Thursday Morning News

Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/06/thursday-morning-news150617/

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed the company is working on autonomous systems for cars. It probably comes as no surprise to anyone who raised an eyebrow at the amount of machine learning and AI-powered stuff Apple unveiled at WWDC last week, and Cook says self-driving cars is probably the most difficult of AI projects, calling it “the mother of all AI projects”. Cook alludes to not stopping to fill up as being disruptive to the industry, which is what technology seems to be all about, these days.

The teardown of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro reveals a device that has almost an inch more screen real estate diagonally, but is hardly any larger along both dimensions. Internally, the design of the 10.5-inch is more similar to the 12.9-inch than it is the 9.7-inch, with the logic board sitting between two batteries, with all of that surrounded by the speakers and cameras, and everything else packed in behind the display (which now requires four cables to connect it to the logic board).

One link in Apple’s supply chain has confirmed a waterproof with wireless charging design for the next iPhone. While it would have been somewhat strange for Apple to go backwards in terms of water resistance with the upcoming iPhone, Wistron has let slip that this new model will also feature wireless charging, both of which will alter the manufacturing process somewhat.

Another supply chain leak says 3D sensing modules will be making their way to the next iPhone. The list of companies expected to use such 3D sensing chips in upcoming products is very short, with Apple expected to be at the top of the list, but Largan Precision is confident that they will supply up to 90% of Apple’s rear camera lenses, half of its 3D sensing lenses, and up to 30% of the front-facing camera lenses on this year’s iPhone.

An update to iWork across all Apple platforms adds over 500 professionally-drawn shapes for use within Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Collaboration improvements across the board also allow for users to reply to comments and join threaded conversations, and there’s also new options for auto-correction. Besides that, app-specific updates include better view options for tables, as well as specific collaborative improvements in some apps.

Jean-Louise Gasée points out the link between Apple silicon and machine learning, saying that Apple’s current focus on augmented reality, computer vision, and machine learning is likely to put ahead of the competition in much the same way that designing its own silicon has for years.

Apple has updated its App Store policy to allow for in-app purchases as “tips” towards digital content providers. As long as content creators are willing to let Apple take a 30% cut of their tips, apps can now allow users to tip content providers from within the app. TechCrunch has the full story.

OS X Daily reports anyone can install the first iOS 11 developer beta without registering their device against a developer account — provided that you can find a reputable source for the mobile configuration file that allows you device to download the beta in the first place. You should probably still wait until the public beta comes out in a couple of weeks, as there’s no saying Apple could suddenly terminate the account of a developer that has somehow downloaded the iOS 11 beta onto thousands of devices.

If you do happen to have access to the iOS 11 beta, you can setup AirPods with separate controls on each ear. But the cool thing is, the next/previous track controls also work when you re-pair your AirPods with a device running iOS 10.

The Atlantic shares what Apple thought the iPhone was going to look like in 1995. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the concepts kinda remind me of a Newton-esque design.

1 Like