Apple finally seeded to developers iOS 16.4 beta 1 and macOS 13.3 beta 1 on Thursday, followed by releasing public beta versions on Friday. The same goes for the initial betas of iPadOS 16.4, watchOS 9.4 and tvOS 16.4.
The wait for new betas has been much longer than usual. The last round of new prerelease versions was in mid-January.
The new betas bring in a collection of new emoji, an improvement for Apple Pencil, a better way for devs to work with betas, and more changes.
Farmside is a farming simulator that escapes the biggest problem with the genre: nagging in-app purchases. The game is on Apple Arcade which doesn’t allow games to pester players for money.
Plant then harvest crops, raise animals and more in the new title that’s playable on a variety of Apple devices, including iPhone and Mac.
When the eccentric LG DualUp display came out, its nearly square, 16:18 aspect ratio raised eyebrows. But the monitor is kind of like two displays in one, so it’s making inroads into computer setups like today’s featured MacBook Pro workstation.
The user wanted a Studio Display, but he finds the DualUp an economical alternative and then some.
Unconfirmed reports about design changes coming in the iPhone 15 Pro took concrete form as CAD drawings of Apple’s next handset supposedly leaked from a Chinese accessory maker.
These help confirm rumored features like USB-C and the somewhat curvier design.
According to official data from Apple, 81% of all iPhones released in the past four years are running some version of iOS 16. That’s a vastly higher percentage than Android users have installed the latest OS update from Google.
But iPad users upgrade at a far lower rate than iPhone users. Only 53% of Apple tablets released in the last four years have iPadOS 16.
Cellular carrier T-Mobile said Tuesday it’s offering MLS Season Pass for free to every customer this soccer season. The pass is available by subscription via the Apple TV app on millions of devices, with many matches available on Apple TV+.
So if you’re a T-Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile customer, MLS Season Pass — the only way to watch all of the league’s live soccer matches this season — comes free when you sign up for it. See details below.
Imagine getting a text from a friend and your iPhone reads it to you in your friend’s voice. Rather than a recording, their speech would be simulated from a voice model.
That’s the goal of a patent Apple submitted recently.
The Tetris movie isn’t about falling blocks. Instead, the Apple TV+ film is a thriller about how the hugely popular game was brought out of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The trailer clearly shows the struggle an entrepreneur goes through to convince a deeply suspicious communist regime to allow Tetris out of the country.
We can be sure Apple isn’t ignoring the folding phone market, even though the company is showing no direct signs of making an iPhone Fold. There’s plenty of indirect evidence, including patent filings that show handsets with foldable screens.
Apple received a new patent approval that shows it’s still thinking about a folding iPhone.
Earlier reports that Apple’s VR/AR headset will launch this spring were apparently overly optimistic — the latest leak points to a debut at the company’s annual developers conference in June.
If so, it’s likely to overshadow the new iOS and macOS versions also coming at WWDC23. But that probably would have happened even if the device had been unveiled months earlier, as it’ll include a new operating system for third-party developers to write applications for.
TSMC is going large with its Arizona plant. The Taiwanese company that makes processors for almost every type of Apple device committed itself to putting $3.5 billion into its U.S. subsidiary. And that’s only part of the eventual cost.
Apple has already promised to use chips made at the plant.
Apple issued an important software update recently — and we’re not talking for iPhone, Mac, iPad or Apple Watch. It’s 2023, so it’s for something way more esoteric: a power cable.
Yes, the USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable comes with a tiny computer inside of it that needs software updates, for some inscrutable reason.
Qualcomm, the chipmaker that supplies the 5G modems in all iPhones, on Wednesday unveiled the X75, its next-generation modem that will be the first to support 5G Advanced. This emerging cellular-wireless standard will give a speed boost to cellular-wireless networks and make mobile VR/AR more practical.
The X75 probably will be used in the iPhone 16 when it launches in 2024.
Saying Wednesday that it created a “future-proof cloud gaming controller,” RiotPwr released a new iOS gaming controller with both Lightning and USB-C connectors.
“The RiotPWR RP1950 controller [is] the solution for the USB-C cloud gaming crisis for iOS users,” the company added.
Today’s featured computer setup employs three separate Macs — MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air and M1 Mac mini — connecting two of them to a big external monitor using a KVM docking station.
KVM switches are handy when you don’t want to switch cables from different computers using the same monitor and input devices. But there’s another reason the user, Greg Coit, chose the method.
Ikea unveiled its new indoor air-quality monitor Tuesday. With a name that sounds like a Swedish jet fighter — Vindstryka — it’s designed to help you combat pollutants in your home or office. And it will be HomeKit- and Matter-compatible through the Ikea Dirigera hub after the company updates it.
The Swedish home furnishings giant set an April launch date for the monitor but hasn’t added a price tag yet.
Apple TV+’s star-studded limited series Extrapolations is set in a near future where the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into everyone’s everyday lives.
The trailer for the series gives a dark look at what the end of the century could look like.
In order to be approved for Apple Pay Later, the company’s own buy now, pay later service, individuals will need to be loyal Apple customers. The service has strict hoops you need to jump through: Apple will check your spending at Apple Stores, purchases and subscriptions on the App Store, Apple Cash payments, Apple Pay history and more.
Even if you work for Apple, you may only be approved for a $1,000 loan. The feature continues to undergo internal testing after being delayed since September, according to Bloomberg.
Apple’s rumored 15.5-inch MacBook Air could use the 5nm M2 chip. The same SoC powers the 2022 MacBook Air and the new Mac mini.
The Cupertino company has never released a MacBook Air with a display size larger than 13.6 inches.
“Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet,” goes an old Valentine’s Day saying. And what’s sweeter than saving a few bucks? (Not that your sweetheart has to know about that part when you give them a gift).
The Cult of Mac Store’s Valentine’s Day Sweet Savings sale goes through 11:59 p.m. PST on February 14. You can get 20% off an array of Apple accessories, including organizers, cable blocks and more from Function 101 and stylish stretch-link stainless steel Apple Watch bands and stacking bracelets from Rilee & Lo.
And you can score even bigger savings on iPhone cases and more from other brands.
Apple TV+ subscribers can enjoy a collection of half a dozen classic romantic comedies added to the streaming service just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The list includes Pretty Woman, Never Been Kissed and more.
Primate Labs introduced Geekbench 6 on Tuesday, the first significant update in years to a premier cross-platform benchmarking application.
The new version adds tests to check the performance of Macs, iPhones, iPads, Androids and PCs as they carry out new, cutting-edge tasks.
Amazon-owned discount site Woot! is offering a slew of deals on iMacs, MacBooks and iPads through Thursday.
Some M1 laptops are already sold out, but a lot of gear remains, so jump on this if you’re in the market for Apple hardware. It’s the sort of sale that may make people wish they’d waited to buy instead of going all-in at launch.
You can grab the Apple Watch Ultra with the Green Alpine Loop for a new low price of $729.99 from Amazon, saving $69.01 on your purchase.
A $50 discount will appear on the listing page, with the additional $19.01 off applied at checkout. Other variants of the watch are available with a more modest $50 discount.
Apple TV+ finally revealed the premiere date for Ted Lasso season three. The hugely popular comedy will return on March 15.
There’s also a teaser trailer for the new season, along with hints of what to expect.