The vast majority of iPhones and Macs are manufactured and assembled in China so when Apple in 2012 announced that its partner Flextronics would produce the Mac Pro chassis at its manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, some people were expectedly skeptical.
Apple's second-generation Smart Battery Case for the latest iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max smartphones is definitely a solid accessory. But at a somewhat pricey $129 a pop, is it really worth basically a $100 more than inexpensive third-party alternatives on the low end?
It’s been quite a few years since Apple has used the classic ‘slide to unlock’ interface on any of its mobile handsets, and with the advancements in biometric authentication and software since then it should be safe to say it isn’t coming back; at least not officially.
But if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic about the slide to unlock interface, then you’ll be thrilled to learn about a new free jailbreak tweak called Slyd (SlideToUnlock) by iOS developer Nepeta. Just as the name implies, this tweak ports the classic slide to unlock interface from iOS 7 to iOS 11.
The iOS 12.2 beta includes a previously unseen landing page for a new digital subscription feature within the stock News app, called Apple News Magazines.
A setup card in the iOS 12.2 beta confirms Apple's working on a new AirPods version with a built-in Hey Siri that could launch around iOS 12.2's release in a matter of few weeks.
Safari on the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta, which was released last week, permits websites to automatically adapt their styling to complement Mojave's dramatic new Dark Mode.
Apple in October put out Safari Technology Preview 68 with support for the prefers-color-scheme media query for styling dark mode content. This experimental feature's now made its way into the Safari browser that ships in the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 developer beta.
Websites that support dark themes still appear white in the current macOS Mojave 10.14.3...This super-useful feature can be manually enabled or disabled in Safari's Develop menu under Experimental Features → Dark Mode CSS Support, as shown top of post. However, That option is nowhere to be seen in the current macOS Mojave 10.14.3 software.
...but on MacOS Mojave 10.14.4 they automatically adapt to OS appearance.When macOS Mojave 10.14.4 releases, turning on Mojave's Dark Mode in System Preferences will now change the styling on websites you visit accordingly. This will, of course, require web developers to implement black themes and adopt the new media query.
If you have the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta installed, you can try this out yourself by visiting Kevin Chain's example webpage, then switch between Light and Dark mode in System Preferences to see the website automatically apply an appropriate theme.
Again, this does not work in Safari on macOS Mojave 10.14.3 and earlier.
A white webpage looks out of place when Dark Mode in the current Mojave version is on.Safari Technology Preview gives you an early look at upcoming web technologies in macOS and iOS. Anyone can install it alongside the regular Safari and use them interchangeably.
This looks more like it, however. Courtesy of Safari on macOS Mojave 10.14.4.The biggest annoyance with Mojave's Dark Mode currently is Safari's lack of support for the new media query. With macOS Mojave 10.14.4, Apple's web browser will finally be able to allow websites to automatically cycle their styling for Light and Dark system appearances.
TUTORIAL: How to get Dark Mode on any website with Siri Shortcuts
Dark Mode in Mojave transform your desktop into a darkened color scheme that puts the focus on your content. It changes the look of built-in apps like Mail, Messages, Calendar and more. An official API permits developers to do the same for their own apps.
What you'll find embedded below is a very cool comparison between automatic theme switching on websites when cycling between Dark and Light Mode in MacOS Mojave 10.14.4.
Just drag the vertical slider to see it in action.
Since macOS Mojave was released to the public in September, numerous apps have added support for the system-wide Dark Mode, including 1Password, HazeOver, Spark and more.
Dark Mode is officially unsupported on iOS, but a number of popular apps have adopted dark themes internally. Because there's no OS-level support for Dark Mode in iOS 12, users must manually turn on a darker interface in their favorite app, provided it supports it.
Dark Mode in Bear Notes for Mac.Be sure to check out Apple’s list of the top apps that feature darkened or pure black interfaces. A fan-made website over at Darkmodelist.com highlights more than 70 iPhone and iPad apps with custom dark themes along with screenshots.
Apple's App Store list of apps with black themes.macOS Mojave 10.14.4 will also bring support for Apple News in Canada and the ability for Safari to automatically fill in your saved passwords with a touch of the Touch ID button.
The software update should releases to all users in a few weeks.
Are you looking forward to Safari's support for Dark Mode styling on website?
Let us know by leaving a comment down below!
Apple's handy AutoFill feature on the macOS Mojave 10.14.4 beta has been streamlined with much needed support for Touch ID. This lets you automatically fill in user names and passwords on webpages just by putting your finger on the fingerprint reader.
Developer Khaos Tian has managed to add his Smart TV to the Home app on the iOS 12.2 beta by hacking Apple's HomeKit protocol. As a result, he's discovered, screenshotted and capture on video some of the upcoming HomeKit features for Smart TV integration and control.
The Apple News service will come to Canada with the forthcoming iOS 12.2 and macOS Mojave 10.14.4 software updates. Apple News launched in the United States on September 16, 2015 in iOS 9 before expanding to Australia and the United Kingdom.
Responding to the outrage from the artistic community after it announced the "Shot on iPhone Challenge" contest earlier this week, Apple's now confirmed that ten winning photographers will indeed be compensated for their work.
Facebook is reportedly planning to integrate chats from its three major properties: WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
This was reported Friday by The New York Times. A Facebook spokesperson has confirmed the report's findings via a written statement to the newspaper.
The different chats should be merged sometime in 2020.
According to sources, Facebook's boss and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg recently summoned WhatsApp employees to announce the merging of the company's messagings services.
They balked at the plan, the article reads:
On December 7, employees gathered around microphones at WhatsApp’s offices to ask Mr. Zuckerberg why he was so invested in merging the services. Some said his answers were vague and meandering. Several WhatsApp employees have left or plan to leave because of Mr. Zuckerberg’s plans, the people said.
If Facebook proceeds with the plan, customers will be able to start a chat with another user irrespective of whether they're on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram. As an example, a Messenger user could start chatting with a friend of Instagram, or vice versa. In another instance, a WhatsApp user would be able to chat directly with a contact on Instagram.
From the article:
By stitching the apps’ infrastructure together, Mr. Zuckerberg wants to increase the utility of the social network, keeping its billions of users highly engaged inside its ecosystem. If people turn more regularly to Facebook-owned properties for texting, they may forgo rival messaging services, such as those from Apple and Google, said the people, who declined to be identified because the moves are confidential.
Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp will remain separate apps: the company will not merge them into a unified mega-app for chatting.
This integration would include end-to-end encryption to protect communications as the messages are transmitted between the three different chat services.
It was however unclear at post time how this would work in practice considering that people go by their real name on Facebook versus the anonymity that Instagram and WhatsApp provide.
Today, WhatsApp requires people to register only a phone number to sign up for the service. By contrast, Facebook and Facebook Messenger ask users to provide their real identities. Matching Facebook and Instagram users to their WhatsApp handles could give pause to those who prefer keeping their use of each app compartmentalized.
Is this a good idea, do you think?
Let us know in the comments!
Ahead of Chinese New Year which falls on February 5, Apple's official YouTube channel yesterday released a short shot-on-iPhone film about the taste of home.
Titled "The Bucket" and done by acclaimed director Jia Zhangke, the video asks the question: "What gifts would your parents prepare when your Chinese New Year visit comes to an end?".
It invites the viewer to capture the taste of home this Chinese New Year with their iPhone.
The taste of homeAnd here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-TqfxpfgU
Apple has also posted a pair of behind-the-scenes videos in which the author sheds some light on how slowing time with the Slo-mo camera feature makes emotions last longer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRn6SutCmcU
"Use Slo-mo to prolong and savor the taste of home this Chinese New Year," Apple advises. In the following making-of video, Jia discusses bridging the gap between his subject matter and audience through the Depth Control feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lYFWtSIPiM
"Use Depth Control to get closer to the taste of home this Chinese New Year," says Apple.
Shot on iPhone, but...These short films were all shot on the new iPhone XS.
As we saw with other Apple-commissioned clips, third-party accessories for filmmaking were most likely used in the making of these clips to stabilize footage, capture aerial scenes and more, with color-correction and editing likely done in professional video editing apps.
Prime examples of such professionally done videos include recent short films about a teenage athlete from American Samoa and Japan’s extravagantly decorated trucks, called "decotora," that attempt to highlight low-light photography improvements of the latest handsets.
Shot on iPhone contestThree days ago, Apple announced a contest inviting iPhone users from around the globe to submit their best shots for a chance to be featured on billboards, in retail stores and online.
Submissions will be accepted from January 22 to February 7, and Apple says a panel of judges will be selecting 10 winning photos.
Apple to pay licensing feesResponding to criticism by the artistic community that it will use select works from the winning iPhone photographers on billboards without compensation, Apple has since updated the content announcement to acknowledge that winning artists will be paid for their work.
"Apple believes strongly that artists should be compensated for their work," reads the updated press release. "Photographers who shoot the final 10 winning photos will receive a licensing fee for use of such photos on billboards and other Apple marketing channels."
What do you think about these new shot-on-iPhone ads?
Let us know in the comments down below.