HomePod Orders Start Friday, iOS 11.3 Beta, iPhone and MacBook Rumors - MacRumors

HomePod Launches February 9, Available to Order Starting Friday in United States, UK, and Australia Apple this week announced that it will begin taking orders for its $349 HomePod smart speaker this Friday, January 26 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, with a launch following on February 9. If you're in a country where it isn't officially launching yet but can get your hands on one, it will work as long as you're okay with English as the language, and official launches in France and Germany will follow in the spring. Alongside the launch date, Apple also shared new tidbits on the HomePod including details on the gesture controls, support for multiple users and speakerphone functionality, and confirmation that a user's private information is not accessible from HomePod when they're not at home. While many have been eagerly awaiting the HomePod's launch, especially with Apple having pushed back the launch from the original December target date, potential customers may be disappointed to learn that two important features won't be available at launch. The ability to sync audio among multiple HomePods throughout the home or create a stereo pair of HomePods within a room will arrive in a software update later this year.   Read Full Article Popular Stories Jan 25, 2018 Everything New in iOS 11.3: iCloud Messages, Animoji, Health Records, AirPlay 2 and More Apple is already looking forward to its next significant iOS 11 update, this week seeding the first beta of iOS 11.3 to developers and public beta testers. This is a major update, so be sure to check out our overview video covering what's new. The biggest new feature is Messages on iCloud, which syncs your messages and attachments across devices and saves space on your device. This feature was supposed to be in the first release of iOS 11, but was removed during beta testing. Other additions and enhancements include four new Animoji characters for iPhone X, improvements to ARKit for augmented reality experiences, AirPlay 2 support, centralized electronic health records across participating providers, and a life-saving feature that will automatically send your GPS location when you call emergency services. Future betas will also include previously promised features for viewing battery health and disabling Apple's power management, as well as Business Chat to allow companies to offer customer support right within the Messages app.  Alongside iOS 11.3, Apple has also begun seeding versions of macOS 10.13.4, watchOS 4.3, and tvOS 11.3 to developers.   Read Full Article KGI: Apple to Discontinue iPhone X Rather Than Sell at Lower Price When Second-Generation Model Launches According to relatively reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is planning to discontinue the iPhone X once its successor launches later this year, rather than continuing to sell the current model at a reduced price. The reason for this is likely the rumored new 6.1-inch LCD iPhone coming as part of this year's lineup, which we're starting to hear more about. Kuo says that phone will have Face ID, a single-lens rear camera, an aluminum frame, 3 GB of RAM, no 3D Touch (surprisingly), and come in at a price point around $700-800. A separate report claims this new iPhone could come with a 2160x1080 display. With a new second-generation iPhone X, a rumored larger "iPhone X Plus," and this new LCD model, there may just not be room in Apple's product lineup and pricing tiers for the current iPhone X to stick around.   Read Full Article Apple Said to Release New Entry-Level 13-inch MacBook This Year, Likely Replacing MacBook Air According to a new report out of Apple's supply chain in Asia, Apple is planning to launch a new entry-level 13-inch notebook later this year, replacing the MacBook Air that has been hanging around in the company's lineup in outdated form for several years. As is common with these supply chain reports, it's not clear whether this notebook would be positioned as a redesigned MacBook Air, an expansion of the MacBook line, or something different, so we'll have to wait and see what else we hear about this notebook in the coming months.   Read Full Article Everything New in iOS 11.2.5: Siri Audio News, HomePod Support, New Control Center Music Interface and More Just ahead of Apple's preview of iOS 11.3, the company pushed out the final version of iOS 11.2.5 to the public. In addition to support for the upcoming HomePod, iOS 11.2.5 brings several other improvements such as Siri audio news, a revamped Control Center music interface, and a fix for a malicious link that could freeze the Messages app, so make sure to check out our overview video to see what's new. Besides iOS 11.2.5, Apple also released macOS 10.13.3, watchOS 4.2.2, and tvOS 11.2.5, as well as special security updates for macOS Sierra and OS X El Capitan to address the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities in Intel chips for users still running those older operating system versions.   Read Full Article How to Get More Battery Life Out of Your Apple Watch The Apple Watch does a good job of making it through an entire day on a charge, even for heavy users, but for those looking to extend battery life even more, we've put together a guide sharing some tips on things you can do to help. From turning down the brightness to limiting the notifications that are pushed to the watch to turning off Hey Siri, there are a number of changes you can make that'll help you squeeze more use out of each charge. And if all of that still doesn't help and you think you might have an actual problem, we've also got some tips about ensuring your Bluetooth connection to your watch is working properly, resetting your watch to fix potential energy-sapping issues, and if necessary visiting an Apple Store for repair or a battery replacement.   Read Full Article

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