Articles about Apple

Apple Watch is probably the best smartwatch on the market, because, well, it doesn't have much competition. Microsoft's Band is dead, and Android Wear devices are largely ho-hum. With that said, it only works with iPhone, making it a non-starter for most consumers. After all, the majority of smartphone users have Android devices.

If you are an iPhone user, and you still haven't bought an Apple Watch, now might be the time. You see, Nike and Apple have collaborated on a new model of the wearable. Before you get too excited, the Apple Watch NikeLab -- as it is called -- is pretty much just the existing Space Gray Apple Watch Nike+ with a special black and white band.

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The Android landscape is changing, albeit at a really, really slow pace. That explains why, in early-April, Google reports that Nougat is found on 4.9 percent of Android devices, while the older Marshmallow powers nearly a third -- 31.2 percent -- of the smartphones and tablets that run the most-popular mobile operating system.

Things couldn't be more different if we look at the iOS space, where iOS 10 currently holds a 79 percent share. Meanwhile, its predecessor, iOS 9, can be found on just 16 percent of the iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices in use. Google released Nougat in mid-August, last year, while Apple introduced iOS 10 the following month, in September.

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Early last year, iPhone users upgrading to iOS 9 started to complain that their phones were being "bricked" by the process. An Error 53 was generated, and Apple explained that the bricking was intentional when it was detected that an iPhone had been subject to third party repairs. Many people were unhappy about this, and Australia is suing Apple.

The country's watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), argues that consumer rights are being infringed upon. It says that Apple has engaged in "misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations to consumers."

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According to a recent J.D. Power study (2017 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction), Microsoft's Surface tablets have beaten Apple's iPad in overall customer satisfaction. This is significant, as it is the first time it has ever happened. The Windows-maker had not been able to topple Apple in this regard, so surely there is some champagne-popping going on at Microsoft headquarters.

While high satisfaction is definitely something to be proud of, the study is arguably flawed. Why do I say this? The Surface tablets are an entirely different product class than the iPad. True, they are both "tablets" as they are rectangular and feature touch screens, but Microsoft's offerings are desktop and laptop replacements -- Apple's tablet products are primarily secondary devices. It simply doesn't make sense to compare them.

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If you try to perform a clean installation of Windows 10 Creators Update on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant you'll quickly find that it is not possible. As Microsoft notes, you'll end up with a Stop error with the code 0xc000000f in winload.efi.

Microsoft has not made it clear just why this problem occurs, but it does not mean that you are not able to install Creators Update. If you're eager to get the very latest version of Windows installed on your Mac, here's what you need to do.

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Back in 2013, Apple released a seemingly revolutionary desktop computer -- the cylindrical Mac Pro. It was beautiful and powerful, although it did resemble a garbage can. The problem? Apple neglected the computer, letting it stagnate. Then, in 2016, it released new MacBook Pro laptops, but many professionals panned the device for being under-powered. Ultimately, it seemed like Apple didn't care about professionals.

Not so fast. Apple not caring about professionals? Blasphemy. True, the company's profits largely don't come from "Pro" machines nowadays, but it historically has catered to creative professionals, such as hardcore photographers, videographers, and designers. Today, John Gruber of Daring Fireball shares an interesting interview with Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, who drops a bombshell -- the Mac Pro is getting a redesign! The company is even looking to release a new dedicated display -- a good idea after the LG monitor fiasco.

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Consumer group Which? has performed tests on laptops that show manufacturers are overstating the battery life consumers can expect from their devices. In some cases, real-world battery life is just half of what manufacturers claim.

Only Apple's MacBook Pro met -- and even exceeded -- battery life claims when put through tests that simulated scenarios users would put laptops through. In all, 67 laptops -- from big names including Acer, Dell and Lenovo -- were put through their paces, and all of the non-Apple devices were found to fall hours short of manufacturers' claims.

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Last week saw the release of iOS 10.3, and thoughts are already turning to the next major release of Apple's mobile operating system. When iOS 11 launches later this year, it is not expected to support 32-bit apps and this means that a number of apps that have not been updated accordingly will stop working.

Built into iOS 10.3 is a tool that can be used to quickly determine which of your apps could die in iOS 11. While it's possible that updates might be released for them, Apple's move away from 32-bit software is far from new, so it's probably time to start looking for 64-bit alternatives for anything you have come to rely on.

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In a dramatic announcement, British firm Imagination Technology has revealed that in 15 to 25 months' time Apple will no longer be using its GPU chips. Imagination's graphic chips are used in the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV and Apple Watch, and the revelation sent the British firm's shares into freefall.

Apple will reduce its reliance on Imagination's technology as, the chip-maker explains, it "has asserted that it has been working on a separate, independent graphics design in order to control its products and will be reducing its future reliance on Imagination’s technology." Apple is Imagination's largest customer, and the company has issued a warning that the iPhone-manufacturer risks infringing upon intellectual property rights.

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Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively killed Obama-era environmental policies. Expressing his love of "clean coal" -- despite such a substance not actually existing --  Trump wiped out Obama orders that aimed to reduce carbon production and signalled an "end to the war on coal."

The signing of the executive order was met with astonishment around the world, and many voices have spoken out against the wisdom of the move. Among those are technology companies, many of whom have said that they will stick to promises they have made to tackling climate change -- something Google is aiming to do by switching to 100 percent renewable energy this year.

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It has been a long time coming. A very long time coming. But -- finally -- there is an iPad-optimized version of the Google Calendar app available. Let joy be unbounded!

It has taken a full two years for Google developers to pull their fingers out and create a version of the app that is not designed just for iPhones. Google Calendar for iPad takes full advantage of the increased screen real estate, and supports Split View.

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Apple is focusing on a 64-bit only future for iOS devices and software. Apps that do not play well with the latest architecture will cease to be supported in the next major release of the operating system, while 32-bit iPhones and iPads could get the axe as early as the next iOS 10 update.

How do we know that? Well, Apple just made the first iOS 10.3.2 beta available to developers and it does not include restore images for the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c and the fourth-generation iPad. All those devices are supported by iOS 10.3, which Apple released earlier this week.

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With the launch of iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, there was great excitement about the arrival of a new file system as well as improvements to performance -- even if they were only perceived improvements. Something that didn’t get a great deal of attention, however, is the introduction of replies to reviews.

Just as has been an option in Google Play for years, developers can now respond to the reviews that people leave about their apps and games. It's something that has been a very long time coming, and finally brings a dialog to the App Store, meaning that users and developers have a two-way channel of communication.

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Reducing exposure to blue light before bed can help you sleep better, which is why Apple has introduced Night Shift in macOS Sierra. The new display mode is designed to reduce the negative effects by changing the colors on your Mac's screen to warmer tones. However, it's not enabled by default.

Just like on iOS, where Apple first introduced Night Shift, you can easily activate and configure it to suit your preferences. Here is how you can do that.

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Apple has introduced updates for all of its major operating systems, releasing iOS 10.3, macOS Sierra 10.12.4, tvOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.2. The latest versions add new features, improve the user experience and fix a number of bugs.

On the iPhone and iPad front, the biggest addition in iOS 10.3 is the support for locating AirBuds through Find My iPhone. The OS can display the current or last-known location and lets you play sounds through the earbuds to help you find them more quickly.

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