News

KGI: iPhone 8’s FaceTime camera to support 3D sensing, AR, biometric authentication & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 21, 2017

We heard before that Apple might integrate augmented reality features into iPhone 8’s Camera app and now KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has provided fresh details about a “revolutionary” front-facing camera system that will “bring an innovative user experience” to Apple's first OLED iPhone.

In a note to clients, obtained by AppleInsider, the analyst writes that a pair of infrared transmitting and receiving sensors on the FaceTime camera will help the next iPhone provide features ranging from 3D sensing and modeling to advanced biometric authentication combining facial scanning and Touch ID fingerprint recognition.

See how Alexa compares to Siri with Reverb

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

If you missed our post nearly a year ago about a web app at Echoism.io that lets you try out Alexa in a web browser, you're going to like a new app, called Reverb, that brings Amazon's personal assistant to your Mac desktop, as well as iPhone and iPad.

The brain child of developers at digital consultancy agency Rain, Reverb is available at no charge from App Store and Mac App Store or in your favorite web browser.

Reverb takes advantage of the fact that Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service is now available as a web service to access through a web browser and other thin clients, with the recent API 2.0 update having enabled a richer set of features.

macOS 10.12.4 beta 3 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

Aside from watchOS 3.2 beta 3, tvOS 10.2 beta 3 and iOS 10.3 beta 3 with a new name and shame list for legacy apps, Apple today seeded a third beta of what would become the fourth major update to Sierra since its launch last fall. macOS Sierra 10.12.4 beta 3 (build 16E163f) with Night Shift Mode and other perks is now available to registered developers.

You can deploy the latest beta over the air on your Mac through the Mac App Store's Updates tab. Today's release is only for developers but a version aimed at public beta testers should drop in the next 24 hours.

Apple also seeds third betas of tvOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 28, 2025

Aside from seeding iOS 10.3 beta 3 to members of the Apple Developer Program, Apple this morning released a third beta of both watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2 for developer testing as well. watchOS 3.2 beta 3 (build 14V5224d) and tvOS 10.2 beta 3 (build 14W5241c) are both available over the air via Software Update.

iOS 10.3 beta 3 seeded to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

Apple this morning seeded to members of the Apple Developer Program a third beta of what would become the iOS 10.3 software update with Find My AirPods and a bunch of other new features. iOS 10.3 beta 3 (build 14E5249d) is available over the air via Software Update on devices with an appropriate configuration profile installed. We'll update the article with possible new changes discovered in beta 3 if we encounter them. New betas of macOS Sierra, watchOS 3.2 and tvOS 10.2 are available for developer testing, too.

Apple reportedly buys Israeli facial recognition company RealFace

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 23, 2017

Hot on the heels of multiple reports calling for some sort of facial recognition on iPhone 8 to potentially augment or supplant Touch ID, news reaches us that Apple has acquired RealFace, a machine learning and facial recognition company hailing from Israel.

The Tel Aviv-based startup, founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, was bought for $2 million, according to the Times of Israel. Hebrew-language financial outlet Calcalist pegged the deal's value at several millions dollars. RealFace is innovating user authentication with what it calls the worlds leading facial recognition technology.

Snapchat kicks off online sales of iPhone-connected Spectacles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Spectacles, a pair of camera glasses developed and manufactured by Snapchat, are no longer exclusively distributed via the company's pop-up vending machines, called Snapbots. Today, Spectacles became available for purchase online, CNET reported Monday. Available in three vivid colors and expected to ship in 2-4 weeks, the $130 Google Glass-like accessory is now available online via spectacles.com.

Possible downgrade to iOS 10.2 from iOS 10.2.1 for some users

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ Updated February 23, 2021

Are you are stuck on iOS 10.2.1 or higher, having missed the iOS 10.2 signing window and therefore the Yalu jailbreak? If so, you may be in luck today, provided you have the correct setup. Early reports have come in that some devices are creating nonce collisions on iOS 10.3 b1, providing an indirect route back to iOS 10.2 through Prometheus.

For this clever workaround to come off, you must have a device which produces collisions, namely the iPhone 5s or (possibly, though not confirmed on iOS 10.3 b1), an iPad Air. If you do, you may be able to downgrade from iOS 10.2.1 to iOS 10.2 and jailbreak, by first downloading and installing iOS 10.3 beta 1, and then downgrading to iOS 10.2 using futurerestore.

Apple may not be building Siri-powered Amazon Echo rival after all

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

Tim Bajarin, writing for Time magazine, is claiming that Apple may not be building an Amazon Echo rival after all. Instead, he said, the company could be more interested in turning Siri into a ubiquitous feature across its device lineup.

“After talking with Apple executives, I've come away with the impression that they're more interested in turning Siri into an omnipresent artificial assistant across devices, rather than designing a single device specifically to serve as a Siri machine,” he said.

Rumor: four new iPad Pros, 128GB iPhone SE and iPhone 7 in Red to be unveiled next month

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

Fairly reliable website Mac Otakara is reporting that Apple will be holding a media event next month to announce hardware updates for several of its popular products. Wondering what's on tap for a refresh? According to the Japanese publication, Apple will add a new 128-gigabyte iPhone SE model to the existing 16GB and 64GB capacities.

In addition, we should also see the previously rumored Red model of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and four new iPad Pro models introduced at the event.

Disney creates prototype living room with ubiquitous wireless power delivery

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

While speculation keeps mounting that iPhone 8 might come outfitted with some kind of wireless charging technology, a research arm of the entertainment conglomerate Disney has engineered and shown off a prototype living room capable of ubiquitous power delivery over-the-air without requiring any cables, wires or charging pads.

The solution is based on aluminum panels, which cover the walls, ceiling and floor, a single generator located just outside the room and a copper pipe containing more than a dozen capacitors which are capable of setting the electromagnetic frequency of the structure and finding the electric fields.

Apple shifting towards regionally-focused digital and social media campaigns

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2017

According to a recent report from AdWeek, Apple has instructed TBWA\Media Arts Lab to sharpen focus on digital and regional advertising campaigns.

Apple is said to have been streamlining its global marketing efforts and restructuring relationship with its longtime global advertising partner.

The Cupertino company now wants the legendary agency to focus more on creating tailor-made campaigns for regional markets and less on translating its big brand campaigns for global markets. As a result of the change, TBWA\Media Arts Lab’s Los Angeles headquarters and other offices around the world had to layoff an unknown number of translation and transcreation staff.