Following yesterday's circulation of iPhone 7 case images, NWE this morning posted another series of shots from the same "reliable" source, this time including what looks like the larger iPhone 7 Plus handset with dual-lens camera.
The additional iPhone 7 pictures offer a few more angles of a possibly fully assembled 4.7-inch device, without revealing anything particularly new, so we've reproduced them here merely for completion.
Readers will note that the power/standby button, volume controls and mute switch can be made out on the sides of the case, while the metallic Apple logo appears to have been fitted, but the images still leave us none the wiser as to whether this device has a headphone jack or not.
Photos from the ninth annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, offering a look at some of the best photos captured on an iPhone in the past year. As in previous years, the photos depict a range of subjects, from people to landscapes to animals.
This year's grand prize winner was "Man and the Eagle" by Siyuan Niu. The photo depicts a 70-year-old man sharing a moment with his beloved eagle. The photo was shot on an iPhone 5s with a filter from VSCO [Direct Link] and post processing in Snapseed [Direct Link], Niu toldTime.
The second winner was Patryk Kuleta's "Modern Cathedrals," which depicts an abstract version of cathedral architecture in Poland. The photo was taken using long-exposure camera apps like AvgCamPro and AvgNiteCam, with post processing in Snapseed and VSCO.
The third winner was "She Bends with the Wind" from Robin Robertis, which depicts a woman in red swaying in the wind during a sunset. The photo was taken on an iPhone 6 and edited with Snapseed and Photoshop Express [Direct Link].
Apple's iPhone 6, iPhone 5s and iPhone 6s continue to be the most popular cameras on Flickr. Apple continues to make upgrading the iPhone camera a priority, and renderings indicate the iPhone 7 could see a larger camera cutout, perhaps to accommodate a larger sensor. The iPhone 7 Plus may also include an exclusive dual-lens camera system.
Photos from all the winners of the 2016 iPhone Photography Awards can be found on the competitions' website. The site is also accepting entries for the 2017 competition.
The success of Pokemon Go has had many real-world ramifications recently, including cautionary tales of car accidents, thieves using the game to stage robberies, and Nintendo's shares jumping 25%, or $7.5 billion, in days. The new augmented reality game is also driving business to local restaurants and bars, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
Food and drink sales spiked by about 30 percent compared to a typical weekend, according to [L'Inizio's Pizzar Bar] manager Sean Benedetti. It was part luck—the game chooses which public locations to imbue with special significance in its virtual world—but there was also savvy strategy. Benedetti, 29, spent about $10 on "Lure Modules," an in-game purchase that attracts Pokémon to a specified location. Players soon picked up on the fact that L’inizio’s was well worth visiting. “People are coming out of the woodwork because of this game,” he said.
Pacific Standard co-owner Ryan Kahl told Bloomberg that while the game has increased foot traffic in his Brooklyn-based bar, he hasn't yet seen the traffic translate into business. "We had one guy run to the back because he had a rare Pokemon," he said. "It's been a little weird." However, Kahl said he had not tried to see if using "Lure Modules" would make a difference, noting that he's hoping it gets hot enough that adventuring players need to refuel.
Some businesses have taken to hanging up signs alerting players how it does or does not support the game. Pacific Standard, for example, hung up a sign saying "Pokemon are for paying customers ONLY!", although Kahl says it was a joke. A Dairy Queen in Texas also put up a similar sign. Other businesses, however, have alerted customers to in-store discounts for meeting certain parameters within a game, like using a "Lure Module" or being a part of one of the game's teams.
Other locations, like Internet Archive's Washington office, have found themselves unable to financially take advantage of the attention. Many of the game's gyms are churches or other public establishments, and former churches and establishments can still be crowned as gyms. The group eventually put up a sign letting players know that they were welcome to battle at the gym, but to not disturb their staff, according to Bloomberg. Designer Boon Sheridan, who lives in a former church, has seen his home transformed into a gym.
Living in an old church means many things. Today it means my house is a Pokémon Go gym. This should be fascinating.
— Boon Sheridan (@boonerang) July 9, 2016
Nintendo, Niantic and The Pokemon Company plan to make improvements to Pokemon Go, including the ability to trade Pokemon with other players. While business owners indicated to Bloomberg that they'd be interested in working with the companies to promote their businesses through the game, it's unclear if Nintendo is open to that idea.
Pokemon Go is available in the App Store for free [Direct Link] for users in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The game is expected to roll out to the United Kingdom and other countries in the near future after server issues are sorted out.
The latest numbers from market research firm IDC reveal that Mac sales experienced a slight year-over-year decline in the second quarter, dropping to 4.4 million from 4.8 million during the year-ago period.
Apple fell behind ASUS to finish as the fifth-largest PC vendor by shipments worldwide, with 7.1 percent market share through late June. Apple had 7.4 percent share in the second quarter of 2015 comparatively, according to IDC's data.
The decline can as typical be attributed partially to seasonal fluctuations and increased competition, but many prospective buyers are patiently impatiently waiting for Apple to release its next-generation MacBook Pro and other refreshed Macs.
Overall PC sales totaled an estimated 62.4 million worldwide in the second quarter, a year-over-year decline of 4.5 percent, as the PC market continues to decline. Nevertheless, North American PC shipments increased for the first time in five quarters, reflecting the strength of the U.S. dollar and "relative market stability."
Gartner has also released similar worldwide PC shipment data for the second quarter.
Liquor, wine, and beer drinkers across Ontario, Canada can now pay for their alcoholic beverages with an iPhone or Apple Watch, as LCBO has confirmed that it now accepts Apple Pay at all of its over 850 stores in the province.
LCBO had been gradually rolling out Apple Pay support since June at its stores, which have long been equipped with NFC-based terminals for contactless payments, and the province-wide rollout was officially completed last week.
Meanwhile, former CurrentC backers continue to reverse course and expand Apple Pay support at their U.S. stores. Twitter user Matt S. was able to use Apple Pay at Sheetz, a gas and convenience chain with over 500 stores in mostly Mid-Atlantic states, next to Raleigh–Durham International Airport.
Sheetz has not publicly confirmed that it is widely launching Apple Pay at the gas pump, but many of its locations are equipped with the requisite contactless payments infrastructure to tap an iPhone or Apple Watch.
QuikTrip, another U.S. chain of over 730 gas and convenience stores in the midwest and southern United States, has also supported Apple Pay and other contactless payments since February, with all locations coming on board within the past few weeks. QuikTrip does not appear to accept Apple Pay directly at their gas pumps at this time.
QuikTrip began piloting Apple Pay earlier this year (Image: Ian M. via Twitter)
Sheetz and QuikTrip were both previously committed to the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) and its indefinitely-postponed Apple Pay rival CurrentC.
Sheetz and QuikTrip join a handful of other former MCX members that now accept Apple Pay, including high-profile retailers Best Buy and Rite Aid. Apple Pay holdouts Walmart and Target also belonged to MCX, but the former released Walmart Pay and the latter is developing its own similar QR code-based solution.
Update: Former MCX member CVS also appears to be testing Apple Pay support on contactless payment terminals at select U.S. stores. The pharmacy chain's official stance is that it's "in the process of evaluating mobile payment options for our customers."
Pokémon Go has full access to your Google account (Image: Ars Technica)
Now, an even bigger potential concern has arisen, as systems architect Adam Reeve has discovered that Pokémon Go grants full access to a user's Google account linked during the iOS sign-up process. Players can alternatively link a Pokemon.com account, but the website is currently experiencing issues for many users.
When granted full account access, Pokémon Go developer Niantic is theoretically capable of viewing and modifying nearly all information stored in your Google account, including your Gmail messages, Google Drive documents, Google Maps navigation history, search history, and personal photos stored on Google Photos.
Now, I obviously don't think Niantic are planning some global personal information heist. This is probably just the result of epic carelessness. But I don’t know anything about Niantic’s security policies. I don't know how well they will guard this awesome new power they’ve granted themselves, and frankly I don't trust them at all. I've revoked their access to my account, and deleted the app. I really wish I could play, it looks like great fun, but there's no way it's worth the risk.
It remains unclear what information, if any, Niantic is actually collecting from users, but the permissions are concerning given the company's history.
Niantic was formed by Keyhole founder John Hanke in 2010 as an internal startup at Google, until it was spun out as an independent entity in October 2015. Google then partnered with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo to invest up to $30 million in Niantic, so it has a remaining interest in the company.
Google is known to collect and track data from its users, fueling the privacy and security concerns. Niantic told Ars Technica that it has "no comment to share at the moment" about the issue, prompting some players to uninstall the game until the potential privacy implications are addressed.
Pokémon Go is available as a free download on the App Store [Direct Link] in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, but anyone can install the app now with a U.S. iTunes account. The game is expected to expand to the U.K. and additional countries in the near future. Read more about Pokémon Go here.
Update: Niantic tellsThe Verge that the company did not intend to request full Google account access and will issue a client-side fix to reduce the number of permissions.
"We recently discovered that the Pokémon GO account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user’s Google account. However, Pokémon Go only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your User ID and email address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected. Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google profile information, in line with the data that we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon Go or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon Go’s permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon Go needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves."
Lenovo recently launched a new ad for its Yoga 900S 2-in-1 notebook, mocking the "iGuy" stereotype of an Apple fan in comparing the device to the MacBook. The ad shows off the Yoga's reversible hinge, high-resolution touchscreen, and multiple ports, with the supposed Apple fan seeking in vain to show how the MacBook is better and more innovative than Lenovo's notebook.
Amusingly, the ad even makes reference to MacRumors as the "iGuy" plays with the Yoga reversible hinge:
To show you why Apple's the best, we're gonna compare my MacBook to this Lenovo Yoga 900S. Because Apple's all about innovation.
(bends reversible hinge) I mean, I'm sure the next MacBook's gonna do that. I mean I think I read that on MacRumors.
Starting at $1099, the Yoga 900S features Skylake Core m processors, a 12.5-inch touch display with up to 2560x1440 resolution, and up to 10.5 hours of battery life in a device measuring 12.8 mm thick and weighing 2.2 pounds. On the connectivity front, the Yoga 900S includes one USB Type-A 3.0 port, one USB Type-C 3.0 port, and one USB Type-A 2.0 port that serves dual duty as the power connector.
Although Nintendo, Niantic, and The Pokémon Company have a few good reasons to celebrate the launch of their new augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go, a couple of incidents related to the game have already begun sprouting up over the past few days, bringing to light a few cautionary tales for everyone delving into the game.
Because it requires players to travel to real-world destinations in order to stock up on Poké Balls, eggs, and potions, and compete at gyms, some individuals have been capitalizing on the game's mechanics to trap and rob its players. According to a Facebook post from the O'Fallon Police Department in Missouri, four people were arrested over the weekend after using a Lure Module at a PokéStop to draw in unsuspecting players and rob them at gunpoint.
"Many of you have asked how the app was used to rob victims, the way we believe it was used is you can add a beacon to a pokestop to lure more players," the police department said in a statement on Facebook. "Apparently they were using the app to locate [people] standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in."
The Lure Modules work as ways to bait more Pokémon into showing up to any PokéStop for 30 minutes, and enhances the Stop's visibility to a glowing pink color when in use, so it's easy for other players nearby to notice. Due to this, other cities across the United States have reported Pokémon Go-related thefts since the game launched last week, including a few in Philadelphia.
Other users playing the game have been lead to a few scary discoveries, including one woman who found a corpse while traveling to a PokéStop in Wyoming. Nineteen-year-old Shayla Wiggins jumped a fence to capture a nearby Pokémon, but instead discovered the dead body of a man who is believed to have drowned in the Big Wind River. According to the local police department, "There is no evidence at this time that would indicate foul play."
Nintendo reminds users to be aware of their surroundings every time the app is opened, and a few states have issued specific warnings as well, but there have also been some driving-related incidents since the game launched. While Pokémon Go encourages players to strike off the beaten path to discover wild Pokémon nearby, most have discovered -- especially in cities where walking is inhibited -- that it's easy to idle past nearby PokéStops and Gyms, already leading to more than a handful of Pokémon Go-influenced accidents.
Pokémon Go is still in its early stages, with Niantic promising continuous updates down the line to enhance player interactivity with the game thanks to the addition of social aspects like Pokémon trading. The company hasn't yet divulged when the first update will be hitting, however, since the app has yet to launch worldwide. Pokémon Go isn't considered one of Nintendo's official smartphone games, but it does appear to hint at a more popular staying power than Miitomo, which launched earlier in the year. Next up the company plans to debut apps related to the Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing franchises.
In the United States, Australia, and New Zealand Pokémon Go can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Nintendo shares jumped by nearly a quarter today following the runaway success of its long-awaited Pokémon Go mobile game released last week (via Reuters).
Stock spiked as much as 25% ($7.5 billion), a record since it began trading in Tokyo in 1983. According to Bloomberg, shares of the Kyoto-based company have climbed 34% in the past two days of trading after the game was released for iPhone and Android devices.
For those unfamiliar with Pokémon Go, the game uses augmented reality and real-world maps so users can venture into the real world to look for Pokémon to capture. Once collected, Pokémon can be leveled up and used for battle, with in-app purchases forming part of the game's progress mechanic.
The game debuted at the top of the App Store's Free Apps Chart in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand last week and is set to be released in Japan and other major markets soon.
The game itself was created by Niantic, spun off from Google last year, and The Pokémon Company. Nintendo owns a third of Pokémon Company and both have undisclosed stakes in Niantic.
Many iPhone users in India, Singapore, Germany and the U.K. appear to be unwittingly downloading fake app Go Catch Em All, which is also hovering around the top spot in regional Free Apps charts. Pocket Go Poke Evolution and Poke Poke Go are two other clones feeding off Nintendo's success story.
Speaking to TechInsider, Pokémon developers Niantic promised that Go players will soon be able to trade characters, encouraging more interaction in the AR world. Other new features will include more ways to play with Pokéstops and Gyms (the landmarks where players restock on items, gain experience, and battle other users for control).
One of the clearest shots of Apple's upcoming iPhone 7 case has been posted over on French site Nowhereelse.fr this morning.
While the photo doesn't tell us anything we don't already know, it does confirm some details of the design we've come to expect from previous leaks.
The appearance of the rear of the phone is consistent with 3D renders previously posted by NWE blogger Steve Hemmerstoffer depicting an iPhone 6s-like design, repositioned antenna bands, and a larger camera cut-out.
What's not clear in the photo is the connector situation at the bottom of the device. Apple is widely expected to do away with the headphone jack, possibly making way for a second speaker grille for stereo sound. The Lightning connector will then become an all-in-one port for audio output, charging, and accessory connectivity.
The photo offers no hint about Apple's plans to use a flush, touch-sensitive home button, a feature that could be reserved for the tenth-anniversary iPhone with an OLED display and glass casing expected in 2017.
According to a new report released yesterday by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, based on a survey of 400 iPhone owners, 15% of users expect to upgrade their devices in the fall, while 29% said they will consider it.
According to the research, 67% of iPhone owners in the U.S. have an iPhone 6/6 Plus or older, placing them in the typical carrier upgrade window during the iPhone 7 cycle. Meanwhile, 32% of users are said to own an iPhone 5s or older, meaning incompatibility issues with newer software could also edge said owners into an upgrade.
Mashable today shared the inspiring story of Jordyn Castor, the 22-year-old Apple engineer who has been blind since birth and now plays a central role in improving the company's Accessibility features.
Castor was born 15 weeks early and weighed just under two pounds – small enough to be held in the palm of her grandfather's hand. She defied doctor's predictions and survived those first weeks, and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Apple engineer Jordyn Castor works on Accessibility features for the blind (Image: Apple)
A former college student at Michigan State University, tech-savvy Castor was introduced to Apple at a Minneapolis job fair in 2015, a gathering she attended nervously knowing that representatives of the Cupertino company would be there.
Castor told Apple reps how amazed she was by the iPad she had received on her 17th birthday. "Everything just worked and was accessible just right out of the box," she said. "That was something I had never experienced before."
Her passion made an immediate impression, and she was hired as an intern, with her work focusing on VoiceOver support. At the end of her internship, she won a position as an engineer on Apple's accessibility design and quality team.
Castor has since been a driving force behind accessibility, in particular on Apple's Swift Playgrounds, an introduction-to-coding program geared toward kids. She's been working to make the program accessible to blind children, who have been waiting a long time for the tool, she told Mashable.
"I would constantly get Facebook messages from so many parents of blind children, saying, 'My child wants to code so badly. Do you know of a way that they can do that?'" Castor explained. "Now, when it's released, I can say, 'Absolutely, absolutely they can start coding.'"
Sarah Herrlinger is Apple's senior manager for global accessibility policy and initiatives, and said that a notable part of the company's steps toward accessibility is its dedication to making inclusivity features standard, not specialized.
"[These features] show up on your device, regardless of if you are someone who needs them," she said. "By being built-in, they are also free. Historically, for the blind and visually impaired community, there are additional things you have to buy or things that you have to do to be able to use technology."
Apple's belief in continually improving accessibility has not gone unnoticed. On July 4, the company received the American Council of the Blind's Robert S. Bray Award for continued dedication to inclusion-based innovation for blind users.
For more on how Apple's work is benefitting the blind and low vision community, including advances coming with watchOS 3 and the continuing importance of Braille displays, be sure to check out the original article here.
Apple will pay $25 million to settle a patent lawsuit with Network-1 Technologies' subsidiary Mirror World Technologies and license its patents, the companies announced today. The patent (No. 6,006,227) dates back to 1999, covering a system that stores documents in a stream ordered chronologically, similar to Apple's Cover Flow or Time Machine.
Under the terms of the agreement, Apple will receive a fully paid up non-exclusive license to the '227 Patent for its full term, which expired in 2016, along with certain rights to other patents in Network-1's portfolio. Network-1 will receive $25 million from Apple for the settlement and fully paid up license.
The technologies described in the patent were developed from the work of Yale University computer scientist Professor David Gelernter and his then-graduate student Dr. Eric Freeman in 1996. They then founded Mirror Worlds LLC, which began a long-running legal fight with Apple over the patent. In 2010, Apple was hit with a $625 million judgment over the patent. A year later, Apple won a reversal of the decision and the judge closed the case in Apple's favor.
In 2013, Mirror Worlds was purchased by Network-1 and the company acquired Mirror World's patents. Network-1 describes itself as a company "engaged in the development, licensing and protection of its intellectual property and proprietary technologies." Last year, the company also reached a settlement with Microsoft for $4.6 million over the same patent.
Apple Music for Android has been updated with a few bug fixes related to playback and playlist issues.
In particular, the update resolves a playback issue where songs skip over the first two seconds of music. It also fixes an issue where albums added to a playlist appear in an unexpected order.
Apple Music version 0.9.11 is available on the Google Play store as a free update.
Facebook has announced that it will begin rolling out optional end-to-end encryption within its Messenger app for iOS and Android on a limited test basis, ahead of the option becoming more widely available through early September.
Messenger users will be able to create one-to-one "Secret Conversations" in Messenger that will be end-to-end encrypted and which can only be read on one device of the person they are communicating with.
Within secret conversations, Messenger users will have the option to set a timer to control the length of time each message sent remains visible within the conversation. The technology is based on the Signal Protocol by Open Whisper Systems [PDF].
Facebook said secret conversations do not currently support rich content like GIFs and videos, making payments, or other popular Messenger features.
End-to-end encryption will not be enabled by default, and secret conversations will not be available through Messenger.com, Facebook chat, or the desktop Messenger app for now, per TechCrunch, which also explained how to start a secret conversation:
…just tap on your friend's name at the top of your current message thread. If you're part of Facebook's test group, you'll see an option called "Secret Conversation." Once you click it, a new conversation thread opens, with a notice at the top informing you that the chat is end-to-end encrypted.
The timer feature that allows messages to be erased after a certain time period has elapsed is located right next to the text field. It offers a drop-down list of times you can select for how long you want your message to last before it expires, ranging from 5 seconds all the way up to 6 hours.
Messenger is free on the App Store [Direct Link] for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
For this week's giveaway, we've partnered with G-Technology to give away five 1TB G-Drive mobile USB-C hard drives. The bus-powered hard drives ideal for MacBook owners require no external power adapter and feature a thin aluminum case with silver, gold, and space gray color options available.
The G-Drive mobile USB-C comes pre-formatted for Mac (but can be easily reformatted for PC) and includes both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables. The 7200 rpm drive supports data transfer rates up to 136 MB/second over USB 3.1. With plug-and-play setup on Mac, the G-Drive can also be used as a Time Machine backup disk.
Suggested retail pricing for the G-Drive mobile USB-C is $129.95, but retailers with the drive in stock are typically selling it for $10 less. The silver model is available from retailers such as Adorama, while the gold and space gray colors are Apple exclusives.
G-Technology is offering five of its mobile USB-C drives to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize.
You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page. Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter.
The contest will run from today (July 8) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on July 15. The winners will be chosen randomly on July 15 and will be contacted by email. The winners have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.
A few years ago, a number of users in Australia were victimized by attackers remotely locking iPhones, iPads, and Macs using Find My iPhone on iCloud. Compromised devices typically displayed Russian ransom messages demanding payments of around $50 to $100 for the device to be unlocked.
A ransom message targeting a Mac in 2014 with the common pseudonym "Oleg Pliss"
At the time, IT security expert Troy Hunt noted that the attackers were likely using compromised emails and passwords exposed from various online security breaches to log in to iCloud accounts. AOL and eBay, for example, were among several high-profile companies that suffered data breaches in 2014.
Apple later confirmed that iCloud was not compromised, and that the eventually-arrested attackers had instead gained access to Apple IDs and passwords through external sources. Russian website MKRU said the attackers obtained the credentials via phishing pages and social engineering techniques.
Since then, CSO security blog Salted Hash has discovered that, since at least February of this year, these ransom attacks have returned and now target users in the U.S. and Europe. The methods used by attackers are said to be the same ones used in 2014, starting with a compromised Apple ID.
It starts with a compromised Apple ID. From there, the attacker uses Find My iPhone and places the victim's device into lost mode. At this point, they can lock the device, post a message to the lock screen and trigger a sound to play, drawing attention to it.
In each of the cases reported publicly, the ransom demanded is usually $30 to $50. If a victim contacts the referenced email address, in addition to payment instructions, they're told they have 12 hours to comply or their data will be deleted.
The website shared screenshots and linked to a number of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit users whose devices appear to have been held for ransom in recent months, but there is speculation that the problem could be much larger than that. The following excerpt is highly questionable, however, and could very likely be incorrect.
Earlier this week, a security professional posted a message to a private email group requesting information related a possible compromise of at least 40 million iCloud accounts.
Salted Hash started digging around on this story after the email came to our attention. In it, a list member questioned the others about a rumor concerning "rumblings of a massive (40 million) data breach at Apple."
The message goes on to state that the alleged breach was conducted by a Russian actor, and vector "seems to be via iCloud to the 'locate device' feature, and is then locking the device and asking for money."
The report adds that "for now, let's assume there hasn't been a massive iCloud data breach." Apple has not commented on the matter.
Given that the Apple ID credentials involved in the ransom attacks are believed to originate from online security breaches, Salted Hash pointed towards a recently compromised Mac-Forums.com database, which allegedly includes 291,214 accounts, being sold for around $775 on the darknet.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that the Mac-Forums database has any relation to these ransom attacks, but users with an account on that website should change their passwords out of an abundance of caution. Setting a device passcode and enabling two-factor authentication for your Apple ID is also highly recommended.
Apple and the University of Naples Federico II have jointly announced that the first-ever iOS Developer Academy will open in October 2016 at the university's new campus in San Giovanni a Teduccio, a coastal suburb east of Naples, Italy. The news was first reported by German website Macerkopf.
The free academy will provide more than 200 students with "practical skills and training on developing apps" in the first year, with more to follow in the years ahead, as part of a nine-month curriculum designed and supported by Apple. The facility includes labs and access to the latest Apple hardware and software.
"We are thrilled to be working with Università di Napoli Federico II to launch the first iOS Developer Academy in Europe," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO.
First semester courses will focus on enhancing and improving students' software development skills on iOS, while second semester students will attend courses on the creation of startups and app design, and work together to create apps that could eventually be released on the App Store.
Students can find out more or apply on the University of Naples website. Applicants are required to take an online test in Italian or English, with successful candidates moving to an interview stage. The university will also be accepting applications through its website for teachers for the Academy in the coming months.
Apple's plans to open its first iOS app development center in Europe were first announced by CEO Tim Cook in January.
"Europe is home to some of the most creative developers in the world and we’re thrilled to be helping the next generation of entrepreneurs in Italy get the skills they need for success," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "The phenomenal success of the App Store is one of the driving forces behind the more than 1.4 million jobs Apple has created in Europe and presents unlimited opportunities for people of all ages and businesses of all sizes across the continent."
Apple expects to expand this program to other countries around the world in the future.
Snapchat is facing a lawsuit over claims that the app is guilty of routinely serving sexually explicit content to minors without warning (via The Verge).
The lawsuit was filed this week by a 14-year-old boy and his mother in a district court in California. The plaintiffs argue that offensive content was shown in Snapchat's Discover page, where non-subscribed publications are delivered to user feeds.
The lawsuit says that by routinely including sexually explicit content without providing adequate warnings, the app's Discover feature is in violation of the Communications Decency Act:
Millions of parents in the United States today are unaware that Snapchat is curating and publishing this profoundly sexual and offensive content to their children. By engaging in such conduct directed at minors, and making it simple and easy for users to 'snap' each other's content from Snapchat Discover, Snapchat is reinforcing the use of its service to facilitate problematic communications, such as 'sexting,' between minors. Snapchat has placed profit from monetizing Snapchat Discover over the safety of children.
The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, seeks civil penalties and a requirement that Snapchat includes an in-app warning about sexual content.
Publishers regularly create specialized content for the platform and Snapchat receives advertising revenue from these partners in return. Users can subscribe to specific publisher channels, but the Discover page brings exposure to publishers they have not subscribed to.
Snapchat claims its partners have editorial independence, but according to The Verge (also a content provider for Snapchat) the company reportedly exercises a heavy hand in guiding the look and feel of published stories.
Snapchat is rated in the App Store as appropriate for children ages 12 and over, noting that it may contain infrequent or mild sexual content, nudity, suggestive themes, profanity, and references to drugs and alcohol. That contrasts with Snapchat's terms of service, which restrict use to children 13 and older.
Liquor, wine, and beer drinkers across Ontario, Canada can now pay for their alcoholic beverages with an iPhone or Apple Watch, as LCBO has 
