After enabling group audio calling on Messenger with support for up to 50 participants back in April 2016, Facebook today launched group video chatting on its popular messaging service. The ability to video chat in groups is the most requested Messenger feature ever, according to product manager Stephane Taine. The feature is rolling out today on iOS/Android and the desktop version of Messenger.
Highlighted at the “Hello again” Mac event in October, Minecraft for Apple TV is currently rolling out on the tvOS App Store. Developer Mojang also announced that Minecraft: Pocket Edition for iOS just received a big “Ender” update. Bringing the app's version number to 1.0, the “Ender” update enables a bunch of cool features and perks.
Some of them include the ultimate boss battle, Ender Dragon, new locations like The End, additional items such as the Dragon’s Breath potion and this year's Festive Mash-Up Pack with all kinds of holiday themed looks.
Later this week, Apple and the government of Ireland will appeal against the European Union's $14.5 billion tax ruling targeting Apple's sweetheart tax deal with Dublin that the EU deemed “illegal state aid.” According to Reuters today, the Cupertino firm will object to the fact that EU regulators ignored established tax experts and common corporate law.
Apple's legal strategy involves painting itself as a victim of its own success. EU deliberately singled out Apple due to its success and picked a method to maximize the penalty, said Apple's top lawyer Bruce Sewell.
Earlier this year, Apple poached Alexander Hitzinger, the former technical director of Porsche's race car program who helped the car maker return to the Le Mans endurance race, a company source told Reuters last Friday. The move was first reported by Germany's Manager Magazin.
Volkswagen-owned Porsche officially confirmed Hitzinger had left the luxury carmaker in the spring, but didn't share any further information.
Following its decision to exit the smartphone hardware business and focus on software, Blackberry today opened a new research and development center in Ottawa, Canada. The facility is dedicated to the development of autonomous driving software. According to Reuters, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the launch.
The facility is being run by Blackberry subsidiary QNX, which makes advanced driver assistance and autonomous vehicle technology used by car makers worldwide.
Last week's macOS Sierra 10.12.2 software update squashed a number of bugs and patched a few newly discovered vulnerabilities, among them one that allowed an attacker to obtain your FileVault disk encryption password by plugging in a $300 Thunderbolt device into a locked or sleeping Mac.
As detailed by security researcher Ulf Frisk, attackers must have physical access to your Mac in order to exploit the vulnerability. The obtained password may be used to unlock your Mac's disk and access everything on it.
All iPhone 8 models will feature curved OLED displays, reports The Korea Herald. Citing sources familiar with the plans, the outlet says Apple has placed large orders with Samsung Display for plastic (not glass) OLED panels—similar to those used on the Galaxy S7 Edge—to use in its next handset.
Apple this year is giving each of its retail employees a special edition t-shirt and credo printing gift for the holidays. MacRumors has photos of the presents, which show a gray t-shirt featuring a two-circle design made up of all of Apple's retail locations.
As for the credo, it's printed on what appears to be glossy, heavy paper and it even comes in a protective envelop. Apple introduced the 6-paragraph statement earlier this year, which starts off "we are here to enrich lives, to help dreamers become doers."
tvOS packs in Apple's attractive new Aerial screen saver which plays eye-candy high-definition drone footage of various landmarks and places from around the globe in gorgeous slow motion. Apple has now added 21 new videos to the Aerial screen saver, as first discovered by our own Jim Gresham.
The latest arrivals include birds-eye imagery from Dubai, Greenland, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and United Arab Emirates. Plus, there are now three new videos of Chinese landmarks for a total of 21 new drone clips.
YouTubers Matthew Roberts and Duncan Sinfield have been taking their drones to the skies above Apple Campus 2 site on a monthly basis to update us on construction work progress.
Still, nothing illustrates the breathtaking pace of development better than an expertly done time-lapse.
Your wish is Matthew's command: he's taken it upon himself to put together a jaw-dropping 4K drone time-lapse footage that shows just how much progress has been made on iSpaceship over the past six months.
The macOS Sierra 10.12.2 software update, released three days ago, removes your Mac battery's time remaining indicator but owners of the new MacBook Pro won't see any improvements to their notebook's battery life as a result of the update.
As ArsTechnica noted, the company “told us repeatedly and emphatically that it had taken no specific steps to improve MacBook Pro battery life” with macOS Sierra 10.12.2.
Now, some people have reported seeing improved battery performance after installing the update on their MacBook Pro, but there's a reasonable explanation for that.
LG's display-making arm is said to be gearing up to kick off volume production of foldable displays for future iPhones, said Korean news outlet ETNews. In addition to Apple, LG Display should supply foldable displays to Google and Microsoft in 2018. LG-developed foldable display prototypes were of sufficient quality for the company to secure global manufacturers as its partners.