Court says the FBI will be allowed to keep San Bernardino iPhone unlocking details a secret
Apple shows off Portrait Lighting feature in new iPhone 8 Plus video
Apple today has shared a new advertisement for the iPhone 8 Plus touting the new Portrait Lighting feature. The video was uploaded to Apple’s YouTube channel and comes in at 38 seconds, showcasing the various new effects that Portrait Lighting offers.
This week’s top stories: Apple release iOS 11.1 + watchOS 4.1 betas, iOS 11 battery life concerns, more
In this week’s top stories: Apple release iOS 11.0.1 as well as its next round of beta updates, we discuss iOS 11 battery life concerns, Apple faces off with the FCC, and much more. Read it all below… more…
Weibo to increase censorship as it faces pressure from Chinese regulators
After facing intensifying pressure from Chinese regulators, Weibo announced this week that it has hired 1,000 “supervisors” whose primary responsibility will be to censor content on the social media platform. The move marks a new turn of censorship for Weibo, one of the most popular social media networks in China…
Friday 5: Awesome Apple Watch apps to try this weekend [Video]
My hands-on look at the Apple Watch Series 3 is still forthcoming, but I have to say that I’ve been extremely impressed by the potential and speed of this device. The Series 3 is, in my opinion, what the original Apple Watch aspired to be. The hardware has not only increased in efficiency and speed, but the connectivity — with LTE finally in tow — provides it with a measure of independence that seemed like science fiction just a few years ago.
The addition of watchOS 4, an operating system update that brings several fundamental changes and enhancements to the Apple Watch as a whole, is just icing on the cake. In this week’s Friday 5 we take a look at several apps that work great on the Apple Watch Series 3. One such app even works solely on LTE, independent of a paired iPhone or Wi-Fi. more…
9to5Rewards: Win an Apple Park tote bag from the new Visitor Center campus store before it opens [Giveaway]
This week for 9to5Rewards, we’re giving away an Apple Park tote bag, the same one that Apple will sell at its new Apple Park Visitor Center retail store when it officially opens in the coming months.
The exclusive Apple Park swag at the Visitor Center store isn’t available to the public just yet, but the store was open for one day to press during Apple’s iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X event earlier this month at the new campus.
New Michigan Avenue Apple Store in Chicago featuring local artists ahead of grand opening
Apple’s latest retail flagship to receive a new store is its Michigan Avenue, Chicago location. Set for a grand opening on October 20, the company has a new webpage dedicated to the store. Continuing a trend seen used at its Dubai store, the soon-to-open Michigan Avenue location is already featuring local artists.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Best Buy 2-Day Sale, iDevices HomeKit Switch $23, SNES Classic Giveaway, 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. more…
How to add a fast new SSD to your old Mac or MacBook for only $150
When I first wrote about using solid state drives (SSDs) to radically improve the performance of older Macs, high-capacity SSDs were just beginning to become affordable. Replacing a Mac’s 500GB or 1TB hard drive with a same-sized SSD required at least $250 back then, but the benefits were tremendous: even an aging machine became markedly (5x) faster, silent, and — unexpectedly — more fun to use. All for much less than the price of a new Mac.
Today, high-capacity SSDs are more affordable than ever. Replacing your old 500GB hard drive with a same-sized SSD from a reputable manufacturer costs only $150, while 1TB drives are under $330, each $100 less than only a couple of years ago. Once unthinkably huge 2TB and 4TB SSDs are now commonly available, too, albeit at eye-watering prices.
With this week’s release of macOS High Sierra, Apple has officially made SSDs its preferred Mac storage solution, introducing the new APFS standard to further optimize SSD performance over Fusion and traditional hard drives. So this is a perfect time to revisit the topic of SSD upgrades; if you held out before, now’s the time to jump in!
Apple acquired computer vision photo analysis firm Regaind
Apple has acquired Regaind, a French startup that focused on using its computer vision API to recognize content within photos, TechCrunch reports. Apple issued the standard confirmation statement to TC when asked about the company purchase.