MacRumors

Apple this morning launched a new Twitter account for Apple News, giving its Apple News team a way to promote stories and content on the social network. Created last year but activated today, the Apple News Twitter account will be used to share "top stories" and "great reads" curated by Apple News editors in the United States.

Thus far, the account has shared two new stories covering the Panama Papers and an NCAA Tournament championship game from publishers Wired and SBNation.

Apple has recently been bolstering its presence on Twitter, and the Apple News Twitter account joins accounts for services like Apple Music, Beats 1 radio, iTunes, the App Store, iBooks, Podcasts, Swift, and more.

Apple's biggest push into Twitter came last month with the launch of the Apple Support account on the social network, which is dedicated to answering customer support questions. Though Apple has multiple Twitter accounts for support and services, it does not have a main company-wide @Apple Twitter account in use, but many Apple executives maintain personal Twitter accounts including Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, and Eddy Cue.

Sony today announced plans to bring the PlayStation 4's Remote Play capabilities to the PC and Mac through an update that will be released tomorrow. With the update, PS4 owners will be able to play games remotely through a PC or a Mac.

Remote Play is a feature that lets the PlayStation 4 send audio and video to a peripheral device, but it was previously only compatible with Sony's handheld console, the PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation TV set-top box, and select Sony smartphones and tablets. Remote Play has been around since the PlayStation 3 and the PSP, but Sony has never made an effort to expand it before.

The decision to bring Remote Play to PCs and Macs comes after Microsoft introduced a remote gameplay feature for the Xbox One, allowing Xbox games to be played using a PC that runs Windows 10. Sony's feature is more robust as it also works with Macs and it works remotely -- the Xbox game streaming feature requires a connection through a home network.

Sony makes Remote Play compatibility a requirement for all PlayStation 4 games that don't use peripherals, so most users will find that their entire PS4 game catalogs can be streamed to a Mac or PC.

On Macs, Remote Play will work with the latest versions of Apple's OS X operating system, OS X 10.10 Yosemite and OS X 10.11 El Capitan. On PCs, the feature is compatible with machines running Windows 8.1 or 10 or later. A single DualShock 4 controller can be connected to a PC or Mac via a USB cable to serve as the gameplay controller for Remote Play.

Games can be played in several resolutions and at several frame rates, adjustable based on Internet bandwidth. Resolution defaults to 540p, but can be changed to 360p or a max of 720p. The default frame rate setting is 30fps, adjustable to 60fps.

Remote Play will be available as soon as the PlayStation 4 is updated tomorrow. Once the update goes out, Mac and PC users will be able to download the software to enable the feature from the PlayStation Remote Play website (download is not yet live).

A video surfaced online yesterday purporting to show a vulnerability in iOS 9.3.1 that allows anyone to access photos and contacts on a locked iPhone without having to enter a passcode.

The YouTube video, uploaded by Jose Rodriguez and first spotted by The Daily Dot, depicts a user performing a Siri search followed by a series of relatively simple steps, one of which involves 3D Touch, limiting the exploit to iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices.

The procedure starts by invoking Siri on the locked phone by holding the home button or using the "Hey, Siri" function, and then asking the personal assistant to initiate a Twitter search. When the returned results include contact details such as an email address, a 3D Touch gesture is used on the contact information to bring up a Quick Actions menu. Tapping "Add to Existing Contact" then brings up the iPhone's Contacts list. By selecting a contact and opting to add a photo to the entry, the phone's photo library can also be freely accessed.

The flaw is only applicable if the iPhone owner has previously granted Siri permission to access Twitter account information as well as to Contacts or Photos, operations which require establishing ownership of the device with the passcode or Touch ID. Additionally, if the iPhone has exited a Touch ID grace period, a passcode is still required before using Siri.

Users worried about the vulnerability can protect themselves by ensuring Siri's access to Twitter and Photos is disabled. On your device, go to Settings -> Privacy -> Twitter and if Siri is listed, turn off its access. Likewise, in Privacy -> Photos, turn any listing of Siri access to the Off position. Revoking Siri's access to your Contacts requires the more drastic action of disabling Siri lock screen activation. To do so, go to Settings -> Touch ID & Passcode and turn off the Siri switch.

Apple released iOS 9.3.1 to the public last week, marking the first update to iOS 9 since iOS 9.3 launched on March 21. iOS 9.3.1 came just over a week after the launch of iOS 9.3 and brought a fix for a significant web link crashing issue that affected many iOS users.

Barclays appears to have enabled much-anticipated support for Apple Pay in the United Kingdom during the early morning hours on Tuesday.

A growing number of Barclays customers on Twitter have been successfully able to add their debit or credit cards from the large British bank to Apple Pay since shortly after midnight local time.

Barclays was notably absent from the list of banks and participating issuers supporting Apple Pay when the mobile payments service first expanded to England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in July 2015.

Barclays cardholders can set up Apple Pay through the Wallet app on iOS 8.1 or later. Bank-issued cards can be scanned or added manually by tapping the "Add Credit or Debit Card" option. Follow the on-screen verification steps.

Apple Pay is also supported at Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Tesco Bank, TSB, and Ulster Bank in the United Kingdom.

When a customer buys an Apple product in an Apple retail store, it's packaged in a white plastic drawstring bag emblazoned with an Apple logo, something that's become an iconic part of the Apple experience. Starting later this month, Apple is introducing changes to its bagging policy, phasing out plastic bags in favor of a more environmentally friendly paper option.

Apple is planning to switch from the plain white plastic bags to paper bags made from 80 percent recycled materials, which Apple says will further its goal of leaving the world "better than we found it." Apple informed employees of the impending change in a note, which was shared by 9to5Mac.

In addition to handing out paper bags, employees are also being asked to adopt a new policy of querying customers as to whether a bag is needed at all instead of simply providing one.

We're committed to leaving the world better than we found it. One bag at a time. So on April 15, we'll switch to paper shopping bags made from 80 percent recycled materials. These bags come in medium and large.

When customers are buying a product, ask if they need a bag. They may decide they don't. And you'll encourage them to be even more environmentally friendly.

If you still have plastic bags in stock, use them before you switch to the new paper bags.

While Apple will begin offering the new bags on April 15, employees have been instructed to continue to use all of the available stock of plastic bags before switching to paper. Once the supply is exhausted, the new paper bags, the design of which is unknown, will be used exclusively.

Given Apple's focus on recycling, clean energy, and reducing its carbon footprint, the company's switch from plastic to paper should come as no surprise. Apple already focuses on minimizing packaging size for its products from iPhones to Macs and two-thirds of the paper used for packaging is from recycled content with the rest sourced from sustainable forests.

Construction on Apple's second campus in Cupertino, California is slated to wrap up at the end of 2016, and with just eight months to go until the deadline, work on the site is continuing around the clock. As he does at the beginning of each month, drone pilot Duncan Sinfield captured new aerial video of Apple Campus 2, allowing us to see the progress that has been made over the course of the last 30 days.

This month's video gives the closest look we've seen yet at the ring-shaped main building and other areas on the campus, with today's construction juxtaposed with video taken over the last several months to give us an idea of how rapidly work on the campus has progressed.

At the main ring-shaped building, additional windows and window awnings have been added, and solar panels designed to sit atop the roof are being lifted into place. Work on the underground auditorium is nearly finished, and as we saw last month, the roof has been fitted to the building that will seat 1,000 people for future Apple events. Underground tunnels for accessing parking facilities also look to be in the end states of completion.

A second video by Matthew Roberts depicts two massive parking structures and close-up views of the auditorium, the roof of the main building, and the 100,000 square foot fitness center where employees will be able to work out.

In the near future, as work on the main buildings wraps up, Apple may begin its landscaping efforts. Since construction began, Apple has been amassing a giant dirt pile in the center of the campus, all of which will go towards the landscape. Apple plans to add more than 7,000 trees to the campus, spread across 300 species, ultimately ending up with more than 80 percent green space for employees to enjoy.

Component costs for the new 16GB iPhone SE are estimated to be at about $160, according to a preliminary teardown report from IHS iSuppli. When a new iPhone is released, IHS often takes it apart to estimate the cost of each component to ultimately predict how much Apple spends on hardware.

IHS estimates that the materials for the device cost $156.20, rounded up to $160 with the addition of manufacturing costs. Apple is believed to have kept the base cost of the iPhone SE relatively low by using a number of parts designed for the iPhone 5s, 6, and 6s, allowing the device to be sold to consumers at a $399 starting price due to price drops on the original components.

For example, the Gorilla Glass display in the iPhone SE is estimated to be one of the most expensive components, coming in at a price of $20. When that display was originally used in the iPhone 5s, it was more than twice as expensive. When the iPhone 5s was released in 2013, in fact, its costs were estimated to be at $199 and with Apple's most recent flagship iPhone 6s Plus, component costs were estimated to start at $236.

When it comes to the 64GB iPhone SE, IHS estimates that Apple is making an additional $89 per device over the 16GB iPhone SE, due to the relatively low cost of memory upgrades.

"Apple is willing to drop its gross margin on the low end to induce sales -- though it is likely counting on many consumers upgrading to the more profitable 64 gigabyte SE model," said Wayne Lam, principal analyst, mobile devices and networks, IHS Technology. "When the profit machine that is Apple capitulates to the market forces of a maturing industry, it shows its tacit acknowledgement that even it is not immune to the dynamics of the global smartphone slowdown."

IHS' component cost estimates look at the potential price related to each individual component in a device without taking into account other expenses related to product creation like research and development, advertising, software, and distribution, so while interesting, the estimates are not a useful tool for determining Apple's actual profit margin. An earlier report from CNN suggested the iPhone SE components have a total cost of $220, but IHS has a longer history and more experience with component pricing estimates.

In the past, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that component cost breakdowns on Apple products are inaccurate. "There are cost breakdowns around our products that are much different than the reality," he said. "I've never seen one that is anywhere close to being accurate."

While it appears that Apple has elected not to share first weekend sales numbers for the iPhone SE, as it has done in the past for some flagship models, multiple analysts have forecasted that sales of the new 4-inch smartphone were "lackluster" during its first three to four days of availability.

In a research note issued today, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo questioned last week's CNBC report claiming that iPhone SE orders topped 3.4 million in China, and added that demand for the iPhone SE "has been significantly lower than that of past new models" since launching on March 31.

Lackluster iPhone SE demand supports our view. Although there exists a market survey that indicates iPhone SE preorders top 3.4mn units in China, we couldn’t find more evidence to support this. However, judging by the delivery time for iPhone SE preorders, we believe initial demand for the iPhone SE following the announcement has been significantly lower than that of past new models. We believe this is due in part to lackluster demand for smaller-size smartphones and, more importantly, that the product itself offers no significant upgrades to form factor or hardware specs.

Mobile analytics firm Localytics echoed Kuo, claiming that iPhone SE adoption was "lackluster" following the device's launch. According to the firm's research, the iPhone SE "managed to grab only 0.1% of the iPhone market" over its first weekend of sales, which marked lower adoption than the iPhone 5s and all of the "6" models.

Apple launched the iPhone SE last Thursday on the same day as Tesla began accepting reservations for its lower-cost Model 3, and consumer excitement was unsurprisingly geared towards the highly-anticipated electric vehicle. In fact, many Tesla locations in the U.S. and Europe had longer lineups than nearby Apple retail stores.

Kuo forecasted that overall iPhone shipments will likely fall below 200 million units in 2016, indicating that the iPhone SE will not be enough for Apple to overcome "peak iPhone" until at least next year.

We forecast 1H16 and 2H16 iPhone shipments of 85-95mn units and 105-115mn units, respectively, implying full-year shipments of 190-210mn units (vs. 232mn in 2015), below market consensus of 210-230mn units.

In light of market feedback for iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and SE, we believe growth on replacement demand for larger display is slowing. We are therefore conservative about shipments of current iPhone models in 1Q-3Q16.

Nevertheless, considering that the iPhone SE is effectively an upgraded iPhone 5s, and based on a design first introduced in 2012, it is largely unsurprising that demand among early adopters may be lower than usual. Apple's flagship iPhone 7 series is also due in September, which many customers are likely holding out for.

The success of the iPhone SE in emerging markets such as China, India, and Pakistan is likely what Apple is more concerned about. The smartphone's lower starting price should help get the device in the hands of consumers in markets where premium smartphones are out of reach for some due to socioeconomic factors.

In those markets, there is at least anecdotal evidence to suggest that the iPhone SE may be off to a good start.

After discovering that a handful of iPhone SE components are interchangeable with those of the iPhone 5 in a teardown last week, iFixit today shifted its sights to the other major release from Apple's "Let Us Loop You In" media event - the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

iFixit surmised that the new iPad Pro is essentially the offspring of the iPad Air 2 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, acquiring the looks of the former and specs of the latter. The site found, however, that the 9.7-inch iPad Pro acquired the "ugly genes" of the family when it comes to its internals as Apple continues to cram ever more features into its devices at the cost of repair accessibility.

Unlike the larger-screened iPad Pro, which houses its display cables in the center of the device, the 9.7-inch device has its display cables nestled into the bottom right edge of the case.

After disassembling the EMI shield covering the logic board, removing the battery, and moving onto the upper speakers, which connect to the logic board with spring contacts, iFixit discovered that most of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro's components are held together by "gobs of adhesive" that will make it difficult for everyday repairs.

The site also examined the protruding camera, which it notes is the same 12 MP camera found in the iPhone 6s Plus and an upgrade from the 12.9-inch version's 8 MP rear-facing camera. iFixit suggests the iPad Pro's camera is optically stabilized like the one in the iPhone 6s Plus, but Apple has not marketed the iPad Pro with support for optical image stabilization. Regardless, the beefed-up specs of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro's camera require the bump on the rear housing, which is not present on the 12.9-inch device.

One of the wild cards of the teardown centered around a group of antenna interconnect boards, which iFixit determined to "serve no actual purpose." Upon closer inspection, the site hypothesized that the sturdy, flat tops of the boards perhaps provide extra support for the iPad's display, which could come in handy since users with Apple Pencils are bound to rest their palms on the display repeatedly.

After inspecting a similar A9X 64-bit processor, iFixit compared the battery capacities of the recent line of iPads to the new iPad Pro. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro's 7,306 mAh is expectedly less than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro's score of 10,307 mAh, but largely in line with the 7,340 mAh of the iPad Air 2. Despite their varying capacities, iFixit noted that all three of the iPads have "roughly the same estimated battery life" of about 10 hours.

iFixit gave the 9.7-inch iPad Pro a repairability score of 2 out of 10, with a 10 being the easiest to repair. The disassemblers noted that with the removal of the pull tabs found under the battery in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a "virtually impossible to replace" Smart Connector, the fused-together LCD and front panel glass, and a more-than-average amount of adhesive holding everything together, the smaller iPad Pro is even more difficult to repair than its larger counterpart, which scored a 3 out of 10 in the same test.

Dual cameras will be exclusive to Apple's next-generation 5.5-inch iPhone, according to a new research note issued by respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

New iPhone shipments to be capped by similar form factor as iPhone 6s & 6s Plus; top hardware upgrade is dual-camera (5.5-inch model only), though many competing models with dual-camera will launch soon, joining others already on the market; first impressions could underwhelm.

Rumors surrounding dual-camera iPhones have gained momentum since January, when Kuo said that Apple has both single- and dual-camera iPhone 7 Plus models in development. Recent reports have been unclear, however, about whether the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 will also have dual cameras.

Leaks surrounding the rumored dual cameras have been limited to a blurry photo of the purported iPhone 7 Plus (or iPhone Pro?) and a possible dual-lens module appropriate for the 5.5-inch smartphone. Apple reportedly received dual-lens camera samples from suppliers for testing purposes in February.

The rumored camera improvements have been linked to Apple's acquisition of LinX Technology, which could lead to "DSLR-quality" photos on iPhones. LinX's multi-aperture cameras are also smaller sized than single-aperture cameras, meaning the iPhone 7 Plus could have a slightly less protruding camera lens.

LinX camera modules have a number of other benefits, including 3D depth mapping, better color accuracy and uniformity, ultra HDR, low noise levels, higher resolution, low costs, zero shutter lag, and a compact design that allows for edge-to-edge displays. A recent video demo provides a good overview of dual-camera technology.

Apple recently patented a dual-camera system consisting of one standard wide-angle lens, similar to what is found in the latest iPhones, and a second telephoto lens capable of capturing zoomed-in video and photos. In a recent video, we visualized what the interface could look like on future iOS devices.

(Top Image: Cameraplex)