Apple identified a Taptic Engine defect affecting the Apple Watch before shipping the device to any customers, according to Re/code. The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, claims that no faulty Apple Watches reached customers, and reiterates that Apple has shifted the majority of production to Japanese supplier Nidec, which has not encountered the same issue.
“I believe no faulty Apple Watches were shipped to consumers,” said Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy. “I don’t think this is damaging at all.”
The Wall Street Journalreported on Wednesday that Apple discovered Taptic Engines supplied by AAC Technologies Holdings in Shenzhen, China would break over time, likely contributing to current Apple Watch supply constraints. The Taptic Engine, which creates creates motion in a straight line by moving a small rod, powers the haptic feedback capabilities of the Apple Watch by alerting users about incoming messages or notifications with gentle taps on the wrist.
Apple Watch pre-order deliveries began on April 24 in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom, although many customers are still waiting to receive their devices. A portion of customers with initial shipping estimates of 4-6 weeks or later have received their Apple Watches sooner than expected, but there remains several orders that have yet to be fulfilled, particularly some Space Gray and Space Black models.
Apple has reportedly hired four producers from BBC Radio 1 for its brand new music service, according to sources who spoke to Music Business Worldwide (MBW) (viaAppleInsider). In February, Apple hired BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe for its music services.
Little more than two months after poaching Zane Lowe from BBC Radio 1, MBW understands that Apple has pinched four producers from the station – including key talent from BBC Introducing.
One of the four producers, according to MBW, is James Bursey, Lowe's old producer. Bursey apparently left BBC last Friday and is flying to Los Angeles to "team up with Lowe". According to a tweet, Bursey left for the airport yesterday. However, Bursey's LinkedIn account still lists him as an employee of BBC Radio.
The other BBC Radio employees rumored to be on Apple's poach list include Natasha Lynch and Kieran Yeates, who are both apparently "star producers" at the BBC. Lynch was on the Guardians's Music Power 100 list in 2011 while Yeates is credited with building BBC Introducing, a radio show focused on up-and-coming music talent. However, Yeates' LinkedIn still lists him as a BBC Radio employee, as does Lynch's Twitter profile for her employment status. Finally, that one source tells MBW that there's an "exodus to Apple from Radio 1"
While it's difficult to confirm whether Apple has indeed made these hires, it's likely Apple is looking to beef up its music team as the launch of its new streaming service draws closer. A report last month revealed that the development of the revamped Apple-branded Beats music service is being led by Jimmy Iovine and Trent Reznor with has a focus on curated playlists. Alongside the new music service, Apple is said to be planning an enhanced version of iTunes Radio that's tailored toward regional markets and acts more like a radio station.
Rumors suggest that Apple's revamped music service will debut at this year's Worldwide Development Conference alongside a new streaming television service and a new Apple TV set-top box.
During its Wednesday earnings call, Apple rival Samsung Electronics reported net profit of 4.63 trillion won ($4.35 billion) for the January to March quarter, a 39% drop from its net profit of 7.49 trillion won in the year ago quarter. A sizable portion of the lost profit came from Samsung's mobile division, which brought in 2.74 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2015, vs. 6.43 trillion won in the first quarter of 2014.
Despite the year over year profit loss, Samsung's earnings release highlighted its quarter over quarter improvement and pointed towards increased sales of middle-end smartphones including the Galaxy A series. Samsung doesn't divulge its smartphone sales, but analysts believe the company sold 83.2 million smartphones during the quarter, compared to Apple's 61.2 million.
The high number of sales let Samsung regain its title of the worlds largest smartphone maker, but many of those sales were for lower-priced phones and not flagship devices, causing it to lose profit year over year. Much of Samsung's profit loss can be attributed to the introduction of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, letting Apple devices compete with Samsung devices on screen size for the first time.
Ahead of the launch of the two larger-screened iPhones, big screens were a feature that set Samsung devices apart from iPhones and drew customers for the South Korean company, but with the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus, Samsung has lost some of its grasp on customers seeking devices with bigger displays.
Samsung expects its profits to increase during the second quarter following the global launch of the company's new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and on the strength of its semiconductor business. According to Samsung, demand for its curved S6 Edge has been high, but limited supplies have restricted sales.
The Apple Watch has been available in extremely limited quantities since pre-orders for the device launched on April 10, and a new report from The Wall Street Journal sheds some light on why supplies have been low. A key component of the Apple Watch, the Taptic Engine, was made by two separate suppliers, and the devices created by one of Apple's suppliers were "found to be defective."
After mass production began in February, reliability testing revealed that some taptic engines supplied by AAC Technologies Holdings Inc., of Shenzhen, China, started to break down over time, the people familiar with the matter said. One of those people said Apple scrapped some completed watches as a result.
Apple was unable to use the Taptic Engines from the supplier in Shenzhen, China, but those produced by a second supplier in Japan did not have the same issue. The majority of Taptic Engine production is now being done in Japan, but it will take some time for the factory to increase production, and with a single supplier, quantities of the taptic engine available for use in Apple Watch devices likely remains low.
The Taptic Engine is a linear actuator, creating motion in a straight line by moving a small rod. It powers the haptic feedback capabilities of the Apple Watch, delivering the small taps that are felt on the wrist with notifications, pings from friends, heartbeats, and more. The Taptic Engine is a major part of the Apple Watch, working in conjunction with audio cues to deliver subtle alerts and notifications to Apple Watch wearers.
To resolve some of the supply constraints on the Apple Watch, Apple is said to be planning to add Foxconn as a second assembler of the Apple Watch, alongside Quanta Computer. Foxconn may begin manufacturing the Apple Watch in late 2015 at the earliest, so according to The Wall Street Journal, it may take several months for Apple Watch supplies to improve significantly.
Apple has repeatedly said that it's working to get Apple Watch orders as out as quickly as it can, and it has indeed been shipping orders out before their prospective delivery dates. Many customers who originally had 4 to 6 week shipping estimates have already begun receiving their devices.
Apple Watch orders placed today offer shipping estimates ranging into June and beyond, but it's possible that many orders will reach consumers ahead of that time as Apple works to increase available supply.
During a recent earnings call relayed by CNET, Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said he believes Apple will launch an Internet-based television service and that Apple is "very forward-thinking" when it comes to TV.
"We think Apple is very forward-thinking about television," he said, noting the computer maker's deal with Time Warner as the launch partner of streaming service HBO Now. "It's no surprise to anyone that Apple would be interested in launching a TV product."
It is not clear if Bewkes has insider knowledge regarding Apple's television plans, but Apple and Time Warner have been entwined in deals several times in the past, most recently with the HBO Now deal. Apple and Time Warner, HBO's parent company, partnered up for the HBO Now launch, with Apple's Apple TV and iOS devices being some of the first to offer the HBO Now service.
Aimed at cord cutters, HBO Now is priced at $14.99 and offers all of HBO's content without a cable subscription. Beyond HBO Now, Apple and Time Warner have discussed television many times in the past and have attempted to establish content deals, but those have yet to materialize.
Apple's ongoing difficulties establishing content deals with companies like Time Warner have spanned several years and have repeatedly delayed its television efforts. Apple's inability to convince cable companies and content providers to change the status quo has also caused Apple to scale back on its ambitious television plans.
Apple may have begun having more luck getting companies on board with its television plans, however, as recent rumors have indeed pointed towards the imminent launch of a streaming television service and possibly a new set-top box. Apple's new service may include content from CBS, Fox, Walt Disney, and more, with approximately 25 channels available at a cost between $30 and $40 per month.
Apple's rumored streaming television service may make an appearance in June at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
Earlier this year, Microsoft debuted a new browser designed to succeed Internet Explorer. At the time, it was still under development with the code name Project Spartan, but at today's BUILD conference for developers, Microsoft shared additional details on the new browser and unveiled its name: Microsoft Edge.
According to Microsoft, the Edge name refers to being on the edge of consuming and creating. Microsoft is calling Edge "a browser built for doing," with a simple, no-frills design and access to tools for enhancing the browsing experience.
Edge has built-in note taking capabilities, letting users annotate, draw, and take notes right within the browser, and then share those website notes with friends. Microsoft says that Edge uses "blazing fast core technology," with more details available on the speed enhancements in the future.
Edge includes a distraction-free reading mode and a tab page for getting to frequently-used apps quickly. There's support for Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana, a competitor to Apple's assistant, Siri. Cortana integration helps to build a user's home tab page, populating it with relevant content and making suggestions on related sites to visit.
One of Microsoft's earlier BUILD announcements covered tools to bring Android and iOS apps to Windows 10, and similarly, the company has built support for Chrome and Firefox extensions into the Edge browser. These existing extensions will be able to be quickly repackaged and submitted to Microsoft's extension portal, giving Edge users a wealth of extensions to use shortly after the browser launches.
One of the Chrome-based extensions that Microsoft demonstrated on stage was the Reddit Enhancement Suite, a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that improves the browsing experience on reddit. The RES extension took "virtually no work" to take it from the Chrome Extension store to Edge.
Edge browser running Reddit Enhancement Suite from modified Chrome extension
Microsoft Edge is a next-generation browser designed to replace Internet Explorer, but Internet Explorer will stick around as its used by many of Microsoft's Enterprise customers. The Microsoft Edge browser will be built into Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 update.
Microsoft held its annual BUILD conference for developers this morning, where it made several announcements that may be of interest to Mac and iOS users. First off, the company announced cross-platform add-ins that will deeply integrate third-party apps and services into multiple versions of Office, including Office for iOS.
Microsoft's add-ins (which can be thought of as plug-ins) will enable a range of third-party services to integrate with Office on Windows, iOS, Android, and presumably Mac when the new Office 2016 is released. For example, Uber might be built into Outlook, letting users call for rides directly from their calendar appointments. Another example shown on stage was PicHit, an app offering a photo marketplace within the PowerPoint app.
The implementation sounds similar to Apple's own use of app extensions, letting third-party apps interact with Microsoft's offerings in new ways, but with Microsoft's tools, add-ins created for one platform will work on all platforms. On stage, third-party apps integrated into Office were shown off on an iPad and an iPhone 6.
According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, deep cross-platform app integration is aimed at preventing users from needing to jump from application to application to accomplish tasks. The company's vision is to make it easier to use Office apps and various services regardless of the device the software is being run on, turning Office into a platform.
Microsoft is also planning to make it easier for developers to bring their iOS and Android apps over to Windows 10, its upcoming cross-platform operating system, by releasing new tools. iOS developers will be able to compile Objective C code using Microsoft's Visual Studio to quickly create apps compatible with Windows 10.
On stage at the conference, Terry Myerson demonstrated an iPad app that had been converted to a Windows 10 app. Getting Android apps on Windows 10 is even easier, as Windows 10 includes "an Android subsystem" to support Java and C++ code Android apps are already built from. App availability has always been the major downside to Microsoft's Windows mobile devices, as they lag behind iOS and Android when it comes to the number of apps available.
The introduction of tools to make it simple to port existing apps over to Windows 10 could be a huge boon for Microsoft, growing its App Store exponentially in the coming months.
Microsoft's final Apple-related announcement was the introduction of a Mac version of Visual Studio Code, its former Windows-only coding app. According to Microsoft's site, the app is free and aimed at letting developers build and debug modern web and cloud applications.
Apple's latest distribution numbers show that 81% of iOS devices are now running iOS 8 or later, less than one week after the release of the Apple Watch. 17% of devices used to access the App Store continue to run iOS 7 and the remaining 2% are running an earlier software version.
iOS 8 adoption rose 2 percentage points since Apple shared its last distribution numbers earlier this month, with the Apple Watch launch last Friday likely contributing to the marginal increase. Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone 5 or later running iOS 8.2 or newer.
According to mobile analytics firm Mixpanel, approximately 91% of devices were running iOS 7 at this time last year, meaning that iOS 8 adoption continues to be slower, likely due to a wide range of reasons including software bugs and excessive storage space required to install updates.
A growing number of users have turned to social networks claiming that full sleeve tattoos, ones that stretch to cover the wrist, interfere with the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor and skin contact registration. Consequently, some Apple Watch users with tattoos have been unable to receive notifications and are frequently prompted to re-enter their passcode, if one is set, on the wrist-worn device.
A popular Reddit thread discussing the issue has received nearly 700 upvotes and 300 comments since being posted on Tuesday, and some users have unfortunately already coined the phrase "Tattoogate" to describe the problem. iMore soon followed up with a report confirming the issue, with the Apple Watch displaying inaccurate heart rate readings on the wrists of people with dark-colored tattoos.
"So I thought my shiny new 42mm SS watch had a bad wrist detector sensor," writes Reddit user guinne55fan. "The watch would lock up every time the screen went dark and prompted me for my password. I wouldn't receive notifications. I couldn't figure out why especially since the watch was definitely not losing contact with my skin. also I couldn't find anything online with people experiencing this issue. I was about to give up and call Apple tomorrow when I decided to try holding it against my hand (my left arm is sleeved and where I wear my watch is tattooed as well) and it worked. My hand isn't tattooed and the Watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink the watch would automatically lock again."
The severity of problem appears to depend on the color and ink saturation of the tattoo, with darker, solid tattoos causing the most interference with the Apple Watch's sensors. A temporary solution for affected users is to toggle off Wrist Detection in the Apple Watch app under the General menu on the main settings tab, but doing so will disable Apple Pay from being used on the Apple Watch.
iMore also points out that natural skin pigmentation does not have the same affect on the Apple Watch's sensors, so there is no reason to be worried if you have darker skin. But if you have tattoos, the best advice for now is to try out the Apple Watch yourself and rest assured that the device has a 14-day return policy. Apple has not provided comment on the matter, but we'll keep you posted if we hear anything.
Apple may be looking to further beef up its search platform "Spotlight" for iOS and OS X with deeper integration of Tweets and Twitter accounts, according to Twitter CEO Dick Costolo (via Macworld). Spotlight already provides some Twitter search options, letting users place an "@" symbol ahead of a name to search for an account or a "#" to search for popular hashtags on the service. Users can also include "twitter" in their Spotlight search terms to pull up relevant accounts.
Spotlight is Apple's baked-in search platform, which allows users to quickly look up documents, photos, and other files stored on their computers. Recent updates to the platform have introduced web-based results as well, including information pulled from Wikipedia, search results from Bing, iTunes content, and basic dictionary functionality.
Costolo hinted at the possibility of even more in-depth Twitter integration with Spotlight during the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, noting Twitter is "working with Apple to surface great Twitter content and accounts" in Spotlight. As Macworld points out, the Twitter CEO didn't provide any further information beyond suggesting the integration will help "make it easier and quicker to find great things on Twitter."
While perhaps referring only to the existing integration and far from a confirmation on new functionality coming to Spotlight's Twitter features, it appears the two companies have at least been discussing where the partnership may be heading in the future. Twitter and Apple have been known to work together closely in the past, with system wide integration for the social network premiering on iOS 5 back in 2011 and partial OS X integration also available.
One of the most talked about new features of the Apple Watch is its ability to sync with an iPhone's Passbook app, displaying a user's credit cards and boarding passes easily on the wrist. Australian-based airline Qantas, however, has been facing a bit of a sizing issue with Apple's new wrist-worn device, with multiple users pointing out since the wearable's launch that a wrist wearing the Apple Watch simply doesn't fit under the gate scanner for boarding passes (via Brisbane Times)
Qantas's new Apple Watch app
Like other boarding pass experiences, Qantas's app generates an individual QR code to the Passbook app for users boarding a flight. While the scanners were initially designed for simple paper barcodes before smartphone apps came about, they were able to handle scanning the QR code from an iPhone or other smartphone. Now, with the introduction of the Apple Watch, Qantas's scanners face the hurdle of being unable to accommodate an entire wrist along with the Apple Watch.
Pointed out initially by a few Twitterusers, one of which "wasn't allowed" to take a picture of the terminal in question, Qantas has since acknowledged the issue. Unfortunately, while it's looking to "access" the problem, there is currently no planned fix.
@taufiqz Hi Taufiq, currently we're unable to scan boarding passes from the Apple watch, our team are aware of this and assessing. Kristyn
— Qantas (@Qantas) April 26, 2015
Qantas's predicament serves as a sort of warning for developing an app for the Watch before actually having the device in hands to test. Qantas's lead app designer, Gabriel Santos, echoed a similar sentiment of difficulty in developing the app, describing the entire ordeal of building and creating the app without the Watch "a scary process."
"We initially locked in a concept but when trying it on the actual device, it didn't work as well as I thought it would," he said.
"It proved that designing without testing on the actual device can compromise the user experience. Good enough just isn't acceptable. I wanted to bring the Apple Watch experience to a whole new level."
As Brisbane Times points out, the introduction of a smaller, more handheld scanner could alleviate the issue, but would undoubtedly be extremely costly to introduce in every airport the airline supports. Given that the Qantas app includes a host of other features besides supporting Apple Watch, from boarding times, departure gates, and delays, the company could also decide to leave the QR code functionality solely to the iPhone and introduce the Apple Watch's Qantas app as more of a companion experience.
The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics reveal that Samsung surpassed Apple to reclaim its position as the world's largest smartphone maker in the first quarter of 2015. The two smartphone vendors were previously tied in the fourth quarter of 2014 after Apple matched Samsung with 74.5 million smartphones shipped on the strength of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and busy holiday shopping season.
Samsung recaptured the number one position with 83.2 million smartphones shipped in the first quarter, while Apple trailed in second with 61.2 million smartphones shipped during the three-month period ending March. Lenovo-Motorola finished a distant third with 18.8 million smartphones shipped, followed by Huawei at 17.3 million and 164.5 million smartphones shipped by other vendors.
Despite its first place finish, Samsung's global share of the smartphone market dropped to 24.1% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to 31.2% in the year-ago quarter. Apple's global smartphone market share grew marginally to 17.7% in Q1 2015 compared to 15.3% in Q1 2014. The global smartphone market experienced 21% year-over-year growth overall, from 285 million units in Q1 2014 to 345 million in Q1 2015.
While it was impressive that Apple was able to tie Samsung during the fourth quarter, based on the popularity of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it was highly probable that Samsung would eventually reclaim its title as number one again. The electronics giant's smartphone lineup is much larger than the iPhone lineup, with at least a half-dozen current-generation devices available compared to only a handful of iPhones.
Popular image editing app Pixelmator was today updated to version 3.3.2, introducing a more powerful repair tool and introducing support for the new Photos app and the Force Touch trackpad found in the new MacBook and the recently updated 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
Pixelmator's repair tool (the bandaid icon in the app) lets users remove unwanted objects from photos in just a few minutes using a paintbrush, and in 3.3.2, the repair tool has been improved to be faster and more efficient, resulting in even cleaner results when removing an object from an image.
Repair tool is one of our many secret scientific projects that is fun and interesting to work with. We even used the new Mac Pro (because it's extremely fast and powerful) to automatically improve our Repair technology algorithms.
Since there are numerous ways to repair any area of an image, our Mac Pro worked incredibly hard for months to find the best algorithm. It analyzed millions of possible ways to repair areas of various complexity and then it compared the speed and quality ratio of each final result. Lastly, our Mac Pro (this is really awesome) derived with a repairing strategy that gives the optimal result every single time. How smart is that!
After updating to 3.3.2, Pixelmator users with a Force Touch trackpad can use it for pressure sensitive painting. The Force Touch trackpad sensors detect how much pressure is being applied to the trackpad, and Pixelmator uses that information to change the size of the brush while painting for thicker or thinner lines.
With Photos for OS X support, also included in the new update, Pixelmator users can access their Photos libraries from within the Photos Browser inside the Pixelmator app.
Issues with an app on iPads provided to pilots on American Airlines flights have delayed "a few dozen" flights, making it difficult for planes to take off and causing them to return to the gates to fix the issue, according to The Verge.
An American Airlines pilot's iPad
"Some flights are experiencing an issue with a software application on pilot iPads," American Airlines spokesperson Andrea Huguely later told The Verge. "In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a Wi-Fi connection to fix the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers. We are working to have them on the way to their destination as soon as possible." Another spokesperson said that the issue affected "a few dozen flights" across the airline. "We've identified the issue, we've identified the solution, and we are working on it right now."
Passenger Bill Jacaruso was traveling to Austin from Dallas / Fort Worth when his flight was delayed. He told The Verge that the pilot got on the intercom and told the passengers that his co-pilot's iPad had went blank. About 25 minutes later he got on the intercom again, noting that his iPad had also went blank. At the time, the pilot said that all 737 airplanes were affected, but 45 minutes later he said the issue was affecting "random" American Airline planes. Another passenger told The Verge that "two systems" had failed and needed to be rebooted.
American Airlines received FAA approval for iPad use by pilots in the cockpit back in 2011. In 2013, the airline company began giving its pilots Electronic Flight Bags (EFB) containing the iPads, the first major commercial carrier to do so. The EFB's goal is to use the iPad to replace the 40 pounds of manuals and maps that pilots usually carry. The iPads also come with a long-life battery that keeps the iPad powered for 24 hours.
An iPad "test model" was one of the stolen items during a robbery and kidnapping at a Cupertino home earlier this month, reports the San Jose Mercury News. It's unclear whether the test device was for a previous iPad model or a future one.
The robbers took the device, along with electronics, prescription drugs and cash valued at $7,500, from a Cupertino home during an incident in which a 20-year-old man was kidnapped and robbed after answering a woman's online advertisement.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has arrested the two suspected robbers, who took the items and forced the victim into their car before driving three-quarters of a mile and releasing him. The victim contacted the sheriff's department five days later and the case is still being investigated. The test iPad has not yet been found.
Apple has had test devices stolen in the past, with the most famous example being the test iPhone 4 that was lost in a Bay Area bar before being found by someone and sold to a reporter for $5,000. The reporter then posted images and a breakdown of the new device before returning it to Apple. After that, the reporter's house was raided by authorities and his computers and other property were seized.
Update: According to iMore, the stolen iPad was an "outdated model or test device", not a prototype of an unreleased device.
Just a day after Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that MCX member Best Buy would begin accepting Apple Pay in stores later this year, MCX, the company behind Apple Pay competitor CurrentC, announced that current CEO Dekkers Davidson has left the company. He's been replaced by former Bank of America Merchant Services CEO Brian V. Mooney on an interim basis.
“MCX was created to capitalize on a tremendous opportunity for consumers, and I look forward to taking the company through the next exciting phase of bringing CurrentC™ to the market,” said Mooney. “MCX has a talented team in place backed by the determination and resources of many of the world’s largest and most successful merchants. Building on that foundation, we’re focused on making CurrentC™ the consumer preferred mobile payments app.”
MCX spokeswoman Kristin Parran Faulder toldCNET that the move had nothing to do with the Best Buy announcement. Coincidence or not, CurrentC, which is expected to launch widely later this year, will face increasing competition in the mobile payments sector from the more recently announced Samsung Pay and Android Pay as well as a growing Apple Pay. In recent weeks, Apple's payment platform has gained the support of Discover, GameStop, NBA teams and more in addition to Best Buy.
Best Buy was the second MCX member, after Meijer, to offer Apple Pay support. Last October, former MCX CEO Davidson had said that there were no penalties or fines for leaving the MCX program. MCX exclusivity agreements with retailers reportedly end in summer 2015, which means that MCX members like Best Buy would be able to offer Apple Pay in retail stores once the agreement ends. A Best Buy spokesperson toldRe/code yesterday that while the company is still invested in MCX they weren't prepared to declare launch support for CurrentC at this time.
iSkelter has released several TechDesks that are designed specifically for Apple devices with Mac air vents and built-in slots for holding the iPhone and the iPad, and as of today, the company's latest desk, the LiftPro, is available for pre-order on Indiegogo.
The LiftPro is an electric desk that can be adjusted to several different heights suitable for sitting or standing, and like all of iSkelter's desks, it comes with built-in organizational components. There are display docks for the iPhone and the iPad, along with recessed felt trays for holding accessories, a stainless steel drink holder, and a built-in mousepad that sits flush against the surface of the desk.
Available in natural or hazelnut finishes, the bamboo desk can be customized with one of three leg colors: black, white, or gray. All of the available features are optional and can be chosen at the time of purchase. According to iSkelter, the LiftPro can support up to 355 pounds and its legs have been tested more than 10,000 times. It comes with a 7-year all-inclusive warranty that covers the motor, frame, and all electronics.
LiftPro includes four preset keys for adjusting the desk to different heights (between 24.5 and 49.5 inches) in just a few seconds with the press of a button. Each position is fully customizable and can be set for each user's preferred sitting and standing heights.
The built-in docks are designed to put the iPhone and the iPad in clear view while sitting at the desk and they also hide unsightly cables. The recessed drink holder sits towards the side of the desk to avoid contact with a Mac, and the lined storage trays at the back of the desk can hold pens, coins, and other small items. Mac cables can also be hidden out of sight, and the desk ships with three cord clips for cable management.
There are a limited number of LiftPro desks available for purchase for $899 on Indiegogo, with prices that go up to $1,099 after early bird purchases have sold out. Desks will begin shipping out to customers in August of 2015, and will have a future retail price of $1,499.
Just a few weeks after the 12-inch Retina MacBook became available to order online, a number of early adopters have shared mixed opinions about the notebook within the MacRumors discussion forums. Overall, many users agree that the new MacBook has major design appeal but with too many key compromises, as mentioned by several well-known tech pundits and websites in our review roundup of the notebook.
A handful of users within the discussion forums claimed that they regretfully returned their new MacBooks shortly after receiving one because of those compromises, including the frustration of looking for and purchasing USB-C adapters that are needed to connect various Digital AV, VGA or USB devices, peripherals and cables to the single USB-C port on the ultra-slim notebook. The new keyboard and slow performance were also areas of concern for some users. Some responses have been slightly edited for clarity.
"Took mine back. It was really a wow factor. So light, so beautiful. But in the end, it just wasn't for me. After spending a day trying to hunt down USB-C adapters in Apple stores (weren't available at Best Buy, where I bought mine), I got to thinking about what I loved and what I didn't.
Could I type on my lap with it? Sure and watch the screen jiggle on my soft legs. Turns out a 13" or even 15" model with weight is more stable for me personally. […] Ports is an issue for a user like me. I knew that going in, but I was going to be patient with it. It finally got to me.
But that doesn't mean it isn't for you. I wouldn't mind one instead of the iPads we have, but I'll wait until the price comes down. It just didn't feel like a step into the future for me. It felt like like some steps back from my 13" Retina MacBook Pro or 15" MacBook Pro. Gone were the Apple touches I felt were worth the premium. I know I'll catch flack for this, but it felt like an iPad running OS X with a great trackpad and great keyboard for light typing. But then I started trying to touch the screen."
"With some regret I returned my Retina MacBook over the weekend. The two reasons I ultimately returned it were that the keyboard didn't agree with me and, after some practical thinking, I realized that there were going to be issues managing using two laptops concurrently.
The keyboard — I expected to like it or at least to be neutral and get used to it. In the end, to my surprise, it turned out to be a lot harder to type accurately on the new keyboard than my Retina MacBook Pro or my Apple Bluetooth keyboard. This is totally YMMV (your mileage may vary) territory.
The other thing that pushed me over the line when I was thinking about returning it was managing two laptops (in addition to my Mac Mini). Not so much keeping files current, but license management issues. Most of the programs I use a lot are limited to two installations, and keeping track of what is activated on which laptop presented possibilities like taking one of them on a trip having forgotten to deactivate/sign out on the other one, which could be a real problem."
Not all early adopters of the new MacBook have been disappointed, however, with many other users pleased with the notebook's ultra-thin and lightweight design, high-resolution Retina display, fanless architecture, all-day battery life, Force Touch trackpad, redesigned keyboard with butterfly mechanism, portability and more. Some users also found the notebook's performance to be good enough for everyday tasks.
Virtually no heat coming from it and silent operation. Runs a long time on a single charge. It looks fantastic and is the most fun notebook I have ever used. It handles everything I have thrown at it like any MacBook I have owned. The trackpad has some really neat new tricks and feels great. It sits very comfortable on my laptop lap cushion. The keyboard looks amazing at night and feels great, I type faster. I am more productive as I love using this notebook. The performance is great for 98% of everything most users will do. It's easy to take anywhere you need to go, light as a feather, packs down nice. The screen is super sharp and makes my late 2013 13" rMBP screen look fuzzy. 12" is just right, not to big and not to small. Makes the 13" Retina MBP look very outdated. Single port is just fine, if you need many ports to use your computer today, you are doing it all wrong. I do all my backups and any necessary restorations wirelessly. I use the cloud, not just Apple, but multiple clouds.
Ultimately, the new MacBook, positioned at the lower end of Apple's notebook lineup, paves the way for the future with its innovative new design and features. If Apple can manage to combine the performance of a MacBook Air with the feature set of the 12-inch MacBook, with a matching or lower than $1,299 entry-level price point, the notebook will be an even more attractive product for prospective buyers in the future.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
Apple identified a Taptic Engine defect affecting the Apple Watch before shipping the device to any customers, according to Re/code. The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, claims that no faulty Apple Watches reached customers, and reiterates that Apple has shifted the majority of production to Japanese supplier Nidec, which has not encountered the same issue.
Apple's latest 
Popular image editing app Pixelmator was today 
Just a day after Apple CEO Tim Cook 
