Apple

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is already letting us in on the details of the upcoming Apple Watch Series 5. Apparently, an expansion of the ECG support feature to include more countries and a return of the ceramic casing is in the cards.

The upcoming Apple iPhone's screen could double-up as a speaker going by the company's patent filing at the USPTO. The patent is not detailed explicitly but does point to hermetic sealing around the device. It also suggests reduction of distortion by ensuring a near-perfect vertical speaker diaphragm motion. While not 100% indicative, there is every possibility of Apple incorporating this technology following in the footsteps of Android phones such as the LG G8 ThinQ.

Google engineers are developing a 'back/forward cache' to reduce the latency with which Chrome returns to a previous page, or goes forward from one. This involves saving an entire webpage in memory, JavaScript included. While this may enhance the browser's UX, it also implies privacy issues.

The HERO7 Black is the top-spec'd SKU of its GoPro camera series. It is now available in a limited-edition alternative finish, Dusk White. This version will be released on March 3, 2019 on gopro.com and selected retailers worldwide.

RAVPower, the well-known accessory-maker, has a stand at MWC this year. It showcases a new PD charger, an ultra-thin (14mm) 'wall wart' based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology. RAVPower also has a new wireless charging stand that is also a power bank.

The popular case-maker Spigen is collaborating with Ossia, a true-wireless charging pioneer, to bring a phone case that integrates the necessary Cota technology to market. The two groups have brought renders of this product (which comprises a 'phone sleeve' and a transceiver) to this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC19).

Jim Harris, an author and speaker on disruptive innovations, has released a new report on consumer tech ahead of MWC 2019. In it, he claims that 59% of all the money spent in the same market in 2018 was expended on smartphones. Harris also asserts that Android is now the most popular software platform.

It has been reported that TSMC could have a 5 nm FinFET process ready for commercial use by 2020, and the rumored Apple A14 SoC would be one of the first chips to benefit from the advanced technology. The semiconductor foundry has announced it will start risk production for 5 nm technology in the second half of this year.

Renders of a foldable iPhone have been created and published by LetsGoDigital. The images are based on a patent application Apple made with the USPTO. Unlike many recent foldable offerings, the smartphone does not turn into a tablet-sized device. The standout feature of this potential foldable iPhone is that it can fold inwards and outwards.

PlusUs has introduced its Xpad, a charging pad that measures only 2.2 millimeters in depth. This spec leads the start-up to assert that it is the thinnest product of its kind worldwide. It is available as a reward as part of an Indiegogo campaign, which aims to raise US$20,000.

The latest corporate acquisition in the AI field for Apple is San Francisco-based PullString, a company that was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and has been working on "shaping the future of voice applications" ever since. The value of the deal is rumored to be around US$30 million.

Ming-Chi Kuo, one of the most accurate analyst going around when it comes to Apple’s product plans, has spilled the beans on its entire 2019 product pipeline. Kuo’s latest investor note for TF International Securities includes details about the next iPhone, Mac news, iPad news, AirPod news, a 6K 31.5-inch monitor and a ceramic Apple Watch.

Apple does not quite match up to some other major software companies in terms of smart-home products. It has only one product dedicated to this market: the HomePod. The company may by trying to change this by hiring Sam Jadallah, an ex-Microsoft executive with experience in the smart-home space.

A fresh patent granted to Apple shows that the Cupertino giant is hard at work on its own foldable smartphone. Interestingly, there are several different types of options that Apple is looking at in terms of the way the screen folds, the number of folding segments, and the types of hinges that it might use.

According to data from Sensor Tower, Facebook was the top app publisher in the world for Q4 2018, with over 800 million app installations. It was also the number one publisher on Google Play, amassing nearly 700 million installs. The App Store champion publisher was Google, which managed close to 200 million installs for the quarter.

Apple will release red versions of the iPhone XS and XS Max, but only in China. At least, this is what a new post on Weibo claims. It cites the OEM's declining fortunes in the country in this apparent marketing decision.

A new report from the NBD Group shows that smartwatch sales in the US increased by 51% from November 2017 to November 2018. Wear OS only accounted for a maximum of 12% of all of these wearables sold. The rest of the sales were those from the top 3 in this market: Apple, Fitbit and Samsung.

The new video streaming service will be officialized on March 25 and should be launched by summer. There will be some free content, some Apple-funded shows, the usual selection of movies and shows, plus the possibility to access content providers like Starz. Additionally, Apple is planning to release a sub-based news service.

The Apple App Store and Google Play Store host an app called Absher in Saudi Arabia. It is an official portal by which users can manage their legal travel-related obligations. However, multiple Middle East experts allege that it is also used to restrict freedom of movement for women in the country.

Analysts for the financial services giant Goldman Sachs have estimated that Google paid Apple around US$9.5 billion over the calendar year 2018 to remain the default search engine on iOS-powered devices. Bankers are concerned that Apple, especially its Services division, is relying too heavily on this particular revenue source.

A new post on the Greek Apple leaks site iPhoneHellas alleges that the second-generation AirPods will launch in March. However, a second tipster, OnLeaks, has also asserted that his sources say they will be released 'in the fall'. Both reports contain different details on what their maker may release alongside or in conjunction with these wireless earbuds.

According to some recent leaks, Apple may resurrect the iPad Mini name this year. A new post on MacOtakara has suggested that this tablet may be even more budget-friendly than usual. It claims that the 5th generation of the device could use the A10 Fusion - the chipset found in the iPhone 7.

Apple was supposed to completely fix the eavesdropping vulnerability triggered via the Group feature in the FaceTime app last week, but it looks like the company found a few more bugs and fixed them as well. One bug is related to the Live Photos feature in FaceTime, while the other two are related to memory corruption flaws occurring in the IOKit and Foundation.

A recent report in TechCrunch has revealed that a number of companies use a service that allows 'session replay', which can effectively translate into recordings of what users do on their iOS apps. This data can include on-screen taps and text field inputs. Apple has responded by insisting that all developers disclose their use of these services.

The latest update to the VLC media player (4.0) will bring more features, especially for iOS. However, it will also no longer support older versions of the same platform, along with some others (e.g. Windows XP). It also now offers the ability to play a full list of music without pauses of any kind.

Unleashed upon Windows and macOS gamers earlier today, World of Tanks 1.4 brings a few wheeled vehicles to the French tech tree, a reworked map (Ghost Town), new tweaks to the Personal Missions, a few buffs to the Object 279 Early and Chimera special tanks, concurrent rendering support, and other changes.

Apple Senior Vice President (SVP) of Retail Angela Ahrendts is leaving Apple after five years in the role. Ahrendts was a high-profile hire for Apple, who managed to lure her from her role as CEO of fashion brand Burberry to lead Apple’s retail evolution.

A Samsung Galaxy S10+ variant with the model number SM-G975F has been spotted on Geekbench by MySmartPrice, and it has delivered some impressive scores. It managed 4,472 in the single-core test and scored 10,387 points in the multi-core benchmark. This particular version of the Samsung Galaxy S10+ is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 9820 SoC.

Anker now has a USB type C-to-Lightning cable with MFi certifcation available for pre-order on its website. This cable is 3 feet in length and has TPE shielding for durability and longevity. Anker claims that it can charge an iPhone (8 or later) by as much as 50% in 30 minutes, so long as a USB-PD brick is used.

A new report by ResearchandMarkets.com has indicated that the mobile wallet market value could reach as much as US$9,352.15 billion by 2026. This is particularly impressive as it was worth about $880 billion in 2017. This growth may be driven by factors such as improved awareness of these products, and improvements in the services they provide.

With the release of the iPhone XR, the comparably 'budget' SE line seemed to have been killed off by Apple. Now, however, there are hints that it may be resurrected for this year or the next. A new post on SlashLeaks shows a phone that could be a convincing contender for a genuine iPhone SE 2019.

It has been reported that a former Apple employee has been charged with stealing information about self-driving cars from the Cupertino company. The worker, named as Jizhong Chen, has been accused of taking photos in sensitive areas and obtaining detailed information about the secret project with the intention of passing the details on to a rival Chinese firm.

The legal procedures were initiated by attorney Larry Williams II who claims that key persons were able to eavesdrop on his sworn testimony given during a client deposition via the FaceTime bug. Apple appears to have known about the problem since early last week, but it only issued a temporary fix on February 28, and a full patch is expected to be released later this week.

Apple’s iPhone revenue plunged a precipitous 15 percent on a year-over-year basis for the holiday quarter, as it had indicated in a rare revenue warning to investors. Despite this, it remains the second largest quarter in Apple’s history as other areas of its business managed to keep the overall slide to just 5 percent year-over-year.

The mobile versions of Fortnite (those that work on the Android and Apple platforms) now allow the use of Bluetooth controllers rather than on-screen controls. This new level of support comes with the 7.30 patch update, which also adds the 60Hz support for select Android devices. It also offers the Chiller grenade, a new, seasonal, ranged weapon.

Some alarming reports of a serious error in Group FaceTime associated with iOS 12.1 or later, have emerged. This bug allows an iPhone user to activate the call microphone of a second iPhone, whether its own user is aware of this or not. Apple has announced that they are working on a solution, and has also addressed it in the interim by shutting the video-call service down on their end.

The iPhone has had a bumpy couple of months. iOS 12.1.2, released last month, broke cellular connectivity for some users. The problem got so bad that Sprint issued a warning to its customers to wait on updating. There doesn't seem to be any relief in sight; not only does iOS 12.1.3 not bring a fix for the cellular issues, but the latest update has actually broken WiFi for several users in addition to cellular connectivity.

The widely respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reduced his expectations for iPhone shipments in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q2019). However, he also projects that these numbers will pick up in 2Q2019. Kuo believes that up to 35 million iPhones will be sold in this quarter; however, this is still less than the general consensus on the same figure.

Although more images shot in various scenarios would be needed for a final decision, the image showing the same night scene as captured by the iPhone XS and the Pixel 3 that was posted on Twitter by Google's Marvin Chow has a clear winner. However, Apple still has to add a dedicated night mode to its handsets and, once that happens, things might change.

The well-regarded leaker Steve Troughton-Smith claims to have found references to unfamiliar iPads while diving into the code for the iOS 12.2 update. It suggests that new 11-inch iPads, as well as an iPad Mini, are on their way. The code also specifies an iPod Touch that could be of the rumored upcoming 7th generation.

In order to promote the capabilities of the iPhone XS camera Apple teamed up with Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke to make a film that was entirely shot on an iPhone XS. The result is the short film The Bucket, which was released today.

Facebook has just announced an initiative in which messages from its own Messenger, as well as from its acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp, will be integrated using a singular infrastructure. This contravenes an earlier commitment on the part of the parent company that these 3 services would remain independent. This plan has also raised alarm among privacy experts and WhatsApp staff.

A new report by ResearchAndMarkets.com indicates that the wireless headphone market will continue to show healthy growth into the year 2024. At that point, it could be worth as much as US$34 billion. The report indicates that this could be driven by increasing sophistication in wireless audio features and technology.

Thanks to its arrival on the Mac App Store, Microsoft Office 365 can now be downloaded and installed by Mac users with a single click. This cloud-connected office suite includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive. Office 365 for macOS supports Dark Mode, Continuity Camera, OneDrive Files on Demand, and more.

Our last report on the Apple AirPods 2 covered rumors that they could have been released by now, at least. However, their maker failed to live up to this leak, and the 2nd generation of these wireless earbuds has yet to appear. A newer article in DigiTimes alleges that these wearables will be here by July 2019.

Opera 58 is the first new build of the year, but there are no big changes inside it. The new version comes with a warning when trying to close a window with multiple tabs open, as well as Yandex Zen news recommendation service integration into the start page for those using the browser in Russian.

Several users have complained of a 'stage light' anomaly in their MacBook Pro displays. iFixit wrote in a blog post that it has identified the cause of the issue and attributes it to the manner in which the display cables connect to the display controller beneath the Touch Bar. This design causes the cables to tear overtime giving the uneven backlighting effect when the display is opened beyond a certain angle. More worrisome, however, is the fact that getting it repaired can prove to be a costly affair.

Apple released 3 iPhone models last year; however, the 2 more premium, OLED-equipped variants appear to have done better in some estimates. This impression was recently reinforced when the company's traditional LCD supplier, Japan Display, was reported as having entered talks to sell a stake in its company to investor groups with the cash to keep it going.

A concept video of the next-generation iPhone has been uploaded to YouTube by Hasan Kaymak. The clip shows a beautifully crafted smartphone that would either be the device of an Apple fan’s dreams, or a huge disappointment for those who are concerned that the Cupertino company could emulate Huawei by incorporating a square-shaped triple camera setup on the rear.