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- Wednesday May 29
- 12:00 pmGoogle Joins AI Laptop Party With Chromebook Plus
Google is joining the AI laptop party by integrating new smart features into its new generation of Chromebook Plus computers. The new features include "Help Me Write," AI-generated videoconferencing backgrounds, Magic Editor for photos, and direct access to Google's gen AI agent Gemini directly from a Chromebook's home screen. The post appeared first on TechNewsWorld.11:42 amApple Store TRX – a spectacular tiered pyramid – opens in Malaysia on June 22
The Apple Store TRX, the company’s first ever retail store in Malaysia, has been one of the worst-kept secrets in Kuala Lumpur – but is now finally official. Apple has revealed that the store opens at 10am on June 22, and is offering wallpaper to celebrate the funky design … more…11:29 amThe Apple Watch Ultra 2 is $85 Off
Get your hands on an Apple Watch Ultra 2 at a discounted price. Today, the second generation Apple Watch Ultra GPS+Cellular 49mm model is down to just $714 from its original price of $799 on Amazon. The series 2 Apple Watch Ultra is the high-end version of the lineup, able to provide information and fitness […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:27 amUnreleased game ‘Stacker’ shown in iPod prototype
A YouTube video revealed that Apple developed a Tetris-like game on the iPod titled ‘Stacker’. The video, which is around 12 minutes in length, discusses the iPod 3rd Generation prototype and a game that was never released. AppleDemoYT is a channel that specializes in rare prototype devices, with the iPod 3rd generation being the focus […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:24 amNew Beats Pill appears in Taiwan NCC
Apple’s new model of the Pill Beats speaker has been approved. The new Beats Pill speaker found in the FCC database of the United States has also been found on the National Communications Commission website of Taiwan. Bearing the A3211 model number, it corresponds with the specifications seen in the FCC listing. Having a certification […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:23 amApple to refresh macOS 15 system settings
A macOS 15 update is set to make its debut at the June WDDC, whereas Apple will change the app’s UIs and menu. It’s been reported that the system settings will get one of its biggest updates, since its previous one from the macOS Ventura. The System Preference app was renamed to System Settings in […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:17 amFirst hybrid Porsche 911 seemingly won’t offer next-gen CarPlay despite ‘deep integration’ | 9 to 5 MacFirst hybrid Porsche 911 seemingly won’t offer next-gen CarPlay despite ‘deep integration’
Plans for the rollout of the next-gen CarPlay don’t seem to be going too well. Despite Porsche being announced as one of the first companies in line to support it, the company has implied that its first hybrid Porsche 911 won’t include it. The German sports car maker says that the $164k 2025 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS will see CarPlay “integrated more deeply into the vehicle,” but went on to imply that this doesn’t mean it will be the next-generation experience Apple first announced almost two years ago … more…11:15 amLogitech Wave Keys review: A nod to vintage Apple keyboards with a modern twist
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsMechanical keys with long-strokeErgonomic layoutConsLots of plasticFor 10-finger systemOur VerdictThe Logitech Wave Keys is a good keyboard with a generous stroke and familiar clicking sounds. The keyboard connects easily to the Mac via Bluetooth and has a whole range of additional function keys as well as additional labeling on the number keys. The padded tray relieves strain on the wrists when typing. The keyboard uses AAA and does a good job of using power efficiently. Price When Reviewed$59.99 Best Prices Today: Logitech Wave Keys Retailer Price $59.99 View Deal $59.99 View Deal Logitech $59.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Apple’s current keyboards are known for one thing: they’re flat, whether it’s a keyboard on the MacBook or an external Magic Keyboard for a Mac or an iPad. But long before the current Magic Keyboard, Apple’s keyboards had a more traditional, classic keyboard design. Those old Apple keyboards have almost achieved cult status–the devices were almost indestructible. Logitech’s approach with its Wave Keys keyboard harkens back to those old Apple keyboards: mechanical keys with a deep stroke and a characteristic clack. Apart from the ergonomic wrist rest at the lower end, typing feels just like typing on the classic Apple keyboard. But Logitech goes a little further: the keyboard is shaped according to hand position and finger length. The rows of keys follow a wave pattern, which is designed to make typing with the index and little fingers easier. The keys directly in the center and at the outer ends are slightly raised so that your fingers do not have to stretch as far for each key. Logitech Wave Keys setup When I took the Wave Keys out of its packaging, I was initially confused as we didn’t find an activation button on the underside. The activation controller is located on the back directly below the “Logi” logo. If this is pushed to the right, the Bluetooth module is switched on. On the Mac, you can then connect the keyboard via the Bluetooth settings. Alternatively, you can also set up the keyboard using the supplied Logi Bolt USB Receiver, but it is a USB-A device. If your Mac has only USB-C, you need an adapter, which is not included. The keyboard uses AAA and does a good job of using power efficiently. Logitech Wave Keys switch-on controller Logitech Wave Keys switch-on controller Halyna Kubiv Logitech Wave Keys switch-on controller Halyna Kubiv Halyna Kubiv The practical experience Switching from a standard Mac keyboard to a mechanical keyboard like the Wave Keys was a little difficult, especially if you’ve been using Apple keyboards almost exclusively for several years. But anyone who hates Apple keyboards and misses scissor mechanisms will love the Wave Keys. The stroke is very similar, as are the feel and acoustic feedback of the keys. The Wave Keys also has several keys specially for Windows users, including a screenshot and emoji key. Additional special characters such as the “Euro” and “@” signs are also included on the keyboard. You also don’t have to do without square brackets or curly brackets on the corresponding keys–you just need to know which additional key (option key) to press. The Wave keyboard is perfect for people with a perfect command of the 10-finger typing method. If you have to look at the keys and reach over to other keys with your hands, the curved design will occasionally get in the way. Should you buy the Logitech Wave Keys? The Logitech Wave Keys is a good keyboard with a generous stroke and familiar clicking sounds. The padded tray relieves strain on the wrists when typing. If you don’t like the feel of Apple keyboards, the Wave Keys could be a good choice. Computer Accessories, Keyboards, Mac11:05 amThe iPad Pro with M4 is $50 Off
Now is the time to act if you want to experience the OLED-equipped iPad Pro. Today, the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro Wi-Fi 256GB model is down to just $949 from its original price of $1,000 on Amazon. Perhaps the biggest improvement in the iPad Pro line is the OLED screen, marketed as an ‘Ultra Retina […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:02 amiPhone 14 models appear in refurbished store
Apple is now selling the iPhone 14 lineup on Apple.com. Refurbished iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 14 have appeared on the official refurbished list on Apple’s online store. The prior-generation iPhone is now at a discounted price since it launched in 2022. The price for the iPhone 14 […] The post appeared first on iLounge.11:00 amiFixit releases iPad Air Teardown video
The well-known website iFixit shared a teardown video of the newly released iPad Air to give us a look inside the new Apple Device. The iPad Air did not undergo many changes internally compared to the last model of the iPad Air and the battery cells remain to have an adhesive pull tab. iFixit rated […] The post appeared first on iLounge.10:58 amiPad mini with OLED due in 2026, as per report
Apples Plans for the iPad Mini and iPad Air are now broadly spread. Apple has ordered from its provider for OLED display panels that are designed for their future iPad mini models. Since last month, Samsung Display started working on 8-inch sample OLED panels for the new iPad mini and intends to launch mass production […] The post appeared first on iLounge.10:47 amSupport for more smart home accessories arriving in iOS 17.6
Apple looks to support several new smart home accessories with the upcoming iOS 17.6 update, according to a public code repository.Apple's Home app is about to be more powerfulThe revelation comes by way of the implementation source code for Matter, an Apple-backed smart home standard. Matter is also open source, hence its public-facing code repository.Recently, there have been a number of new changes referencing new features coming to unannounced versions of Apple's platforms. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums10:39 amTikTok ban: Fast-track appeal granted as company sues US government [U]
Update: A US court has fast-tracked the appeal, which will be heard in September. TikTok owner Bytedance has just three weeks to file its arguments for the ban to be overturned. Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, is suing the US government, arguing that the threatened ban is unconstitutional. The company had previously said it would do so, though it had been unclear whether it would follow through. The company is fighting a law which forces it to either sell the app to an American company, or be banned from operating in the US … more…10:30 amApple’s invisible breakthroughs are just as beautiful as the ones you can see
Macworld Technology improvements are a bit like going to a movie or a magic show: you want to be wowed, but it works best when you don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes. You don’t want to know about the trapdoor, or the strings holding people up as they soar through the air, even if it gives some appreciation for the difficulty of the production, it robs it of some of its power and awe. Apple ends up having to ride this line a lot. At the root of its ethos has been the desire to provide technology that feels magical and amazing to its customers. With every year that goes by and every new device that comes out, Apple wants to boast about its impressive new functionality, but some of its biggest technological breakthroughs happen at a level that is totally invisible to its users. It’s cases like that where the company has the difficult task of impressing how advanced some of these technologies are without belaboring the point. And with the onslaught of artificial intelligence features, it also means that the company has its work cut out for it if it wants to continue being the best example of magical, invisible technology. A display built for two This idea of invisible technology occurred to me most recently when Apple showed off the new iPad Pro’s Ultra Retina XDR screen. The display features not only two separate OLED panels placed on top of one another but also requires a carefully calibrated map of all the various brightnesses (which can vary widely amongst OLED pixels) to ensure that colors display evenly. That’s a wild amount of effort just for an end result of something that you hopefully never notice. (“Look how uniform all my reds are!” is a thing no one ever exclaimed.) The Tandem OLED display in the new iPad Pro requires some quite impressive engineering. The Tandem OLED display in the new iPad Pro requires some quite impressive engineering.Apple The Tandem OLED display in the new iPad Pro requires some quite impressive engineering.Apple Apple That screen also required an entirely new display controller built into Apple’s M4 chip, and building a new feature into a system on a chip is hardly a minor undertaking. That’s a lot of time, energy, and money spent on building a piece of technology that, at the end of the day, only really gets attention when something goes wrong. Picture perfect Perhaps the best example of Apple’s invisible tech is in the feature that has become the central attraction of smartphones: the camera. The amount of computational work that goes into snapping a “simple” photo is far more than the average user is ever aware of. Analog cameras were relatively simple beasts in principle: press the shutter button and the light coming through the lens exposed the photosensitive film. You could alter a variety of aspects of the image based on factors like the lens aperture and how long the shutter remained open, but at a basic level, the image being captured by the lens was what ended up on the film. Contrast that with Apple’s computational photography, which is often taking multiple photos at once in order to combine elements to make the picture you see look as close to what your eye observes. All of that is done automatically and invisibly at the moment you press the shutter button—and you will never notice. But that’s the goal: making beautiful images seem as easy as clicking a button. While Apple does allow for features like exposure control or even different simulated “lens” types on the new iPhone 15 Pro, the company would clearly prefer that you don’t have to touch any of those at all—and most users probably don’t. Quiet intelligence So, as is contractually required by every piece of technology these days, how does this come back around to artificial intelligence? It’s largely expected that Apple’s platform updates this year will have a prominent focus on AI throughout its OSes. While it’s not yet clear exactly how that technology will come into play, it’s not hard to imagine that the company wants it to be as seamless and transparent as possible. And that’s a challenge because, as the state of many AI technologies today shows us, the results are often anything but invisible–even worse, are invisible in a bad way. Apple certainly doesn’t want any examples of artificially generated art with the wrong number of fingers, or a Siri that gives bizarre answers to questions about pizza. And yet many of those problems are intrinsic to the nature of generative AI, and it’s unreasonable to expect that Apple has somehow fixed these flaws in the relatively short amount of time it’s been developing those features. All of this tells me that, though the company may have ambitions to show off powerful features that leverage its prowess in artificial intelligence, those capabilities may not be quite what we expect—nor what its competitors are showing off. Google AI overview suggests adding glue to get cheese to stick to pizza, and it turns out the source is an 11 year old Reddit comment from user F*cksmith 😂 pic.twitter.com/uDPAbsAKeO— Peter Yang (@petergyang) May 23, 2024 To avoid its AI giving bad answers like Google AI, Apple may decide to implement AI features in a more subtle way in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Because Apple prioritizes invisible technology that “just works,” I’d expect these AI-powered features to be more understated than what we’ve seen from Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. No bedtime stories, AI-powered search results, or even a feature to let you look back through all of your computing history. What Apple rolls out will be intended to blend in and disappear, providing you with the information you need without drawing attention to itself—in just the same way that pressing the shutter button results in exactly the picture you thought you took. Cameras, iOS, iPad10:27 amThis is the best look yet at Apple's immersive video cameras
Apple has not said how it shoots immersive video for the Apple Vision Pro, but photographs at an MLS game have revealed the camera rigs it uses.Close-up of Apple's immersive video cameras (Source: Reddit)There have been previous reports claiming to show a VR camera rig at what was said to be an Apple TV+ show. However, much clearer images of the cameras, and also notes on their deployment, have now been shown on Reddit by user Joe-notabot.The full details of the rig aren't clear from the report. One photographed has a Dionic 26V 98 battery from the Anton Bauer company. That's a high-capacity 98Wh Lithium-Ion battery that typically retails for over $700. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums10:21 amEnjoy a $300 discount on the M3 Pro MacBook Pro
The M3 MacBook Pro gets a huge price cut, so now is the best time to buy one if you’re interested. Today, the 16-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro with 32GB memory and 512GB SSD is down to just $2,599 from its original price of $2,900 on Amazon. If blistering speed is what you want then […] The post appeared first on iLounge.10:19 amiFixit terminates Samsung partnership
Repair company iFixit has officially ended its relationship with Samsung, as announced in a blog post. iFixit recently mentioned that they are ending their repair agreement with tech giant Samsung as both parties were unable to come up with a new deal. Initially, iFixit wanted a repair-friendly ecosystem for consumers and independent businesses through the […] The post appeared first on iLounge.10:17 amCanada launches Tap to Pay in the region
Apple posted an update online on Tap to Pay arriving in Canada through select payment platforms. Tap to Pay is a feature on the iPhone that allows businesses and users to accept payment on the iPhone wirelessly and without needing additional hardware such as a point-of-sale machine. The process is simple- customers can tap their […] The post appeared first on iLounge.10:15 amRumor: MacBook Pro notebooks with OLED displays could begin surfacing in 2026
You may start seeing MacBook Pro notebooks with OLED in 2026. Per a supply chain report, the display technology could arrive for Apple’s flagship notebook in roughly two years’ time. The report includes the iPad Pro, which the report says will triple demand for OLED screens in tablets, and going forward, will influence competitors’ strategies […] Source