Apple’s augmented reality efforts have a new spokesperson. Frank Casanova has been named head of marketing for Apple’s AR offerings.
Apple has been hard at work in this area for years, but its developer tools and the resulting AR apps haven’t attracted significant attention. Perhaps that’s why there’s a new senior director in charge of promoting them.
MagSafe break-away cables were a great way to keep MacBooks from getting damaged but Apple stopped using them as part of the transition to USB-C. ThunderMag is a new accessory that replicates this feature.
Its inventor claims there’s no data or charging slowdowns, as have plagued earlier attempts to replace MacSafe.
iPhone users in the US spent, on average, $79 last year on software. That’s up 36 percent from 2017, according to figures from a market analysts firm. Spending on premium apps and in-app purchases has more than doubled since 2015.
Of the 2018 total, $44 was spent just on games, a 22 percent increase year-over-year.
A sketchy rumor or two indicates that a replacement for the iPhone SE is in development, and an artist ran with this idea to create a video of an updated version of this low-cost handset.
Watch it now:
The days when people bought a new iPhone every two years are over, according to an industry analyst. In fact, many people are holding on to their handsets for twice that long.
That’s bad news for Apple’s bottom line, as faster upgrades mean more profits.
Some users of the newest iPad Pro models report that glass screen protectors limit the sensitivity of the touchscreen. These add-ones can also cause problems with Face ID.
The maker of a popular line of glass screen protectors say it has received only a very limited number of complaints, but it’s nevertheless working to address this issue.
Statistics on hard drive reliability just released by data-storage company Backblaze would seem to indicate it’s not a good idea to buy a Seagate hard drive. Of the 104,954 drives it uses, Seagate’s are the least reliable by a wide margin.
On the other side of the coin, this company has found drives made by Western Digital’s HGST to be much more reliable.
A handy Netflix feature announced last summer has come to iOS at long last: the app can automatically download episodes of your favorite shows.
With Smart Downloads, watching a TV episode offline results in the next episode automatically being transferred as soon as a Wi-Fi connection is available.
YouTube is labeled the new “most intimate brand” according to a survey of millennials. Apple took the title last year, but now drops to second place.
Other brands that did well include Netflix and Disney, Android-maker Google came in at ninth place. Samsung didn’t make the top ten.
Safari’s “Do Not Track” setting was supposed to protect us from advertisers following us from website to website but it never worked like it was supposed to and Apple has given up on it.
Instead, the web browser has what Apple calls Intelligent Tracking Prevention.
If your iPhone is ever lost or stolen, be extra careful about scammers attempting trick your Apple ID password from you. iPhone thieves reportedly have an elaborate system set up to scam this information, as it’s needed to make a stolen device much more valuable.
Apple‘s CEO told his employees that the company’s new head of retail sales is “one of Apple’s most passionate and experienced advocates for our customers and employees.” Tim Cook also highlighted Deirdre O’Brien’s previous experience with Apple retail operations.
These comments came in an email sent this morning to retail emplyees. The full text of this is now available.
If you’ve been frustrated because there’s not a sloth emoji, the Unicode Consortium has come to your rescue. It’s just announced lots of new emojis that will likely make their appearance in this fall’s iOS update.
These reflect the diversity in our society, including men and women in wheelchairs, people who are deaf, and people who are blind.
Proud Tesla owners can pick up an iPhone case designed by the company that made their car.
A pair of these can be purchased on the new Tesla store on Amazon. There are some other products as well, like car models.
A major new feature in iOS 13 is expected to be a system-wide dark mode, and a designer put together some concept renders of what this could offer.
This goes beyond just inverting pixel colors, which is already possible in iOS.
iPhone’s multi-year lead in facial recognition could finally be nearing its end, as one of the third-party suppliers for the hardware in Face ID says it expects to start selling its 3D sensors to more companies this year.
iPhone, iPad and Mac should soon easily stream video to Roku boxes if an unconfirmed report is correct. Roku is reportedly talking with Apple about adding AirPlay 2 to its products.
Apple has recently been working to significantly broaden the availability of its proprietary video and audio protocol.
iPhone is getting caught up in AT&T’s controversial rebranding of its LTE network as “5G Evolution.” Some developers who installed today’s iOS 12.2 update noticed that their iPhone claims to be connected to a “5G E” network.
All of AT&T’s competitors say that this network is 4G, but that hasn’t stopped the carrier.
A new 31.5-inch LG monitor costs a bit more than entry-level screens, but offers 4K resolution, wide viewing angles, and a very good contrast ratio. There’s even a built-in USB hub.
Best of all, the LG 32UL750-W has a USB-C port so it can be easily connected to recent MacBooks, Mac desktops, and even the new iPad Pro.
One of the designers of Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality (AR) smartglasses has left Apple.
Although exactly what Avi Bar-Zeev was working on is a secret, it was almost certainly a project to develop Apple’s own AR glasses.
There’s an easy way for Apple to make its rumored streaming video service a hit: buy Netflix. That’s the suggestion of an analyst from J.P. Morgan, who admits it would be very expensive.
And the analyst has recommendations for two other big Apple acquisitions.
Apple is hiring in its media group devoted to audiovisual media. After digging through the company’s job openings in recent months, an analyst believes these new employees are for the anticipated Apple TV streaming service.
This company has been paying to have TV shows and movies produced for months, but has so far kept quiet about its plans. That’s expected to change soon.
The latest rugged folio case from Urban Armor Gear protects the 2018 iPad Pro models without adding too much bulk. The Metropolis also adds some industrial style, and it includes an Apple Pencil holder.
Don’t miss our review of this rugged folio that starts at $59.95.
Apple developed a design for a MacBook keyboard that’s slim, lightweight, silent and can’t possibly have problems with grit in the keys. That’s because it consists of a sheet of glass with raised keys.
Obviously there are drawbacks, but this proposal shows the company’s efforts to innovate.
iPad shipments grew by double digits last quarter, giving Apple its best holiday period for tablet sales since 2015. Shipments of slates and 2-in-1s had dropped earlier in the year, but analysts correctly predicted this was the result of people holding off for the new iPad Pro.
Some of Apple’s rivals also saw gains at the end of 2018.