Apple Watch Series 3 with glass-film touch display to ship in second half of 2017

A third-generation Apple Watch is expected to adopt a different display technology based on glass-film panels versus touch-on-lens panels utilized on Apple Watch Series 2 and glass-on-glass (two pieces of glass) ones on the original Apple Watch. Shipments of the tentatively named Apple Watch Series 3 are expected to start in the second half of 2017, as per sources cited in a Tuesday report from DigiTimes.

iPhone 8 predicted to have 3 GB RAM and come in 64GB and 256GB flavors

Apple's first OLED-based iPhone will have three gigabytes of RAM like the current iPhone 7 Plus models and come in two storage capacities—64GB and 256GB—eliminating the current 32GB SKU as an entry-level option when it comes to storage size. It won't feature a curved display due to production and drop test issues with 3D glass, as per Chinese research firm TrendForce.

KGI: iPhone 8’s FaceTime camera to support 3D sensing, AR, biometric authentication & more

We heard before that Apple might integrate augmented reality features into iPhone 8’s Camera app and now KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has provided fresh details about a “revolutionary” front-facing camera system that will “bring an innovative user experience” to Apple's first OLED iPhone.

In a note to clients, obtained by AppleInsider, the analyst writes that a pair of infrared transmitting and receiving sensors on the FaceTime camera will help the next iPhone provide features ranging from 3D sensing and modeling to advanced biometric authentication combining facial scanning and Touch ID fingerprint recognition.

The best iMessage games

When Apple took the wraps off the iMessage App Store last year, it quickly became evident that the messaging service would become the next playground for some weird and wonderful applications. Since then, developers have largely graced us with conventional stickers and app extensions, despite another under-represented category increasingly showing promise: iMessage games.

Almost half a year after opening the gate, it seems a good time to take stock of the games playable through Apple's messenger and hand-pick the ones not only most captivating but also smartest at circumnavigating the limitations of iMessage. If you fancy the thought of challenging a friend to a duel on iMessage but don't want to waste anyone's time trialling potential duds, read on to find out about the current top performers on the iMessage App Store.

How to use Google SafeSearch to filter out explicit web search results

Google SafeSearch enabled on iPhone

Whether you’re a parent trying to filter explicit content from the limitless Google searches your child could be searching on the web, or you’re simply trying to figure out why it seems like certain images or web results are being filtered from your Google search queries, chances are Google SafeSearch is the answer.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how you can toggle Google SafeSearch on or off, depending on whether you need to start filtering explicit search results from your queries or stop doing so when the feature is already enabled.

Let’s Talk iOS 175: Look at the gamut

Your favorite duo of podcasters is back with more discussion about the latest iPhone 8 rumors that include a function area, facial recognition, and a large screen in a smaller body. Cody and Sebastien also discuss Apple’s new video content creation efforts and the release of trailers for Planet of the Apps, and Carpool Karaoke.

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See how Alexa compares to Siri with Reverb

If you missed our post nearly a year ago about a web app at Echoism.io that lets you try out Alexa in a web browser, you're going to like a new app, called Reverb, that brings Amazon's personal assistant to your Mac desktop, as well as iPhone and iPad.

The brain child of developers at digital consultancy agency Rain, Reverb is available at no charge from App Store and Mac App Store or in your favorite web browser.

Reverb takes advantage of the fact that Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service is now available as a web service to access through a web browser and other thin clients, with the recent API 2.0 update having enabled a richer set of features.

macOS 10.12.4 beta 3 seeded to developers

Aside from watchOS 3.2 beta 3, tvOS 10.2 beta 3 and iOS 10.3 beta 3 with a new name and shame list for legacy apps,  Apple today seeded a third beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra since its launch last fall. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 3 (build 16E163f) with Night Shift Mode and other perks is now available to registered developers.

You can deploy the latest beta over the air on your Mac through the Mac App Store's Updates tab. Today's release is only for developers but a version aimed at public beta testers should drop in the next 24 hours.

New in iOS 10.3: name and shame list for outdated 32-bit apps

Apple today seeded a third beta of iOS 10.3 to members of the Apple Developer Program. It's nothing to write home about in terms of new stuff, with the notable exception of a curious new section suggesting that iOS 11 is likely going to be 64-bit only. The first beta of iOS 10.3 introduced a reworded prompt when launching 32-bit apps.

In iOS 10.3 beta 3, there's now a dedicated section within the Settings app where any outdated apps installed on the user's device are named and shamed.

iOS 10.3 beta 3 seeded to developers

Apple this morning seeded to members of the Apple Developer Program a third beta of what would become the iOS 10.3 software update with Find My AirPods and a bunch of other new features. iOS 10.3 beta 3 (build 14E5249d) is available over the air via Software Update on devices with an appropriate configuration profile installed. We'll update the article with possible new changes discovered in beta 3 if we encounter them. New betas of macOS Sierra, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2 are available for developer testing, too.

Apple reportedly buys Israeli facial recognition company RealFace

Hot on the heels of multiple reports calling for some sort of facial recognition on iPhone 8 to potentially augment or supplant Touch ID, news reaches us that Apple has acquired RealFace, a machine learning and facial recognition company hailing from Israel.

The Tel Aviv-based startup, founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, was bought for $2 million, according to the Times of Israel. Hebrew-language financial outlet Calcalist pegged the deal's value at several millions dollars. RealFace is innovating user authentication with what it calls the worlds leading facial recognition technology.