President Donald Trump held his first White House state dinner tonight since moving into the Oval Office, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was on the guest list.
The left-leaning Cook might have felt very much in the minority. Trump didn’t invite a single Democratic member of Congress to the dinner, but arch-conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch was in attendance.
Several weeks after the release of macOS 10.13.4, today came a security update that patches some holes in this High Sierra version. This isn’t so critical that it has to be installed right now, but Apple says “This update is recommended for all macOS High Sierra users.”
There’re also security fixes for Safari 11.1, which was introduced recently too.
A court case to determine if Apple owes the European Union about €13 billion will begin in about six months. The trial will determine if Ireland gave Apple illegal tax incentives.
The two are actually appealing a decision by the European Commission made in 2016 that Ireland is effectively a tax haven.
Apple continues to add to its collection of movies and TV shows, with the latest acquisition a documentary about Ed Sheeran called Songwriter.
At this point, Apple is paying for a dozen TV shows to be produced, though the company hasn’t said what it’s going to do with them.
The iPhone 8 is Apple’s best-selling model, and the larger 8 Plus is in second place. The controversial iPhone X is currently Apple’s third best-selling model, according to a market analysis firm.
Apple’s older models make up 40 percent of the company sales, a higher percentage than last year.
When people think of home automation, something like the Nest thermostat probably leaps to mind first. But not everyone needs something that elaborate. For those who needs are simpler, GE just launched a window AC unit that’s HomeKit compatible so it can be controlled by an iPhone.
More than 90 percent of iPhone X users like the design without a Home button, according to a scientific survey. That’s good news for Apple, as most of the 2018 models are expected to use a similar form factor.
That’s not to say there’s no room for improvement. The survey also pointed several aspects of the iPhone X that responders didn’t like as much.
Apple admits that some MacBook Pro laptops have a problem that causes their batteries to swell up. The company is replacing these free of charge.
This affects only the non-touchbar version of the macOS laptop, and only models with a 13-inch screen. In addition, the device needs to have been produced in a specific timeframe.
The iOS App Store got a new look last fall, and the change has greatly benefited developers of third-party applications, as Apple intended. A new study found that getting named Game of the Day results in an 800 percent increase in downloads.
Inclusion in the other segments of the App Store Today screen brought improved performance as well.
The Department of Justice is investigating whether AT&T and Verizon colluded to subvert the primary goal of electronic SIMs. This new tech makes it easy to switch between service providers, something to two largest wireless carriers apparently wanted to prevent.
Apple uses an eSIM in the Apple Watch Series 3. And last year this company formally complained to the DoJ that the two carriers were pressuring an international standards body to make an anticompetitive change to this emerging tech.
Official details of the processor for the 2018 iPhone are months away, but we can already be confident the Apple A12 will be at least 20 percent faster than the current chip, while using 40 percent less power.
And this is the minimal performance improvement to be expected. Apple’s next devices will almost certainly be even speedier.
The point of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is to throw you into a battle and see if you survive. But that can be a bit intimidating for those who’ve never played before, so Tencent just added two practice modes to the mobile version. One of these involves playing in a smaller area, and can become its own challenge with the right settings.
Sadly, the iOS version doesn’t have these new modes yet, but an upgrade is expected soon.
Verizon’s new service lets parents limit their children’s’ screen time, monitor who they’re texting (and how often), and track their location.
The Smart Family program also includes content filters, and can even tell a parent how much battery life their child’s phone has left.
Tim Cook generally stays quiet about Apple’s plans, but there’s one thing he’s open about: his company’s laptops and tablets aren’t going to merge together.
It’s a question that comes up every couple of years. Which is understandable, given the recent rumors that macOS is migrating to the same type of processors as iOS, allegedly to enable apps to run on both Mac and iPad.
The end is nigh for a free VPN service for iOS and Android. Opera VPN will close at the end of this month. No reason has been given.
A Virtual Private Network protects users by hiding their IP address, making it much harder to be tracked. Opera Software’s version would even let you appear to be in another country.
Speculation about the 2018 iPhone is running hot and heavy. It seems there are new reports on these unannounced devices almost every day. But not all of these carry the gravitas of Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with a long track record of being right about Apple.
So when Kuo says a 2018 iPhone with a 6.2-inch display could cost between $550 and $650, people take notice. Previous reports had pointed to a price range $100 higher
The latest version of Dropbox allows iPad users to move files around with a fingertip. It also works better with long file names.
Even though iPad was designed to be controlled with touches, drag-and-drop file management has been slow to come to this tablet. Still, Dropbox is on board.
Microsoft Translator has been around for a while, but this app is getting a huge improvement: artificial intelligence-powered translations even when the iPhone is offline.
Using translation apps in a foreign country can be nerve wracking. Such software almost always depends on remote servers to do the hard work. Microsoft, however, has squeezed the necessary AI into a mobile app.
Apple hasn’t found the security holes that iPhone unlocking tools use, but iOS 11.3 took a step that makes these cracking devices less useful. Police now have a limited amount of time to circumvent the user’s passcode before it becomes impossible.
This is part of an ongoing struggle between Apple and law enforcement agencies. The iPhone maker wants to protect the privacy of users, while police want access to information stored on devices used in crimes.
The case for your Apple wireless earbuds is necessary to charge them, but it’s useless the rest of the time. But what if this AirPod charging case was itself a speaker?
That’s the concept behind a patent Apple just received. Whether it will turn into an actual product is anyone’s guess.
Apple apparently removed some software from its App Store that allows users to hide images behind an innocent front. However, this doesn’t appear to be part of a general crackdown on this type of app.
Digital Mind Co.’s Private Photo (Calculator%) got singled out by police and parental watchdog groups who were concerned that teenagers would use it to conceal illicit images. The app functions as a calculator, but entering a password allows access to a secret image vault.
Apple today received a patent for a device with a bendable display. Sadly, that doesn’t mean that an clamshell iPhone is right around the corner. The wait for an iPad that be folded up and slipped in a pocket is probably still going to be a long one.
The patent was filed in 2016 because Apple is just preparing for the day when bendable displays are a reality.
Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls is the next chapter in this side-scrolling game series. It’s the first new installment since 2014, and will only be for iOS.
This long-running RPG series from Konami began on the original Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1986. Grimoire of Souls includes classic characters and music from the earlier versions.
Having your iPhone respond to “Hey Siri” seems like such a simple thing, but it’s actually quite complicated. Recognizing this code phrase, and the person who said it, is critical for Apple speech-recognition system.
A post in Apple’s Machine Learning Journal just published today describes many of the challenges developers overcame to make this work.
The head of Hip-Hop/R&B Programming at Apple Music, Carl Chery, is reportedly headed for rival Spotify.
Chery worked for Apple since 2014, and was responsible for helping to launch the careers of Cardi B, Bryson Tiller, Post Malone, and others.