Report: Foxconn working on wireless charging system for iPhone 8

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 17, 2018

Hon Hai Precision Industry is working on a wireless charging system for Apple, reports Nikkei. Citing an industry source familiar with the matter, the outlet claims the manufacturer, better known as Foxconn, is making wireless charging modules for the iPhone 8.

The source adds that the feature making it into Apple's next flagship handset will depend on whether Foxconn can boost the yield rate to a satisfactory level. So if it can't produce these modules at a high quality/volume, we may not see wireless charging next year.

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Apple seeds first iOS 10.2 beta to developers with new emoji and wallpapers

Cody Lee ∙ October 31, 2016

Apple on Monday seeded the first iOS 10.2 beta to developers. Folks enrolled in Apple's developer program can install the update via the over-the-air mechanism in the Settings app, or from the dev center.

The move comes one week after 10.1 was released to the public, and just hours after Apple rolled out iOS 10.1.1 with bug fixes for Health data. It appears 10.2 will also bring about bug fixes and improvements.

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How to stop the new MacBook Pro from automatically turning on when the lid is open

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

Aside from the marquee Touch Bar feature and other hardware advances, the new MacBook Pro introduces a tweaked boot process where the machine automatically starts up when you open its lid or connect it to power. To avoid forcing users to listen to the startup chime every time they open the lid, Apple's also decided to disable the boot chime on the new notebook by default (you can easily re-enable it).

But what about the mentioned auto-boot features? Unfortunately, Apple does not provide user-facing switches in System Preferences to control the new boot on power and boot on lid capability. With a little help from Terminal and smart folks over at Pingie, you can manually stop the late-2016 MacBook Pro from automatically powering on when you lift the lid or connect it to a power adapter or an external display.

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Brief history of the Mac startup chime

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

The new MacBook Pro does away with the classic Mac startup sound that's been present on Macs for the past seventeen years, probably to avoid annoying users as the notebook automatically powers on when you open the lid. But rather than completely kill the chime, Apple's disabled it on the new MacBook Pro.

Thankfully, you can re-enable it with a simple Terminal command.

We think this could mark gradual phasing-out of the familiar Mac startup sound just as the one-port MacBook with USB-C has spelled doom for Apple's proprietary but love MagSafe connector. Here's a brief history of the Mac boot chime.

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MacBook Pro’s lack of 32GB RAM option could also be blamed on Intel’s Skylake chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

As you know, Apple's limited the new MacBook Pro to a maximum of sixteen gigabytes of RAM. Truth be told, no Mac notebook thus far has permitted customers to double the system RAM to a whopping thirty-two gigabytes though many MacBook Pro fans seem to have expected just that as an option.

As we told you, Apple on its part did acknowledge that it'd decided against giving the new Pro 32GB RAM because doing so would have decreased the notebook's battery life.

The statement is true, but lacks detail.

The Loop's Dave Mark points us to a more technical explanation for why you cannot outfit your brand spanking new MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM.

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How to bring back the classic boot chime on the new MacBook Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

The new MacBook Pro has ditched the iconic boot chime that's been a signature part of the Mac startup process over the last 17 years. Pingie discovered that the sound is not gone entirely. Apple's just disabled it and it's possible to bring it back should you want. In this quick tutorial, we'll show you how to re-enable the boot chime on your late-2016 MacBook Pro with a simple Terminal command.

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New MacBook Pro doesn’t play classic startup chime when turned on

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

As spotlighted by French blog MacGeneration.fr based on Pingie's discovery, Apple's latest MacBook Pro no longer plays the classic F-sharp major chime when the computer has been powered on (you can bring it back with a simple Terminal command).

The iconic boot sound's been part of the Mac since 1999, but Apple's apparently decided to break with the tradition beginning with the new MacBook Pro, perhaps because it turns on automatically as soon as you open the lid.

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New aerial footage shows major landscape changes as iSpaceship nears completion

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

YouTubers Duncan Sinfield and Matthew Roberts flew their drones above Apple Campus 2 like they do every month, bringing us breathtaking visual updates of construction progress at the iSpaceship site. Last month, we saw a bird's eye overview of the enormous ring-shaped building facade glowing at night and the month before landscaping work was beginning to show. Their latest footage reveals major landscape changes with large trees sprouting up everywhere around the new campus.

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Jony Ive speaks on MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, touchscreen Macs & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2016

Jony Ive, Apple's Chief Design Officer, sat for a Q&A with CNET's News Editor in Chief Connie Guglielmo following last week's “Hello again” Mac event. Ive talked about various topics, including design considerations behind the creation of the Touch Bar, a marquee new feature of the new notebook, saying it's “just the beginning of a very interesting direction”. He explained why Apple'd rejected a touchscreen iMac “many, many years ago” and more.

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