Shigeru Miyamoto, the world-renowned Japanese video game designer, producer and creator of the Mario Bros series, announced on stage at Apple's event today that the Mario Bros series is coming to iOS devices exclusively in the form of a new game, called Super Mario Run. It's got a one-handed mode with tap-based controls letting you jump, change Mario's direction and so forth.
Trademark lawyer Brian Conroy today discovered some additional trademark filings by Apple, including one for something called “A10 Fusion” and the other for “iSight Duo”. Both of these trademarks were filed for on June 8, 2016 in Brunei. Additionally, Apple also filed for “Depth” and “Writeboard” trademarks.
The iPhone 7 Plus is said to have a dual-lens camera that should allow for true optical zoom and possibly the ability to refocus images after they have been taken.
First iPhone 7 shipments are now going out worldwide in preparation for launch, according to a report Wednesday by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes. Apple's supply chain is now loading up with first iPhone 7 shipments, sources entrenched in Apple's supply chain told the publication.
Two days ago, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn reportedly shipped 371,000 units of the iPhone 7 to retailers and carriers in Italy, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus should go on sale Friday, September 16, meaning Apple will be collecting pre-orders for the device for about a week following today's unveiling. September 16 retail availability for the device was mentioned Wednesday by Italian outlet iPhoneItalia.it, based on suspected photographs showing alleged iPhone 7 box design. On a related note, web reports out of China are claiming that the iPhone 7 is now shipping out to various countries in preparation for launch.
Mashable is reporting that photo-sharing service Instagram has begun taking away Photo Maps from user profiles, a feature that renders photos on a world map based on where you took them as determined by the embedded GPS data. An Instagram spokesperson said they've begun ditching Photo Maps because they didn't prove popular with users (your individual Instagram posts remain geotagged). Photo Maps will remain on your profile tab for now though Instagram plans to remove them from there, too.
Steve Jobs once famously dissed styli, saying “If you see a stylus, they blew it”. But this is Tim Cook's Apple now and under his leadership the company has actually built a stylus (pardon me, a pencil) that, for now, works with the iPad Pro. According to a resurfaced Tim Cook interview with NDTV’s Vikram Chandra, the iPhone 7 might support the Pencil.
“f you’ve ever seen what can be created with that pencil on an iPad or an iPhone, it’s really unbelievable,” Cook said in the interview. Some observes think Cook simply misspoke. But did he, really?
We have some last minute images of claimed iPhone 7 units leaked by Vietnamese outlet Techsignin ahead of Apple's iPhone 7 and Apple Watch 2 event today. A pair of photos provide yet another look at the backside of the iPhone 7, showing a rumored new four-part LED flash, a slightly curved camera design, a waterproof SIM tray and more.
Of course, the photos also show off that new black colorway that many people seem to be clamoring for. Check out the images and post your thoughts in the comments.
With just a few hours left until Apple's big reveal, the Apple Online Store has gone offline. “We've got something special in store for you,” reads the message. “And we can't wait for you to see it.” Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7, Apple Watch 2, new Beats accessories and more.
As usual, the store will come back online after the event has wrapped up.
With 24 hours left until the iPhone 7 keynote, a bunch of Apple trademark filings have now surfaced, as recently discovered by lawyer Brian Conroy. The documents provide some solid hints as to some of the gadgets the Cupertino firm may have been working on and could release at tomorrow's event.
One of the more peculiar trademark filings is that for “Iris Engine”, potentially hinting at iris scanning capabilities believed to be coming to a future iPhone.
Another one is for “AirPod Case”, which probably denotes a carrying and charging case for AirPods, Apple's alleged Bragi Dash-style high-end Bluetooth in-ear buds.
Apple's wireless headphones, likely to be called “AirPods”, will take advantage of an in-house designed Bluetooth chip and be marketed as a high-end alternative to the Beats brand, which itself will be positioned in the mid-range market, according to a note by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In his report to clients, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, Kuo writes that Apple's custom-designed chip improves Bluetooth reliability, sound quality and battery performance for longer battery life versus an off-the-shelf chip.
Eighty-eight percent of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices are currently using iOS 9, a one-point increase over the iOS 9 adoption rate of 87 percent which was recorded about three weeks ago.
During the same timeframe, iOS 8 has gone from ten percent of devices in August 15 to nine percent of devices. 'Earlier' versions continue to power three percent of older devices out there, as per newest stats on the App Store dashboard for developers.
Apple Music for Android has passed ten million downloads, according to meta data from Google's Play Store. Apple Music's Android app was last updated on August 25, bumping version number to 1.1.1 and bringing out various app and performance improvements. The app made its debut on Google's ubiquitous mobile platform as a public beta in November 2015, six months following Apple Music unveiling at WWDC 2015. In August 2016, it exited beta and is now for the most part on par with its iOS counterpart in terms of features.