Tech Talk

While it was previously reported that all 2020 iPad Pro models feature the same Apple-designed U1 chip as the iPhone 11 lineup, enabling Ultra Wideband support, we have compiled evidence to suggest that this may not be the case. As a reminder, Apple's tech specs for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro list an Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness, but the chip is not mentioned in Apple's tech specs for the new iPad Pro. Apple also did not mention the new iPad Pro featuring the U1 chip in its press release or in any other marketing materials for the device. Beyond that, the directional AirDrop feature that the U1 chip enables on iPhone 11 models is not present on the new iPad Pro running iPadOS 13.4. Likewise, the Ultra Wideband toggle switch that Apple added to iPhones in iOS 13.3.1 is not present on the new iPad Pro. While all of this could suggest that Apple has simply disabled the U1 chip in the new iPad Pro until it becomes more useful, such as when Apple releases i

Apple's anticompetitive behaviors have gotten worse over the course of the last few months rather than better, Tile claimed in a congressional panel today, reports Reuters . Executives from Tile, PopSockets, Sonos, and Basecamp in January testified in front of a congressional hearing in an ongoing antitrust inquiry launched by the U.S. government against tech companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google. Tile at the time complained about Location Services changes implemented in iOS 13 that encouraged customers not to use always-on location tracking by requiring them to set a toggle in "deep, hard-to-find smartphone settings." To resolve the dispute, Apple said that it was working on an option that would allow third-party developers to enable "Always Allow" tracking features right when an app is installed, but Tile today said that it is not satisfied with Apple's actions since the original congressional meeting. "Despite Apple's multiple promi

44 years ago today, on April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne signed a contract founding the Apple Computer Company. Days later, Ronald Wayne bowed out and received $800, leaving Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to launch the Apple I that led to Apple revolutionizing the personal computer industry before moving on to other markets and becoming one of the most successful companies in modern history. Steve Wozniak left Apple in 1985, leaving Steve Jobs at the helm. Under Jobs' leadership, and after weathering a few hiccups like Jobs' time at NeXT, Apple launched iconic products like the iMac G3, the MacBook, the iPod, the original iPhone , and the iPad , along with services like the App Store and iTunes. After Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, Tim Cook took over and kept Jobs' legacy alive, launching new iPhones and iPads and new product lines, such as the Apple Watch , HomePod , and AirPods . Cook also oversaw Apple's deep foray into services wi

After releasing new Keynote, Pages, and Numbers updates for the Mac earlier today , Apple has also started rolling out updates for the iWork apps designed to work on iPhones and iPads. The updates to Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for iOS bring support for the upcoming Magic Keyboard, mice, and trackpads when using the iWork apps on an iPad . The new versions of the software also include support for collaborative work using iCloud Folder Sharing along with other new features outlined in the release notes below. Pages for iOS Release Notes Use Pages on an ‌iPad‌ with Magic Keyboard, a mouse, or a trackpad for a new way to work with your documents. Requires iPadOS 13.4. Select from a variety of gorgeous new templates to help you get started. Add a Pages document to a shared iCloud Drive folder to automatically start collaborating. Requires ‌iPadOS‌ 13.4 or iOS 13.4. Add a drop cap to make a paragraph stand out with a large, decorative first letter. Apply a color, gradient

Britain's big telecoms providers have agreed to lift the data caps on all fixed-line broadband services to help people isolated at home following the coronavirus epidemic, reports Reuters . The companies, which include BT, Virgin Media, Sky, O2, Vodafone, Three, and TalkTalk, committed to support and protect vulnerable customers during the pandemic following talks with the government and telecoms regulator Ofcom. The ISPs are also introducing additional measures, which include helping customers who find it difficult to pay bills because of the viral outbreak, improving mobile and landline packages, and prioritizing repairs for vulnerabile customers. "It is essential that people stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. This package helps people to stay connected whilst they stay home," Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said in the government statement. The U.K. government last week imposed strict measures on public movement, including social distancing, a ban o

Apple's 5G iPhone is still on track to launch within the company's typical annual fall release schedule, according to a new Bloomberg report on filed on Monday. Signs are that Apple's Chinese-centric manufacturing -- of which Hon Hai is the linchpin -- is slowly getting back on track. The next iPhones with 5G wireless capabilities remain on schedule to launch in the fall, partly because mass production isn't slated to begin until the summer, people familiar with matter have said. Foxconn (aka Hon Hai) was forced to postpone the reopening of its main iPhone-assembly plant in Zhengzhou as strict quarantine measures remained in force, however the iPhone maker has reportedly raised signing bonuses significantly in order to attract the new workers it needs to assemble its products. The report aligns with another one published by Bloomberg earlier the month that claimed Apple's next flagship ‌iPhone‌ launch is still on schedule, partly because mass production i

A seemingly unreleased version of Logic Pro X has appeared on Apple's education site , as spotted by a Reddit user . The image from Apple's education products page shows a 16-inch MacBook Pro running Logic Pro X, but with a familiar interface that looks extremely similar to GarageBand's Live Loops sessions on iOS. Since Logic Pro X does not currently contain this feature, an update with GarageBand-style Live Loops sessions may be planned. At present, the only way to use Live Loops in Logic Pro X, albeit with substantially less functionality, is to share a Live Loops project from GarageBand for iOS. Live Loops was added to GarageBand for iOS in January 2016, as a new feature for creating music by tapping cells and columns in a grid to trigger different looped instruments and samples. Live Loops includes a library of Apple-designed loop templates in multiple genres, including EDM, Hip Hop, Dubstep and Rock, or you can create your own. Since then, Apple has  introduced

After last week's flurry of product launches, Apple's new iPad Pro and MacBook Air have started to make their way into consumers' hands, and we've gone hands-on with both of them this week. Apple this week also released iOS and iPadOS 13.4 (as well as macOS, watchOS, and tvOS updates) with a number of new features and improvements. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. On the rumor side of things, we're starting to hear about the possibliity of a delayed launch of the iPhone 12 later this year, some details on Apple's iPhone camera plans, new Apple TV hardware and software rumors, and an update on Apple's rumored Mac transition from Intel to Arm-based chips. Finally, we shared a look at some prototype hardware and software related to Apple's AR/VR headset project. Read on for all of the details, and check out our video above for even more from this week's news cycle. Hands-On With the New iPad Pro and MacBook Air App

Most of the factories in China that supply devices and components to Apple are back to churning out products, but Apple suppliers are said to be worried about how much demand there will be for the current iPhone models and the new iPhones expected in the fall. According to Reuters , a senior official at one of Apple's major supply companies said that orders for quarter ending in March are likely to drop 18 percent compared with the previous year. Production ramp-up for new 5G iPhones has also been postponed, though the official said it is still possible iPhones could launch as scheduled. "No one is talking about manpower or material shortage (in China) anymore. Now everyone is looking at whether demand from U.S. and Europe could keep up," said the person, who has direct knowledge of the matter. "The focus now is the demand from consumers in the U.S. and Europe." An Apple display supplier that had anticipated shipping 70 million ‌iPhone‌ displays to Apple is

Zoom, a video conferencing app that many people are using at the current time to keep in touch with coworkers while working from home, was sending data to Facebook without disclosing the data sharing to customers. As of today, Zoom has updated its iOS app to remove the SDK that was providing data to Facebook through the Login with Facebook feature, according to Motherboard , the site that first discovered Zoom's data sharing practices. Zoom was providing Facebook with data that included when a user opened the app, plus their timezone, city, and device details. Zoom's privacy policy did not make it clear that the data was shared with Facebook. In a statement, a spokesperson for Zoom said that Zoom was unaware that the Facebook SDK was collecting unnecessary device data. "Zoom takes its users' privacy extremely seriously. We originally implemented the 'Login with Facebook' feature using the Facebook SDK in order to provide our users with another convenient

Apple plans to launch several Mac notebooks and desktop computers with its own custom designed Arm-based processors in 2021, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors. Kuo believes that Arm-based processors will significantly enhance the competitive advantage of the Mac lineup, allow Apple to refresh its Mac models without relying on Intel's processor roadmap, reduce processor costs by 40 to 60 percent, and provide Macs with more hardware differentiation from Windows PCs. Earlier this month, Kuo said Apple's first Mac notebooks with Arm-based processors will launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021 . Kuo expects ASMedia Technology to become the exclusive supplier of USB controllers for Arm-based Macs, adding that the Taiwanese integrated circuit designer will benefit from Macs gaining support for USB4 in 2022. USB4 converges the Thunderbolt and USB protocols as part of Intel's goal to make Thunderbolt availab