Jaguar and Land Rover Set to Begin Offering CarPlay and Android Auto

Jaguar and Land Rover will soon offer CarPlay and Android Auto in both new and existing vehicles in the United States.

A spokesperson for the brands confirmed to MacRumors that, from the 2019 model year forward, all Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles equipped with its InControl Touch Pro or Touch Pro Duo infotainment systems will be available with an optional smartphone connectivity package including CarPlay and Android Auto.

Jaguar and Land Rover say the smartphone connectivity package will be an optional installation in new vehicles, either at the factory or port-of-entry, at a cost of $280 and up depending on the model and trim level.

There’s also good news for existing owners of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles with an InControl Touch Pro or Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, as the spokesperson confirmed a retroactive update with CarPlay and Android Auto functionality will soon be available at authorized dealerships in the United States.

The spokesperson was not able to provide an exact date when new vehicles with CarPlay and Android Auto will arrive to U.S. dealerships, or exact availability of the retroactive update, but did note the rollout should be imminent.

The retroactive update appears to already be rolling out to select Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in the United Kingdom.

2018 has been a successful year for CarPlay adoption, with Toyota and Lexus, Mazda, and now Jaguar and Land Rover beginning to offer the Apple software platform as a preinstalled option. Apple’s website says CarPlay is now available in over 400 vehicle models in the United States, from almost all major automakers.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
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Deals: Save on Koogeek’s HomeKit Light Strip, Refurbished Beats, and Get $450 Off 12-Inch MacBooks From 2016

Woot today has Apple’s 12-inch MacBook from Early 2016 (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $849.99, down from $1,299.99. While an older model, today’s sale is $450 off the original price tag and $450 cheaper than the latest 12-inch MacBook models with similar specs. The MacBooks are available in Gold and Rose Gold.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Woot’s sale lasts one day only, so if you’re interested head to the retailer’s website and place your order before the day ends. Amazon Prime members will get free shipping, and Woot is offering cheaper $6 shipping today only for non-Prime members.

On Amazon, there are a few notable sales today:

• Save on select SanDisk storage products, including the iXpand Flash Drive for iOS at $44.99, down from $119.99 and matching its lowest-ever price on Amazon
• Save 20 percent and more on Logitech PC accessories
• Koogeek Dimmable Light Strip (HomeKit compatible) for $29.39 with code TCCDYAG5, down from $41.99
• Koogeek Smart Plug (not HomeKit compatible) for $11.99 with code BFE3I537, down from $15.99
• Choetech fast wireless stand charger for $9.99 with code MACHO524, down from $17.99

Best Buy’s Daily Deals page is highlighting a few refurbished Beats products on sale today only, with savings as high as $115. You can get the BeatsX in Black for $63.99, down from $149.99, and the Powerbeats3 for $84.99, down from an original price of $199.99.

Both headphones beat their typical sale prices as well, with the BeatsX usually getting marked down to around $90 in more recent sales. In regards to its refurbishment process, Best Buy promises that Geek Squad certified refurbished products are tested to verify that they work like new and are restored to original factory settings.

Check out our full Deals Roundup for more information on this week’s sales, including the HomePod for $299.99 at Costco.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 66 With Bug Fixes and Feature Improvements

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced over two years ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 66 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for Web Share API, Conic Gradients, WebRTC, Shadow DOM, CSS, Web Inspector, Web API, Apple Pay, JavaScript, Media, Web Animations, Web Assembly, and Password AutoFill.

The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS High Sierra and macOS Mojave, the newest version of the Mac operating system that was released to the public earlier this week. After installing macOS Mojave, Apple says you may need to reinstall Safari Technology Preview.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple’s aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
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Get Cash for Your Old iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch Through MacRumors and MyPhones Unlimited

With new iPhone and Apple Watch models now on the shelves, you may be thinking of paving the way for an upgrade by selling your current device. We’ve partnered with MyPhones Unlimited, an Arkansas-based company that buys used iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and much more at competitive prices, to offer our readers a way to get cash in hand to make an upgrade happen.

Entering the details for my iPhone to get a quote, MyPhones Unlimited is offering $490 at the time of writing this post (as with all buyback programs, a device’s age and condition have a large impact on how much you can get for it) for my unlocked 256GB iPhone X. It’s fully functional with no screen damage (thank you, screen protector and Apple leather case).

If you like the quote you get, the process to get paid is simple. You provide your contact and address information and MyPhones Unlimited will send you a box with a pre-paid shipping label so you can send your device to them. You’ll receive a check in return within 10 business days of mailing your device. MyPhones Unlimited then refurbishes your device, if needed, and resells it. If it’s unfit for reselling, it gets recycled. You can find more information in this FAQ.

With Apple’s new GiveBack program, I get a quote of $525 for my iPhone X. Apple offers this in the form of an Apple Gift Card or a refund on a purchase, which is great if you plan to buy your next device from Apple. But if you plan to purchase it from your cellular service provider or another retailer, you’ll have to find a way to convert that Apple gift card into cash so you can use it. MyPhones Unlimited offers an advantage here since you’ll get a check you can cash and use however you wish.

Note that you could probably get more for your device through a private sale through Craigslist or even eBay. Right now, the going rate on Craigslist for an unlocked 256GB iPhone X is around $800 in the Boston area where I live. While you can get more cash this way, you have to post the ad, respond to potential buyers, and meet them. This can be inconvenient depending on your schedule or location and your own safety can be at risk (please follow Craigslist’s own Personal Safety guidelines, at the very least). Selling your device to MyPhones Unlimited eliminates the hassle from this process.

MacRumors gets a portion of each transaction made through our buyback page. MyPhones Unlimited offers full support by phone and email if you have any questions not answered in the FAQ or need help with your transaction.

Tags: buyback, MyPhones Unlimited
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Apple’s Special Version of iTunes That Still Has an App Store Currently Incompatible With macOS Mojave

Last year, Apple removed the App Store from iTunes. Soon after, however, Apple quietly released a special edition of iTunes that retains access to the App Store for “certain business partners” who “might still need to use iTunes to install apps.”

Apple provides a download page on its website for the special edition of iTunes, which originally had a version number of 12.6.3. Two updates have since been released, including version 12.6.4 and the current version 12.6.5.

As brought to our attention by a MacRumors reader, and confirmed by our own testing, however, iTunes 12.6.5 fails to install on Mac systems updated to the public release of macOS Mojave this week. It also appears that the previous 12.6.3 and 12.6.4 versions do not function properly on macOS Mojave.

It’s unclear if Apple does not plan on supporting the special edition of iTunes on macOS Mojave, or simply hasn’t updated it yet. In the meantime, Apple Configurator can be used to mass-deploy apps on iOS devices from a Mac.

Related Roundup: macOS MojaveTag: iTunes
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Google Maps Makes it Easier to Decide on a Restaurant With New Group Planning Feature

Google today announced a new group planning feature for Google Maps on iOS and Android, which aims to make it easier for a group of friends to decide on a place to eat.

To use the feature, open Google Maps and tap “Restaurants” on the Explore tab. Then long press on any location to add it to a shortlist, shown in a small floating bubble on the lower right side of the screen. Once you add a few places you can share the shortlist with friends through any messaging app, like iMessages, which will then let them browse the list and link them back to Google Maps.

Friends can then vote in Google Maps on their favorite restaurant in the shortlist, and every member in the group can add and delete places. Voting results are showed in Google Maps, and if a group member doesn’t have the app they can also view it on the web.

This may sound familiar: you and your friends are trying to pick a place for dinner, but no one wants to make the decision and you don’t know where to go. How do you decide on a place that your BBQ aficionado bestie, quinoa-loving sister, and wannabe foodie friend can all enjoy without scrolling through a ton of links in group text messages?

Starting today, you can use Google Maps to easily plan where to go as a group

At Google I/O in May, Google outlined numerous features coming to Google Maps throughout the year, including AR Street View, a “For You” Tab, and this week’s group planning feature. Recently, Google Maps on iOS also updated with an events section and elevation data, and introduced CarPlay support in iOS 12.

Group planning will start rolling out on iOS and Android this week.

Tags: Google, Google Maps
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To choose the best parenting blogs for your new parenting career!

Your baby brings splendid changes in your life. You both (you and your partner) start thinking about so many issues and concerns. To know about the good news of baby’s welcome is the best feeling in the world which can’t define in words. But soon your jocundity turns into worries as what should you do, what will be the best? Etc. It is genuine actually because each and every parent on the earth wants to serve the best for his/her kid.

Being new generation parents, the modern ones, start searching on different portals. They seek a proper guidance for their parenting career. In this reference, they have checked a number of relevant websites and a large number of parenting blogs as well. You can Check out One more Parenting blog from https://blog.kidgy.com

Parenting: a career

Yes! You may refer, parenting as a new career. It is a full-time job with lots of heavy duties. Parenting is not just about serving your kid physically or emotionally. It has a broad definition that can be hardly defined. To define it with few words will a kind of presumptuousness. It is an everlasting part of your life which starts with first breath of your baby.

The vast world of the internet serves a pile of parenting blogs. Your first duty is to select the most suited blog to refer your parenting. The proper selection of the most suited and trusted blog is as important as submitting your resume for the correct vacant position of the company. This is a citation that can join your thought again for a parenting career.

• Don’t rush for anything. It’s not going to complete in 1-2 hours. It will remain with you and for you. So, don’t let your joy turn into anxiety. Take time and give relaxation to your partner too.
• Consult doctors and elderly persons of the family for the best suggestions. If you are having any trouble while parenting, your doctor can’t always help you. As I told you before, that the term ‘parenting’ is a summary of all your activities related to your kids. Therefore, a minute talk with the experienced person may also minimize your troubles regarding your parenting.
• Now, come to the very important phase that can help you very well. You can search your parenting issues on the different parenting blogs, which are available on the Internet.

The most suited ones

While you are searching for the best one blog among the good one, you should remember about your priorities. Each and every path, to show the different parenting techniques is good in its own way. Your duty is to select the best suited for you and your child. Blogs are something which communicates with you.

Every person has different circumstances, a different set of conditions, so guide yourself accordingly. Don’t just follow anything blindly. This is your career, your parenting will be evaluated so don’t let anyone move it. It is your judgment that what should you follow. Allow the blogs to acknowledge you with the relevant information, and you can make them flexible enough accordingly.

Apple Removes Questionable Web Links From Siri Suggestions

Apple has removed a number of results from Siri Suggested Websites after BuzzFeed highlighted several examples of the feature offering up “debunked conspiracies, shock videos, and false information.”

Siri Suggested Websites is an optional feature in Safari that serves up auto-completed suggestions based on what the user starts typing into the browser’s search bar. Results are curated by Apple and can include links sourced from things like Wikipedia, YouTube, and the iTunes Store.

Basically, BuzzFeed News stoked controversy by pointing out that if users typed in, say, “Pizzagate,” the Siri feature would return links to YouTube videos by conspiracy theorist peddler David Seaman. From the article:

“Such results raise questions about the company’s ability to monitor for low-quality information, and provide another example of the problems platforms run into when relying on algorithms to police the internet.”

Incidentally, the link didn’t actually work because YouTube previously removed the video for violating YouTube’s terms of service. So whichever way you look at it, Apple’s algorithm-driven suggestions aren’t doing their job very well.

BuzzFeed informed Apple of this and several other “low quality” Siri Suggestions highlighted in the article, and Apple has since removed them. The company also provided the site with the following statement:

“Siri Suggested Websites come from content on the web and we provide curation to help avoid inappropriate sites. We also remove any inappropriate suggestions whenever we become aware of them, as we have with these. We will continue to work to provide high-quality results and users can email results they feel are inappropriate to applebot@apple.com.”

The questionable Siri Suggestions are reportedly caused by a “data void,” which is what happens when a term doesn’t have “natural informative results” and manipulators capitalize upon it. “Many of the sites surfaced by the Siri Suggested feature came from conspiracy or junk sites hastily assembled to fill that void,” BuzzFeed concludes.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Safari
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Chrome 70 Will Allow Users to Opt-out of Controversial Automatic Sign-in Feature

Google says it is willing to make changes to its new Chrome auto-login feature, following heavy criticism from privacy-conscious users.

In previous versions of the browser, it was left up to the user whether they wanted to log in to Chrome while they used the app.

However in Chrome 69, released earlier this month, if you sign in to a Google site like Google Search, Gmail, or YouTube, you also get logged into Chrome automatically, and there’s currently no way around it.

Google originally claimed the feature was introduced to prevent data from leaking between accounts on shared computers, but the move has been criticized for its potential to make it theoretically easier for Google to upload users’ browsing history. Google responded to the criticism in a blog post:

“We want to be clear that this change to sign-in does not mean Chrome sync gets turned on,” said Chrome product manager Zach Koch. “Users who want data like their browsing history, passwords, and bookmarks available on other devices must take additional action, such as turning on sync.”

Despite clearing that up, the blowback has apparently been vehement enough for Google to tweak Chrome 70, due in October, which will offer users a clear opt-out for the auto-login feature.

While we think sign-in consistency will help many of our users, we’re adding a control that allows users to turn off linking web-based sign-in with browser-based sign-in – that way users have more control over their experience. For users that disable this feature, signing into a Google website will not sign them into Chrome.

In addition to the change, Google says it will update the Chrome interface to make a user’s account sync state more obvious. Google says the way Chrome handles authentication cookies is also going to be tweaked to make sure they don’t hang around once the user has successfully signed in.

Tags: Google, Chrome
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Apple Watch Series 4 Expected to Gain Second Manufacturer Following ‘Much Better Than Expected’ Demand

Taiwanese manufacturer Compal Electronics will begin mass production of Apple Watch Series 4 models in November, according to industry sources cited by supply chain-focused publication DigiTimes.

Compal will share orders with fellow Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, which has reportedly reached its maximum capacity for Apple Watch Series 4 production following “much better than expected demand” for the latest models, according to Apple analyst extraordinaire Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo also said Compal will be added as a second supplier of Apple Watch Series 4 models, which entails final assembly of the wearable.

Kuo believes Apple Watch shipments from suppliers to Apple will fall between 18 million and 19.5 million units in 2018. Apple does not disclose Apple Watch sales, grouping the device under its broad “Other Products” category in its earnings reports, alongside the Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod, and so forth.

Apple Watch is the world’s most popular smartwatch by many metrics, including market share and revenue. In fact, Apple says the Apple Watch is the world’s most popular watch of any kind, having surpassed Rolex.

Many models of the Apple Watch Series 4 ordered on Apple.com today are estimated to be delivered in late October in the United States, lending credence to strong demand, limited supply, or some combination of the two. With a second supplier coming on board in November, availability should improve.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5Tag: digitimes.comBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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