Apple has pushed out a big update for Clips, its video creation app for iPhone and iPad. With this new update, iPad owners who are running iPadOS 13.4 can now utilize the new cursor support for use with a mouse, Bluetooth keyboard, or trackpad. The update all also new stickers and more, as well as improvements to the overall performance and stability of the video app.
The iPhone SE (2020), the next major iPhone release, could be launched inside the next two weeks. A note released by Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives suggested that mid-April was likely for the release window for Apple's next smartphone, a low-cost successor to the iPhone SE. This device could be called iPhone 9, or could be called iPhone SE2.
Apple could be close to buying a virtual reality company focused on streaming immersive sports, music, and entertainment experiences, as the Cupertino firm readies its big tech and content push for VR and AR. Though Apple currently doesn't have a virtual reality hardware product of its own, platforms like ARKit and recent devices like the LIDAR camera on the new iPad Pro have made it clear that the augmented reality is high on its agenda.
The iPad Pro's inclusion of a LiDAR system wasn't exactly unexpected but it was still surprising to some extent. Leaks have hinted at Apple taking the professional tablet's cameras in that direction but more probably expected the technology to come to the iPhones first. It turns out that, probably due to scheduling, the iPad Pro was only getting a head start and the iPhone 12, specifically the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, will be getting that same camera and sensor combo for improved 3D object identification.
Apple quietly added a new privacy feature to the latest iPad Pro, borrowing a MacBook security feature to help prevent eavesdropping on its 2020 tablets. With the launch of the 2018 MacBook range and the introduction of the Apple T2 security chip, closing the lid of the notebooks automatically disconnects the hardware microphones.
Well, that didn't take long. It was recently revealed, through the usual trusted sources, that Apple's next iPhone of the affordable kind will, in fact, be named the iPhone SE, just with a "2020" attached to it. Of course, that's more or less still unofficial, even if it makes sense, until Apple itself confirms it. It just did, though probably without intending it, through a listing for a screen protector that puts "iPhone SE" along side the iPhone and the iPhone 7.
Apple is still pushing through its product launches, unsurprisingly, though that doesn't really speak for how much inventory it will have at that time. With the new iPad Pros out of the way and the next iPhones still months in the making, Apple fans are looking to the iPhone 9 or iPhones SE 2 for the next big affordable thing. That name has always been surrounded by confusion and contention but it seems that there is finally a third option that sort of makes sense.
Apple may not have officially announced the AirTags trackers, but that didn't stop the well-discussed "secret" tags from being inadvertently mentioned in an Apple Support video. The Tile-rivaling tracking tags are expected to launch this year, and bring Find My iPhone-style location services to other items frequently lost, such as keys, bikes, and bags.
More and more people are turning to digital videos, be it streaming, rental, or outright purchase, during these times of being copped up indoors. That is naturally a prime opportunity for distributors and services to advertise certain features, including free offers, and get more subscribers. Those don't necessarily translate to an exponential rise in profits, especially if they have to pay some "tax" to platform owners like Google and Apple. Almost out of the blue, Apple is now relaxing its much-criticized 30% cut from certain video apps, allowing those apps to keep 100% of the subscriptions, at least for now.
The latest update to iPhone and iPad devices seems to have broken a crucial component of the video chat system FaceTime. Reports have shown the update to iOS 13.4 for iPhone and iPad caused an issue with FaceTime audio and video calls. The bit that doesn't work seems to be the connection between these newly-updated devices and those still running iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6 - the newest software some older devices can get.
Despite the lockdowns, quarantines, and shelter-in-place orders, work still has to be done. This is especially true for physical products that have a limited window of opportunity to get out the door. That's harder to do when you very secretive company like Apple that is known for keeping things under tight wraps, or at least as much as they can. The global pandemic has forced Apple to yield some ground and, in doing so, may have also yielded some clues to its upcoming products.
The next affordable iPhone was curiously absent from Apple's latest big announcement and it was probably for the best. The new iPad Pro would have easily hogged the spotlight, pushing the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9, whatever its name will be, into the background. Its time will surely come and it could actually be around the corner. And if this new evidence coming from iOS 13.4.5 is any hint, it could pack quite a nice set of features despite its aged design.