Apple could bring E Ink keyboards to MacBooks in 2018
You may have to wait a while if you want a Mac with an E Ink keyboard. Wall Street Journal tipsters understand that Apple wants to make Sonder’s e-paper keys a “standard feature” on MacBooks, but that it’s aiming for a 2018 launch. Don’t expect to see anything at that reported October 27th event, then. At least we’re getting a hint of the functionality. As you’d expect, E Ink would let your Mac use “any” alphabet, along with special characters and media editing shortcuts. You could write emoji more like you do on a smartphone (where you replace the keyboard with an emoji picker) instead of using a keyboard shortcut and wading through an on-screen dialog box.
None of the companies involved are commenting. However, Sonder had already acknowledged that talks had taken place. The technology would make sense, however. So long as Apple is still philosophically opposed to touchscreens on its computers, any input innovation will have to take place below the display. See those rumors of OLED touch strips on the next-generation MacBook Pro, for example. This isn’t going to make you happy if you prefer touch, but it might satisfy creative pros, emoji fans and anyone who has had to go without localized keyboards.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Apple reportedly unveils new Macs on October 27th
Even before Apple’s September event, rumors swirled that the company would save any Mac-related updates for an October presentation. As the month has gone on, however, fans have wondered whether or not or not anything would happen. Isn’t it a little late to send out press invitations? Supposedly, you can relax. Recode sources claim that Apple will introduce new Macs at an event on October 27th. This would be a smaller-scale affair than the iPhone 7 introduction (possibly held on Apple’s campus), but that doesn’t mean that it would be devoid of interesting products. If you believe the rumors, just the opposite is true.
While the leak doesn’t give any hints as to what you can expect, there have already been plenty of rumors. The headliner may be overhauled 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros that include OLED touch strips and fingerprint readers, but ditch conventional ports in favor of multiple USB-C connections. You could also see a stand-alone 5K display and refreshed MacBook Airs with USB-C. And of course, nearly every other computer in Apple’s lineup is due for an upgrade of some kind — you could see a slew of revisions, even if some of them never get mentioned on stage. The purported unveiling is just over a week away, so you won’t have long to find out whether or not the story is true.
Source: Recode
Clinton campaign considered Tim Cook and Bill Gates for VP
One of the nuggets of information to come from the Podesta emails leaked by Wikileaks is a correspondence that lists business and tech leaders as potential running mates for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. If you’re running against a business man, you might as well fight commerce with commerce.
CNN reports that on March 17th, Podesta sent an email filled with political figures and business leaders that were considered by top Clinton campaign staffers. In a odd choice of separating those individuals, Podesta organized the names into “food groups.”
One of those groups included Apple CEO, Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and cofounder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda Gates. The email also contains GM CEO, Mary Barra and Starbucks CEO, Howard Shultz. But in the end, Clinton decided to stick with a politician like herself and picked Tim Kaine killing our dreams of an iPhone in every pocket and an Apple car in every garage.
Source: CNN
Apple may ditch traditional USB ports on the MacBook Pro
Apple reportedly plans to eliminate the UBC 3.0 and Magsafe ports on its next-gen MacBook, and kill the 11-inch MacBook Air altogether. That’s according to Macotakara, the Japanese rumor site that was among the first to predict the company would kill the traditional headphone jack on the iPhone 7. The site also claims that Apple will unveil a 15.4- and 13.3-inch MacBook Pro at an event sometime this month.
If the report is accurate, MacBook Pros will only pack USB Type C and Thunderbolt 3 ports. As with the new MacBook, you’d presumably charge it through the USB-C port and connect peripherals via Thunderbolt 3. That means you’d need some kind of USB 3.0 adapter, since the majority of storage and other peripherals still use the traditional standard. For the MacBook, Apple sells a $79 USB-C dock that gives you USB 3.0, USB-C for power and an HDMI connection.
The company will also release a new 13.3-inch MacBook Air, but discontinue the 11-inch model, according to the report. That lines up with previous rumors that Apple would kill the smaller Air model, since it has been made effectively redundant by the 12-inch MacBook. However, it also shows that it isn’t discontinuing the MacBook Air completely, as some feared.
The MacBook Pro will allegedly have an OLED touch bar and go on sale shortly after the event. That would be good news to MacBook Pro lovers who’ve been waiting a long time for a new model, assuming the report (based on a “reliable Chinese supplier”) is accurate. However, Macotakara said exactly the same thing in June, and the August launch it predicted didn’t happen.
Apple hires a Carnegie Mellon professor to improve its AI
Apple isn’t letting Samsung’s acquisition of Viv go unanswered. The Cupertino crew has hired Russ Salakhutdinov, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, as a director of artificial intelligence research. Interestingly, he isn’t giving up his school work — he may well be publishing research at the same time as he’s upgrading your iPhone or Mac. It’s not certain what he’ll be working on, although Recode observes that his recent studies have involved understanding the context behind questions. We’ve asked Apple if it can comment.
The hire could make a big difference for Siri, which has been criticized for evolving relatively little compared to services like Google Assistant. The AI helper may develop a better understanding of what you’re asking, and could be better at handling less-than-explicit or follow-up questions. However, Apple’s use of AI isn’t limited just to voice commands. Remember how iOS 10 uses machine learning for object and face recognition in its Photos app? You could see Salakhutdinov’s influence across many products, giving weight to Apple’s claims that it considers AI a key part of its future.
Carnegie Mellon might not be entirely happy. Uber spent a while poaching from the school’s robotics lab, and now the university has to worry about Apple luring top talent. While that may not be such a bad thing if it leads to more practical applications for AI, it may limit academic studies in the near future.
Excited about joining Apple as a director of AI research in addition to my work at CMU. Apply to work with my teamhttps://t.co/U2hQl2GdhA
— Russ Salakhutdinov (@rsalakhu) October 17, 2016
Source: Russ Salakhutdinov (Twitter)
iPhone 7 update fixes your Verizon connection problems
If you recently snagged an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus and depend on Verizon for service, you’ll want to check for a software update. Apple has released an iOS 10.0.3 upgrade that that fixes a weeks-long problem where some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus users (particularly Verizon customers) would temporarily lose their cellular connections. If you were affected, your LTE connection would unexpectedly drop out and revert you to pokey 3G speeds. There are no other real improvements, but this could make a big difference if your initial iPhone 7 experience has been defined by flaky access.
Source: Apple
Bloomberg: Apple isn’t building a car anymore
Remember Apple’s ambitious, long-rumored and totally not top-secret plan to build a self-driving car for the masses? According to Bloomberg, it’s dead, with several hundred employees being reassigned to other parts of the company’s business. The project, codenamed Titan, has been scaled back from a full-blown vehicle to simply a self-driving system that can be sold to car makers for use in their own vehicles. It gets worse, since Titan’s leaders have been told that their team needs to produce something feasible before the end of 2017, or else.
We’ve been hearing nothing but rumors about Apple’s intentions in the self-driving car space for the last few years. But apparently there’s been behind-the-scenes chaos since 2015, when managers began to argue about what the Apple car would take. The report quotes an unnamed source saying that Titan was “an incredible failure of leadership” until Apple stalwart Bob Mansfield came over to lead the team. It was Mansfield who re-shaped the project, killing the idea of building a Tesla competitor and concentrate on a technology platform that could be sold to third parties.
The piece also mentions how Apple’s well-seasoned executives seemed to struggle with the problematic nature of automotive supply chain. The firm is famous for throwing its weight (and cash) around to secure large quantities of components for its computers and smartphones. But apparently this track record didn’t carry over to manufacturers who make car parts, who weren’t prepared to make the necessary investment. Coupled with talented employees going elsewhere and Apple’s poor record of partnering with third parties and it looks like we can kiss our dreams of a drivable iPhone goodbye.
Source: Bloomberg
Engadget UK giveaway: Win an iPhone 7 courtesy of Casetify
When the mornings are feeling that little bit crisper and the nights are drawing in, it can only mean one thing: Christmas is coming. Okay, it might be a little premature to start thinking about the festive holiday, but thanks to our friends at Casetify, it might come a little early for you. This week, we’re giving away a matte black iPhone 7 (32GB) with one of the case maker’s slick protective classic grip cases. Casetify specialises in turning your favourite Instagram photo(s) into custom phone accessories, so it’s throwing in a gift card for one of those too. You can enter up to three times via the Rafflecopter widget below. Just don’t forget to give the rules a quick scan while you’re down there.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
- Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
- Contest is open to all residents of the UK, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
- Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) iPhone 7, one (1) case and one (1) gift card for a custom case.
- If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
- This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Apple, Casetify and Engadget / AOL are not held liable to honour warranties, exchanges or customer service.
- The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
- Entries can be submitted until October 21st at 11:59PM BST. Good luck!
Source: Casetify
Here’s Apple’s workaround when your iPhone 7 home button fails
The iPhone 7’s non-moving home button may feel odd at first, but it has its perks… especially if it ever stops working. MacRumors forum goer iwayne has shown that the new iPhone will give you an on-screen home button (along with a warning that you may need repairs) if it thinks the physical key is broken. While that’s not much consolation if your phone needs to be fixed, it does mean that you can keep using your device in a relatively normal way while you’re waiting for your Genius Bar appointment.
The technology may be short-lived when there are reports of Apple possibly ditching physical home buttons entirely with the next iPhone. However, it’s not hard to see why Apple would push for a motionless button in the short term. It’s not just the customizable haptic feedback — the new design is theoretically less likely to break (since it doesn’t click down) and reduces the pressure to get an immediate fix. That helps Apple’s bottom line, of course, but it may also make you a happier owner in the long term.
Image credit: iwayne, MacRumors Forums
Via: MacRumors
Source: MacRumors Forums
Apple Watch Nike+ arrives on October 28th
If you’ve been holding off on getting an Apple Watch Series 2 in hopes of scoring the running-oriented Nike+ edition, you only have a few more days to wait. Apple has updated its product page to reveal that Apple Watch Nike+ will be available on October 28th, just in time to meet the company’s promised late October launch window. You can get the wristwear in both 38mm and 42mm case sizes at the same $369 and $399 prices as standard Series 2 watches, with a mix of black and gray straps that sometimes include highly visible (and slightly eye-searing) green accents.
As we found out when trying the Nike+ watch in September, you’re really buying this for the software. You get both Nike’s running app out of the box as well as a pair of exclusive watch faces geared towards athletics. The more breathable straps are helpful if you can’t stand a sweaty wrist at the end of a workout, but not as essential. You’re otherwise going to experience the same performance, GPS and water resistance as a run-of-the-mill Series 2. In short: while it might be the Apple Watch of choice if you rarely go a day without running, it’s not so essential for everyone else.
Via: The Verge, MacRumors
Source: Apple
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