Year: 2016

How to check if your Mac supports Auto Unlock

macOS Sierra debuted a new feature called Auto Unlock that lets you get into your Mac without typing your account password simply by wearing a passcode-protected Apple Watch. With Auto Unlock, you just wake up your Mac and if it senses you're nearby and wearing your watch, it'll log you in automatically. Yes, it just works!

Auto Unlock imposes certain hardware pre-requisites in terms of modern Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chipsets. Here's how you can quickly check if your Mac supports Auto Unlock.

Many Apple supply chain vendors won’t set up shop in U.S. even if Foxconn does

After the United States President-elect Donald Trump promised tax incentives to Apple to build “Made in USA” iPhones, Japanese outlet Nikkei reported that Tim Cook & Co. already asked back in June its contract manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron to look into assembling iPhones domestically. Foxconn reportedly complied, but don't expect other Chinese vendors in Apple's vast supply chain to follow suit.

As reported Wednesday by Chinese-language outlet qq and cited by trade publication DigiTimes, most Chinese supply chain makers will not follow Foxconn even if Apple decides to shift production to U.S.

Some early adopters of AirPods complain of battery drainage issues with charging case

An unknown portion of early AirPods adopters are faced with battery drain issues with the charging case, which was designed to extend AirPods' advertised five-hour run time to up to 24 hours while on the go.

According to a thread on Reddit, one customer's charging case went from a full 100 percent charge to just fifty percent after leaving his AirPods in the case overnight. “The other two days I used about five hours and the case was already down to thirty percent,” one poster wrote.

Hulu gains 50+ Disney films in exclusive streaming deal

Subscription video on demand service Hulu just announced an exclusive multi-year deal with the entertainment conglomerate Disney that gives it rights to stream a collection of hit movies and family favorites from the rich library of blockbuster films from The Walt Disney Studios. This means that Disney movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mulan, Pocahontas, Hercules, Sister Act and Air Bud are all now available to stream exclusively via Hulu.

iPhone 7 mockups in Jet White shown on video

Japanese blog Mac Otakara heard last month from unverified sources in the Taiwanese supply chain that Apple might be developing a new Jet White color option for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus series.

Yesterday evening, avid Apple leaker Sonny Dickson posted a video on Twitter that shows off glossy white iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus casing mockups, giving us an indication what the rumored Jet White colorway might look like. The mockups were clearly obtained from a third-party vendor and we're posting them for the discussion's sake.

StatusSwitcher brings the Status Bar to the App Switcher

Luca Todesco’s jailbreak for iOS 10.1.1 is now in beta, and jailbreak tweak developers have started jumping on the train early to begin releasing tweaks for the updated software.

One of the first is a new free jailbreak tweak called StatusSwitcher, which adds the Status Bar to the App Switcher on iOS 10 devices.

Friendly Run event launches in Super Mario Run, earn Rally Tickets no matter if you win or lose

After launching a new Friendly Run mode in Super Mario Run six days ago, Nintendo today announced a limited-time Friendly Run event that gives you a little bonus for playing Friendly Run. No matter if you win or lose, playing Friendly Run during the event earns you some free Rally Tickets.

The event is running from December 27, 2016 8:00am to January 11, 2017 07:59am.

Apple Watch pinging wearers of new Activity achievement launching tomorrow

Apple recently challenged Apple Watch wearers in the United States to bag a special Thanksgiving Day fitness achievement and now it's doing the same with a brand new achievement launching tomorrow in the Activity app. As MacRumors notes, the notification is currently being pushed to Apple Watch owners.

It informs users of a new achievement, aptly titled Ring in The New Year, that challenges them to close all three Activity rings each day for an entire week in January in order to earn the new virtual medal.

Video converter Handbrake exits beta after 13 years

In a better-late-than-never move, the free cross-platform video converter Handbrake has finally hit version 1.0. The app had been languishing in beta for more than thirteen years. Handbrake 1.0, a free download for Mac, Windows, Ubuntu and other platforms, lets you convert videos easily from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. With subtitle support, capable transcoding engine and built-in presets for devices like Apple TV, iPhone and iPad, Handbrake makes it easy to optimize videos for your specific hardware.

Apple may launch five-inch iPhone 7s with vertically aligned dual cameras on the back

In addition to an iPhone 8 model with all-new industrial design and an OLED-based display, Apple is expected to refresh its existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones next year. According to the fairly reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara, a brand new five-inch iPhone 7s model should join the mix next year, acting as the medium size option between the expected 4.7-inch iPhone 7s and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus refreshes. The device is expected to feature a dual-sensor camera out the back in a vertical alignment rather than a horizontal one.

Nomad’s Rugged iPhone case makes plastic look classy

The new Nomad Rugged case has been my daily driver case for close to a month now, and having had the opportunity to go hands-on with it for that long, I have to say I think I’ll probably continue using it for a while longer.

Built into this incredibly thin, yet protective design is a case that can withstand your everyday clumsiness and still look good while doing it. Nomad’s design team has created a TPU-based case that actually looks good that can still take a hit and save your iPhone.