Apple

Apple and Samsung have secured first and second positions in terms of smartphones shipped in the US for the second quarter of 2020, with Apple doing especially well by shipping a domestic record of 15 million iPhones. However, around 70% of the total smartphones shipped in the US in that quarter were made in China.

Contrary to previous rumours, leakers are now claiming that Apple will not be releasing the fourth-generation iPad Air until 2021. The 11-inch device will adopt the design of the iPad Pro though, along with an A14 Bionic SoC and up to 512 GB of storage. The iPad Air will be compatible with the Apple Pencil 2 also and will start at US$649, up from US$499 for the current model.

Rumour has it that Apple has a second-generation Magic Keyboard in development. The keyboard accessory will apparently be compatible with the iPad Pro and the rumoured fourth-generation iPad Air. The new keyboard is scheduled to arrive in March 2021, a year after Apple released the fourth generation of the iPad Pro.

Tipster @komiya_kj shared rather remarkable specs for a purported upcoming Apple foldable product. The foldable will evidently fill the gap between the iPad and iPhone by folding out into tablet form and folding into smartphone form. The Apple foldable reportedly features an A16X SoC, microLED tech, and phone call support.

The release of the first ARM-powered MacBooks will apparently follow the trend of recent Apple hardware announcements. Instead of a physical event ala recent iPhone launches, the ARM-powered 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro 13 will land without notice at the end of October.

Rumour has it that Apple has dropped the 64 GB storage option for the iPhone 12 series. The change will see a US$50 increase in the price of the cheapest iPhone this year, as the series will now start at US$749. Prices will rise to US$1,449 for the 512 GB edition of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is also the only model to have a battery of over 3,000 mAh.

The Apple A14 Bionic is probably about a month away, and a new leak has detailed some of the performance improvements that the upcoming chipset will offer. In short, we should be excited for the arrival of the iPhone 12 series and giddy with anticipation about the prospect of the A14X Bionic in the rumoured ARM-powered 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro 13.

A new leak has unveiled the apparent running order of Apple's September hardware event. Apple is slated to unveil a new iPad, the Watch Series 6, iPhone 12 series, AirTags and the long-awaited AirPower.

According to a DigiTimes report, the chairman of Epistar, a manufacturer of microLEDs purportedly working closely with Apple, claimed that smartwatch vendors are “showing an interest” in microLED technology. However, volume adoption will take a couple more years at least.

Of all the computer manufacturers, Apple is probably the most restrictive when it comes to user upgradability. MacBooks lost their upgradable storage years ago. Now, even the all-in-one desktop Apple iMac will be no longer upgradable.

For $30, this better be one of the best screen protectors we've used. Intevac's patented DiamondClad carbon coating will supposedly lead to a tougher and longer-lasting screen protector than other generic tempered glass options.

The well-regarded analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reportedly issued a new research note that may help explain why Apple may have to put off launching its iPhone 12 line until later in the year than usual. It seems the OEM is having trouble sourcing good-quality wide-angle lenses for the cheaper variants of this series.

Yesterday at Unpacked, Samsung announced that it would improve its software support lifespan to three generations of major OS updates, starting with the Galaxy S10 series which will now receive Android 12 when it's available.

Apple’s slow changing of the guard continues with the announcement today that long-time head of marketing, Phil Schiller, is stepping down from the role. In his place, another veteran of the company, Greg Joswiak, has been promoted to the role of senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

The new 27-inch iMac is here, although you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Apple has left the design of its 5K iMac unchanged, but it has overhauled the internals with 10th Gen Intel Core processors and AMD Navi GPUs. The 21.5-inch iMac and iMac Pro have also been upgraded, albeit on a much smaller scale.

At first sight, World of Tanks 1.10 comes with a few interesting changes, such as the introduction of a new medium branch to the Polish tech tree. Sadly, the rework of the equipment system and some of the other improvement attempts were enough to make me uninstall the game after just two battles.

According to Pangu Team, a Chinese hacker group, an “unpatchable” exploit has been uncovered for Apple’s Secure Enclave, the co-processor that stores keys for Face ID, Touch ID, and passwords. This potentially puts the personal data and biometric information of millions of iPhone and iPad users at risk.

A Weibo tipster recently claimed that the HiSilicon Kirin 1020 chipset will cost somewhere in between Apple’s A14 Bionic and the upcoming ARM chipset for MacBook. This raises questions about pricing for future Huawei smartphones, apart from the performance implications.

Earlier reports have pointed to a new health-tracking spec for the Apple Watch 5's successor: blood oxygen tracking. A new tip may give this idea further weight. It also backs up other claims of sleep-tracking and even more advanced cardiovascular monitoring in the upcoming wearable.

Apple is planning to equip its first ARM-powered MacBook with an A14X Bionic, according to a new rumour. The in-house chipset will be paired with up to 16 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, along with a 720p webcam and a 4th generation butterfly keyboard. Between 15 and 20 hours of battery life beckons for the new 12-inch MacBook, too.

Apple announced a pandemic busting Q3 2020 result today, but also getting headlines is that its iPhone 12 launch is officially delayed. During the earnings call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri also confirmed rumors that Apple’s new iPhones will ship later than usual this year because of global disruptions.

Rumour has it that Apple's first ARM-backed MacBooks will be hundreds of dollars cheaper than the company's current Intel-powered devices. The main source of savings will be Apple's in-house chipsets, which the company will seemingly pass onto consumers.

Scheduled to become available for download/update later today, Firefox 79 comes roughly one month after the release of Firefox 78. This light release includes just a few changes and the most obvious one is Enhanced Tracking Protection 2.0. The Android version is also expected to get an update today, but there are no details available yet.

New leaks have presented a look at the various screen sizes of the iPhone 12 sizes. The iPhone 12 will be the easiest to use with one hand thanks to its 5.4-inch screen and may be a similar size to the iPhone SE. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will look noticeably larger than their predecessors, though.

Apple is planning the mother of all hardware releases between August and October. The AirPods Studio, the iPhone 12 series and a HomePod refresh are all due, as are Apple's first ARM-powered laptops. The ARM MacBook and MacBook Pro 13 will be joined by a new iPad Pro too.

The volume of sales completed in the US smartphone market fell by 25% year-on-year (YoY) in 2020's second quarter (2Q2020). This was attributed to the effect of Covid-19-related lockdowns, and on a tendency to buy phones through carriers in the country. All major OEMs in this space saw reductions in their sales, with Samsung seeing the least adversity in this respect.

A well-known Twitter leaker claims to have found a new Korean safety approval for a battery that may go to an Apple device with the model number A2431. Therefore, it may pertain to an iPhone 12 variant. If so, it may be much smaller than those of the 11 series.

The next iPad Air may not only have a larger display and a more powerful chipset than the current model, but it may be cheaper too. The iPad Air 2020 is believed to feature a 10.8-inch or 11-inch display and an A13 Bionic SoC, which would both be improvements over the 10.5-inch display an A12 Bionic in the current model.

A disturbing Apple patent indicates that upcoming versions of the Face ID biometric technology could generate a map of the veins in a user’s face. While Face ID already has a one in a million false-positive rate, vein mapping could dissuade hackers from attempting to use life-like masks to bypass Face ID.

Mobile cameras with periscope lens have been around for a while, and it looks like Apple will use this technology for the iPhone as well. However, nothing is official yet and this is only expected to happen in 2022. For now, it seems that the tech giant is looking for suppliers to provide the needed hardware parts.

TikTok posted an impressive 67 million official downloads onto iOS devices in the US in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020). However, in 2Q2020, this stat has been eclipsed by one of approximately 94 million by the collaboration app Zoom. This is a major factor in a trend favoring business-focused apps on the Cupertino company's platform.

A new patent filed by Apple details a stylus, likely an Apple Pencil, that contains an embedded color sensor. Located in either the back end or tip of the Pencil, the color sensor would be able to scan and copy the color from real-world objects. While the patent looks interesting, it is not yet known whether or not Apple will actually use it in future products.

The latest report on the market for mobile devices in India by Canalys has shown that its shipments totalled 17.3 million for the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020). That sounds fine - until one compares it to the figure of 33 million from 2Q2019. This contraction was attributed to factors such as supply disruptions among the OEMs concerned.

TSMC has outlined its fabrication plans for its 5nm fabrication process and what that means for investors in its latest conference call. It is buoyant about what its 5nm node will mean for next generation mobile chips and says chips using the tech, including Apple’s A14, will contribute around 8 percent to its revenue for the next quarter.

A Chinese blog claims to have laid hands on a new kind of charging cable developed at Apple for its upcoming 2020 iPhones. It is an upgrade on the current standard accessory in that it is braided, which is often perceived as higher-end and more durable. In addition, its Lightning-end contacts are rumored to be upgraded with new materials.

Belkin has debuted BoostCharge wireless charging accessories that support the iPhone, Apple Watch or AirPods, or, in some cases, all three at once. One of these can also become a power bank at need. They start at US$49.95 on the OEM's website at present.

Apple’s one-time head of Mac development, Jean-Louis Gassée, has posted a blog arguing that it seems inevitable that PC makers will have to switch to ARM-based designs. However, it will require Microsoft to do a lot better with Windows on ARM than is currently the case which includes supporting 64-bit x86 apps and properly port its own software to the ARM architecture.

Italian outlet Aggiornamenti Lumia claims that Apple will be releasing an as-yet-unspecified new app for the Windows 10 platform. This rumor seems to be in consonance with speculation last year that Apple was working on a “next-gen” media app for Windows. If the app is built from the ground up for UWP, it might actually make its way over to Xbox, as opposed to the current Microsoft Store version of iTunes.

US owners of a number of iPhone 6 series smartphones and iPhone 7 series devices who were affected by the “Batterygate” controversy can now submit a claim via online form or by mail to get their share of Apple’s US$310 million to US$500 million settlement payout pool. Apple still contends that the payout is not an admission of wrongdoing.

Belkin's latest screen protector for Apple ultrabooks also confers a property that HP devices with SureView have by default. It occludes the content on these screens for viewing angles not those of the user, thus reducing the risk of intrusion or some immediate forms of data-theft. It is available for 13-, 15- and 16-inch MacBooks Air and Pro.

In a one-two punch to the Dell XPS 15 and 17 series, the MacBook Pro 16 is now the cheapest it's ever been with no strings attached. We don't see this deal lasting for very long.

Analyst Jeff Pu predicts that the upcoming iPhone 12 may start at a US$50 higher base price compared to the iPhone 11 owing to the inclusion of 5G and transition to an OLED display. This price rise is despite the fact that the iPhone 12 is not expected to include EarPods and a wall charger in the box. Further adding to the chagrin of prospective buyers is the fact that the iPhone 12 lineup may sport significantly smaller batteries than the corresponding iPhone 11 variants.

Foxconn has reportedly begun to test out the fabrication of lenses for Apple's rumored first-gen smart glasses. Apparently, these components are to be semi-transparent, and to be capable of displaying projected images to the user. They would be superimposed on "real-world" objects in this wearer's field of view.

The well-known display supply-chain commenter Ross Young has released a projection in which foldable devices with ultra-thin glass (UTG) protection easily outdoes the first-gen Galaxy Fold (which has a polymer-coated display) in terms of sales in 2020 and onward. Accordingly, the leaker now believes that Apple will also go with UTG in its own eventual foldable devices.

Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant is said to be investing US$1 billion into their iPhone production plant in India. Foxconn has factories right around the world, but India is currently the only location outside of China where they assemble iPhones.

Rumour has it that Apple is planning to replace its entire MacBook product stack with ARM models within a year. Apparently, a MacBook Pro 13 with ARM silicon is arriving before the end of this year, which will be swiftly followed by an ARM MacBook Air. 14-inch and 16-inch ARM MacBook Pro models will then arrive by Q3 2021 at the latest.

Apple recently launched the iOS 14 open beta program. iPhone and iPad users enrolled in the beta program can easily get hold of the first public beta build. iOS 14 features a number or improvements including a redesigned home screen and Apple Pencil handwriting recognition.

One concern that Apple Mac fans have had is whether Apple’s new ARM-based Macs will continue to support Intel’s Thunderbolt high-speed I/O tech. In statement provided to The Verge, Apple has confirmed that it will continue to support Thunderbolt despite its forthcoming transition from Intel to ‘Apple silicon’.

Logitech is back this time with a new keyboard and mouse specifically customized for use with Apple’s Macs and iPads. The new MX Keys keyboard for Mac and MX Master 3 mouse incorporate pre-set functionality and features that even Apple’s own accessories don’t offer, making them well worth a look.