OnePlus 6 specifications: More expensive, more swagger

One more time.

There’s nothing particularly exciting about the spec sheet of the OnePlus 6, and that’s perhaps the point. While everyone fretted that OnePlus would position its latest phone as a high-cost flagship to contend with the Galaxy S9s and iPhone Xs of the world, the price has jumped only modestly, in conjunction with its overall feature set.

Pricing chart

The OnePlus 6 now comes in three storage sizes, with a new 256GB option (paired with 8GB of RAM and only available in Midnight Black) pushing the phone above $600 for the first time.

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 hands-on preview
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

These are the official OnePlus 6 cases you can buy at launch

This is how you’ll protect your new phone from Day 1.

The OnePlus 6 is here, and it has a shiny new glass exterior that’s gorgeous to look at … and also far more susceptible to damage than the OnePlus 5’s metal frame. That means you’ll probably be checking out a case, and on Day 1 your best option is to pick up one of the first-party options directly from OnePlus. The set of cases mostly follows what’s available for the OnePlus 5T, plus a couple little changes and one entirely new case. Here’s how the group lines up.

See at OnePlus

The first set is what I’d call “full protection,” which are all a bit on the thick side but have a sizable lip around the display and enough thickness to survive bumps and small drops. This includes the “silicone protective case,” the “wood bumper case” and the all-new “nylon bumper case.” I’m not sure why they call the latter two “bumpers” because they are more than just protection for the edges of the OnePlus 6 — like the silicone case, they cover everything.

You can’t go wrong with the silicone case, but the nylon bumper offers the most protection.

If you’ve used a first-party OnePlus case from the past couple generations you know what these are all about. The silicone case is nice, and comes in black or this beautiful bright red, plus a nice felt interior — though it has the one downside of being a little too grippy on pants pocket fabrics. The wood case (the one shown here is “ebony”) is obviously thinner and stiffer on the back, offering less grip, but feels oh-so-nice in your hand and is handsome looking. The new nylon case is the most protective of the bunch with a thick nylon weave on the back that’s built for more abuse — it’s highly reminiscent of the ballistic nylon Moto Z shell, and that’s a good thing.

On the other end of the spectrum is the pair I’d call “shell” cases, providing less drop protection but keeping the shiny OnePlus 6 safe without adding bulk or obstructing buttons and ports in any way. There’s the well-known grippy “sandstone protective case,” and also the faux carbon fiber “karbon protective case” option.

The shell-like cases are a great choice for keeping the OnePlus 6 safe (and stylish) but not adding bulk.

Both cases are the type that I usually put on my own phones. They’re thin and completely unobtrusive, adding protection from bumps and scratches but also don’t get in the way. I like the sandstone one more personally, as the karbon is just a little gaudy to my eyes — to each their own, though. One note on the textures is that the sandstone isn’t quite as gritty as previous iterations of the case — it still gives you tons of grip, but it’s something worth noting. The karbon finish doesn’t offer any additional grip, which means it isn’t going to snag on clothing but also won’t help you hold onto the OnePlus 6 any better than its own glass exterior.

If pricing follows the current crop of cases for the OnePlus 5T, the silicone and sandstone cases will be $20, the karbon will be $25 and the bumpers will be $30 each. They’ll be on sale at the OnePlus store coinciding with the launch of the phone.

See at OnePlus

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 hands-on preview
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

MrMobile goes hands on with the OnePlus 6!

“From where I’m sitting, this is the last time the company can hike its prices without a significant upgrade in design or camera performance.”

That’s how I closed out my review of the last OnePlus smartphone, the OnePlus 5T released in November. Well, wouldn’t ya know it: the OnePlus 6 (announced moments ago) features an upgraded design, better camera specs, and –yes– a price hike to go with ’em. The former king of value in the smartphone space, whose first product cost a mere $299 in 2014, now asks a minimum of $529 for the OnePlus 6. Maybe that’s no surprise given the phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, the reintroduction of OIS to the main camera, and OnePlus’s by-now-expected insane amounts of RAM (6GB-8GB depending on trim). But are specs enough to get you to cross the $500 threshold for a OnePlus phone?

The answers in the full OnePlus 6 review coming soon. For now, check out my initial impressions in the hands-on video above, hit up Android Central’s piece for the full take, and swing by Twitter for the Android Central/MrMobile AMA on all things OnePlus 6!

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The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint

It’s AT&T and T-Mobile only if you’re in the States.

It should come as no surprise to long-time OnePlus users, but the company’s newest phone, the OnePlus 6, doesn’t work on the largest U.S. carrier, Verizon, nor the fourth largest, Sprint. That’s despite technically supporting most, but not all, of the wireless bands a phone typically needs to run on those networks.

Given that no OnePlus phone — nor most “unlocked for the world” phones — have supported Verizon and Sprint in the past, the realization isn’t particularly shocking, but a closer look at the OnePlus 6’s spec sheet would lead one to believe that it would be possible for the phone to connect to those networks.

If you’re a Sprint or Verizon customer, stay away from the OnePlus 6.

The North American version of the OnePlus 6 supports CDMA bands BC0 and BC1, legacy 3G signals that Verizon and Sprint both still use for phone calls, texts, and fallback data in areas without LTE. Moreover, the phone supports all but one of Verizon’s common LTE bands — 2, 4, and 5 — with band 13 being the single outlier. Unfortunately, Verizon relies heavily on band 13, which encompasses the long-traveling 700MHz signals prized in rural deployments — which precludes Verizon from supporting the phone on its network. Indeed, even if the OnePlus 6 supported band 13, it would still need to be approved by Verizon for use on its network, going through an extensive certification process. OnePlus has never implied it would seek such a certification, and it looks like it’s still off the table now.

On the Sprint side of things, the OnePlus 6 supports bands 25 and 26, but not 41, which is where the majority of Sprint’s deployments lie. Sprint also requires manufacturers to certify their phones for its network, but the company is considerably more opaque about the process. In other words, the OnePlus 6 never had a chance with Sprint.

Such limitations also preclude the OnePlus 6 from working on Google’s popular Project Fi MVNO, and any other wholesalers powered by Verizon or Sprint. On the flipside, the phone works out of the box with AT&T and T-Mobile SIM cards, and even supports VoLTE and VoWiFi on the latter.

You know what phone does work on Verizon, though? The Pixel 2.

The best phones on Verizon

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 hands-on preview
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

TopGreener’s popular dual USB wall outlets are down to $16 each

Make your outlets more useful!

Conventional wall outlets are great but can be made so much better by swapping them with TopGreener’s dual USB wall receptacles. Normally they sell for $20, but right now they are marked down to just $15.99 each. If you want one of the colored versions, they are just a few bucks more.

Each one has two AC plugs and two USB ports, which turns a space that used to charge two devices into one that can easily charge four. The USB outlets have a 2.4A output to quickly charge your devices. Installing this receptacle is quite simple, though there are a few things to know. Be sure to check out this video before trying it for yourself. If you aren’t comfortable trying it on your own, most local electricians charge very reasonable rates for swapping these things out.

See at Amazon

What’s new on Amazon Video for June 2018

It’s hot. And it’s going to get hotter. And that’s just what’s on Amazon Video — never mind the weather.

School’s almost out, and that means it’s time for the kids to get outside and play. Or it means it’s time for some serious movie-watching. Either inside, where it’s not so hot, or maybe on your favorite mobile device, in the car on the way to a well-earned vacation somewhere.

In any event, there’s plenty coming up in June on all three of Amazon’s video platforms — Amazon Video (where you rent and purchase a la carte), Amazon Prime Video (which has content included in your Amazon Prime membership), and Amazon Prime Video Channels (a world of add-ons with monthly subscriptions).

Amazon Prime Video has is one of the go-to destinations for on-demand content, thanks in no small part to devices like the $50 Amazon Fire Stick, the all-new $70 Amazon Fire TV, and even the $229 Amazon Echo Show.

But hardware is the easy part. Buy it once, and then use the heck out of it. What’s not quite so easy is keeping up with everything that’s new on Amazon Prime Video — because new shows are always coming and going.

Here’s what’s new on Amazon Prime Video in June 2018!

New Movies on June 1

• 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
• 2 Days in the Valley (1996)
• Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1987)
• As Good As Dead (2010)
• August Rush (2007)
• Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
• Beer for My Horses (2008)
• Beowulf (2007)
• Black Widow (AKA: Before It Had a Name) (2005)
• Blitz (2011)
• Blood and Glory (2016)
• Blue Like Jazz (2012)
• Breakdown (1997)
• Burnt Offerings (1976)
• Cavedweller (2004)
• Chinese Box (1997)
• Clown at Midnight (1999)
• Command Performance (2009)
• Danger Zone (1996)
• Day of the Dead (2008)
• Disaster Artist (2017)
• Doctor Zhivago (2002)
• Dog Watch (1997)
• Double Identity (2009)
• Double Jeopardy (1999)
• Dreams and Memories of Where the Red Fern Grows (2018)
• Drop Zone (1994)
• Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
• Event Horizon (1997)
• Flickers (1980)
• Forces of Nature (1999)
• Flood (2007)
• Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale (2003)
• Hard Rain (1998)
• Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
• House of D (2005)
• I Am David (2004)
• Ladies Man (2000)
• Leprechaun (1993)
• Leprechaun 2 (1994)
• Leprechaun 3 (2001)
• Leprechaun 4: In Space (2004)
• Leprechaun 5: In the Hood (2000)
• Leprechaun 6: Back 2 Tha Hood (2003)
• Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
• Mousehunt (1997)
• Mutant Species (1995)
• Nacho Libre (2006)
• Nurse 3D (2014)
• Panic (2000)
• Rare Birds (2002)
• Religulous (2008 )
• Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)
• Space Jam (1996)
• Stanley & Iris (1990)
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
• Tamara (2006)
• Tears of the Sun (2003)
• The 4th Floor (1999)
• The Age of Innocence (1993)
• The Ant Bully (2006)
• The Ashram (2018)
• The Burbs (1989)
• The Care Bears Movie (1985)
• The Eye 2 (2005)
• The Frozen Ground (2013)
• The Natural (1984)
• The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
• The Running Man (1987)
• The Young Karl Marx (2017)
• Tilt (2017)
• Universal Soldier (1992)
• Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
• Ring of Fire (2012)
• Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• Serving Sara (2002)
• Survivor (2015)
• The Iceman (2012)
• War, Inc. (2008)
• *Wonder Wheel (Prime Original movie) (2017)

New TV Series on June 1

• *All or Nothing: New Zealand All Blacks (Prime Original series), Season 1
• Babylon 5, Seasons 1-5
• Rescue Me Seasons 1-9
• The Waltons, Seasons 1-9

New Movies on June 3

• Lady Bird (2017)
• Max 2: White House Hero (2017)
• Stargate (1994)

New Movies on June 5

• Lions for Lambs (2007)

New TV Series on June 8

• *Lost in Oz (Prime Original series), Season 1B

New Movies on June 9

• Braven (2018)
• Precious (2018)
• Simon Says (2006)

New TV Series on June 15

• *Goliath (Prime Original series), Season 2

New Movies on June 16

• Nostalgia (2018)
• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

New TV Series on June 18

• Suits, Season 7

New Movies on June 26

• Shutter Island (2009)

New TV Series on June 26

• *If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Prime Original series), Season 1B

New to rent on Amazon Prime Video

New Movies on Amazon Prime Video on June 5

• Delirium (2018) – Rent
• The Dating Project (2018) – Rent
• Thoroughbreds (2017) – Rent
• Flower (2017) – Purchase
• Sherlock Gnomes (2018) – Purchase

New Movies on Amazon Prime Video on June 12

• Flower (2017) – Rent
• Sherlock Gnomes (2018) – Rent
• Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) – Rent

New for Streaming on Prime Video Channels

• CB Strike, Cinemax, Miniseries (June 1)
• Succession, HBO, Season 1 (June 3)
• AVP Gold Series in New York, AVP (June 8-10)
• Santa Cruz vs. Mares ll, Showtime (June 9)
• *UFC 225 “Whittaker vs. Romero,” UFC
• Billions, Showtime, Season 3 (June 10)
• Strange Angel, CBS All Access, Season 1 (June 14)
• Spence vs. Ocampo, Showtime (June 16)
• ATP World Tour 500 at The Queens Club, ATP (June 18-24)
• Shields vs. Gabriels, Showtime (June 22)
• AVP Seattle Open at Lake Sammamish State Park, AVP (June 22-24)
• Westworld, HBO, Season 2 (June 24)
• ATP Nature Valley International in Eastbourne, Great Britain, ATP (June 25-30)

*UFC 225 is under the Prime Video | Pay-Per-View

Updated May 16, 2018: June’s listings are here!

OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?

Is it time to continue with the one-year upgrade cycle?

OnePlus has a rapid release cycle for its phones, iterating roughly every six months to get the latest specs and features in your hands if you’re willing to pay the price. But if you’re locked in on a once-yearly refresh, then you’ve likely held onto your OnePlus 5 — and now, just shy of a year on, the OnePlus 6 is here to entice you once again.

Holding off from getting a OnePlus 5T, the OnePlus 6 is your opportunity to move to a new form factor with a larger display and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, plus refreshed specs and new configuration options. But considering that the OnePlus 5 is still a fine phone today and there’s so much shared in the new phone, is it worth the upgrade? We’re here to help you make that decision.

See at OnePlus

What’s the same

OnePlus has been fantastically consistent with the features and experience it offers in its phones from generation to generation. A year on from the OnePlus 5, not a whole lot has changed at the core of the OnePlus 6. You’ll find the same complement of buttons in the usual places, the great Alert Slider, and a normal set of ports on the bottom including a headphone jack. The USB-C port supports Dash Charge at the same charging rate as before, and the battery inside is even the same 3300mAh capacity. You’ll find the same base 6GB of RAM with an option for 8GB, and the same base 64GB of storage with optional 128GB — but the OnePlus 6 has a new 256GB tier as well.

The experience of using these phones doesn’t differ much, particularly in the software and performance.

The OnePlus consistency carries over particularly well in the software, where OxygenOS has very few differences on the new phone that weren’t already brought to the OnePlus 5 in an update or at least in beta release for a future public launch. Aside from a few little changes, OnePlus has been very good about keeping OxygenOS similar between its phones, so you don’t have to feel like you’re missing out on any new features by not getting the newer phone. The OnePlus 5 also easily has another round of major software updates in its future, so you don’t have to be worried about being stranded on Android Oreo.

Along the same lines, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who could identify where the OnePlus 5 is slower than the OnePlus 6 in anything but synthetic benchmarks. Yes, the new Snapdragon 845 is more powerful, but a year on the Snapdragon 835 is still a great platform and when paired with 6 or 8GB of RAM it makes the OnePlus 5 fly. There are marginal improvements to be found, particularly in power consumption by the processor itself, but this small bump to the new generation of processor isn’t enough in itself to justify a move considering how well the OnePlus 5 still performs today.

What’s different

Even though the core of these phones doesn’t differ much, there are several improvements that come from another year of development, design and technological advancements. The biggest differentiation is the design — moving from metal to glass transforms the look and feel of the phone, and I’d say the OnePlus 6 is more modern in both respects. There’s a bit more style and flair at play here, particularly compared to the OnePlus 5’s very generic build.

There’s a full generation jump in hardware quality and design, plus a promising new camera.

The new design also incorporates a considerable change to the screen, with a 6.3-inch screen in a much taller 19:9 aspect ratio. Paired with smaller bezels, you’re getting more screen in a package that’s only marginally larger. Yes there’s a notch at the top of the display, but on the OnePlus 5 you had big bezels on both ends and dead space on the sides of the front-facing fingerprint sensor — this is a positive move. On that note, the fingerprint sensor’s on the back of the OnePlus 6, but is just as easy to use every day.

The only other change to note is in the camera, and it’s worth talking about. Specs-wise things look the same sticking with 16MP resolution and f/1.7 aperture, but this is a new larger sensor that’s also supported by OIS — both critical additions for every type of photography, but particularly low light. The secondary camera is no longer “telephoto,” and instead just has the same focal length and aperture as the primary camera. So you lose out on the zoom, but if you’ve used the OnePlus 5 for any length of time you know that secondary camera’s small pixels, high aperture and lack of OIS makes it unusable in anything but fantastic lighting anyway.

OnePlus 6 specs

The far more important thing here is the improvement to the main camera experience while keeping the dual-camera Portrait Mode shooting option. We don’t yet have a complete feel for the OnePlus 6’s camera capabilities, but all of the spec improvements point to a step up in overall quality — getting more light into a sensor is a recipe for better photos. The camera interface itself hasn’t changed, but that wasn’t a shortcoming of the OnePlus 5, the hardware and processing were.

Should you upgrade?

In some ways, OnePlus is its own worst enemy when it comes to getting its customers to upgrade to a next-generation phone. It fills its phones with great specs and clean software from the start, so even a year on they don’t feel old or sluggish. If you’re using a OnePlus 5 today you know it still performs well and is capable of doing just about anything you need it to do.

The OnePlus 6 does a few key things better, and critically doesn’t do anything worse than the OnePlus 5.

So, then, we have to focus on a few of the finer points where OnePlus could influence an upgrade. Most of that comes down to the design and display. Compared to the OnePlus 6 the OnePlus 5 looks old and generic, and that shiny new glass certainly feels more modern across the board. Pair that up with the new extra-tall display and tiny bezels, and you get a really handsome phone that also makes better use of its size to deliver more usable screen. The camera has also inarguably improved, making important spec improvements of pixel size and optical stabilization, even if it did mean losing telephoto zoom from the second camera.

As we’ve seen for a few generations now, the biggest thing helping you upgrade to a new OnePlus phone is the high resale value of the old models. A used OnePlus 5 will sell on the open market for around $350, depending on its condition and configuration. That gets you well over halfway to a new OnePlus 6, which makes this a pretty enticing option if you have no need for your current phone once you upgrade. The OnePlus 6 isn’t a dramatic improvement in most ways over the OnePlus 5, but it is better in key areas and critically isn’t worse in any. If you can sell your old device and drop a couple hundred dollars for a new phone, this is definitely a smart move if you like what OnePlus phones offer.

See at OnePlus

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 hands-on preview
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: Should you upgrade?

The OnePlus 5T is still a fantastic phone, so should you consider making the switch to the OnePlus 6?

OnePlus has followed a six-month release cadence over the last couple of years, introducing a new device in the summer and following it up with a refreshed variant with upgraded internals around November. The OnePlus 5T, for instance, retained the same design aesthetic as the OnePlus 5 while ushering in an 18:9 panel.

With the OnePlus 6, the company is refining its design language with the addition of a glass back. This isn’t the first time OnePlus rolled out a glass design — the OnePlus X gets that distinction — but the switch away from metal gives the OnePlus 6 a more upmarket feel.

Like previous OnePlus devices, the OnePlus 6 offers the latest hardware available today, with the company rolling out a 256GB storage option for the first time. There’s also a notch up front, which OnePlus says is designed to maximize the screen real estate, and the phone is resistant to the occasional splash of water.

With the phone coming just six months after the launch of the OnePlus 5T, you won’t notice a significant difference in specs or the resulting performance. So should you still consider an upgrade? Let’s find out.

OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: Specs

What’s the same

The OnePlus 5T wasn’t exactly short on performance, and while the OnePlus 6 comes with Qualcomm’s latest silicon, you’re not going to see a massive difference when it comes to day-to-day usage. There’s 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM on either device, but you can get a 256GB storage option with the OnePlus 6.

The OnePlus 6 continues OnePlus’ legacy of offering top-notch internals for lesser than the competition.

Thankfully, the headphone jack is intact on the OnePlus 6. You also get AptX HD on both devices, and Dash Charge is unchanged as well if you’re looking to quickly top up your phone in the middle of the day.

The OnePlus 6 comes with OxygenOS 5.1.2 atop Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. I’ll delve into the additions on the software front early next week, but if you’ve used a OnePlus device over the last 12 months, the experience should be largely familiar.

What’s different

The design of the OnePlus 5T felt iterative, but that isn’t the case on the OnePlus 6. The glass back and pronounced curves along the sides make it a much more comfortable device to hold, and the added 15g of weight and 0.45mm thickness — thanks to the Gorilla Glass-encased back — gives it a reassuring heft.

The glass back gives the OnePlus 6 a design flourish over the 5T.

The display on the OnePlus 6 is marginally larger — 6.28 inches over 6.01 inches — even though the phone isn’t as tall as the 5T, which is facilitated by the notch. The added 0.27-inch screen real estate fits in a few extra lines of text when you’re browsing.

Videos are still letterboxed to fit to a 16:9 ratio (or 18:9 in a few cases), so you don’t have to worry about the notch interfering with your ability to view multimedia content on the OnePlus 6.

On the subject of multimedia, the OnePlus 6 continues to offer a single speaker that’s located at the bottom, but it manages to beat out the 5T both in terms of clarity and loudness.

There are a few changes on the design front aside from the glass back. The Alert Slider has been moved to the right side of the phone, with the SIM card slot switched over to the left.

While the underlying hardware is largely similar between the two devices, the OnePlus 6 does offer a new imaging sensor (Sony IMX 519) with larger 1.22μm pixels and OIS. I haven’t used the OnePlus 6 long enough to make a full judgement on the camera quality or battery life just yet, so stay tuned for that early next week.

OnePlus is also touting water resistance with its latest flagship. The phone isn’t certified for an IP rating, so it’s only good for the occasional splash of water and won’t survive a dunk in the pool, but it’s better than what the OnePlus 5T managed.

Should you upgrade?

The OnePlus 5T is still a fantastic phone today, and is in fact better than the OnePlus 6 in a few areas — particularly if you’re not sold on the idea of the notch. The device did incredibly well in terms of sales, so much so that it was sold out in North America after just four months, and globally a month after.

If you already have the OnePlus 5T, it makes little sense to pick up the OnePlus 6. Considering the company’s release window, we’ll likely be seeing the OnePlus 6T in just under six months, with the phone offering wireless charging as a possible differentiator.

But if you haven’t picked up the OnePlus 5T and are looking for a phone with flagship specifications and top-notch performance, you cannot go wrong with the OnePlus 6. The notch is irksome, but you can at least hide it away, and the glass back makes the device feel more refined next to its predecessors.

The OnePlus 6 goes on sale starting May 22 in North America, and May 21 in India. The 64GB variant starts off at $529, with the 256GB option going all the way up to $629.

OnePlus 6

• OnePlus 6 hands-on preview
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T: How much changes in six months?
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5: Should you upgrade?
• These are the official OnePlus 6 cases
• The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint
• Join the discussion in the forums

Apple Exploring North Carolina, Northern Virginia for New Campus

For the last several months, Apple has been exploring locations for a new campus focusing on technical support, and according to new reports, sites in North Carolina and Northern Virginia are under consideration.

The Washington Post says Apple has explored opening a campus for 20,000 employees in Northern Virginia, an area Amazon is also considering for its new campus.

Image of Apple Park via drone pilot Duncan Sinfield
Apple told economic development officials in Northern Virginia that it is seeking four million square feet of space to accommodate 20,000 jobs, and officials proposed several potential sites.

The sites proposed by Northam’s staff for Apple include office buildings and development sites in Crystal City, privately owned Loudoun County land near the Center for Innovative Technology and the Scotts Run development in Tysons.

Two of those locations, Crystal City and the Loudoun land, are part of sites Northam also pitched to Amazon. Both companies plan to make a decision this year.

Separately, the Triangle Business Journal says that Apple is considering establishing its new campus in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Research Triangle Park, a 22 million square foot research park, has become an attractive site for tech companies and is known as North Carolina’s technology hub due to its proximity to NC State, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly met with North Carolina governor Roy Cooper and commerce secretary Tony Copeland while Cook was in town over the weekend to give the commencement speech at Duke University.

Apple in January said that it would invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy and create 20,000 jobs over the next five years, partially through the launch of a fourth major campus. At the time, Apple said that the campus would not be built in California or Texas, which is where its current campuses are located.

The company declined to provide additional details on the campus’ location, and has since been exploring its options and negotiating with various states for tax cuts and other benefits.

Apple’s upcoming campus will not be like its major corporate campuses in Northern California, One Infinite Loop and Apple Park, as it is expected to be focused on housing customer service and technical support employees.

Apple CEO Tim Cook in March said that Apple is “not doing the beauty contest thing” for its new campus, taking a dig at Amazon’s decision to announce 20 finalist cities as the potential locations for its own new campus. “That’s not Apple,” he said.

“From our point of view, we didn’t want to create this contest, because I think what comes out of that is you wind up putting people through a ton of work to select one, so that is a case where you have a winner and a lot of losers. I don’t like that,” Cook added at the time.
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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 56 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 56 includes bug fixes and feature improvements for JavaScript, WebAssembly, Web API, Security, CSS, Rendering, Media, and Web Inspector.

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.

Tag: Safari Technology Preview
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