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- Tuesday June 04
- 26 mins agoWWDC AI announcements will spark iPhone 16 upgrade cycle — eventually
Investment bank JP Morgan believes that Apple's combination of AI and privacy will mean a large swathe of users will upgrade to the new iPhone 16 throughout 2025, and that should reassure investors that are worried about the company's future.A Siri icon superimposed on Apple ParkAhead of the WWDC announcements on June 10, 2024, analysts at JP Morgan have told investors to expect Apple to concentrate on AI on-device features. It says that there will be cloud and data-center elements, but Apple will stress the on-device privacy and showcase improvements to existing apps.In a note seen by AppleInsider, the analysts predict that WWDC will be what they call a "tick all the boxes" announcement, that is specifically aimed at showing investors Apple has not fallen behind on AI. They say that investors will look particularly for any deals between Apple and OpenAI or Google, but that regardless of how it's done, Apple's AI implementation will be across all its native apps. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums50 mins agoTicketMaster hack sees personal data of 560M for sale [U: Snowflake statement]
Update: After reports that cloud storage provider Snowflake may have been compromised, the company said there is no evidence of this. Reading between the lines, the attack may have been made via Snowflake, but it appears to have been TicketMaster credentials that were compromised. A TicketMaster hack has been confirmed by the company in an SEC security filing, stating that personal data of its users has been offered for sale on the dark web. The agency has not confirmed the scale of what appears to have been a massive breach … more…54 mins agoChatGPT is down for many; recovery underway; Mac app may be best bet
ChatGPT is down for many, with OpenAI acknowledging on its status page that the chatbot is “unavailable for some users.” The partial outage appears to be global, though recovery does now appear to be in progress, with DownDetector showing a decline in the number of reports … more…56 mins agoSo Apple really made a great iPad Pro feature and just didn’t tell anyone?
Macworld Apple’s obsession with secrecy has struck again but this time in an unusual way. Yes, the company that is only able to sell devices by tricking people with that icky “marketing” that no other company does actually forgot to market a feature! What is this feature? Well, according to developer Guilherme Rambo the M4 iPad Pro is: …the first device to support and use Apple’s new Secure Indicator Light (SIL) mechanism. When using the microphone or camera, the corresponding indicator dot is effectively rendered in hardware (using the display), making it a lot less likely that any malware or user space app would be able to access those sensors without the user’s knowledge. Guilherme Rambo Apple implemented this without fanfare. Or any kind of fare at all. In fact, it implemented it without even mentioning it when the product was rolled out. This is very odd behavior for a company that (according to many) only uses privacy as a marketing tool. You made the privacy, and you forgot to market it? What’s that about? Now, you may be saying to yourself, please, Mr. Macalope, sir. (Why so formal?) Your strawmen do burn oh so very prettily, but spare us your concocted arguments from fabricated Apple foes! But this is not a strawman argument at all! As it turns out, you are the only strawman here, fictional reader who purports not to think anyone says this about Apple. Ironic, right? One entity that suggests privacy is a marketing smokescreen for Apple is a little outfit known as… let’s see here, lemme just pretend to be looking this up… oh, yes! The U.S. Department of Justice. Apple’s emphasis on privacy was brought up multiple times in the DOJ’s suit against the company. The DOJ suggested that by not allowing third-party app stores, the company was reducing privacy options by not allowing a more privacy-focused store to set up shop on iOS. Yeaaah. Because that’s gonna happen. The horny one is sure there’s a long line of privacy-focused would-be app store overlords out there. It’s definitely not outfits like Meta that have tried for years to slip various privacy-hoovering apps into the App Store. Nope. Nuh-uh. The DOJ argued: By contrast, Apple allows certain enterprise and public sector customers to offer versions of app stores with more curated apps to better protect privacy and security. U.S. Department of Justice Like much of the DOJ’s filing, this is a poor explanation of the situation. These enterprise app stores are for employees and are designed to protect the privacy and security of the entity running the store, not the end user. In fact, many of them, because they’re run by companies that want to spy on their employees (or, to be fair, have to if they’re regulated industries) are absolutely terrible for privacy. The only privacy argument the DOJ makes that actually makes sense is that Apple degrades privacy by making Google the default search engine. And Apple does do it because Google pays them a ridiculous amount of money to do it, but most people were probably going to use Google anyway. (Still, they should stop.) IDG IDG IDG There are many good reasons to force Apple to loosen restrictions on the App Store. So many, really. Privacy isn’t in the top 20. Privacy doesn’t even know the items in the top 20. It never gets invited to their parties. Does Apple use privacy to market its products? Of course it does. It does so because privacy is an advantage of its products. These are not mutually exclusive things. But you can also make a pretty good case based on the above that privacy is so engrained at Apple that it defaults to that (unless someone wants to give them billions of dollars a year to kind of forget it for a bit). Is it perfect? No. But it’s still better than pretty much anyone else. iOS, iPad1 hour ago5 reasons why I prefer Sonos Ace to AirPods Max (but you shouldn’t buy them)
Macworld Sonos has been a beloved brand for years, especially among Apple fans. It’s easy to see why: from the slick product design to the thoughtful eco-friendly packaging, Sonos offers a very Apple-like experience. Their home speakers and sound bars have a very “it just works” quality that may not satisfy the kind of audio nerds that demand extreme control via a big ‘ol receiver, but for everyone else simply looks and sounds great. One audio area Sonos hasn’t even attempted, in almost 20 years on the market, is headphones. Sonos Ace changes all that. The first headphones from the Sonos brand, the Ace are direct competitors to the likes of AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Sony WH-1000XM5, et al. In other words, they’re over-the-ear wireless headphones with active noise cancelling and a transparency mode and are priced on the “premium” end of the market at $449. I’ve been using them for a couple of weeks now and if I’m honest, I’d reach for these over my AirPods Max any day, despite not having the tight integration that Apple-brand products enjoy (there’s no hands-free “Hey Siri” support, for example–you have to press a button to invoke Siri). There are a number of things Sonos gets right that Apple could learn from. And despite this, I can’t recommend anyone buy them just yet. If you’re intrigued by Sonos Ace, you might want to wait a few months. Sonos Ace Price When Reviewed: $449 Best Prices Today: $449 at Sonos | Not Available at Adorama | Not Available at Best Buy Better fit and comfort AirPods Max are comfortable in many ways, but they don’t quite fit my head. This isn’t uncommon—I have a small head, and the smallest size setting for many over-ear headphones is just a tiny bit too big to fit comfortably. AirPods Max are like that, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are not. And neither are the Sonos Ace. At the smallest settings, they fit just right. But there’s a weight issue, too. AirPods Max weighs 385 grams, way more than something like those Sony XM5s (250g). Sonos’ are heavy as well at 312 grams, due in part to the steel bars in the headband and overall sturdy construction. The top headband is soft and flexible, the removable earcups are soft and plush. They simply feel comfortable and steady on your head even during long listening sessions. It would definitely be nice if they shed a few grams more, but I would much rather wear these for a few hours than AirPods Max. A better TV streaming solution If you use an Apple TV, you can switch the audio over to your AirPods Max (if you’re on the same Apple ID) by opening the Apple TV control center and changing the audio output. It works pretty well, and it’s very convenient. Unless you want to listen to something that is not coming from your Apple TV. If you’re streaming video through your smart TV, or playing a console game, that AirPods Max integration won’t do anything for you. It’s going to be super annoying to some Sonos users that the Sonos Ace are not Wi-Fi connected like all other Sonos speakers. You can’t just join into any Sonos speaker group and directly stream from audio sources that you’ve linked to in the Sonos app. These are Bluetooth only (to extend battery life), so they have to stream audio from a linked source like your iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. The Sonos soundbar/headphone handoff feature is excellent, even though it only works with their most expensive soundbar right now. The Sonos soundbar/headphone handoff feature is excellent, even though it only works with their most expensive soundbar right now.Sonos The Sonos soundbar/headphone handoff feature is excellent, even though it only works with their most expensive soundbar right now.Sonos Sonos However, they can pull off a pretty neat trick where you can link them to a Sonos soundbar, and then with a long press of the “content button” on the right earpiece swap audio from the soundbar to your headphones. It happens quickly, it’s reliable, it passes through Dolby Atmos for spatial audio, and the latency is low enough to be a viable solution for gaming. Right now it’s only compatible with the Sonos Arc soundbar (others are coming in a software update soon) but it works with everything because it’s the sound that your soundbar would play. I really like switching with just a press-and-hold of the content button, too. Apple should make the AirPods Max’s Digital Crown work that way. Multi-point Bluetooth AirPods Max pair with one device at a time, but they also support Apple’s fast-switching wherein they will be paired automatically with other Apple stuff that uses your same Apple ID, so you can quickly switch to them. Sonos Ace supports dual Bluetooth connections, so you can be simultaneously connected to Bluetooth sources (not just Apple products) and quickly switch between them. It’s essentially the same idea, only more flexible. They work great over the USB-C connection, too. Just plug in and you’re good to go. You can even plug the USB-C into your PS5 DualSense controller and they’ll work as a gaming headset straight away, and you can still use noise canceling and such. You can turn them off! You can’t turn off AirPods Max. There’s no manual way to do it. They just use some combination of the on-ear sensors and accelerometer to determine if you’re not using them, and eventually time out. Look, a power button! It feels so silly to count that as a “feature” but the AirPods Max don’t have one. Look, a power button! It feels so silly to count that as a “feature” but the AirPods Max don’t have one.Foundry Look, a power button! It feels so silly to count that as a “feature” but the AirPods Max don’t have one.Foundry Foundry The Sonos Ace will eventually power themselves off as well, but there’s a power button that you press and hold for a couple of seconds to turn on or off. Yes, pretty much every pair of headphones has a power button. Sonos’ entry in the space is not unique, Apple’s are, but it’s worth pointing out what a pain the butt it can be not to have any sort of manual power button. They sound great Bose and Sony have sort of caught up to Apple on noise reduction, and the Sonos Ace is right up there as well. They do an amazing job of reducing repetitive noise like traffic, air conditioners, airplane noise, etc. The transparency mode (Sonos calls it Aware Mode) is maybe tied for the best I’ve ever heard. Until now, nobody has been able to match the natural sound of AirPods Max’s transparency mode, and Sonos may have done it. For other audio, it’s sort of a tie with AirPods Max, and whether you like these better than the comparable headsets from Apple, Sony, or Bose is more a matter of personal taste than technical excellence. I find the high end just a touch thin by default on the Ace, a bumping Treble up a notch or two on the (really anemic) EQ in the Sonos software fixes that right away. Microphone quality and noise reduction during calls are similarly great. In general, it’s safe to say you don’t lose anything in sound quality with Sonos Ace over AirPods Max, and with support for lossless audio over USB (or when connected to the right Android device with apt-X Lossless) they might even be a little better. But don’t buy a pair yet There are a few little things that could be improved on the Sonos Ace. The case feels kind of cheap for a high-priced pair of headphones, for instance. It hardly seems worth focusing on that when AirPods Max have a case that’s worse than useless. But on balance, even at $449 I would rather use these than the $549 AirPods Max. Even with the AirPods Max seemingly perpetually available at a discount…I’d use the Sonos Ace at the same price any day. They sound just as good, are more comfortable, and have more flexible connectivity options. And a power button. Sonos Ace are great—but the app leaves much to be desired. Sonos Ace are great—but the app leaves much to be desired.Sonos Sonos Ace are great—but the app leaves much to be desired.Sonos Sonos But Sonos dropped a huge update to its all-important app recently and it has been a bit of a scandal. It’s a totally new architecture under the hood and a new interface, and while it certainly looks better and more modern, the Sonos users are not happy about it. It’s missing a lot of features the old app had and it’s riddled with bugs. It took me two hours of troubleshooting to add a Sonos Arc soundbar after having previously set up the Sonos Arc headphones. There’s no queue or playing next in the music playback interface. The sleep timer is gone. Playing back local music is missing. Sonos has already pushed out a software update to address some bugs and shortcomings and has a public roadmap for when we can expect the return of other features. If your only Sonos product is to be the Sonos Ace, some of these won’t be an issue for you. If you already have Sonos speakers or plan to get them, the app is a buggy and feature-stripped nightmare right now. Yes, Sonos Ace cost more than the latest from Bose or Sony, but they’re cheaper than AirPods Max by $100. Even with AirPods Max seemingly always on sale somewhere, they may cost you less. If you plan to use your headphones entirely and exclusively with Apple products forever, maybe the convenience of AirPods Max makes them a better choice for you (still, wait for a potential AirPods Max 2 later this year). If you ever want to connect them to anything else, or if you have or want to get a Sonos sound bar, you’ll probably like Sonos Ace better and pay less. My advice is to wait a few months and look for the Sonos Ace to go on sale. Give it a slightly better price and a few months of app updates and the Sonos Ace will be a real winner. Headphones, Mobile Phone Accessories1 hour agoNetflix is finally killing off support for 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs
It's probably time to get rid of that thin second or third-generation Apple TV set-top box, as even Netflix is abandoning the older gear.Apple TV second and third generationIn an email to customers, Netflix has warning users of old Apple TVs that their days of using the service on the decade-old hardware is coming to an end. In the email, the company says that it is sun-setting support for them on July 31, 2024.It says that it is doing this to "maintain the best possible Netflix experience." It's not clear why the device is getting axed, other than age. Codec support may be an issue as well. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums1 hour agoLeaked documents hint at Apple Vision Pro launch within France in late June
If you’re living in France, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to get your hands on an Apple Vision Pro when it launches in the country on June 29. A series of leaked internal documents has indicated that the wearable device may launch within the country in late June. At present, there have yet […] Source10:00 amRumor: Apple “unlikely” to launch a foldable iPhone prior to 2027
Per a TrendForce report released in June, a foldable iPhone being released in 2026 seems “unlikely.” The company, which monitors and forecasts demand for components, says that 2027 is the earliest date Apple is likely to launch a folding iPhone … While reports of a foldable iPhone have dated back for many years, and the […] Source08:15 amFrom A to Ultra: How the M3 stacks up to every other Apple processor
Macworld At the heart of every Apple device is an Apple processor. Apple has been using its own chips in its iPhones and iPads for some time, while the Mac lineup has completed its transition away from Intel chips. Every product Apple makes is powered by a home-grown chip. What’s remarkable about Apple silicon is its performance and power efficiency. But all chips aren’t created equally. Understanding the performance differences between each chip will help with your buying decisions, especially when you’re deciding between iPhone 14 or MacBook models. Knowing how each chip performs gives you a better idea of what products to buy and whether or not it’s worth your money to step up to a higher model. Let’s take a look at how the new processors compare with the rest of the processors in the iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineup and see how each performs and what that means to you. For the sake of consistency, we’ve used Geekbench 6.1 benchmarks. Here’s every chip and how the benchmarks compare with each other. Update 6/3/24: Added benchmarks for the M4 chips in the new iPad Pro and the M2 9-core GPU in the new iPad Air. Every current processor compared08:00 amGather all your free streaming in one place with $120 off this platform
Macworld There’s a bewildering number of places to find TV, movies, songs, and more, but what they have and where they have it can be frustratingly opaque. The BitMar app offers clarity with a unified search engine that crawls all the services for the content you’re looking for. Built on the same search technology that drives Bing, and enjoying a 4.1- out of five-star rating on Google Play, BitMar is a carefully optimized search tool that brings a wide range of disparate services into one place so you can browse through them. Just search as normal, and it will take you to the content you’re looking for. Instead of crawling through websites, searching through multiple services, or looking for a questionable copy, you can settle in and watch. Fully compatible with all major mobile and desktop platforms, BitMar can be used on tablets, gaming consoles, laptops, smart TVs, and other platforms where you’re looking for streaming. There’s also a web app available, so you can always have it handy. Always have something to watch with BitMar’s powerful media search tools for $29.99, $120 off the $150 MSRP. BitMar All-in-One Streaming Platform: Lifetime Subscription – $29.99 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Accessories03:52 amHow to use the Reader Mode in Safari on iPad
Whether it be ads or shoddy formatting, some web pages might not be that easy to decipher. Thankfully, there is a solution built right into Safari on your iPad.Reader Mode in Safari can help to simplify your reading experience.Whatever your reasons may be, something about a website just may not jibe with your eyes, and that is precisely where Reader Mode on Safari comes in. Reader Mode makes getting past this issue a breeze and makes reading articles on your iPad much more pleasant. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums12:28 amApple releases revised iPadOS 17.5.1 build for 10th gen iPad
It’s been two weeks since Apple released iOS 17.5.1 and iPadOS 17.5.1 to fix a specific problem that caused deleted photos to reappear in the user’s photo library. For some reason, Apple on Monday released a revised build of iPadOS 17.5.1 for the . more…Monday June 0311:11 pmInstantly analyze more than 30,000 stocks with this easy-to-use app
Not every stock delivers like AAPL or NVDA. Use the Tykr stock screener to quickly and easily weigh investments and make money the smart way. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)10:18 pmKini Motion Detector Adds Email Notifications and Previews Stasis Mode
The Kini motion detectors can now alert you to motion using email instead of or in addition to SMS, making them usable by those outside North America and opening up automation options. Kinisium is also testing a Stasis Mode that alerts you when a Kini hasn’t moved as anticipated.10:00 pmHow to create a great iPhone contact poster
Contact posters in iOS 17 let you customize how your contact card looks to other people when you call them from your iPhone. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)09:39 pm‘Silo’ star Rebecca Ferguson offers promising update on season 2 on Apple TV+
"Silo" is the story of the last ten thousand people on earth, their mile-deep home protecting them from the toxic and deadly world outside… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.09:01 pmApple tops Goldman Sachs’ ‘underweight’ basket
Goldman Sachs is out with its regular breakdown of holdings in hedge funds and mutual funds. Five stocks overlap with Goldman's… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.08:48 pmSeriously, you can nab a new HomePod 2 for $175
Don't dally, get right on this great deal on HomePod 2 at Verizon -- $175 for one (normally $300), or $350 for two (normally $600). (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)08:29 pmApple releases three new ads: ‘There’s nothing like Mac’
Apple released three new YouTube videos on Monday showcasing the power of Apple silicon in Macs, specifically focusing on their… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.08:25 pmCarpenter uses AirTag to locate huge trove of stolen tools
A Virginia carpenter recovered stolen construction tools with the help of an Apple AirTag. And apparently tools belonging to thousands of others, too. (via Cult of Mac - Apple news, rumors, reviews and how-tos)