Apple

Chinese supplier claims MacBook Pro/Air refresh could happen this month

The new twelve-inch MacBook is the future of Apple's notebook lineup, but the MacBook Pro family being overdue for a refresh doesn't necessarily mean that the MacBook Air will be going away. According to the fairy reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara this morning, citing an unnamed Chinese supplier, Apple will be announcing some updated MacBook Airs and Pros later this month, possibly at WWDC.

Voice calls come to Slack, video calling and screen sharing in the works

Slack, a cloud-based, cross-platform team collaboration service, has rolled out support for voice calling, the team announced yesterday. With it, team members can call one another without leaving Slack, and calls even have an emoji response feature.

Calls are currently voice-only, but Slack says that features like video calling and screen sharing will come in the future. Slack is available across iOS, OS X, the web and other platforms.

iTunes U gains new import options and other perks in latest App Store update

Apple's iTunes U application has received a refresh in the App Store, bringing out a few new features. For starters, iTunes U 3.3 for iOS now takes advantage of third-party Document Provider extensions.

This enables iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners to easily add new materials from various cloud services for which they have an app installed on their device, such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox and so forth.

Shazam brings back offline mode

Music and media identification service Shazam pushed a new update to its mobile application in the App Store which enables offline mode. The feature used to be present in Shazam from day one before it was temporarily removed in the overhauled app.

With it, you can still Shazam while offline and the app will name any songs you captured in offline mode when you're back online. Shazam is a free app. The paid $6.99 Shazam Encore app is available to those who want to get rid of ads and use advanced features.

Apple to live stream this year’s WWDC keynote

It looks like Apple is going to once again be providing a live stream of its WWDC keynote address this year. On Tuesday the company updated its event website with a note that a stream of its keynote will go live on June 13 at 10:00 am (PST).

Users will be able to tune in on their Mac and iOS devices, via Apple's Safari web browser, and on Apple TV. Second and third generation ATVs will feature an Events channel, and fourth generation models with tvOS will get a standalone app.

New Google app turns Live Photos into animated GIFs and movies with cinematic backgrounds

Google today announced it's launching a brand new iPhone application aimed at those who wish to turn their Live Photos into animated GIFs. Aptly named Motion Stills, the app turns Live Photos into Motion Stills with Google’s stabilization technology and cinematic backgrounds.

These Motion Stills can then be shared as looping GIFs on social media. Motion Stills is available free in the App Store.

Foursquare’s Swarm app now offers real-life perks

If every day is a game, then there should be prizes, right? Foursquare's Swarm app has started offering just that, real-life perks depending on where and how often you check in. Called Swarm Challenges, this is yet another feature that Foursquare has brought back to Swarm from its main mobile application, which is now focused on places reviews while Swarm is all about the check-in game.

Apple posts public betas of iOS 9.3.3 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6

After seeding iOS 9.3.3 beta 2 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 beta 2 to the registered members of the Apple Developer Program yesterday, these new betas are now available to public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.

Public beta testers can apply these updates through the Software Update mechanism on devices enrolled into the Beta program that run a prior iOS/OS X beta.

Apple Pay rumored to be expanding to Switzerland next Monday

After launching in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, China and Singapore, Apple Pay is about to make its debut in Switzerland on Monday, June 13, German-language financial outlet Finews reported this morning.

It will reportedly be supported at launch by Swiss private bank Corner Bank but it's unclear from the report whether major banks UBS and Credit Suisse will work with the service beginning next Monday.

George Hotz’s $1,000 kit will transform your car into a self-driving one

George Hotz aka “GeoHot” is one of the pioneers of the early jailbreak scene. In December 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek ran a lengthy profile focused on Hotz's new project: a self-driving car kit. He's since secured funding for the project, Forbes reported, and now the kit that promises to transform your car into a self-driving vehicle for just $1,000 seems to be becoming a reality, as The Verge reports.

If Apple brought dark mode and Split View multitasking to iPhone 7

I've been a huge fan of OS X's dark theme which debuted with the release of OS X Yosemite back in October 2014. I also like to multitask on my iPad using OS 9's new Split View and Slide Over modes because they definitely increase productivity for me. But how cool would it be if Apple brought Split View to the iPhone 7 and OS X's dark mode to iOS 10?

A detailed conceptual renderings, created by Brazilian magazine iHelpBR imagine precisely this future playing out.