Apple releases iOS 10.2 beta 7 for developer + public beta iPhones and iPads
Apple has released the seventh developer and public beta version of iOS 10.2 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch — the second developer and public beta this week. iOS 10.2 includes several upcoming features like new Unicode 9.0 emoji, three new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus wallpapers, a new TV app, additional camera features, new Messages screen effects, and more.
Filed under: Apple
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Fitbit Alta Fitness Tracker $85, Spider-Man 2 for iOS $1, Amazon Tap Speaker w/ Alexa $80, more
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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Fitbit’s Alta Fitness Tracker w/ iPhone notifications drops back down to Black Friday pricing: $85 shipped (Reg. $130)
Gameloft’s highly-rated The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2 for iOS get rare price drops: $1 ea. (Reg. $7)
Amazon Tap Alexa-enabled Bluetooth Speaker $80, Protocol Quadcopter $20, more
Adobe Photoshop & Editing Mastery Bundle: $41 ($306 value) | 9to5Academy
Best Buy is taking $100 off all iPad Pro Wi-Fi models, prices start at $500 shipped
DirecTV Now launches with an aggressive free Apple TV offer when you pre-pay for three months of service: from $105 ($255 value)
DuckTales Remastered for iOS now matching its all-time low at $1 (Reg. up to $10)
- Rayman Classic for iOS goes free for the very first time (Reg. $5)
- App Store Free App of the Week: Toca Hair Salon 2 goes free for the first time in years (Reg. $3)
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Best Buy will sell you a 24-inch Acer 1080p Monitor with HDMI input for $80 shipped (Reg. $120)
- CyberPower 8-Outlet UPS Battery Backup System $88 (Reg. $130)
- Games/Apps: COD Infinite Warfare $30 or Legacy Edition $50, freebies, more
- Smartphone Accessories: Aukey Bluetooth Sport Headphones $13 (Reg. $20), more
- Give the gift of wireless headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Over-Ears $330 (Reg. $400)
- Vansky’s Mood Lighting Strips are back down to Black Friday pricing: White $10, more
- Polk 5.1-ch. Home Theater System with Powered Subwoofer, on sale for $250 (Reg. $350+)
- LG’s Destiny 4G Android Smartphone w/ pre-paid service drops to $30
- Amazon’s 1-Day Men’s Leather Florsheim Shoe Sale up to 50% off
- You can get a free 3-month trial of HBO NOW just for owning a Chromecast ($45 value)
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
Harman Kardon’s 5.1-Ch. Home Theater System for $170 shipped (Orig. $600)
Philips Hue White A19 Starter Kit w/ Siri and Alexa Control, on sale for $56 shipped (Reg. $69)
Easy gift idea your family will love! Save 60% on all custom cards, calendars and books from Amazon – 12 mos. Wall Calendar $6
Get a free Gund Plush Teddy Bear with the purchase of $150+ Amazon Gift Cards
Filed under: Apple
Pebble is dead, software assets acquired by Fitbit, upcoming hardware canceled
Following several reports over the past few days, both Pebble and Fitbit have officially announced this morning that Fitbit will acquire Pebble’s software assets as the smartwatch maker is dissolved. The acquisition excludes all hardware.
Filed under: Apple
Apple reportedly introducing a red chassis color option with new ‘iPhone 7s’ in 2017
Japanese Apple rumor blog Macotakara has a new report today indicating that the successor to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will come in an all new color. The site says Apple will add a red casing color, joining the existing Black, Jet Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold options.
Macotakara has a decent track record when it comes to reporting details about unreleased Apple products. It was the first site to say that Apple would remove the headphone jack with the iPhone 7.
Filed under: Apple
Apple says November set an all-time record for App Store sales
Pokémon Go teaming up w/ Sprint before expected Starbucks promotion, new monsters coming soon
Pokémon Go is teaming up with Sprint to turn businesses into PokéStops and Gyms as part of Niantic’s latest move to keep players in the game. The news comes just one day before Starbucks is expected to do the same while introducing a Pokémon Go-themed drink for trainers. Niantic has also teased out when we might start seeing new monsters appear in the game.
Filed under: Apple
2016 MacBook Pro battery complaints grow for both 13- and 15-inch models
There are growing complaints about the new MacBook Pro models delivering battery life well below Apple’s claimed ten hours. While manufacturer claims are often based on unrealistic scenarios, a number of owners on both Apple’s support communities and Reddit are reporting numbers in the 3-6 hours range.
I’ve got my 15″ MBP a few days ago and I’m pretty disappointed by its battery life. If I do nothing but very light web browsing in Safari and brightness around 50% I can get it to about 6 hours. But not even close to the 10 hours promised.
The position is complicated by GPU use and the difference between estimates and actual life …
Filed under: Apple
Apple believes 2016 MacBook Pro graphics issues are addressed in macOS 10.12.2 update, according to Craig Federighi email
A variety of graphics issues have been reported from some buyers of the new MacBook Pro models, ranging from strange transparency glitches on app windows to corrupt textures and tearing, as seen above. You can see a summary of the main complaints in our previous coverage of this issue.
The problem does not appear consistently for every new MacBook Pro user, leading some people to believe it is a hardware issue. A MacRumors forum member allegedly got a reply from Craig Federighi suggesting this was not the case. Federighi says that all of these graphics glitches have been fixed in the macOS 10.12.2 beta seeds …
Filed under: Apple
iOS achieves strongest growth & highest market share in U.S. for two years – Kantar
The latest Kantar sales figures show that iOS achieved its strongest growth in more two years, and achieved the highest market share it has held since January 2015.
In the US, iOS grew 7% points year-over-year, from 33.5% of smartphone sales to 40.5% in the three months ending October 2016. This represents the strongest rate of growth for the OS in more than two years, as well as the highest share seen since the three months ending January 2015 (42.8%).
The iPhone 7 stood out for its impressive sales performance despite being available for less than the full quarter …
Filed under: Apple
Handful of iPhone 6 fires in China caused by ‘external factors’ not product faults, says Apple
Following eight reports of iPhone 6 fires in China, Apple has responded saying that tests showed that the fires were caused by ‘external factors’ rather than any issue with the phones themselves.
The BBC reports that Apple had carried out an investigation into each fire.
Eight users have complained to Shanghai’s consumer watchdog that their iPhone 6 series handsets spontaneously combusted or exploded. The US tech giant said it had conducted tests on the devices and had found “no cause for concern with these products” […]
Apple said the iPhones had external physical damage “which led to the thermal event” …
Filed under: Apple