The Apple Car rumor has reignited, with analyst predictions that the Cupertino company will look to four wheels and complex technology for its next iPhone-scale success. Speculation that Apple is considering wading into transportation has been a regular topic of discussion in recent years, as investors and fans alike try to guess what the $1 trillion company might do next.
This close to the final launch, you’d think iOS 12’s beta would have very little in the way of big changes, especially those that tend to break things. But such are the risks of beta version software, be it Beta 1 or Beta 7, as iOS developers found out the hard way this week. Apple immediately pulled out Beta 7 after numerous complaints but has now brought it back as Beta 8. But, no, it doesn’t bring back Group FaceTime.
When the Motorola P30 was leaked earlier this week, all I could see was the latest Android-laden iPhone X. Even though the Essential Phone PH-1 was the first major smartphone with a notch, Apple put one on their iPhone and sold an outrageous amount of units. Since then, several China-based companies have taken to cloning the iPhone X industrial design as best they could. When you're in a place where making a good, cheaper copy isn't looked down upon, it's rewarded, it makes good business sense to make said copy.
There's really no way around it - Motorola's joined the copycat club. This is apparently the Motorola P30, a device with a near-full-frontside display with a notch, a fingerprint sensor in the top middle of its back, and a pill-shaped set of cameras with its LED flash in the center. It's basically the Xiaomi Mi 8, a device which is basically an Android version of the iPhone X.
Aside from hardware sales, apps are a major source of revenue for Apple. Though official Apple apps make up a tiny, tiny fraction of all of the available apps on iOS, the company still gets a percentage of every app sale through the platform. This extends to in-app purchases (like the ones you find in free-to-play games) and apps that primarily generate revenue through subscriptions, such as Netflix.
For quite some time now, rumors have been claiming that Apple will launch three iPhones later this year. That isn't the most wild claim to make considering that Apple did the same thing in 2017, but in any case, the general consensus seems to be that we're getting a repeat of the three-phone line up in 2018. Today, analytics firm TrendForce delivered its predictions for 2018's iPhone line, and once again, we're seeing the claim that there will indeed be three phones for consumers to pick from.
Early feedback from users has apparently prompted Apple to temporarily pull the iOS 12 beta 7 update. Users reported slow performance, including a delay in unlocking the device and when launching apps, among other things. Based on user reports, the performance issues eventually smoothed out, but Apple has removed the update regardless to fix the problems.
One of iOS 12's headline features, Group FaceTime, will now no longer ship in the initial release of the iPhone update, Apple has confirmed. Announced at WWDC 2018, the feature allows FaceTime video calls to include up to 32 people simultaneously.
There's a new way to get in on the Fortnite Android beta just released to the web today. This new method involves getting yourself banned from ever playing the game again on any platform with your original account. But there's a LEGIT way to get in on the Beta, so let's discuss both the way that's right as well as the way that's wrong.
Facebook today began removing Friends Lists Feeds from their main app and web browser site. This feature is one of a collection that'll be removed from the mix this year due to a culling of the weak of sorts. As a Facebook representative suggested, "We're shutting down this lesser-used feature to focus our efforts on improving the main News Feed experience."
Google has just christened Android 9 as Android Pie and its rather plain-sounding name mirrors this release’ identity. The good things are all packed inside with AI filling while the crust almost feels like just for show. It’s biggest visual change and probably its most controversial is the new navigation system that favors a pill and a non-permanent back button over the navigation panel that has become Android’s identity for over a decade now. And yet that seemingly superficial change could actually be the beginning of an even bigger identity shift that’s happening in Android.
The competition in the music streaming industry has practically been whittled down to two major players: Spotify and Apple Music. And any advantage one can get over the other is, of course, a huge point in its favor. For this round, Apple Music may have gotten the upper hand with an exclusive partnership with Verizon that practically bundles the carrier’s Unlimited (for various meanings of the word) data plans with free Apple Music. At least for six months.