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WWDC to offer fully outfitted on-site studio for podcasters

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

If you're a podcaster attending Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week, Apple has a fully featured on-site studio that you can use to record the latest episode of your podcast.

They're calling it Apple Podcasts Studio and it's located inside the McEnery Convention Center.

Booking studio time is by appointment only. The available slots are limited to one per person for the duration of the conference.

According to the description on the updated WWDC app, each hour-long recording session can accommodate up to four contributors, with Apple's experts on hand to provide help if need be.

Podcasters shall receive a copy of their session for post-production and distribution.

“You may request a reservation beginning at 7am for that day only,” notes the firm.

Tapping Request Reservation within the WWDC app takes you to the webpage at developer.apple.com/wwdc/consultations/ where you can reserve studio time:

Tuesday: 10:00am—6:00pm Wednesday—Thursday: 9:00am—6:00pm Friday: 9:00am—3:00pm

In April 2017, Apple rebranded its iTunes Podcasts app as Apple Podcasts.

Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said at the February 2017 Code Media conference that Apple's been working on new features for podcasters. Last year, the Cupertino giant invited top podcasters to its headquarters to hear their complaints.

Subscribe to iDownloadBlog’s “Let’s talk iOS” podcast on iTunes.

WWDC app updated with curated video playlists, interactive venue and street maps & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Apple today updated its WWDC app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with curated video playlist, interactive venue and street maps and other content ahead of the June 5 keynote.

“We’ve made several app updates to improve your experience in 2017, whether you’re attending or following along remotely,” reads the changelog accompanying the download.

Bumped to version 6.0, the app lets you watch curated video playlists focused on featured themes, as well as view interactive venue and street maps of San Jose McEnery Convention Center and access other important venue information through the new Venue tab.

Unlike before, you can now use all app features without signing in.

Lastly, Apple has given the app an Apple Music-like facelift with bold headings, larger images and simplified navigation, as evidenced by the screenshots.

The WWDC app supports all form-factor iOS devices natively and includes a sticker pack for iMessage and an Apple Watch component.

You can download it free on App Store.

The keynote will be live-streamed through the Apple Developer website and on the WWDC app.

The Cupertino giant could unveil its own Siri speaker at WWDC and potentially unveil hardware updates to the iPad Pro lineup and a next-generation Apple TV with 4K video support.

Check out our WWDC 2017-themed wallpapers for your Apple hardware.

Even if you plan on watching the keynote, be sure to join us here at iDownloadBlog that Monday as we’ll be covering all things WWDC throughout the entire week.

Apple launches second betas of iOS 10.3.3, macOS 10.12.6, watchOS 3.2.3, and tvOS 10.2.2

Sébastien Page ∙ May 30, 2017

Apple on Tuesday released a second round of betas for all of its platforms, including iOS 10.3.3, macOS 10.12.6, watchOS 3.2.3, and tvOS 10.2.2.

No significant changes can be spotted in any of these betas at this time, signaling that these simply feature the usual round of bug fixes and performance improvements, which is not surprising considering WWDC 2017 is just around the corner.

We shouldn't expect anything really new from now on until the public releases of Apple's new softwares, likely around September.

Pixelmator teases a new app it’s been secretly working on for five years

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Pixelmator, the makers of perhaps the best Photoshop alternative for macOS, teased a brand new app in a blog post today that they've been secretly working on for five whole years.

The mystery app is coming soon, said the Pixelmator team.

While they stopped short of revealing what the forthcoming software is about, it's a safe bet that they've been working on a new kind of image-editing app for Mac. All we know that it's the coolest thing that “we or anyone else has done in years” and their biggest project ever.

The Pixelmator team said:

This is the biggest thing that we’ve ever done. The most innovative, beautiful and powerful thing that we’ve ever done. And it’s also the most Mac thing that we’ve ever done.

The teaser image they shared shows a little bit of the app's interface, suggesting it could be an app for vector graphics akin to Adobe Illustrator.

To get notified when the new app launches, subscribe to Pixelmator's Notify Me list. The app is “wildly innovative, stunningly beautiful, incredibly powerful and very Mac,” reads the website.

Apple Pay could hit Ukraine in the second quarter of 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Apple Pay is set to launch in Ukraine in the second quarter of next year, according to an anonymous tipster in one of the Ukrainian payment systems. PaySpace Magazine is reporting (Google Translate) that Maxim Patrin, the chief of e-business with financial institution Alfa-Bank, mentioned that Apple Pay might make its debut in the country sometime next year.

Alfa-Bank today unveiled a new digital banking service, called Alfa Digital, which will permit customers to add their cards to Apple Pay when the service hits Ukraine. According to MacRumors, the country currently lacks Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay.

Samsung Pay is rumored to launch in Ukraine later this year.

Apple could be working to bring Apple Pay to India soon.

The mobile payments service currently works in 16 major markets: Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and US.

Here’s another clue that Apple might be launching new Macs at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Shipping times for Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar have slipped from same day to 3-5 business days in many countries. Deliveries have been conveniently pushed to June 6 or later in the United States, just a day after Apple's WWDC keynote, indicating refreshed models might be unveiled during the keynote.

Delivery estimates for the 15-inch MacBook Pro models have slipped to June 6 or later in other markets, too, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore and Spain.

Shipping times for the 13-inch MacBook Pro models have not changed, MacRumors reports.

Bloomberg recently reported that Apple could upgrade its Mac notebook lineup at WWDC next month with faster Intel chips and updated internal architecture.

Intel in January unveiled new Kaby Lake processors that could be appropriate for the 13-inch MacBook Pro models. Earlier today at Computex in Taipei, the chip giant announced a new Core X chip brand, including a new Core i9 desktop processor line with up to 18 cores and 36 threads of power.

Former Android chief unveils edge-to-edge phone and Echo-like speaker

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Andy Rubin, the guy who came up with Android, today announced his new smartphone post-Google, featuring an edge-to-edge display that one-ups Samsung's Galaxy S8, in addition to an Amazon Echo-like appliance with on-device intelligence.

Both products debuted from Rubin's new company, Essential.

Essential Phone, as it's called, runs Android and has a 5.71-inch QHD edge-to-edge display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The display extends all the way to the the top of the device and wraps around the front-facing camera.

The Echo rival, called Essential Home, features compatibility with Apple's HomeKit framework and other software platforms for the connected home.

Both products can be pre-ordered today.

Essential Phone

Encased in a titanium body with a ceramic back, Essential Phone can survive a drop test “without blemish, unlike the aluminum competitor devices,” says the company. The premium smartphone with a high-resolution 5.71-inch, 2,560-by-1,312 pixel display is powered by Qualcomm's eight-core Snapdragon 835 processor with four gigabytes of RAM.

Essential Phone lacks the standard 3.5mm headphone jack and uses Bluetooth 5.0 and USB-C.

Customers will be able to use any Bluetooth or USB-C-based headset with the phone. The Verge has learned that Essential Phone will ship with a headphone dongle in the box.

Other features include a magnetic connector on the back side for connecting accessories like a new 360-degree camera, a 13-megapixel dual-lens camera with a second lens using a monochrome sensor for better low-light shots, an eight-megapixel selfie camera with 4K video capture, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and other perks.

According to the company, the magnetic connector was designed with modularity in mind, to help keep Essential Phone “cord-free, future-proof and always up-to-date".

Essential Home

Built on the open-source Ambient OS software which can automatically discover and use new devices on its network, Essential Home has a built-in round display at the top which can be turned on just by glancing at it (or by tapping or using your voice) to quickly see contextual information.

The accessory uses on-device artificial intelligence rather than offload AI features to the cloud. Like with Apple's AI implementation, such an approach helps preserve user privacy. Its proactive assistant will support notifications and reminders with contextual information displayed on the built-in screen.

Essential Home should support Nest and SmartThings devices for the connected home. According to Wired, it will feature hooks for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Availability

Essential Phone will be available in Black, Gray, White and Ocean Depths colors. At the time of this writing, only white models were able for pre-order. The contract-free phone costs $699.

Essential's 360-degree camera currently costs $50, but the price will eventually increase to $199. Pricing for Essential Home is yet to be announced, but we do know that the device will ship later this summer.

Andy Rubin is schedule to give a talk later today at Recode's Code Conference.

Apple hires Qualcomm Vice President to lead its wireless chip project

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Apple has hired Esin Terzioglu, Qualcomm's Vice President of Engineering, to act as the project lead on its wireless system-on-a-chip project, suggesting the Cupertino company could be developing its own baseband modem for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, reports AppleInsider.

Unlike Apple's in-house designed chips, Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors and Samsung's own Exynos chips integrate the CPU, GPU and the LTE modem on the same chip package.

iPhone 7, for instance, uses dedicated LTE modems from both Intel and Qualcomm.

“After an amazing eight years at Qualcomm, it is time for me to move on to my next adventure,” Terzioglu shared the news via his LinkedIn account.

“I feel privileged for the opportunity to continue my career at Apple,” he added.

He is credit as an inventor of many Qualcomm patents.

After joining Qualcomm in August 2009, Terzioglu lead the Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Central Engineering organization. He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with a Ph.D. minor in Computer Science, both completed at Stanford University.

Apple and Qualcomm are currently embroiled in a $1 billion licensing dispute related to the royalty fees the iPhone maker and other companies pay to Qualcomm for its cellular chips.

According to Axios, the chip maker has asked a US court to force iPhone suppliers to keep paying it royalty fees, while it continues its legal battle with the Cupertino giant.

Nintendo slashes Switch console sales target as Apple gobbles up components

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Apple's appetite for smartphone components, such as cameras, flash chips and more, has reportedly forced Nintendo to slash the Switch console sales target to ten million units versus the original plan to make nearly twenty million units in the year ending in March 2018.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nintendo's biggest battle is against companies such as Apple that are gobbling up the same parts Nintendo needs to make the Switch console.

According to people in the industry, Nintendo originally told suppliers and assemblers it hopes to make nearly twenty million units of the Switch console in the year ending in March 2018.

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

The sales target has been revised internally to ten million Switch devices for the year.

“The problem is an industrywide capacity shortage for components used in smartphones, computer servers and other digital devices,” reads the article.

“These include the NAND flash-memory chips that store data, liquid-crystal displays and the tiny motors that enable the Switch’s hand-held controllers to imitate the feel of an ice cube shaking in a glass.”

“Demand for our NAND flash memory has been overwhelmingly greater than supply, and the situation is likely to stay for the rest of this year,” a spokesperson for supplier Toshiba says.

This is bad news for Nintendo.

Although strong demand suggests the Japanese gaming giant can sell many more of these things, its partners are unable to ramp up production because Apple and others are gobbling up the same parts used to make the home/portable console.

Intel unveils new Core X desktop processors, including flagship Core i9 chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

At Computex today, chip giant Intel unveiled a new Core X line of high-end processors for desktop computers. The new chips are mostly based on an updated version of Intel's sixth-generation Skylake platform, called Skylake X, with the exception of a pair of entry-level four-core models that are based on the Kaby Lake X platform.

Billed as Intel's most scalable, accessible and powerful desktop platform ever, the lineup includes a new Core i9 processor brand along with a Core i9 Extreme Edition processor—the first consumer desktop chip with a whopping 18 cores and 36 threads of power.

Intel's Turbo Boost technology has been updated with Turbo Boost Max 3.0 technology as well.

According to Intel, the new Core X family sports ten percent faster multithread performance over the previous generation, and a 15 percent boost in single thread performance.

The entry-level Core X i5-7640X chip with four cores and as many threads starts at $242.

The more powerful Core i7 X-Series starts at $339 for a four-core, eight-thread model and goes all the way up to a $599 eight-core, 16-thread chip.

The flagship Core i9 X-Series chip, which stars at ten processor cores and 16 threads, is priced at $999, with its 16-core, 32-thread variant going for $1,699.

The new desktop Core X chips are designed to work with Intel’s new X299 motherboard chipset which should be rolling out on partner products in the coming weeks, along with the new CPUs.

As you know, Apple is expected to update its iMac all-in-ones with server-grade Intel Xeon processors and discreet graphics later this year.

The chip giant says its upcoming eighth-generation Coffe Lake platform will see up to a thirty percent performance improvement over the current seventh-generation Kaby Lake.

It did not provide a timeframe for Coffe Lake chips. “We will have more to say about the eightht-generaiton Core processor in the future,” said Intel.

The Coffe Lake chips may power updated MacBook Pros, coming later this year.

Here’s how emojis are approved

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Virtually every smartphone sold today includes an emoji keyboard. Indeed, the emoji has served us well thus far, having become a cultural phenomenon. But have you ever wondered what exactly goes into an emoji approval?

Why we still don’t have a redhead emoji and just how many dinosaurs is too many?

Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia and member of the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee, sat down with The Next Web to discuss the process of approving new emoji characters and shares what challenges lie ahead in the future of emoji.

Watch the video now.

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

“Behind the scenes of this simple-looking set of smileys is an array of meetings involving Apple, Google, Microsoft and other major tech companies,” reads the video's description.

The Unicode Consortium recently previewed an additional 69 new emoji characters that will be coming this summer as part of the Emoji 5.0 update, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a mermaid, fortune cookie, shush face and more.

Latest drone footage shows historic barn taking its place at Apple Park

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

Videographer Matthew Roberts today shared via his YouTube channel some new drone footage of Apple Park, the iPhone maker's new headquarters under construction in Cupertino, California. The June 2017 Apple Park aerial update shows a historic barn finally taking its place at the new headquarters while offering a closer look at the auditorium as some of the window coverings have been removed.

Check out the video below to see the latest progress from Apple Park.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0Qr_wchG7w

Apple's new headquarters will include a spot for the 1916 Glendenning Ranch barn, a historic site left from a time when the city was still a sprawling orchard.

When Apple acquiered the aging Hewlett-Packard campus, it dismantled the barn and numbered it piece by piece—every plank, nail and crossbeam—so that it could be reassembled just as it was and placed so that it's adjacent to the employee fitness center. The company even stockpiled redwood salvaged from an old grove to replace any damaged planks.

The Mercury News reported that the barn will be used as a storage facility used by Apple to store sports equipment, landscaping supplies and so forth—becoming a working barn for the first time in decade.

Apple says its new headquarters will be the most energy-efficient office building of its kind.