Apple May Add ‘Jet White’ Color Option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus

Apple plans to add a “Jet White” color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. The report did not outline when Apple might add the sixth color to the lineup, and it also warned the information obtained from supply chain sources “may be unreliable.”

Mac Otakara has accurately leaked information about Apple’s upcoming plans in the past, including the new Jet Black color and no 3.5mm headphone jack on iPhone 7. It was also correct about several other iPhone 7 details, including its naming, flush Home button, longer earpiece cutout, and lack of Smart Connector.

Nevertheless, the blog has been wrong on occasion, such as when it said the iPhone SE may come in a brighter pink shade that’s different than Rose Gold. Given the lack of confidence in its own source, however, this rumor may not materialize and should be treated with a proverbial grain of salt.

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Apple’s Oft-Delayed Irish Data Center Now on Fast Track to Begin Construction Within Six Months

Last week, a new legal challenge arose for Apple’s massive data center in Galway County, Ireland at the hands of three individuals in the nearby town of Athenry, who filed official complaints against the data center with the Galway County Council, local planning body An Bord Pleanála, and even the High Court. Today, the Irish High Court has ruled in Apple’s favor and pledged to fast-track building approval of the data center following months of roadblocks and red tape (via Business Insider).

Specifically, the court has decided to put the dispute between Apple and the three individuals on the “commercial list,” a dedicated section of the court which deals with cases that have more than €1 million at stake. Because of this, the case “must be concluded within six months,” and Apple will be able to eventually begin construction of the data center, which is intended to power services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud.

Locals march in support of Apple’s data center

Local politician Ciaran Cannon wrote on the Athenry for Apple Facebook group: “Very good news from the High Court just now. The Fitzpatrick/Daly proceedings have been admitted to the Commercial Court list. This means that the hearing must be concluded within 6 months, rather than the 18 months for a normal Judicial Review case. Their case will now be be heard on the 21st of March. The application to admit the third objector, McDonagh, to the same list will be heard next Monday.”

Today’s decision followed a local march in Athenry yesterday organized by citizens in the town and its surrounding villages — with more than 2,000 in attendance — to show Apple that only a vocal minority was against the data center, and that most people are fervently in support of the Cupertino company’s presence nearby. The citizens in support of Apple believe its data center will introduce new jobs to the area and boost the local economy.

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Android 7.0 Nougat beta test for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge kicks off from Nov 9

TouchWiz is getting some Nougat love.

Samsung offered a Marshmallow beta program for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge last year, and the company is doing the same this year for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The Android 7.0 Nougat beta test for both devices will kick off from November 9, and testing will continue until mid-December, which is when we can likely expect a final Nougat build.

The program gives beta testers the ability to send feedback and suggestions directly to Samsung. If you’re interested in testing out Nougat on your S7 or S7 edge, you need to download the Galaxy Beta Programme app from Samsung’s Galaxy Apps store. After downloading the app, you’ll have to fill out an application form, and if you’re selected, you’ll be able to download beta Nougat builds from the Software Update section in your phone’s settings.

As always, there are a few caveats: beta testing is limited to unlocked models of the S7 and S7 edge in the UK, and carrier variants (Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) in the U.S.. The Galaxy S7 edge Olympic edition and Batman Injustice Edition are ineligible.

How to customize the Navigation Bar on the Honor 8

Looking to change up the Navigation bar on your Honor 8 so it works better for you? Luckily there are a few different options available for how you can have it set up, and switching between them is easy. Whether you are looking to reverse the order or add a shortcut so you can quickly bring the notification pane down, it will only take a few seconds. Here’s the simple steps to get things changed on your phone.

Tap to open Settings from the Notification Shade.

Scroll down and tap Smart assistance.

Tap Navigation bar.

Tap to pick the option that you prefer.

That’s all there is to it. A few simple taps on the screen and you’ll be able to easily switch up the Navigation bar on your Honor 8. By default, you get the back, home and multitasking buttons, but you can reorder them to suit your liking, or add the option to quickly bring down and up the notification shade.

If you switch it to something you don’t end up liking, you can just switch it back to a different one, so you are never stuck with something. If you don’t like the layout of your Navigation bar, be sure to check out the other options and see if any of them work better for you.

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Xiaomi’s $22 Bluetooth in-ear headphones are ideal for workouts

The latest product in Xiaomi’s vast ecosystem is a Bluetooth headset designed for workouts. Dubbed the Mi Sports Bluetooth Headset, the in-ear headphones are IPX4 certified, making them splash (and sweat) resistant.

The headset offers Bluetooth 4.1 along with A2DP, and can be simultaneously paired with two devices. The design features a loop that goes around the ear, ensuring that the headset doesn’t fall out in the middle of a workout. Overall weight is just 17.8g, and Xiaomi is claiming a 7-hour battery life from the 110mAh battery. The headset is designed to work in extreme environments (from -20 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees Celsius), and you get five different ear tips in the box.

The most enticing part about the headset is its price, which is ¥149 ($22) in China. The Mi Sports Bluetooth Headset will go on sale in the country starting November 11, and as of now there’s no mention of international availability. Considering Xiaomi sells accessories — including headphones — from its online store in the U.S., there is a possibility that the headset will make its way to Western markets.

Virgin Media introduces 4G tariffs with free WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger

Virgin Mobile has finally added 4G to its mobile services for customers in the UK. The company has introduced a range of flexible 4G SIM plans with various benefits and as Virgin Mobile piggybacks EE’s network, you can expect pretty fast download speeds and good coverage.

One of the biggest draws to Virgin Mobile’s service will benefit heavy WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger users, as you’ll be able to use these services without eating into your data allowance. And if you don’t use all your allotted data during the month, Virgin will rollover any used MBs into the next month, so you’re not wasting money.

Plans start from £6/month for a 30 day rolling contract with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 300MB of data and go up to £25/month for 5000 minutes, unlimited texts and 20GB of data. There are five 30 day rolling SIM-only plans to choose from:

• 300 minutes, unlimited texts, 300MB data – £6/month
• 1500 minutes, unlimited texts, 1GB data – £9/month
• 2500 minutes, unlimited texts, 2GB data – £12/month
• 2500 minutes, unlimited texts, 4GB data – £15/month
• 5000 minutes, unlimited texts, 20GB data – £25/month

Virgin Mobile is offering the new tariffs as either Freestyle or SIM-only plans. Freestyle plans let you pay separate monthly costs for the tariff and the phone, meaning you can pay the phone part of the plan off early to upgrade to the latest device.

If you want to switch to Virgin Mobile, you can trade in your current phone, with the value of it going towards your new plan.

If you find you’re not using all the minutes or data that comes with your plan, you have the freedom to change the allowances every 30 days.

In addition to the 4G benefits, Virgin Mobile customers are able to connect to 250,000 Wi-Fi hotspots around the UK, including 250 stations on the London Underground.

Apple won’t release a new iPhone SE in 2017

Apple introduced the iPhone SE in March this year which combined similar specs to the iPhone 6S in the body of the iPhone 5S, including the 4-inch screen, at an affordable price. The result was largely a success, and even Apple CEO Tim Cook said he didn’t expect the overwhelming demand for the device.

• Apple iPhone SE review: Great things can come in small packages

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has been accurate on a number of Apple rumours before, says there won’t be a follow-up model in 2017.

The main reason for no new model is it may affect iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus sales, which are already struggling because of lack of demand, especially in China.

Because the current model has the same specs as the 6S, the only logical step would be for the new model to have the same specs as the iPhone 7. Apple would obviously much rather consumers buy the more expensive models, so will hold off releasing a cheaper SE model to encourage them.

Apple is also said to in talks with component suppliers to reduce costs to help it improve profits, although some suppliers such as Samsung are unlikely to budge, but smaller companies may well be forced to.

Kuo predicts Apple will sell fewer iPhones in the current quarter, around 40-50 million, down from 51.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Tesco Bank breached: Money stolen from 20,000 accounts

The UK’s Tesco Bank has confirmed that tens of thousands of its customers’ current accounts were compromised over the weekend, leading to fraudulent withdrawals to the tune of several hundreds of pounds, in some instances. Suspicious activity was seen across some 40,000 accounts, with money taken from around 20,000 of those, the bank’s chief exec told the BBC. In reaction, Tesco Bank has temporarily frozen all online payment facilities for current accounts, and guaranteed affected customers will receive full refunds as soon as possible.

Tesco Bank has said in its latest update that cards can still be used to withdraw cash, as well as make chip and pin transactions. All scheduled direct debits and bill payments are unaffected, too, though customers should’ve been contacted and told all this already. In the immediate aftermath, overwhelmed support phone lines, cancelled cards and the online payments freeze will be a serious inconvenience, not to mention the missing money. But how did this happen in the first place?

As yet, we have no real details on the nature of the breach, but of all online services, you expect banking to be unfalteringly secure. Local telco TalkTalk lost 100,000 customers after last year’s hack exposed personal details — as well as being fined £400,000 (around $500,000) just last month. Rebuilding trust after losing customers’ money will be a much taller order, even if only 40,000 of more than 7 million current accounts were compromised. It could, of course, have been a very sophisticated attack — or lax security, or facilitated by someone on the inside.

For now, Tesco Bank will be scrambling to fix the situation, and is working “with the authorities and regulators to address the fraud.” But hopefully it won’t be too long before we understand more about the breach’s origins.

Source: Tesco (1), (2)