HDMI to USB-C without adapters now possible as more Macs expected to adopt port
USB-C first debuted in Macs last year with the 12-inch Retina MacBook, and this fall even more Macs are expected to adopt the new standard port. While the MacBook is a lightweight machine (both physically and in terms of workload), MacBook Pro uses will expect wider functionality without adapters if USB-C replaces ports available on current hardware.
Add HDMI to the list of ports USB-C can now easily replace. The group behind the HDMI standard today shared that it’s now possible to connect HDMI and USB-C directly. Manufacturers will have to produce the cables, of course, but the new HDMI Alt Mode makes it possible. Previously, USB-C to HDMI required a dedicated adapter between cables.
Filed under: Apple
Opinion: How Apple is likely PR-managing the loss of the headphone jack on the iPhone 7
Apple has never been afraid to declare that technology has moved on, and that something we all thought of as essential is now legacy equipment. It did this first with the 3.5mm floppy drive, omitting it from the iMac G3 in 1998 because Steve Jobs held the view that the CD-ROM had rendered the medium obsolete.
Apple was also one of the first companies to abandon optical drives, with the MacBook Air being the first Mac to launch without one in 2008. The company of course later dropped optical drives from the Retina MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac.
Finally, in launching the 12-inch MacBook, Apple also declared that every prior port except the headphone socket was no longer necessary.
Each time Apple has done this, there have been anguished complaints and negative press. Apple has weathered the storm each time, and other manufacturers tended to quietly follow Apple’s lead a little later. But in seemingly planning to abandon the oldest and best-established standard of them all – the venerable 3.5mm headphone jack – I believe Apple is being a little more careful in how it has prepared the ground …
Filed under: Apple
Plex apps add DVR feature for capturing free over-the-air TV shows
In run-up to iPhone 7 launch, Bowers & Wilkins launches wireless P7 headphones
Well-respected British audio company Bowers & Wilkins clearly wants to be ready for the anticipated loss of the headphone socket in the iPhone 7: it has just announced a Bluetooth version of its P7 over-ear headphones.
We’re big fans of the company’s smaller on-ear P5 headphones, which made it into the holiday gift guide selections of both Jeremy and myself after the company launched a wireless version earlier in the year. This launch brings the same wireless freedom to the larger over-ear model …
Filed under: Apple
Tim Cook liquidates $65M of his AAPL stock, still holds around $110M
SEC filings reveal that Apple CEO Tim Cook has sold a little over 600,000 of his AAPL shares over the past couple of weeks, netting him approximately $65M. He continues to hold more than a million shares worth some $110M.
The sell-off represents a substantial chunk of the stock bonuses he received last week as he reached his fifth anniversary as CEO …
Filed under: Apple
Tim Cook responds to tax ruling in Irish press: it is “total political crap”, 0.005% rate is a “false number”
Earlier in the week, Apple was hit by a European Commission ruling to the tune of 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland. Apple immediately refuted any wrongdoing and has already said the Irish government will appeal. Apple CEO Tim Cook has continued this tirade today in the Irish press, with a newspaper column in the Independent and a rare radio interview (with RTE’s Paschal Sheehy).
Cook does not hold back on his language. He says the 0.005% effective tax rate bandied about by the judgement is false and “total political crap”. He says Apple actually paid $400 million to Ireland in the same year and believes it was the largest taxpayer in the country that year.
Filed under: Apple
Comment: Reactions to Irish tax ruling reveal divide between US & European perceptions
I expressed surprise on Monday that Tim Cook would write what I described as a ‘tone-deaf’ open letter on the Irish tax ruling, and it’s been fascinating to see the responses.
In particular, I think there’s a significant difference in perceptions of this issue between Americans and Europeans. This difference does, I think, explain why Cook made what seemed to me to be a strategic error.
My surprise was that he focused exclusively on arguing that Apple was obeying the law, doing nothing that other large companies don’t do – and the unfairness of the situation from Apple’s perspective. Many commentators on the piece echoed these arguments, and it’s clear that many Americans are puzzled by my description of the letter as tone-deaf, so I thought a little context would be helpful …
Filed under: Apple
Google updates Snapseed photo app for iOS w/ RAW support, new face editing tool, more
Steve Jobs planned to continue to run a secret TV set project after stepping down as CEO
Apple has long been rumored to be developing an actual TV set, but to this day the company has instead focused its efforts on the Apple TV set-top box. A new report from Recode, however, details how Steve Jobs believed Apple finally thought of the perfect way to create a TV set two months before his death.
Filed under: Apple
PSA: Samsung’s new Gear S3 smartwatches work with iPhones
Earlier today Samsung revealed its latest generation of Tizen-based smartwatches, the Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier and 9to5Google was on hand to test the device. While these two new devices don’t look much different compared to last year’s Gear S2 lineup, they do make some major improvements. Obviously, the first thought with a Samsung wearable is that it will pair perfectly with an Android smartphone, but luckily these new watches will also work with iOS.
Filed under: Apple