Earlier today data from market research firm IDC said that Apple Watch's share of the wearables market fell to 5% as fitness trackers "reigned supreme." In an email responding to a Reuters inquiry about the report, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple Watch's sell-through rate hit a new high recently.
"Sales growth is off the charts. In fact, during the first week of holiday shopping, our sell-through of Apple Watch was greater than any week in the product’s history. And as we expected, we’re on track for the best quarter ever for Apple Watch," he said.
Cook added that Apple's data shows that the Watch "looks to be one of the most popular holiday gifts this year." The IDC report estimated that Apple shipped 1.1 million Apple Watch units in the third quarter, down from 3.9 million shipments last year during the same quarter.
IDC attributed the decline to an "aging lineup" and an "unintuitive user interface." Apple addressed those concerns with the Apple Watch Series 2, but the model's launch date in mid-September hampered its impact in the third quarter.
While Cook told Reuters that Apple's sell-through rate was high, he has not yet responded to Reuters' request for specific sales figures. Apple doesn't disclose Apple Watch sales figures, instead grouping it into its "other products" category, which also includes iPod and Apple TV, in earnings results.
Apple today shared a new iPhone 7 ad on its YouTube channel, which is designed to highlight the video recording features of Apple's latest device.
In the ad, entitled "Romeo and Juliet," two children are shown acting out Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in a realistic setting, with the camera panning out to show that it's actually a father recording a school play with the iPhone 7. A caption underneath the video reads "Your movies look like movies on iPhone 7."
The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus both feature optical 12-megapixel high-speed sensors, new image signal processors, optical image stabilization, and wide color gamut, all features that have led to improved performance over previous-generation devices.
Today's iPhone 7 ad is the latest in a series of ads that have showcased iPhone 7 and 7 Plus features like waterproofing, improved battery life, the camera, and the iOS 10 operating system.
Apple's iCloud service appears to be down or working slowly for many users, according to reports sent in by MacRumors readers and comments on Twitter.
Customers who are affected by the outage are not able to log into the iCloud website and are receiving server error messages. iCloud features like Calendar and mail are also not working for users in areas where iCloud is down.
Apple's System Status page is not currently reporting an iCloud outage, but Apple often does not update the page until outages are resolved or close to being cleared up. There's no word on how long the outage might last, but most of the time, connection issues are resolved quickly.
Update: Apple's System Status page is now reporting an issue with iCloud Web Apps, which appear to have been unavailable for some users since 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
Update 2: As of 2:50 p.m. Pacific Time, Apple's System Status page suggests the iCloud outage has been resolved.
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of the upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.2 update to developers and public beta testers, one week after releasing the fourth 10.12.2 beta and more than a month after the public release of macOS 10.12.1.
The fifth beta of macOS Sierra 10.12.2 is available for download through the Apple Developer Center or through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
macOS Sierra 10.12.2 includes new emoji, introducing Unicode 9 characters like clown face, selfie, face palm, fox face, owl, shark, butterfly, avocado, bacon, and more, plus many profession emoji are available in both male and female genders.
Apple has also updated the artwork on many existing emoji, adding detail and design elements to make them look less cartoonish and more realistic. New wallpapers are also included in macOS Sierra 10.12.2, introducing the color explosion options that have been used in iPhone marketing materials.
There are few other outward-facing changes aside from the addition of new emoji and wallpapers, but the 10.12.2 update also likely includes many bug fixes and performance enhancements to address issues that have surfaced since the release of macOS Sierra 10.12.1.
Available since September, macOS Sierra is the latest Mac operating system. It includes Siri support, Apple Pay for the web, Universal Clipboard, Apple Watch auto unlocking, improved iCloud Drive integration, Picture-in-Picture multitasking, and dozens of smaller features that can be found in our macOS Sierra roundup.
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.1 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the fourth watchOS 3.1.1 beta and more than a month after releasing watchOS 3.1, the first update to the watchOS 3 operating system.
watchOS 3.1.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 3.1.1 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.
As a minor 3.1.x update, watchOS 3.1.1 seems to focus on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements, with no outward-facing changes discovered in the first four watchOS 3.1.1 betas. We'll update this post should any new features be discovered in the fifth watchOS 3.1.1 beta.
watchOS 3 completely overhauls the interface on the Apple Watch, introducing a dedicated app dock, instant launch apps, new watch faces, and new complication options. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides users through deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and an SOS feature can automatically call emergency service.
Apple today seeded the sixth beta of an upcoming iOS 10.2 update to developers and public beta testers, a few days after seeding the fifth beta of iOS 10.2 and more than a month after releasing iOS 10.1, the first major update to iOS 10.
Registered developers can download the sixth beta of iOS 10.2 from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air with the proper configuration profile installed.
iOS 10.2 introduces new emoji, such as clown face, drooling face, selfie, face palm, fox face, owl, shark, butterfly, avocado, pancakes, croissant, and more.
There are more than a hundred new emoji, including several profession emoji available in both male and female genders, such as firefighter, mechanic, lawyer, doctor, scientist, and more. Apple has also redesigned many existing emoji, adding more detail to make them look much more realistic.
Along with new emoji, iOS 10.2 includes new wallpaper, new Music sorting options and buttons for Repeat and Shuffle, new "Celebrate" and "Send with Love" Screen Effects, an option for preserving camera settings, Single-Sign On support for watching live TV via apps, and the official "TV" app that was first introduced at Apple's October 27 event.
The TV app serves as an Apple-designed TV guide that aims to simplify the television watching experience and allow users to discover new TV shows and movies to watch.
The TV app is available on both iOS devices and the Apple TV (tvOS 10.1), and in iOS 10.2, the "Videos" app has been replaced entirely with the new "TV" app, which will now serve as the iOS TV and movie hub.
Apple has called iOS 10 its "biggest release ever" for iOS users, with a revamped lock screen, a Siri SDK for developers, an overhauled Messages app, a dedicated "Home" app for HomeKit users, new facial and object recognition capabilities in Photos, and redesigned Maps and Apple Music apps.
Apple customers may be familiar with the option of walking into an Apple retail store, purchasing a product with the Apple Store app, and walking out without checking out or even speaking to a single employee, and now Amazon seeks to one-up that experience with a new concept called Amazon Go.
Amazon Go provides a checkout-free shopping experience that, to the naked eye, looks exactly like shoplifting. After scanning a smartphone upon entering a store, the app automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart.
Amazon Go says the app utilizes computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning, allowing customers to simply take what they want and go with no checkouts or lines required. Shortly after, Amazon will charge a customer's Amazon account and send a receipt, meaning that, unlike the Apple Store app, shoppers do not even need to be in the store during the actual payment process.
Amazon did not provide any further details, so beyond that it remains unclear exactly how the process works.
For now, Amazon Go is limited to Amazon employees in the company's beta program, while only one Amazon Go food store in the company's hometown of Seattle—at 2131 7th Ave—currently supports the app. Amazon Go will open to the public in early 2017, possibly signaling the app's expansion to other stores.
All customers need is an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free Amazon Go app. Amazon informed MacRumors the app will likely support iPhone, and presumably Android-based smartphones as well.
A robbery at an Apple Store in Palo Alto over the weekend has continued a string of Apple Store-related burglaries plaguing the Bay Area over the past few weeks. In Palo Alto, the University Avenue Apple Store was targeted by between eight and ten individuals who drove a rented SUV directly into the store's floor-to-ceiling glass front, and made away with an unspecified amount of iPhones, iPads, "and other gadgets on display."
The SUV used to crash into the Apple Store was subsequently disabled due to the purposeful wreck, and the thieves had to escape on foot. Since the event, which occurred early Sunday morning, four suspects have been arrested.
Image via The Mercury News
“This was a pretty brazen act,” said Palo Alto police Sgt. James Reifschneider said, “when somebody breaks their way into a business after hours and uses a vehicle to force their way into a store.”
Elsewhere in and around San Francisco, since October there have been three Apple Store thefts within San Francisco itself, three in Berkeley, three in Burlingame, one in Los Gatos, and one in Corte Madera. These eleven crimes are all believed to be linked, with similar descriptions of the perpetrators connecting each robbery: "a group of young men in their late teens or early 20s wearing hooded sweatshirts."
The hooded thieves were said to rush into each Apple Store and "in about 45 seconds" stole upwards of $20,000 worth of iPhones and iPads tethered to their display tables. The Apple Store on Chestnut Street in San Francisco was hit on Black Friday and again the following Tuesday, at nearly the same time the Apple Store on Stockton Street was robbed. The frequency and "brazenness" of each robbery has lead to increased security in front of most Apple Stores in each area.
"It just keeps happening," said Burlingame resident Angelina Bruno. "It's really strange to feel that unsafe in a town that used to feel so safe."
The Palo Alto theft is not connected with these other crimes, according to local police. Local news channel KTVU reached out to Apple for a comment, but Apple spokesperson Nick Leahy said "we don't comment on matters of security."
It should be mentioned that in any Apple Store robbery, all of the devices that make it out of the store's Wi-Fi range become useless thanks to Apple's built-in security measure that bricks each smartphone and tablet.
While the Apple Watch remains the world's best selling smartwatch, the latest data from market research firm IDC reveals basic wearables "reign supreme" as consumers gravitate towards simple, dedicated fitness devices—which also typically cost less than the Apple Watch and other smartwatches.
Shipments in millions (Source: IDC)
Basic wearables accounted for 85% of the market and experienced double-digit growth in the third quarter, according to IDC. Fitbit remained the leader with 23% market share, up from 21.4% a year ago, on the strength of its new Charge 2 fitness tracker. Fitbit shipped an estimated 5.3 million wearables in the quarter.
Xiaomi trailed in second as its $14.99 Mi Band is priced well below any competing wearables, allowing the Chinese company to capture 16.5% market share based on an estimated 3.8 million shipments in the quarter. Xiaomi's market share remained virtually unchanged from 16.4% a year ago.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch captured just a 4.9% share of the broader wearables market in the quarter based on an estimated 1.1 million shipments, according to IDC. Comparatively, in the year-ago quarter, Apple had an estimated 3.9 million Apple Watch shipments for a much higher 17.5% market share.
"It's still early days, but we're already seeing a notable shift in the market," said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. "Where smartwatches were once expected to take the lead, basic wearables now reign supreme. Simplicity is a driving factor and this is well reflected in the top vendor list as four out of five offer a simple, dedicated fitness device. Meanwhile, from a design perspective, many devices are focusing on fashion first while allowing the technology to blend in with the background."
IDC attributed Apple's decline in the third quarter to an "aging lineup" and an "unintuitive user interface." Apple addressed those concerns with Apple Watch Series 2, but the second-generation models launched in mid-September and therefore did not have a full impact on the third quarter.
Apple does not officially disclose Apple Watch sales, instead grouping the device under its "Other Products" category in earnings results.
Apple Maps has been updated with comprehensive transit data for Minnesota's twin cities Minneapolis and Saint Paul, enabling iPhone users in the metropolitan area to navigate using public transportation, including Metro Transit buses and trains.
Apple introduced Transit in Maps as part of iOS 9 in select cities around the world, including Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and over 300 cities in China. The feature has its own tab in Apple Maps on iOS 10 when entering directions.
Transit routing is now available in several other cities, including Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Honolulu, Kansas City, Melbourne, Miami, Montréal, Pittsburgh, Portland, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, and parts of British Columbia, Canada and New South Wales, Australia.
Apple has updated the iCloud beta website with a new Photos section that includes improved navigation tools similar to the native Photos app on macOS Sierra. As discovered by MacMagazine [Google Translate], the Photos section in the beta site now includes a sidebar for navigation, which displays all of a user's albums so it's easier to jump between photo collections.
In the current iteration of iCloud.com albums are found in a tab bar at the top of the Photos part of the website, next to a user's moments. With the update, users are also able to choose multiple photos from the new album select toolbar "and use the action buttons in the upper right corner to add, share, download, or remove albums."
Within each album, when a specific photo is clicked on, users will be presented with a scrollable thumbnail view of the entire album's contents, providing further ease of navigating through large photo collections.
The iCloud.com updates are strictly navigational improvements, with no addition of the new macOS Sierra Photos features like Faces and Memories. It's unclear how long it will take for the new changes to launch on a broader scale after debuting on the iCloud.com beta site.
Ahead of the official launch of Single Sign-on on tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2 later this month, Apple has added a new App Store section (via reddit) with apps that support the feature for beta testers. The apps are categorized by supported TV providers, including DirecTV, Dish, Sling TV, Hotwire, and GVTC.
If you are a Dish Network satellite TV subscriber, for example, you can sign in once with your Dish username and password to start using any of the following apps, among others: Watch Cooking Channel, Watch DIY, Watch Travel Channel, Hallmark Channel Everywhere, and Watch Food Network.
When you open an app that supports Single Sign-on on iOS 10.2 beta, a pop-up alert asks if you "want to allow XYZ to use your sign in credentials," according to beta testers. If you decline, the app lets you sign in and authenticate with a provider-specific username and password as usual.
On a fourth-generation Apple TV running tvOS 10.1 beta, Single Sign-on can be accessed by opening the Settings app and navigating to Accounts > TV Provider. On an iPhone or iPad running iOS 10.2 beta, Single Sign-on can be accessed by opening the Settings app and tapping on the TV Provider section.
Single Sign-on will be available on tvOS 10.1 and iOS 10.2 in December upon completion of beta testing, enabling U.S. customers to sign in once with their cable TV credentials to access all live cable content available through their cable TV subscription, even when it is spread across multiple apps.
Apple has announced it will be opening a new retail store at Vanke Mall in Qibao, an ancient town and popular tourist destination in the suburbs of Shanghai, China, on Saturday, December 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The location will become Apple's seventh retail store in Shanghai and its 489th store overall.
Apple is closing in on 500 retail stores worldwide following the grand openings of its Marché Saint-Germain location in Paris, France and Zhujiang New Town location in Guangzhou, China earlier this month. Apple has opened 20 new retail stores in 2016, excluding the upcoming Shanghai location.
Sales related to virtual reality and augmented reality products "have been weaker than expected," according to data collected by a number of market research firms and shared by DigiTimes.
A lack of content and expensive prices, specifically for VR headsets, are two factors said to be at the center of the weak demand for the technology as 2016 closes out. The results could potentially have a negative effect on companies investing in VR and AR technology development, including Apple.
The market watchers noted that Sony's PSVR, Google's Daydream View, HTC's Vive, Samsung Electronics' Gear VR, and the Oculus Rift all ended up with sales figures weaker than their initial expectations. Coming out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday last week, the research firm SuperData noted that VR headsets have been "the biggest loser" this holiday season.
Because of the slower-than-expected consumer adoption of each technology, companies rumored to be investing in VR and AR products are believed to be feeling "pressured" about such investments. Specifically, HTC was noted as "seeing decreasing share in the worldwide smartphone market" while waiting for its Vive headset to contribute profits.
Many research firms' numbers also have shown that VR product sales in 2016 have been weaker than expected due to lack of content and high product costs. VR/AR technologies also require more improvement in order to stimulate demand from both the consumer and enterprise sectors.
It will take more time before the VR/AR market may begin enjoying robust growth, and such a slower-than-expected development is putting pressure on firms that have invested resources into related development, such as HTC, which is seeing decreasing share in the worldwide smartphone market while its Vive has yet to start contributing profits. The year of 2017 could be a difficult one for HTC.
Although Apple's relation to such technology has leaned more towards an AR experience -- most recently suggesting a feature that would be integrated into the iOS camera app -- the company has been rumored to be developing a full-on VR headset as well. If included in pre-existing apps within iOS, an augmented reality experience by Apple would be less risky for it to undertake, but some rumors also point towards a separate product category coming down the line.
It's unclear when Apple's decade-long investment in VR/AR development might come to fruition in a consumer product, but some basic AR experiences have already proven popular on the company's devices, including this summer's gaming phenomenon Pokémon Go.
Apple has been criticized in South Korea for its mobile app refund policy which game developers say removes them from the process and is regularly being abused.
Apple controls the App Store payment refund process for paid-for apps and determines whether to give refunds to consumers. According to The Korea Times, because Apple does not provide information about who has been issued a refund, developers have no other choice but to manually track down users and check if they continue to use the charged content they have already received the refunds for.
Apple says it does not provide information about users who have requested a refund in order to protect consumer rights. But some users have reportedly abused the loophole in Apple's refund policy to purchase charged content multiple times, request refunds and continue to consume the content without actually paying for it. According to The Korea Times, some of the abusers even run profitable businesses to operate the refund process on others' behalf.
Mobile game companies in the country are said to be taking their own measures to counteract Apple, which has so far remained silent on the issue. Korean game development studio Flint said it had independently tracked down 300 users who they suspected of abusing the App Store refund policy, and pledged to "root out the abusers" by requesting judicial authorities for an investigation.
Next Floor, distributor of Korean game Destiny Child, also complained about the difficulties in dealing with abusers without Apple's help.
"We are regulating those who abuse the payment process and damage other users under our management policy," the company said. "Unlike other application stores, Apple does not provide refund information to the game companies and we are having difficulties in promptly counteracting the problem."
Mobile game studio Nexon and Longtu Korea said it had asked Apple for the lists of users who requested refunds several times, but the company did not respond. "I cannot understand Apple's policy in that it does not provide the list of people who abuse the system even when it is already causing problems in the market," said a source from the studio.
By contrast, Google's app store refund policy states that users can receive refunds on charged mobile content only once if they request it within two hours after payment.
A subset of users who purchased a new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar claim to be experiencing shorter than expected battery life.
In particular, some users claim to be getting as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge, or between 30% and 60% of the up to 10 hours advertised.
Currently I'm powering a 1080p external monitor and casually browsing with Chrome. At full charge, I'm getting an estimate of 3 hours battery life. With gaming it's even less.
I bought a maxed out 13-inch Touch Bar model and I've been using it for about a week. With light use, I've been consistently getting around 5-6.5 hours when mainly browsing. Apple claims 10 hours wireless web but my battery has never lasted this long.
Reddit user Azr-79 yesterday claimed his new base model 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar received only 3 hours and 45 minutes of battery life on a single charge, despite what he described as "normal usage" in the form of web browsing, watching YouTube videos, and software development.
MacRumors forum member Scott claimed he experienced a 5 percentage point drop in battery life, from 10% to 5%, in just 12 minutes. Google Chrome, a known battery hog, was listed as the only app drawing significant power. The discussion topic he posted in and others are littered with similar claims of sizeable percentage drops in mere minutes.
Other claims on Reddit include anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours to 6 hours — sometimes more, and sometimes less.
Conversely, some users report battery life exactly in line with Apple's advertised figures. Reddit user Andrew J., for example, said he was working on non-intensive tasks on his new MacBook Pro for 90 straight minutes, and still had 92% battery life with an estimated 10 hours and 35 minutes of usage remaining.
I've been working non-stop for the past 1.5 hours, back and forth between emails, Safari, Calendar, Messages, organizing files, editing some PDFs in Adobe Acrobat DC, and building a financial model in Excel. I started at 100% and am now at 92% battery, with an estimated 10 hours 35 minutes remaining. If you're not getting this kind of battery life on your MBP you should definitely get it checked out.
Estimates unsurprisingly vary widely based on screen brightness, background processes, and other factors, so user reports are only anecdotal evidence and your mileage may vary. It is also important to note battery life could be initially reduced until Spotlight finishes indexing your new MacBook Pro.
Battery life complaints are nothing new following the launch of a new Apple product. However, some users speculate battery life could be impacted by the new MacBook Pro switching from more efficient integrated Intel graphics to the power-hungrier dedicated AMD Radeon Pro GPU for unnecessary tasks.
Once again, however, there are always claims to suggest otherwise. Reddit user Lebron Hubbard claims he received 5 hours and 48 minutes of battery life on his high-end built-to-order 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar when forcing only the dedicated AMD Radeon Pro 460 graphics to run using gfxCardStatus:
Even though the dGPU rarely kicks in for day to day stuff, the Radeon Pro 460 seems really efficient for small tasks. 5:48 is nothing to scoff at for dGPU only, and it runs very cool and quiet.
Apple's built-in Activity Monitor and third-party app coconutBattery are useful tools for tracking system processes and detailed battery information.
Apple officially says the new MacBook Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life. Specifically, its tech specs page says all new 13-inch and 15-inch models are capable of up to 10 hours of wireless web browsing, up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback, and up to 30 days of standby time on a single charge.
TechCrunch placed battery life at 9 hours and 35 minutes for the 13-inch model. Mashable said 10 hours is a fair estimate overall. The Wall Street Journal got 9.5 hours on the 13-inch model. Engadget gauged between 9 and 10 hours of video playback on the 15-inch model. Nilay Patel got 5.5 hours on the 13" in real-world use.
Apple explains how it performs its battery tests on its website:
The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The iTunes movie playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 1080p content with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network and signed in to an iCloud account, to enter standby mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default.
Apple's website also provides tips for maximizing battery life on the MacBook Pro, including updating to the latest version of macOS, optimizing Energy Saver settings in System Preferences, dimming the screen's brightness to the lowest comfortable level, and turning off Wi-Fi while not connected to a network.
Additional battery optimization advice provided by users includes performing a fresh install of macOS Sierra and resetting the SMC.
Google this week began rolling out the latest update to its desktop Chrome web browser ahead of schedule, with Chrome 55 fixing multiple security vulnerabilities and defaulting to HTML5 on the majority of websites.
Google Chrome has been phasing out Flash support since September, when version 53 of the browser started blocking Flash-based page analytics and background elements. Version 54 brought a YouTube code rewrite that forced YouTube Flash players to switch to HTML5.
Chrome 55 brings the most visible move away from Flash by defaulting to HTML5 across the board. Users are now prompted to enable Flash when they visit sites that still use it, exempting 10 of the most popular sites on the web, including Facebook and Amazon.
Chrome 55.0.2883.75 for Mac contains a number of other fixes and improvements, including 26 patches identified by external researchers as part of Google's bug bounty program, and another 10 security fixes implemented by Google itself. The addition of CSS automatic hyphenation means Chrome can now hyphenate words when line-wrapping, which improves the visual appearance of text blocks.
Chrome 55 should be available to download for most Mac users now. Existing users can update by selecting Chrome -> Preferences via the menu bar and clicking the About section. Users downloading Chrome for the first time will automatically receive the updated version from the Chrome download page. An update for the iOS browser app is expected soon.
Last week, Apple wrote a letter to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration telling it that "new entrants" to the auto industry should get the same rights as the established companies in the industry, reportsVentureBeat. In the letter, Apple admits to its interest in "machine learning and automation" as it pertains to transportation.
Apple uses machine learning to make its products and services smarter, more intuitive, and more personal. The company is investing heavily in the study of machine learning and automation, and is excited about the potential of automated systems in many areas, including transportation.
Apple points out that established car manufacturers do not have to pursue exemptions to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards when attempting to test cars on public roads due to the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. New entrants in the auto industry, like Google and others, are not granted the same right under the FAST Act.
The Cupertino company argues that the best way to maximize safety benefits for autonomous vehicles, ensure fair competition and encourage innovation is for the NHTSA to amend policy to state that seeking exemptions isn't necessary for internal development vehicles on public roads.
The other half of the letter, which is dated November 22, addresses the Federal Automated Vehicles policy and a proposed data sharing program. "Apple agrees that companies should share de-identified scenario and dynamics data from crashes and near-misses," the letter says. "Data should be sufficient to reconstruct the event, including time-series of vehicle kinematics and characteristics of the roadway and objects." Apple also points out that data sharing should not come at the expense of privacy, and that companies should invest resources to protect the "individuals' fundamental right to privacy."
In October, it was reported that Apple was abandoning its car plans "for now." After numerous layoffs and reassignments, the remaining members of the Apple Car team were said to be focusing on autonomous systems. Dozens of employees are also working on a car operating system in Canada. The letter was signed by Apple VP of Product Integrity Steve Kenner, who used to be Ford's Global Director of Automotive Safety. It's not known when Kenner joined Apple, as his LinkedIn still lists Ford as his employer.
Update: Apple issued a statement to Financial Times confirming the letter and Apple's interest in helping to define rules for self-driving vehicles.
“We’ve provided comments to NHTSA because Apple is investing heavily in machine learning and autonomous systems,” the Apple spokesman said. “There are many potential applications for these technologies, including the future of transportation, so we want to work with NHTSA to help define the best practices for the industry.”
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Sales related to virtual reality and augmented reality products "have been weaker than expected," according to data collected by a number of market research firms and shared by 
Last week, Apple 
