Year: 2016

New “Dive” ad from Apple promotes iPhone 7 stereo speakers and water resistance

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2016

Apple today shared a new television commercial via its YouTube channel highlighting stereo speakers and the improved IP67 water resistance on the iPhone 7 series. Titled “Dive”, the 60-second video opens with a pool scene depicting an older guy who is soaking up sun rays whilst listening to “La Virgen de la Macarena” by Arturo Sandoval playing through the iPhone's stereo speakers.

He then turns up the volume and proceeds to climb the high dive as everyone else is watching with anticipation. As the song climaxes, he jumps off causing his device to get splashed with water poolside. The video closes with Apple's “practically magic” tagline used consistently in iPhone 7 advertisements.

KGI: Apple’s AR tech could end up in autonomous driving system

Cody Lee ∙ November 2, 2016

KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo issued a new research note to investors on Wednesday regarding his vision for Apple's augmented reality efforts. In the letter, the noted analyst says that we likely won't see these efforts for 1-2 years, but when we do they will redefine Apple's current products and open up new categories.

Apple seeds minor update for macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta

Cody Lee ∙ November 2, 2016

Apple on Wednesday seeded what appears to be a small update for the latest macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta. The release comes just two days after the first 10.12.2 beta, and there's just a tiny difference in the build numbers (16C32f vs 16C32e), so we're guessing it just contains minor bug fixes.

CMRA: the awesome Apple Watch strap with integrated cameras you’ll never buy

Sébastien Page ∙ November 2, 2016

The idea of having a camera on your Apple Watch is an interesting one. As tech becomes smaller and batteries become more capable, this is definitely a direction Apple will take at some point, but we're just too early in development.

That's where a startup comes in with CMRA, a band for Apple Watch that adds not one, but two HD cameras to the strap, allowing you to easily and quickly shoot photos or record videos. Well, in theory anyway.

Cut down on desktop clutter with Twelve South’s new Fermata headphone charging stand

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2016

Premium accessory maker Twelve South today unveiled a brand new accessory, the Fermata.

It's aimed at reducing desktop clutter by providing a minimal charging stand for on-ear headphones like the Beats Solo2 and their over-ear counterparts such as the Beats Solo3 wireless.

The $79.99 aluminum-clad accessory is available starting today in Black or Silver from Twelve South's webstore for customers in the United States and Japan, with an international edition coming soon.

Global mobile internet usage passes desktop for the first time

Sébastien Page ∙ November 2, 2016

Online visitor stats tool StatCounter reported on Tuesday that worldwide internet traffic coming from mobile surpassed that of desktop for the first time in October. A clear sign of the times, StatCounter found that global mobile and tablet devices accounted for 51.3% of internet usage compared to 48.7% for desktop.

CNBC: there’s no Time Warner bid coming from Apple “at this point”

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2016

U.S. wireless carrier AT&T recently announced it had agreed to buy Time Warner in a blockbuster deal valued at more than $85 billion.

Apple reportedly approached the media giant recently about a possible deal, but the discussions were only preliminary and didn't move forward.

With the AT&T-Time Warner merger requiring regulatory approval that could take months, things could easily change so no wonder watchers have been keeping their fingers crossed for Apple to step in and make a rival bid for Time Warner.

However, “Apple is not interested in buying Time Warner at present,” people familiar with the thinking at the company told CNBC on Wednesday.

Apple Stores start selling Will.i.am’s i.am+ Buttons wireless headphones

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Opening their doors this Wednesday morning, Apple Stores across the US will be stocking a new pair of wireless earphones named i.am+ Buttons, conceived by musician and part-time tech enthusiast Will.i.am. The full product name of the earphones is i.am+ Buttons and they will reportedly be offered in four colors, matching Apple's black, silver, gold and rose gold iPhone range.

While the timing of the i.am+ launch could not have been more savory with the AirPods suffering heavy delays, it remains to be seen if will.i.am's product will be able to capitalize on the door left wide open by Apple. Until now, most i.am+ products have largely been frowned upon for putting fashion center stage. They also come at a hefty $229 price point.

Next-generation MacBook Pro could adopt brighter & sharper OLED display technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2016

Forget about Apple's just-refreshed MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar and Touch ID: Korean outlet ET News says the next refresh to the Pro might swap out LCD panels for the more power-efficient OLED screens not unlike AMOLED displays found on flagship Samsung smartphones and tablets.

“Apple is currently looking into ways of using OLED panels for MacBooks and testing their performance,” reads the report. In addition to power savings, an OLED screen on a future MacBook Pro could render brighter colors, provide better contrast and fast response speed whilst enabling ultra high resolutions.

Phil Schiller on why MacBook Pro has headphone jack, lacks SD card slot & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2016

Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, sat down for an exclusive wide-ranging interview with British newspaper The Independent. He talked the MacBook Pro controversy, explaining why the refreshed notebook has retained the 3.5mm analog headphone jack, but lost an SD card slot.

He also touched upon a few other controversial topics, like Apple's product philosophy when it comes to the notebook form factor in general and the company's stubborn refusal to release a touchscreen-enabled Mac.

How to recover your deleted data from Apple iCloud

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 12, 2026

You may have inadvertently deleted data from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, or even your iCloud account. Fortunately, Apple offers you a way to restore previously lost data, and this tutorial guides you through the process.

How to fine-tune the skip and replay intervals for audiobooks in Books

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated April 12, 2021

If you consider yourself a fan of the spoken word and bank on Apple’s own Books service to listen to your favorite books, you might have been frustrated by some of the app’s design choices before. Especially when it comes to manipulating the play time of your audiobook on the fly, be it on your Lock screen, in Control Center or on Apple Watch, the experience can be inconsistent and altogether suboptimal at times.

What all those interfaces have in common however is a nimble skip forward and skip back button, both of which are pegged at a pretty arbitrary plus and minus 15 seconds per touch.

This brief tutorial is going to remind you of a trick to customise those buttons and better fit them to your skipping habits by shortening or prolonging the time jumps. After all, what’s the use of 15 second skip intervals in the middle of a J. R. R. Tolkien marathon?