A group of filings posted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission website yesterday (via SlashGear) reveal impending upgrades for Apple's Magic Mouse and wireless keyboard accessories. Images accompanying the filings point to the Magic Mouse's successor to simply be titled "Magic Mouse 2," but no specific name for the new wireless keyboard has been revealed.
The internals of both devices will see a notable overhaul in their Bluetooth capabilities, with each device getting a bump from Bluetooth 2.1 to Bluetooth 4.2. The upgrade will bring about Apple accessories that should see a noticeable increase in battery life and more robust communication between the input devices and the main computer.
Also of note is the inclusion of integrated lithium battery packs, which users will have to charge instead of the swapping in traditional AA batteries as seen in the current generation of the Magic Mouse and Apple wireless keyboard. The change is noticeable on the wireless keyboard in particular, with Apple able to do away with the barrel shaped feature on the bottom of the existing keyboard where the replaceable AA batteries are housed.
When the existing Magic Mouse runs low on battery, it sure is nice that downtime is only the length of time it takes to swap 2 rechargeable AA batteries for the 2 that are drained (no more than about 30-60 seconds). While the Lithium option probably means a much longer time between charges, I hope that one doesn't have to swap mice when they forget to charge it when it's close to empty... or more regularly monitor for "low battery" so you can catch it on the day before it is going to be exhausted.
Rechargeable peripherals have never sat well with my workflow. It's much easier to swap AAs than to be inconvenienced while it charges. Hopefully there's an elegant solution in the works.
Wednesday June 22, 2022 12:38 pm PDT by Juli Clover
The iPad will no longer be able to be used as a home hub following the launch of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, and the HomePod 16 software this fall, Apple confirmed today.
As discovered in iOS 16 code by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, Apple says that the iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub. This information will be displayed in the Home app after updating to iOS 16.A home ...
Wednesday June 22, 2022 6:34 pm PDT by Juli Clover
CEO Tim Cook this week did an interview with China Daily, where he once again commented on on the future of augmented reality and hinted at Apple's work on an AR/VR headset. Render via designer Ian Zelbo Cook said that Apple is excited about the opportunities available with augmented reality, which is not too far off from prior comments that he's made, but he went on to say that people should ...
Wednesday June 22, 2022 2:16 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second betas of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, and the new betas introduce new features and refine some of the changes that Apple made with the first iOS 16 release.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Lock Screen Photo Wallpaper Customization
When customizing a photo on the Lock Screen, there are two new DuoTone and...
Since the release of iOS 14.2 in 2020, the iPhone has included a built-in Music Recognition feature in Control Center powered by Shazam. And with iOS 16, and also the iOS 15.6 beta, the feature has received a small but useful upgrade.
As noted by Twitter user @someone_andrew, songs identified with Music Recognition in Control Center finally sync with the Shazam app.
It also remains...
Apple today launched its annual "Back to School" promotion for college/university students in the United States and Canada. This year's promotion offers a free Apple gift card with the purchase of an eligible Mac or iPad, rather than free AirPods like last year. Apple is also offering students 20% off AppleCare+ plans during the promotion.
Apple is offering a $150 gift card with the purchase ...
Wednesday June 22, 2022 10:07 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the updates coming two weeks after Apple unveiled the new software at WWDC and released the initial betas.
Registered developers can download the iOS and iPadOS 16 profiles from the Apple Developer Center, and once installed, the betas will be available over the air. Given...
Apple is "likely" to announce its long-rumored mixed-reality headset as soon as January 2023, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reiterated.
Concept render based on purported leaked information by Ian Zelbo In a detailed post on Medium, Kuo explained that Apple's headset will be a "game-changer" for the augmented-reality and virtual-reality market. Describing some of the headset's...
Apple on May 16 released iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, bringing improvements for Podcasts and Apple Cash, the ability to see Wi-Fi signal of HomePods, dozens of security fixes, and more.
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