Hands-On With Twelve South’s New Universal BookArc for MacBooks
Twelve South today unveiled an all new design for its popular BookArc, introducing a revamped version that’s compatible with all current Apple MacBook models, including the 12-inch Retina MacBook, the Retina MacBook Pro, the non-Retina MacBook, and the MacBook Air.
The BookArc, for those unfamiliar with the product, is designed to hold a MacBook while it’s being used in clamshell mode when connected to an external display, keyboard, and mouse for an organized desktop setup. A vertical docking station like the BookArc can keep a MacBook in clamshell mode out of the way and cooler than it would be when flat on a desk.
Twelve South’s new BookArc has the same general arc shape as previous BookArcs, but it ships with several silicone inserts that can be swapped out to fit different MacBooks. Taking out a silicone insert takes just a few seconds, and while putting one in is a bit tricker, it’s a painless process that should allow people with multiple MacBooks to switch between inserts with ease.
An insert that fits both the Retina MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air ships with the BookArc, and inside the packaging, there are additional inserts sized for the thicker non-Retina MacBook Pro and the thinner 12-inch Retina MacBook. Customers who previously owned a BookArc for the Retina MacBook Pro will be familiar with the different inserts, as that model also came with inserts to fit different MacBooks.
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TSMC’s A9 Chip Outperforming Samsung’s in Early iPhone 6s Battery Benchmarks
Following the launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus last month, it was discovered that Apple is dual sourcing the A9 chip for the new devices from both TSMC and Samsung, with the chips from the two companies measuring at slightly different sizes due to different processes used in manufacturing the chips. As users began to determine which chips were used in their devices, data began to point toward a 60/40 split in favor of TSMC, although the ratio has shifted toward 50/50 as more data has been obtained.
Benchmarks have suggested there is little if any difference in chip performance between the two A9 variants, but some recent battery testing (via Engadget) is hinting at the possibility of significantly better battery life for models with the TSMC-manufactured A9 chip.
We should caution that data points remain few at this time and controlling for variables to accurately focus the comparison only on the differences in the A9 is difficult, but these limited tests are generating significant amounts of interest in our discussion forums and elsewhere.
Perhaps the most dramatic result comes from a reddit poster who compared Samsung and TSMC versions of the iPhone 6s Plus using the battery life test included in Geekbench 3, finding the TSMC version lasting nearly two hours longer than the model with Samsung A9 chip.
Geekbench battery tests on TSMC (left) and Samsung (right) iPhone 6s Plus variants
Ran this test a couple times and results were consistent. Always about a 2 hour difference in duration. Both phones were tested using the same backup, same settings. Also tried testing them as new phones and results were similar.
We asked John Poole of Primate Labs, the developers of Geekbench, for any insight into the dramatic differences being observed in some cases, and he noted there have been rumors of TSMC’s 16-nanometer process being “superior” to Samsung’s 14-nanometer process in power consumption. He was, however, surprised by the amount of difference in observed battery life considering the various components have essentially identical performance benchmarks. Ideally, further controlled testing can be performed to offer a more accurate comparison between the variants.
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Microsoft Releases Office for Mac 2011 Update to Fix Outlook El Capitan Bug
Microsoft today released an update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, which fixes a significant Outlook bug that Office users ran into after upgrading to OS X El Capitan. After installing the new Apple operating system, many Outlook 2011 users found themselves unable to access their mail due to a syncing issue that caused the app to hang whenever it attempted to access the server.
Users were seeing a spinning Wait cursor whenever a sync was attempted and Outlook would become unresponsive, making it impossible to fetch new emails. The new 14.5.6 update should fix this problem for Outlook users who have installed OS X El Capitan and is a much better fix than Microsoft’s previous workaround, which simply suggested users run OS X Yosemite.
Though Microsoft has fixed one major bug OS X El Capitan users are running into, there are still problems with Office 2016. Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint 2016 are crashing for many users, preventing them from being used with OS X El Capitan.
Microsoft has said that it is working on a fix for Office 2016, but it has not given a timeline for when users can expect the issues to be solved.
Apple Seeds Third OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 Beta to Developers and Public Beta Testers
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming OS X El Capitan update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, just over one one week after releasing the second OS X 10.11.1 beta and a week after the public release of OS X El Capitan on September 30.
The new beta, build 15B30a, is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center.
The first beta of OS X 10.11.1 introduced support for a range of new emoji included in Unicode 8, like cheese wedge, taco, burrito, popcorn, middle finger, unicorn head, and more. Other betas appear to include under-the-hood fixes that are not immediately apparent.
It is not clear what the first update to OS X El Capitan will bring to the new OS aside from updated emoji, but it’s likely to be a minor update that includes bug fixes and performance improvements for issues encountered following the operating system’s official release. According to Apple’s release notes, the beta offers stability, compatibility, and security improvements.
Barclays won’t enable Apple Pay support until early 2016
When Apple Pay launched in the UK back in July, Barclays was a notable absentee. It didn’t take long for the bank to change course, however, as took only a couple of hours for it to confirm that it would enable support for the NFC payment technology in the future. In the months that have passed, the bank hasn’t offered any clues as to when it will launch — until today. Disgruntled customer Mike Jobson took it upon himself to email the CEO of Barclays Retail Banking, Ashok Vaswani, to ask how long the wait might be. Vaswani swiftly replied, confirming that the bank would enable Apple Pay functionality “very early in the New Year.”
“We have signed up for ApplePay and will launch it very early in the New Year,” said Vaswani. “We truly value your custom and hope that you continue to bank with us particularly since we are launching this shortly.” The CEO’s definition of “shortly” might not gel with the hundreds of unhappy customers who have taken to Twitter to voice their displeasure at the company’s lack of movement over Apple’s payment platform. We’ve contacted Barclays numerous times, via both phone and email, and have received the same stock response: “We are really excited about the launch of Apple Pay and will bring Barclays debit cards and Barclaycard credit cards to Apple Pay in future.”
Other customers have voted with their wallets by cancelling their accounts and moving to banks that already back Apple Pay. With what looks like another three month wait, there could be an even bigger exodus, especially while the company rolls out NFC payments on rival platforms.
Via: Macrumors
Source: Mike Jobson
Fantastical for iPhone Adds 3D Touch Support, Fantastical for iPad Gains Split-Screen Multitasking
Flexibits today updated its popular Fantastical 2 apps for the iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch with support for a range of iOS 9 and iPhone 6s features. Fantastical 2 for iPad now includes split-screen multitasking support, letting it be used simultaneously with other apps with iOS 9’s Slide Over and Split-View multitasking modes.
With Slide Over, users can pause one task to access their calendars to quickly schedule events or reminders, and with Split-View, Fantastical 2 can be used alongside another app. Slide Over works on the iPad Air and later and the iPad mini 2 and later, while Split-View is available on the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 4.
The iPad version of Fantastical 2 also includes new iOS 9 keyboard shortcuts when using an external Bluetooth keyboard that are accessible when holding down the command key.
Fantastical 2 for the iPhone now includes support for 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus. A firm press on the Fantastical app icon on these devices will bring up a list of Quick Actions that lets users see upcoming events, add a new event, view reminders, and search through their calendars.
On the Apple Watch, the Fantastical 2 app is now native on devices running watchOS 2, improving loading speeds and app opening times. There are also now Fantastical complications that include a “go to date” option, which can be used on any watchOS 2 watch face that supports complications.
In addition to these major changes, there are several improvements and bug fixes that are common to both the iPhone and iPad apps. A full list of these minor enhancements are below:
– Additional iOS 9 fixes and improvements
– Improved design for week view
– Tap and hold on locations or URLs to choose an app to open them in (e.g. Google Maps or Apple Maps)
– Multiple invitation notifications are now shown separately instead of grouped into a single notification
– Improved highlight weekends for countries that have weekends on Friday and Saturday
– Fixed hang when adding new events with VoiceOver
– Fixed location and phone data detectors not appearing in event titles
Fantastical 2 for iPhone and Apple Watch is available from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link]
Fantastical 2 for iPad is available from the App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]
Apple Announces Beats Pill+ Speaker Available in November for $229
Apple today announced a new Beats Pill+ Bluetooth wireless speaker with a simplistic design, stereo active 2-way crossover system and 12-hour battery life. The speaker will be available for $229.95 in black or white through the Apple Online Store and authorized Beats retailers beginning next month.
Beats Pill+ Bluetooth Wireless Speaker will retail for $229.95 (Image: The Verge)
The new Beats Pill+ companion app will enable users to control the speaker using a smartphone, with features including the ability to control music from two Bluetooth sources and sync two Beats Pill+ speakers together for either simultaneous or dedicated right and left playback.
“When you obsess about sound the way that we do at Beats, portable Bluetooth speakers can be very tricky,” said Beats President Luke Wood. “We spent countless days, weeks, months testing for that perfect combination of form and function – small enough to travel but still big enough to feel the emotion of the music. That’s what you get with Pill+.”
The new Beats Pill+ replaces the original Beats Pill unveiled in October 2012, and is the company’s first new speaker since being acquired by Apple for $3 billion in May 2014. The new Beats Pill+ is larger than the original Pill speaker, but smaller than the recalled Beats XL speaker, and weighs 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg).
Beats Pill+ companion app for iOS and Android
The Verge went hands-on with the new Beats Pill+ speaker, calling it “the most attractive looking and sounding speaker that Beats has ever made” after listening to a brief demo of songs from various genres, including tracks by The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, Tom Petty and punk rock band PUP.
More important than the look and build is the sound, and judging from my brief demo the Pill+ is likely the best-sounding Pill ever. That’s apparently all thanks to what’s called a two-way active system, meaning that amplifiers are built into the speakers — two in fact, one for each pair of woofer and tweeter. This helps better assign the different frequencies of music to the right parts of the speaker, resulting in better sound.
The Beats Pill+ is equipped with both Lightning and USB ports on the back for charging your iPhone or other devices. The speaker has a rubberized power button and volume controls and a metallic Beats logo that doubles as a play/pause button. There is also a line in audio port.
Barclays Planning to Launch Apple Pay Support in UK in Early 2016
Apple Pay launched in the United Kingdom in July at more than 250,000 locations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but Barclays remains notably absent from the group of banks supporting the mobile payments service.
Nevertheless, Barclays remains committed to supporting Apple Pay in the future. Barclays CEO of Personal and Corporate Banking Ashok Vaswani today told customer Mike Jobson by email that the bank plans to roll out Apple Pay in early 2016.
We have signed up for ApplePay and will launch it very early in the New Year. We truly value your custom and hope that you continue to bank with us particularly since we are launching this shortly.
A high-level executive at Barclays previously stated the bank anticipated “imminent” support of Apple Pay, and the bank later publicly confirmed it will support Apple Pay in the “future,” but no specific launch timeframe had been provided.
Barclays is the only major financial institution of the “Big Four” banks in the U.K. that has yet to adopt Apple Pay. Participating banks include Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank.
MacRumors has contacted Barclays for comment.
Samsung Estimates First Profit Growth in Two Years Thanks to Sales of Chips, Not Hardware
Samsung this morning announced its forecast predictions for the company’s third quarter, suggesting an overall year-over-year profit growth of 79.8 percent, which would be its first since 2013.
The company didn’t provide specifics regarding where the profit came from, but analysts speaking with The Wall Street Journal attributed it to the “robust sales” of various chips and displays used in smartphones and other devices throughout the year. Specifically, those analysts believed Samsung’s earnings this year are being fueled by the chip sales “due to tight supply and firm pricing.”
Overall, the company’s chip unit will likely account for nearly half of its total profit in the third quarter of 2015, with the addition of display sales bolstering the rest of its foreseeable monetary gains.
The South Korean technology company said Wednesday its operating profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 likely rose 79.8% to about 7.3 trillion Korean won (US$6.3 billion), its first year-over-year growth since the third quarter of 2013 when the company posted a 26% increase. Revenue likely rose about 7.5% to 51 trillion won.
Analysts were expecting Samsung to post an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won on revenue of 50.5 trillion won, based on a poll of nine analysts.
Most recently, Samsung announced the newest iterations of its smartphone lineup, the Samsung Galaxy Note5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, whose 5.7-inch displays make them slightly larger than Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus and are marketed as a direct competitor to the Cupertino company’s large-screened device. Announced and launched in August — alongside services like Samsung Pay and the new Gear S2 Smartwatch — the new smartphones were pegged as an early competitor for Apple’s iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
But, if the analysts’ predictions today are correct, Samsung saw most of its profits from its contribution to chip production within Apple’s own smartphone line-up. When initially discovered a few days after the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the split of A9 chips between Samsung and TSMC met a small wave of controversy, with one iOS developer going so far as to calculate the percentage split between the two manufacturers. Even though the 60/40 percentage was in favor of TSMC, it appears Samsung’s chip manufacturing for the 6s and 6s Plus was enough to help in some way boost its overall quarterly growth.
This is the Pill+, Beats’ first speaker since joining Apple
Its been a while since Beats revealed some new personal audio tech. To be fair, the company has been a bit busy getting settled in Cupertino and lending a hand with Apple Music. Now that the streaming service has launched, Beats is getting back to the speaker business. Its first completely new device since joining Tim Cook & Co. is the Pill+: a Bluetooth device for blasting your music. As the name suggests, the Beats Pill+ is a bit larger than the original Pill, yet much smaller than the Pill XL. The overall design is different as well, with a flat panel around the middle rather than a completely round pill-like shape. That change also makes the power and volume controls more accessible up top. Slideshow-326552
To handle the sound, the Pill+ has two-way crossover stereo tech, including custom-designed woofers and tweeters (two of each), that projects the audio and keeps things clear across genres. We haven’t been able to test that for ourselves yet, but on paper, this speaker looks like an improvement over the OG model that we weren’t too impressed with. If history is any indication of what to expect, there should be a solid dose of bass here. Beats says the Pill+ will keep the music going for up to 12 hours before needing a charge and the included Lightning cable and power supply can completely juice it back up in three hours. Similar to the Pill XL, there’s a group of LEDs that’ll keep you informed of the battery level and a USB jack will let you plug in your phone if it’s running on empty.
In addition to the speaker itself, Beats has a new companion app to make the most out of the purchase. There’s a DJ mode that’ll allow multiple phones/tablets/etc. to pair with the speaker so more than one person can control the playlist. It also helps you add a second Pill+ to either make the overall sound louder or to use ’em as a stereo setup with left and right channels. If you’ve already opened your wallet to buy Dr. Dre’s latest, you’ll have to wait until next month to drop $230 at an Apple store and other places Beats’ goods are sold.
AIVAnet 