iOS 8.2 and Watch App Tools Seeded to Devs, iOS 8.1.1 and OS X 10.10.1 for the Public - MacRumors

Apple Seeds iOS 8.2 With WatchKit SDK for Apple Watch Apps to Developers Apple this week seeded developers with iOS 8.2 and new WatchKit tools that will allow them to build apps for the upcoming Apple Watch. The initial launch limits developers to apps driven from a linked iPhone, informational "Glances", and actionable notifications passed along from iPhone apps. Support for fully native Apple Watch apps will come later next year. The developer tools have revealed a few tidbits of information about the Apple Watch, including screen resolutions for the two device sizes. The larger 42 mm Apple Watch will carry a 312 x 390 display, while the smaller 38 mm Apple Watch will offer a 272 x 340 screen.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Nov 19, 2014 Apple Releases OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 With Claimed Wi-Fi Reliability Improvements While iOS 8.2 and WatchKit tools are giving developers plenty to explore this week, the public also has some updates including OS X 10.10.1, the first maintenance update for OS X Yosemite. One of the major issues users have reported with the initial version of Yosemite has been poor Wi-Fi performance, but while Wi-Fi improvements headline the release notes for OS X 10.10.1, many users have reported no changes with their Wi-Fi problems.   Read Full Article Apple Releases iOS 8.1.1 With Bug Fixes, Performance Improvements for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s Alongside OS X 10.10.1, Apple also released iOS 8.1.1 to the public two weeks after seeding a test build to developers. The update includes some minor bug fixes and an emphasis on improved performance for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s users.   Read Full Article Apple May Introduce 'Biggest Camera Jump Ever' in Next-Generation iPhone It's a vague report, but John Gruber says he's heard "from a birdie of a birdie" that the 2015 iPhone will include the "biggest camera jump ever." Gruber doesn't have many details on the improvements other than the inclusion of "some kind of weird two-lens system", but his sources indicate the camera performance will rival that of a standalone DSLR camera. Potential camera improvements have also been in the spotlight with Sony's announcement of a new 21-megapixel image sensor with faster autofocus and 4K high dynamic range (HDR) support. While Apple has traditionally shied away chasing megapixels with the latest sensors and instead opted for older versions enhanced with software, high-quality lens systems, and other features, Sony's improvements (including a follow-up 16-megapixel version) pave the way for Apple to make additional advancements in iPhone camera performance.   Read Full Article Beats Music to Be Bundled Into iOS Early Next Year, Will Remain Paid Subscription Service Apple has been rumored for some time to be looking toward an early 2015 revamp of its recently acquired Beats Music streaming service, and a new report from Financial Times claims it will arrive "as early as March" with a rebranding under the iTunes name and Apple folding the service directly into iOS to push it onto millions of devices. Beats will, however, remain a paid subscription service, giving users options among the paid Beats service, the ad-supported iTunes Radio, and traditional paid music downloads.   Read Full Article First Look at the New Beats Solo2 Wireless Headphones Beats Electronics last week announced its first new product since Apple's acquisition of the company was completed earlier this year. The new $300 Solo2 Wireless on-ear headphones are simply a wireless version of the existing Solo2 model, and a first-look preview from audio reviewer Mike Liang emphasizes the high-quality sound and easy setup of the new headphones, but notes that Apple could have used a better Bluetooth audio coding algorithm for even better sound.   Read Full Article

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'iPad Pro' in 2Q 2015, iPhone 6 Tidbits, New Web Tool to Deregister iMessage - MacRumors

12.9-Inch 'iPad Pro' Production Rumored for Q2 2015 Amid Manufacturing Difficulties Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is one of the most accurate Apple analysts out there, so when he weighs in, people listen. And so, it's worth highlighting a new report from Kuo that says Apple's rumored 12.9-inch "iPad Pro" is likely to go into production in the second quarter of next year. Rumors had suggested the device could launch in the first quarter, but recently The Wall Street Journal reported Apple has pushed back its plans in order to allow its manufacturing partners to focus on meeting demand for the iPhone 6 Plus.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Nov 13, 2014 Apple Said to Be Stopping Use of TLC NAND Flash in iPhone 6 and 6 Plus After Reported Issues It's hard to know just how much stock to put in this one, but BusinessKorea has doubled down on its earlier report about larger-capacity iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models experiencing crashing issues to state that Apple is halting the use of triple-level cell (TLC) flash memory in the devices. TLC has allowed flash memory companies to pack in more storage at lower prices, but performance can suffer a bit in some cases. In other iPhone 6 news, Pegatron is said to be boosting its production capacity for the iPhone 6 and perhaps even starting some iPhone 6 Plus production to help catch up with strong demand. Foxconn has been the sole assembler of the iPhone 6 Plus but has had a hard time meeting demand. Finally, new survey data shows that the share of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus customers switching from Android devices is lower than seen with the iPhone 5s and 5c last year. Many analysts had predicted that the larger screens on the new iPhones would entice Android users who have gotten used to having larger screens, but so far iPhone upgraders are dominating the customer pool for the new models.   Read Full Article Apple Launches Web Tool to Deregister Phone Numbers from iMessage Apple over the weekend launched a new web tool that allows former iPhone users to unlink their phone numbers from iMessage. Users should turn off iMessage before they switch devices, but users moving to Android or other platforms who have not done so have found that text messages intended for them have not been delivered. Solving the issue had been a surprisingly difficult task for many users, but with Apple's new web tool the process is now much easier. That hasn't stopped complaints, however, as just days after Apple launched the tool a judge ruled that a lawsuit over lost text messages linked to the issue can proceed.   Read Full Article Apple-owned Beats Electronics Introduces New $300 Solo2 Wireless Headphones Less than a week after their existence was leaked in FCC filings, new Solo2 Wireless headphones from Beats debuted this week, marking the first product launch from the company since Apple's acquisition of Beats Electronics officially closed. The new $300 on-ear headphones are Bluetooth versions of the standard Solo2 headphones launched earlier this year. Alongside the new wireless versions, Beats also introduced new color options with a satin finish for the standard Solo2 line.   Read Full Article Microsoft Launches New Office Apps for iPhone, Makes Creating and Basic Editing Free on iOS Building on the release of its Office apps for iPad earlier this year, Microsoft last week made its iOS Word, Keynote, and PowerPoint apps universal, adding iPhone support for the first time. Not only that, but Microsoft made creating and basic editing available free of charge in the apps, sending the apps to the top of the App Store charts. More advanced editing functions such as advanced change tracking, Excel pivot tables, and PowerPoint presenter mode still require an Office 365 subscription.   Read Full Article How to Enable Text Message Forwarding and Answer Phone Calls on Your Mac Our series of "how to" articles on iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite continues to be popular with readers, and this week we published two more installments. The first outlines how to enable text message and phone call forwarding, allowing users to access these iPhone features directly on their iPads or Macs without ever needing to pick up their phones. The second covers Family Sharing, a new feature that allows up to six members of a family to have individual Apple IDs for the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store, but all have access to each other's content. All purchases are billed to same payment method, and the feature offers some parental controls such as approving children's purchases. Family members can also share calendars and photo albums while also being able to see and communicate with each other's lost devices via Find My iPhone.   Read Full Article

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'iPad Pro' Rumors, Touch ID and 5th Amendment Rights, Apple Watch Pricing - MacRumors

'iPad Pro' Said to Feature 12.2-Inch Display, 7-mm Thickness, Stereo Speakers at Top and Bottom Rumors of a larger-screened iPad from Apple have slowed down in recent weeks following word that Apple has pushed back its production plans in order to allow its supply chain partners to catch up to demand for the iPhone 6 Plus, but a new report turns the spotlight back on the rumored device. According to the report from Japanese site Mac Otakara, the so-called "iPad Pro" will feature a 12.2-inch display rather than the 12.9-inch screen previously rumored, a thickness of roughly 7 mm in line with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus but slightly thicker than the iPad Air 2, and speakers located at the top and bottom of the device presumably for improved stereo sound. One sketchy report claims Apple will even move to discontinue the iPad mini in favor of the upcoming iPad Pro, and Apple's minimal update to the device last month is not providing much reassurance to fans of the smaller iPad. With rumors of the IPad Pro picking up speed once more, we've created a new iPad Pro roundup to help readers stay on top of the latest news and rumors as we look forward to the device's launch.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Nov 05, 2014 Court Rules Police Can Force Users to Unlock iPhones With Fingerprints, But Not Passcodes A U.S. court has ruled that criminal defendants can be required to provide authorities with fingerprints to unlock their mobile phones for examination. The same is not true of passcodes, which have been ruled to be protected under the Fifth Amendment covering self-incrimination. The distinction at first seems odd given that they ultimately are different methods of preventing access to the same potential evidence, but there is precedent for treating "something you know" (such as a passcode) differently from "something you have" (such as a fingerprint).   Read Full Article Apple Watch Launching in 'Spring' With Pricing to Reportedly Start at $500 for Stainless Steel, $4,000 for Gold At its introduction of the Apple Watch back in September, Apple provided only vague launch details, noting the device would debut in "early 2015" with pricing starting at $349. But with three different versions of the Apple Watch, higher-tier models have been rumored to carry much higher price tags. A new report claims that while the aluminum and glass "Apple Watch Sport" version will start at $349, the second-tier stainless steel and sapphire "Apple Watch" version will start at $500 and the high-end 18-karat gold and sapphire "Apple Watch Edition" version will start at $4000 or more. As for a launch date, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts mentioned a "spring" launch in a recent video message to Apple retail employees, suggesting Apple may indeed miss the Valentine's Day shopping rush.   Read Full Article Intel Launches New Broadwell Core M Processors, Likely Destined for Apple's Ultra-Slim Notebook Intel has quietly launched a few new "Core M" ultra-low power processors from its new Broadwell family, and we've heard Apple has been testing these chips with its rumored ultra-slim 12" Retina notebook. The chips run at just 4.5 watts, allowing for extremely thin, fanless computer designs, and these new versions offer significantly better graphics performance than the initial chips released in September, without sacrificing power efficiency. It's not clear when Apple plans to launch its new thinner notebook, but it looks like it could be in the early part of next year or perhaps at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference likely scheduled for early June.   Read Full Article Apple Seeds First Builds of OS X 10.10.1 and iOS 8.1.1 for Testing Apple this week seeded developers and members of the Mac public beta program with an initial version of OS X 10.10.1, the first maintenance update for OS X Yosemite. While Apple asks testers to focus their attention on Exchange accounts in the Mail app and Notification Center, the most important area is likely Wi-Fi performance, something that has been a major problem for some Yosemite users. Just hours after seeding OS X 10.10.1, Apple also provided iOS developers with a build of iOS 8.1.1, a rare opportunity for developers to address such a minor version number increment. In particular, Apple draws attention to performance improvements for iPad 2 and iPhone 4s users with this release.   Read Full Article Mac Mini 2014: Which Model to Buy Interested in one of the new Mac minis Apple released last month for the lineup's first update in two years? Then take a look at our overview of the new models to help decide which one to buy.   Read Full Article

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Apple Pay and CurrentC Skirmish, Tim Cook Comes Out, iOS 8 Adoption and Tips, Next Office for Mac - MacRumors

Apple Pay Faces Off Against Retailer-Backed CurrentC Mobile Payments System Following Apple's launch of its Apple Pay mobile payments system in the U.S. with the release of iOS 8.1 early last week, tensions have escalated rapidly as several retailers including pharmacy chains Rite Aid and CVS shut down their NFC payment terminals in order to prevent customers from using the systems for Apple Pay and other mobile wallet systems. The retailers are part of a consortium known as Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) that is pursuing its own complicated mobile payments system planned for launch in early 2015. Just hours after MCX publicly confirmed that consortium members are required to exclusively support CurrentC, the company began notifying pilot testers and those who had expressed interest in the service that their email addresses may have been accessed without authorization, undermining the group's claims of an emphasis on security. In a virtual press conference, MCX executives speculated that the group was being attacked for "challenging the status quo", but argued that its partner merchants know their customers and feel they are looking for a robust solution like MCX to manage payments, coupons, and loyalty programs in one location. For its part, Apple is choosing to focus on the positives of Apple Pay, with Tim Cook noting on Monday that users had registered more than one million cards in the first 72 hours of Apple Pay availability, quickly making the service larger than all existing competitors combined. Apple has called the response to Apple Pay "overwhelmingly positive" and noted it is working hard to add retail partners to the service.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Oct 30, 2014 Apple CEO Tim Cook Publicly Comes Out as Gay in Letter Declaring Support for Equality It's not likely to be a surprise to many people who have followed Apple and its CEO, but Tim Cook's public acknowledgement that he is gay marks a significant event in the business world. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook is the first Fortune 500 CEO to voluntarily come out as gay. In his letter on the magazine's website, Cook notes that he prefers not to think of himself as an activist, but believes in promoting equality and if his openness can help comfort or inspire others, it is worth the tradeoff of a measure of his personal privacy.   Read Full Article iOS 8 Now Installed on Over Half of Active iOS Devices Customer adoption of iOS 8 has been slower than other recent major iOS updates, but with iOS 8.1 launching last week and numerous iPhone 6 units making their way into the hands of consumers, iOS 8 has now passed the 50% mark as measured by App Store activity. To help users take advantage of some of the new features of iOS 8, especially Continuity features that allow Macs and iOS devices to work more seamlessly together, we've been publishing some how-to posts and videos on such topics as Instant Hotspot, Handoff, and AirDrop. Users with older machines that don't officially support Handoff have also been interested in the Continuity Activation Tool as a potential solution.   Read Full Article Next Version of Office for Mac Shown in Leaked Screenshots, Launch Planned for First Half of 2015 Microsoft has been quiet on its plans for Office for Mac, which has not seen a major update in four years, but it looks like the company is getting closer to releasing the next version of its productivity suite for OS X. Leaked screenshots of "Outlook 16" for Mac reveal a flatter look and a follow-up set of internal Microsoft presentation slides reveal closer feature parity and more consistent look with the Windows version of Office, while enhancing support for Microsoft's various cloud-based services. A leaked timeline indicates Microsoft is targeting the first half of next year for its next Office for Mac launch.   Read Full Article FTC Sues AT&T Over 'Misleading' Unlimited Data Throttling Practices While not strictly an Apple issue, an announcement by the Federal Trade Commission that it is investigating AT&T for throttling speeds of customers on unlimited data plans proved extremely popular with our readers. The FTC accused AT&T of insufficient disclosure of the throttling policy, which involves severe speed reductions of up to 80-90% for these exceeding certain data thresholds. For its part, AT&T has called the allegations "baseless", asserting that it has been "completely transparent" with its customers and that the policy has affected only 3% of customers with users receiving text message warnings before any throttling is applied.   Read Full Article Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple Over 2011 MacBook Pro Graphics Issues For nearly a year, we've been tracking the growing reports of graphics issues with 2011 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models, with affected users claiming the issue is a hardware defect related to soldering of the graphics chip and pleading with the company to institute a repair program to cover affected machines. But with Apple so far proving unwilling to address the issue, a class action lawsuit has now been filed on behalf of customers affected by the issue. The suit seeks to have Apple acknowledge the issue, assess potentially affected machines, and provide free repairs or reimbursement for past repairs to affected users.   Read Full Article AT&T Locking Apple Interchangeable SIMs in iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 With the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, Apple quietly introduced an Apple SIM, a multi-carrier SIM card that could potentially allow users to switch carriers as needed. The reality, however, is a bit more limited, with AT&T opting to lock SIM cards once they are activated for use on its network, forcing users to obtain a new SIM card if they wish to switch to another network. T-Mobile CEO John Legere addressed the issue in an interview earlier this week, touting his carrier's policy that gives users complete flexibility to join or leave T-Mobile's network. Apple marketing vice president Greg Joswiak noted in a separate interview that the Apple SIM grew out of a desire for customer convenience but that with phone purchases still generally tied to carriers, users should not expect the Apple SIM concept to expand to the iPhone over the near term.   Read Full Article

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New iPads, 27" Retina iMac, Mac Mini, OS X Yosemite, Apple Pay, and More - MacRumors

Apple Launches New iPads, 27" Retina iMac, Updated Mac Minis, Apple Pay, OS X Yosemite, and More While Apple's media event last Thursday may not have been as highly anticipated as September's iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event, the company still found plenty to pack into the sequel. Take a look back at our archived live coverage of the October event or check out the full video posted by Apple.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Oct 23, 2014 Apple Launches iPad Air 2 with Thinner Profile, Touch ID, and A8X Processor The highlight of last week's event for many people was the iPad Air 2, a thinner and more powerful version of Apple's flagship 9.7-inch tablet. Apple began taking pre-orders for the device on Friday and those shipments have started arriving while the company has also started selling them in stores. Early reviews have praised the iPad Air 2's thinner design, more vibrant display, and fast performance, but question whether it marks a big enough leap forward to attract consumers amid continued declines in sales. Benchmarks have revealed the iPad Air 2 is up to 68% faster than the original iPad Air and even 55% faster than the iPhone 6, thanks to the new iPad's triple-core A8X chip. A bump to 2 GB of RAM should also help cut down on reloading Safari tabs.   Read Full Article Apple Announces iMac with Retina 5K Display for $2,500 Apple's big Mac announcement last week was a new 27-inch Retina "5K" iMac boasting a 5120 x 2880 display and starting at $2499. The machine was quickly praised for its display, and benchmarks have shown that it outperforms non-Retina iMacs and even the low-end Mac Pro due to high-end Haswell chips used in the the new machine. Apple touted pricing on the new iMac, noting that high-quality 4K displays alone can cost in the range of $3000, but those hoping to use one of the new iMacs as an external 5K display for another computer will find that to not be an option. Current display connectivity standards don't support 5K resolutions over single cables, and for that same reason a standalone 27-inch Retina Thunderbolt display from Apple is unlikely until at least late next year when next-generation DisplayPort/Thunderbolt is fully supported.   Read Full Article Apple Releases iOS 8.1 With Apple Pay Support, SMS Relay, Camera Roll, and More This Monday saw the release of iOS 8.1, bringing a number of new features including the new Apple Pay payments system, text message forwarding to Macs, Instant Hotspot, the return of Camera Roll in the Photos app, a public beta of iCloud Photo Library, and more. Apple Pay in particular has been a popular topic since its launch on Monday, with readers interested in seeing how to set up the service and examples of it in action. Apple Pay works both in stores and in apps, and while there have been a few glitches in the early days, Apple Pay seems to be working well for most users.   Read Full Article OS X Yosemite Hits the Mac App Store as a Free Download Shortly after the conclusion of Thursday's media event, Apple released OS X Yosemite to the public via the Mac App Store. The free update brings a new look and a number of new features to the Mac operating system. Among the features are Mac support for iCloud Drive, new Mail features such as Mail Drop and Markup, and a host of "Continuity" features to make it easier for users to move among Mac and iOS devices mid-task. Yosemite also brings new support for Notification Center widgets and extensions such as share sheets to enhance utility.   Read Full Article Apple Releases New Mac Mini Starting at $499 After nearly two years without an update, Apple finally released a new Mac mini at last week's event. While the update did bring a new, lower starting price of $499, many Mac mini fans were underwhelmed by the specs and the lack of a redesign. Apple also discontinued the server edition of the Mac mini that had previously offered support for dual hard drives, and the machine's RAM is no longer user upgradeable.   Read Full Article Apple Releases iPad Mini 3 with Touch ID Home Button  While the iPad Air received a significant overhaul in the form of the iPad Air 2 last week, the iPad mini saw a much smaller update including only a Touch ID home button and a new gold color option. The new iPad mini 3 is otherwise identical to the iPad mini 2 released last year and which Apple is still selling in lower-capacity options at significantly lower pricing. As a result many reviewers are actually recommending the iPad mini 2 over the iPad mini 3, finding the $100 premium for the new model at the 16 GB level not worthwhile simply for Touch ID.   Read Full Article

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