Benjamin Mayo

Eddy Cue’s interview at Code Media conference contained the usual dodges regarding new Apple products like VR hardware and Apple’s attempts at negotiating with cable companies, but he was surprisingly blunt about Apple’s interest in the podcast space.

Cue said that the company is “working on new features for podcasts, stay tuned.” In spring last year, it was reported that Apple was soliciting feedback from select podcasters about ways to improve podcasts in the iOS/iTunes ecosystem.

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All four products in the announced Apple W1 lineup of wireless headphones and earbuds are now available: the Beats Solo3 headphones, the Powerbeats3, the BeatsX and the truly wireless Apple AirPods.

Wireless headphones are becoming the defacto choice for Apple users, with the iPhone 7 dropping the analog headphone jack. Apple Watch can also only pair with wireless music devices.

We don’t know what the future holds for the W1 chip, perhaps more manufacturers will be allowed to use it, but the product range is already diversified with what’s available today, spanning different form factors, audio quality, convenience, innovation and price points.

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A new report from KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that the upcoming iPhone 8 will be about the same physical size as the 4.7 inch iPhone 7 and yet pack a much bigger battery, comparable to the 2700 mAH battery in iPhone 7 Plus.

With reports indicating the OLED iPhone screen is circa 5.5 inches, it seems that the ‘no bezels’ rumor is true as its the only way the device would be able to be similar in physical width and height to a 4.7 inch iPhone.

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Samsung has signed a deal with Apple to make 160 million OLED panels for the company’s next-generation iPhone, according to the Korea Herald. The iPhone 8 will likely debut in the fall with an OLED screen and Apple needs all the panels it can get for its new flagship phone.

The iPhone 8 is expected to distance itself from the iPhone 7 with a radical new all-glass design, an OLED screen between 5.2-5.8 inches, wireless charging. Rumors indicate the phone will have almost no bezels with the Touch ID home button somehow integrated into the screen.

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Verizon is bringing back its unlimited data plans. With the new Verizon Unlimited plan launching on Monday, customers can use as much 4G LTE data, send as many texts as they like and talk for as long as they please … for $80 per month. An equivalent uncapped family plan charges $45 per line for 4 people, or $180 monthly.

The ‘unlimited’ plans have a few strings attached, namely hotspot tethering is limited at 10 GB for 4G (will fallback to 3G after) and although data is uncapped, high data users will not be prioritized if the network is congested …

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Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has responded to the legal dispute taking place between Apple and the major Australian banks, in an interview with AFR.com. Bailey revealed that participating customers in Australia use the contactless payment service more frequently than any other country, and that the holdout banks do not fully understand the benefits of Apple Pay yet.

Bailey says customers are prepared to switch banks in order to use Apple Pay, which should help Apple wield its bargaining power. In fact, a handful of smaller Australian banks have signed up to Apple Pay as of today …

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WhatsApp, the popular free cross-platform messaging app, is today launching a two-step verification security feature for all users of the service. The feature adds an additional layer of protection by requiring a passcode when resetting and verifying your account.

This combats a recent hack where if your phone number was hijacked somehow, your WhatsApp account would be available meaning crooks could freely read your private messages and conversations. Two Step Verification requires setting up a six-digit passcode and an optional backup email address. Here’s how to enable it …

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Update: Tim Cook has also visited Apple’s flagship Regent Street store today (photo after the jump).

Tim Cook’s Europe tour is not over just yet. Cook met the UK Prime Minister yesterday, discussing Apple’s UK investment commitments. Cook said he believes Britain will be just fine after Brexit, when the country leaves the European Union, even if there are some ‘bumps in the road along the way’.

Cook then met the Mayor of London, as well as visiting a London school that uses iPads in the classroom and saw a digital artwork exhibition at the Tate Britain gallery. As usual, he documented his tour on Twitter …

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A new report from KGI predicts that all new iPhone models introduced in 2017 will feature wireless charging, on both the redesigned iPhone 8 and the iterative iPhone 7 devices expected to debut in the fall.

KGI has mentioned the addition of wireless charging previously. Today’s report reaffirms it will be available on all three new models after some reports to the contrary, not merely limited to the premium OLED device. However, the analyst warns there may be higher costs in production, especially with the 3D Touch sensor …

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Apple seeded its latest beta of Safari for developers yesterday, as it does every two weeks. Whilst the seeds usually contain little of interest to non-developers, the newest seed (Release 23) includes a few interesting changes.

Most notably, it includes Mac laptop battery life improvements for WebGL content by relying less on the dedicated GPU.

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For an operating system as simple as iOS, it’s surprising how much stuff can appear in the 20px status bar almost always visible when using an iPhone or iPad. Ever since the Apple Watch came out, I’ve had a bit of a pet peeve that the Bluetooth symbol is always visible there as I’m always paired to the watch.

Is it really necessary to show me something that is always there? This leads me into a feature request that isn’t a critical new addition to the system by any means, but a small refinement to polish the iOS experience. I believe the status bar is too cluttered with redundant information and would like to see Apple make it tidier and less busy …

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Following on from an appearance at the University of Glasgow yesterday, Tim Cook was spotted entering 10 Downing Street in London this morning, the home of the UK Prime Minister. A statement from a government representative confirms that Tim Cook did indeed meet with Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 AM GMT this morning.

The meeting covered Apple’s investments in the UK and the importance of digital skills in the workforce. May also outlined her Brexit plan to Cook, which will see the UK leave the European Union by 2019.

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Mac security researchers have found two separate instances of new macOS malware making the rounds this week, although the Mac exploit scene still remains far behind the sophisticated worms and trojan horses seen on Windows as noted by ArsTechnica.

One of the new malware exploits relies on an old Windows technique, exploiting code execution inside Word documents using macros. It is believed to be the first of its kind targeted at the Mac platform. Luckily, it’s easy to avoid in large part because it relies on such an old attack vector …

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Update: A full video of Cook’s appearance at the University of Glasgow can be seen below. It’s not great quality, but it’s something.

Apple CEO Tim Cook today received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow, in the UK. The ceremony (video below) was then followed by a brief interview where Cook described the institution as ‘one of the finest universities in the world’. He also condemned the Donald Trump immigration order, saying that ‘if we stand and say nothing, we become a part of it’.

Watch Tim Cook receive his degree after the jump as well as his answers to questions about coding in school, Steve Jobs, Apple’s role in activism and more …

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At the original October event for the new MacBook Pro, Apple announced that Microsoft Office would offer Touch Bar integration in the coming months. Although the support is not yet ready for the general public, the Office Insider beta program has now released an update including Touch Bar features (via The Verge).

Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook include Touch Bar features enabling quick access to text formatting, object ordering and other tools. We’ve got an overview of what’s included after the jump, or you can join the Mac Office Insider program here and test out the new versions today for yourself …

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The European Union is laying out plans to enforce new laws that breakdown geographical barriers for online subscription services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple Music. When the new regulations come into effect in early 2018, online services must provide a service to its customers regardless of their current location, as long as they stay within the EU.

For example, This means that a person from the UK (pre-Brexit) could buy a Netflix subscription in their resident country, and then go abroad to Spain for holiday. Netflix would then have to allow the customer to use their same subscription in Spain with access to the same content that they get in the UK …

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Update: As expected, BeatsX earphones now available to order (Apple.com, Best Buy).

The delayed BeatsX earphones will be available to buy from this Friday, February 10, in the US at Apple.com and Apple retail stores. The BeatsX are a new neckband design from the company and the last set of wireless headphones with W1 chip to be released, following the launch of the Powerbeats 3, Solo3 headphones and the Apple AirPods.

Beats have also unveiled two new colors, grey and blue, in addition to the white and black finishes (via CNET). Only the white and black BeatsX will be available this week, the other colors will come later.

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How to customize the Touch Bar on these Mac laptops:

• 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
• 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

The 2016 MacBook Pro adds a new way of using macOS with the addition of the Touch Bar, featuring dynamic touch controls, sliders and buttons, close to your fingers next to the row of static keys. Depending on the app, the Touch Bar changes context and shows relevant buttons for what you are doing.

You can also take this one step further and change what the Touch Bar offers yourself: Apple has made it pretty customizable. You can add new buttons for a particular app, take others away, as well as adjust the persistent Control Strip items on the right side of the Touch Bar. For example, you can remove the Siri button from the Touch Bar. Here’s how to do that and a lot more …

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We have been watching the exterior of the Apple spaceship campus develop over the last few years via drone videos but details about the interior design are much more scarce. In a lengthy article, Reuters reports that Apple Campus 2 is almost finished with a move-in date set for the spring.

The article gives some new insight into the meticulous design of the building, such as Apple’s insistence that no vents or pipes can be reflected in the glass. It also sounds like much of the fixtures and fittings mirror iPhone hardware design: “one former manager even likened the toilet’s sleek design to the device” …

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