Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/12/thursday-morning-news211217/
Apple plans to open its new Federation Square location in 2020. The Fed Square website is calling it a “Global Flagship” store, which I’m presuming means along the same lines as Apple’s other iconic locations, at least those that aren’t contained within shopping malls. Apple’s new two-level building will be replacing an existing building. The debate rages on as to whether this was a good move or not.
TechCrunch has a statement from Apple on the issue of iPhones with older batteries running slower. Apple’s statement says that it has made changes in an attempt to prolong the performance and lifetime of the lithium-ion batteries used in portable devices, which can sometimes result in devices shutting down unexpectedly when demands are made of the battery that it can’t meet. Batteries wear out over time, and Apple says it working to mitigate that issue where possible.
A report from Bloomberg says Apple plans to unify the Mac and iOS platforms starting sometime next year. It’s good news for customers, who will have updates for their Mac and iOS apps hit at the same time, and it’s even better news for developers, who will no longer have to maintain two separate codebases for their Mac and iOS apps. There’s no hard and fast schedule for the change — the smart money seems to be sometime to coincide with the next major Mac and iOS software updates.
Cisco has released a new Security Connector iOS app, to allow organisations to better manage the security of their mobile devices. I’ve read through their website and there’s not much technical information on what the app actually does, even though one of the benefits of the app is listed as “zero negative impact on customer experience”. But hey, they’re using the iPhone X in their marketing material, so it must be good!
9to5Mac has a nice piece on where Apple could be going next with AirPods. Truly wireless earbuds were just the first step, and now, Apple could be poised to enter the world of hearing augmentation with better hearing aids, improving their overall accessibility just like the Apple Watch improves health.
Over at Macworld, Jason Snell says why you should and shouldn’t buy an iMac Pro. I mean, if you want sheer CPU or GPU performance, then by all means, splash out. But if you just want Space Grey accessories, going down to Bunnings and getting some paint might be the better option.
The Mac Observer blows off some steam about Apple and their recent security debacles, pointing out that Apple first released information saying AirPort wireless routers weren’t affected by the Krack vulnerability, then released a firmware update for them 57 days later which fixed the Krack vulnerability.
Tidal now has an Apple TV app, but I doubt this one will be setting any first-day download records.
MacStories tells us about a major update to AutoSleep, which now has auto sleep tracking on the Apple Watch along with a better iOS app experience. I’m still kind of surprised Apple doesn’t offer built-in sleep tracking on the Apple Watch, but maybe that’s something we’ll see next year.