Instagram enhances Stories with stickers, Save Story option, hands-free shooting & more

Instagram is on a roll: hot on the heels of enabling a bookmarking feature, Boomerang montages, commenting improvements and disappearing media attachments in Direct, the popular photo-sharing service today announced additional features for your Stories. These include regular and holiday-themed stickers, text enhancements, hands-free video mode, the ability to save a Story video to iOS's Camera roll and more.

Apple launches beta 2 of iOS 10.2.1 and macOS Sierra 10.12.3

Apple on Tuesday seeded to members of the Apple Developer Program a second beta of iOS 10.2 and a second beta of what would become the third major update to macOS Sierra. iOS 10.2.1 beta 2 (build 14D15) and macOS Sierra 10.12.3 beta 2 (build 16D17a) are now available to install over-the-air via Settings → General → Software Update on iOS devices and under the Mac App Store's Updates tab on the Mac.

Apple starts accepting orders for LG’s 27″ UltraFine 5K Display, ships in 2-4 weeks

LG's UltraFine 5K Display, the external ultra high-resolution display Apple didn't want to make, is now available to order through Apple.com. The display can be ordered with Apple's in-store pickup option (availability of in-store pickup may vary from one store to another). First orders were scheduled to deliver on December 27 or 28, with in-store pickup availability on December 29. However, estimated delivery times quickly slipped to 2-4 weeks.

Apple now offering in-store pickup for AirPods with February 8 availability

As first noted by AppleInsider, Apple yesterday began offering the in-store pickup option for its newly launched AirPods wireless earphones. Apple.com online store in the United States indicated at post time that first AirPods ordered with the in-store pickup option would be available on February 8.

If you choose to have AirPods shipped to your home, they're estimated to arrive in six weeks.

Apple extends limited time USB-C accessory price cuts through end of March 2017

Apple told The Loop's Jim Dalrymple that it is extending USB-C accessory price cuts from end of the year to March 31, 2017.

Responding to a flurry of complaints targeting the new MacBook Pro, the company originally said a month and a half ago that it would temporarily cut the prices on USB -C adapters and peripherals it sells in its stores through the end of the year.

Duet Display update brings Touch Bar to your iPad

Duet Display, an app from ex-Apple engineers that turns your iPad into an extra display for your Mac or Windows PC, was updated today on the App Store with an interesting new feature that adds a Touch Bar to your tablet. Simply use Duet Display's free of charge iOS app to connect to Duet Display running on a Mac with Sierra 10.12.2 or later and enable the new feature in Duet's menu bar settings.

Teardown analysis suggests AirPods charging case quality issues might have caused delayed launch

Having torn apart Apple's AirPods wireless earphones and their charging case, repair masters over at iFixit have now posted their initial observations. AirPods have so many components crammed into tight space that the they're virtually not repairable or recyclable. As for the charging case, an X-ray analysis of its logic board reveals a few “quality issues” that may have contributed to the delayed AirPods launch.

How to delete your Super Mario Run game data without deleting the app

The popular new Super Mario Run game by Nintendo doesn’t have a whole lot of levels to play, but if you ever get to the point where you want to just delete all your in-game progress and start all over again, then you’ll be happy to know there’s a way to do that.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how you can delete all your Super Mario Run game progress data without having to delete the game from your device and re-download it later on.

How to use the on-demand VPN feature on your iPhone or iPad

Depending on the VPN you’re using, your iPhone or iPad might be able to take advantage of a feature called VPN on demand (VPoD).

Essentially what this does is it connects you to your VPN automatically when it’s needed so you don’t have to toggle it on manually before accessing the internet from your device. As a result, you can have peace of mind because your information is protected once you begin using the internet.

Let’s Talk iOS 166: Super Mario Bum

It couldn't possibly be an episode of Let's Talk iOS without mentioning the release of Super Mario Run, and what Cody and Sebastien think of the game after spending a little time with it. Other topics discussed include battery life on the new MacBook Pro, Apple's removal of the estimated time of battery remaining and the fact that the company didn't do anything in macOS 10.12.2 to address battery concerns. The guys also talk about the release of the AirPods, and the delay of the BeatsX. Finally, Cody share a new app he's discovered.

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Tim Cook: we have great desktops in our roadmap

Apple has "great desktops" in its roadmap, CEO Tim Cook said in a recent posting to an employee message board. TechCrunch has the transcript, where Cook fields a question regarding whether or not Mac desktops are still strategic for Apple.

The comments come after the company's MacBook Pro event this October, where iMacs and Minis were noticeably absent. It's been over 430 days since Apple updated the former, and nearly 800 days for the latter. The Mac Pro is 3+ years old.

Tim Cook explains why he met with President-elect Donald Trump

In a recent Q&A on Apple's internal info web service, Tim Cook explained to employees why he met with President-elect Donald Trump last week. Cook was one of many executives that participated in a high-profile roundtable with Trump to discuss a variety of tech-related issues.

The meeting inspired a lot of negative reactions from folks in and around Silicon Valley, who felt like it was hypocritical of the tech leaders to meet with Trump, given their public condemnations of his comments and actions. But Cook explains that open communication is important.