Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/09/monday-morning-news040917/
Up until now, the Apple rumour-sphere had settled on the “iPhone 8” as the name for the borderless iPhone with OLED display. Now, 9to5Mac claims multiple case vendors are updating their nomenclature for something a little different, saying that the normal S-revisions will now be called the iPhone 8, with iPhone Edition going to the borderless OLED model. Apple’s iPhone event is just over a week away, so we’ll find out for sure then.
While new iPhones will undoubtedly be the focus of Apple’s event, there are a few other products and services that in need of a little air time, too. Macworld’s Dan Moren wants to hear about AirPlay 2 for the Apple HomePod, person-to-person payments within Apple Pay, and perhaps even Apple Pencil support on the iPhone.
Multiple reports say that without a physical home button (clicky or otherwise), Apple will be moving Siri activation to the sleep/wake button. It’s great that Apple are still prioritising a non-verbal method of activating Siri, but I feel as though it just adding to yet another thing that the sleep/wake button can do. How will Apple decide whether your long press is because you want to power down the device, or activate Siri?
Men’s Health talked to Jay Blahnik, Apple’s director of health and fitness technologies in an interview that explores Apple’s health and fitness lab. Blahnik boasts that Apple’s lab has collected more data on activity and exercise than any other human performance study in history, with over 30,000 sessions logged in the past five years, equating to 66,000 hours of data from more than 10,000 participants. Apple’s performance lab might not be secret any longer, but it’s still impressive.
An update to Apple’s leadership page confirms Siri responsibility has moved from Eddy Cue to Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering. If I had to speculate, it’s probably because more of Siri is becoming related to AI, and AI seems more appropriately placed under a software engineering banner than it is under software and services.
There are minor differences between the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and its larger sibling the 12.9-inch, most notable of which will be the fact that apps work differently in multitasking compared to the 12.9-inch model. The rest of the differences are much more subtle, as explained by Jason Snell of Six Colors.
Apple has released a beta version of their human interface guidelines for augmented reality. With devices being used in new and innovative ways with AR, Apple’s guidelines on how the end-user experience should look and feel when blending virtual objects with the real world will hopefully lead to immersive experiences that are easy to grasp.
The sixth-generation iPod nano has officially entered obsolete status, with Apple no longer offering parts of service for the original iPod that was the first to spawn a whole bunch of watch-strap like accessories, despite Apple’s intention for it to be clipped onto clothing.
Apple released the ninth developer beta of macOS High Sierra over the weekend, following similar beta releases of iOS 11 and tvOS 11. With the official release expected by the end of the month, Apple’s tightening all the screws.
Business Insider tells us about Apple’s Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide for determining whether a device is eligible for warranty repairs, out-of-warranty coverage, or is ineligible for service altogether. It’s mostly pretty basic stuff, but there are exceptions to the rules.