Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2017/01/tuesday-morning-news240117/
As the wireless charging rumours ramps up, we get a lot of speculation about the nature of Apple’s wireless charging specs. One such rumour claims Apple could be using their own wireless charging tech, contrary to claims Apple had partnered with Energous to use theirs. Inductive charging patents from Apple number more than a dozen, so it’s entirely possible Apple has developed wireless charging tech of its own, and that the Apple Watch was only a preview.
It’s Tuesday, so you know what that means: time to update all the things. The release of macOS 10.12.3 fixes issues that do with graphics issues on the new MacBook Pros, particularly the 15-inch model which suffered from graphical anomalies during extended use sessions. Apple also resolved the Safari icon-fetching issue that initially led Consumer Reports to not recommend the new MacBook Pro based on battery life inconsistencies.
On the iOS side of the fence, iOS 10.2.1 is also out. There’s only minor changes here, likely more of the same bug fixes and performance improvements given that iOS 10.2 added new emoji, wallpapers, and the TV app for residents of the US.
Similar maintenance updates were also released for the watchOS and tvOS platforms, with the version numbers going to watchOS 3.1.3 and tvOS 10.1.1, respectively.
Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is considering a $7 billion investment in a display manufacturing facility. But the difference here is that Foxconn’s proposed factory would be based in the US, which would create between 30,000 and 50,000 jobs. Foxconn are also investigating other manufacturing facilities within the US.
Concept art of the next iPhone has emerged, and given that we know nothing about this year’s iPhone, it looks pretty OK. It’s similar to the iPhone 4 design in that there’s two pieces of glass sandwiching a stainless steel band, but flattened out due to the larger screen size of the current iPhone form factor.
Apple has submitted a mysterious “wireless device” to the US FCC for approval. The Apple model number corresponds to no known Apple product, there’s no product images, but what we do know is that there’s two slightly curved edges and two screws. Not a lot to go on, I know.
The recent update to Logic Pro X brings the ability to sync sessions to GarageBand for iOS using iCloud. The feature essentially allows you to send whatever you’re working on to your iPhone or iPad, and there’s even something to get it back into Logic Pro X. 9to5Mac has a run down on how it all works.
Back when the Apple Watch launched, Apple opened a number of pop-up stores in fashion-centric areas to help foster adoption of the company’s first wearable. Now, there’s just one Apple Watch pop-up shop in Tokyo, with the closure of the pop-up in Paris.
Stephen Hackett gives us the video introduction to the PowerMac G4 Cube, one of the most distinctive Macs ever sold.