Apple

Apple has finished filming Planet of the Apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 11, 2017

Apple has reportedly finished filming Planet of the Apps, an unscripted television show about apps and their talented creators, MacRumors has learned from a person familiar with the project. The Cupertino company reportedly built a real set near Hollywood in order to record the show and tore it down at the conclusion of filming.

The whole filming process was apparently “very stressful,” but “exhilarating”. It's unclear when the reality series will air, but it's believed that Apple plans on making it available to Apple Music subscribers at no charge.

Another Apple Watch Series 2 ad highlights closing Activity rings

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 11, 2017

Apple on Saturday released a new fitness-focused advertisement for Apple Watch Series 2 through its official YouTube channel. Titled “Catch, Swim, Play”, the commercial invites viewers to be more active and close their Activity rings. The latest 15-second video is a continuation of the previous mini-ad which also challenged viewers to close their Activity rings by moving more, having some exercise and standing up every 50 minutes for a bit.

Is iPhone 7’s matte black finish susceptible to chips and peeling?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2017

Has the anodized finish on your matte black iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus started to chip or peel off? You're probably not alone. As evidenced by user posts in a multi-page thread on Apple's support forum, a growing number of people are complaining that their matte black Apple smartphone is showing paint chips around its edges, even with the use of a case.

Does this feel like ScuffGate all over again?

iPhone 8 again rumored to sport iris scanning and wireless charging

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2017

Apple's iPhone 8 is (again) rumored to feature wireless charging and iris scanning to permit users to authenticate themselves securely with their eyes, DigiTimes reported Friday. The report, citing sources from Apple's supply chain, adds that the Cupertino company has moved up iPhone 8 production earlier than the schedule in previous years.

According to the report, suppliers are scheduled to begin delivering parts and components for Apple's tenth anniversary handset later in the first quarter of this year.

Following delay, Apple’s W1-equipped BeatsX are now available for purchase

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2017

Following an extended delay, Apple's BeatsX earphones are now available for purchase from Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and other retailers. The $150 earphones file as Apple's most affordable audio product powered by the in-house designed W1 wireless chip, also found in the $160 AirPods, $200 PowerBeats3 and $300 Beats Solo3 headphones. The W1 chip enables seamless iCloud pairing with Apple devices and reliable wireless audio connection. BeatsX also work on non-Apple hardware as standard Bluetooth headsets.

The earbuds sport 8-hour battery life and come with a Siri-compatible RemoteTalk with built-in playback controls that let you control your music without using Siri.

iCloud was storing deleted browsing histories, but Apple fixed the issue

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

A Russian forensics firm named Elcomsoft has discovered that Apple was storing users' Safari browsing histories in iCloud going back more than a year, possibly much longer. This was happening even after users had asked for any deleted records to be wiped from their iCloud-connected devices. Soon after Elcomsoft announced a way to extract deleted browsing histories from iCloud, Apple applied a server-side fix to stop the retrievals and apparently purged all records older than two weeks.

All BeatsX purchases come with three free months of Apple Music

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Apple's W1-equipped BeatsX earphones with a new flexible neckband design should be available to purchase this Friday in Black or White along with a pair of new color options: Gray and Blue. A few hands-on videos have gone live ahead of the official launch.

Comparing BeatsX to AirPods, YouTuber Jonathan Morrison has discovered that all purchases of BeatsX come with a code that customers can redeem for three free months of Apple Music (on top of Apple Music's existing three-month free trial).

New malware uses auto-running macros in Word documents to infect your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Taking advantage of a primitive Windows technique relying on automatically-running macros embedded in Microsoft Word documents, a new type of Mac malware attack has been discovered recently. As first noted in a research compiled by Objective-See, the technique used may be crude but once an unsuspecting user opens an infected Word document and chooses to run the macros, the malware installs itself silently on the target Mac and immediately attempts to download a hazardous payload.

You can now check detailed weather forecast on Facebook

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

You can now safely delete those weather apps on your iPhone as Facebook just launched a brand new weather forecast section in its iPhone and iPad app and on the web, powered by Weather.com.

An updated version of its earlier weather greetings in News Feed, this latest feature addition indicates that the social networking behemoth continues to seek out new ways to increase user engagement and boost the stickiness of its platform.

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Tim Cook visits Downing Street, talks Brexit and more with UK Prime Minister Theresa May

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

Hot on the heels of his days-long European tour that saw him receive an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow after visiting various locations including Marseille, Paris, Vreden and Berlin, Apple CEO Tim Cook meet the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Theresa May this morning at 10am local time. May and Cook discussed the company's presence in the country in the aftermath of Brexit.

Video: Tim Cook receives honorary degree from University of Glasgow, chats with students

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 9, 2017

As announced last week, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has received an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow, in the United Kingdom. Following the official ceremony last night, Cook sat down for a fireside chat with students. Just prior to the session, he stopped at the Glasgow Apple Store and talked to customers.

The Apple CEO discussed a range of topics, including immigration, Apple Pencil, the legacy of Steve Jobs and more. A full video of Cook’s appearance at the University of Glasgow is now available for you to enjoy.