The Mixtile Hub is the first smart home hub that can bridge existing smart accessories from other popular home automation protocols, like ZigBee and Z-Wave, and bring them into the HomeKit ecosystem. This means customers will be able to view various accessories in the Home app and control them with Siri voice commands, even if they weren’t designed for HomeKit originally.

The hub, announced at CES, appears to be the first of its kind consumer product although Focalcrest didn’t announce when the product would actually go on sale. The current workaround solution involves running a hacky network server whereas the Mixtile is MFi-licensed and should be as easy to setup as any other HomeKit product.

more…

Filed under: Apple

As we move into the new year, we’re taking a look in a series of pieces at what the future might hold for Apple’s product line-up, for this year and beyond. Jordan kicked things off with an overview, and a closer look at the iPhone 8, while I’m turning my attention to the Mac.

In the longer-term, there are bigger questions we can ask about the future of the Mac – the biggest of all being: does it have one? While Tim Cook has sought to reassure us that Apple still loves the Mac despite making the vast bulk of its revenue from iOS devices, the company’s upgrade cycles do seem to suggest that computers are no longer the priority they once were.

We had to wait four years for a meaningful upgrade to the MacBook Pro – though not all professional users consider it an upgrade. The flagship Mac Pro has gone more than three years without an update, the Mac mini more than two years, and the iMac over a year. The MacBook Air is coming up for two years without an update, and probably won’t get one as the MacBook lines up to take its place …

more…

Filed under: Apple

Apple has cut Tim Cook’s 2016 pay by a little over $1.5M after the company failed to achieve both revenue and profit goals. The news that Cook’s compensation was cut from $10.28M in 2015 to $8.75M in 2016 was spotted in a regulatory filing by the WSJ.

Apple said its annual sales of $215.6 billion were 3.7% below its target of $223.6 billion, and its operating income of $60 billion was 0.5% short of the $60.3 billion target. As a result, company executives got 89.5% of their targeted annual cash incentive.

Cook wasn’t the only one to lose out …

more…

Filed under: Apple

You’re nobody in the analyst world unless you’re predicting a ‘supercycle’ for the iPhone 8 – a huge increase in sales over and above the normal level expected for a new iPhone. Pretty much every analyst on the planet is predicting one this year, with sales expected to exceed those of the earlier supercycle seen for the iPhone 6.

But Nomura says that even these predictions are under-estimating the likely popularity of this year’s iPhones …

more…

Filed under: Apple

I may live a paperless life myself, but not everyone does. If you’re someone who prefers physical reminders of things you need to do, the Mangoslab Nemonic may be for you: it’s a small thermal printer that can print anything on your iPhone onto a sticky note.

more…

Filed under: Apple

A report back in September suggested that Apple was planning to open its first ever retail store in South Korea, close to Samsung’s HQ in Seoul. Apple has today confirmed this to Reuters.

“We’re excited about opening our first Apple Store in Korea, one of the world’s economic centers and a leader in telecommunication and technology, with a vibrant K-culture,” Apple told Reuters in a statement Friday. “We’re now hiring the team that will offer our customers in Seoul the service, education and entertainment that is loved by Apple customers around the world.”

Apple didn’t comment on one juicy aspect of the earlier rumor …

more…

Filed under: Apple

A photo posted to the official Beats by Dre Instagram page has led some people to suggest that the rumors of a new ‘Jet White’ iPhone 7 are real. The photo is certainly convincing at first glance, depicting an iPhone with a stark white finish and black Apple logo (pictured left). The possibility of a new white iPhone 7 finish, to be released before the iPhone 8 in the fall, was first raised by a report in November.

However, it is unlikely that Beats will leak a new iPhone design ahead of an official unveiling by Apple. Given the device’s characteristics, it seems like what is pictured is actually an iPhone 5c …

more…

Filed under: Apple

Sonny Dickson this evening posted posted a log and video of a never before seen in public version of pre-iPhone era software that was built as an alternative OS to what eventually became iOS.

The OS, which was devised in the iPod’s heyday, was based on a virtual click-wheel that was put on the touch display. A set of menus is navigated with the touch much like one would using an iPod of the time. In the era of multi-touch the idea seems quaint but when everyone is using iPods, the UI makes a lot of sense as a small step rather than the giant leap to iPhone OS, what eventually became iOS.

Check out the video below:

more…

Filed under: Apple

Rumors of Apple’s renovation plans for its flagship Fifth Avenue store have been circulating for a while now, but the renovations will soon commence as the company has announced plans to briefly relocate the Fifth Avenue store to a new location during the process…

more…

Filed under: Apple

As CES continues out in Las Vegas, Braven has taken the wraps off of its latest lineup of wireless in-ear headphones. While Earin announced the new completely wireless M2 earbuds earlier this week, Braven’s options are fitness focused and tailored to a few different preferences.

more…

Filed under: Apple