In the battle of the mobile software stores, Apple has a huge lead. Consumers spending in the iOS App Store during the first half of this year was almost double that of rival Google Play.
But there’s good news for both companies, as each experienced solid year-over-year growth.
Anyone in an Apple Store recently may have seen the really spectacular images pre-loaded on iPad Pro models. But now you don’t have to leave your chair to see them because they’re all available to download.
There is a caveat: they aren’t being distributed by Apple, just someone who copied them off a tablet and shared them.
Tomorrow is World Emoji Day, and there are two important takeaways. One is that we didn’t make that up; World Emoji Day is really a thing.
The other is that Apple is celebrating by showing off the over 70 new emoji characters coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac later this year.
If you’ve been wondering what it’s like falling 450 feet, a new video gives a glimpse.
A woman riding on the world’s tallest swing ride dropped her iPhone 7 Plus while taking a selfie video. It continued to record the entire drop.
The 15- and 13-inch MacBook Pro models launching this week boast significantly faster processors. Tests with the Geekbench benchmarking tool show speed increases as high as 86 percent.
The improvements come from faster Turbo Burst frequencies and more processor cores.
Apple made potential buyers of the new MacBook Pro models very nervous when it said no effort had been made to fix the problems plaguing the keyboards in earlier versions. Happily, it turns out the company was fibbing.
Taking apart this just-released Mac laptop shows that Apple definitely modified its butterfly keyboard mechanism to make it less likely to jam.
Apple stays quiet about it, but the company is clearly developing a self-driving car. And this week the world was given a glimpse inside this project, showing that it’s much larger than many had previously thought.
The FBI arrested a former employee on Apple’s autonomous car design team for allegedly downloading proprietary information and attempting take it to a rival car company in China. The resulting documentation reveals the number of employees on the project.
Apple spent a whopping $12.7 billion on research and development last year. And $51 billion since Tim Cook became CEO. But one analyst says that might not be enough.
The company actually spends less on R&D as a percentage of the money it takes in than many of its competitors. About half as much.
The 2018 MacBook Pro models just released are the first with True Tone, adjusting the display to match ambient lighting. Even better, these new laptops can do the same trick on some external screens.
True Tone can “automatically adapt [the] display to make colors appear consistent in different ambient lighting conditions,” according to Apple.
Apple Pay isn’t just for trips to Starbucks. It can also be used to send or receive money from friends. Or your landlord, as shown in a humerous new ad.
Money can be transferred in a simple text using the Messages app. This works for sending and receiving the cash, after Apple Wallet has been properly set up.
Watch the new advertisement for Apple Pay in Messages now:
Mac users can still print pictures from the Photos app to Apple’s online Photo Print Products service, but only for a couple of more weeks. It’s being discontinued at the end of September.
iPhone and iPad users, there’s nothing to see here. This service never made the jump to iOS.
Editor’s note: There’s good evidence that the new MacBook Pro keyboard actually does address the problems experienced by some owners. Read our: Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking
People around the world are hoping the new MacBook Pro models introduced today have a keyboard that’s been carefully designed to not have the same sticky keyboard keys as their predecessors. But it didn’t happen.
A company spokesperson says the problem of grit causing the keys to stick in previous macOS laptops was not addressed.
But that’s not necessarily the whole story. It’s possible Apple did fix the problem but doesn’t dare talk about it.
Those eager to get their wrists on the 2018 Apple Watch can tide themselves over with some fresh concept images. These clearly show the benefits of a much-anticipated larger screen by comparing the upcoming version with past ones.
The 2018 Apple Watch is also expected to sport a bigger battery and other enhancements.
Sprint has renamed and changed some of the features of its unlimited data plan. iPhone users now have a choice between paying more or getting less.
It’s not all bad news. There’s 50 percent more tethering data in a new top-tier plan, and the TIDAL music streaming service has been added.
Editor’s note: There’s fresh evidence that the new MacBook Pro keyboard actually does address the problems experienced by some owners.
Read our: Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking
The MacBook Pro models just introduced include faster processors and better displays, but the most important new feature might be the keyboard. This has been redesigned, hopefully to fix serious problems that plagued earlier versions.
The “butterfly” keyboard in MacBook Pro models since 2016 have sparked a well-publicized recall petition and multiple lawsuits. This makes the reliability of the keyboard in the new devices a critical matter.
A director known for ER, The West Wing and Shameless episodes, and even the Deep Impact disaster movie, will go behind the camera for one of the many TV shows Apple is producing. Mimi Leder reportedly agreed to take on the upcoming program starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The drama, which doesn’t yet have a name, will be set behind the scenes at a fictional morning TV show.
Distracted driving is a major source of accidents. In hopes of combatting the problem, road signs that can detect whether a cell phone is in use are being tested in the UK.
The signs currently just light up to remind the motorist to put down their phone. Plans to record the license plates of drivers receiving warnings are being considered. And traffic citations are the likely next step.
Many iPhone user experienced quick battery drain problems with iOS 11.4. This week, Apple introduced an operating system update designed to fix bugs with its predecessor. Did that take care of the complaints?
Comments posted online generally seem to show that iOS 11.4.1 squashed this battery bug. Not everyone agrees, though.
Apple got a bit pushy with Japan’s wireless service providers, and was slapped down by regulators as a result.
The iPhone maker was requiring the carriers to put subsidies on iOS handsets. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission decided that was a violation of Japan’s antitrust rules.
Four teens in hoodies brazenly snatched a bunch of MacBooks and iPhones from an Apple Store in California this weekend. The crime is very similar to one committed in New York last week.
The brazen thefts took place so close together it’s not impossible the second was inspired by the first.
Craig Federighi is no longer in charge of Siri. Responsibility for Apple’s troubled voice assistant has been given to John Giannandrea, who is now in charge of all Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts.
Siri is seen as poor competition for Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, and Google Assistant. Its weakness is hurting sales of Apple products, including the HomePod.
A new feature in the Netflix app will automatically download episodes of your favorite shows. This means they’re waiting on your phone or tablet when you’re ready.
Netflix already allows users to download episodes to watch later. The improvement announced today just makes it easier.
Augmented Reality (AR) is still an emerging technology, but Apple is poised to profit from it significantly. Or that’s the prediction of one analyst anyway.
And all the extra billions in revenue wouldn’t require the rumored Apple AR Glasses, though that would help.
The iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro are serious competitors, but until now Redmond didn’t have anything to take on the $329 iPad. That changed with the reveal of the Surface Go.
This device is $70 more than Apple’s offering and includes a screen just a hair larger. Let’s take a look at how all of their specs compare.
Apple isn’t quite done with macOS High Sierra, even though most people’s attention is on the replacement, macOS Mojave. What’s likely the final update to the old version, macOS 10.13.6, is now available for download.
The main purpose of this release seems to be bug fixes, but the release notes do mention one new feature.