macOS High Sierra 10.13 developer beta 3 rolling out on Mac App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 13, 2023

Apple today released a third beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13 for Mac systems. macOS High Sierra 10.13 beta 3 (build number 17A306f) is now available to Apple's registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program on any supported Mac via the Mac App Store's Updates tab.

The full macOS High Sierra 10.13 beta 3 installer can be downloaded from Apple's Dev Center portal. Once installed, subsequent betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in Mac App Store.

A developer-only preview of High Sierra was released at WWDC in June, followed by a second beta on June 21 and the public beta on June 29. The first public beta of High Sierra has the same features as developer-only macOS High Sierra beta 2.

macOS High Sierra includes Apple's File System, official support for High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC), also known as H.265, an updated version of Metal with support for VR applications and external GPU enclosures, Safari 11 with new anti-tracking features, support for flight status information in Spotlight, more natural voices for Siri and more.

Stock apps including FaceTime, Messages and Notes have received a few refinements, too.

High Sierra also introduces new core storage, video, and graphics technology, as well as an enhanced Photos app with a new sidebar, curve-based editing and support for third-party apps like Pixelmator and Photoshop.

TUTORIAL: How to unenroll from Apple's Beta Software Program

macOS High Sierra will release for public consumption this fall across supported Mac models.

If you have managed to spot new user features in macOS High Sierra beta 3, tell us on Twitter or via email at tips@iDownloadBlog.com. You can also post your findings in the comments section and we’ll make sure to update the article with new information as it becomes available.

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iOS 11 beta 3 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2017

Apple today seeded a third beta of iOS 11 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to its registered developers and members of the Apple Developer Program. To deploy iOS 11 beta 3 (build number 15A5318g), use the Software Update mechanism in the Settings app on your device with an appropriate configuration profile installed, which can be obtained from Dev Center.

iOS 11 was originally released as a developer-only preview at WWDC in June, followed by iOS 11 beta 2 on June 21 and the iOS 11 public beta on June 26. The first public beta of iOS 11 has the same features as developer-only iOS 11 beta 2.

Here's Andrew's hands-on walkthrough of the changes in the previous beta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ5pwZMPRxI

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iOS 11 sports a redesigned App Store, new iPad multitasking features with the Dock and drag and drop, a Files app, AirPlay 2 with multi-room audio, new Siri capabilities, visual refinements, a customizable Control Center, a redesigned app drawer in Messages and much, much more.

TUTORIAL: How to switch from iOS 11 beta to official iOS release

iOS 11 will release for public consumption this fall across supported iOS device models.

If you have identified new outward-facing user features in iOS 11 beta 3, ping us on Twitter, shoot us an email at tips@iDownloadBlog.com or post your findings in the comments section and we’ll make sure to update the article with new information as it becomes available.

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Apple opens UK office dedicated to developing proprietary graphics technology

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2017

Apple has reportedly opened a 22,500 square feet office in St Albans in the United Kingdom, right in the neighborhood of its former mobile GPU provider Imagination Technologies which has its headquarters in the adjacent Hertfordshire village of Kings Langley.

It reportedly plans to use the new office to develop its own graphics technology.

According to The Telegraph newspaper this weekend, this could be interpreted as a rather aggressive move aimed at poaching Imagination's most talented engineers. Indeed, Apple has more than a dozen listings for experts in graphics hardware in South Hertfordshire.

Apple's already poached several Imagination engineers, including its COO John Metcalfe.

As The Guardian's James Titcomb wrote:

The development is set to heighten tensions between the companies, exacerbating fears that Apple is seeking a quasi-takeover of its supplier by hiring its employees and weakening the company’s hand as the two tussle over Apple’s plans to ditch the company.

Apple and Imagination have been at odds since April, when the former told the British fabless chip designer it'd stop using its GPU blueprints for its in-house designed mobile processors.

Imagination put itself up for sale last month.

Apple informed Imagination that it has a been working on its own GPU design and told them it would be reducing its future reliance on Imagination’s technology.

Just last week, Apple clarified it actually stopped accepting new intellectual property from Imagination back in 2015, rather than in 2016 as Imagination said to its shareholders.

“We valued our past relationship and wanted to give them as much notice as possible to adapt their future plans,” said an Apple spokesman. “We’re disappointed in their response, which has been inaccurate and misleading”.

New GPU designs from Apple could debut in next year's iOS devices.

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iPhone 8 could include “mirror-like” color option

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Apple's OLED-based iPhone 8 could be offered in four color finishes when it launches later this year, including a mirror-like reflective version which hasn't been used for iPhones before, prolific smartphone leaker Benjamin Geskin said on Twitter this weekend.

He learned this interesting tidbit from one of his sources. By comparison, iPhone 7 is offered in six distinct colorways: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Black, Jet Black and (PRODUCT)RED.

Geskin has been leaking information about Apple's 2017 iPhones for moths, but his track record in the Apple rumor business has yet to be established so treat his latest claim with skepticism. He shared an image of an iPhone 6s in a third-party reflective case, seen top of post, to illustrate what the new color option for iPhone 8 might look like.

iPhone in Canada asked veteran leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, who has a reliable track record, to comment on Geskins' tweet. He said that this particular rumor could have originated from widely available Chinese clones.

https://twitter.com/VenyaGeskin1/status/883598357658316800

Hemmerstoffer also called out Geskin publicly, saying he shouldn't be taking credit for so-called “leaks” discovered publicly on Chinese social media. In fact, Hemmerstoffer, who runs the OnLeaks account on Twitter, told the publication that Geskin lifted one of his first iPhone 8 dimensions leaks and passed it on as his own with a watermark.

https://twitter.com/OnLeaks/status/881551922599251970

At any rate, iPhone 8 wouldn't be the first phone to include a reflective finish.

That crown belongs to Sony, which made two phones with a mirror-like finish: Xperia Z5 Premium and Xperia XZ Premium. The Xiaomi 6 phone also includes a mirror-like color option..

Four distinct colors for Apple's flagship phone seems a lot if you consider a recent report from trusted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who predicted iPhone 8 would offer fewer casing colors than the iPhone 7s/Plus models to “maintain its boutique image”.

Thoughts?

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Amazon and other competitors are hurting iTunes movie sales and rentals

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2017

Strong competition from the likes of Amazon and Comcast has halved Apple's market share when it comes to movie sales and rentals, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The numbers should be taken with a grain of salt because, as the article states, no third parties track market share in the digital-movie business. While that makes exact figures impossible to obtain, Hollywood majors do different amounts of business with Apple and several of them have confirmed “a marked decline in iTunes’ leadership position.”

Sources said iTunes' market share for renting and selling movies has been falling for years, tumbling to between 20 percent and 35 percent from well over 50 percent as recently as 2012.

By comparison, Amazon's market share in that business has recently climbed to around 20 percent, studio executives said. As for Comcast, it now claims about 15 percent of the combined market for movie sales and purchases in the US.

Bernstein Research estimates that iTunes video, music, book and magazine sales in 2016 accounted for an estimated $4.1 billion in revenue, making it the second-largest services business behind App Store sales.

Apple says it's focused on providing users with premium entertainment via video apps on App Store. The company takes a fifteen percent cut on subscriptions sold via App Store.

An excerpt from the article:

An Apple spokeswoman, who didn’t dispute the market-share estimates, said Apple is focused on providing customers with video content across subscription services such as Netflix and HBO, as well as iTunes, where she said movie purchases and rentals have increased over the past year and hit their highest level in more than a decade.

It is no secret that video-subscription services are growing in popularity at the expense of on-demand rentals and movie purchases. Why pay five bucks or more to stream a single movie via iTunes in high definition if you can get a full Netflix or HBO NOW subscription for the price of a single movie download (new movie downloads are priced at $19.99 on iTunes)?

Movies, like music, are meant to be streamed no matter what Apple says about it.

Just like iTunes' market share for digital music purchases has been decreasing as part of the overall industry decline due to the rise of streaming services like Spotify, the same thing is now happening in the digital movie industry.

Apple has offered movies and TV shows on iTunes since 2003.

Apple has been trying for years to persuade Hollywood studios to let it build a so-called skinny bundle of the best channels from the likes of Disney, ESPN and others, to no avail.

Last year, total digital-movie sales and rentals rose a combined twelve percent to $5.3 billion in the US, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Apple will build another data center in Denmark

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2017

Apple will build another iCloud data center in the Danish city Aabenraa near the German border, its second in the country, Apple's Nordic director Erik Stannow told Reuters today.

The Cupertino company will spend 6 billion Danish crowns, which works out to approximately $921 million, on the facility which will be powered entirely by renewable energy.

It will power App Store, Siri, iMessage, Maps and other iCloud services. Construction is expected to start before the end of 2017.

Stannow told Reuters in an email:

We're thrilled to be expanding our data center operations in Denmark, and investing in new sources of clean power. The planned facility in Aabenraa, like all of our data centers, will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one, thanks to new clean energy sources we're adding.

He added that the reliability of the Danish grid is one of the main reasons Apple will operate two data centers in Denmark, a leader in wind power which also has abundant supplies of biomass energy.

If all goes as planned, the facility should go online in the second quarter of 2019.

The iPhone maker is also building a $1 billion data center in Denmark's Foulum, a small town located just outside of Viborg, a city in central Jutland that is home to Aarhus University and agricultural research facilities.

That facility should go online later this year, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Apple is also building a data centre in Ireland but it's been struggling to get it off the ground because local residents asked the High Court for a judicial review on environmental grounds.

"The proposed data center is currently under judicial review," a spokeswoman said.

Image: Apple's data center in Maiden, North Carolina

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Black and white wallpapers for iPhone

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated October 22, 2018

To be overly redundant, Wallpapers of the Week, is a weekly wallpaper post, in which we highlight photo quality images for your iOS devices. A popular category in previous posts, the simple elegance of black and white is always a fan favorite. Take a step inside for a small pack of colorless wallpapers.

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LockscreenXI brings iOS 11’s Lock screen interface to iOS 10

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 9, 2017

Some jailbreakers are already drooling over the host of interface changes that come with iOS 11, but we encourage these folks to hold onto their seats. A jailbreak tweak collection dubbed Eleven is nearing full release that will bring many of iOS 11's new interface experiences to jailbroken iOS 10 devices.

The first piece of Eleven, LockscreenXI, brings the Lock screen experience of iOS 11 to jailbroken iOS 10 devices. It was just released in Cydia by its creator LaughingQuoll ahead of all other pieces of Eleven, which are still a work in progress.

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‘Modern’ brings a new look to notification banners & Today widgets

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 8, 2017

If you’re interested in a new and modernized look and feel for your iOS notifications, then a new jailbreak tweak called Modern by iOS developer FromDerik might be worth checking out.

This tweak replaces the horrendously-large stock banner notifications that appear throughout iOS, whether you’re in an app, on the Lock screen, or looking at Notification Center with something better.

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YouMap, Purp To-Do List, RecordBird, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

This week's edition of our App of the Week roundup features a new map-based social app, a to-do list with a twist, and a new app that keeps you informed on new music releases from your favorite artists. And as usual, we've selected two great new games for you to check out.

YouMap

Events are constantly shaping the way we interact with each other and helping us decide where we go on any given day. With YouMap, you can let the world know what you’re thinking, seeing and feeling, while getting the latest updates at a moment’s notice. Obviously we're skeptical anytime a new social network comes on the scene, but YouMap seems to have the UI and user engagement needed to gain some traction. The early reviews are glowing, with one user saying this is the first social app to "get the map thing right." So if you're feeling adventurous this weekend, see what's going on around you with YouMap. It's available for free.

Purp To-Do List & Goal Tracker

Purp is a well-organized helper, to-do list and task manager app that allows you to achieve your goals and complete your daily tasks. Whatever your goals are—like completing projects, managing daily tasks, work todos, learning languages, mastering skills, sports or travel—Purp will help you to collect, keep, organize and track them, so you can reach them. Features include iCloud sync, task timer, progress dash board, and much more. The first reviews on iTunes are pretty rough, but the UI are feature set are unique enough that I think it's worth checking out. Purp To-Do List & Goal Tracker is available for free.

RecordBird

Record Bird informs you about new and upcoming music releases of your favorite artists and genres. Be the first to know of a new album or single by your favorite bands and musicians and share the news directly with your friends. With Record Bird, you will never miss a new release again. There have been more than a few apps that have tried a similar strategy, that didn't gain much traction. But the early user feedback (4.5 stars on 90 ratings in iTunes) suggest this one might have finally gotten it right. RecordBird is available for free.

Mini DAYZ - Survival Game

How long can you survive in a post-apocalyptic world? Find out in Mini DAYZ—an official pixel art rendition of the massively successful PC survival game (played by over 3 million fans). It's you against the world in Mini DAYZ: explore a randomly generated map and scavenge for food, ammo and supplies. Use anything you find to craft advanced items. Protect yourself against aggressive infected and ferocious wolves. But most important of all: make sure to stay dry, warm and well fed at all times. The weather out there can quickly get under your skin and your wounds will not heal without you treating them. Mini DAYZ - Survival Game is available for free.

Flippy Hills

Flippy Hills is an original arcade game with cool physics that will give you plenty of thrills, spills, epic wins, fails and tricks in two modes of your choice: campaign or arcade. Campaign mode features an adventure spanning over dozens of levels that get progressively harder, and arcade mode puts you in an endless barrage of assault courses to compete with your friends and gain records. The gameplay is surprisingly addictive, but you are going to have to put up with some annoying ads unless you're willing to fork over a few bucks via an in-app purchase. Flippy Hills is available for free (with some IAPs).

More apps to check out Apple’s free app of the week: Ridge Racer Slipstream You can now reply to Instagram Stories with photos and videos
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Give your power down menu an iOS 7-inspired makeover with StyloPowerDown

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 8, 2017

When you press and hold the power button on your iPhone or iPad, you’re presented with a switch for powering down your device.

This switch has undergone a host of cosmetic changes throughout previous iterations of iOS, and if you’re nostalgic of how it used to look in earlier versions, or you're just looking for a totally new look and feel altogether, then you might want to try a new jailbreak tweak dubbed StyloPowerDown by iOS developer iKilledAppl3.

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