Apple Confirms Mojave is the Last macOS Release to Support 32-Bit Apps

As expected, Apple confirmed yesterday during its WWDC keynote that macOS 10.14 Mojave will be the last version of macOS to support legacy 32-bit apps.

Apple commenced its plan to begin phasing out 32-bit apps on Macs in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4. When a 32-bit app is opened in High Sierra, users get a warning about its future incompatibility with the macOS operating system.

Likewise, when opening 32-bit apps in macOS 10.14 Mojave (beta 1), users are shown a dialog box with a similar message telling them that “This app will not work with future versions of macOS”. Clicking “OK” on the prompt then allows the app to open.

Currently, the warning is only shown one time for each app. That could well change in subsequent betas of macOS Mojave, however, since Apple previously said it would include “aggressive” warnings about 32-bit apps in the next version of macOS after High Sierra before they are phased out entirely.

32-bit app warning in macOS 10.14 Mojave (beta 1)
Apple’s effort to phase them out on Macs mirrors the path it took when ending 32-bit app support on iOS devices. In iOS 10, Apple provided increasingly more insistent warnings to let users know that their apps wouldn’t work with future versions of iOS before phasing out 32-bit support entirely in iOS 11.

Once 32-bit apps are phased out on Macs, they won’t be able to be used at all, so users will need to find replacements for older 32-bit apps that aren’t likely to be updated to 64-bit. You can find out which apps on your Mac are still running in 32-bit by following our how-to guide.

Related Roundups: macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave
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How to Learn Which Apps Will Stop Working on Your Mac When 32-Bit Support Ends

Apple has begun the process of phasing out 32-bit applications on Macs, which is why many users who upgraded to macOS 10.13.4 or later will have come across the following warning message the first time they launch certain older apps.

This is the first of many warnings Apple plans to provide as it works to put an end to 32-bit apps on the Mac, as it did on iOS devices with the release of iOS 11. Apple has confirmed that macOS 10.14 Mojave, set for public release in the fall, will be the last version of macOS to allow 32-bit apps to run, but it will include more “aggressive” warnings about their use before they are phased out entirely.

In this article, we’ll show how you can quickly find out which apps installed on your Mac are 64-bit and which are still living in the 32-bit age. If you don’t rely on apps that fall in the latter camp, you can safely uninstall them. However, if you’re a frequent user of one of these apps, try contacting the developer to find out if a 64-bit version is in the works. If one isn’t planned, try and find an alternative app with similar functionality before the time comes when it refuses to launch.

How to Identify 32-Bit Apps on Your Mac

Click the Apple symbol () in the menu bar on your Mac’s desktop.

Click About This Mac.
In the macOS Overview pane that appears, click the System Report… button.

In the information window that appears, scroll down the left column and click Applications under the Software list, then wait a moment while your Mac generates a list of installed apps.
When the list of apps appears, click the 64-Bit (Intel) label to bring any 32-bit apps to the top of the column.
Drag down the divider using the center dot to expand the viewable list of apps.
Anything in the list that has a “Yes” under the 64-Bit column is good to go, but there are several in our example listed as “No”, which means they’re 32-Bit and will stop working in a future version of macOS.

Some popular apps in the above list, like Steam and Google Music Manager, will likely have 64-bit versions available in good time, but other items – old Brother printer drivers and utilities, for example – may not survive a forthcoming upgrade, and it could be a while before developers issue 64-bit versions of said software (assuming it’s even still actively supported), so as our example shows, it pays to plan ahead.

Related Roundups: macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave
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iOS 12 Changes Hint at Redesigned iPad Pros With Face ID and No Home Button Coming This Year

Apple is rumored to be working on a new high-end 2018 iPad Pro that is said to adopt many design elements from the iPhone X including Face ID and the removal of the Home button, and several changes newly discovered in iOS 12 appear to bear out those claims.

As reported by MacRumors yesterday, Apple has tweaked iPad gestures in iOS 12 to bring them in line with gestures on iPhone X. For example, swiping up from the dock brings up the Home screen, as it does on iPhone X in lieu of a Home button.

iPad Pro with Face ID mockup by Carlos Guerra
Similarly, users now swipe down from the top right of the iPad to bring up Control Center, rather than swiping up from the bottom. This action was originally introduced in tandem with the iPhone X’s notch, which houses Apple’s advanced face detection sensors and leaves two “ears” on either side.

Likewise, menu bar changes to accommodate a notch can now be found in iOS 12’s iPad interface – the time, day, and date are located on the upper left hand side of the screen, while the right displays the current Wi-Fi/LTE connection, Bluetooth status, and battery life.

Of course, it’s possible Apple simply brought over the gestural and menu bar changes to iPad to create interface parity across its iOS lineup, but it’s more likely Apple is paving the way for redesigned iPads widely believed to be coming later this year.

According to a November report by Bloomberg, the next-generation iPad Pro will feature slimmer edges, a faster processor, a custom Apple-built GPU, and a TrueDepth camera with support for Face ID. The new tablet device will reportedly do away with the Home button.

Well-regarded market analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also stated he believes new iPad Pro models set to be released in 2018 will come equipped with a TrueDepth Camera and will support Face ID.

There was some speculation whether Apple would unveil new hardware during last night’s keynote, but that didn’t happen, and we’re now expecting the next round of iOS devices to appear in the fall. In the meantime, stay tuned to MacRumors for more details on all the announcements at this year’s WWDC.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iOS 12Tag: WWDC 2018Buyer’s Guide: 10.5″ iPad Pro (Caution), 12.9″ iPad Pro (Neutral)
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iOS 12 is more evidence you should buy an iPhone, not an Android phone

If on September 20, 2013, you walked into an Apple Store and purchased a brand-new iPhone 5S, and have kept using it ever since, later this year you will be able to upgrade the software to iOS 12. The iPhone 5S launched with iOS 7 that year, has since been discontinued, and yet will still receive the latest version of the Apple operating system. That’s five years later.

The iPhone 5S was up against the Samsung Galaxy S4 in 2013. A new one came with Android 4.2 installed, and was subsequently updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which launched in 2016 never officially arrived, and the chances of 2018’s Android P software being released for it are absolutely zero.

That’s not really good enough, and it’s representative of the gulf between the way Apple and Android manufacturers handle vital software updates.

Apple’s WWDC 2018 announcement that iOS 12 would be available for devices launched as far back as 2013 is proof positive that if you want continued, timely software updates for your phone, buy an iPhone. And the absolute worst thing you can do is buy an Android phone.

Not new news

Apple’s dedication to providing software updates needs to be applauded. On stage at WWDC 2018, Tim Cook said for Apple, the customer is at the center of everything. That may sound trite, but it’s hard to argue with this statement when talking about software updates. The number of people who still own and use an iPhone 5S will be far lower than those using an iPhone 8, iPhone 7, or even an iPhone 6 — yet Apple hasn’t abandoned them, even though they really couldn’t be blamed for doing so.

If you want continued, timely software updates for your phone, buy an iPhone.

Android manufacturers’ lethargy when it comes to major version software updates is well-documented. So well documented, in fact, that Google itself has live, up-to-date information on how pitiful adoption of its latest software is. Android 8.0 and Android 8.1, the most recent fully available versions of Android, are installed on 5.7 percent of all phones accessing the Google Play Store, which is where Google gets its data.

Apple was good enough to round this number up to six percent when it compared the prevalence of Oreo to iOS 11. Not that it really mattered, because iOS 11 is installed on 81 percent of iOS devices. It’s almost pointless going into much more detail about the hows and whys, because this giant difference is woefully unacceptable almost regardless of any excuse a manufacturer can come up with about it.

Why should you care?

New software updates are crucial to prolonging the lifetime of your phone. If you are still using a 2013 Galaxy S4 now, in June 2018, then it will likely be exposed to various security vulnerabilities that were fixed in later versions of Android, it may not run the latest versions of apps available in the Play Store, and be completely lacking any of the new features and design revamp found in Android installed on a Google Pixel 2 phone, for example.

If you have an iPhone 5S, then it has the same level of software security protection as an iPhone X. Outside of any hardware limitations, it’ll have all the same iOS features, and run almost all apps that can be downloaded from the App Store. If the phone has the right hardware, the features will be available for you to use. Neither the 5S or the S4 will provide the best phone experience you can have in 2018; but only one will give an interface and software experience that’s comparable to a phone actually released this year, and that’s a huge deal.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

We spend a lot of money on these phones, and we deserve them to continue working at an optimum level on the software side for years afterwards. At the moment, only Apple really provides that. Yes, you can go and buy a Pixel phone from Google and get the same treatment, but the vast majority of phone buyers will get a phone from Samsung, LG, HTC, Sony, Huawei, or other Android manufacturer.

It’s time consuming, expensive, and difficult for these companies to produce updates for its old phones; but for us, the people who spend hundreds of dollars on a phone, this doesn’t really matter. Money talks, and we should put it in the hands of those that continue to value our custom, whether that’s Apple or Google itself.

What about Project Treble?

This isn’t an attack on Google, which openly acknowledges that Android software updates outside of the Pixel family are mostly an atrocity. Project Treble, a part of Android 8.0, is its way of making major updates easier for manufacturers to implement. It’s all very complicated, and works deep inside the operating system, so you don’t really need to understand how it works. What you need to know is Google’s trying hard to get manufacturers to update Android on its devices by making it easier than ever before.

Project Treble doesn’t force manufacturers to code and release an update on a timely basis.

However, Project Treble doesn’t force manufacturers to code and release an update on a timely basis. Version updates may still come at a snail’s pace, and only arrive on flagship phones. There’s no binding contract either, so updates may never come to a cheaper device.

Project Treble is also only part of Android Oreo, which as we’ve already stated, is only on 6 percent of Android phones. It’s also not going to be part of any Oreo updates either. Which means the benefits will only come to current and future phones released with the latest Android version, and its impact will take at least a year to be felt by phone owners. Here, we’re just going to remind you that iOS 12 will be out around September time, and will be instantly compatible with the five-year-old iPhone 5S.

Make it clear this is unacceptable

We want the new features, the extra security, and the knowledge our business matters that regular software updates bring. It is important, and even if you don’t care about any new features, the security and stability tweaks make our phones work better, for longer. Yes, problems have occurred in the past — Apple has made some terrible errors with software updates for a minority of users in the past, for example — but this doesn’t always happen, and we’d always recommend not being the first to download an update before seeing how it performs out in the wild.

We shouldn’t rejoice when an Android update arrives on our phone. We should be nonplussed because it’s such a normal, accepted occurrence. The only way to get this is to buy a Google Pixel 2 or future Pixel phone, one in the Android One program, or just buy an Apple iPhone. The announcement of iOS 12 and its compatibility demonstrates in very clear terms how much Apple values its customers. We shouldn’t let other manufacturers get away with valuing them less.

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macOS 10.14 Mojave Removes Software Update Mechanism From the Mac App Store and Returns it to System Preferences

As the dust settles on Apple’s macOS 10.14 Mojave announcement at WWDC on Monday, developers are already busy digging into the beta version that Apple made available to download shortly after the keynote for testing purposes.

Among other headlining features, Apple is introducing a new redesigned Mac App Store with MacOS Mojave, and as part of the change, it looks as if Apple has decided to stop delivering system software updates via the Mac App Store’s Updates tab.

Instead, Apple has moved the system update mechanism to System Preferences, and in doing so has re-introduced the Software Update preference pane of old. The re-instated pane, which was discovered by a Reddit user, includes Advanced options previously found in the old Mac App Store preference pane, which it replaces.

The change will likely be warmly received by Mac owners, as it means they will no longer have to open the Mac App Store to check for and download system updates, which has been criticized for being a slow and clunky affair in current versions of macOS. As expected, the Mac App Store will continue to be the delivery mechanism for individual app updates, the section for which can be accessed via a new sidebar.

macOS Mojave is limited to registered developers at this time, but later in the summer, Apple plans to make a public macOS High Sierra beta available, giving public beta testers a chance to try the software before it sees a public launch in the fall.

Apple likes to focus on tentpole features when it unveils a new operating system, but there are always lots of small tweaks and improvements that gradually come to light in the days and weeks after the WWDC keynote. Stay tuned to MacRumors for upcoming coverage of all the little things new to macOS Mojave and iOS 12.

Related Roundup: macOS Mojave
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9 Ways Drone Technology Revolutionizes Realty Imagery

9 Ways in Which Drone Technology Revolutionizes Real Estate Imagery

A good picture speaks louder and clearer than a thousand words. In real estate, the eye plays a cardinal role in buying decisions. The reason is that people buy things that please their eyes. This means that excellent images, whether still or motion, are significant in influencing buyers’ final decisions. But how do you get such images that will have a compelling impact that will swing a prospect’s mind in favor of a piece of property? The answers to this question bring drone filming and photographing technology into view.

In the remaining sections of this post, we will examine how drone technology is revolutionizing the real estate industry. Just like all other industries, real estate is also embracing drone technology to capture crispy and spicy photos and videos to show prospects. With drones, real estate agents can give potential buyers and renters a 3D view of properties and their environments. For instance, a drone film can give prospects a better view of the location and culture of its inhabitants. That is why research shows that more than 70% of homebuyers watch video tours. The remaining sections of this post will explore more details regarding this technology and its impact on real estate imagery. Remain with our uk essay experts to discover how this disruptive technology is changing the landscape of this critical industry.

H2: What Studies Are Telling Us

According to a study NAR conducted, it is clear that real estate prospects are most likely to prefer drone-shot photos. The reason is that most of these buyers depend on visual marketing to make buying or leasing decisions. Here are some of the figures the studies give us.

• 86% of home buyers utilize video footages to get a clue of the environment they will live in.
• 54% of potential buyers prefer watching videos to get all the details they want about a home on sale.
• 44% of homebuyers utilize videos when comparing and contrasting different homes on offer.
• Another 38% of them utilize films to learn more about the specific features of the houses they intend to buy or rent.

With these trends among buyers and renters, the need for quality videos and photos cannot be overemphasized.

Enhanced Buyer Experience

Our generation is different from that of our parents. In our day, time has become one of the scarcest commodities. Therefore, most people no longer have the time to go and view houses they intend to rent or buy. This means they need something that will give them a full view of their prospective new homes without going there. With tech, realtors can send drone videos and photos to prospects’ smartphones to watch at their own free time and convenience.

Enhanced Convenience for Realtors

To real estate agents, the ability to shoot clear airborne videos and photos offers them unrivalled convenience. For instance, they can spend the time they were supposed to drive prospects to sites doing other things. The reason is that the smartphone does all the work because they only need to email or WhatsApp the video clips or photos.

Better Land Survey

Another way drone technology is revolutionizing real estate is enhanced land surveying. For estate developers, they need to survey their locations thoroughly before investing their money. This way, they can get the real potential and value of the land they want to construct on. But with drone tech in place and use, they can get all the details and know if the property has serious defects that could require a change of mind.

A Better View of Reality

Since real estate decisions are visual, it is necessary to give potential buyers and leasers a clear view of the property they intend to inhabit. For instance, a drone will give the prospect a distinct footage of how the property looks like on the ground level, the sides, and the roof. Moreover, the footages can give prospective buyers an aerial view of the environment they will live in. For example, they can see how the neighborhood looks like, the kind of facilities that surround it, and its road network.

Ease of Sharing Across Different Platforms

Since visuals sit at the center of all marketing activities, drone-shot pictures and videos are critical in enhancing such marketing processes. In the age of online marketing, agents can use these videos and photos across different online and offline platforms. For instance, they can utilize and integrate them into their social media marketing platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. They can also integrate them into their landing pages, and blogs to engage visitors.

Greater Precision

Excellent marketing means getting things right, even if it may not be on the first attempt. Using drone, you can be sure of getting more excellent videos and photos with higher resolution. For instance, modern drones allow you to use programs to calculate the best angles from which you can shoot your clips and snaps. This means you give your prospective customers a better view than when using traditional methods.

Greater Safety

Another way through which drone video and photo tech is redefining real estate is enhanced safety. With these tools, you can get accurate information regarding high-altitude installations without exposing anyone to danger.

Greater Quality for Less Money

Moreover, it is cheaper to buy or rent a drone for better aerial views than it is to rent a helicopter. For instance, you could pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to rent a helicopter per day. However, with as little as $2,000, you can buy your own professional drone and get better quality shots.

Creating the Buzz

Lastly, you can use these tools to create the much-needed “tech-savvy buzz and aura” around your business. The reason is that they are still trendy, and they can elevate your company’s tech-savvy profile in the minds of your customers.

So far, we have spilled all the beans we needed to in this discourse. We hope you are now up to date with how this technology is revolutionizing real estate imagery.

Parkinson’s is hard to detect early, but this ingenious mobile app can help

Progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be tough to spot early on. A failure to do so can mean that patients miss out on valuable time during which they could get treatment or have the opportunity to make lifestyle changes. That’s something an EU-funded project called i-Prognosis wants to change. A four-year project led by Greece’s Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, it has launched a smartphone and smartwatch app which could help diagnose onset Parkinson’s much earlier than is currently the case.

“PD is a progressive and chronic neurological disease that often begins with mild symptoms that advance gradually over time,” Professor Leontios Hadjileontiadis, coordinator of the project, told Digital Trends. “Symptoms can be so subtle in the early stages that they go unnoticed, as there are no PD-related biomarkers, such as blood tests, and findings on routine magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans are unremarkable — leaving the disease undiagnosed for years.”

It is here that i-Prognosis aims to help, thanks to the various sensors found in modern mobile devices and some amazing insights from machine learning.

“i-Prognosis proposes a radically novel approach to capture the risk of transition from healthy status towards PD by unobtrusive behavioral sensing and large scale collection of elderlies’ data, acquired from their natural use of smart devices,” Hadjileontiadis continued.

Once a user’s consent has been gathered, the app proceeds to analyze an extraordinary amount of data on their phone. This includes (but isn’t limited to) their voice characteristics while having conversations, the steadiness of their hands while holding their device, the way they enter keystrokes, and even their facial expressions on stored photos or the emotional content of text messages. In other words, it combs through every inch of data in a way that no doctor would be able to, and uses this to predict whether you might want to see a physician. This level of detail probably doesn’t make it an app for the more privacy conscious of people, but if it is able to successfully make you aware of onset Parkinson’s the trade-off may be worth it.

For now, the app is firmly in the testing phase. Hadjileontiadis said that the models will continued to be refined through February 2020. At present, it is available in the Google Play app store for Android users, although only in Germany, Greece, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Hopefully, a U.S. version — and possible iOS support — could follow at a later date.

ASUS unveils blood pressure-reading VivoWatch BP

ASUS sticks it to hypertension at Computex 2018.

Today at Computex 2018 in Taipei, ASUS has unveiled a new health-focused wearable designed to accurately measuring and tracking blood pressure. In a break from the general-purpose smartwatch focus of the ZenWatch series, the new VivoWatch BP can last for 28 days between charges, and is instead intended to help the 20 percent of all adults who suffer from hypertension.

The device includes grade ECG (electrocardiography) and PPG (optical) sensors in a metal nub on its front face, with the former collecting raw electrical data from the user’s heart, and the latter measuring their pulse. By combining ECG with PPG sensors on the front and back, ASUS says an accurate blood pressure reading can be taken in just 15 seconds, as the user holds a finger on the front-facing metal disk.

ASUS’s wearables strategy shifts away from traditional smartwatches.

The whole package is significantly smaller and lighter than even the most portable of traditional blood pressure monitors, including the relatively small Vital Moto Mod we saw back at CES in January. The VivoWatch is also a general health tracker, measuring activity, sleep quality, heart rate and stress levels.

All this data can then be fed into ASUS’s Health AI software on the user’s phone, which the company says can help people meet their health goals, and provide doctors with more complete data than would be possible with periodic check-ups in a clinic.

ASUS didn’t comment on any traditional smartwatch features, such as notification mirroring, in the VivoWatch, but it’s clear that’s not the real focus of this product. This is a health accessory first and foremost, as evidenced by the relatively plain design that’s clearly not intended to compete with more fashion-forward wearables like the Apple Watch.

The manufacturer hasn’t given us pricing or availability details for its new wearable, but we’d expect it to be priced in line with other mid-tier fitness watches.

Drone-delivered meals come to Shanghai, but they’re dropped off by … a human?

Ele.me

Drone-delivered meals is now a thing in Shanghai with a new service launching in recent days on the outskirts of the Chinese city.

Hungry folks living and working in Shanghai’s Jinshan Industrial Park can now fire up an app, choose their lunch or dinner, and have it delivered by … a human being.

OK, let us explain.

The drone service isn’t door to door. Instead, ele.me — the Alibaba-owned company operating the service — is using the technology to increase delivery speeds by flying meals along 17 pre-defined routes, bypassing busy roads that would ordinarily ensure your meal arrives late as well as cold. The industrial park covers an area of about 22 square miles ( 58 square km) and ele.me claims it can deliver meals within just 20 minutes of being ordered, the South China Morning Post reports.

It works like this: You use the app to select a meal from one of 100 food outlets in the area. When the meal is ready, a delivery rider collects it and takes it a short distance to the nearest drone station. The drone carries the meal to the drone station nearest to your location. Another delivery rider takes the food to your door.

Ele.me said at a launch event that the drone service will reduce its operating costs by a significant amount compared to regular road-based delivery, adding that it has the potential to boost the income of its delivery personnel by as much as a factor of five.

With a growing number of delivery companies grappling to find a workable drone platform that’s both safe and efficient, ele.me’s solution seems to fit the bill. With regulatory bodies worried about chaos in the skies, flying drones along fixed routes to drone stations seems like a logical approach until an effective drone air traffic control system can be devised, especially for urban areas. Other companies, Airbus among them, are looking at similar setups for package delivery by drone. Another bonus is that the system should prevent the rapid offloading of delivery personnel.

Ele.me, meanwhile, clearly sees technology as vital to its future success. Last year, it unveiled a food-delivery robot for so-called last mile deliveries inside office buildings. Chief operating officer Kang Jia said this week that his company is looking to introduce its second-generation food delivery robots, which will cover more than 500 office buildings in major Chinese cities, later this year.

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Drone to the rescue: Hawaii resident saved from Kilauea’s lava flows

Drones are fast becoming an invaluable tool for emergency response teams engaged in search and rescue operations. On the island of Hawaii, for example, the technology is being used right now to move people out of harm’s way as lava continues to pour from Kilauea volcano.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) this week described how live-streamed video from one of its unmanned aerial vehicles helped guide emergency responders to a resident whose home looked to be on the verge of getting swallowed up by the lava flow. Live footage from the flying machine was then assessed by a remote team so that it could direct the rescue group along the safest escape route.

“[The drone] helps prompt and guide evacuations and led to the successful rescue of a resident after a lava pond outbreak sent a very fast pahoehoe flow” down one of the Big Island’s streets, the USGS said in a Twitter post on Wednesday, May 30.

Footage posted with the tweet (below) shows the actual video captured by the drone, which the rescue team was able to use in real time as they tackled the hazardous conditions.

“Follow the drone to safety.” USGS UAS mission in Kīlauea volcano’s lower East Rift Zone on 5/27/18 helps guide evacuations and leads to the successful rescue of a resident after a lava pond outbreak sends a fast pāhoehoe flow down Luana Street. https://t.co/S3nUtwYMdM pic.twitter.com/kpfjQI9pOX

— USGS Volcanoes (@USGSVolcanoes) May 30, 2018

The situation on the ground looks precarious to say the least, and it’s safe to say the resident must have been feeling pretty terrified as the lava flow closed in. The live data from the drone allowed the rescue team to follow a safe path, and if you look carefully you can see their flashlights scanning the scene when they make it to the property. Once they reached the resident, the team was then guided to an available evacuation route, safely removing them from the danger area.

As Discover magazine points out, the recent rescue effort was prompted when a USGS drone flight spotted new, rapid lava flows from one of the volcano’s fissures. The situation became all the more urgent when it was apparent that vital escape routes looked as if they were about to be blocked.

Drone technology is clearly proving a real boon for volcanologists, as well as the emergency management teams that work with them. The remotely controlled flying machines offer a safe way to get up close to active volcanoes, providing geologists with up-to-the-minute data on the direction and extent of lava flows, and valuable information regarding developments on and around the volcano over a longer period of time.

When every second counts, real-time data is everything, and drones are proving to be an indispensable tool in the battle to protect lives on the Big Island as the lava continues to flow.

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