MacRumors

Microsoft today launched a new commercial for its Surface Pro 4, comparing the tablet computer to Apple's iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard. The ad -- titled "What's a Computer? Just ask Cortana" -- was posted on YouTube today with a description claiming that "just because you call something a computer doesn’t mean it fits the description." The new ad is clearly targeting Apple's new "What's a Computer?" ad campaign and "Super. Computer." slogan for the iPad Pro.

The ad centers around a party that Siri is holding for its new Smart Keyboard, telling the Surface Pro 4 "I'm a computer now, like you." The Surface Pro 4 responds, asking if Apple's tablet has an Intel Core i7 processor, full access to Microsoft Office beyond the mobile app versions, a trackpad, and external port options. Siri responds with, "Like I said, I just got a keyboard."

The ad ends with the tagline, "Surface does more. Just like you." The new ad today follows a similar anti-Apple theme of many Microsoft ads, which have previously focused on comparing the Surface Book and MacBook, and Windows 10 and OS X. For Christmas last year, the company released a more peaceful ad that centered around a group of Microsoft Store employees singing seasonal carols outside of an Apple Store.

The Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 for 128GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM, and going up to as much as $1,799 for 256GB of internal storage and 16GB of RAM. Comparatively, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at a smaller $799 for 32GB and maxes out at $1,099 for 256GB, with all models including 4GB of RAM.

Apple is planning an all-new research and development center in China, attempting to boost its presence and market share in the country following multiple reports of the iPhone's dwindling returns as users flock towards low-cost alternatives. The R&D center, said "to be built by the end of the year," will mark Apple's first location of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region (via Reuters).

The announcement comes from Apple CEO Tim Cook, on a visit in China this week, who spoke with Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Tuesday and detailed the company's plans for the center. Those details weren't specifically disclosed to the public, so it's still unclear where the new R&D center will be located, or how many employees it might house.

Apple's new research and development center will be built by the end of the year, Cook told Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, one of China's most senior officials, according to the official Chinese state broadcaster.

The pledge comes after the head of China's industry and technology regulator in May told Cook he hoped Apple could deepen its cooperation with the country in research and development and stressed information security.

Cook's August trip marks his second visit to China this year, following a tour of Beijing in May where he met with App Store developers and Didi Chuxing president Jean Liu. Although once Apple's second largest market in the world, the company announced during last month's earnings report that its revenue in China dropped 33 percent year-over-year, ultimately allowing Europe to overtake China as its second biggest market, following the United States.

Concern about Apple's future in China stems from the country's heavy focus on potentially invasive foreign products and services, leading to events like the closure of the iTunes and iBooks store earlier in the spring, due to the launch of a controversial dystopian film. Apple has faced lawsuits due to similar occurrences as well, making it hard for the company to focus solely on helping the iPhone gain traction against China's plentiful low-cost smartphone options.

In an interview with Fast Company, former Apple employee Bob Messerschmidt, who helped design the heart rate sensors in the Apple Watch, gave some insight into what it was like working with Jony Ive and Apple's Industrial Design Group on the company's first wearable device.

After a 2010 acquisition, Messerschmidt joined the Apple Watch team, where he was in charge of designing some of the sensors for the device. In an anecdote relayed to Fast Company, during one meeting, Messerschmidt proposed putting health sensors in the Apple Watch band, an idea that was quickly shot down by the Industrial Design Group because of a desire for interchangeable bands.

One great example is [when] I went to a meeting and said I'm going to put sensors in the watch but I'm going to put them down here (he points to the underside of the Apple Watch band he's wearing) because I can get a more accurate reading on the bottom of the wrist than I can get on the top of the wrist. They (the Industrial Design group) said very quickly that "that's not the design trend; that's not the fashion trend. We want to have interchangeable bands so we don't want to have any sensors in the band."

Messerschmidt's next proposal was for sensors at the top of an Apple Watch worn tightly against the wrist, which was also nixed because "that's not how people wear watches." According to Messerschmidt, it was difficult working within the design constraints at Apple, but it pushed him to figure out "new engineering solutions" and ultimately made for a product with a superior user experience.

Engineers left in a vacuum might say "well, that's maybe not so important; we can get a better signal by doing it the other way so let's do it that way." So, left to their own devices, that would be the way the product would end up. So you have to have a really strong voice supporting the user. I think the idea of focusing on that is uniquely Apple

Messerschmidt goes on to explain other important lessons he learned from his time working at Apple and from Steve Jobs, including that user experience is "everything when it comes to consumer products," that "good enough is not good enough," and that it's important to say no "until it's just right."

Following three years at Apple and integral work on the heart rate sensor in the Apple Watch, Messerschmidt left the company to found Cor, a startup producing a device that draws blood, analyzes it, and provides near-instant health-related information.

Messerschmidt's full interview is worth checking out and can be read over at Fast Company.

Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus could feature improved charging speeds, according to information shared by Twitter user The Malignant, citing an unverified Chinese source.

Alongside an image of an iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 logic board comparison that does not seem to divulge any clear info to confirm the rumor, The Malignant says the iPhone 7 will feature "at least" five volt two amp charging.

Apple's iPhone models currently ship with a 1A/5W charger, but are able to charge more quickly with a 2.1A/12W iPad adapter. With the rumored fast charging feature, charging speeds would presumably be even faster than using an iPad charging adapter with a current model iPhone.

Improved charging speed is not an iPhone 7 rumor that we've heard before, nor does it come from a reputable source, so this information should be viewed with some skepticism. Twitter user The Malignant appears to share a variety of rumors and information sourced from Chinese social networking sites, not all of which is reliable.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 7 at an event rumors suggest will be held on Wednesday, September 7. More reliable rumors about the device suggest it will feature a slightly redesigned body with relocated antenna bands, camera improvements, a faster processor, and no headphone jack.

Apple today released the sixth beta of macOS Sierra, the newest operating system designed for the Mac, to developers. macOS Sierra beta 6 comes one week after the release of the fifth beta and two months after the software was first unveiled at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Developers can download today's beta update using the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Apple Developer Center.

macOS Sierra is a major update that brings Siri to the Mac for the first time, allowing users to conduct voice searches to quickly find files, look up information, and more. New Continuity features offer an "Auto Unlock" option for unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch and a "Universal Clipboard" for copying text on one Apple device and pasting it on another.

Deeper iCloud integration allows files stored on the desktop or the Documents folder of a Mac to be accessed on all of a user's devices, and Photos features deep learning algorithms for improved facial, object, and scene recognition. There's also a Memories feature for displaying photo collections, and Messages has rich links, bigger emoji, and "Tapback" response options.

Apple Pay is coming to the web in macOS Sierra, with payments authenticated through an iPhone or Apple Watch, and new features like multiple tabs, Picture in Picture multitasking, optimized storage, and revamped emoji are also available.

macOS Sierra is currently available to developers and public beta testers, and it will see a wider public release this fall. For full details on all of the new features included in macOS Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS Sierra roundup.

Update: There's also a new version of macOS Sierra for public beta testers.

Apple today seeded the sixth beta of iOS 10 to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fifth beta and more than two months after first unveiling the new operating system at its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

iOS 10 beta 6 is available as an over-the-air download to those who installed the first five betas or the beta configuration profile and it's available for direct download via Apple's Developer Center (developers only).

iOS 10 is a major iOS update with a ton of new features and design tweaks, including a new Lock screen experience with 3D Touch-enabled notifications, a more easily accessible camera, a redesigned Control Center, and a new widgets screen. According to Apple, iOS 10 is the company's biggest iOS update ever released.

The Messages app in iOS 10 has been overhauled with features that include background animations, bubble effects, Digital Touch, handwritten notes, Tapback replies, predictive emoji, and a dedicated App Store, and Photos has gained new facial and object recognition capabilities along with a Memories feature for rediscovering forgotten moments.

Over the beta testing period, Apple is tweaking the features introduced in iOS 10 to refine them ahead of the public release of the operating system. In iOS 10 beta 5, Apple introduced a new lock sound and fixed some important bugs.

According to Apple's release notes, iOS 10 beta 6 fixes a number of bugs. Search hints now function as expected in the Messages Store, Siri offers an appropriate response when a request requires a removed app, a bug that caused sticker pack apps to be blank has been fixed, and more. Reports from beta testers suggest an ongoing bug affecting the dock on iPads running iOS 10 has been resolved.

iOS 10 is currently available to developers and public beta testers, with a full public release planned for the fall. For full details on iOS 10, make sure to check out our iOS 10 roundup.

A new set of iPhone 7 images have emerged online, this time showing a mockup of the larger-screened, 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus in Space Black (via TechTastic). Earlier in the year, a sketchy rumor hinted that Apple might be introducing a "Deep Blue" color option in the 2016 iPhone lineup, but more recent reports have clarified that "Deep Blue" will ultimately be a darker version of the current Space Gray, now depicted in today's pictures.

Although the Space Black images fall largely in line with recent mockups and image leaks for the iPhone 7, there are a few inconsistencies. The dual-lens camera bump on the iPhone appears slightly less raised than previous depictions of the back of the iPhone 7, and the mockup designates the model as an "S" edition, which has been lacking from any previous reports and remains an unlikely moniker given the name schemes of the current generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The pictures also include a Smart Connector on the back of the iPhone 7 Plus, which, at best, has been an inconsistent rumor leading up to the launch of the new iPhone next month. More recently, mockups and image leaks have leaned more towards Apple's decision to not include the Smart Connector in the iPhone 7. The feature could also be specific to the 5.5-inch iPhone Plus, or a third "Pro" model.

Elsewhere, the Space Black variant keeps up with rumors of what the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will look like: no 3.5 mm headphone jack, two speakers (one likely to be cosmetic), and rearranged antenna bands on the back. Apple might be preparing an all-new, flush Home Button on the next-generation iPhone devices as well. But, like most image leaks, it's hard to be certain in the new pictures whether the Home Button is a new, pressure-sensitive option or just the traditional physical switch.

The new pictures follow a collection of high-resolution photos of a Gold mockup of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus that were posted last week. Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus on September 7, with pre-orders beginning on September 9 and a potential launch one week later on September 16.