Apple's WWDC 2019 keynote invitations have dropped, and all eyes are on the annual developer event to see the latest updates for iOS and macOS - and just in case some new hardware makes an unexpected appearance. The keynote kicks off at 10am PT on June 3, 2019, and will set the stage for Apple's big updates to its mobile, desktop, and services for the year ahead.
Apple has announced a new Backlight Service Program for the 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro model. The program addresses the 'very small percentage' of MacBook Pro laptops that experience one of two display issues: complete backlight loss or intermittent/continuous vertical bright spots across the bottom of the display. Laptops covered by the program were sold from October 2016 through February 2018; these units can be serviced for free at Apple Stores and authorized service providers.
Apple isn't just adding new, faster MacBook Pro models to its range today: it's also updating its Keyboard Service Program, too. The scheme was launched in mid-2018 in the face of growing complaints about the Butterfly key mechanism, which some MacBook and MacBook Pro owners discovered could be more than a little frustrating.
Apple has added an eight-core MacBook Pro to its range, the first time the company has offered such potent processors in its notebooks. The new MacBook Pro taps Intel's 8th and 9th Generation chips, for up to double the performance compared to an old, quad-core machine.
Yes, it does sound a bit ironic. Although Apple has had its own mobile payment system for quite a while now, you couldn't use Apple Pay to buy stuff from Apple's digital stores. That has silently change now and it seems that Apple has flipped the switch for some markets. Users in those select countries will now, if not soon, be able to use their Wallets associated with their Apple Pay account to buy apps, ebooks, and music from Apple's iTunes and App stores.
There's a flaw in the vast majority of Intel chips from here back to the year 2011 called ZombieLoad. That's what security researchers are calling it, anyway. The name refers to data a processor cannot handle, a "zombie load" which can be exploited thanks to a code vulnerability in Intel hardware.
Contactless technology like NFC conjure up images of simply and lightly tapping on surfaces to initiate an action, be it authentication or even payment. What those scenarios don't often include is the initial setup that has to be done beforehand, like downloading an app and signing into a service. Apple, however, seems to be leading the way towards that the true realization of that fantasy with NFC tags that trigger Apple Pay, all without setting up anything other than Apple Pay first.
Apple has announced that its new Apple TV app has arrived in more than 100 countries for its device owners, as well as for users who own select Samsung smart TVs. The redesigned app is made to meet all of your entertainment needs, bringing a huge movie and television collection alongside major video apps and an overhauled design. Samsung boasts that it is the first TV manufacturer to offer the Apple TV app and AirPlay 2.
The latest Android update made it clear: Smartphones are, at last, getting smart. The intelligence we've craved for the past decade is essentially on our doorstep. This might be the most significant several years in the history of mobile smart devices. But most people won't even notice. It'll be through updates like the one we're talking about today that smartphones finally, truly, start to earn their name.
Apple's hopes to get an App Store antitrust lawsuit dismissed have fallen flat, with the US Supreme Court giving the go-ahead to a case alleging the iOS software download store is, indeed, a monopoly situation. The lawsuit, Apple v. Pepper, saw four iPhone owners sue the Cupertino company, arguing that the App Store allows Apple to unfairly control software prices by virtue of it being the only official place to download titles.
The next iPhones are still months away, but they've despite that, they've been the subject of numerous leaks and rumors. Many of those rumors have focused heavily on the cameras these phones will have, with the iPhone XS and XS Max successors rumored to have three and the iPhone XR follow-up with two. Today, yet another leak is corroborating this information, along with how those triple camera arrays will look.
Although Apple has long been expected to make its own physical card, the timing of its arrival was still a bit of a surprise. Announced last March, the company showed off a titanium credit card that unmistakably bore Apple's aesthetics. Now we're getting a view of what the real card looks in person, or at least based on someone's brave photos of the card.