PATREONItems tagged with (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Apple made the significant shift to 5G wireless with its iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro product families in late 2020. The rumor mill is still churning up fresh fodder on the incoming iPhone 13/iPhone 13 Pro successors with two new incoming features. The latest salvo comes from Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, who claims that all iPhone 13 models will come with LiDAR. In today's current-generation smartphones, only the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max get LiDAR. LiDAR can be used for augmented reality applications and enhancing photography (it can enable faster focusing in low-light conditions). LiDAR can also be used to improve portrait shots taken at night. Apple is looking to democratize LiDAR...
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Last week, Apple attempted to drag Valve into the legal standoff with Epic Games by requesting a large quantity of data from the PC games creator and seller. While this request appeared out of place, the subpoena seems to have worked, as a judge has told Valve Corp. to hand over certain data from the request. During a Zoom court hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixon ordered Valve to produce “aggregate historical sales, pricing and other data on 436 games sold on the virtual game store Steam,” according to Law360. This is significantly less than the original request for information on every Steam game dating back to 2015. Thankfully, the judge saw the flaws in this request...
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A consumer rights group in the United Kingdom is suing Qualcomm, a major chipmaker in the United States, for allegedly abusing its position to overcharge for chip and patent licensing. According to the lawsuit, Qualcomm's actions led to consumers paying too much for smartphones produced by Apple and Samsung, and is seeking £482.5 million (around $680 million in US currency) in damages. "We believe Qualcomm’s practices are anticompetitive and have so far taken around £480 million from UK consumers’ pockets—this needs to stop. We are sending a clear warning that if companies like Qualcomm indulge in manipulative practices which harm consumers, Which? is prepared to...
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Apple's latest M1 Macs -- and many Intel-based ones, for that matter -- all use the company's T2 security chip, which encrypts the system's built-in storage. The issue with highly-integrated motherboards with onboard storage is that if the onboard SSD wears out, the whole system becomes a brick of e-waste. And as flash density increases by storing more bits per cell (for example, Samsung's QVO drives with QLC NAND), its longevity decreases, since it can't handle as many write operations. That's why it might be a good idea to keep track of whether a system with built-in storage is wearing itself down. Hector Martin, one of the developers responsible for porting the Linux kernel to Apple...
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Just over a month ago, we started hearing rumblings about Apple's next-generation MacBook Pro models. According to the reports, Apple will unveil an all-new 14-inch MacBook Pro and a larger 16-inch MacBook Pro using its homegrown Apple Silicon. At the time, Mark Gurman added some rather vague information regarding ports. He stated that the MacBook Pros would feature additional ports; current high-end MacBook Pros only come with a maximum of four Thunderbolt 3. We're now getting some added clarity from reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who claims that the new MacBook Pros will see not only the return of an HDMI port but also an SD card reader. Apple removed both of those ports when it last...
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Both Apple and Samsung are the world's leading smartphone manufacturers, and they have been duking it out on global sales leader boards. Quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, Samsung has had a death-grip on the number one spot. But in an interesting turn of events, a new report found that Apple took the number one spot for Q4 sales in 2020. Is it clever marketing and sales from Apple that pushed them to the top or just the luck of the draw? Gartner is a research, advisory, and data collection company for enterprise customers to provide accurate information and insights into many industries. Today, it released a brief report on the smartphone market's current state, which found that smartphone...
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If there is one thing I learned from cartoons in the 1980s, it is that knowing is the half the battle. Thank you G.I. Joe for that tidbit. Fast forward several decades later and that lesson is playing out right before our very eyes, in relation to another malware strain that is able to run natively on Apple's fancy new custom M1 processor. Apple knows about it and has taken steps to stop it from spreading (more on that in a bit). Apple is embarking on a two-year transition phase, in which it is moving completely away from using Intel's CPUs in its Mac systems, in favor of in-house designs based on Arm. The first of those is the M1 chip. We have already spent some hands-on time with the M1 as...
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While users may never want to have to rely on them, it's comforting to know that PCs running modern operating systems have fail-safes and recovery modes that can help get the system back up and running when disaster strikes. Back in the day, PCs came with a collection of floppy disks or a recovery CD that would reinstall the OS from scratch. These days it's a partition on the computer's primary storage that helps get back up and running. Every manufacturer does it a little differently, and with the advent of Apple Silicon M1 Macs, the procedure has gotten even easier. Every Mac that relies on a built-in SSD and has Apple's T2 security chip ships with a secure vault that prevents booting from...
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While the Fortnite battle continues, now internationally, Apple is attempting to gather ammunition for the courtroom showdown sometime in the future. A court filing from this week reports that Apple subpoenaed Valve Software in November 2020, "simply requesting" Valve’s revenues and the name, price, and availability of every product on Steam to show competition. That is one tall order, and it appears that Valve is not playing ball. In short, Apple believes data from Valve could bolster its legal position against Epic Games, and subsequently requested a plethora of data. According to the record [PDF], in “Request 2,” Apple wanted documents “sufficient” to show...
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For the past few generations of iPhones, Apple has released Smart Battery Cases that allow you to extend the runtime of your device. The Smart Battery Case introduced for the iPhone 11 family featured a silicon case that wrapped around the device and an integrated battery that charged the device via Qi wireless technology. Apple is reportedly taking a different approach with the battery case for this year's iPhone 12 family. According to a new report from Bloomberg, this new battery case won't add any additional protection to the iPhone 12/iPhone 12 Pro, and is simply meant to give you boosted runtimes. And given that the iPhone 12 introduced MagSafe to the equation for charging...
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Apple made quite the splash with its first homegrown processor for Macs: the M1. This Apple Silicon SoC is based on the 5nm process node and includes an 8-core CPU, 7-core or 8-Core GPU, and up to 16GB of on-package LPDDR4x memory. While the M1 is perfectly fine for the three Macs that it launched in -- MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini -- it's not nearly enough to handle the needs of power users currently rocking the 16-inch MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro. To that end, the engineers in Cupertino are working on even more powerful Apple Silicon, with the next chip in the pipeline reportedly being called the M1X. According to specifications being reported by CPU Monkey,...
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Apple is embarking on a two-year plan to transition away from using Intel processors across its laptop and desktop families, in favor of its own Arm-based silicon. The venture begins with the M1, an impressive piece of hardware that is generally garnering favorable reviews (including our own Mac mini 2020 review with an M1 chip inside). However, it's not all peaches and cream—a security researcher has discovered the first bit of malware in the wild that is native to the M1 chip. Patrick Wardle, a former researcher for the US National Security Agency (NSA) and currently an independent macOS security researcher, came upon a malicious Safari browser extension called GoSearch22. It was originally...
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Though the Epic Games spat with Apple quieted down some, that does not mean the war is over. We are slowly creeping toward the May court date, where the two companies will face off before a judge. In the meantime, Epic Games is taking the battle across the pond after filing an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union. Epic Games published a blog called Europe Free Fortnite today, sparking a movement in efforts to “advance fairer digital platform practices for developers and consumers.” The complaint filed with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition alleges “anti-competitive restrictions” imposed by Apple. In the complaint, Epic...
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This year, apps that let users listen or talk to live broadcasts over the internet are becoming more popular. One such app, Clubhouse, is sitting at number 6 in Social Networking on the Apple App store, and it only seems to be growing. However, just because it is popular does not mean it is safe and secure, as we are now finding out. According to the App Store's description, "Clubhouse is a space for casual, drop-in audio conversations—with friends and other interesting people around the world." Unabated free speech is a luxury most westernized nations have; however, countries like China do not. Thus, as the Snapchat of audio, Clubhouse took off for Chinese iPhone users leading to discussions...
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Tell us if you've heard this one before: a next-generation iPhone is up on deck with a 120Hz display option. We heard these rumors in the months leading up to the launch of the iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max, and we even saw some engineering prototypes with the feature enabled, but alleged supply channel and battery life concerns nixed the feature from production devices. Apple is now allegedly taking another stab at 120Hz displays with the upcoming iPhone 13 family along other generational improvements. According to Max Weinbach of EverythingApplePro, the iPhone 13 is set to use an always-on LTPO display, which is something that quite a few Android smartphones have featured for years....
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Rumors have been swirling that Apple is working on a mixed reality or augmented reality headset, potentially with dual 8K resolution displays and eye-tracking technology. The simple act of Apple releasing an AR/VR product is a potential game changer for the category. Adding to that, it's now being reported that Apple has teamed up with TSMC to make micro OLED displays for its upcoming headset. Apple and TSMC already have a longstanding relationship, with the latter being a major chip supplier for the former, including its fancy M1 silicon. But as far as displays go, this is an interesting arrangement. Micro OLED is a different animal than a traditional LED or OLED displays—instead of being...
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Apple prides itself on providing a superior user experience for its customers given its exacting control over hardware and software, but its devices can fail just like any other. Such is the case with 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros, which in some cases have been found to have an effect with their battery and/or charging system. According to a new Apple support document, it has created a battery replacement program for a "very small number of customers" affected by this problem. That is the same language that Apple uses for just about every one of its service programs to address a defect, so we'll never know the true number of customers that are affected. However, the fact that the company is going...
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When Apple launched the iPhone 12 family last year, the company revealed the usual suspects: a 6.1-inch iPhone 12, a 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and a 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. However, the company also brought along a fourth member of the family: the iPhone 12 mini with a small (in this day and age) 5.4-inch display. Apple designed the phone to appease to smartphone users who have long cried out for a device that offered flagship performance, but was more pocketable like the 4-inch iPhone SE from many moons ago. The iPhone 12 mini still stands pretty much in a class of one when it comes to a modern smartphone with flagship performance and features across-the-board in such a small form-factor....
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While virtual and augmented reality are cool technologies, they have not quite taken off as expected for several reasons. One of the biggest factors would be the cost of buying and using VR and AR, but what if that added cost came with stellar specs and a big brand name to back it up? Enter Apple: manufacturer of phones, laptops, tablets, and now perhaps mixed-reality headsets. Rumors have circulated that Apple will enter the market for years, but now more information has come out suggesting as much and more. Late in January, Bloomberg reported that Apple “is building a high-end, niche product that will prepare outside developers and consumers for its eventual, more mainstream AR glasses.”...
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When Apple first introduced Face ID with the iPhone X back in 2017, it tossed Touch ID fingerprint recognition into the trash bin for its flagship smartphones. All you had to do was simply lift your iPhone and look at it and would unlock. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has made things a lot harder for those with a Face ID-equipped iPhone. Because most of us are now wearing a mask when we go out, unlocking your device, authenticating purchases, and opening banking apps means that you must dip your mask down so that the Face ID hardware can fully scan your face (or enter your passcode to unlock the device). That kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a mask and is more than annoying if you must...
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Facebook has been working hard to adhere to Apple's new privacy policy that will soon be implemented across its iOS and iPadOS platforms. Apple's goal is to give users more granular control over what personally-identifiable data can be obtained and used by installed apps. And that pertains to all third-party apps; no one is going to be getting a free pass here. Well, with the exception of Apple apps, which we'll discuss a bit later. This of course is of obvious concern to a company like Facebook, which has built an entire business model around knowing just about everything possible about you and your likes/dislikes to build a global social networking behemoth. But after Apple announced the elimination...
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When Apple introduced privacy labels, it seemed to be a solid way to provide transparency for users to know what data is collected on their devices. This system relies on honesty from the app developers, but some developers crossed their fingers behind their back when they agreed to the privacy labels it seems. New research has shown that some apps had outright false or misleading labels that they present to users. Recently, Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler downloaded an app called “Satisfying Slime Generator,” which, as of writing, has a privacy label that states “developer does not collect any data from this app.” It seems that is not the case, though,...
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