Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/02/friday-morning-news240217/
In case you were thinking Apple wasn’t working on wireless charging for the next iPhone, Reuters claims that Apple has at least five different groups working on wireless charging technology. It remains unclear whether Apple will be adopting existing inductive wireless charging tech, like the Apple Watch, or a long-range wireless charging solution.
It’s this same article from Reuters that also says Apple’s iPhone innovations are driven by marketing needs, rather than innovation for the purpose of pushing tech forward. While they can sometimes be the same thing, you’d think that there would have to be cases where a feature wasn’t included in a previous or future version of the iPhone because it didn’t “market well”.
Apple has spoken out against the reversal of transgender rights of students in public schools. Under the old guidelines, schools were allowed to have transgender students use the bathrooms that reflected their gender identity, with the Trump administration rejecting the previous guidance, providing the reason that the previous advice was given without regarding the schools’ role in establishing educational policy. I’m not even sure what that means.
Apple is expanding their presence in Seattle. Apple’s Seattle offices will be focused on AI and machine learning, and will also be strengthening their ties to the University of Washington to support talent in those areas.
Acoustic imaging tech sounds pretty futuristic, and the Apple patent on the technology seems similarly jargon-filled. But at the heart of it, Touch ID may find itself included in a future iPhone in another form, one that doesn’t require a special sensor in a particular place.
Colorware is now offering custom painted versions of Apple’s AirPods. They’re currently sold out no doubt to the still backordered status of Apple’s wireless earbuds, but being able to customise each individual AirPod as well as the charging case is pretty cool. One of these days I’ll have to get a custom-coloured Apple device, because it just looks so cool.
Google is bringing support for the MacBook Pro Touch Bar to Chrome. Starting with the Canary/developer build of Chrome, Touch Bar support in Chrome will allow users to navigate back and forward, refresh, and focus the location bar.
Moment is a simple video recording app that only lets you keep the last 5 or 10 seconds of video, no matter how long you record for. It’s supposed to be so you never run out of storage when looking for that special moment, but only want to keep the last 5 or 10 seconds of whatever you recorded.
If you’ve wanted a truly black dock to go with your blank home screen icons and black folders, you’ve come to the right place. Unfortunately, an issue with newer iPhones and iOS 10.2+ means it won’t have the same kind of effect on those devices, but otherwise it’s pretty convincing.
Wrapping up the news for the another week, Stephen Hacketts tells us about his favourite Apple displays. I know people that still have the monstrous 30-inch Apple Cinema Display, which is still going strong all these years later.