MacRumors

Apple plans to announce new Apple Watch models this fall with improved health tracking and GPS chips, according to a new Bloomberg report that confirms previous rumors we've heard about the Apple Watch 2.

The upcoming Apple Watch 2 will not, however, feature cellular connectivity to make it less dependent on the iPhone, as Apple has not been able to compensate for the extra battery life that a cellular connection consumes.

Apple had been in talks this year with mobile phone carriers in the U.S. and Europe to add cellular connectivity to the watch, according to people familiar with the talks. A cellular chip would have theoretically allowed the product to download sports score alerts, e-mail and mapping information while out of an iPhone's reach.

During the discussions, Apple executives expressed concern that the cellular models may not be ready for release this year and that the feature may be pushed back to a later generation, according to the people. Apple warned that, even on an aggressive schedule, the earliest possible shipment time-frame for cellular models would have been this December, one of the people said.

Apple is researching low-power cellular chips for future versions of the Apple Watch, but has been unable to make it work for 2016. The company's "ultimate goal" for the Apple Watch is to decouple it from the iPhone, but technology will need to improve before it is able to do so. LTE connectivity and significant Apple Watch design changes are not expected before 2017.

The addition of a GPS chip, something planned for the next-generation Apple Watch, will allow the device to more accurately determine a user's location for better fitness and health tracking capabilities along with improved navigation. Previous reports have also suggested the Apple Watch 2 will include a barometer, a higher capacity battery, and improved waterproofing techniques.

Bloomberg's report does not give a specific launch date for the next-generation Apple Watch beyond "fall," but it is possible Apple plans to launch new Apple Watch models alongside the iPhone 7, which is expected to be unveiled at an event that will take place on September 7.

A previous rumor from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has suggested we will see both a second-generation Apple Watch with the aforementioned new features and an upgraded first-generation Apple Watch with an improved processor and superior waterproofing.

The latest numbers from research firm Gartner reveal that the smartphone industry continues to be a virtual two-horse race between iOS and Android. The operating systems combined for a record 99.1% worldwide market share in the second calendar quarter of 2016, compared to 96.8% in the year-ago period.

Android remained the world's most widely used smartphone operating system with 86.2% market share in the second quarter, up from 82.2% a year ago, while iOS dropped to 12.9% market share from 14.6% in the year-ago period. Windows and BlackBerry smartphones continued their long-running descent, dropping to 0.6% and 0.1% market share worldwide respectively.

iOS and Android achieving a 99% duopoly in the smartphone market is remarkable given that Symbian and BlackBerry operating systems were industry leaders just six years ago. Symbian was used by several major mobile phone vendors, including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson.

Symbian was essentially discontinued in 2012, beyond being used on a few regional smartphones in Japan, while BlackBerry released its first Android smartphone last year. Meanwhile, Microsoft scaled back its Windows Phone efforts earlier this year following continuously poor sales of Lumia devices.

A new leaked image of the iPhone 7's rear camera module has been posted online today (via Nowhereelse.fr), bringing with it more concrete evidence that the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 will include optical image stabilization alongside its various other camera improvements. Previous reports surrounding the smaller-screen iPhone have hinted at the inclusion of image stabilization, but today's camera module leak provides the first visual hint of its addition into the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone.

The component in question includes four small cutouts surrounding the single-lens camera, housing the springs and equipment that allow for the lens to float slightly, leading to clearer, less blurry images. The same component for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s lack these cutouts. Since the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, optical image stabilization has been limited to the "Plus" versions of Apple's smartphone, alongside features like better battery life.

With optical image stabilization now believed to be coming to both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the different camera abilities will be focused on the single-lens and dual-lens hardware for the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions of the smartphone. Mockups over the last few months for both devices have shown larger camera bumps when compared to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and the camera hardware in general has been believed to be one of the major selling points of an otherwise modest update year.

Currently, it's believed that Apple will reveal the iPhone 7 at an event on September 7, and open up pre-orders on September 9. The specific launch date is a bit more ambiguous, with both September 16 and September 23 flagged as potential options.

Apple appears to be making a slight branding change to its retail business, dropping the "Store" moniker when referring to its Apple Store locations. Apple has already made the change online, and all of its store pages now refer to stores by names like "Apple Union Square" or "Apple Valley Fair" or "Apple The Grove," instead of "Apple Store, Valley Fair" or "Apple Store, The Grove."

It's a change that appears to have started rolling out with the launch of the newer Apple Stores, like the Union Square location in San Francisco. Apple has always referred to that store as just Apple Union Square, and over the course of the last few days, the company has updated all of its retail store webpages to remove the "Store" branding. What was once "Apple Store, Fifth Avenue," for example, is now just "Apple Fifth Avenue."

An archived page for the Fifth Avenue Apple Store has the older branding as of August 12, suggesting this is a fairly recent change to Apple's retail plan.

Apple also recently sent out a memo to its retail employees, letting them know that the "Store" branding is gradually being dropped from both retail locations and online. While Apple told employees the change will be gradual and will start with new stores, pages for almost all stores have been updated to remove the "Store" titling.

The decision to remove the "Store" portion of Apple's line of retail locations likely has to do with efforts to turn newer stores into more than just simple stores, positioning them as gathering places for their communities. Apple Union Square, for example, features an outdoor plaza with regular acoustic performances and a 6K video wall with seating called "The Forum," aimed at allowing artists, photographers, and musicians to inspire and educate customers through year-round programs, events, and classes.

T-Mobile has introduced a new plan called T-Mobile ONE [PDF] that offers unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data for $70 per month. A second line can be added for $50 per month, while up to six more lines can be added for an additional $20 per month each. The total cost for a family of four, for example, would be $160 per month.

T-Mobile ONE has some caveats to consider. First, unlimited video is limited to 480p standard definition for all services, with unlimited HD video available for $25 per month extra per line. Additionally, tethering is limited to 2G speeds, with 5GB of high-speed tethering available as a $15 add-on.

T-Mobile's existing Simple Choice plan with unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data costs $95 per month and includes unlimited HD video and 14GB of LTE tethering. The carrier also offers 2GB, 6GB, and 10GB of 4G LTE for $50, $65, and $80 respectively. These plans will remain available for a short time for new customers.

T-Mobile also clarified that, as with its Simple Choice plans, customers using the most data -- specifically the highest 3 percent -- may see their data traffic prioritized behind other users once they cross a threshold of around 26GB of data during their billing month. The carrier noted that throttling will only occur at specific times and places where there is network congestion.

The new plan includes usual T-Mobile perks such as Simple Global, Mobile Without Borders, Wi-Fi Unleashed, Stock Up, and T-Mobile Tuesdays. T-Mobile will also pay up to $650 in early termination fees to customers who switch over from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint through its Carrier Freedom program.

T-Mobile ONE will be available for new postpaid customers on September 6, while new prepaid customers will be able to get the plan "in the future." Existing customers have the option to keep the Simple Choice plans they have or switch to T-Mobile ONE. The plan costs $5/month extra per line without AutoPay enabled.

T-Mobile follows in the footsteps of new data plans from AT&T and Verizon.

Parallels today announced Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac with support for macOS Sierra and the addition of several new features. The company also announced a new standalone app called Parallels Toolbox, which allows users to perform some simple tasks that aren't necessarily tied to virtualization.

New features in Desktop 12 include having Windows 10 "always on" in the background, the ability to instantly launch Windows apps, the ability to schedule incremental backups and Windows updates, the ability to assign special behaviors to Windows apps, improved integration for Microsoft Edge, Outlook, and Office 365, and Xbox app support. Additionally, Parallels has partnered with Blizzard to provide specific support for the hit game Overwatch.

Version 12 also includes 90 percent faster snapshot creation, 60 percent faster suspension of VMs, 25 percent faster shared folder performance, 25 percent faster compilation of Visual Studio projects, and up to 10 percent in battery life improvements for "certain environments."

The company is also touting a new standalone app called Parallels Toolbox. The Toolbox places a drop-down menu in the Mac's menu bar, allowing users to do certain tasks more quickly. Tasks include the ability to record the screen, take screenshots, record audio, archive files, convert and download video, lock the screen and more.

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac is $79.99, while Desktop 10 or 11 users may upgrade for $49.99. The Business and Pro Editions are also available with a subscription fee of $99.99 per year, although Parallels 10 and 11 users with perpetual licenses can upgrade for $49.99 per year. Parallels Toolbox can be purchased for $10 per year or will be included with your Parallels Desktop 12 license.

Parallels 10 and 11 users can upgrade now at the company's website. New users can purchase Parallels 12 starting on August 23. Parallels Toolbox also launches August 23.

During the second quarter of 2016, sales of Apple iPads, iPhones, and other devices fell 20 percent at popular retailer Target. Target CEO Brian Cornell highlighted the sales drop during an earnings call where he suggested the decline was due to a lack of "newness" and "innovation" and blamed poor Apple sales for Target's disappointing Q2 earnings results.

According to Cornell, electronics sales decreased by double digits, with Apple product sales responsible for a third of the overall drop.

"Our guests come to us looking for those products," Cornell said on a conference call to discuss earnings. "They're looking for the newness and the innovation. We're putting together plans with Apple and our merchandising teams to make sure we're ready to take advantage of that in the back half of the year."

In the first calendar quarter of 2016, Apple reported its first year-over-year revenue decline since 2003 and its first ever drop in iPhone sales, sending its stock into a downward spiral. The negative trend continued into the second quarter with another year-over-year revenue drop, and based on Apple's forecast for the third quarter of 2016, a third consecutive decline in revenue is expected.

Apple expects to see revenue of $45.5 billion to $47.5 billion in the third calendar quarter of 2016, up to 12 percent lower than the $51.5 billion in revenue it saw in the third calendar quarter of 2015.

Device sales could turn around for Apple following the upcoming release of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but as rumors suggest the changes being introduced in the two new devices are moderate, Apple's downward trend could potentially continue into 2017. Apple does, however, have some impressive products on the horizon, including the 2017 iPhone, which has caused stock to rise more than 20 percent over the course of the last three months.

The 2017 iPhone will mark the 10th anniversary of the original iPhone and to celebrate, Apple is rumored to be introducing some of its most significant iPhone changes ever like a dual curved edge-to-edge OLED display with a built-in Touch ID sensor, wireless charging, a glass body, and more.

AT&T has introduced new Mobile Share Advantage plans that eliminate data overage charges. Instead, after customers use all of their high-speed data amounts, all data usage will be reduced to a maximum of 128 kbps for the rest of their bill cycle, akin to what T-Mobile has offered for several years.

40GB, 50GB, 60GB, 80GB, and 100GB data tiers are also available, while business customers can choose plans with between 25GB and 200GB of data shared across up to 25 lines. The new plans continue to include unlimited U.S. talk and text, rollover data, sharable data, and Mobile Hotspot tethering.

AT&T charges an additional $20 access charge per smartphone per month for each plan. The carrier previously charged $25 per month for 5GB or lower plans and $15 per month for 15GB and above plans. Overage charges, meanwhile, were previously $15/GB or $20 per 300MB for customers on the now-eliminated 300MB plan.

AT&T boasts that many of its new plans include more data at a lower cost per megabyte than some plans it offers today.

If you have 2 smartphone lines on a current Mobile Share Value 5GB plan for $100 per month, you can now get the new Mobile Share Advantage 6GB plan – 1 additional GB of data for the same price, plus no overages. If you need more data, for $20 more a month, you can get 10GB of data.

We’ve also revised our 25GB and higher plans. We now offer a new 25GB plan for $190 per month for 4 smartphone lines (previously $235 per month) and our 30GB plan is now $215 per month for 4 smartphone lines (previously $285 per month). Customers can add up to 10 lines on both plans.

The new Mobile Share Advantage plans are available August 21. Existing AT&T customers will not be automatically migrated to the new plans, so those interested in switching should inquire with the carrier next week.

AT&T follows in the footsteps of Verizon's new data plans introduced last month.