads alongside content. Fortunately for publishers, that could soon change.
Ad Age reports that Apple eventually plans to allow publishers to use the ad tech they already employ on their sites, such as Google's DoubleClick for Publishers, to deliver third-party ads in the Apple News app.
The report, citing multiple unnamed publishers, claims Apple also plans to enable micropayment options so people can access articles "for cents at a time," but no specific details were provided.
The changes, which reportedly remain at least a few months away from being implemented, could lead to increased revenue for publishers, who in turn may find participating in Apple News to be more worthwhile.
"The bigger thing is they've now seen the light," said the top publishing exec, who was familiar with the plans but spoke on condition of anonymity. "Apple is acknowledging it can't force its ad technology into the marketplace and it makes more sense to allow standard ad serving."
Apple recently updated its Advertising Guide for Apple News to indicate that third-party ad tags can be used to serve third-party Standard, Double, Large, MREC, Interstitial, IAB 300x250, and IAB 728x90 ads on iOS 10.3 and above.
Apple News, which aggregates stories from multiple publishers, is currently available in the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom.
Smart wireless earphones company Bragi has been making waves in the "hearables" market since 2014, when it debuted a Kickstarter for The Dash, the company's original pair of truly wireless intelligent earphones that subsequently launched to the public in early 2016. After numerous Bragi OS updates to The Dash, and the lower-priced, lower-specced launch of The Headphone, this year Bragi revealed the true successor to its original device in The Dash Pro.
Staying true to its predecessor, The Dash Pro ($330) remains a complete platform of its own that connects to your smartphone and provides workout tracking, 4GB of onboard music storage, a battery case that recharges the earphones for up to 30 hours, and a detailed collection of Fit Sleeves and Fit Tips to ensure The Dash Pro fits in any ear. In May, Bragi also announced an ultra-custom hearable available at select audiologists, The Dash Pro tailored by Starkey, but this review focuses solely on the mass market device, The Dash Pro.
Design
From the retail packaging to the satisfying snap of the battery case sliding home into the outer aluminum shell, The Dash Pro's premium feel is evident throughout the initial setup experience. The new minimal packaging ties in better with The Dash Pro's barely-there aesthetic, and not much else is lost in terms of the original box's step-by-step instructions on how to get the device up and running.
The Dash Pro earphones are nearly identical to The Dash, so anyone looking for a massive design change from the originals will be disappointed (the only subtle difference I noted were small tweaks made to the size and angle of the in-ear curve of the earphones). I always found the sleek and smooth finish of The Dash to be visually appealing, and that remains true for The Dash Pro and its new silver aluminum charging case.
Construction progress surrounding Apple Park has been well documented over the past few years, with monthly drone videos providing anyone interested with clear glimpses into Apple's spacious new campus. Less discussed have been the neighborhoods surrounding Apple Park, including how they have been affected by Apple's construction on a campus that measures 2.8 million square feet, spans 176 acres, and will eventually house around 12,000 employees.
A new report by The New York Times this week has focused on the positive and negative outcomes following Apple's announcement of its major new site, which officially began construction in 2013. In the town of Sunnyvale, which sits across the street from Apple Park, as many as 95 development projects have entered planning stages in recent years, while local businesses in Cupertino have pivoted to meet the needs of Apple employees, including a Residence Inn opening in September that will be stocked with Macs for guests.
Eventually, onlookers won't be able to see Apple Park's circular "spaceship" building from nearby streets (thanks to Apple's sourcing of 9,000 trees coming to Apple Park as the year progresses). Until then, the campus is attracting tourists to come out and take pictures and fly drones over the site. Some who live nearby welcome to boom to businesses and tourism, even allowing tourists to stand outside on their driveways as they pilot drones over Apple Park.
Onlookers snap pictures of the spaceship from the streets. TV helicopters circle above. Amateur photographers ask residents if they can stand on driveways to operate their drones, hoping to get a closer look at Apple Park.
“I just say, ‘Hey, go ahead,’” said Ron Nielsen, who lives in Birdland, a Sunnyvale neighborhood across the street from the spaceship. “Why not?”
Residents of nearby neighborhood Birdland have been more critical of Apple's construction, complaining about loud noises early in the morning, unpredictable road closures, unsightly barriers, and construction potholes that have resulted in punctured tires. In response, Apple has tried to appease frustrated residents, going so far as to send carwash certificates to a woman who called the company about her vehicle getting covered in construction dust, and offering to pay for a solution to bottlenecked traffic.
Homestead Road, the thoroughfare that separates Apple Park from Birdland, became its own subject of debate. Cupertino officials wanted to construct a tree-lined median to calm traffic. Apple offered to cover the costs.
But homeowners objected. Residents complained that the island would eliminate one lane, backing up the heavy traffic even more. When 20 or so neighbors approached a Sunnyvale town meeting in solidarity, the city ended up siding with the residents.
Apple hosted over 110 community gatherings when Apple Park was in the design phase, intended to get feedback from residents who would be living near the campus. After the meetings, Apple sent out community mailers five times to around 26,000 households in the area. Apple vice president of real estate and development, Dan Whisenhunt, said that the company continues to respond to community concerns as best it can, "and if the issue is serious enough, I will personally visit to see what is going on."
With all of the increased traffic of businesses, Apple employees, and interested civilians, the value of property in the neighborhoods surrounding Apple Park has also increased. Local real estate agents told The New York Times that in the wake of Apple's plans for the campus being released as far back as 2011, "prices in the area really started to rise." In 2011, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,400 square-foot house was priced at $750,000, and has since doubled in price.
On average, prices for local homes have increased by 15 to 20 percent each year since 2011, and those bidding on homes in the area offer 20 to 25 percent over the asking price in order to secure real estate.
Birdland is already drawing Apple employees, replacing homeowners who have cashed out to move to quieter regions. Those who remain are realizing that life will not be the same when all 12,000 of the Apple workers go in and come out on a daily basis. People in the neighborhood dread the increased traffic and expect workers to park in front of their homes since there will be fewer available spaces in the company garage.
Apple’s answers to concerned residents will continue, Mr. Whisenhunt said. “When you tell people what is upcoming, some of the anxiety they have calms down a lot,” he said. And yet, he acknowledged, “you don’t make everyone happy.”
Although a small number of employees have already moved into Apple Park, construction is expected to continue into the second half of 2017, with buildings like the Steve Jobs Theater predicted to open sometime in the fall. The latest drone videos have captured shots of the lit-up Steve Jobs Theater and historic Glendenning Barn.
The U.S. government has lifted the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronic devices on inbound flights from Dubai and Istanbul, according to Emirates and Turkish Airlines.
An Emirates spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday that the ban was lifted for flights out of Dubai after the airline adopted new security measures announced last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Turkish Airlines tweeted on Tuesday that the ban had been lifted, while CEO Bilal Eksi informed Reuters that he also expected restrictions to be lifted for U.K.-bound flights.
The original ban came into effect in March on flights originating at 10 airports in eight countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey. The ban was imposed after "evaluated intelligence" suggested a bomb threat that involved smaller bombs being concealed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft.
The new enhanced security measures were announced on June 29 and require additional time to screen passengers. The new protocol takes effect within three weeks of the announcement and will affect around 325,000 daily passengers travelling on 180 airlines from 280 airports around the world, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Saudi Arabia Airlines (Saudia) expects the ban to lifted on flights from Jeddah and Riyadh by July 19, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.
Classic first person shooter Shadow Warrior is available as a free download for Mac over on GOG and Steam this morning. The 1997 PC game garnered fans for its wacky humor, multi-function weaponry, and destructible environment, being based on the Build platform that powered Duke Nukem 3D.
Shadow Warrior was an ambitious game for its time, containing many features not seen until later first-person shooter games, such as drivable vehicles, climbable ladders, and multiple firing modes for various weapons. The game was rebuilt in 2014 with OS X support and published by 3D Realms.
The full game (including two expansion packs) is being offered on Steam as a free download, but picking it up from GOG also gets gamers the original soundtrack in MP3 and FLAC format as an additional freebie. The remastered "Redux" version of the game is also available on Steam for $0.99 as part of a 2017 Summer Sale.
Shadow Warrior Classic has the following minimum requirements: OS X 10.6.8 or later, an Intel Core Duo 2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 64MB of video memory, and 1GB of hard disk space.
British chipmaker Imagination Technologies today disclosed that its formal sale process continues, despite successful restructuring and a return to profitability in its fiscal year ended April 30, 2017. It also said it is reviewing options in its dispute with Apple, but added that no progress has been made.
"The management team have done a tremendous job over the last year, turning the business around, returning it to profitability and with a clear strategy for growth," said chairman Peter Hill. "It's therefore highly regrettable that this progress has been so severely impacted by the stance taken by Apple."
Earlier this year, Apple informed Imagination that it plans to stop using the company's patented PowerVR graphics technology in devices like the iPhone in between 15 months and two years. Accordingly, Apple said it will stop making royalty payments to the British firm by late 2018 or early 2019.
Apple instead plans to use its own in-house graphics architecture, eliminating the need to pay royalties for the PowerVR technology.
Apple is Imagination's biggest customer, reportedly accounting for up to half of the company's revenue. The chipmaker's stock plunged as much as 70 percent after it revealed Apple's plans, as analysts predict the company could become loss-making within two years without royalties from iPhone sales.
Imagination insists that Apple is making "unsubstantiated assertions," as the iPhone maker has supposedly yet to present any evidence to prove that it will no longer require the British firm's technology, at least not without violating its patents, intellectual property, and confidential information.
"Apple's unsubstantiated assertions and the resultant dispute have forced us to change our course, despite the clear progress we have been making," said Andrew Heath, CEO of Imagination Technologies.
Imagination said, following interest in the entire company, it decided to initiate a formal sale process on June 22. The chipmaker today disclosed that preliminary discussions continue with potential bidders.
The U.S. government has filed an application with the General Court of the European Union to intervene in an ongoing tax-related case between Apple and the European Commission, according to Reuters.
"I can confirm the United States filed an application with the European Union General Court to intervene in the case involving the retroactive application of state aid rules to Apple," said the source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The report did not specify when the application was submitted, so it's unclear if it occurred under the Barack Obama or Donald Trump administrations.
Last August, following a three-year investigation, the European Commission found Apple received illegal state aid from Ireland. The iPhone maker allegedly paid between 0.005 percent and 1 percent in taxes in Ireland between 2003 and 2014, compared to the the country's headline 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.
The European Commission ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros to Ireland in back taxes as a result of its decision.
Apple has not paid the amount and appealed the case in December, arguing that the European Commission made "fundamental errors" by failing to recognize that its "profit-driving activities," in particular the development and commercialization of intellectual property, were controlled and managed in the United States.
Ireland has also appealed the case, denying that it gave any favourable tax treatment to Apple. In a statement, the Irish government said the full amount of tax in the case was paid by Apple, adding that no state aid was provided. "Ireland does not do deals with taxpayers," the country said.
Apple's top lawyer Bruce Sewell earlier said the company is a "convenient target" because it "generates lots of headlines," allowing European commissioner Margrethe Vestager to become "Dane of the year" for 2016.
The report, citing a source with knowledge of the matter, said the General Court is expected to hear the case in late 2018.
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.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is seeking clarification from Apple over its decision to ban an app extension that lets Westpac bank customers use social media and mobile messaging platforms to make payments.
Known as Westpac Keyboard, the feature was announced in March and let the bank's customers change the default keyboard in social messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Snapchat, in order to make payments to friends, family, and businesses.
Apple wrote to Westpac last week to tell the bank that its three-month-old keyboard feature would no longer be allowed on iPhones, according to The Australian Financial Review. Staff were reportedly perplexed by Apple's generic explanation letter, which suggested that keyboards should not be able to send money, or that it may offend some users.
Westpac has written to its customers to let them know the keyboard app extension will be removed in July. The app extension was the first in the Asia Pacific region to enable payments, but Apple has previously approved similar apps from other institutions, including India's ICICI Bank and Spain's Banco Sabadell and CaixaBank.
The bank has not commented on the reasons behind Apple's decision, but sources told AFR that Westpac had already addressed security concerns initially raised by Apple and had the app approved from that perspective. The ACCC consumer watchdog has now said it will be "seeking a proper explanation" from Apple to make sure it is not an anti-competitive move.
Westpac was among a group of institutions alongside Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, which unsuccessfully asked the ACCC to allow them to collectively bargain with Apple over access to the iPhone's NFC chip to allow their own payments services to work alongside Apple Pay.
Apple is launching its own payments service that will work over the company's iMessage chat service in iOS 11, which is set to be released in the fall. The service will be available in the U.S. first but no date has been set for its arrival in Australia.
Samsung is developing a voice-activated smart speaker to rival the likes of the Amazon Echo and Apple's forthcoming HomePod, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The project, internally codenamed "Vega", will be based on Samsung's Bixby virtual assistant, but many of the speaker's features and specifications have yet to be decided, according to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. Development is said to have been going on for more than a year but has reportedly been hampered by delays to Bixby itself.
Apple's HomePod, set for release this December.
The company's Siri rival was first announced in March ahead of the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, but an English-language version of the assistant has yet to make it into Samsung's phones because of performance issues. Samsung now says Bixby is unlikely to be fully introduced before the second half of July.
The connected speaker market has seen rapid growth over the last few years. Amazon released its Echo range of speakers in 2014, before the Google Home appeared a year later. Since then, Microsoft has opened up its Cortana assistant for use in third-party speakers, while just last month Apple announced it Siri-powered HomePod will be available by the end of the year.
Amazon's Echo commands more than 70 percent of the U.S. market for connected speakers, with the Google Home capturing around 24 percent, according to eMarketer, a research firm. The number of Americans using voice-activated speakers will reach about 36 million this year, said eMarketer, double last year's figure.
Well-regarded KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo this morning released a note for investors in which he made 10 predictions related to the three iPhones slated for release in 2017, including the elimination of Touch ID in the "iPhone 8."
We've now gotten our hands on Kuo's full note, and it includes several additional details that were not covered in our original post.
First and foremost, on the topic of Touch ID, Kuo's note clearly says the iPhone 8 will not support fingerprint recognition, a prediction some MacRumors readers thought was ambiguous in the first post based on the included wording. Direct from the note:
As the OLED iPhone will not support fingerprint recognition, we think it may have to rely on facial recognition to ensure security. As such, we believe Apple (US) will be very demanding as regards the quality of 3D sensing, thereby increasing the difficulties in hardware production and software design.
Kuo's claim has since been backed up by Bloomberg in a report suggesting Touch ID will be replaced by advanced facial recognition technology in the iPhone 8, lending more credence to Kuo's prediction.
A second tidbit suggests the iPhone 8 and its companion devices, the "iPhone 7s" and the "iPhone 7s Plus" will all adopt glass bodies with metal frames to facilitate WPC-standard wireless charging functionality. WPC-standard refers to the Wireless Power Consortium, which supports the Qi wireless charging functionality built into many Android devices.
According to Kuo, wireless charging will be enabled through an optional accessory that will be purchased alongside the new iPhones -- it won't be a default feature available out of the box. Qi wireless charging is in line with rumors that have predicted the iPhone 8 will support inductive charging rather than a true wireless charging feature.
An example of a Qi wireless charging solution
Kuo also believes that while the iPhone 8 will include an embedded USB-C power delivery IC for higher charging efficiency, it will continue to ship with the same 5W power adapter equipped with a USB-A port that's included with iPhones today. A USB-A to Lightning cable will also be included as a standard accessory.
That deviates from a prediction made by Barclays analyst Blayne Curtis, who last week said the iPhone 8 would come bundled with a 10W power adapter with a USB-C connector.
Kuo's final prediction has to do with the RAM in the three new iPhone models. The first post said that the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s would include 2GB RAM while the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone 8 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s would include 3GB RAM, but what was left out is that he also believes the DRAM transfer speed of the three new models will be faster than the iPhone 7 by 10 to 15 percent for better AR performance.
The rest of what Kuo had to say is available in the post we shared this morning, covering predictions like limited color options, 3D sensing for facial recognition, 64 and 256GB storage options, an improved speaker system, and possible supply shortages.
Following a report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggesting the next-generation "iPhone 8" will do away with a Touch ID fingerprint sensor entirely, Bloomberg says Apple is working on an "improved" security system that will let customers unlock their iPhones and make Apple Pay payments with facial recognition technology.
Apple's new facial recognition engine is powered by a 3D sensor rumored to be built into the front-facing camera, and according to Bloomberg's sources, Apple is also said to be testing eye scanning to "augment the system." Using facial recognition, the iPhone can be unlocked within a few hundred milliseconds and it allegedly works even when the device is lying on a table. It's said to capture more data points than a fingerprint scan, making it more secure than Touch ID.
The sensor's speed and accuracy are focal points of the feature. It can scan a user's face and unlock the iPhone within a few hundred milliseconds, the person said. It is designed to work even if the device is laying flat on a table, rather than just close up to the face. The feature is still being tested and may not appear with the new device. However, the intent is for it to replace the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, according to the person. An Apple spokesman declined to comment.
Samsung built a similar feature, iris scanning, into its Galaxy S8, which has not proven to be foolproof. Hackers have successfully bypassed the feature using a printed photo with a contact lens on top of it, and in a video, a launch version of the S8 was shown being fooled by a photograph alone.
Apple's solution is said to be more secure because it is using 3D depth perception, preventing it from being bypassed by 2D pictures.
Bloomberg warns that the feature is "still being tested" and that Apple could have decided to nix it, so it continues to be unclear if the iPhone 8 will indeed do away with Touch ID entirely in favor of facial recognition.
Rumors surrounding Touch ID in the iPhone 8 have been all over the place during the course of the last few months. Apple was rumored to be having difficulty embedding the Touch ID fingerprint sensor under the display of the device and explored other solutions including a rear Touch ID button, but the company's final solution remains up in the air. What we do know is that the most recent dummy models and part leaks show a display without a Touch ID button, suggesting it's either under the display or non-existent.
Today's report also includes a quick mention that Apple is testing faster displays with ProMotion technology for the iPhone 8. ProMotion display technology, which features a 120Hz refresh rate for improvements to motion and animations, was first introduced in 2017 iPad Pro models.
Two years ago Apple Music officially launched, alongside the debut of the service's 24/7 streaming radio channel Beats 1. In celebration of that anniversary, Beats 1 DJs Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and Julie Adenuga have given an interview to Highsnobiety to discuss their career high points working on Beats 1, the evolving landscape of digital radio, and more.
Zane Lowe has spoken about his origins with Beats 1 and Apple Music in the past, and in today's interview he again references "perfect" timing in his move to Apple and hosting Beats 1. Lowe mentioned excitement about sharing new music with listeners -- from a live demo of Vince Staples' new record to discussing the Baby Driver soundtrack with Edgar Wright -- and said that he hopes Beats 1 is the "ultimate clubhouse for artists."
When I found myself in a room with Drake and Oliver and Future for the first time, talking about what OVO SOUND Radio would feel like, that was only a few weeks after I arrived. That was a pretty mind blowing experience to have. The quality and vision of that show. I get that feeling every time I turn on Beats 1 and Mike D is doing a radio show or Lorde is taking over the station and playing in a personal and talking about us in a personal and engaged way. Every time something exciting happens on Beats 1 we get closer to our goal which is to be the ultimate clubhouse for artists to be able to express themselves and enjoy the process of sharing music and sharing information.
Concerning Beats 1 and its musical genres, Darden mentioned that just because he's known as "the hip-hop guy" doesn't mean his show won't take the chance at highlighting other genres.
People think I’m “the hip-hop guy”, and I am that. But I’m also a music fan across the board. I’m amazed at how much great music is out there from all around the world. I get put on to new sounds from a myriad of genres and countries every day. There are tracks in other languages that I don’t understand, but I feel the message regardless. Beats 1 has definitely expanded my worldview.
When asked about the most difficult moment he's been faced with working on Beats 1, Lowe said it was deciding the basic definition of the service, mentioning that he asked himself, "...is this even radio?" With the rise of streaming services, like Apple Music, Lowe mentioned that the Beats 1 team had a chance to do something different with their version of traditional radio and decided to create a foundation of trust for artists that "let them drive their own conversation."
We had three months to build Beats 1 from scratch… the first question we asked on Day One was… is this even radio? Radio had been driving pop music in the world for 50 years, and for all of those years, that was the only way to get a hit record. I’m not sure that’s still the case. Radio listenership like that is declining and in some cases gone.
We had to face up to the reality that the old expectations may not fit the artist anymore. We have to trust the artists. Let them drive their own conversation. Trust that they know their audience. They know how to get the results. They know how this works. With that in mind, we built Beats 1, where artists can own their own real estate, drive their own message, satisfy their audience in their own voice, and hopefully, add value. Free has to lead somewhere. It has to collaborate. It has to build trust. And it’s working.
A few months after Apple Music launched, Beats 1 began saving replays of recent shows so listeners could revisit a segment that they missed at any time. Now, the "On Demand" section of Beats 1 includes recent shows, playlists, and a topic description for each of the DJ's shows after they air live.
Ending the interview, Lowe mentioned that even two years into the life of Beats 1, he's "never been more excited about where Beats 1 is at this moment, and this is just the beginning." Check out the full interview with Lowe, Darden, and Adenuga on Highsnobietyhere.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today made ten predictions related to the 2017 debut of the "iPhone 8," "iPhone 7s," and "iPhone 7s Plus," which are expected to be announced in September and launch sometime afterwards (via StreetInsider).
Kuo's predictions today largely fall in line with all the rumors we've been hearing about the 2017 iPhones over the past few months, with a few new tidbits that suggest the iPhone 8 will be industry-leading in terms of its edge-to-edge design, come in limited color options, and that Apple may be removing Touch ID completely from the OLED smartphone.
According to Kuo, the iPhone 8 will have "the highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone currently available worldwide," thanks to a drastic reduction in bezels and an edge-to-edge display that we've recently been seeing in various renders. A "notch" for the front-facing camera and sensors will be the only noticeable part of the iPhone 8's bezel design, Kuo said.
Kuo's new predictions also continue to corroborate the iPhone 8's lack of a physical Home button, but he goes on to state that Touch ID will not be incorporated into the OLED smartphone's display. The analyst didn't provide any mention of Touch ID moving elsewhere on the iPhone 8, like the back of the device or lock button as has been previously rumored and largely debunked.
Kuo instead referenced advanced features like "3D sensing for facial recognition," suggesting Apple is ready to ditch Touch ID completely for a new form of biometric security. The analyst said that Apple is still facing technical challenges with implementing Touch ID into a full-screen front-facing display.
"We predict the OLED model won’t support fingerprint recognition, reasons being: (1) the full-screen design doesn’t work with existing capacitive fingerprint recognition, and (2) the scan-through ability of the under-display fingerprint solution still has technical challenges, including: (i) requirement for a more complex panel pixel design; (ii) disappointing scan-through of OLED panel despite it being thinner than LCD panel; and (iii) weakened scan-through performance due to overlayered panel module. As the new OLED iPhone won’t support under-display fingerprint recognition, we now do not expect production ramp-up will be delayed again (we previously projected the ramp-up would be postponed to late October or later)."
Here's Kuo's full list of iPhone 8 predictions:
1: Apple will roll out three iPhone models in 2H17, including an all-new design 5.2” (or 5.8” depending on the definition of screen size in use) OLED iPhone & LCD models including 4.7” & 5.5” (front form factor design similar to current ones).
2: OLED iPhone will adopt full-screen design, with the highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone currently available worldwide (thanks to a notch display design); the OLED model will also come with a virtual Home button, though the button will not support fingerprint recognition.
3: OLED iPhone will support 3D sensing for facial recognition & improved selfie quality.
4: OLED iPhone & 5.5” LCD iPhone will both come with DRAM capacity of 3GB (for dual-camera requirements), while 4.7” version will only use 2GB DRAM (for only single camera).
5: Three new models will all come with 64GB and 256GB storage options.
6: All three new models will have a Lightning port; however, there will be an embedded USB-C power delivery IC for higher charging efficiency.
7: The output power of the receiver & speaker of OLED iPhone will be more consistent to create better stereo effects.
8: To maintain its boutique image, we think the OLED version will offer fewer options for casing colors than LCD iPhone models.
9: We predict October-November & August-September as production ramp-up schedules of OLED iPhone & LCD iPhone, respectively. "For optimized promotional effect, we think Apple may unveil the three models simultaneously in September, though the launch date of the OLED version may trail that of LCD models, and supply tightness may not improve before 1H18."
10: We forecast shipments of the three new models in 2017F will be 80-85mn units, with an equal split between OLED & LCD versions.
Another new tidbit includes Kuo's belief that the iPhone 8 will come in fewer color options than the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, which the analyst said will help Apple maintain the OLED iPhone's "boutique image."
Kuo still believes that all iPhones will be revealed in September, but the iPhone 8 will see a wide availability well after the LCD models thanks to a later production ramp-up schedule. In May, Kuo predicted that a "worst case scenario" is also possible, where "severe supply shortages" will persist throughout 2017 for users looking to get their hands on iPhone 8, with supply tightness not improving until the first quarter of 2018.
While Samsung remains the world's the dominant supplier of OLED panels and will supply Apple with up to 92 million OLED screens over the next two years, a new report today suggests that Apple is looking to diversify its supply chain by investing $1.75-2.62 billion into LG Display's OLED manufacturing. Specifically, Apple and LG Display are said to be considering a deal that would funnel Apple's investment into LG Display's new "E6" OLED plant, which would be "exclusively dedicated to Apple orders" (via The Korea Herald).
LG Display's production on OLED screens is still far off, with its output for Apple predicted to start sometime in early 2019, which still places Samsung as the reigning supplier of OLED components for Apple over the next few years. No deal between Apple and LG Display is confirmed yet, with the companies having "tentatively" agreed upon the investment plans and more finalized details expected to come later in the month.
Apple is reportedly in talks with LG Display to invest about 2 to 3 trillion won (US$1.75-2.62 billion) into the Korean display maker’s new OLED production lines exclusively dedicated to Apple orders.
“Samsung Display is the only display maker that meets Apple’s strict quality criteria for now,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. “LG Display is said to be meeting about 70 percent level of the requirements, while Chinese display makers are still struggling to catch up with that of LG.”
For the 2017 line of iPhones, rumors have been pointing towards the "iPhone 8" as having an OLED screen, while the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will include standard LCD panels. The iPhone 8 is believed to include a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge display, glass body, wireless charging, no physical Home button, and potentially 3D sensing features for facial recognition.
A report out of Korea earlier this year stated that Apple aims to make every iPhone with an OLED screen by 2019, which would fall in line with today's report of Apple's and LG Display's deal being eyed for a 2019 production ramp-up on OLED screens.
A popular virtual private network service has been forced to close in China on orders from the government, it emerged on Monday. Bloomberg reported that GreenVPN sent a notice to its customers saying it would end the service from July 1 after "receiving a notice from regulatory departments".
VPNs route and encrypt internet traffic to servers outside of the country, making them popular with users in China who have limited access to online content because of government restrictions. VPNs allow access to sites like Facebook and Twitter, which are otherwise blocked by China's "Great Firewall".
Some users of the GreenVPN iPhone app reported that the service failed to load over the weekend. Apps for GreenVPN and SuperVPN are still listed in the App Store, but users reportedly had trouble downloading them or turning them on. Bloomberg was unable to contact SuperVPN's offices, while Apple didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
It's unknown whether the timing of the VPN shutdown is related to the politically sensitive 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from Great Britain to China. In January, China's Ministry of Industry and Information announced new priorities for controlling online content which included restrictions on VPNs.
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The U.S. government has lifted the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronic devices on inbound flights from Dubai and Istanbul, according to Emirates and Turkish Airlines.
The U.S. government has filed an application with the General Court of the European Union to intervene in an ongoing tax-related case between Apple and the European Commission, according to 
A popular virtual private network service has been forced to close in China on orders from the government, it emerged on Monday. 
