Nest smart thermostat to support room-by-room control; Nest Cam adding face-recognition; more – Bloomberg
Alphabet’s Nest is developing remote sensors for its smart thermostat to allow temperature to be controlled on a room-by-room basis, reports Bloomberg. Competing smart thermostat products typically use units attached to radiators that detect the room temperature and adjust the flow to each room.
Filed under: Apple
Report: 3D sensor production ramp suggests iPhone 8 to launch later than September
Apple is widely expected to launch three new iPhones this year, two iterative updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and one radical new form factor device with an OLED screen, informally dubbed ‘iPhone 8’.
Recent reports have suggested that the iPhone 8 may launch later than the other two models, as some of the innovative components will not be ready for September …
Filed under: Apple
Apple once more dominates global smartphone profits, though less dramatically
The latest estimates from Strategy Analytics show that Apple continues to take home the lion’s share of total profits in the worldwide smartphone market. While Apple’s slice of the profits has fallen from the 92%+ it has achieved in previous years, it still hit an impressive 79.2% last year, reports Korea Herald.
Apple captured 79.2 percent of global smartphone profits last year, according to the latest research by Strategy Analytics on Wednesday, highlighting the US technology giant’s ability to maximize pricing and minimize production costs. The global smartphone industry was estimated to have posted total operating profits of $53.7 billion last year, with Apple’s operating profit standing at $44.9 billion, the research showed.
Samsung took a distant second place, while Chinese brands – despite their rapid growth in market share – are still barely profitable, says the company …
Filed under: Apple
Apple’s supplier clean energy program hits Japan, includes large floating solar facilities
Apple has long been committed to using renewable energy for its own operations, and in 2015 extended that goal to its suppliers, starting with China. In its 2016 supplier responsibility report, the company said that its energy efficiency program had reduced carbon emissions by more than 13,800 metric tons.
Today, Apple has announced that the program has reached Japan, with component supplier Ibiden pledging to power all of its Apple manufacturing with 100 percent renewable energy …
Filed under: Apple
UK Apple Pay adds support for charitable donations following US rollout, launches with 21 UK nonprofits
Following a launch in late 2016 for the US, Apple Pay in the UK now supports over twenty local charities. This means Apple users in Britain can make donations online using the same, simple, Apple Pay flow with Touch ID authentication.
Apple Pay on the web is supported on iPhone, iPad and the latest version of Safari for Mac. See the full list of UK charities already onboard after the jump …
Filed under: Apple
Apple cracking down on developers who use SDKs like Rollout to update apps without App Store approval
Apple today has started informing developers that use “hot code push” SDKs that it will soon start rejecting their applications. In a thread on the Apple Developer Forums, developers are reporting that they have started receiving messages from the company explaining that the code must be removed before any further updates will be approved.
Filed under: Apple
Report: This year’s flagship iPhone may be called the ‘iPhone Edition,’ launch well after announcement
A new report from Japanese news site Macotakara offers new details and speculation on this year’s iPhone refresh. According to today’s report, the previously rumored 5-inch iPhone is actually the high-end model that has been rumored time and again. The report also claims that Apple may call this high-end model the “iPhone Edition.”
Filed under: Apple
Apple says that ‘many’ of the exploits exposed in today’s WikiLeaks dump have already been patched
Earlier today, a data dump from WikiLeaks stated that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has a specialized unit within its Center for Cyber Intelligence that is devoted to obtaining zero-day exploits for iOS devices. The WikiLeaks information, however, also claimed that the CIA had lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal.
Apple this evening has issued a statement on the matter, saying that “many of the issues leaked today were already patched” in the most recent version of iOS.
Filed under: Apple
Latest iPhone 8 mockup imagines rumored function area and bezel-less design
Following the iOS 11 concept video we shared earlier this morning, a new high-quality iPhone 8 mockup has emerged. The new mockup comes courtesy of AlHasan Husni and shows what Apple’s rumored iPhone 8 could look like when it’s introduced later this year, including the rumored function area, smaller bezels, and more.
Filed under: Apple
AT&T announces new DirecTV Now promo with free HBO for a year or $5 off per month
AT&T today announced a pair of new promotions for existing DirecTV Now subscribers. Starting this month, subscribers will receive either a $5 off credit for 6 months or free HBO for 12 months. The company made the announcement on its Community Forums website this afternoon.
Filed under: Apple