Follow Benjamin on Threads to keep up with his latest projects. Benjamin blogs about Apple news and rumors and posts insightful product and app reviews. Read his work on 9to5Mac and his personal blog.
Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.
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Apple’s iPhone is back at the top of the DxOMark camera rankings, after the Google Pixel and HTC U11 beat out the iPhone 7 series.
The sensor improvements and new features in the iPhone 8 gave it a score of 92, whilst the dual-camera iPhone 8 Plus scores 94 …
The promise of Apple’s USB-C laptop future is expandability, versatility and flexibility. Plugging in single-device dongles for USB and HDMI is a stop-gap, but is wasting the potential of the port.
The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock ($299) better fulfills the idea: one port, one cable, provides power and a multitude of inputs and outputs like normal USB, a 3.5mm jack, SD card, mini DisplayPort, Ethernet and more. It isn’t perfect, but I’ve been using it for months now with my MacBook Pro and it adds so much convenience and utility. Read on for my full review …
The new Apple TV embargo has lifted and The Verge’s Nilay Patel notes a couple of interesting tidbits about the new set-top box in his review.
Firstly, the surprising lack of Dolby Atmos will apparently be rectified in a future software update (although Apple didn’t share a timeline). Perhaps more shockingly, the native YouTube app for the Apple TV doesn’t support 4K or HDR playback …
Update: Yesterday, Apple released iOS 11.0.1 which includes a fix for the email bug described below. Update your iOS devices if you encounter this issue.
Whilst the launch of iOS 11 yesterday has been mostly plain-sailing, there has been one issue flagged up regarding some email accounts no longer sending messages in the Mail app. This bug was found by testers during the beta period but has not been fixed as of the latest iOS 11.0 public release.
Apple has just released iOS 11 to the public, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The major update brings a variety of new features including a redesigned Control Center, a brand-new App Store, the new Files app, Do Not Disturb While Driving, a new Lock Screen / Cover Sheet experience, and much more.
iOS 11 is also a major focus for iPad with new ways to share data and multitask with Drag and Drop, upgraded Split View and a whole new Dock. Read on for our walkthrough of all the new features in iOS 11 …
Apple has updated its developer app review guidelines for the iPhone and iPad App Store this week with new clauses addressing the appropriate usage of Face ID, ARKit and more.
Apple says that ARKit apps must provide a rich experience; they don’t want the store flooded with simple apps displaying single objects. There are also limits on how developers can use Face ID and a new crackdown on scammy iOS apps like so-called virus scanners …
Apple pushed wireless charging as a flagship feature in the reveal of its latest iPhone 8 and iPhone X phones at the event yesterday, but there are also battery improvements for customers who don’t mind using a cable.
iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X support fast charging. You can go from 0 to 50% charge in 30 minutes … but you need an Apple USB-C charger and Lightning cable (sold separately).
Apple today announced its new 2017 iPhone lineup, at Apple Park. The company debuted three new flagship iPhones as well as adjusted pricing for the entire product range.
The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are successors to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus — featuring glass backs, wireless charging and better cameras — whilst the iPhone X grabs headlines with a new ‘edge-to-edge’ 5.8-inch OLED screen and facial recognition unlock.
All three new iPhones come in at higher price points than any previous top-tier iPhone, but base storage has been bumped to 64 GB to compensate. Compare all the prices, specs and availability details after the jump …
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Whilst the iPhone 8 has a new gold finish, the $999 Apple iPhone X is only being offered in two colors … when it ships on November 3rd. Fans of gold or rose gold will be disappointed as the new ‘futuristic’ flagship iPhone is only sold in Space Gray and Silver finishes.
Until today, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus had a plethora of color options (six total). The new iPhone X cuts that down to just two.
Apple has announced a new feature for the iPhone X called Animoji. It uses the Face ID sensor to sense motion and facial expressions, records your voice with the microphone, and generates cute 3D animated emoji to share with friends over iMessage.
The new Apple TV 4K set-top box will go on sale September 15, priced at $179. The box will ship a week later.
The 64 GB Apple TV 4K will be priced at $199, whilst the fourth-gen Apple TV continues to sell for $149 for 32 GB.
Apple has just unveiled the new generation Apple TV, Apple TV 4K. The new set-top box features 4K output with HDR, Dolby Vision and HDR10, to play the latest movies and TV shows at 3840×2160 resolution.
Apple is apparently not ready to launch its own wireless charging accessory, according to a morning report by KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo. The new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X will support wireless inductive charging standards, however, which means customers will be able to buy third party Qi chargers (like these) to take advantage of the hardware feature.
It isn’t clear how far off Apple’s own first-party wireless charging accessory is …
Ahead of tomorrow’s iPhone event, KGI is out with one last update on the status of the iPhone X production. According to the analyst, production of the OLED iPhone is reportedly under 10,000 units a day. This will mean the new phone will face severe supply constraints for a while.
The gold model is apparently facing additional production problems and will be available in even lower quantities. KGI suggests that the color may even have a delayed release date compared with the other colors.
In digging through the iPhone X firmware leaked over the weekend, we have found one more small tidbit: reference to a burn-in mitigation feature for the OLED screen.
Steven Troughton-Smith has been analyzing the firmware files and has discovered that the new 4K Apple TV, set to be unveiled officially by Apple tomorrow, will have very powerful internals.
By digging into the code, he believes the new Apple TV will be powered by an A10X Fusion chip, coupled with 3GB RAM. This represents a big increase in power and may signal a larger direction beyond 4K movies and TV shows.
It seems someone at Verizon was a little too eager to hit the update button over the weekend; several people on Reddit noticed that the Verizon app was displaying ‘Apple Watch Series 3’ in one of the configuration screens for adding a device.
This certainly gives a strong indicator that Apple will indeed brand its next-generation LTE-enabled Watch as ‘Series 3’. However, it is worth noting that the leaked firmware hasn’t been able to corroborate the name …
We think we know the names of the new iPhones, thanks to the iOS firmware. Apple’s three new phones are called iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X (via Steven Troughton Smith).
The 8 and 8 Plus would be the lower-tier LCD phones, whereas the iPhone X is the highly-anticipated nearly-bezelless OLED model. The name reveal joins a flurry of leaks from earlier in the day, detailing new features like Face ID and Animoji, new wallpapers, and confirming the LTE Apple Watch.
In yet another discovery from the firmware leaks, we have found references to two new Apple Watch case colors. These are likely to make an appearance next week at Apple’s September 12 event.
It seems Apple Watch Series 3 will come in a new ‘blush gold’ color for the aluminium Sport watches and a new gray ceramic material for the Apple Watch Edition.
The leaked firmware today continues to bear fruit. The iPhone 8, set to be announced on Tuesday, features a near bezel-less display with a cutout notch for front camera, earpiece and sensors. Now, Guilherme Rambo has found exactly how that will work.
As well as splitting the status bar items in two, with time on the left side, the new status bar also has slick animations to transition between states. Video after the jump …
We are continuing to dig through the leaked iOS 11 GM firmware. We’ve found a brand new feature for the iPhone 8 called ‘Animoji’, which uses the 3D face sensors to create custom 3D animated emoji based on the expressions you make into the camera.
Users will be able to make Animoji of unicorns, robots, pigs, pile of poo and many more. Full gallery below …
In continuing news from the Apple Watch GM firmware, we’ve found several string references to how cellular plans on Apple Watch work and how users set them up.
The code explains that Apple Watch uses the LTE cellular network to make and receive calls and data whilst away from phone. Users add their Apple Watch to their existing iPhone plan (assumedly at additional cost) …
An analyst report today reiterates claims that the OLED iPhone 8 launch could be significantly delayed compared to the debut of the ‘7s’ models, which represent more modest improvements over the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Rosenblatt believes that whilst all three new iPhones will be announced on September 12th at the event, the iPhone 8 release date could be as far out as late October, citing production issues with the stainless steel metal frame.