Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 17.4 to developers Thursday, offering a first look at new emoji coming soon to iPhone. For Europeans, the update will be a major one, as it will allow users to sideload apps (among other big changes).
Also on Thursday came the initial betas of iPadOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4. There’s no sign yet of macOS 14.4 beta 1, however.
Apple is bringing sideloading and alternate app stores to the iPhone — but with significant restrictions.
Apple gave EU developers guidelines and access to the tools needed for sideloading — installing applications that don’t go through the App Store. But the new rules require these apps to be approved by Apple before they can be installed by iPhone users. And they need to be in alternative marketplaces, not directly available for download.
In other words, sideloading won’t be the free-for-all some people had hoped.
This is part of sweeping changes to iOS, Safari and the App Store required by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. And Apple’s announcement of these changes in Thursday is loaded with warning about how sideloading brings risks for users.
TSMC is on course to make the first processors made with a cutting-edge 2nm process. And all of the initial supply of these might go into iPhone and Mac, according to a published report.
It wouldn’t be a surprise, considering the same thing happened with the Taiwanese foundry’s 3nm chips.
The first 2nm chip won’t be out before 2025, though.
Although the European Union requires Apple to allow sideloading of iPhone applications, Cupertino reportedly hopes to review apps before they become available for installation from outside the App Store.
Apple also expects developers to voluntarily send a percentage of all revenue generated through sideloaded iOS applications.
Apple still plans to put a car on the road, but the release date for the Apple car is sometime in 2028, according to a new report.
Designers had to slam the brakes on hopes for full self-driving capabilities. The electric vehicle allegedly will offer some driver-assistance capabilities but these will fall far short of full autonomy. Still, with the downgraded feature set, the product has a better chance of hitting its deadline than before.
Some Apple Watch owners might be hesitant about installing the just-released watchOS 10.3 update over concerns that it’ll remove the controversial Blood Oxygen application. But there’s no reason for concern — it does not.
We tested multiple devices to be extra sure.
Apple Music reportedly will pay artists 10% more for tracks that use Spatial Audio, which offers a surround sound-like experience without requiring additional speakers.
Theoretically, more music that offers Spatial Audio should persuade more consumers to buy Apple products that support the feature.
Mac users can now install macOS Sonoma 14.3 and start using collaborative music playlists along with a few other tweaks.
Apple also introduced iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, watchOS 10.3 and tvOS 17.3 on Monday.
The sleek MacBook Air will get upgraded with the recently released M3 processor this spring, according to a trusted source of insider info.
The Apple M3 is also supposedly coming to the iPad Pro, probably at the same event.
Apple quickly ran through its launch-day inventory of Vision Pro headsets Friday, but customers continued to place preorders for units to be delivered later. The weekend total could have reached 180,000 units, according to a report from a trusted analyst.
Wait times for the device to be delivered now stretch out to March, but questions remain about long-term demand.
The description of Chrome’s Incognito mode will soon be changed to make it clear that Google tracks people who use the web browser. It also will warn users that websites can gather data about them as well.
This means the only people blocked from knowing your browsing history when using Incognito mode are family/friends who use the same computer.
The days of the iPhone’s NFC capabilities being limited to just Apple Pay are coming to an end. Apple is open to allowing rivals to use the iPhone wireless tap-to-pay system. But only in the European Union.
The change is the result of antitrust charges brought by the EU.
There were gasps when Apple first revealed that the Vision Pro headset costs $3,499, but shoppers who load the spatial-computing device up with additional storage and Apple’s recommended add-ons pay almost twice as much.
But to put that price in perspective, an earlier ground-breaking Apple product — one that changed computers forever — cost even more than that when it launched decades ago.
Friday morning ushers in Apple’s era of spatial computing when the Vision Pro goes on sale, and the cutting-edge headset is likely to sell out almost immediately.
But that won’t be a sure indication of huge demand for the new product — Apple has reportedly produced a relatively small number of the $3,499 headsets.
Apple lost a court appeal Wednesday, which means Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 might once again get pulled from U.S. store shelves. The court agrees with previous rulings that the wearables are in violation of a patent held by a medical-device company.
But Apple has a workaround: it’s almost certainly going to remove the application at the center of the patent dispute.
Apple revealed Wednesday that iOS 17.3 will be out “next week.” The major feature is Stolen Device Protection, a new system for protecting the personal information of users.
It’s likely new versions of iPadOS, macOS and watchOS will also debut at the same time.
The U.S. Supreme Court effectively upheld a lower court’s ruling that Apple must allow third-party iPhone app developers to point customers to their websites when making purchases. This means the company is forced to drop its “anti-steering” rule for such applications — a major change.
It’s the primary result of Apple’s long-running legal battle with Epic Games.
No company sold more smartphones than Apple in 2023, according to a market-research firm. iPhone shipments grew last year and outnumbered Samsung’s Androids.
It’s a milestone Apple never reached before.
★★★★☆
Put a Prox PRD on your keychain or in your purse and you’ll always be alerted when start to leave without your iPhone.
It’s not an AirTag or a tracker, and doesn’t collect any info about you. The device simply makes sure you don’t walk off without your handset.
I’ve tested the Prox PRD for weeks. Here’s why I’m satisfied with it.
The first iPad Pro with a OLED display is reportedly on track to launch in April. While that’s generally good news, previous leaks predicted a release in March.
The next generation of iPad Pro is also expected to have other enhancements, like an Apple M3 processor.
Apple’s solution to evading a sales and import ban on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 is apparently a simple one: It is reportedly prepared to delete the application at the heart of the patent dispute that caused the ban.
But this will only be necessary if Apple loses its next legal appeal, which will be made soon.
The top-of-the line iPhone 15 Pro Max makes up close to half of shipments of the iPhone 15 series, according to a trusted market analyst.
This continues a trend from last year in which Apple’s most expensive model was also its most popular.
The Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season finale reunites old friends and also gives us the kaiju fight people wanted all along.
Read our review/recap for Godzilla-size spoilers about episode ten, plus loads of speculation about the show’s second season.
The Samsung T9 external SSD just hit store shelves in October and it’s already available at a hefty discount. Amazon knocked up to 24% off the regular cost of the speedy solid state drive.
It comes in capacities up to 4TB, and plugs easily into Mac, iPad and even the most recent iPhone models.
Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s commissioner for competition, met with Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday to discuss the upcoming EU requirement that iPhone users be able to install applications from outside the App Store, aka sideloading.
Vestager also says the two discussed the EU’s investigation into whether Apple Music is anticompetitive.