Apple Watch 2 and iPhone 7 Rumors, Adobe Flash Issues, iPhone SE Bluetooth Audio Problems - MacRumors

Apple Watch 2 Expected to Focus on Internal Upgrades Rather Than External Changes, Launch in Late 2016 Late last week, a report from analyst Brian White generated quite a bit of excitement for its claims of a new Apple Watch coming as soon as WWDC in June with a design up to 40 percent thinner than the current Apple Watch. White has a mixed track record, however, and skepticism over his claims was bolstered by a subsequent report from Ming-Chi Kuo predicting a late 2016 launch and minimal design changes for the second-generation Apple Watch. Apple's supply chain is said to be gearing up for production of the Apple Watch 2, although Apple is of course continuing to push the current model with new bands and a price drop on the Sport model just last month. Apple has also just released a number of new short TV ads for the current Apple Watch, featuring celebrities such as Nick Jonas, Alice Cooper, Chloë Sevigny, and Jon Batiste.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Apr 15, 2016 iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Again Rumored to Feature Smart Connector, but No Stereo Speakers or Thinner Design Japanese site Mac Otakara, which has a decent track record with product rumors, has come out in support of previously leaked photos and design graphics claimed to be for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The new report supports claims of a Smart Connector on the next iPhones but indicates that while Apple will do away with the headphone jack, it will not be replaced by a second speaker. Conflicting with other rumors that the iPhone 7 could approach the iPod touch's 6.1 mm thickness, the site also claims there will be virtually no change in thickness compared to the iPhone 6s. In other iPhone news, rumors of a major shift to OLED technology for the 2017 iPhone continue to gain steam, with a new report claiming Apple has struck or is in talks for a deal with Samsung to provide 100 million 5.5-inch OLED display panels annually starting in mid-2017.   Read Full Article Adobe Issues 'Emergency' Flash Player Security Update for OS X to Address Ransomware Attacks One of our most popular stories this week addressed yet another security flaw in Adobe Flash, with Adobe releasing an "emergency" patch to fix the problem that could allow users' systems to be hijacked and held for ransom under threat of encrypting the users' files. Adobe is not alone, however, as Apple has revealed it will no longer be updating QuickTime for Windows, even though two security issues have recently been identified in the software. As a result, security experts are recommending that Windows users uninstall QuickTime from their systems.   Read Full Article Many iPhone SE Users Experiencing Bluetooth Phone Call Audio Issues Apple's new 4-inch iPhone has been out for a couple of weeks now, and an increasing number of users are reporting problems with Bluetooth audio connections, particularly with phone calls and GPS navigation. At least one user has reported that Apple's support team is working hard on the problem, with the issue being "on the top of the list" for Apple's issue tracking. No specific cause or timeline for a fix has been announced.   Read Full Article Mac Update Cycle Faces Uncertainty as Intel Abandons Tick-Tock Strategy Intel has been struggling to maintain its pace of annual "Tick-Tock" processor upgrades in recent years, and the company recently officially announced that it will be moving away from that cadence to a new three-step cycle known as "Process-Architecture-Optimization." The move will come with the debut of the new Kaby Lake processor family later this year, which will be the Optimization step of the cycle that has included the Broadwell and Skylake families. The shift in cadence could mean a return to shorter and more reliable upgrade cycles for Macs based on Intel's chips, although uncertainty remains. Significant upgrades are also in store on the dedicated graphics front, with both Nvidia and AMD preparing to launch major upgrades in the coming months, although it may yet be a while before they make it into Apple's Mac Pro, 27-inch iMac, and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro products. Virtually all of Apple's Mac products are in need of updates, with new Retina MacBooks perhaps arriving as soon as later this month. A new report also claims Apple will be releasing "ultra-thin" MacBooks with new hinge designs later this year, although the report likely refers to MacBook Pro or perhaps MacBook Air models.   Read Full Article HTC 10 is the First Android Smartphone to Support Apple AirPlay Out of the Box HTC this week unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the HTC 10, and it includes an interesting distinction of being the first Android smartphone to support Apple's AirPlay wireless streaming protocol right out of the box. With AirPlay support, users will be able to directly stream audio and video from their phones to Apple devices including the Apple TV, as well as AirPlay-enabled speaker systems. Alongside the HTC 10 announcement, JBL also announced new noise-canceling earphones that connect via USB-C, which the HTC 10 uses for connectivity. Apple's Retina MacBook is the only Mac so far to support USB-C, but the new standard should be making its way to the entire Mac lineup.   Read Full Article

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