Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2018/06/thursday-morning-news280618/
MacRumors has the latest research note from Ming-Chi Kuo about Apple’s product roadmap for the end of this year and well into 2019. A quick skim says it’s nothing you haven’t heard before, with new iPads, a MacBook Air, and Apple Watch all expected to be released this year, alongside the three new iPhones that the Apple rumours have been discussing for months now. There’s also some great new updates on the horizon for Apple products in 2019, but we’ll have to wait a few months to see what those will be.
Announced back in March, Apple has now made its free Classwork app available to teachers and educational institutions. It’s designed for managing student assignments and allowing teachers to leverage apps for learning, with students also able to stay organised and keep on top of their assignments and tasks assigned by teachers.
An iPad Pro concept imagines a model with thinner bezels and Face ID. Putting aside the fact it introduces yet another display size for the iPad (which, if it were true, we may have heard rumours from case manufacturers about by now), the concept looks close to what would happen if you tried to put an edge-to-edge display into the iPad — although it gets close, bezels on the iPad are still important because you can’t cradle it in your hands like your can an iPhone.
Variety reports popular science video creator Mark Rober has been quietly working for Apple as part of its special projects group. In between spectacular science stunts, Rober has been contributing to Apple’s VR projects, focusing on VR as on-board entertainment for self-driving cars. While it’d be great to have a massive display in your car, recent events say the self-driving tech is quite there yet.
Apple News will soon have a news section for the 2018 Midterm Elections in the US, giving users an easy way to follow reporting on key issues from trusted sources as curated by Apple News editors. Increased curation isn’t just happening on Apple News, though, with the App Stores already getting edited collections of apps and the stories around them, leading MacStories to say that Apple is building a media platform across as many services as it can.
In an effort to sidestep the high cost of importing devices into India, Apple has started building the iPhone 6S in-country, just like it did with the iPhone SE. While there’s obviously a cost associated with starting up manufacturing facilities in the country, the framework is likely already there thanks to the iPhone SE, which Apple hopes will allow it to better compete on price locally.
There are a great many new features in macOS Mojave, and Macworld explains dynamic desktop as a changing desktop wallpaper that’s designed to give you a better idea of the passage of time. Not to get all existential on you or anything, but you could always, you know, look at a clock to get a similar sort of thing.
Apple has updated its iTunes Remote app, bringing iPhone X support to the app and giving it a facelift while they were at it. The redesigned interface is surprising, given that iTunes Remote now co-exists with the Apple TV Remote app, but it’s a welcome change for those of us that still liked controlling what’s playing on their Mac from an iPhone.
Logitech and Zagg have released new iPad keyboard cases. Logitech’s Slim Combo and Slim Folio keyboards now support the sixth-generation iPad, while on the Zagg side of the fence, the Nomad Book supports all iPad models across four different viewing modes, and a Messenger Folio that only works with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. All Logitech’s and Zagg’s offerings include storage for the Apple Pencil, now that it works on more than just iPad Pros.
Samsung and Apple have finally settled their patent battle over the iPhone dating back to 2011. $539 million was the final figure handed down to Samsung, who then filed for appeal, but it seems the two have reached an agreement, the terms of which haven’t been disclosed. The monetary value isn’t all that important for either company, but we’re calling this one a win for Apple anyway.