Apple’s macOS Sierra beta hints at faster 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 for upcoming Macs
Apple has supported USB 3.1 since 2015’s single-port MacBook release, but both it and the updated 2016 model feature the Gen 1 flavor of USB 3.1. Despite its name, USB 3.1 Gen 1 is basically rebranded USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB. That means that like USB 3.0, transfer speeds max out at 5 Gbps.
With the upcoming release of macOS Sierra, however, there are strong indications that rumored new Mac hardware will support faster USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds. more…
Filed under: Apple
9to5Toys Lunch Break: PNY 256GB Flash Drive $48, Nomad Apple Watch Battery Pack $22, Mechanical Keyboard $30, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
PNY’s very highly-rated Turbo 256GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive is down at $48 Prime shipped right now (Reg. up to $60+)
Nomad’s all-in-one 1800mAh Pod adds days of battery life to your Apple Watch: $22 shipped (Reg. $30)
Nomad’s solid aluminum Apple Watch Stand is a nice complement to your Mac: $30 Prime shipped (Reg. $40)
Save up to $200 on Apple Watch in Best Buy’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Sale, priced from $249
Mechanical keyboards are the best. Give this 87-key Blue Switch option a try for $30.
Get Apple’s tricked out 12″ iPad Pro 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular (refurb) for $680
Why buy iPad mini 2 when you can grab this iPad mini 4 deal for only $30 more?
Apple’s latest 13-inch 256GB MacBook Air and 128GB Retina Pro are on sale right now, save up to $269
The new Riptide Renegade hydro-jet racer title for iOS is now $3 (Reg. up to $10)
App Store Free App of the Week: Pixel Cup Soccer 16 goes free for the first time (Reg. $3)
Galaxy Trucker for iOS & Android now matching its lowest price yet: $1 (Reg. $3)
Hands-on with Hacker’s Brew – a cold brew coffee drink that can power you throughout the day
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Take your image editing next-level: Adobe Creative Cloud Photography 12-mo. Subscription $90 (Reg. $120)
- Amazon is offering the Ooma Free Home Phone Service w/ HD2 Handset for $89
- JBL Arena 2-Way 7-inch Loudspeaker $130, Jabra Sport Bluetooth Earbuds $70, more
- Games/Apps: DOOM PS4/X1 from $20, iOS freebies, more
- Smartphone Accessories: XREXS Bluetooth Speaker w/ Radio and Alarm Clock $17, more
- Save nearly 30% on Acer’s 11-inch Chromebook 2.16GHz/2GB/16GB SSD: $130 (Reg. $180)
- Today only, save 20% on your next JetBlue domestic flight with this promo code
- Today only: Amazon has the Gotham Steel 10-Piece Nonstick Cookware Set for $90 (Reg. $130+)
- Grab a free Kindle download of The Phantom of the Opera with Audible narration
MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:
Get the Fitbit Aria Digital Smart Scale (New-open box) for only $67 shipped (Reg. $106)
This Brother Monochrome Multi-function Laser Printer w/ AirPrint is down to $150 (Reg. $190)
Filed under: Apple
Happy Hour Podcast 081 | GPS Apple Watch 2, iPhone 7 hype, and iMessage Sticker Packs
This week Benjamin and Zac discuss the state of Apple Pay and CarPlay displays, the rumored GPS-equipped Apple Watch 2, increasing iPhone 7 hype, and glorious iMessage Sticker Packs coming to iOS 10. 9to5Mac’s Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Filed under: Apple
Steven Levy goes in-depth with Apple execs on machine learning, Siri improvements in iOS 10
A more intelligent and connected Siri has been one of the flagship features of recent iOS updates, and Steven Levy at Backchannel has a new interview with Apple execs that features a behind-the-scenes look at what goes in to Apple’s artificially intelligent assistant. The piece begins by detailing Siri’s voice recognition upgrade in 2014 when the system moved “to a neural-net based system” for US users and mentions yet another upgrade coming with iOS 10…
Filed under: Apple
As Tim Cook set to receive $100M+ on 5th anniversary as CEO, Financial Times rates his performance
With Tim Cook set to receive more than $100M in stock bonuses as he reaches his fifth anniversary as Apple’s CEO today, the Financial Times has assessed the performance of AAPL under his leadership in a series of five charts.
In a ‘good news, bad news’ chart, the FT begins with a Bloomberg chart showing cumulative sales of the iPhone against income from the device as a percentage of total revenue. While analysts have focused on recent year-on-year dips, there’s no arguing with the steady rise in cumulative sales, Apple recently selling its billionth iPhone.
But the overall trend is also for the company to be increasingly dependent on iPhone revenue, making the decline in sales more worrying than it might otherwise be …
Filed under: Apple
Sketchy product packaging photos suggest ‘iPhone 6 SE’ branding as iPhone 7 event nears
Very sketchy images have surfaced showing off supposed future iPhone product packaging, raising the potential of Apple calling a new iPhone the iPhone 6 SE. Whether this is meant as a successor to the 4 inch iPhone SE or the ‘real’ name for the iPhone 7, due to be announced early next month, is unclear. An upgrade to the iPhone SE is not expected and has not been rumored, as the device only launched a few months ago.
Filed under: Apple
Kickstarter campaign pitching external GPU for MacBook Pro, promising up to 10x performance increase
A Kickstarter campaign which got fully-funded on day one is offering a choice of two external GPUs for MacBook Pros that offer up to ten times the performance of the top-end built-in one. Connected via Thunderbolt 2 or 3, the Wolfe Pro gets you an NVIDIA GTX 970 GPU for $599, with estimated delivery in March 2017.
The GTX 970 has 1664 cores operating at 1050MHz, for a peak computing power of 3.49 teraflops, with rendering speeds almost ten times higher than a maxed-out 15-inch MacBook Pro with AMD R9 M370X GPU. Frame rates exceed 70 frames per second, creating a machine suitable for high-end gaming and VR applications.
The company also promises that backers will be given the option of upgrading to the even more powerful GTX 1060 when available …
Filed under: Apple
Pokémon Go update adds monster ‘Appraisal,’ promise of ‘new and exciting’ features
A report earlier claimed that Pokémon Go usage is in decline from its fever pitched height two months ago. Direct battling and trading might spark a revival in the game, but so far Niantic is still focused on international expansion and stability. Version 1.5.0 on iOS adds a new Pokémon appraisal feature, minor fixes, and the promise of new features.
Filed under: Apple
Report: Spotify struggling to strike long-term deals w/ labels as Apple Music war heats up
It’s no secret that since the launch of Apple Music, Spotify’s relationship with Apple has become more than strained. The company has publicly accused Apple of anticompetitively favoring its own streaming services, giving third-party offerings like Spotify a disadvantage. Now, it appears that Apple Music is causing Spotify even more trouble, this time when it comes to negotiating with labels.
Filed under: Apple
Sony announces new wireless adapter bringing full DualShock 4 controller support to Mac
Sony today announced a new accessory for Mac and PC users that will bring improved gaming support to the platform. In a blog post, Sony unveiled the DualShock 4 USB Wireless Adapter. This accessory will let users connect a DualShock 4 to any Mac, with all aspects of the controller being fully functional.
Filed under: Apple