MacRumors

Apple today launched a new repair program for iPhone 6s users whose devices may be unexpectedly shutting down. The issue is a limited one only affecting certain devices manufactured between September and October 2015.

Apple has determined that a very small number of iPhone 6s devices may unexpectedly shut down. This is not a safety issue and only affects devices within a limited serial number range that were manufactured between September and October 2015.

If you have experienced this issue, please visit an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider and have your device's serial number checked to confirm eligibility for a battery replacement, free of charge.

Apple's resolution for the issue is to replace the device's battery free of charge, although Apple notes that if there are other problems with a user's device such as a cracked screen that could impair the battery replacement procedure, those issues must be repaired for a fee before the battery issue can be addressed.

Users who previously paid to have their batteries replaced for this issue can contact Apple to request refunds.

Just three days ago, Apple launched a repair program for iPhone 6 Plus owners whose devices are experiencing so-called "Touch Disease" where users may see display flickering or a loss of touch sensitivity. That program carries a $149 repair fee, as Apple says the issue is caused at least in part by the device having been "dropped multiple times on a hard surface."

Apple tonight has posted a new Apple Music ad that continues its "distractingly good" campaign. The ad stars Drake, an artist who has developed a good relationship with Apple and its music service.

The ad works as a companion to an ad from February in which Taylor Swift works out to Drake and Future's "Jumpman." Swift, like Drake, is so distracted by Apple Music that she messes up her workout.

Swift's latest album, "1989", is still exclusive to Apple Music. Drake's "Views" is the first album on the streaming service to be streamed more than 1 billion times. "Views" was also exclusive to Apple Music for a week before expanding to other services. Drake also debuted a 23-minute short film called "Please Forgive Me," which is meant to be a visual companion to the album, exclusively on the service.

In late September, the Financial Times reported Apple was considering a full takeover of McLaren Automotive or a strategic investment in the British supercar maker.

The New York Times and Bloomberg separately reported talks were underway as well, noting Apple was more likely to make a large investment in McLaren rather than buy it.

Two months later, it now turns out those reports were accurate. In an interview with Reuters, McLaren Automotive CEO Mike Flewitt confirmed McLaren was in discussions with Apple, but he said the talks never progressed towards a definitive proposition. He also ruled out a takeover bid from Apple.

"There wasn't a bid from Apple," said Flewitt. "They visited. We talked. We talked about what they did. We talked about what we did. They toured. It never matured to a definitive proposition," he said.

McLaren previously said it was "not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment," a seemingly purposefully vague statement that did not rule out discussions between the companies entirely. Financial Times reporter Tim Bradshaw rightly stood by his story despite McLaren's statement.

Apple's interest in McLaren may have diminished as the iPhone maker's ambitions reportedly no longer include building its own car "for now." Under the leadership of Bob Mansfield, Apple's automotive team has reportedly shifted its focus towards developing an underlying system and technologies for autonomous vehicles.

McLaren, headquartered in Woking, Surrey, manufactures high-performance sports cars, including the P1 and F1 models that look similar to Formula One race cars. The carmaker produced just 1,654 vehicles last year, some costing as much as $1 million apiece. Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller is said to own a McLaren.

McLaren has a Formula One team itself that competes under the name McLaren Honda, winning more F1 Grand Prix races than any other team since 1966. Formula One itself was sold to U.S.-based Liberty Media for $4.4 billion in August. McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing are subsidiaries of McLaren Technology Group.

(Thanks, OllyW!)

Apple may be throttling the LTE performance of the Verizon iPhone 7 to keep it on par with the AT&T iPhone 7, according to research conducted by Twin Prime and Cellular Insights and shared by Bloomberg. Based on testing, the Verizon iPhone 7 performs about as well as the AT&T iPhone 7, but it does not reach the data transfer speeds that it is capable of hitting.

The Verizon (and Sprint) iPhone 7 models use different LTE hardware than the AT&T (and T-Mobile) iPhone 7 models, adopting a Qualcomm LTE modem instead of an Intel LTE modem.

The hardware from Qualcomm is capable of maximum theoretical download speeds of 600Mb/s, while the Intel LTE modem tops out at 450Mb/s, but the Qualcomm-equipped Verizon iPhone 7 is only marginally outperforming the AT&T iPhone 7. Researchers believe Apple may be hobbling the Verizon iPhone 7 by not taking advantage of "a crucial component," thereby ensuring all models of the iPhone 7 perform at a similar level.

"The data indicates that the iPhone 7 is not taking advantage of all of Verizon's network capabilities," said Gabriel Tavridis, head of product at Twin Prime. "I doubt that Apple is throttling each bit on the Verizon iPhone, but it could have chosen to not enable certain features of the network chip." [...]

Field tests suggest the Verizon iPhone 7 is just a "little faster" than the AT&T iPhone 7, but not as fast as it could be. Tests were conducted by comparing iPhone 7 performance on the Verizon network to a Samsung Galaxy S7, which also uses the Qualcomm X12. Data collected from more than 100,000 phones downloading the same image indicates the S7 was twice as fast as the iPhone 7.

In a statement, an Apple spokesperson said there is no discernible difference in the wireless performance of any of the iPhone 7 models.

"Every iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus meets or exceeds all of Apple's wireless performance standards, quality metrics, and reliability testing," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said. "In all of our rigorous lab tests based on wireless industry standards, in thousands of hours of real-world field testing, and in extensive carrier partner testing, the data shows there is no discernible difference in the wireless performance of any of the models."

Though the two phones are performing on a similar level, past testing by Cellular Insights suggests that changes somewhat when signal strength is an issue. In areas of weak reception, the Verizon iPhone noticeably outperforms the AT&T iPhone by maintaining a stronger connection and enabling faster low-signal transfer speeds.

Other network testing companies that Bloomberg contacted said that reliably measuring data transfer speeds is difficult due to the many factors that can affect performance, but the information collected from Cellular Insights and Twin Prime was not disputed.

Several MacRumors readers have discovered that System Information readouts on some 15-inch MacBook Pro units appear to suggest they are running Iris Pro 580 integrated graphics, rather than Intel HD Graphics 530 as advertised in Apple's tech specs.

The strange inconsistency was first found on some demo units running in Apple Store showrooms, leading some readers to suggest Apple was running higher-specced machines in-store. However, since then, some owners of newly shipped 15-inch MacBook Pros have also noted the same inconsistency in stock laptops sold to them.

MacRumors forum member torquer discovered that on their machine, System Information reports an Intel HD Graphics 530 when the laptop is running on battery, but reports Iris Pro 580 once it's plugged in.

This would suggest a bug in macOS Sierra is causing System Information to misreport the integrated graphics chip in some 15-inch MacBook Pro models. Another indication of misreporting is that units which identify the GPU as an Iris Pro 580 appear to show the device ID string "191b", which correlates with the Intel HD Graphics 530 chip.

In addition, owners of machines reporting the more powerful Iris Pro 580 are not seeing the kind of graphics performance improvement one would expect. For the record, Intel only matches the more powerful Iris Pro 580 to Core i5-6350HQ and Core i7-6770/6870/6970HQ mobile processors, none of which Apple chose to use in its latest lineup of notebooks, likely due to power consumption concerns.

Apple today launched a new repair program for the iPhone 6 Plus, addressing complaints about a manufacturing issue that can cause the iPhone 6 Plus to become unresponsive to touch.

According to Apple, some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit Multi-Touch issues after "being dropped multiple times on a hard surface," causing damage to the device. Under its repair program, Apple will fix affected iPhone 6 Plus devices for a service price of $149.

Customers who paid more than $149 to have their devices fixed before the repair program was implemented will be able to get their money reimbursed by Apple.

Complaints about the iPhone 6 Plus touchscreen issue started in August, after iFixit published a video highlighting the bug and dubbed it "Touch Disease." Touch Disease presents as a gray flickering bar at the top of the screen and a display that becomes unresponsive or less responsive to touch.

Customers who have an iPhone 6 Plus with Multi-Touch issues can visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Apple retail store to see if they qualify for the $149 repair fee.

Starting today, Apple has made in-store pickup available for the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in the United States, allowing customers to check stock at their local store and reserve a machine online.

The MacBook Pro first started popping up in retail stores on Tuesday, but because there was no in-store pickup option, there was no way to tell which stores had stock and which didn't. It's now much easier to see which locations have MacBook Pro models available for immediate purchase.

Many stores around the country are listing December 30 pickup dates for the higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro model and the two 15-inch models, but there are some locations where the new MacBook Pros are currently in stock. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar appears to be much more widely available than other machines.

A MacBook Pro with Touch Bar ordered from the Apple online store today won't ship for approximately four to five weeks, so checking local stock on a daily basis is a good way to get a model with a standard configuration much more quickly.

Prices on the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar start at $1,799 for the 13-inch model and go up to $2,799 for the 15-inch model, with additional processor, storage, and GPU boosts available for additional fees.