With its new iPhones, Apple drops not only the home button, but also the free headphone dongle
Yesterday's Apple event was mostly about heralding the arrival of the new -- a trio of new iPhones, and a new Apple Watch -- but it was also about losing a couple of things. None of the new handsets now feature home buttons, but this is not all that has gone.
Although the price of the new batch of phones is high by pretty much anyone's standards, Apple has taken the decision to stop including a headphone dongle in the box. If you want to use traditional wired headphones with your new iPhone, you'll have to shell out on an adaptor.
Apple bumps up the price of battery replacements
If you're thinking of getting an iPhone battery replaced, now is the time to do it. The announcement of the new iPhone pricing may well have made you consider hanging on to your existing handset for a little while longer, but if the battery is starting to show signs of age, a replacement will cost you more from next year.
This is not something that was announced on stage, but while Apple was busy talking about the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, the iPhone Battery & Power Repair page of its support website was updated with new pricing information.
The price you pay Apple for (so-called) iPhone innovation
Trendsetter Apple has done it again! Just when you thought there was no innovation left in the smartphone market, CEO Tim Cook delivers the wildly price-disruptive iPhone XS Max 512GB for heart-stopping $1,449. Smartphones simply don't cost this much. What other company would stoop so low by reaching so high? This thing is a monster with its 6.5-inch (nearly) edge-to-edge display; 2688 x 1242 resolution at 458 pixels per inch (less than Google Pixel 2 XL at 2880 x 1440 and 538 ppi); and dual-SIM support (so telemarketers can ring more often on two numbers).
For anyone whose hands aren't too small to hold the new thang, iPhone XS Max is sure to draw maximum attention, letting all the little people know just how big a deal you are. Praise be Mr. Cook. Only the privileged can afford this beautiful, beastly slab, short of taking out a second mortgage or cashing in their 401K.
Apple HomePod becomes slightly less terrible thanks to new software update
I generally love Apple products. Every day, I use an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac. For the most part, I am very satisfied with these devices. With that said, not all Apple products are great. For instance, Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod are spectacularly terrible. Not surprisingly, the products I hate are the ones released after the death of Steve Jobs.
The HomePod may offer high sound quality, but its high price and limited usefulness make it an overall poor product. Oh and don't forget -- it can ruin your furniture. For the money, you are much better off with a smart speaker powered by Alexa or Google Assistant -- Siri pales in comparison. In an effort to make HomePod less terrible, today, Apple announces a new software update which will improve it. Not only will the speaker get new features (including the long-awaited ability to make and receive phone calls), but new languages too -- Spanish (for those in Mexico, Spain, or USA) and Canadian French. While the update is appreciated, it is simply too little too late.
Apple officially announces iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
As ever, there has been much hype and excitement about this year's Apple event and the promise of new iPhones. This year there have been more leaks than normal, and now everything has been revealed at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino
This time around -- as expected -- Apple has announced three new handsets: the "cheap" iPhone XR, the 5.8-inch iPhone XS and the huge 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max (not the XS Plus as had been thought for a little while). Here's what you need to know about the trio of smartphones, including confirmation of dual-Sim support.
Apple reveals larger Apple Watch Series 4
Today at the Steve Jobs Center in Cupertino, Apple took the wraps off the latest addition to its Watch range. Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes -- 40mm and 44mm -- and the screen is over 30 percent larger in both instances.
Despite the large screen, the casing has hardly changed in size -- in fact it is thinner. Faces and apps have been redesigned to take full advantage of the edge-to-edge screen, and Apple says that it has managed to maintain the same battery life as the previous model, thanks largely to the new S4 chip with a custom 64-bit dual-core processor. New features include fall detection, and a new sensor that makes it possible to use Apple Watch to take ECG readings
Apple to sell 2 billionth iOS device
From an overall market share perspective, iOS trails Android quite dramatically. It’s not hard to see why -- devices running Google’s operating system are often far more inexpensive compared to Apple’s. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for Apple -- there are far more General Motors vehicles on the road than Mercedes, for instance.
People that prefer quality hardware and actual operating system upgrades choose Apple when possible -- iOS is an absolute delight to use with many quality apps available. Today, to highlight the success of the operating system, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a shocking revelation regarding how many iOS devices have been sold.
How to watch Apple's big iPhone XS launch live on any device, including Windows, Linux and Android
In just a few hours, Apple will be taking the wraps off its latest smartphones, the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone XR, the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. It is also expected to reveal an updated Apple Watch with a 15 percent larger screen, as well as the usual round of software updates for iOS, tvOS, watchOS, and macOS. An AirPower wireless charging pad is also a possibility.
Due to a number of leaks we already have a good idea of some of what is going to be showcased at the event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, but there are bound to be some surprises.
For the first time you can watch Apple's iPhone launch event on Twitter
Every year Apple fans who are unable to attend the iPhone launch -- that is, just about everyone -- either follows live blogs or seeks out how to watch the live stream in their preferred browser on their platform of choice. This year there will be a new option.
For the first time ever, Apple will be live streaming its iPhone launch event on Twitter. There had been rumors that this would happen, but now the new way to tune in has been confirmed.
Leaks suggest incoming iPhone Xc, iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Plus
Historically, Apple has run a very tight ship when it comes to containing leaks, but things have changed slightly in more recent times. It has been thought for a little while now that the company is planning to release three new iPhone models later this week, and there have been leaks that seem to show off some of the handsets and hint at the names.
Now there are two new leaks. The first shows prototypes of 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, while the second seems to confirm the names iPhone Xc, iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Plus.
Trump threatens China tariffs, tells Apple to make products in US when company complains about costs
President Trump proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products -- and there is the threat of a further $267 billion-- has caused Apple to write to the US Trade Representative to point out that this would lead to increased productions costs for many of its products.
Responding to this, Trump said that the company could avoid Chinese import tariffs by switching production to the US. Referring to his suggestion as "exciting", the president said that Apple should start building new factories in America.
Apple boots Alex Jones and Infowars out of the App Store
Having already removed its podcasts from iTunes, Apple has gone a step further and kicked Infowars out of the App Store.
The app -- which provided access to Infowars articles as well as livestreams of Alex Jones shows rants -- has been permanently removed from the App Store for violations of Apple's rule. The move by the iPhone-maker is just the latest in a string of setbacks for Jones who has already fallen foul of Spotify, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter's policies.
Mac app Adware Doctor caught stealing users' browsing histories
A highly popular anti-adware tool in the Mac App Store "surreptitiously steals your browsing history", alleges a security researcher. "All your data are belong to China!", as he puts it.
Patrick Wardle conducted research into Adware Doctor -- one of the most popular paid-for apps in the App Store -- after concerns were raised by another security researcher. His research "uncovered blatant violations of user privacy and complete disregard of Apple's App Store Guidelines", including the theft and sharing of browsing history with a Chinese server.
Apple is developing an online tool for police to request data
Apple is looking to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to request user data and is working on an online tool to help facilitate this.
A letter seen by Reuters shows that Apple is not only developing a data request tool, but also planning to train police about the data that it can and cannot provide. A new online system will make it easier and quicker to track data requests, and would be far more efficient than the current method of communication -- email.
EU green-lights Apple's purchase of Shazam
It's now ten months since Apple announced its plans to buy music-recognition firm Shazam, and a little under half a year since the European Commission started an investigation into the purchase because of concerns about competition.
EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager today announced that the commission will not stand in the way of the deal.
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