Apple

Apple creates new ‘Orchard’ program to develop marketing talent

Apple has created a new marketing apprenticeship program called 'Orchard,' reports MacRumors. The site discovered an intriguing landing page, tweeted out by a number of Apple employees, that leads to the Jobs section of Apple's website.

The Orchard is described as an "innovative, creative program" in the Marketing Communications group at Apple. Its mission is to bring together a talented and diverse group of up-and-coming creatives to grow and develop with professionals.

Apple issues a statement regarding sapphire protection on iPhone 7 camera lens

Coverage of YouTuber JerryRigEverything's scratch test of the iPhone 7's iSight camera lens wasn't lost on Apple. In the video, the device's camera lens is shown attracting scratch marks at a level six on the Mohs scale of hardness. That's quite surprising given both the official iPhone stats webpage and Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller insist all current iPhones use sapphire for camera lens protection.

Now, pure sapphire crystal should sustain scratches up to a level nine, so it's odd that the iPhone 7's camera lens would scratch more easily than it should. As it turns out, the sapphire “issue” was serious enough to warrant an official statement from Apple.

Identifying songs inside iOS 10 Messages with Shazam’s new iMessage app

Shazam, a music identification service that's integrated into iOS (“Hey Siri, what song is this?”), recently celebrated a billionth download of its popular mobile app. Today, the company pushed a sweet little update to Shazam and Shazam Encore iOS apps in the App Store. Bumped to version 10.1, the refresh software packs in a brand new iMessage app with support for music detection within iOS 10's stock Messages app, here's how to use it.

Latest iOS 10.1 and macOS Sierra betas now available to public beta testers

Apple today released a second beta of an upcoming iOS 10.1 software update and a third beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.1 software update to non-developers who are enrolled in the official Apple Beta Software Program.

Both macOS Sierra and iOS 10.1 public betas can be downloaded over-the-air through Apple's Software Update mechanism on devices enrolled in the beta program. iOS devices must have the proper certificate installed to run public betas.

Apple’s rescheduled earnings call could hint at unveiling of new Macs around October 27

Apple originally told investors it would be publicizing its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, October 27.

Curiously, a notice posted on the Apple Investor Relations website earlier this week has moved up the upcoming earnings call with Wall Street investors by two days to Tuesday, October 25, over what Apple describes as a simple “scheduling conflict”.

Longtime Apple reporter Philip Elmer-DeWitt speculates that the move might mean that Apple could be planning to hold a launch event for new Macs on October 27.

How to enable and use Secret Conversations in Facebook Messenger

iPhone screen showing Facebook Messenger app with an encrypted secret conversation

With secret conversations in Messenger, Facebook offers support for end-to-end encryption, giving you peace of mind knowing that a third party cannot decipher any sensitive messages with friends and family. These encrypted chats rely on a device key that ensures only you and the recipient can see the message.

You can verify the device key to confirm that the messages are end-to-end encrypted, set a timer to have secret messages disappear from the conversation, and so forth.

In this article, we show you how to set up and use end-to-end encrypted secret conversations in Facebook Messenger.

Apple discontinues third-generation Apple TV

The third-generation Apple TV debuted in March 2012 with a single-core A5 processor and 1080p video output, but now the device is being discontinued as Apple sharpens focus on the latest fourth-generation Apple TV that runs third-party apps and games via the tvOS App Store and comes with a more powerful hardware and the Siri Remote.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple has removed the device from its online store and confirmed in an email sent out to employees and education partners that it's phased out the device.

Only for true Apple fans: Twelve South’s candle smells like a freshly unboxed Mac

Do you remember what your Mac smelled like the first time you unboxed it? If not, Apple-exclusive accessory maker Twelve South has you covered with a hand poured soy wax candle that delivers a “new Mac” smell to your nose. “We took that scent—and literally bottled it,” wrote the company. The candle is part of Twelve South's line of merchandize that includes Mac-style T-shirts, hats, mugs and more.

Dropbox Paper app now available in the EU

Paper, a new productivity app from cloud storage experts over at Dropbox, launched in public beta in the United States a month ago. After a slight delay, Paper is now available to customers in the European Union. With the free Paper app (not to be confused with Facebook's experimental Paper app), you can collaborate on projects, get updates, make edits and respond to feedback right from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Yahoo releases Newsroom for iOS app with curated stories, personalized feeds & more

It's business as usual for the struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo which today released a brand new free of charge iPhone and iPad application, called Newsroom. The app provides curated stories and news content relevant to you and sports built-in social sharing features, personalized feeds and more. The 96.9-megabyte download requires an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 9 or later and is available at no charge from the App Store.

You can reduce motion and keep iMessage effects in iOS 10.1 beta

A handy improvement has been discovered in the first two betas of iOS 10.1: the ability to reduce motion while retaining the various iOS 10 iMessage features. It seems Apple has heard the complaints of users (me included) who like to turn off Parallax and other UI animations, but still want to be able to enjoy the new Messages app.