Apple recalled 15-inch MacBook Pros from 2015, and we now know this is based on just a couple of dozen incidents, none serious.
Still, everyone with an affected unit should bring it in for service, especially as this includes a free battery replacement.
While Jony Ive’s departure from Apple is being called “the end of an era,” not everyone is sad to see him go. This company’s Chief Design Officer has legions of fans but he also has detractors who blame Ive for repetitive designs, flawed keyboards and more.
Jony Ive’s departure from Apple puts Evans Hankey in charge of the Industrial Design team that created everything from the iMac to the iPhone — a position critical to the future of the company. Her new title is VP of Industrial Design,
Jony Ive’s role was so large that that two people will be needed to replace him. Alan Dye will be VP of Human Interface Design, so he’ll be leading the software group.
3oogle is taking the folding phone concept to the extreme. It dreamed up a concept design reminiscent of a book with several pages, each of which is a flexible display.
Apple Music passed a milestone: it has 60 million subscribers worldwide. That’s a 20% increase in just over a year.
This news comes straight from the mouth of Eddy Cue, who heads up Apple’s streaming music efforts.
Apple is looking for better options for transmitting data than wires or wireless connections. One possibility mixes the two: sending high-speed data down waveguides.
The result would something capable of transferring data much more quickly than a wire and without requiring a port on the iPhone.
Cricket is the most popular sport in India, and Apple India introduced a short video that’s a love story to the game. This homage was filmed entirely with the iPhone XS, demonstrating some of the capabilities of its camera.
Watch it now:
Coming to iPhone and Mac is a tool that examines images looking for cats and dogs. But the goal isn’t an app that allows people to walk around with an iPhone identifying the species of random critters. As fun as that might be, Apple is using machine learning to provide developers a powerful tool for identifying object of any type in images.
In a better-late-than-never scenario, Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile wireless carrier will soon begin offering two recent iPad models along with last year’s Apple Watch. These are the first non-smartphones available from this company, and all have built-in 4G LTE wireless networking.
Polar calls its latest wearable a GPS fitness watch, but the Ignite goes deeper into health monitoring than that description suggests. Many of the features are related to sleep tracking, including overnight heart rate measurement.
Of course, the Polar Ignite will have to take on the Apple Watch, which dominates wearables partially because of its health-tracking abilities.
Shopify customers can reach out to business owners with the Messages app on their iPhone or Mac thanks to integration with Apple Business Chat. It’s even possible to make purchases via these text messages.
Apple’s stock buybacks in Q1 totaled more than any other S&P 500 company by a wide margin. The iPhone maker poured $23.8 billion into purchasing its own shares, more than it has ever done before. And that’s saying a lot, as Apple been spending billions on buybacks for many years.
OWC makes an eye-opening claim about the Envoy Pro Ex: the company claims its latest solid-state drive is faster than any rival with a USB-C connection.
In addition, the portable drive can stand up to dust and even immersion in water.
Some people were freaked out by the recent report that phone overuse causes spikes to grow on people’s skulls. Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
A group of experts created a 3D model showing changes they see coming to humanity by 2100, including permanently hunched backs and claw hands. It seems each and every American will be ready to star in a horror flick.
Two companies just unveiled portable batteries that include built-in wireless chargers.
The Mophie Powerstation Hub also includes built-in foldable AC power prongs. The Kenu BingeBank, on the other hand, sports a kickstand so it props up your iPhone while charging.
Lego Games just broke the Guinness World Records title for the largest Lego Brick Diorama. The massive structure is a real-world representation of Lego Tower, an upcoming game in which players manage their own tiny skyscrapers where Minifigures live.
Harry Potter still has his magic… if by magic you mean the ability to make tons of money in a short amount of time. An augmented-reality game set in J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World pulled in nearly three million new players its first weekend. And they spent a lot of real muggle money.
There’s a innovative option for people who want to make the most of the limited number of USB-C ports on their MacBook or iPad Pro: the Minix Neo Storage is a 4-port hub that also includes up to 240GB of built-in storage. And the price for all this is under $100.
UPDATE: Cult of Mac has published a Minix Neo Storage review.
Only a small percentage of Spotify subscribers pay a portion of their monthly fees to the Apple Store. This weakens Spotify’s argument that Apple is using required revenue sharing to stifle its rival’s ability to compete in the music streaming business.
There’s almost no room for doubt that this fall’s iPhone 11 will sport a trio of camera lenses. The latest leak come from case-maker Olixar, who has a reputation for accuracy about future Apple models.
But that’s the most significant change to expect from the 2019 round of iOS handsets.
Apple occasionally commissions artists to experiment with how far they can push iPhone cameras. The third video in this series features water moving in slow motion. It’s enthralling, and it’s all recorded on an iPhone XS.
Watch it now:
With close to two million applications in its software stores, Apple reportedly doesn’t have much time to devote to testing most new submissions. Details leaking out about the process show that a typical app either gets approved or blocked in 5 or 10 minutes.
A lot of them get blocked.
Apple discontinued the AirPort line of wireless routers last year but continues to support them, including efforts to keep out hackers. The US government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a statement urging users of networking equipment to install a new firmware patch to block attacks.
Google won’t make any more tablets, and dropped plans to introduce two models it was prepping for release.
No reason was given, but heavy competition from Apple’s iPad line had to have been a factor.
It’s the International Day of Yoga, and Apple created a yoga Activity Challenge to urge Apple Watch wearers to participate.
The reward is three stickers to be that can be used in Messages and FaceTime. Also, you’ll be more flexible from doing yoga.