Apple has announced that the iMac Pro will begin shipping on December 14th. Marques Brownlee has a great video review of this impressive machine.
The iMac Pro Begins Shipping This Week
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Apple Buys Shazam
“We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple,” Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms.”
I like this move for Apple as there’s lots of places Shazam’s technology can be used across their platform.
Amazon Prime Video Comes to Apple TV
Amazon Prime Video is now available on the Apple TV. MacStories writes:
The timing of Prime Video’s release coincides with Apple’s release of tvOS 11.2 earlier this week, which adds a new Sports tab to the TV app. This enables tracking and watching games from various sports, and is a perfect complement to Prime Video’s release due to Amazon being the rights holder for Thursday Night Football games. Starting tomorrow night, users will be able to watch NFL games using the TV app and Prime Video.
I’ll take this moment to plug The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which is fantastic.
Apple Releases High Sierra Root Login Bug Fix
Apple:
Security is a top priority for every Apple product, and regrettably we stumbled with this release of macOS.
When our security engineers became aware of the issue Tuesday afternoon, we immediately began working on an update that closes the security hole. This morning, as of 8:00 a.m., the update is available for download, and starting later today it will be automatically installed on all systems running the latest version (10.13.1) of macOS High Sierra.
We greatly regret this error and we apologize to all Mac users, both for releasing with this vulnerability and for the concern it has caused. Our customers deserve better. We are auditing our development processes to help prevent this from happening again.
If you have macOS High Sierra installed on your computer, you should update as soon as you can.
Apple and Steven Spielberg Bringing Back ‘Amazing Stories’
Apple and Steven Spielberg have reportedly agreed to a content deal to bring Amazing Stories back to TV:
The new deal pulls in the director’s production company Amblin Television, along with NBCUniversal, with plans to resurrect beloved 1980s fantasy/sci-fi/horror anthology Amazing Stories. The original series only ran for two seasons in the mid-80s, but racked up a fair amount of critical acclaim and fond memories, including a dozen Emmy nominations.
Twitterrific 5.0 for Mac
Twitterrific, the long running Twitter client, has released a new Mac version today:
Twitterrific for macOS features a clean, uncluttered timeline displaying just the content you care about. There are no advertisements, promoted tweets, or “while you were away” updates getting in the way of the stuff you care about most. In addition, tweets are presented in chronological order and other people’s likes aren’t cluttering up your timeline.
It looks like a solid release. I still prefer Tweetbot, but the customization options offered here are really nice. I hope this inspires Tweetbot to keep pushing forward and improving their version.
iOS 11: The MacStories Review
iOS 11 is out today. As always, Federico Viticci over at MacStories has a fantastic review:
But perhaps more importantly, unlike iOS 10, iOS 11 presents a cohesive narrative for both the iPad and iPhone. A story where, for the first time in years, the iPad is informing some of the design principles and features of the iPhone’s software. Even from different angles, and each with its own past struggles, both acts in iOS 11 end up asking the same question:
Where does the modern computer go next?
Apple’s Craig Federighi Answers Some Face ID Questions
Matthew Panzarino, writing for TechCrunch:
The simple answer, which is identical to the answer for Touch ID, by the way, is that Apple does not even have a way to give it to law enforcement. Apple never takes possession of the data, anonymized or otherwise. When you train the data it gets immediately stored in the Secure Enclave as a mathematical model that cannot be reverse-engineered back into a “model of a face.” Any re-training also happens there. It’s on your device, in your SE, period.
iTunes Gets a Little Streamlined
iTunes has seen a slight revamp. MacStories reports:
The update to iTunes also adds the Friends feature first seen in the iOS 11 beta. Apple Music subscribers can set up a profile and follow friends to see the music and playlists they are listening to. I’ve been using the Friends feature all summer and it’s been a great way to find and try new music.
You can follow me if you want.
Apple Announces New iPhones, Apple TV, and Apple Watch
Apple announced a bunch of new things today. I have a few quick thoughts on everything.
Whether users are out for a run, at the pool or just trying to be more active throughout their day, Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular allows them to stay connected, make calls, receive texts and more, even without iPhone nearby. The third-generation Apple Watch is an amazing health and fitness companion with intelligent coaching features, water resistance 50 meters1 and a new barometric altimeter that measures relative elevation.
This seems like a nice logical step. The idea of being able to leave the house for a workout and only needing your watch and AirPods is definitely enticing. Which leads to:
Soon, the combination of cellular and watchOS 4 will allow Apple Music users to stream 40 million songs right from their wrist.
The watch is making a play as the new iPod. It used to be a thousand songs in your pocket, now there’s 40 million songs on your wrist.
watchOS 4 features an updated Heart Rate app, giving even more insight to heart rate, including measurements during resting, workout, recovery, walking and Breathe sessions. Customers can also choose to receive a notification when their heart rate is elevated above a specific threshold while inactive.
These health updates are pretty cool.
With Apple TV 4K, viewers can enjoy a growing selection of 4K HDR movies on iTunes. iTunes users will get automatic upgrades of HD titles in their existing iTunes library to 4K HDR versions when they become available. Apple TV 4K will also offer 4K HDR content from popular video services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, coming soon.
Pretty standard update for the Apple TV. Without a new remote, I don’t really have a reason to upgrade at the moment. Mine works just fine for what I mostly use it for (a Plex watching device).
The new iPhone features a new glass and aluminum design in three beautiful colors made out of the most durable glass ever in a smartphone, Retina HD displays and A11 Bionic chip, and is designed for the ultimate augmented reality experience. The world’s most popular camera gets even better with single and dual cameras featuring Portrait Lighting on iPhone 8 Plus, and wireless charging brings a powerful new capability to iPhone. Both devices will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, September 15 in more than 25 countries and territories, and in stores beginning Friday, September 22.
Nice looking phones, great spec bumps, and an impressive camera. Also, almost immediately outdated.
Apple today announced iPhone X, the future of the smartphone, in a gorgeous all-glass design with a beautiful 5.8-inch Super Retina display, A11 Bionic chip, wireless charging and an improved rear camera with dual optical image stabilization. iPhone X delivers an innovative and secure new way for customers to unlock, authenticate and pay using Face ID, enabled by the new TrueDepth camera. iPhone X will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, October 27 in more than 55 countries and territories, and in stores beginning Friday, November 3.
Expensive, very expensive. It seems that Apple wants to continue pushing their phones forward without having to be constrained by the need to mass produce at iPhone scale. This new phone gives them the ability to use components they can’t put into the “main” phone that needs to ship millions at once. It looks gorgeous, the camera looks fantastic, and I’m sure I’ll get used to the “notch” sooner or later. The real decision for me will be how the lack of the home button and swipe gesture to get to the home screen feel in real use. It’s something I do a hundred times a day, and it needs to feel natural. I assume I’ll get used to it. Face ID looks interesting and I hope it’s as fast as it demos since I’ve become accustomed to the speed and ease of use of Touch ID. I guess time will tell.
Apple, Amazon Join Race for James Bond Film Rights
The James Bond sweepstakes has taken an unexpected turn. While Warner Bros. remains in the lead to land film distribution rights to the megafranchise — whose deal with Sony expired after 2015’s Spectre — a couple of unlikely suitors have emerged that also are in hot pursuit: Apple and Amazon.
The tech giants are willing to spend in the same ballpark as Warners, if not much more, for the rights, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. MGM has been looking for a deal for more than two years, and Sony, Universal and Fox also had been pursuing the property, with Warners and Sony the most aggressive.
Apple Introduces New Wireless, Noise-Cancelling Beats Studio3 Headphones
Beats have announced their new, over the ear, Studio3 wireless headphones:
Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones deliver a premium listening experience with Pure Adaptive Noise Cancelling (Pure ANC) to actively block external noise, and real-time audio calibration to preserve clarity, range and emotion. It continuously pinpoints external sounds to block while automatically responding to individual fit in real-time, optimising sound output to preserve a premium listening experience the way artists intended.
Apple Music Festival Ends After 10 Years
The annual Apple Music Festival will end after ten years:
However, the cancellation of the festival doesn’t signal a move away from live events by Apple Music completely.
The brand was recently a partner of shows by Haim and Skepta in London and Arcade Fire in Brooklyn and it had a heavy presence at SXSW in Texas earlier this year – where it backed shows from Lana Del Rey, Vince Staples and DJ Khaled.
In addition, Apple Music also sponsored Drake’s 32-date Summer Sixteen Tour in 2016 and it supports regular live sessions from its ‘Up Next’ artists.
The closure of the Apple Music Festival is likely because Apple is concentrating its resources on one-off events like these, in addition to its original content efforts in video – which have recently included a Carpool Karaoke spin-off series and a behind-the-scenes documentary on Harry Styles.
How Apple Is Putting Voices in Users’ Heads — Literally
Steven Levy, writing for Wired:
Cochlear implants bypass the usual hearing process by embedding a device in the inner ear and connecting it via electrodes to the nerve that sends audio signals to the brain. The implant gets sound from an external microphone and sound processor that usually sits behind the ear. Until now, users have had to deal with balky remote controls to adjust the settings. And dealing with smartphones has required a separate piece of equipment that vexes communication thanks to its low quality and annoying lags. But Bahnmueller, a 49-year-old executive in automotive safety, has recently been testing a new solution. The reason I was coming through so clearly is that his over-the-ear device linked to the implant was streaming directly from his iPhone—essentially putting the conversation in his head.
Apple Removes iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle
The iPod nano and the iPod shuffle are no more:
The iPod touch remains. With its 10th anniversary just a few months away, I wonder how long it has left. In July 2015, Apple gave it the A8 processor from the iPhone 6, along with better cameras and increased storage capacity. The Touch’s pricing and capacities were adjusted today, but the product saw no other changes.