Originally published at: https://appletalk.com.au/2018/08/tuesday-morning-news280818/
Over in the US, Apple introduced a new program a couple of days ago where it would be donating $1 from every purchase made with Apple Pay at any Apple Store, the website, or through the Apple Store app to the US National Parks Foundation from August 24 to August 31. And then on September 1st, Apple Watch owners worldwide who complete a workout of 50 minutes or more will earn an Activity app award and a sticker pack for Messages inspired by national parks, as part of Apple’s efforts on encouraging national park upkeep and education to the newer generation.
With a number of new iPhones set to be introduced this year, all with edge-to-edge displays, questions abound regarding what the devices will be called. A reference to “iPhone xx” has been discovered in the beta of Xcode 10, which is more than likely a placeholder rather than the official marketing name, unless Apple are secretly fans of English band The xx.
The latest rumours from Ming-Chi Kuo surrounding new iPhones claims we won’t see Apple Pencil support this year, despite rumours which originally claimed this year’s iPhones may be the first to support Apple’s stylus accessory. Kuo cites “no good user experience” as the reason for the lack of Apple Pencil support, which suggests that Apple still has a number of issues to work out before allowing iPhones to work with the Apple Pencil. Kuo also says that while the 5.8 and 6.5-inch iPhones are expected to be released on time, the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone may not be available until a few weeks later.
Someone’s been keeping a close eye on Apple Watch band availability, and recently discovered that Apple had removed 14 bands from sale, likely as part of an upcoming seasonal refresh which will introduce a new range of colour combos. Meanwhile, AppleInsider tells us about all the rumours of the Apple Watch Series 4 that we’ve heard so far, including possible new display tech and a larger screen via thinner bezels in the same body.
Apple released the eleventh developer beta of iOS 12 earlier this morning, with the ninth public beta being released alongside it. There’s also the ninth developer beta of macOS Mojave and tvOS 12, although only tvOS gets the public beta release as of writing.
Although Apple announced plans to acquire Shazam back in December last year, the acquisition has yet to be completed due to an investigation by European Commission antitrust regulators due to the potential of Apple acquiring data that would allow it to target its competitor’s customers. Now, Reuters is reporting the same antitrust regulators are set to approve the acqusition with no conditions, although with some kind of music identifying service already included with iOS, I’m wondering why this Shazam acquisition is seen as a strategic move for Apple in the first place.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has donated 23,000 Apple shares to an undisclosed charity, at a total worth of around US $5 million. 9to5Mac points out a 2015 interview with Cook who said at the time he planned to donate the entirety of his wealth via a systematic approach to giving, and it certainly seems like that’s what he’s doing.
FiftyThree, better known as the developers of popular canvassing app Paper and Paste, say they’re joining WeTransfer. Both Paper and Paste will be part of the acquisition by WeTransfer, which started life as a file-transferring service aimed at creatives. FiftyThree says nothing is changing for both Paper and Paste, which will continue to have the same teams working on the apps.
TwelveSouth’s PlugBug Duo improves on the original by giving you another USB port to charge your accessories as well as your Mac laptop from a single wall outlet. It’s a great accessory if you travel frequently and find yourself needing to charge multiple things from a single wall outlet, and its wide compatibility with every MagSafe, MagSafe 2, and USB power adapter charging brick means you’ll be able to use it with whatever charger you already have.
The Verge writes that $1,000 phones have become entirely normal in less than a year, with a number of other manufacturers now offering devices at the premium price point, but in Australia, smartphone prices have been well over $100 for years now. Even the 256GB iPhone X comes in at over $1,800, which is truly crazy territory.