Apple : 4th of July sales 2020: the best deals from Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy |
- 4th of July sales 2020: the best deals from Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy
- Arm sacks China boss over secret Cayman Islands activity - but he won't leave
- Best MacBook for students in 2020
- What Apple Watch 6 details can we learn from watchOS 7?
- Apple Watch 6 release date, price, news and rumors
- Best Mac 2020: the best Macs to buy this year
- Will your iPad get iPadOS 14? There's good news for owners of most iPads
- New iPhone 12 release date, leaks, price, news and everything you need to know
- MacBook 2020 release date, news and rumors
- Apple AirTags release date, news, leaks, and what we know so far
- macOS Catalina is here: everything you need to know about macOS 10.15
- Powerbeats Pro 2: everything we know about the rumored true wireless earbuds
- Apple AirPods 3 release date, rumors, and what we want to see
- Apple AirPods Pro Lite release date, news, and rumors
- Apple AirPods Studio release date, price, and rumors
- watchOS 7 release date, beta, features and supported Apple Watches
- Will your iPhone get the iOS 14 update?
- New Apple Watches will soon help you wash your hands by listening for water
- Apple TV Plus to welcome new Asimov sci-fi series to rival Star Trek: Discovery
- iPadOS 14 release date, features and compatibility details
| 4th of July sales 2020: the best deals from Home Depot, Lowe's and Best Buy Posted: 22 Jun 2020 03:11 PM PDT The 4th of July is just around the corner, which means a long holiday weekend filled with family, friends, and outdoor fun. You can also find fantastic 4th of July sales from your favorite retailers like Home Depot, Best Buy, Amazon, and Lowe's. See our full list of 4th of July sales below and make sure to bookmark this page as we'll be continuously updating it with the best bargains leading up the holiday event. Plus, with Amazon Prime Day still up in the air, this might be your last chance to score record-low prices on this year's hottest items. The best 4th of July sales 2020:
Our best 4th of July sale picks:When do 4th of July sales start?The 4th of July falls on a Saturday this year, so we'll see most sales starting that week on Monday, June 29. All sales will last through the holiday weekend, and most will end on Monday, July 6. Who has the best 4th of July sales?The biggest categories discounted during the 4th of July include furniture, appliances, mattresses, and TVs. Because 4th of July is a summer celebration, you can find discounts on several outdoor items such as grills, patio furniture, lawn mowers, and plants.
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| Arm sacks China boss over secret Cayman Islands activity - but he won't leave Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:47 PM PDT Arm has fired the boss of its Chinese joint venture Arm China following allegations that he covertly set up a Cayman Islands private equity fund to raise millions from Chinese investors without consent from its parent company. As reported by The Telegraph, the UK-based chip designer has been trying to regain control of Arm China for the past few weeks. At the beginning of June, chairman and chief executive of Arm's China business Allen Wu was fired by Arm's board members and by local investor Hopu. He was replaced by Ken Phua and Phil Tang who will serve as Arm China's interim co-CEOs after being appointed by the board.
The decision to fire and replace Wu has now led to a tense standoff between Arm and Arm China. Wu has refused to vacate his position and he has even gone as far as to rally Arm China's staff around him. AlphatectureFollowing Wu's decision not to step down, Arm revealed that an investigation had uncovered undisclosed conflicts of interest as well as violations of employee rules. Arm China responded by calling the allegations of its parent company groundless and it also claimed that Phil Tang had already been dismissed from the company back in May for unspecified “major violations”. Sources also informed The Telegraph that Wu had set up his own independent investment fund called Alphatecture without the knowledge of Arm, Hopu or SoftBank, which is now the parent company of Arm Holdings. According to documents from Shanghai securities and the SEC, Alphatecture was registered under Wu's name and the Cayman Islands-based investment fund has already raised at least $10m. When the existence of Wu's independent investment fund was discovered, ethical concerns were raised over a conflict of interest and whistleblowers brought their claims before the board and this ultimately led to Wu's firing. However, Arm China claims that it is an independent company and that Wu is still its CEO. In fact, local media even report that Wu continues to run the company from its head office. We'll likely hear more on the matter as Arm tries to take back control of its Chinese joint venture from Wu.
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| Best MacBook for students in 2020 Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:13 PM PDT The best MacBook for students isn't exactly the cheapest laptops out there. However, it does tick a few things off the list that are important to students. It's light and thin, first of all, so it doesn’t feel like a burden as you’re sprinting across the campus to make it to your next lecture. At the same time, it has the power to see you through all your coursework as well as enough battery life to last you all school day on a single charge. While a MacBook is generally more expensive, a handful of them are fairly reasonably priced, making them the best MacBooks for students. Students and parents can also find great deals as well as quite a few refurbished units that come with cheaper price tags. And though WWDC 2020 came and went without so much as a mention of a new Apple laptop, these MacBooks will offer a much more seamless experience for matriculating class with all the things that the macOS 11 Big Sur is bringing to the table. We picked out the best MacBooks for students out there, the ones that balance portability and power with a reasonable price tag. These are the best MacBooks for students 2020 has to offer.
Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook is back in 2020 with a vengeance. Not only has it fixed a lot of the complaints with its predecessors – namely, that problematic keyboard is now gone, replaced by a drastically improved keyboard. But it also comes with new and more powerful internal components, even more storage space options, and a lower price of entry. There are a couple of things we’d do better, like the muted screen and the average battery life, but this model of the MacBook Air is better than anything we’ve seen from the line so far. And, it’s definitely among the best MacBooks to date. Read the full review: MacBook Air (2020) The MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)’s entry-level model may miss out on some of the lineup’s new toys. However, going for the higher-end configurations will get you new (and powerful) Intel processors and improved RAM speeds for better performance, all packed in the 13-inch incredibly svelte body. Apple rounds it all out with that incredible Magic Keyboard from the new 16-inch, finally getting rid of that problematic keyboard. Even if you don’t go for the 10th-generation Intel Core configurations, you might still appreciate the fact that all models come with more storage capacity for the same price as their predecessors. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020) If you're looking for more power, then check out the MacBook Pro 15-inch (2019). It's a more capable machine for almost everything you want to do, with more expensive models offering an ever-increasing amount of power for tasks like photo and video editing, app development, scientific programs, illustration, and music production. Now refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors and up to 32GB of RAM, you won’t be held back by anything you throw at it – especially now that you can get Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. With that kind of performance, it’s no doubt that the MacBook Pro deserves a spot on our best MacBooks for students list without breaking a sweat. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) Apple takes the MacBook Air (2018) and refreshes it with True Tone technology on its display and an even more reliable keyboard. Unfortunately, the specs haven’t been updated, which actually leads us to think that there might be a bigger update by early 2020. However, this improved version is just a bit better, hardware-wise, and is definitely powerful enough for most schoolwork. Those two reasons already make it deserving of a spot on this list. Even better for students, this refresh is cheaper than its predecessor, so you’re definitely getting more value for less. Read the full review: MacBook Air (2019) While Apple has officially taken the MacBook out of its lineup, many third parties are still carrying it and selling it at a much cheaper price. And because the 12-inch MacBook has found its niche as an ultraportable and lightweight laptop, it’s still deserving of a spot on our best MacBooks for students list. It’s low on ports, but that’s hardly a surprise in a laptop this thin. It can support basically everything under the sun with its Thunderbolt 3 port, anyway. If you’re looking for a MacBook that’s easy to take with you wherever you go, look no further. Read the full review: MacBook (2017)
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| What Apple Watch 6 details can we learn from watchOS 7? Posted: 22 Jun 2020 01:03 PM PDT WWDC is an interesting event for Apple Watch fans. Apple doesn’t want to reveal its hardware plans this early in the year with the next Watch still some months away. But it does want to get developers excited about making apps for it. The result? An unveiling of the next generation of watchOS, which can often bring some clues about where the hardware is going to go. Here, then, are the highlights of watchOS 7 – and what these features and updates might mean for the Apple Watch 6.
1. More independenceThere are now more than 20,000 watchOS apps, and Apple’s own apps are becoming more independent from the iPhone: in watchOS 7 your dictation will now happen directly on the device, and you’ll be able to use real-time language translation too. That’s quite demanding, so it’s really going to benefit from the increased processing power of Apple’s next-generation Watch processor. You’ll also be able to share Watch faces directly from your device, and take advantage of Apple Maps’ new cycling directions in some US and Chinese cities; more cities will be added later in the year. 2. Built-in sleep tracking, but perhaps not better staminaIt’s unclear which Apple Watch models the new built-in sleep tracking will support, but you can be certain the Apple Watch 6 will be one of them. The new Sleep Mode turns the display off and only shows a dimly lit time when you tap it, and it’s clever enough to detect not just motion, but the rise and fall of your breathing, to gain an accurate picture of your sleep. The keynote specifically mentioned the wake-up screen showing battery life “so you can remember to charge”, which suggests the next Apple Watch isn’t going to have massively increased battery life. 3. Improved audioWith on-device dictation and language translation being key selling points of the new watchOS, it’s likely that we’ll see improvements to the Apple Watch’s microphones: the clearer the audio input, the less work the processor has to do to understand it. The new watchOS 7 will also offer improved sound level monitoring, and it will analyze your headphones to see if you’ve been listening to them too loud for too long. It’s unclear whether that will apply to all headphones, or just Apple’s own ones. 4. Better health trackingWe asked last year whether Apple “could be positioning this as an overall health device as well as one for physical fitness?” The answer is a firm yes: during the keynote, the Apple Watch was described as an “intelligent guardian for your health.” From cycle tracking to sound monitoring, watchOS 7 wants to make you better informed and more aware of what your body is doing. Apple hasn’t confirmed the leaks indicating it will be adding blood oxygen level detection to the next Apple Watch, but as the code was in a leaked version of iOS 14 it’s a pretty safe bet. That will be a useful supplement to the existing health and movement tracking sensors, which Apple has used to introduce a new form of fitness tracking: Dance. It uses what Apple calls “advanced sensor fusion” to get input from the accelerometer and gyroscope to work out what your arms are doing (unlike walking or running, they don’t always do the same as your legs) and combines that with heart rate sensing to calculate the calories you’re burning. There are four new workout types in watchOS 7: in addition to Dance, there’s Core Training, Functional Strength Training, and Cooldown. And the app you’ll be tracking them in has a new design and a new name, with Activity being renamed to Fitness. 5. More customizationEach Watch release bring some new watch faces, and the Apple Watch 6 will be no exception. Those faces will be more customizable too, because Apple now enables you to run multiple versions of the same complication at the same time. For example, you might use a fitness app to show more than one of your metrics on your watch face. 6. More notifications to disableIf like us the first thing you did with Breathe, heart rate and sound volume notifications was to turn them all off so they’d stop annoying you, there’s going to be a new one to disable on your next Apple Watch: handwashing. It will automatically detect vigorous hand movement consistent with handwashing - even listening for the tell-tale sound of squirting soap – and we will try very hard not to make any puerile jokes about it. If you don’t disable it, it will give you a soapy countdown until 20 seconds are up and urge you not to stop if you try to finish prematurely. Data will be shared with the Health app so you can see just how hygienic you are. We know it’s important. We do. But we’ll be honest, it wasn’t exactly on our wish list for the next Apple Watch. 7. A release date near the end of the yearAs expected, watchOS 7 is due for release “this fall” (meaning September or later this year), so it’s a safe bet that that’s when we’ll see the Apple Watch 6 too. More specifically, we'll probably see it in early to mid-September based on past form. Apple may have played its wearable cards close to its chest this week, but the days when Apple leaks were harder to get than a deep discount on the iPhone 11 Pro are long gone: these days we usually know most of the hardware stuff weeks before Apple announces it, so stay tuned for Apple Watch 6 leaks, rumors and predictions in the coming months.
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| Apple Watch 6 release date, price, news and rumors Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:49 PM PDT While the Apple Watch 6 release date will likely be late 2020 alongside the iPhone 12, we've now heard a lot about the smartwatch's software, as Apple has unveiled watchOS 7 at WWDC 2020 - though sadly (albeit unsurprisingly) there was no sign of the Apple Watch 6 itself there. But although watchOS 7 will come to many older Apple Watches, it's clearly designed with the Apple Watch 6 in mind, so even though the upcoming hardware wasn't shown off, we have some ideas of what it will be capable of through the new software. As well as that, we’ve collected all the current news, leaks and rumors about Apple’s next wearable, along with our expert analysis on when it might launch and what it might feature. You can read through all of those details below. Below the leaks and rumored information, you’ll find our wish list of the things we want most from the Apple Watch 6 in order to make it a substantial upgrade on the Apple Watch 5. That wearable was good, but it wasn't a huge upgrade on the Apple Watch 4, so we're hoping for more this time around. Latest Apple Watch 6 news: The Apple Watch 6's software (watchOS 7) has now been announced at WWDC 2020. Check out our live blog for a full rundown of all the action. Cut to the chase
Apple Watch 6 release date and priceWith the exception of the original Apple Watch, each new model has launched in September of their respective years, so while there are no Apple Watch 6 release date rumors yet we’re fairly confident that it will land in September this year. More specifically, based on the days and dates that Apple tends to release new models we’ll probably see the Apple Watch 6 on September 8 or 15. That’s not when you’ll be able to buy it though – expect to wait roughly 10 days from the announcement to the on-sale date. It's also unclear if the Covid-19 pandemic will have impacted Apple's schedule. There are various rumors about the iPhone 12 being delayed for this reason, and it may be a similar situation for the Apple Watch 6. As for price, it's likely to cost at least as much as the Apple Watch 5, meaning a starting price of at least $399 / £399 / AU$649. Apple Watch 6 display and designWe’re already hearing a few rumors about the Apple Watch 6, including the possibility that it could switch to a new screen type. The Apple Watch 5 uses an OLED screen, but a report suggests the Apple Watch 6 might use microLED. The main advantage of microLED is that it should be more power-efficient, which could mean the Apple Watch 6 would have better battery life. All of this said, there has also been a more recent report that suggest the Apple Watch 6 will feature the exact same screen as the Apple Watch 5. Another possible change to the screen is the addition of a Touch ID fingerprint scanner. Currently the Apple Watch range doesn’t have any biometric security, but building a scanner into the screen would be a slick way to offer it. This theory is based on a patent, and you can see a related image above. The patent explains that this could be achieved by moving the wireless antennas to the strap so there’s more room for other components under the screen. It’s a change that as well as potentially creating space for a fingerprint scanner could also theoretically leave room for a larger battery. It would however limit the ability for third-party companies to offer straps, and likely mean that strap replacements would be very expensive. Don't expect the Apple Watch 6 to look drastically different compared to previous versions of the smartwatch either. Trusted analyst Jon Prosser has said he believes the Apple Watch 6 will look similar to older devices. Apple Watch 6 specs and featuresOne other feature the Apple Watch 6 might offer is native sleep tracking. That’s according to “people familiar with the work” speaking to Bloomberg and other sources speaking to The Verifier. The Apple Watch range already supports third-party sleep tracking apps, but surprisingly Apple still doesn’t offer its own, so it’s a believable addition. But we've been waiting for a first-party solution that's more directly integrated with Apple's ecosystem. Another massive leak suggests sleep tracking is coming, along with better parental controls and new 'tachymeter' distance-tracking markings (a feature on traditional analog wristwatches) ringing the Apple Watch face. Also revealed in the leak: the Apple Watch 6 could get the capability to monitor blood oxygen levels and warn wearers if those drop low enough to risk a cardiac arrest. And, predictably, better ECG. A later prediction by Prosser elaborated on the use for the blood oxygen level tracking: combine it with heart rate monitoring, and the smartwatch could be able to tell when the wearer is hyperventilating. This could tip the watch off that the wearer is having a panic attack, and could tell the wearer to stop or pull over (if driving) and coach them into breathing until the attack passes. This could be the mental health tracking that a previous rumor hinted at. Another feature we might see is the ability for the Apple Watch to tell if you're in danger of drowning and contact the emergency services if so. This idea is based on an Apple patent which details a system where a device could detect if you're in say, open water, or salt water, and then based on your calendar and location data work out precisely where you are and whether you likely intended to be in that water. And as well as new features, the Apple Watch 6 might also sport improved water resistance and wireless connectivity, as well as faster general performance. None of that is terribly surprising, except perhaps water resistance, since the Apple Watch 5 is already water resistant to depths of 50 meters. This claim comes from Ming-Chi Kuo (a respected Apple analyst), who says a switch to liquid crystal polymer (LCP) materials in the circuit boards will allow for it. A big departure for an upcoming Apple Watch may be a switch to a digital crown rather than the rotating option that sits on every Apple Watch model. There's no guarantee this will be included on the Apple Watch 6, but it may be something the company is experimenting with thanks to a patent that we've seen from the company. Of course, the Apple Watch 6 will also come with a new version of the company's software on board, specifically watchOS 7, which has now been announced. From new workouts, to streamlined complications, sleep tracking, hand washing tracking, and more, there's a lot planned. Head to our full watchOS 7 guide for all the details. What we want to seePlenty more Apple Watch 6 rumors are sure to roll in, but in the meantime here’s what we’re hoping the wearable will offer. 1. Better battery lifeThe Apple Watch 5 actually has worse battery life than the Apple Watch 4, and while there’s a good reason for that (the addition of an always-on screen), we’d still like to see some big improvements for the Apple Watch 6. At a minimum we want it to match the Apple Watch 4’s life, but ideally we want it to be even better, comfortably offering two or more days of life between charges. That would also make it more viable for sleep tracking – a feature that Apple is rumored to be adding. 2. More fitness featuresThe Apple Watch is a great health and exercise device already, but we were disappointed to find that no significant new fitness features were added for the Apple Watch 5, so we’d like to see some for the Apple Watch 6. What exactly they might be we’ll leave up to Apple, but possibilities include the ability to more accurately track more exercises, or additional sensors for monitoring your health. The more granular the health info, the more accurately we can track progress and personal development. 3. A dimmer option for the always-on screenThe always-on display was a great new feature for the Apple Watch 5, but one significant issue with it is that it’s too bright to comfortably use at night in the dark. As such we want an option to have it go very dim, without turning off completely. This would also likely improve battery life, so it’s a win-win. 4. Always-on for all appsAnother issue with the always-on screen is that it’s not properly supported by all apps, meaning that rather than a basic version of an open app being shown on the always-on display, it will in many cases switch to a basic digital clock, meaning you can’t view the app without properly waking the screen up. We’d like to see this changed for the Apple Watch 6, so that every app is able to fully support the always-on screen. 5. Sleep trackingWe’ve been asking for sleep tracking on the Apple Watch for years and so far Apple hasn’t listened. There are rumors that sleep tracking might be in the works, so this might be something we finally get. But on the other hand, with third-party apps offering it, Apple might decide not to bother. 6. Improved syncingWe found syncing things (such as songs and podcasts) to the Apple Watch 5 was a lot fiddlier than it really should be, as not only do you need it to be charging and near your iPhone, it also just didn’t seem to reliably work even then in our tests. Coupled with it being hard to see what’s saved on your watch, the whole process just lacks the polish we’d expect from Apple, so this definitely needs some work for 2020’s model. 7. A circular screenWhile our other wishes are realistic, this one isn’t. We can’t see Apple ditching the current screen shape – and nor do we want it to – but we would love to see a circular option added alongside the square screens. While it won’t happen, it would be a huge selling point for the new model if it did, especially since the Apple Watch 5’s design is very similar to the Apple Watch 4’s.
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| Best Mac 2020: the best Macs to buy this year Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:46 PM PDT The best Macs have inspired many Windows laptops in terms of design and portability, and they have been extremely influential in the computing world. In fact, their svelte yet surprisingly tough chassis, modern minimalist design and some pretty powerful specs under the hood have been replicated many times over, though perhaps often a bit unsuccessfully. Simply put, the best Macs and MacBooks occupy a space of their own in the computing world. That's perhaps mostly due to the macOS environment, which delivers such a seamless experience that no Windows 10 or Chrome OS laptop can quite measure up to. Simply put, your computing experience on one of the best Macs and MacBooks is going to be an incredibly smooth and unique one. And with the upcoming macOS 11 Big Sur, which was announced at the recent WWDC 2020 event, that experience is going to be more seamless – and yet more fun and vibrant – than ever. It’s no surprise that many are getting on the Mac bandwagon, even though every single one comes with a price tag that’s noticeably higher than their rivals. Whether you’re looking for your very first or currently upgrading your aging Mac, our guide for the best Macs and MacBooks is the only list you’ll need. These are our top picks, from the latest MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) to Apple’s impressive all-in-ones like the Mac Pro 2019. The MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals. While we are sad that Apple has retired the 15-inch MacBook Pro, we’re more than happy to see the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) hit the shelves. As thin, light and sleek as ever, this doesn’t feel like a 16-inch behemoth. If you’re worried that this was going to be bulky and awkward to use, don’t be. Yet, despite its svelte frame, you’re still getting that extra real estate on that stunning display, as well as the latest and greatest components behind it. Apple then rounds those out with amazing (and loud) speakers and a much, much better keyboard. This is truly the best MacBook for content creators, designers and other creative professionals. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) Apple Mac mini (2018) is packed with 8th-generation desktop processors. Mac Mini fans, rejoice! The Mac Mini has finally been upgraded with modern hardware, ushering Apple’s smallest Mac to the modern age and naturally warranting it the top spot in our best Macs list. This tiny thing is packed with 8th-generation desktop processors, a ton of RAM and some of the fastest SSDs we’ve seen – all while keeping the same adored form factor. It’s a tad pricier this time around, but with the raw speed on offer, you’ll find that it’s worth the price increase. Read the full review: Mac Mini 2018 MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) is refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors. If you want the most performance you can get in a MacBook without needing to pull off a heist, you’ll want to look into the MacBook Pro 15-inch. Now refreshed with hexa-core 9th-generation processors and up to 32GB of RAM, you won’t be held back by anything you throw at it – especially now that you can get Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. With that kind of performance, the MacBook Pro takes a lofty spot on our best Macs list without breaking a sweat. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) If you're looking for an all-in-one Mac, the new 27-inch iMac might just be the best Mac for you. The iMac has long been one of the cheaper ways to get into the macOS ecosystem, and we’re glad that hasn’t changed. Though what has changed, we also appreciate. The new iMac is packing with 8th- and 9th-generation desktop-class processors, letting this stylish all-in-one reach that fabled 8-core performance. If you’re looking for an all-in-one Mac, the new 27-inch iMac might just be the best Mac for you, at least if you’re on a budget. Read the full review: iMac (27-inch, 2019) The MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)’s entry-level model may miss out on some of the lineup’s new toys. However, going for the higher-end configurations will get you new (and powerful) Intel processors and improved RAM speeds for better performance, all packed in the 13-inch incredibly svelte body. Apple rounds it all out with that incredible Magic Keyboard from the new 16-inch, finally getting rid of that problematic keyboard. Even if you don’t go for the 10th-generation Intel Core configurations, you might still appreciate the fact that all models come with more storage capacity for the same price as their predecessors. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020) Apple's thinnest and lightest MacBook is back in 2020 with a vengeance. Apple’s thinnest and lightest MacBook is back in 2020 with a vengeance. Not only has it fixed a lot of the complaints with its predecessors – namely, that problematic keyboard is now gone, replaced by a drastically improved keyboard. But it also comes with new and more powerful internal components, even more storage space options, and a lower price of entry. There are a couple of things we’d do better, like the muted screen and the average battery life, but this model of the MacBook Air is better than anything we’ve seen from the line to date. Read the full review: MacBook Air (2020) iMac Pro can handle any workload you can possibly throw at it. Professionals and creatives need something that can handle any workload they can possibly throw at it. If you’re one such user, the iMac Pro isn’t just one of the best Macs for you; it’s the only Mac to consider. Not only does it have a vibrant 27-inch 5K display with a P3 wide color gamut, but it also boasts the most powerful hardware Apple could get its hands on. It’s extremely expensive though, so it’s really only meant for folks who have deep pockets and need that unbridled power to get through their daily workloads. Read the full review: iMac Pro
The MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)’s entry-level model may miss out on some of the lineup’s new toys. However, going for the higher-end configurations will get you new (and powerful) Intel processors and improved RAM speeds for better performance, all packed into the 13-inch incredibly svelte body. Apple rounds it all out with that incredible Magic Keyboard from the new 16-inch, finally getting rid of that problematic keyboard. Even if you don’t go for the 10th-generation Intel Core configurations, you might still appreciate the fact that all models come with more storage capacity for the same price as their predecessors. Read the full review: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020) If you're looking for a MacBook that's easy to take with you wherever you go, you will love the MacBook (2017). While Apple has officially taken the MacBook out of its MacBook lineup, many third parties are still carry it. And because the 12-inch MacBook has found its niche as an ultraportable and lightweight laptop, it’s still deserving of a spot on our best Macs list… that is, until stock runs out. It’s low on ports, but that’s hardly a surprise in a laptop this thin. It can support basically everything under the sun with its Thunderbolt 3 port, anyway. It’s not as powerful as the MacBook Pro, but if you’re looking for a MacBook that’s easy to take with you wherever you go, look no further. Read the full review: Apple MacBook (2017) Michelle Rae Uy, Bill Thomas and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article What to look for in the best Macs and MacBooksWhether it’s the new 16-inch MacBook Pro that just came out or the Mac Pro 2019 that’s also just released, it’s not hard to see why the best Macs are the weapons of choice of creative professionals. And, even if you don’t go for the newest releases, there’s already a few excellent options to choose from, especially with Apple recently giving its MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and 15-inch MacBook Pro that much-needed update. The best part is that the best Macs come in different shapes, sizes and price so that whether you want the cheapest MacBook you could find, a professional workhorse that breezes through all your extensive workloads like a pro, or an all-in-one that saves you space, there’s a Mac on the market for you.
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| Will your iPad get iPadOS 14? There's good news for owners of most iPads Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:44 PM PDT Apple has finally unveiled iPadOS 14, the newest (and second, not fourteenth) version of its iPad-only operating system that'll bring new tweaks and features to your faithful tablet. There's good news for people who like using iPadOS and are keen to try the newer version – every iPad that supported the original version last September will get iPadOS 14, as well as the newer iPads released since then. That brings the total number of slates that support the operating system up to 15, so some of the best tablets on the market are about to get better. iPadOS is impressing us in terms of the wide range of compatible devices, which is notable given this is the same year watchOS 7 became the first Apple Watch operating system to drop several older Apple Watches. So if you've got one of the following iPads, you'll be able to download iPadOS 14 when it's released towards the end of 2020, and enjoy all the features it's set to bring, including handwriting detection and home screen widgets. Will your iPad get the iPadOS 14 update?The following iPads will be compatible with the forthcoming iPadOS 14 update:
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| New iPhone 12 release date, leaks, price, news and everything you need to know Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:42 PM PDT Apple's iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are very likely to be just a matter of months away, and while the company often unveils its handsets in September it may be that the release date is slightly different for the new iPhone. The Covid-19 pandemic may impact the iPhone 12 release date and while a variety of sources debate whether there will be a delay, and how long it will be if there is one, we're expecting to at least see the iPhone 12 range this year. We've just learnt about Apple's next big software upgrade - it's called iOS 14, and it's coming later this year - and that's expected to come running on the iPhone 12 series straight out of the box. There will still be plenty to look forward to later in the year, especially as the upcoming iPhone range will likely be larger than normal, with four phones rumored, up from the three unveiled in 2019. There's the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, all of which would be direct successors to the iPhone 11 range, but then we're also hearing talk of an iPhone 12 Max - a big screen handset without the Pro credentials. And it's not just the number of phones that might change; the new iPhone is also expected to have the biggest design changes since the iPhone X eliminated the home button and introduced a notch back in 2017.
A lot of the core details you need to know about the iPhone 12 series have leaked already, and while the information may not be confirmed we have a clear idea of the specs, design, camera details, price and more. We're also keeping this article constantly updated with all the latest new iPhone leaks and rumors, so make sure to check back regularly if you want to stay up to date on Apple's next flagship. iPhone 12 key details
When will the iPhone 12 come out?The exact iPhone 12 release date is a confusing topic; nothing has been made official yet, but we're almost certain Apple will be unveiling its new iPhones before the end of 2020. September is likely to be when Apple unveils all four products, and in past years it has often been the second week of the month. It's almost always unveiled on a Tuesday, and we'd put our money on it being revealed on either September 8 or September 15. In previous years, you've then been able to pick up the phone for yourself 10 days later. That'd mean it may land on September 18 or September 25, but that's looking less and less likely. We can't be as confident of these dates as in previous years as there is a good chance that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the production of the next iPhone. The latest rumors suggest the iPhone 12 will be finishing its final testing by the end of June, and it'll enter mass production in July. That may still mean it's ready to go on sale in September, but it may be limited to only certain models. The iPhone 11 Pro Max A recent release date rumor suggests November is likely, but we may see the phone unveiled beforehand. An exec at Broadcom (which is expected to supply iPhone 12 components) has also suggested a delay is likely, while one report in The Wall Street Journal also suggested production of the iPhone 12 has been delayed by around a month. Some sources even say it could slip into 2021 with Reuters also claiming a delay could be likely. All of this said - we've also heard reports that had suggested that development would be unaffected, and there are even reports that the main manufacturing factories are fully staffed up. Plus, an executive at Foxconn (the main manufacturer of the iPhone) has said that company aims and hopes to make up for lost ground. There's a strong possibility that the iPhone 12 release date may be staggered by model. This is something said by respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says it would likely be the larger models of the phone that would come later than September. That's backed up by one rumor suggesting that antenna designs have been changed on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max to better implement mmWave 5G technology and that has added to the delay. The whole situation is very unclear right now. We'd say you should expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 12 in September - although we can't gurantee that - but it may be a little longer to wait to be able to buy the handset you want to. What will be the price of the iPhone 12?The iPhone 12 price is something that leaks have made a little clearer than the release date, and from what we're hearing it's likely to stay broadly in line with 2019's iPhone range. For reference, the iPhone 11 started at $699 / £729 / AU$1,199, the iPhone 11 Pro starts at $999 / £1,049 / AU$1,749, and the iPhone 11 Pro Max starts at $1,099 / £1,149 / AU$1,899. Prices for the next iPhone range probably won't be exactly the same though, as you can see in the chart below, which contains information taken from one big leak from YouTuber and prolific leaker Jon Prosser. He apparently got this pricing information from a source close to Apple, so it could well be accurate.
There's no clear information about prices for the UK or Australia, but we'd expect those too to broadly fall in line with last year's models if the information above is accurate. That would mean a cheaper starting price for the basic model, among some other differences, but nothing drastic. Having said all that, one previous report suggested that the cost of materials for the iPhone 12 range might go up, which could mean even higher prices at retail. We won't know for certain until Apple announces the prices on stage. And however much the iPhone 12 range costs, you might in one way get less for your money, as it's rumored that Apple won't bundle free EarPods with them. We do not expect Apple to throw in a pair of free AirPods to make up for that loss either. What will the iPhone 12 look like?Most leaks are now suggesting the iPhone 12 design is set to look very different to the most recent products from Apple. Remember the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5? You may recognize some of the elements, and there's even some elements of the iPad Pro 2020 mixed it. Before we dig into that further, you need to know that you'll have four models to choose from, and that means different sizes too. According to the most recent information on models, those will be the below:
The newest addition to an iPhone line will be a larger mid-range device in the form of the iPhone 12 Max. It looks set to have a larger screen size designed for those who don't want to spend lots on an iPhone 12 Pro Max model. Jon Prosser - a Twitter leaker who proved to have consistently correct information on the iPhone SE and MacBook Pro 13 - shared this information, and you can see some of the specs below. Consistent leaks have suggested the iPhone 12 will have a metal frame, and the most trusted source before Prosser was Apple analyst Ming-Ch Kuo. The rear of all four phones is is still expected to be made of glass, but the edges are expected to be more squared than the rounded ones on current models. Prosser's information suggests it'll be aluminum used on the iPhone 12, while the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max will come with a stainless steel body. Some sources speaking to Bloomberg claim similar, and they make comparisons to the design of the iPad Pro, saying that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will have flat stainless steel edges, more sharply rounded corners, and flat screens. The tweet above shows off what the design may look like. The source claims these are official molds that will be used in the production of the next iPhone. That look has been further backed up by CAD renders that you can see in a video made by EverythingApplePro and Max Weinbach. One of the examples of what the devices will look like is included below, but note that these are just renders made using information from their sources. The reports above also point to smaller notches on all four rumored models, which is something we've heard consistently since new Face ID technology was first rumored in October 2019. You should still expect a notch at the top of the phone's display, but it looks like it'll be a lot smaller than before but won't be drastically different to previous models. One of the upcoming phones might even lack a notch according to analysts, with the front-facing camera potentially set to be embedded under the screen instead. If this happens we’d expect it to be the most expensive iPhone 12 model that has this feature – likely the iPhone 12 Pro Max, or whatever it launches as. All that said, leaked renders that are more recent than most of those above show some significant design differences, as you can see below. Based on these - shared by EverythingApplePro - the iPhone 11 Pro at least could have the old notch design, a large mmWave antenna cut-out, no LiDAR scanner, and the same lens layout as its predecessor. Sonny Dickson (a leaker with a good track record) has also now shared iPhone 12 range dummy units that appear to be in line with this - as well as having flat edges, as rumored above. You can see these below. That said, other reputable sources seem skeptical of these leaks, particularly when it comes to the camera, so we'd take them with a pinch of salt. Elsewhere, we've heard that the entire iPhone 12 range could be thinner than the iPhone 11 range. A specific thickness is only given for the iPhone 12 Pro Max though, which is apparently 7.4mm (down from 8.1mm on the iPhone 11 Pro Max). Another report has also suggested the iPhone 12 may be even smaller than the iPhone SE (second-generation) despite having a larger screen. That information comes from EverythingApplePro, too. One report has also suggested Face ID will be dropped entirely in favor of an under screen fingerprint scanner, though this seems unlikely. This would be a big change for the brand, since current models don’t have a fingerprint scanner at all. That said, if the camera really is in-screen then it might not be possible to have all the Face ID sensors, so it could be that this fingerprint scanner will replace Face ID, though we're not convinced Apple would go that far. Will the new iPhone be waterproof? We're currently expecting Apple to retain its IP68 water and dust resistance rating for the iPhone 12, and that means it'll be able to be submerged in water but it won't be entirely waterproof. What colors will the iPhone 12 come in?As for the iPhone 12 colors, we've heard a rumor that Apple will be debuting a navy blue on its top-end models. Reports say the Midnight Green color that debuted on the iPhone 11 Pro sold beyond Apple's expectations, so it may decide to keep that or it may be replaced in the lineup by this navy shade. The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max were available in Space Gray, Silver and Gold alongside the Midnight Green. Those shades may remain for the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, but we've yet to hear any firm evidence those colors will return. As for the standard iPhone 12, we're expecting a similar pastel range to the iPhone 11. That phone is available in Black, Green, Yellow, Purple, Red and White, so you should probably expect some of those colors to return for 2020's device. Will the iPhone 12 be 120Hz?We've touched upon display a little bit above and the four different models you can expect in 2020, but here we're going to dive into the rumors about the tech for the screens being used. Ming-Chi Kuo has also said that all the iPhone 12 models may come with OLED screen tech for the first time. That’s a claim we’ve heard more than once, and Prosser's source has also confirmed the same thing. That said, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max displays are expected to be manufactured by BOE while Samsung will make the OLED tech on the top-end two models. The iPhone 11 features an LCD display, while the iPhone 11 Pro features OLED technology. That may allow for a far stronger screen on the standard iPhone 12 models, although we don't yet have any clear details on the resolution you can expect from any of the four phone's displays. The iPhone 11 Pro Another source has said that the two Pro models will use a form of OLED that's both thinner and cheaper to produce than the screens used in the iPhone 11 Pro range. That could mean lower prices, but we wouldn't count on it. The other big rumored change for the 2020 iPhone display is the move to a 120Hz refresh rate. The current iPhones - and a lot of other smartphones - sport a refresh rate of 60Hz, so upping that to 120Hz makes the screen reload quicker and gives you a smoother experience when scrolling through social media feeds or gaming. Max Weinbach shared some leaked information on the iPhone 12 Pro that suggested this was the model that would get the improved screen tech. Prosser since suggests that tech would also come to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. This is a claim we've now heard more than once, with a list of 2020's current and upcoming 120Hz phones also including the two iPhone 12 Pro models. Indeed, some phones already have higher refresh rates than 60Hz, as do some iPads, so this move isn’t unbelievable. That's especially true as top-end phones like the Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro now feature the tech too. All of this said, the source that provides information to Prosser has said that Apple may "nerf" the technology. That may mean there are limitations to when the 120Hz refresh rate works, and that may come down to the battery life of the handsets. We've also heard that at least some iPhone 12 models could have thinner, cheaper and more energy-efficient screens than the iPhone 11 range. This in turn may allow the phones themselves to be thinner, as well as lasting longer between charges. What other iPhone 12 specs should you expect?How are these phones going to power 5G connectivity? One rumor suggests it'll have a custom-made 5G antenna alongside a 5nm A14 Bionic processor. What that means for the average consumer is an iPhone with an even longer battery life and more power than ever. That would be rather impressive, given the iPhone battery life is currently the best we've ever seen from Apple. The RAM could also get a boost, with analysts claiming that the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will have 6GB of the stuff, up from 4GB on their predecessors - though the standard iPhone 12 will apparently stick with 4GB. This is something we've now heard again and again, so it may well be true. The chipset seems ready to wow too, as an A14 Bionic leaked benchmark showed it had a single-core and multi-score score that was ahead of the Snapdragon 865, the processor we've seen in almost all Android flagships in 2020. And the iPhone 12 might also support the new 802.11ay specification, which could allow it to share content at speeds of at least 20-30Gbps. So in every sense this phone is likely to be fast. The iPhone 11 from 2019 How much storage will you have? You may have seen earlier up the page, but a pricing leak from Prosser showed us the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max will come in 128GB and 256GB models while the Pro and Pro Max will come in both of those and 512GB. Exact battery capacity is an unknown at the moment for the iPhone 12 range. One rumor from late 2019 suggested that Apple may be using a smaller battery protection module for the iPhone 12 that would allow it to pack in a larger cell. Whether that happens or not is currently unknown, and we may not even know that until someone manages to get one to do a teardown on the exact internals of the new iPhone. One other rumor supports this though, stating that the batteries in the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max won't exceed 4,400mAh - a figure which in both cases would be an improvement on the battery sizes in their predecessors. Will the iPhone 12 use USB-C? The rumors currently suggest it'll be sticking with a Lightning cable. Multiple sources have said USB-C won't happen, with the iPhone 12 likely sticking with Lightning, and the iPhone 13 potentially switching to a portless design. That said, a recent EU ruling may also mean future iPhones won't be able to use Lightning cables in Europe. That may force Apple to switch the connector on future phones to USB-C, and while it's not clear yet whether this will be the case for the iPhone 12 it may be something to consider. Another report from Chinese publication Caifa news also suggests Apple and other manufacturers may soon use GaN power adapters. These are currently used by Xiaomi, and allow for fast-charging speeds up to 65 watts. There's no guarantee this will debut on the iPhone 12 - or any future iPhone for that matter - but it may mean we see an improved fast-charging experience along the line. So, what's the takeaway on the new iPhone specs? That got a bit muddled there, so we've tried to distill them as easily as possible in the chart you can find below. Will the iPhone 12 be 5G-ready?Another big change could take the form of 5G, which has been widely rumored for the iPhone 12 as many of its competitors now sport the technology. Back in July 2019, Kuo predicted that all models will support 5G. At the time, we only expected this feature to come to one model in the iPhone 12 range but it now looks like it'll be on all four devices. Prosser has suggested as much in his specs that he learned from a source at Apple. The big caveat here is that the base iPhone 12 models may not support mmWave 5G technology. It's expected this will be a feature reserved for the two top-end models, so those on carriers like Verizon in the US will have to opt for those. And yet, another early leak revealing 3D-printed models of all four iPhones suggests that all four have had their SIM slot relocated from the right side to the left, with a source stating they were moved to make room for 5G antennas – even in the two cheaper models.
Will the iPhone 12 camera be vastly improved?The camera may be one area where the new iPhone excels, and the main change is likely to be the addition of a LiDAR scanner, just like we've seen on the iPad Pro 2020. This can accurately judge distances and therefore depth, and would allow for improved augmented reality and Portrait mode. We've heard specific mentions of a LiDAR scanner being included on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max (alongside three lenses), while the basic iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max are said to have two camera lenses and no LiDAR scanner. These claims have been made by multiple sources, and the below image shows how it could look on the iPhone 12 Pro (made by Phone Arena). An example of what the iPhone 12 Pro camera could look like We've also seen a leaked sketch supposedly showing four rear lenses on the iPhone 12 Pro. This sketch supposedly came from a build of iOS 14 and is backed up by lots of sources. Three of the lenses look like those on the iPhone 11 Pro, if perhaps slightly bigger, but the new fourth lens looks like the LiDAR scanner found on the iPad Pro 2020, backing up other claims of such a lens. Before all the LiDAR scanner rumors, we'd heard that a laser-powered 3D camera was rumored for inclusion. This would be on the back, and while only one rumor mentions lasers, another also talks about a depth-sensing snapper, while one mentions 3D sensing. Another report from Fast Company cites sources close to production of the phone and also says a rear-facing 3D camera is in development. One of the sources for this rumor claims the two top models would get this, along with a triple-lens camera, while the two lower end ones would just get a dual-lens camera without 3D sensing. All of this sounds along the same lines as the LiDAR scanner we're now expecting, so this is one very likely feature. What the iPhone 12 camera may look like Elsewhere, one source says the iPhone 12 might have a 64MP main camera, over the 12MP snapper on the previous few versions, which would be a huge upgrade. This leak also suggests that the phone will have multiple lenses that support night mode shooting, and the ultra-wide snapper could have a dedicated macro mode. We've also heard that the top-end new iPhone (likely the iPhone 12 Pro Max) will get a new image stabilization tech called 'sensor-shift', which would allow the sensor to move in order to counteract camera shake. Plus, reputable leaker Max Weinbach says he has heard that the iPhone 12 Pro will feature Smart HDR functionality for improved low-light performance. That's alongside a 3x optical zoom, which is an increase from the 2x zoom capability featured in the iPhone 11 range. And we've also heard that all four new iPhone models might get a camera improvement in the form of a 7-element wide-angle lens. That's one more element than current models, which could lead to fewer aberrations and less distortion. While there are lots of sources collaborating the LiDAR scanner rumors, the actual core specs of the iPhone 12 series cameras are still a little unclear and there's plenty more for us to learn here in the coming months. What will iOS 14 bring to the iPhone 12?Apple just unveiled iOS 14 to the world at its replacement for WWDC 2020, and as expected it's a limited upgrade for 2020. There are lots of minor changes in the software that will likely be running on the iPhone 12 at launch, but some are important. New features include improved home screen widgets so you can better personalize your phone's main page. You can also download "light and fast" versions of certain apps that allow you to use some features without downloading the full app. Other minor improvements are coming to the Messages app, Apple Maps, Siri and a variety of other first-party applications directly from Apple. For a full look at the new software, use the link below. Will the iPhone 12 come with AirPods?The short answer to the above question is, no. It's very unlikely Apple will put a pair of AirPods in the box with a new iPhone as they've a major money maker for the company when sold separately. Apple may choose to unveil the rumored AirPods 3 alongside the new handset at its event, but it's heavily rumored that the company will also not be including a pair of earbuds headphones alongside the iPhone 12 this year. That may mean you won't get any headphones in the box alongside the iPhone 12. This is all just rumored for now, but it also means the company may not be bundling any accessories with its iPhones as it dropped the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter in 2018. Should I wait for the iPhone 12?The iPhone 12 release date is still a long way away even if the September 2020 launch window stays constant, so you should probably consider the iPhone 11 series if you need a new iPhone in the next few days, weeks or even months. If you need a new top-tier Apple phone now, you’re looking at the iPhone 11 or the higher-spec iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max. Here are the best prices in your region: Click through to page two to see everything we want to see from the iPhone 12 What we want to see from the next iPhoneThe iPhone 11 range was a strong - but safe, and thus a bit dull - upgrade for Apple. So for the iPhone 12 we want to see bigger, riskier changes, such as the following. We wrote these elements that we want to see soon after we reviewed the iPhone 11 range, so some may match the leaks we've seen since then. 1. Exciting new featuresFirst things first - the new iPhone needs to be good. Brilliant. Better than expected. We’re talking things that we haven’t even thought of. Things that we’re hoping Apple’s brightest minds are currently dreaming up in the company’s labs. This might sound like a very vague request, but Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world and if any brand could make a decent folding handset, or one with detachable VR glasses, it's Cook's Crew. Because a tweaked design and improved specs are expected, ordinary, and no longer enough as consumers are holding onto their handsets for longer than ever. Come on Apple, give us something mind-blowing. 2. A new designPerhaps the thing we want most from the iPhone 12 is a new design. Apple has been rolling out basically the same design for several years now, ever since it refreshed the look with the iPhone X. Sure, some things get tweaked, but the core is the same. And it’s starting to look a bit dated. That’s thanks mostly to the large notch, which might be necessary for all the camera components needed for Face ID, but which we’d like to see shrunk or removed if possible. Beyond that, we’d really like a whole new look. There’s not too much wrong with the rest of the iPhone 11 Pro’s design, but it certainly feels overly familiar at this point. 3. An in-screen everythingWe’d like the iPhone 12 to have an all-screen front, and one way to achieve that is to move the front-facing camera under the display. If Apple can effectively achieve that, it’s sure to impress. While it’s on, we’d like Apple to re-add a fingerprint scanner, for those times when Face ID isn’t working quite as slickly as it should. But we want this in the screen too, or better yet, make the whole screen one big fingerprint scanner, as it has been rumored Apple might be planning for a future phone. 4. A higher refresh rateOne way some companies are further improving their displays is by upping the refresh rate from the standard 60Hz. The OnePlus 7 Pro for example has an optional 90Hz refresh rate, while the Razer Phone 2 goes up to 120Hz. This can help make interactions with the handset and animations feel silky smooth, so we’d like to see Apple offer a higher refresh rate of its own. It’s not out of the question, especially as some iPad Pro models have a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Indeed, exactly that refresh rate has been rumored for the upcoming iPhones. 5. Further battery boostsFor the first time in years, with the iPhone 11 range it feels like Apple has really prioritized battery life in its phones, but we want the company to go even further with the iPhone 12. Or at the very least not go backwards. We’re still waiting on an iPhone that can comfortably last two days, and we’d like the iPhone 12 (or at least the iPhone 12 Pro Max) to be it. 6. 5G supportApple is behind when it comes to 5G, as none of the iPhone 11 range offer it, while rival handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S20 family and OnePlus 7 Pro 5G do. Apple’s lack of support isn’t a big deal right now, as 5G coverage is still very sparse in most countries, but by the time the iPhone 12 launches it will be more widely available and a large number of other handsets will support it, so it will be time for Apple to jump on board. The good news is that it’s heavily rumored that 2020’s iPhones will support 5G, so this is one thing we’re likely to get. 7. A lower priceWe ask for this every year with new iPhones and this year we actually kind of got it, with the base iPhone 11 starting at less than the iPhone XR did. So it’s actually not impossible that we could see an even lower price – or a reduced price for the rest of the range – with the iPhone 12. We wouldn’t count on it, but Apple’s more affordable phones are typically its best-selling in recent years, so there should be some incentive to cut costs where possible.
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| MacBook 2020 release date, news and rumors Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:17 PM PDT The MacBook is no more, so your hopes of buying a MacBook 2020 have been officially dashed. This isn’t a huge surprise, especially because last year came and went with no sign of the new MacBook. The 12-inch laptop is no longer available on the Apple website. Instead, Apple launched the new MacBook Air – which some would argue replaced it. Sadly, Apple low-key announced on July 10, 2019 that they dropped the MacBook from their MacBook line-up, and confirmed that it will not be replaced with a new version. At least, not in the foreseeable future. Recent rumors have suggested that Apple might bring back the line. So, while it was missing from WWDC 2019, there was hope that the MacBook 2020 – if it will ever exist – will appear at WWDC 2020 keynote. Unfortunately, the event came and went without a mention of the laptop. Looking back, the MacBook 2017 was everything we’ve wanted since the thin and light rebirth back in 2015 – at least on paper. It was packing the powerful 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors that gave it a massive boost to power, as well as the Butterfly keyboard, which is better than ever, despite some persisting issues. This time around, it's entirely possible that the next MacBook will abandon Intel processors entirely, and be built on an ARM processor, as part of Apple's Project Kalamata initiative. This would mean that it wouldn't run something like macOS Catalina and that macOS 10.16 would need to be built around ARM support. The good news is that both the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro both received a refresh, giving MacBook users who are looking to upgrade a couple of fairly affordable alternatives. Of course, with third-party retailers still selling them, you can still take home a 12-inch MacBook, perhaps at a cheaper price. Cut to the chase
MacBook 2020 release dateNone of the most recent reports, rumors or leaks gave any idea as to when and if we’ll see the MacBook 2020. Of course, the lack of information was probably due to the fact that Apple didn’t have any. That is, outside of declaring its demise. In 2015, Apple rolled out the first MacBook in April. That was following a March keynote, an increasingly common time for Apple to release a device. However, Apple went all of 2018 without releasing a new 12-inch MacBook. While we initially thought the blame was on Intel’s 14nm shortage, the Cupertino behemoth had no problem putting out the MacBook Air 2018. Furthermore, Apple didn't showcase the MacBook 2019 at WWDC 2019, though that was hardly surprising as this year's hardware portion of the keynote focused entirely on the new Mac Pro 2019 and its 32-inch 6K Retina display, the Pro Display XDR. However, with the new macOS 10.15 boasting new features such as the Apple Music, TV and Podcasts apps (formerly iTunes), Sidecar and Voice Control, Apple could have used the opportunity to show off a MacBook that’s obviously designed for entertainment – the MacBook 2020. Unfortunately, July 2019 saw Apple completely dropping the MacBook, opting instead to give the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pros a well-deserving refresh. MacBook 2020 priceThis is another aspect where we’ll have to speculate based on the current pricing of the MacBook. The entry-level MacBook cost $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899) to start when it was still available at the Apple Store. Only one more model, with more storage and power, went for another $300 to $450 on top of that. We think that Apple would have launched the MacBook 2019 around the same price as these models. There was speculation that Apple will be releasing a cheaper 13-inch MacBook, but that turned out to be the new MacBook Air. With the pricing so tight here, amounting to minute differences in hardware between offerings, we wouldn’t have seen a price drop. The only way we saw the MacBook budging on price is if Apple introduced sizable storage or higher power options, which would have sent the price up, rather than the opposite. For the MacBook 2020 price to have come down, compromises would have been made. Apple could have lowered the memory down to 4GB from 8GB. But we didn’t think that would have happened, especially because 8GB is standard these days. Instead, the only way we’d have seen a cheaper MacBook 2020 was if Apple dropped its storage from 128GB SSD instead of starting with 256GB. This would have been beneficial to those who’ve already invested in external drives. Considering how much Apple charges for a bump in storage, lowering that amount should equate to a considerable price drop. Still, since Apple has pretty much said that they don’t have plans to follow up its last MacBook release, speculating on the price is futile. What we want to see in MacBook 2020Again, the MacBook is no more. Still, if the Cupertino behemoth did push the release of its 2020 successor, here’s what we were hoping to see Apple improve about the MacBook 2020. MacBook 2020 keyboard and screen Even if this touchscreen keyboard doesn’t make its way into the 2020 MacBook, it doesn’t mean the Butterfly mechanism keyboard won’t be improved upon – especially after Apple admitted that some of the keyboards in recent MacBooks are faulty and is now offering to repair them for free. That’s why we’re pretty sure that the MacBook 2020 will feature the same third-generation Butterfly keyboard as the new Macbook Pro while MacBook Air will have a membrane that makes it less prone to jamming up. More ports, please We’ve already seen Windows laptops accomplish this feat. Take the Huawei MateBook X, for instance, with its two USB-C ports, or even the similarly priced MacBook Pro, which has two. Maybe there’s room for a microSD card reader too, though that may be pushing it. Punchier processors Then again, the MacBook has consistently used energy efficient Intel Core ‘M’ and ‘Y’ series CPUs up to this point, so we wouldn’t bank on seeing full-fat Ultrabook processors, as they’d generate too much heat for the tiny, thin chassis. Now that Amber Lake Y-series CPUs have been released by Intel, we’d like to see Apple shove these latest 8th-generation processors into the new MacBook. However, at this point, those are essentially old tech already, so again, we’ll just have to see. We’ve also seen some rumors that Apple is planning on crafting an ARM-based MacBook at some point, and if the iPad Pro 2018 were any indication, we could definitely see this happening. Apple would just have to work out some kinks in getting macOS to run on an ARM system. It’s also safe to assume that Apple will put its T1 or T2 processor into the MacBook 2019 – as it has with all of its latest Mac releases. Since the 12-inch MacBook lacks a Touch Bar, it’s safe to assume that if one of these co-processors is implemented, it will be used for the automatic wake and ‘Hey Siri’ functionality that’s currently unique on to the iMac Pro, MacBook Air 2018 and MacBook Pro 2018. Sturdier build This will be an excellent option for a premium device that most users won’t want to upgrade for four to five years, as well as help keep the MacBook looking as stunning as the day you opened it. Of course, we don’t know if this patent will ever see the light of day or even get utilized for the MacBook. However, this approach, alongside the improved Butterfly keyboard found in the MacBook Pro 2018, could make the MacBook 2020 a much more durable device, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. Stronger audio and video Apple needs to beef up the webcam up to 1080p, to make it more worthy of its price tag. The speakers, though, are a problem we don’t necessarily have a solution for. Supporting the speakers with down-throwing bass modules in the base might work? Otherwise, stick to your better made external speakers and headphones.
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| Apple AirTags release date, news, leaks, and what we know so far Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:09 PM PDT For some time, we've heard rumors that Apple has been developing new connected accessories that help track whatever they're attached to – think Tile, but with the brand's signature panache and interoperability. The pitch: clip one of these things, suspected to be called Apple Tags or Apple AirTags, to an item you don’t want to lose and you’ll be able to track it from an Apple device. While the rumors we've heard only remark that they'll work through iPhones, we would be shocked if they didn't work with every device in Apple’s ecosystem. We still don't know much about the accessory, and Apple hasn't officially acknowledged, or even hinted, that they're coming. All we know are leaks and rumors sourced from the usual tech breadcrumbs, like iOS 13 code snippets, that signify a new device is coming. Sadly, we didn't hear anything about Apple AirTags at WWDC 2020, which was held online due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Heck, a new leak suggested we'd even get a dedicated AirTags app as part of iOS 14, but alas, it looks like we'll have to be patient as nothing was announced. Until we find out more, then, here's all we know about the accessories. Cut to the chase
Apple Tags price and release dateWe don’t know when Apple AirTags will launch, nor have we heard rumors about possible release dates. We thought a surprise launch could happen at WWDC 2020, Apple’s now online-only developer event, but no announcement was made. A specific mention by leaker Jon Prosser noted we’d be getting news about AirTags at WWDC 2020, however, it turns out he wasn't right on this one. Given the hints about iOS, we suspect AirTags could still be released alongside the iPhone 12 later in the year. Price is also unknown. Given their similarity to Tile, we could compare those prices: the standard Tile Mate costs $25 / £20 / AU$40 each, though we’d expect the Apple version to cost a bit more, as usual for the brand’s products. There are other Tile products of different sizes, so we could see smaller or more sophisticated (and thus pricier) Apple Tags, too. Lastly, Tile has a Premium subscription service with more trackability and yearly battery replacement, which is another thing Apple could imitate. Apple Tags rumors and leaksApple still hasn’t said anything official about Apple AirTags, so all we have to go on are rumors. The vague functionality we’ve heard in these rumors has been so heavily compared to Tile trackers that the AirTags could simply do the same thing: physically clip or secure them to an item, and you’ll be back to track them on your Apple device through an app. Of course, since Apple’s devices have Find My functionality to monitor locations of iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, it’s no surprise that code snippets indicated that AirTags will be tracked through that existing service. Walk too far away from an AirTagged item and your device running Find My will start beeping, unless you’re within a designated ‘safe location’ like home or the office. But you may also be able to track through AR: one rumor suggests you’ll be able to hold your phone up and a balloon icon will hover over the missing device’s location. Assuming it’s in range of your device network, of course. But what if it’s not? There are hints of a ‘Lost Mode’ which uses other iPhones not in your network to find your AirTagged item. It’s a lot like Tile’s existing community-locating feature, though that only includes other phones with the Tile app. There might be more iPhones in the wild than Tile app users, but it likely varies by region. Which devices will AirTags be compatible with? One of the earliest rumors cited functionality in iOS 13 beta back in June 2019, suggesting that iPhones running that version of the operating system may be able to run it (up to the iPhone 6S). We don’t know what minimum versions of iPadOS or macOS will be required for compatibility. What we’d like to seeSure, the above features are neat, but until we know exactly what AirTags are capable of, here’s what we’d like to see. 1. Multiple AirTag typesYes, one AirTag is nice – but given Tile’s range of tracker types, we’d love to see multiple options from Apple. Tile’s standard Mate has a claimed range of 150 feet, while the Pro extends out to 300 feet. The Tile Slim is barely thicker than a credit card, while the Sticker is small enough to stick on remotes. We’d love some variety from Apple’s offerings, especially if they introduce a radically different tracker format. Perhaps a thinner, smaller format to fit on iPhones and Apple Watches? 2. Tracking through all Apple devicesWe’re pretty sure this is going to be the case anyway, but we’d love if every major device in Apple’s ecosystem could use Find My to track the AirTags. We’ve already heard about iPhone, iPad, and macOS compatibility, but what about Apple Watch? Given the compass in the Apple Watch 5, along with its other sensors, we’d like full-spectrum monitoring capability. 3. Software insightsOkay, this one’s a bit more abstract, but we’re curious if Apple’s emphasis on health can be put to interesting use with AirTags. Can you label certain AirTagged items as high-priority items that always need to be in reach – like inhalers, insulin kit bags, Life Alerts, or medicine bottles? Can they be linked up to Siri, who can not only remind you to grab certain things before you leave but tell you where they are? 4. Package dealsWe’re always suckers for good deals, and we’d love if the AirTags came in enough packs for us to pick up a half-dozen and place them on our important things. Especially if we have smart homes, where everything might be linked up but scattered about the house.
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| macOS Catalina is here: everything you need to know about macOS 10.15 Posted: 22 Jun 2020 12:08 PM PDT Apple’s latest macOS, macOS Catalina, is officially here. Launched at WWDC 2019, macOS 10.15, is now available for everyone to download on their Macs. And, it’s bringing in a slew of new features and fresh skills, as well as quite a few necessary updates, to improve your Mac experience. macOS Catalina brings in exciting new features, one of the most noteworthy of which is Sidecar. It gives Mac users the ability to use newer generation iPads as a secondary screen. There's also "Project Catalyst,” which allows iOS 13 and iPadOS developers to easily port their work over to the macOS. And, though saying goodbye to some older and beloved features like iTunes, it also rolls in new-to-Mac apps like Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple TV and Apple Books.
It’s time that we run through all of the features that macOS Catalina brings to the table. If you're looking to make the most of Catalina or wondering if it's time for you to upgrade, this should help you make sure that this OS is what you want on your Mac. If you do want to skip macOS Catalina altogether, perhaps because of some issues still lingering, Apple has also just showcased its successor, macOS 11 Big Sur, at WWDC 2020. And, it comes with a whole new set of fun and exciting features that make your whole Apple ecosystem a much more seamless experience. Cut to the chase
The macos 10.15 features Sidecar so you can use your iPad as a secondary screen. macOS Catalina release dateApple held its iPhone 11 event on September 10, but the show came and went without so much of a mention of macOS 10.15. Still, Apple's macOS 10.15 Catalina page was updated with an "October 2019" release window. Apple didn't share any more specifics about the release, so when it launched it caught us all by surprise. Fortunately, this does mean you can now download macOS Catalina, so long as you have a compatible Mac. You might want to wait until the next update comes out, just to ensure that any serious bugs are squashed. You see, updating your operating system is definitely a large undertaking, and you could possibly break something, losing a lot of valuable data. So, if you don't absolutely need the new software, waiting may be your best bet. We'll update this hub as soon as we know a new update is on its way, but if you want to live on the edge, go ahead and hit that download button. We'll show you how. macOS Catalina compatibilityIf you want to get your paws on the latest macOS update, you'll have to make sure your Mac can really support it. Fortunately, if you already have macOS Mojave installed, you're probably in the clear. Unless, of course, you circumnavigated Apple's restrictions.
Goodbye, iTunes – hello, Apple Music, Podcasts Books and TVIt's official, iTunes is no more. From its ashes, however, rises a unique collection of magnificent apps for macOS: Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Podcasts and Apple Books – and they will be polished versions of those already found on iOS. Apple Music gives macOS Catalina users access to their entire music libraries regardless of whether the tracks have been downloaded or are being streamed. This also holds music that's been ripped from CDs, incorporated into the same libraries. Apple TV, on the other hand, is home for the app's channels and offers more than 100,000 iTunes movies and TV shows that you can browse to buy or rent. And, content will be available in 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio wherever it’s offered. Apple TV+ can also be accessed courtesy of this app now that the service has rolled out. At the same time, Apple Podcasts brings the service's more than 700,000 podcasts, as well as new episode updates, to the Mac in a totally fresh interface. This rendition of the app also offers better search functions that can pull up episodes by hosts, guests or even discussion topics. Finally, Apple Books is the portal to all the audiobooks you would want to purchase, download and listen to. Similar to the other new apps, it also features a familiar interface for anyone who is used to iTunes. Concerned about all your existing music and playlists, as well as iTunes gift cards and credit? Don’t worry. All your music and playlists will be transferred over to the Apple Music app in macOS Catalina. Plus, any iTunes gift cards or unspent iTunes credits are still valid to be used in these new apps. In macOS 10.15 Catalina, the iTunes Store, which is accessible through the Sidebar in the Apple Music app, is still available to buy new music. And of course, you can also subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service using the app – if you do, you can hide the iTunes Store for a cleaner, more minimalist interface. You'll sync your devices via Finder in macOS Catalina. With iTunes making its exit, syncing devices in macOS Catalina is now taken care of courtesy the Finder app. It can back up and sync those devices. According to Apple, it will be easier to drag and drop files for quick transfers as well. Apple Sidecar at work in macOS Catalina. Sidecar turns your iPad into another displayThis is perhaps the most thrilling update that macOS 10.15 Catalina offers: the ability to extend your Mac's display to a nearby iPad, whether wired or wirelessly. A good amount of MacBook users are already own an iPad, so this essentially means that a significant number of mobile workers just received a secondary display for free. Possibly even more notable for designers is that this connected iPad can also be used as a drawing tablet with specific supported apps. Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Illustrator and iWork are the first apps listed that support this capability. The Sidecar feature is supported by those models that can also run the new iPadOS, specifically the iPad Pro (all models), iPad (6th generation or later), iPad Mini (3rd generation or later), and the iPad Air (3rd generation). Apple says that the following Mac apps will support Sidecar's Apple Pencil input and other enhanced features:
Screen Time for macOS has a special "One more minute" feature. Screen Time comes to macOSOne of Apple's most meaningful changes to iOS 12 was Screen Time, an app that tracks your iPhone or iPad usage time and offers insights into the trends. This time around, this feature will not only come to macOS with Catalina, but also offer a new “One more minute” feature, giving you more time to save your work or finish up a game. This information will also be synced across your other Apple devices, so that you have a complete profile of how often you look at your collective screens, as well as get tips on what to do with that information. Additionally, it will also include parental controls on time spent using a Mac, as well as with whom kids are able to interact with on those devices. Twitter's return to macOS was made possible by Project Catalyst. Project CatalystThanks to Apple's new Project Catalyst initiative, macOS 10.15 Catalina will soon be populated with a slew of iOS and iPadOS apps. There are a number of them available at launch, but the real potential of this initiative is that it opens up the floodgates for all kinds of apps to come over to the Mac. For developers, it all seems to start with simply checking off a box within the Xcode app in macOS 10.15 Catalina. A series of new features and protocols then become available to the app in the development phase, from which the developer can choose to add to their apps – presumably with additional yet lighter coding. It looks to make the process smoother and even quicker, with even the likes of Twitter using the tool to more effortlessly bring its native app back to macOS from iOS. Other fun improvementsSafari browser now has a new startup page that uses Siri Suggestions to surface commonly visited websites, bookmarks, iCloud tabs and more. Mail now lets users block messages from senders, mute message threads from issuing push notifications and send unsubscribe requests from within the app to mailing list providers. Lastly, Reminders gets an overhaul in the visual interface so that it will allow users to more easily create, keep track and organize their reminders.
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| Powerbeats Pro 2: everything we know about the rumored true wireless earbuds Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:56 AM PDT Is Apple working on the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2? It certainly looks like it, with a new pair of Beats wireless earbuds making an appearance in an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) filing back in March. Since then, the rumored Powerbeats Pro 2 have popped up in similar filings around the world, suggesting that a follow-up to the popular Beats Powerbeats Pro is on the cards.
The Beats Powerbeats Pro are among the best true wireless earbuds you can buy, and thanks to their long battery life, good sound quality, and smart design – including venting holes that reduce the pressure the earbuds impart on your ears – they are among the best running headphones, too. A year on from their launch, and Apple has released the true wireless earbuds in four bright new colors – which could mean that Apple isn't quite ready to launch a second-gen version of the earbuds. Details of the Powerbeats Pro 2 are scant right now, and without official confirmation from Apple, we can only guess as to details like a release date, specs, and sound quality – and some outlets are even speculating that the FCC filing only relates to minor tweaks to the existing earbuds. Even so, we've also seen some pretty hefty Powerbeats Pro discounts in recent days, suggesting that Apple could be shifting stock ahead of a release. Whenever the buds turn up, and whether they're a complete overhaul or a minor tweak to the existing Powerbeats Pro, we've dreamt up a wish list of all the things we'd like to see from the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2.
Cut to the chase
Powerbeats Pro 2 release dateWhile Apple hasn't announced a Powerbeats Pro 2 release date – or even confirmed their existence, for that matter – we can hazard a guess as to when we'll see the new Beats earbuds. We though the new buds could launch at WWDC 2020, but with no new hardware announcements, the next feasible release window is in September, when we're hoping to see the iPhone 12. If we don't see the Powerbeats Pro 2 in September, the next release window might not be until October. In an FCC filing for what we think are the new earbuds, Apple requested that the FCC withhold external photographs, internal photographs, test setup photographs, and the user manual until October 12, 2020. The original Powerbeats Pro. Powerbeats Pro 2: what we know so farIn April, Apple filed a new document with the FCC that appears to describe the Powerbeats Pro 2. The FCC ID BCGA2453 describes ‘totally wireless high-performance earphones’ and corresponds to Apple’s model numbers A2453 and A2454 – though whether those two different model numbers corresponds to two new versions of the Powerbeats Pro remains to be seen. Unfortunately, Apple requested that the FCC withhold external photographs, internal photographs, test setup photographs and the user manual until October, so it will be awhile before we can confirm our suspicions. Without photos or documentation there’s not a whole lot of information available inside the brief other than the wireless frequency the earphones will operate on (2.402-2.48 GHz) and some really technical information about the kind of wireless transmitter it will have inside. Some outlets are reporting that the FCC filing describes "a minor tweak" to the Powerbeats Pro, rather than a truly new model – perhaps in a similar vein to the AirPods (2019), which replaced the 2016 AirPods, or even as a mere software update. MacRumors believes the filing represents "a minor internal tweak to the existing models that will soon be or has already been quietly released without any announcement or changes to public-facing specs". So, it could be that newer Powerbeats Pro models have been given a few adjustments without any announcement from Apple. MacRumors says that, "if you've recently purchased Powerbeats Pro, you can check the fine print on the inside of each earpiece" to see whether they correspond with the new A2453/A2454 model numbers. Whether the FCC filing relates to a brand new model or some minor tweaks remains to be seen. In the meantime, we've put together a wish list of all the things we would want to see if the Powerbeats Pro 2 actually materialize. Can't wait to find out? We've gathered the best Powerbeats Pro prices below, so you can get your hands on the original true wireless earbuds. Powerbeats Pro 2: what we want to seeWhile we were big fans of the original Powerbeats Pro, there are a few features we'd like to see in their successors. Noise cancellation This was a pretty big omission from the Powerbeats Pro, which were only able to offer limited noise isolation without active noise cancelling technology built in. We'd like to see Apple take a leaf out of the AirPods Pro's book, and give users the chance to block out annoying environmental sounds at the tap of a touch-sensitive housing. Customizable sound The Powerbeats Pro shook off Beats' reputation for overly bassy audio, offering a more neutral sound profile. While we liked the sound quality offered by the original buds, we were disappointed that Apple didn't provide any way to alter the EQ settings, either via an app or through a series of preset sound profiles. An accompanying app with a customizable EQ would give Powerbeats Pro 2 users the option to really personalize the sound of their buds, tweaking the bass, mids, and trebles exactly to their liking. A higher IP rating The IPX4 waterproof rating offered by the Powerbeats Pro was fine, but we think Apple could do better with the next generation. An IPX4-rating means the original Powerbeats Pro could take a bit of sweat, maybe an accidental splash from a water bottle or someone jumping in the pool, but imagine how great it would be if you could take them swimming? Sleeker charging case The charging case for the original Powerbeats Pro was a little bulky in our opinion; we'd love to see something sleeker for the Powerbeats Pro 2. A slim case is especially important for use while working out, as shorts and running leggings don't always come with deep pockets to stuff all your gadgets into. Longer battery life The Powerbeats Pro have a great battery life as it is – but we'd like to see Apple push the boat out with its second gen model, perhaps taking a cue from the affordable and incredibly long-lasting Lypertek Tevi.
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| Apple AirPods 3 release date, rumors, and what we want to see Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:54 AM PDT When will we see the Apple AirPods 3? With over a year having gone by since the last iteration of Apple's true wireless earbuds, the AirPods (2019), there are naturally already murmurs of another updated model coming our way. There have been rumors of an Apple AirPods 3 crashing into the market before 2020 is out, but recent comments from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest we may be waiting a while longer – speculating that the next-gen AirPods would start mass production in early 2021, with a new AirPods Pro model arriving in 2022 too (via AppleInsider). According to 9to5Mac, the prolific Apple analyst believes that Apple "will continue to sell second-generation AirPods through this year’s holiday season", replacing the popular true wireless earbuds with the AirPods 3 "in the first half of 2021". The new 'Pods will apparently take their design cues from the AirPods Pro, which ditched the rigid plastic tips and super long ear stems of the 2019 Apple AirPods, in favor of silicone eartips and a sleeker look. Whether that means they'll come with noise cancellation as well remains to be seen. It's possible new AirPods could launch sooner than 2021, though. In fact, notable Apple leaker Jon Prosser tweeted that there's a new Apple AirPods model that is ready to be shipped immediately. Prosser doesn't have specifics as to which model it might be, whether it's the AirPods 3 or the AirPods Pro Lite, but with no mention of new earbuds at WWDC 2020, the next feasible release window is in September, when we're expecting to see the iPhone 12. Cut to the chase
Since the original Apple AirPods launched in 2016, the true wireless earbuds have dominated the headphones market, becoming an icon of the company’s slick design customs and user-friendly technologies. They weren’t perfect though – and in 2019, the upgraded AirPods (or AirPods 2, if you will) were furnished with Apple’s H1 chip, which brought with it faster pairing times, longer battery, and a cool hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ feature. These second-gen true wireless earbuds were a definite improvement upon their predecessors – but they were still easily eclipsed by the likes of the Sony WF-1000XM3, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1, and Apple’s own AirPods Pro in 2019. While we haven’t heard any confirmation from Apple that it will be launching the AirPods 3 this year, we’ve still had plenty of time to come up with a wish list of all the features we’d want to see from the company’s next true wireless earbuds.
AirPods 3 release dateWhile we have a few ideas about the specs we might see with the new earbuds, a firm AirPods 3 release date still eludes us. Saying that, a May 2020 tweet from respected tech analyst Jon Prosser claimed that a new pair of Apple earbuds are "ready to ship". Prosser didn't share which model it could be – after all, there are multiple model names being floated around, including the AirPods Pro Lite and the AirPods 3 – but he has said that they are not the AirPods X, which are said to be Apple's first over-ear headphones. Despite this, we aren't counting on a 2020 release date. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an often-cited and often-correct Apple analyst, the third generation AirPods, aka the AirPods 3, are likely to enter mass-production in the first half of 2021. As for new AirPods Pro? Any AirPods Pro 2 aren't going to see the light of day until the fourth quarter of 2021 – at the earliest – with an early 2022 launch more likely. If we do see any new Apple headphones in 2020, the next big release window is in September. That's the month the company usually releases its latest handsets, and this year we're expecting to see the iPhone 12. AirPods 3 rumorsAirPods 3 rumors are streaming in, with the latest tip to reach us suggesting that Apple is planning to fit ambient light sensors to future versions of the AirPods – sensors which could make them much more useful as health monitoring devices, akin to the best fitness headphones in the world. A report in DigiTimes (via MacRumors) passes on information from the Apple supply chain that production of these ambient light sensors is being ramped up, quite possibly to get ready for some brand new wireless earbuds. There are a lot of dots to join here, and there isn't necessarily just one way to join them – but that said, it would make a lot of sense for Apple to want to boost the fitness tracking capabilities of future AirPod models, much as it did with the Apple Watch. If rumors are to be believed, the new AirPods 3 won't look very different from their predecessors, with all the material changes taking place under the hood. According to Kuo, the AirPods 3 will look most like the AirPods Pro, with silicone eartips and a sleek look. Whether that means they'll come with noise cancellation as well remains to be seen; MacRumors editor Joe Rossignol has speculated that the AirPods 3 will simply be a cheaper version of the AirPods Pro with noise cancellation removed. AirPods 3: what we want to seeBetter sound than the AirPods 2 The AirPods (2019) were an improvement upon their predecessors in terms of connectivity, but the sound remained exactly the same as the originals – and that audio technology is now four years old. They have a lively, powerful presentation, although they can sound slightly harsh when it comes to higher-frequency sounds, and they aren’t the bassiest earbuds on the market. Since the launch of the original AirPods, the sound quality offered by true wireless earbuds has soared; just look at the Sony WF-1000XM3 or the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1. There’s no reason why Apple couldn’t take a cue from these companies and really develop the sound of their earbuds, with more accurately-tuned drivers for improved bass response and rolled-off trebles – after all, the company has proved it possible with the AirPods Pro. Adjustable eartips While we did respect Apple’s refusal to amend the design of the AirPods – for a time – we think it’s time that it furnished the true wireless earbuds with adjustable eartips, just like it has with the AirPods Pro. Why? Well aside from catering to more ear-sizes, silicone or foam eartips provide a better seal, and therefore superior noise isolation, and passive noise-reduction – making your music sound better, while simultaneously preventing the entire world from earwigging on your favorite songs. The AirPods (2019) Better battery life True wireless earbuds like the Lypertek Tevi have shown that cutting the cord doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your battery life – and there’s really no need for the AirPods to only be offering a measly five hours of playback in 2020. Sure, the charging case offers a further 20 hours of battery, but that number is far surpassed by lots of models on the market these days – and many of them are far cheaper, too. Bluetooth 5 and aptX HD support Again, Apple needs to get with the times in this respect – Bluetooth 4.2 is positively dated these days, with most new wireless headphones coming with support for the latest wireless transmission standard, Bluetooth 5 (and some, like the new Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 even support Bluetooth 5.1). Bluetooth 5 brings longer pairing distances, more reliable wireless connectivity, and more efficient power usage, which means headphones that support it come with longer battery lives. Meanwhile, aptX HD support would allow for wireless streaming of Hi-Res Audio codecs at 24-bit/48kHz – which Qualcomm claims makes for better-than-CD quality. The AirPods (2019) What about the AirPods Pro Lite?Before we see the AirPods 3, we’re expecting the release of the so-called AirPods Pro Lite, an entry-level version of the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro. November 2019 brought us the AirPods Pro, which came with active noise cancellation, a better fit, and superior audio quality. Despite no official confirmation from Apple, and very hazy details on the earbuds, we even heard reports on how the current coronavirus outbreak will stall production on the AirPods Pro Lite – and then later reports disparaging these claims. While initial rumors suggested new 'regular' AirPods would crash into the market before 2020 is out, but recent comments from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest we may be waiting a while longer – speculating that the next-gen AirPods would start mass production in early 2021, with a new AirPods Pro model arriving in 2022 too (via AppleInsider). In the meantime, don’t miss our wishlist of all the things we’re hoping to see from the AirPods Pro Lite. The next Apple headphones could be an over-ear model like the Beats Studio 3 (pictured). Will the AirPods 3 be over-ear headphones?It’s possible that the next Apple headphones we see in 2020 will be a pair of over-ear cans – but we don’t think they’ll be called the AirPods 3. Instead, it's rumored that the first over-ear Apple headphones will be called the AirPods Studio, after a Target product listing went live, accidentally leaking the rumored Apple headphones, and revealing a $399 (about £300 / AU$699) price tag. According to a report by respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who correctly predicted the release of the upgraded Apple AirPods and the AirPods Pro in 2019, the wireless headphones were meant to launch alongside a number of new products in the first half of 2020. However, Kuo has now amended that prediction to late 2020 – and suggested that these inside rumors were actually about a new Beats headphones model, rather than anything in the AirPods range (via AppleInsider). Whether we see the AirPods 3, the AirPods Pro Lite, or the AirPods Studio in 2020 remains to be seen – especially with so many companies experiencing production delays as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Either way, Apple is almost certainly going to keep us busy in the coming couple of years.
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| Apple AirPods Pro Lite release date, news, and rumors Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:51 AM PDT There was no sign of the AirPods Pro Lite at WWDC 2020 – although the AirPods Pro were given a hefty upgrade that allows for immersive Dolby Atmos sound and a nifty auto-switching feature. Rumors surrounding a new version of the AirPods Pro, the so-called AirPods Pro Lite, have been circling since mid-February, after a report from DigiTimes claimed that the new true wireless earbuds will launch in the first half of 2020. The next big release window could be in September, the month in which Apple usually launches its latest iPhone – this year we're expecting to see the iPhone 12. The AirPods Pro Lite will reportedly be an entry-level version of the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro, which suggest the rumored wireless earbuds might be cheaper the most expensive Apple earbuds currently on the market. Despite no official confirmation from Apple, and very hazy details on the earbuds, we’ve even been hearing reports on how the current coronavirus outbreak will stall production on the AirPods Pro Lite – and then later reports disparaging these claims. Even though we know very little about the AirPods Pro Lite – or if they even really exist – that hasn’t stopped us from dreaming up a wishlist of all the specs and features we’d like to see from a new pair of AirPods Pro true wireless earbuds. Plus, we take a look at all the news and rumors we've heard so far. Cut to the chase
AirPods Pro Lite release dateThere's been a bit of back and forth with AirPods Pro Lite release date rumors – reports of a 2020 release date are being countered pretty much as soon as they're revealed. Initial rumors suggested new 'regular' AirPods would crash into the market before 2020 is out, but recent comments from industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggest we may be waiting a while longer – speculating that the next-gen AirPods would start mass production in early 2021, with a new AirPods Pro model arriving in 2022 too (via AppleInsider). However, we think we will be seeing some new Apple headphones in 2020. That's partly because respected tech analyst Jon Prosser recently tweeted that a new pair of Apple earbuds are "ready to ship". Prosser didn't elaborate on which model it could be – after all, there are multiple model names being floated around, including the AirPods Pro Lite and the AirPods 3 – but he has said that they are not the AirPods Studio, which are said to be Apple's first over-ear headphones. We've also seen some pretty hefty Apple headphone discounts in recent days, suggesting that Apple could be shifting stock ahead of a release. If the AirPods Prosser mentions are the AirPods Pro Lite, the next feasible release window is in September, the month in which Apple usually launches its latest iPhone – this year we're expecting to see the iPhone 12. AirPods Pro Lite priceIf the rumored AirPods Pro Lite really are an entry-level version of the AirPods Pro, we’d expect them to be significantly cheaper than their pricy siblings. At $249 / £249 / AU$399, the original Pros are pretty expensive, even more so than the best true wireless earbuds you can buy in 2020, the Sony WF-1000XM3. We’d like to see the AirPods Pro Lite at a similar price to the 2019 AirPods; at $159 / £159 / AU$249, they aren’t cheap, but they’re much more affordable. It would be even better if Apple could launch a pair of true wireless earbuds at the $100 / £100 / AU$150 mark, as that would really shake up the competition with a genuinely affordable pair of Apple earbuds. Interested in buying some Apple headphones now? Check out the best deals we've found below: AirPods Pro Lite: what we want to seeNoise cancellation We don’t think there would be much point in releasing an entry-level version of AirPods Pro if they didn’t come with its best feature: active noise cancellation. This was a true upgrade over the original AirPods, and signaled a shift in the true wireless earbuds market that means we can now expect to see features previously reserved for premium over-ear headphones in cordless models. The noise cancelation offered by the AirPods Pro is very good indeed, particularly for true wireless earbuds. We’d also expect to see the Transparency feature continued in the AirPods Pro Lite, which allows sound to pass through the buds when you want to quickly tap into your surroundings. A streamlined design The AirPods Pro offered a much lighter and more streamlined build than the 2019 AirPods, and we’d like to see a development of that design in the rumored AirPods Pro Lite. As the Pros offered shorter stems than there predecessors, it would be interesting to see whether Apple could take this even further, perhaps getting rid of the stems entirely in favor of a Samsung Galaxy Buds-style look. We don’t think that’s very likely, considering how iconic the AirPods design has become in recent years, and the fact that the AirPods Pro come with touch-sensitive controls built into the stems. Could the AirPods Pro Lite come with a more workout-friendly design like the Beats Powerbeats Pro? If Apple does keep the protruding stems we’d love the brand to include haptic feedback when you touch them – it would add a little bit of tactility to the user experience that we think would be really beneficial. Speaking of the design, some earfins wouldn’t go amiss to appeal to the running crowd. While we find that the AirPods Pro are generally quite secure during workout sessions, some extra security could win over diehard fans of the earhook-toting Beats Powerbeats Pro. Another way to steal some custom from Beats (and therefore itself)? Adding some cool color options to the AirPods Pro Lite. If they really are a cheaper version of the AirPods Pro, and therefore not a flagship product, what’s the harm in a little experimentation? We’d love to see true wireless earbuds in the same space gray and rose gold colors we’ve seen with some iPhone and MacBook Pro models. Fitness-tracking features It's been rumored that Apple is planning to fit ambient light sensors to future versions of the AirPods – sensors which could make them much more useful as health monitoring devices, akin to the best fitness headphones in the world. A report in DigiTimes (via MacRumors) passes on information from the Apple supply chain that production of these ambient light sensors is being ramped up, quite possibly to get ready for some brand new wireless earbuds. There are a lot of dots to join here, and there isn't necessarily just one way to join them – but that said, it would make a lot of sense for Apple to want to boost the fitness tracking capabilities of future AirPod models, much as it did with the Apple Watch. Whether these light sensors are headed for the AirPods Pro Lite or the so-called AirPods 3 is unclear at this stage, but we think they'd be a great addition to the Pros, which can already track your hearing health by monitoring the volume of your music.
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| Apple AirPods Studio release date, price, and rumors Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:44 AM PDT The AirPods Studio – AKA, the first-ever Apple over-ear headphones – never materialized at WWDC 2020, in spite of rumors that the headphones would make an appearance at the annual keynote. That's in line with a tweet from prolific Apple leaker Jon Prosser, which went out a few hours before the keynote started, suggesting that hardware announcements at WWDC 2020 were cancelled altogether. In the end, Prosser was correct, though it sounds like the lack of hardware wasn't always the plan – that means we could still see an AirPods Studio release date in 2020. We've been anticipating a pair of Apple over-ear headphones for a while now, with numerous outlets reporting that the Cupertino company is planning to release the so-called AirPods Studio this year. The headphones could well be the smartest headphones we've ever seen, if rumors of clever ear-detecting sensors are to be believed – and like the AirPods Pro, we're expecting them to come with active noise cancellation, too. The AirPods Studio aren't the only new Apple headphones rumored to launch in 2020, too. The AirPods Pro Lite will apparently be an entry-level version of the noise-cancelling AirPods Pro, while the so-called AirPods 3 are the anticipated follow-up to the original AirPods – which saw their last upgrade in 2019. Cut to the chase
The Apple AirPods Studio are perhaps the most concrete rumored release we know about so far. That's because the headphones were apparently revealed early, after 9to5Mac discovered icons representing the rumored cans in iOS 14 code. Two icons – one light, one dark – depict a pair of over-ear headphones with padding on the earcups and headband, and appear to show two different color options for the headphones (likely space gray and the same white as the AirPods). This is the clearest image of the new Apple headphones so far. You can check out the icons below: Right now, everything we know about the AirPods Studio – from potential release dates to prices – are based on rumors and leaks. That's not to say that we shouldn't lend any credence to what we've heard so far – that's why we've compiled this guide to everything we know about the first Apple over-ear headphones, as well as all the features we want to see from the Apple AirPods Studio. Apple AirPods Studio release dateThe Apple AirPods Studio weren't released at WWDC 2020, despite a number of rumors indicating that the new headphones would be revealed during the keynote. The June 22 release date had been floating around for a while now, and was most recently posited by XDA Developer's Max Weinbach, who says that says the firmware for the over-ear headphones has been "finalized" and is ready to go onto the production units. Weinbach also claimed that the launch would happen "imminently", and was "likely" to take place at WWDC 2020 – of course, the headphones never materialized. This new intel backs up a May report by The Information, which says that Apple suppliers Goertek and Luxshare will assemble "at least a portion of the headphones in Vietnam and begin shipments to Apple in June or July". We've also seen some pretty hefty Apple headphone discounts in recent days, suggesting that Apple could be shifting stock ahead of a release. In any case, a 2020 release date has been on the cards for a long time. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – whose Apple predictions have been proven right in the past – claimed that the new headphones will launch in 2020 back in 2018, when he said that Apple was working on updated AirPods as well as “own-brand, high-end over-ear headphones with an all-new design” back in 2018. As we now know, Kuo’s prediction about the updated AirPods turned out to be right, as the release of AirPods (2019) last year, and the subsequent release of the AirPods Pro demonstrated. Since then, Kuo elaborated on his initial claims, saying that 2020 would bring iPhone SE 2 (check), a new iPad Pro (check) and MacBooks with scissor keys, as well as a "smaller wireless charging mat, UWB tag, and a high-end Bluetooth headphone" from Apple. With Kuo’s predictions being correct so far, we wouldn’t be surprised if he – and the others – are right about the over-ear model being released in the first half of 2020 too. Time is running out, though, and a late 2020 release date is looking more and more likely. A tweet from well-respected tech analyst Jon Prosser suggests new in-ear AirPods (perhaps the AirPods 3 or the AirPods Pro Lite) will come before the over-ear Apple AirPods Studio. That means we could be waiting until the latter half 2020 to see them, perhaps at Apple's annual iPhone launch event in October. Either way, we're expecting to see the AirPods Studio this year – even if the headphones' release date has been pushed back in the past, as Bloomberg reported way back in 2018. The AirPods Studio may look similar to the Beats Solo Pro (pictured). Apple AirPods Studio priceAn inventory listing from US store Target, may have revealed the price of the hotly-anticipated cans. YouTuber Jon Prosser posted an image to Twitter, purporting to show the upcoming over-ear headphones in Target's system, mysteriously listed as "Apple AirPods (X Generation)". The product in the image appears to cost $399, which works out at around £300 / AU$600 – if these are the rumored AirPod Studio / AirPods X then the brand is aiming for the higher end of the price scale, surpassing the cost of competitors like the Sony WH-1000XM3 and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. More recently, however, Prosser alleged that the AirPods Studio they'll be around $50 cheaper than initial reports suggested, coming in at $349 (about £280 / AU$530). Either way, we're not expecting the new Apple over-ear headphones to come cheap. Apple AirPods Studio designThe two icons discovered in the iOS 14 code clearly depict a pair of over-ear headphones – and the lack of wires suggests they may be wireless, too. To be honest, we wouldn't expect Apple to release a pair of wired headphones after the success of their previous true wireless models. The icons also appear to show two different color options for the headphones (likely space gray and the same white as the AirPods). However, Jon Prosser has speculated that the Apple over-ear headphones could come in a range of colors, citing the existence of three different product codes, all priced at $399 (around £320 / AU$610). So far, Apple's existing headphones, the EarPods, AirPods, and AirPods Pro, have only ever been available in white, though Apple-owned Beats headphones often come in a range of bright colors. Apple AirPods Studio: what we want to seeThe best over-ear headphones combine slick design, comfort, and portability – ideally without breaking the bank. But these days, headphones can be incredibly tech-heavy as well, which is what we would expect from a pioneering company like Apple. That’s why we’d like to see modern conveniences like wireless connectivity, built-in voice assistance, and active noise-cancelling in the rumored Apple over-ear headphones – and above all else, fantastic sound quality. The Apple AirPods (2019) Better sound quality than the AirPodsThey may be popular, but Apple's AirPods have never been known for their audio quality. While they have a lively presentation, they can sound a bit harsh when it comes to higher frequency sounds like snares, violins, and trumpets. The Apple AirPods also aren’t the bassiest earbuds on the market (although the more recent AirPods Pro do a better job of this) – but more powerful bass could absolutely be achieved by a higher-spec pair of over-ear headphones. Ketan Bharadia, International Technical Editor of What Hi-Fi? agrees: “I've never rated the sound of the company's in-ears but, considering [Apple’s] engineering might and the sonic qualities of their iPhones and the HomePod, there's plenty of potential for over-ears to stir things up.” Over-ears tend to offer higher sound quality than in-ear models anyway, partly because they have bigger drivers than in-ear models. These larger drivers are able to displace larger volumes of air than their smaller counterparts, which in turn creates a more powerful audio performance. According to Audio Advice, these larger drivers tend to reproduce the “widest range of frequencies, from silky smooth highs to tight, deep bass,” providing a richer, more colorful soundstage than in-ear headphones. This mockup from Curved shows the so-called AirPods Studio charging wirelessly Classic Apple designTake away the technical aspects of a pair of headphones, and you’ve essentially got a (potentially very expensive) piece of headgear – and as such, it’s important that they look good. We know that Apple has a strong design aesthetic; despite initial ridicule, the Apple AirPods have become iconic for their unique design, with lots of true wireless earbud manufacturers since taking inspiration from their long, protruding stems and all-white color scheme. We'd like to see an evolution of Apple's classic design with their rumored over-ear headphones, with smooth, clean lines, premium materials, and a minimalist look without lots of bulky hardware ruining the effect. Although Apple hasn’t even confirmed the existence of the AirPods Studio, that hasn’t stopped German tech publication Curved from mocking up its own concept illustrations of what the headphones might look like. The illustrations from Curved are based on the look of Apple’s HomePod, framed by “the same textile mix as Apple’s smart speaker”. They also take inspiration from Beats headphones in terms of their shape and build, but swaps the Beats logo for Apple’s own hallmark, although we're not sure such abundant use of color is likely from a brand that has only ever made white audio accessories so far. Saying that, it has been posited that the Apple AirPods Studio could come in a range of colors, after three different product codes, all priced at $399 (around £320 / AU$610) were discovered in a product listing at Target. Curved also predicted that the headphones would charge wirelessly, showing the mocked-up headphones resting on an Apple-branded charging platform, and that the housings would feature touch controls, a little like the Microsoft Surface headphones. The Microsoft Surface Headphones Decent sound isolationThe way Apple’s over-ear headphones sound will have a huge impact on the different situations they can be used in, as Senior Supervising Engineer at the National Film & Television School Jeremy Rodeschini explains: “My role is to do with sound engineering covering a wide range of applications from theatrical sound to VR as well as live sound – and each application has very different requirements.” While Rodeschini looks for “excellent isolation from ambient noise, reliability, and robustness” from the headphones he uses for mixing live sound, comfort and “a slightly flattering response” is preferable when he’s recording actors delivering their lines in the studio. Of course, noise isolation isn’t just useful for working with live sound; for anyone who wants to listen to music in loud environments, like on their daily public transport commute for example, good noise isolation makes a world of difference. How well a pair of headphones can isolate ambient noise depends on how well they seal around your ears, creating a physical barrier that prevents environmental sound from getting to your ears; this can be challenging for over-ear styles, as they don’t offer as tight a seal as in-ear models. Still, a good pair of over-ear headphones should be able to physically block a decent amount of ambient noise, and this is something we would expect from a pair of high-end headphones from Apple. Fantastic noise cancellationThe Sony WH-1000XM3 (pictured) are the best noise-cancelling headphones of 2020. If Apple wants its AirPods Studio to compete with the best over-ear headphones on the market, it should take a leaf out of Sony’s book, and offer the same high-standard of noise cancellation provided by the Sony WH-1000XM3s, as well as noise isolation. The best noise-cancelling headphones make commuting a breeze, eliminating the noise of crying babies, honky traffic, and the loud conversations of your neighbors by digitally tuning out unwanted environmental sound. With Apple’s technological might, we’d be surprised if a pair of over-ear headphones from the San Cupertino company didn’t include noise-cancelling technology – after all, it’s an increasingly common feature of premium headphones. Both the Beats PowerBeats Pro (pictured) and the Apple AirPods (2019) contain Apple's H1 chip Apple's H1 headphone chipIf Apple is going to release a pair of over-ear headphones, we’d expect them to have the same H1 headphone chip that’s built-in to the AirPods (2019) and the PowerBeats Pro. Apple’s new H1 chip is designed to improve connectivity and battery life, and allows for a new ‘Hey Siri’ voice activation feature in the upgraded AirPods – all of which we would like to see in any future Apple over-ear headphones. Wireless isn’t everything though – if Apple markets these headphones as studio-quality cans, the option to use a wired connection to your device will be crucial. This is because wired headphones tend to offer higher quality audio than their wireless counterparts, as Joe Cox, Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi? explains: “Bluetooth would traditionally compress your music files to transmit them wirelessly, reducing audio quality before it’s even reached your headphones." While advances in Bluetooth like aptX HD means that audio quality is far better than it once was, you won’t find this technology in Apple’s AirPods (2019) – and if the company doesn’t include support aptX HD in the AirPods Studio, the option for a wired connection will be important to get that studio-quality sound. For truly modern connectivity, Apple will need to include support for the latest Bluetooth 5.0, while ensuring that gamers don't experience annoying lag by adding support for aptX Low Latency. Audio accuracyIt could be that the new AirPods Studio take inspiration from the over-ear headphones already offered by Beats like the Beats Studio 3 wireless noise-cancelling headphones – but these models aren’t exactly known for their audio quality either, with some criticizing their bass-heavy presentation. If Apple frames these new headphones as studio-quality, true audiophiles like Rodeschini will be looking for perfect audio accuracy: “Personally I like a comfortable pair of headphones that delivers a sound that is as close to the original as possible so I get to appreciate all the expertise of the mixer and get as close as possible to the artist's intention.” He continues: “If a headphone is adding any color to the soundtrack, it would be like adding the same blend of spices to every dish you eat without the chef's knowledge – not desirable in my opinion.” Cant wait for the Apple AirPods Studio to launch? Check out the best over-ear headphone deals we've found today:
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| watchOS 7 release date, beta, features and supported Apple Watches Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:40 AM PDT Apple has officially announced watchOS 7, the next big update to its Apple Watch operating system, which is expected to arrive alongside the Apple Watch 6 later in 2020. While we won’t see the new operating system for months, Apple revealed watchOS 7 at its WWDC 2020 event, introducing exciting new features that will change how we use our Apple smartwatches. WatchOS updates have brought new features to older Apple Watches, true, but we’re more excited about what the updates say about the next model. We’d heard rumors of new health tracking (including measuring blood oxygen levels), but instead Apple revealed that new sleep-tracking and fitness features would be coming to watchOS 7. If there are more dynamic health tracking options coming with the Apple Watch 6, we might hear about them later. Here are all the new features announced in watchOS 7, along with what it hints at for the Apple Watch 6.
Cut to the chase
watchOS 7 release date and availabilityBased on precedent, it’s safe to say that the next annual watchOS update will come in late 2020, possibly September – that’s around when the Apple Watch launches tend to be, and that's when we were expecting to see the iPhone 12. However the Covid-19 pandemic has reportedly caused other Apple device releases to be pushed back, so we could see watchOS 7 released later than expected – or perhaps even in 2021. A watchOS 7 developer beta is available starting today, and it can be downloaded through Apple's developer website – and, for the first time, a public beta will be available sometime in July on the company's public beta website (we'll follow up when the exact date is announced). watchOS 7 compatibilityBucking tradition, Apple followed up announcing watchOS 7 by confirming which Apple Watches will be getting the new operating system in a blog post. Along with the new Apple Watch 6, watchOS 7 will come to the Apple Watch 5, Apple Watch 4, and Apple Watch 3. Yes, sadly, that means the Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch Series 1 owners are out of luck. Original Apple Watch owners missed out on last year's watchOS 6 update, and now we have a new threshold for devices that can upgrade to the latest watchOS.
Confirmed watchOS 7 featuresStreamlined complicationsWatchOS 7 gets refined complications, allowing devs to enable multiple complications and watch faces. You can create your own custom selection, for example a 'surf watch' with beachside conditions, to make your ideal watch face. WatchOS 7 also makes it easier to share your watch faces via a new feature, Face Sharing. When you see a watch face you like, click the button prompt below it and the face will download – and you'll be prompted to download any missing complications. Maps: cycling options and moreYes, just like in iOS 14, watchOS 7 will include cycling directions in the Maps app. This includes elevation changes and navigation prompts with large, easy-to-read complications, which are granular enough to tell you about upcoming elevation changes or even stair climbs. Workouts: dance and cooldownsWorkouts are getting an upgrade, too, with Dance added as a total body workout. Dance will track some of the most popular (and broadly-defined) dance styles, like Hip Hop and Latin. How? Advanced algorithms detect the difference between moving just arms, just legs, or combinations of the two by cross-referencing with heart rate. That's not all: there are a few other new workout modes, including core training, functional strength training, and even cool-downs for post-workout sessions. You can track all this in the updated Activity app in iOS 14. Sleep tracking at lastThe Health app has finally added a long-requested sleep-tracking feature. This includes Wind Down, which allows you to create a personalized routine to get you to sleep, with options such as whether to wake up via audio tones or haptic vibration for a quieter and more personal alarm. WatchOS 7 tracks sleep with some informed help from on-device machine learning, and feeds that info into the updated Health app on a paired iPhone. HandwashingApparently some of you haven't been washing your hands enough! watchOS 7 will come with automatic handwashing detection, which uses machine learning and audio cues to measure whether you wash your hands for a full 20-second timer, with fun sounds to ensure you’re washing for long enough. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Will your iPhone get the iOS 14 update? Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:34 AM PDT Apple's next generation of iPhone software is now official, and for those hoping to get the iOS 14 update when it lands later this year, there's good news. Apple has confirmed that iOS 14 will be available on the iPhone 6S and later – which means that every handset that received iOS 13 in 2019 will get the new update in 2020. In the past, we've seen Apple drop the oldest supported device from the previous software generation when launching the next generation, but with iOS 14 it's providing even more longevity for older iPhones. The iPhone 6S (and 6S Plus) launched in September 2015, which means this five-year-old phone will continue to be supported when iOS 14 arrives in "the fall" – so likely some time in September/October/November this year. It's likely that the iOS 14 release date will be September 2020, with final confirmation of its exact date expected to be announced at the iPhone 12 launch event.
Will my iPhone get the iOS 14 update?The follow iPhones will get the iOS 14 update:
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| New Apple Watches will soon help you wash your hands by listening for water Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:31 AM PDT Hand washing is something we’ve all been paying a lot more attention to since Covid-19 hit, and Apple's new watchOS 7 has a specific feature to help you wash your hands for the right amount of time. The software, announced during WWDC 2020, will include a hand-washing tracking feature that can automatically detect when you start cover your palms in water, which is based on the motion of your hands and the sound of the water running. Once active, it will track how long you spend scrubbing, and display a countdown timer so you know when you’ve scrubbed your hands for 20 seconds. If you stop prematurely, a message will appear on the screen to remind you to keep going, and when you hit the end of the timer you’ll be alerted with a sound and animation.
Your Apple Watch will also be able to automatically remind you to wash your hands when you return home, and you can see the frequency and duration of your hand washes in the Health app on iPhone. The feature isn’t the first of its kind we’ve seen. Wear OS already has a hand wash feature, added back in April, but it’s not quite as clever as Apple is promising, since you need to activate it manually (with your voice) where the Watch is always on the lookout for it. Samsung also offers a similar app for its Galaxy Watch wearables, but again, it can’t automatically detect that you’re washing your hands. So the hand-wash tracking in watchOS 7 looks like it could be the most seamless and automated of the bunch. But of course, it’s also the only one that hasn’t launched yet, and with the finished version of watchOS 7 not likely to land until September it could feel less useful by the time it does land, depending on how the pandemic plays out. Hopefully though, people will be more diligent about hand washing going forward even once life returns to normal, and this Apple Watch hand washing feature should help with that. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apple TV Plus to welcome new Asimov sci-fi series to rival Star Trek: Discovery Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:30 AM PDT Apple TV Plus is getting a brand-new sci-fi series: Foundation is based on the 1951 book series by Isaac Asimov, and is coming to the streaming service in 2021, as announced at WWDC 2020. Set amongst the final days of a galactic empire, the books follow two groups of scientists settled at opposite ends of the galaxy, placed there to preserve civilization in the wake of an impending 30,000-year dark age.
It's certainly an interesting premise, and could give Apple TV Plus a much-needed boost; after all, the fledgling streaming service is still vastly outmatched by the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, and Amazon Prime Video, despite receiving critical acclaim for series like The Morning Show. The keynote also brought the news that Apple TV Plus is coming to even more screens, thanks to support from Vizio and Sony TVs. That increased integration, alongside a (hopefully) stellar sci-fi series to rival Netflix's Star Trek: Discovery and Disney Plus' The Mandalorian, could make 2021 a fantastic year for Apple TV Plus. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| iPadOS 14 release date, features and compatibility details Posted: 22 Jun 2020 11:29 AM PDT Apple has announced iPadOS 14, its newest operating system for iPads, so we now know the original iPadOS wasn't a one-off, and Apple will continue to provide bespoke software updates for its tablets. iPadOS, released in 2019, was a forked version of iOS which had a few features designed just for iPads, and iPadOS 14, its successor, announced alongside iOS 14 at Apple's WWDC 2020 event, brings even more tweaks that will hopefully improve your iPad experience.
Apple gave an overview of the new operating system during its WWDC keynote, but we often find with Apple software there are more key features it doesn't share the details of straight away, so we'll update this article over time as more information comes to light. Apple has released a device compatibility list, and it's good news for people who liked the original version of iPadOS, as no devices that were able to download that version have been left off this new list, and of course it includes new iPads released in the last year. We don't yet know the iPadOS 14 release date, or even when its beta will drop, but again we'll let you know as soon as Apple shares that info.
Cut to the chase
iPadOS 14 release date and availabilityWe're not sure when iPadOS 14 will drop – while Apple's software is generally unveiled at WWDC, it's usually released later, alongside that year's new iPhones, which this year will be the iPhone 12 range. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has reportedly caused the iPhone 12 release to be pushed back, and we're not sure by how much, so we could see iPadOS 14 released at any point from the eventual iPhone launch date to the end of the year, or perhaps even 2021. An iPadOS 14 beta will likely be released before then though, and it's possible that one will be unveiled after WWDC 2020. This will be a preliminary version of the update that keen users can download to try it out. iPadOS 14 compatibilityApple has officially unveiled its iPadOS 14 compatibility list, and it includes all the devices that were able to get the original iPadOS build, plus the new iPads released since.
iPadOS 14 featuresThe following features are ones Apple has confirmed are coming to iPadOS 14. iPadOS sidebarThe first new feature Apple mentioned for iPadOS 14 is an improvement for its own apps – it used Photos as an example, and mentioned Notes and Files too – which adds a sidebar to improve navigation, in the same way that macOS has a bar at the side of Finder windows which shows all the menus available. If it wasn't already clear that Apple wants iPadOS to feel like a 'Lite' version of macOS, it certainly is now. iPadOS 14 widgetsArguably the biggest new iOS 14 feature is widgets, and this is coming to iPadOS too – and it's possible that these will be even more useful on the larger iPad screens. Widgets let you bring little snapshots of an app's functionality to your home screen –say a music controller for your Spotify music, or blobs that show how much money you've got in your bank account. In iPadOS 13 you could see these to the side of the home screen, but you couldn't move them about to different screens – now you can. Android devices have had these kinds of widgets for over 10 years now, and with Apple bringing them to iPhones and iPads it means there's one less distinction between the operating systems. Widgets you don't assign to your home pages will still stay in the sidebar on the first page though, and a new feature called Smart Stacks can automatically bring up which it thinks will be most useful for you depending on where you are, what time it is and what you're doing at the time. iPadOS 14 SiriAs with iOS 14, Siri is getting an overhaul with iPadOS 14, which includes smarter machine learning for improved results, and compact notifications for incoming calls instead of a total screen takeover. Search has been downsized too, so you don't need to hide the app you're using – a small search bar appears over your app or the home screen without hiding it completely. It's now better at searching your iPad for apps and documents, as well as browsing the web for answers to questions. iPadOS 14 Apple PencilA big Apple Pencil feature coming to iPadOS is that the operating system will convert your handwritten and scrawled notes into actual text, which you can insert into a document or use in an email, for example. This will be hugely useful for people who prefer writing with their hand over typing on a keyboard (or people who simply don’t have a keyboard for their iPad), and it’ll be great for quickly taking notes or turning annotations into actual documents. This works by you simply scribbling with your Apple Pencil over any text box, and the notes will be transformed into text. The same principle applies for shapes, so if you're in a drawing or sketching app the device can 'see' shapes you try to draw, as well as lines, and convert them into more precise shapes to neaten things up. iPadOS 14 features from iOS 14The majority of iPadOS 14's big new features are actually from iOS 14, and while we've mentioned most of the major ones already, we should mention a few more. Apple Maps has been gradually getting a big upgrade through 2020, with more US cites getting improved mapping and street view, and this will also come to cities in the UK and Canada with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. Messages is getting changes so that you can pin conversations, reply to specific messages in group chats and @ people to send specific messages to them in busy group chats. Check out our iOS 14 page for everything else you need to know about that operating system, and to read more about these and other features.
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