Benjamin Mayo

Update: In stock at Amazon.

iLuv has just announced its new Rainbow8 light bulbs, a new HomeKit offering in the muticolor light space. Available to buy now ($49.99), these are the first WiFi HomeKit bulbs that do not require a separate hub to use. This means you can add some smart home features to your house just by replacing an existing ceiling lightbulb with the Rainbow8.

With HomeKit integration, the Rainbow8 multicolor lights can be controlled using the Home app on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch as well as Control Center. You can also use voice commands to change the hue or adjust the brightness, using Siri …

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According to Digitimes, Apple and Samsung will dominate OLED display supply this year whilst smaller phone vendors struggle to secure suppliers. The report says Apple will get about 75 million OLED panels from Samsung in 2017 for iPhone 8, which is about 15% of total annual OLED production output. Samsung Electronics will get about 56%; Apple’s share would be even higher if the iPhone 8 launched earlier in the year.

It’s also worth noting that Apple is only launching one iPhone this year with an OLED display, as the other two new 2017 iPhones will continue to use LCD displays like the iPhone 7.

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With rumors swirling about three different iPads in the wings, but with no event confirmed, it’s still unclear what Apple has in the cards for the spring product releases. There have been rumors about Apple pushing forward production of the edge-to-edge 10.5-inch iPad but an absence of online leaks. An update to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is also expected but the timeline is unclear.

Today, Macotakara is posing the idea that a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro 2, with the first version released almost a year ago, could be the first new Apple product of the year. It is reportedly a minor, iterative, update over the current iPad Pro with no external design changes.

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There have been a few reports over the last couple of months that the iPhone 8 will be significantly more expensive than the current iPhone lineup, with one source citing $1000 starting price points. Ostensibly, Apple’s new flagship iPhone will include many advanced features to justify that higher pricing tier; bezel-less display, integrated fingerprint sensor, and wireless charging to name a few.

Today, Digitimes is reporting that the 3D Touch module in the OLED iPhone will cost $15, an increase of 60% over existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. This supports the idea that the iPhone 8 will come at a premium, as Apple will have to increase prices to retain its margins …

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Following leaks about as-yet-unannounced iPad device identifiers, Digitimes is today reporting that Apple has moved up production plans for a new 10.5 inch iPad to this month, and will unveil the new iPad at a product event in ‘early April’.

The 10.5 inch iPad is expected to have an edge-to-edge display, a new virtual Home Button and other upgrades. Digitimes says updates to the 9.7 inch iPad and 12.9 inch iPad Pro are also in the pipeline …

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Analytics firm Fiksu is today reporting that they have seen four new iPad device identifiers appear in their logs. These as-yet-unannounced iPads were used to test a range of popular applications around Cupertino, running the latest iOS 10.3 beta and early builds of iOS 11.

It is likely that these model identifiers represent the rumored new iPad Pro models, with reports indicating that successors to the 9.7 inch and 12.9 inch iPad Pro could launch soon …

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Update: This change appears to have been reverted; editing of description and what’s new fields is now possible again outside of app review. As Apple never officially acknowledged the change, it is possible that this was a temporary bug that was never intended to go into effect in the first place. Original story below …

Overnight, developers have noticed a silent policy change to iTunes Connect interface which does not seem to have been formally announced by Apple.

Developers are no longer able to edit descriptions, update notes or any other metadata for their apps without making a new version, which must be submitted to App Review for approval …

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One area where Apple is the undisputed king of the personal assistant space is localization; Siri supports twenty four languages across 36 country dialects. In contrast, Google’s Assistant can only understand five languages and Alexa (popularized by the Amazon Echo) just two, English and German.

iOS 10.3 is introducing another language, Shanghainese, extending its international advantage even more. In an interview with Reuters, Apple’s head of speech explains how Siri is taught to learn a whole new language …

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Apple is widely expected to launch three new iPhones this year, two iterative updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and one radical new form factor device with an OLED screen, informally dubbed ‘iPhone 8’.

Recent reports have suggested that the iPhone 8 may launch later than the other two models, as some of the innovative components will not be ready for September …

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Following a launch in late 2016 for the US, Apple Pay in the UK now supports over twenty local charities. This means Apple users in Britain can make donations online using the same, simple, Apple Pay flow with Touch ID authentication.

Apple Pay on the web is supported on iPhone, iPad and the latest version of Safari for Mac. See the full list of UK charities already onboard after the jump …

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As we reported exclusively last night, Apple Pay is now live in Ireland. The service allows iPhone and Apple Watch owners to use the NFC chips in their devices to pay for their shopping at contactless terminals in retail stores across the country.

Apple Pay requires iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, or any Apple Watch, and is launching with support for Ulster Bank and KBC in Ireland. Apple has also announced that the service is coming soon to Italy.

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Apple is re-launching the iPhone 6, originally released in 2014, in a 32 GB gold configuration. This model is technically ‘new’ as Apple never sold the iPhone 6 in a 32 GB SKU before; it debuted with 16/64/128 GB options.

The 32 GB iPhone 6 is going on sale at select carriers in Asia as a low-end model; the device is not sold by Apple retail. The device is launching on Taiwan Mobile on March 10 and has been quietly available in China since late February …

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Digitimes is today reporting that Apple has developed a custom fingerprint sensor replacement for Touch ID, which will allow Apple to offer biometric fingerprint recognition in the iPhone 8 — a device that is rumoured to have no bezels at all. The report describes the component as a ‘built-in’ sensor which very much implies that it is integrated into the screen.

Rather than use Synaptic or Qualcomm technology, Apple will reportedly be building its own system using Authentec algorithms and Privaris glass tech. Strangely, the report also says that the iPhone 8 will not go into mass production until September …

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The streaming music subscription battles continue to be fierce as Spotify announces today that it has crossed 50 million paid subscribers for its service. This is up from 40 million in September, an increase in user-base of 25% over about five months.

Apple last announced that the $9.99 Apple Music subscription had more than 20 million paying paid subscribers in December 2016, and is yet to release an up-to-date number …

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KGI is refuting claims made in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 would replace Lightning with a USB-C port.

KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo today writes that this is not the case, all three new 2017 iPhones (two modest updates to existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and one radically-redesigned OLED bezel-less device) will retain the proprietary Lightning port. Apple will add fast charging capabilities with internal component changes …

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As part of an ongoing effort to tackle abuse and offensive users, Twitter is adding some new muting features to its apps.

Similar to what has been offered by third-party Twitter clients for sometime, users will be able to hide tweets from specific users or tweets that contain certain keywords from ever appearing in their timeline …

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The Wall Street Journal has outlined their current thinking on the next new iPhone from Apple, colloquially dubbed the iPhone 8. They believe that Apple will replace the Lightning connector on the bottom of the phone with a USB-C port, ditching its own propriety connector with an industry standard.

The report also reaffirms rumors of the device featuring a large curved OLED display, losing the Home Button in favour of a new touch screen function area.

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A report from TrendForce today reinforces most of the rumors being floated for the radically new iPhone 8 as well as a few new details. The report says the high-end iPhone will include a 5.8 inch display but will not be curved, due to yield issues. The physical home button will go away to make room for more screen, reaffirming the rumor that the iPhone 8 screen aspect ratio will exceed 2:1 with a body size similar to the 4.7 inch iPhone 7.

TrendForce also says that the phone will have 3 GB RAM, the same as the iPhone 7 Plus, and will be available in two storage sizes: 64 GB and 256 GB. It says the 3D sensing features will service face recognition and augmented reality applications.

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Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 is going to feature a major upgrade to the front camera, according to Apple analyst KGI Ming-Chi Kuo. A report published today says that the OLED iPhone will include a ‘revolutionary’ front camera and Infrared module that can sense the 3D space in front of it.

The analyst says the new components will be able to merge the depth information with the 2D images from the front camera for applications including face recognition, iris recognition, and 3D selfies …

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Last night, reliable Apple analyst KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo posted his latest assessment of the iPhone 8 detailing the addition of a virtual function area replacing the physical Home button. However, the report also included screen resolution specs which help draw some additional insight.

KGI’s numbers imply that the iPhone 8 will have a pixel density around 521 PPI, far higher than the existing iPhone lineup (iPhone 7 PPI is ~320). It also seems likely that Apple will use Retina assets at 3x scale, packing Plus features into a body the same size as the 4.7 inch phones …

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Apple has announced it is holding WWDC 2017 from June 5th to June 9th, with a big change from previous years: the conference will be held in San Jose, at the McEnery Convention Center.

At WWDC, Apple unveils the next major versions of its software operating systems. This year, expect the announcement of including iOS 11, macOS 10.13 as well as updates to tvOS and watchOS.

The 2017 conference marks a big shift in location — Apple typically holds WWDC in San Francisco — but it seems the logistics of the conference will otherwise be the same. Registration for tickets will start on March 27.

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