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.
Follow @bzamayo on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.
The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has been available for a few weeks now … and the inevitable has finally happened. Graham Parks has made a nifty little Mac app to play piano on the Touch Bar display that is available to download. It puts a polyphonic keyboard in the center of the Touch Bar which you can then tap on and play notes.
The free app is obviously meant as a bit of fun but amusingly includes a few settings to add some depth to the experience. Video demo after the jump …
Apple products span all sorts of demographics with all sorts of products, from wearable Watches to iPhones to post-PC tablets to desktop Macs. There’s a lot out there in the Apple ecosystem to buy this holiday season as a gift for someone you know (or for yourself) who loves Apple products.
My iPhone, iPad and Mac picks include the Fermata wireless headphone stand, Osmo game system, RockJaw earbuds, and Apple Pencil. See the products in the full list after the jump with context …
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Super Mario Run is set to debut next week; the first Mario game for iPhone. In the game, Mario runs forward automatically and players use one finger to make him jump up onto new platform, avoid obstacles and collect coins. Both Apple and Nintendo is hyping its launch with demos at retail stores and a round of press interviews.
However, one tidbit is putting a bit of a downer on the whole thing. It turns out that Super Mario Run will require a persistent internet connection to be playable, which significantly limits the appeal of a mobile game …
Nintendo’s upcoming mobile title for iPhone and iPad, Super Mario Run, is launching next week and it seems both Apple and Nintendo are doing what they can to make it a success. The game launches publicly next week on December 15.
If you are anxious to try the game ahead of its release, a demo is playable from today at Apple Stores; Super Mario Run has been installed on the iPhone and iPad units at Apple retail locations.
Japanese Apple rumor blog Macotakara has a new report today indicating that the successor to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will come in an all new color. The site says Apple will add a red casing color, joining the existing Black, Jet Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold options.
Macotakara has a decent track record when it comes to reporting details about unreleased Apple products. It was the first site to say that Apple would remove the headphone jack with the iPhone 7.
A variety of graphics issues have been reported from some buyers of the new MacBook Pro models, ranging from strange transparency glitches on app windows to corrupt textures and tearing, as seen above. You can see a summary of the main complaints in our previous coverage of this issue.
The problem does not appear consistently for every new MacBook Pro user, leading some people to believe it is a hardware issue. A MacRumors forum member allegedly got a reply from Craig Federighi suggesting this was not the case. Federighi says that all of these graphics glitches have been fixed in the macOS 10.12.2 beta seeds …
Update: The Neutrino U3.1 USB-C SSD enclosure is back in stock. Buy it now for $49.99, perfect for the new MacBook Pro.
The USB-C ports on the new MacBook Pro has been the subject of much controversy. In this review, it’s time to look at some of the capabilities the port provides. The $49.99 Akitio Neutrino U3.1 is one such product. The Neutrino is an inexpensive external SSD enclosure that works with USB-C; it draws power and provides data bandwidth up to 10 Gbps.
This means it can add fast external storage to the new MacBook Pro with the convenience of a single cable, all enclosed into a small, light, chassis that can be carried around in a bag. Keep reading for my hands-on with the Neutrino U3.1 … is this the best external hard drive for Mac?
Rebutting an IDC analyst report that intimated Apple Watch sales were down more than 70% year-over-year, Tim Cook has announced that the Apple Watch is in fact seeing “off the chart” sales growth (via Reuters).
Although Apple refuses to announce exact numbers for units sold, Cook said that during the first week of holiday shopping, Apple Watch sell-through was higher than any other week in the product’s history. Apple expects the product to be one of the top holiday gifts this year, boosted by the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 2.
A new report from IDC estimates that the Apple Watch continues to the best-selling smartwatch with about 40% marketshare but barely scrapes into the 5 top selling wearables list with 1.1 million unit sales, as the market is dominated by cheap fitness bands, a trend seen since the beginning of this year.
Apple’s wearable was outsold by rising fitness tracker sales from Fitbit, Xiaomi and Garmin. Apple was the only vendor to see a drop in sales compared to last year; Apple is predicted to have sold 71% fewer Apple Watches in the third quarter of this year than what it achieved in the same period in 2015.
Apple is readying some upgrades to its iCloud Photos web app found on iCloud.com, first noted by MacMagazine. The Photos web app allows users to access their iCloud Photo Library through a web browser, across Mac and Windows computers.
However, it is somewhat rudimentary in its current state … but the beta.icloud.com site now includes a redesigned Photos app featuring a sidebar and thumbnail scrubber like what already exist in the native Photos app for Mac. Apple tests new features on beta.icloud.com before rolling them out to everyone, so the new features should be available for everyone soon.
The artistic drawing and painting tool for iPad, Procreate available for $5.99 in the App Store, is rounding out 2016 with one last update in time for the holiday season where countless numbers of iPad Pros and Apple Pencils will be unwrapped for Christmas.
The Procreate 3.2 update includes several major new features, including PSD import for bringing Photoshop documents into the app, Live Capture Streaming to broadcast the creative process, support for a range of iOS keyboard shortcuts, new layers system with nested groups amongst other changes.
Apple’s decision to protect user privacy rather than add security backdoors to cooperate with law enforcement has been a common theme of 2016. The company has pointedly refused to weaken its stance on strong encryption and privacy for all Apple users; the most notable being the San Bernardino Apple/FBI clash.
As it is practically impossible to access data stored on a modern iPhone, thanks to security measures Apple introduced in iOS 8 and iOS 9, the UK police have developed a new tactic to be able to recover usable intelligence; conduct a street robbery and steal the suspect’s phone whilst it is in use, in their hands …
Apple’s vice president of special projects Paul Deneve has disappeared from the Apple executive bios page on Apple’s website. Deneve joined Apple in 2013 after serving as chief executive officer at fashion brand Saint Laurent. His removal from the biography signifies a change in management structure; Deneve now reports to Apple COO Jeff Williams rather than Tim Cook directly. Deneve is thought to have played a key role in the design and development of the Apple Watch.
A little-known fact about the new 2016 MacBook Pros is that Apple changed the default screen resolution configuration. With a fresh install of the operating system, I noticed that my new 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar uses a scaled screen resolution that does not 1:1 map to the display’s native 2880×1800 resolution.
This setting is called ‘Looks like 1680×1050’ and offers more space at the expense of some blurriness, most noticeable on text. For the best Retina quality, you need to dig into the settings, although this will mean sacrificing some screen real estate. See a comparison, and how to change these options, after the jump …
Apple has changed up the resolution of all 2016 MacBook laptops. This how to guide on best Retina screen resolutions applies to the following MacBook & MacBook Pro products (with slight variations on the actual pixel numbers):
Apple has announced to developers that it is switching up its pricing strategy in eight countries over the next few weeks. Today, Apple sells apps in many regions with the prices shown as US Dollars irrespective of the local domestic currency. Later this month, the following App Store countries will now price apps in their local native currency; Egypt (Egyptian Pound), Kazakhstan (Kazakhstani Tenge), Malaysia (Malaysian Ringgit), Nigeria (Nigerian Naira), Pakistan (Pakistani Rupee), Philippines (Philippine Peso), Qatar (Qatari Riyal), Tanzania (Tanzanian Shilling) and Vietnam (Vietnamese Dong).
Apple is looking to continue expansion of Apple Maps with new indoor location mapping features for 2017, such as airport and museum navigation, according to a new Bloomberg story. The company is also working on new turn-by-turn features, including improved directions to switch lanes whilst driving.
Perhaps most interestingly, the report says Apple plans to deploy a fleet of flying drones to help with data collection efforts for Apple Maps. The drones would be able to analyze street signs, track the status of roadworks and more. Apple does not plan to release a drone as a consumer item to compete with products like the Parrot Drone; the fleet would be for its own private business uses.
Some Apple users have been plagued with iCloud calendar invite spam in recent weeks, with calendar periods being blocked up with unsolicited events from anonymous senders (usually with Chinese names). It is thought that the spammers are mass targeting any iCloud email account it can find on the web, rather than targeting specific users.
Apple has now acknowledged the issue in a statement to iMore, starting with an apology to anyone who has received iCloud calendar spam. The company says it is actively “identifying and blocking suspicious senders” to try and stem the arrival of the junk messages.
Apple is ramping for its biggest iPhone sales success ever next year, according to KGI. Its estimates suggest that the new iPhones in 2017, expected to comprise three new models, will empower Apple growth with ‘unprecedented’ demand. KGI expects the new phones may sell between 120-150 million units in the second half of next year, eclipsing the previous sales record set by iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
The new form-factor premium OLED iPhone will likely encourage high-end customers to upgrade their device and the low-end new 4.7-inch iPhone model (with wireless charging and a glass chassis) will be attractive to the lower-end of the smartphone market.
Apple’s brand continues to dominate mindshare for the festive season, according to a survey by Piper Jaffray. The company holds the top two spots for most wanted gift this holiday season with both iPhone and MacBook far ahead of any other product category.
The iPhone was the clear leader, with 7.2 percent of people surveyed wanting a new iPhone, up from 5.2 percent in 2015. MacBook took second place on the chart (embedded after the jump), at 2.1% popularity …
Castro, an inbox-based podcast player for iPhone, today released a major update (version 2.2) with a handful of new features. Along with a 20% price cut, the update headlines the addition of CarPlay, a new widget for the iOS 10 lock screen, 3D Touch Quick Actions, and more.
Get Castro for $3.99 in the App Store, but note it is only available for iPhone — there is no iPad or Mac counterpart. Here’s a look at what’s new in the latest update …
Happy Thanksgiving! For readers with an Apple Watch, remember to run or walk 5K today to earn a unique Activity achievement medal and an iMessage sticker. This is the first special Activity Challenge event and is only available for a limited time.
To earn the reward, you must start and complete a running or walking workout using the Apple Watch Workout app by the end of November 24th, Thanksgiving Day. The achievement is technically only available to Apple Watch users in the United States but there is a way to make the award appear if you live elsewhere …
The iPad lineup is getting some sort of a shakeup next year, seemingly with the introduction of a new 10.5-inch model. Apple’s existing lineup of form factors comprises a 7.9-inch iPad mini, 9.7-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro, and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
The 10.5-inch would apparently slot in between those tiers targeting enterprise, education and other sectors, according to Digitimes. iPad updates are ‘due’ with all models being more than a year old by next March.
According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities, the 2017 iPhone will add wireless charging for the first time. Instead of plugging in a cable, iPhone 8 owners will be able to charge their batteries using an inductive pad similar to how the Apple Watch charges. Although many Android phones support wireless charging with plastic and metal chassis, the report says Apple’s switch to a glass casing for iPhone 8 will enable wireless charging at fast speeds with minimum disruption from frequency interference.
The report says that Apple may not bundle a wireless charger with every model — it may be limited to the more expensive, higher-capacity SKUs — but expects Apple to adopt wireless charging aggressively through 2018. Plans are up in the air at this point, of course, but buyers of the low-end models may find they have to buy an additional accessory if they want to charge their phone wirelessly.
Apple is seemingly getting out of the router accessory business, ‘disbanding’ the division inside the company according to Bloomberg. This means Apple will no longer develop its $99 AirPort Express, $199 AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule products. The report says Apple is reallocating employees to focus on its core consumer products that generate the vast majority of its revenue.
The newest AirPort devices are more than three years old, so the future of the products has been in doubt for a while. Sales revenue of AirPort products must pale in comparison to Apple’s other lines, which are counted in the tens of billions of dollars.