Apple Insider – Page 127

Posted on January 21, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Deals: $300-$700 off 2018 15″ MacBook Pros; $200-$300 off iMac 5Ks; up to $150 off 2018 Mac mini

By Christine McKee
Monday, January 21, 2019, 07:56 am PT (10:56 am ET)

Kicking off Monday morning, Apple authorized resellers are knocking hundreds off Macs, providing shoppers with the lowest prices anywhere. Save $300 to $700 on high-end 2018 MacBook Pros, with limited availability at the reduced prices. Apple’s new 2018 Mac mini is also on sale starting at $749, while current 27-inch iMac 5Ks are up to $300 off with prices as low as $1,599.

Apple iMac 5K Mac mini and 2018 MacBook Pro

These deals, which offer shoppers cash savings of up to $700 off, deliver the lowest prices available from an Apple authorized reseller, according to our Apple Price Guide. Additional perks, such as free expedited shipping on orders shipped within the contiguous U.S. and no tax collected in a number of states, are also available at many retailers.

2018 MacBook Pro deals

Those in the market for a desktop can also save $200 to $300 instantly on popular 27-inch iMac 5K models.

iMac markdowns

Apple’s latest Mac mini is also marked down today, with discounts of up to $150 off.

2018 Mac mini on sale

Additional Apple Deals

AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:

Posted on January 20, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Apple again starts selling iPhone SE, this time on clearance for $249

By Andrew O’Hara
Saturday, January 19, 2019, 07:26 pm PT (10:26 pm ET)

Apple returned the iPhone SE to its U.S. online store on Saturday, but only as part of a clearance effort to seemingly liquidate the remaining stock of the discontinued handset.

At a new special price, those who are interested can grab a brand new, unopened iPhone SE for only $249 with 32GB or 128GB for $299. They come fully unlocked sporting the same specs as when it was introduced in 2016. As a refresher, the iPhone SE includes the A9 Apple processor, Touch ID, and the four-inch form factor.

Those current prices are $100 and $150 off respectively compared to Apple’s prices before the phone was removed from sale.

Currently, Apple is only selling phones with displays above 4.7-inches, much to the chagrin of small-handed iPhone lovers. MacRumors was first to spot the discounted offering.

Grab one while you can because, with the discount, these likely won’t last too long. Gadget reseller Gazelle has some used models available as well, though they are also selling through.

It isn’t clear how long the iPhone SE will remain supported by iOS. The A9 processor first shipped with the iPhone 6S in September 2015.

Posted on January 19, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

How to get started with a new HomePod, and get more out of it

Apple’s HomePod starts with a simple setup and it ends with you forgetting you didn’t always have music surrounding you. In between, though, there are details to consider about that first setup and many options for when you move the HomePod to a new room. AppleInsider takes a dive into the use of Apple’s latest speaker.

If you’ve just got a HomePod then you’ll use your iPhone to set it up and we’ll show you what you need to do. Yet after that initial setup, it’s very unclear what you can do if, for instance, you move the HomePod to another room.

It’s not as if HomePods are difficult to carry around, though they are startlingly heavy. It’s also not as if you have to do anything to make a HomePod recognize that it’s been moved and should start adjusting its speakers to the new environment.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgyfGfjBOzo&w=560&h=315]

Rather, it’s that if you’ve initially identified the HomePod as being in your den and now it’s in your office, good luck figuring out how to change that label. We guarantee that across the nation there are HomePods in kitchens who are labelled Living Room and plenty of people who neither know nor care.

As long as they only use the HomePod to play tracks directly from Apple Music, that’s fine. It’s when you want to send audio from your iOS devices that it begins to be an issue. Even then, though, if you only have the one HomePod, you’ll cope. Yet it’s still a case of having to remember to choose Bedroom in AirPlay even though that HomePod is now in your study.

The problem is that HomePod doesn’t get its own app as the Apple Watch does and it’s also not found under Bluetooth the way AirPods are. Instead, it’s part of the Home app and each HomePod is a separate accessory that can be included in automation.

If you have two HomePods, for instance, you could have one set up as part of your evening routine so that at sunset, the HomePod in your den can start playing jazz. And the one in your kitchen can play some cool country. So long as you remember which one you’re asking to play this music.

However, we do get the ability to say what room of our house the HomePod is in —and we even get the option to give the speaker a name —so let’s use it.

Out of the box

Rip that HomePod out of its packaging and stumble a little as you find out just how densely heavy these little things are. Then, though, make sure your iPhone or iPad has been updated to the latest software.

Apple HomePod packaging

There’s more. Your iOS device probably has all of this already set up but you need it. The device must be signed in to iCloud. If it isn’t, go to Settings, tap on your name at the top of the screen and then on iCloud.

Last, make sure that Bluetooth is switched on and also that the iOS device is on your Wi-Fi network.

This all takes far longer to say than to do. In the great majority of cases, your iPhone or iPad will already be setup for this and shortly you’re going to see just how fast Apple makes adding a HomePod.

Surface tension

In theory, you can place your HomePod anywhere you like. In practice, it’s got to be near a mains outlet. You can always add an extension socket but you’re stuck with Apple’s own cable as that’s hard-wired into the HomePod.

Apple also recommends that you leave six inches of space around it and that the HomePod isn’t pressed up against a wall.

HomePod on Wood

We’d add that you should avoid wooden surfaces. This is not as big a deal as it appeared when the HomePods first came out, but it is possible that one will leave a white ring on the wood. It depends on how that wood was oiled but the surface can react with the silicone ring at the bottom of the HomePod.

If you happen to know that your wooden surface has been treated with a silicon type of polish, then you could place the HomePod somewhere else. If that’s the best spot, though, or if you have no earthly way of knowing what’s been done to the wood before, put the HomePod there anyway.

The worst that is likely to happen is that you will get such a ring after a few days but it can be removed by cleaning. Or, actually, you can just take the HomePod away and the ring may well disappear by itself over time.

This is fast

You’ll love this bit. Plug the HomePod into power and wait for it to chime. There’ll also be a white light that pulses on the top of the speaker. When there is, hold your iPhone next to the HomePod.

The initial setup screen you see on iPhone

A popup dialog will appear showing the HomePod and displaying a Set Up button. This is the same as you get on the Apple Watch but the setup procedure that follows is, if anything, even easier.

Where are you?

The very first question you get after pressing Set Up is Where is the HomePod? and there’s a list of answers.

It only helps for identification later but pick the room you’re going to put the speaker

That list includes choices such as Bedroom, Living Room, Entrance and Office. It makes zero difference which you pick as far as how the HomePod will work. Apple doesn’t automatically set the HomePod to be louder if you’ve picked the office and quieter in the bedroom, for instance. It’s solely for identification later.

So tap on one to choose it and then press Continue.

Getting personal

Next, the HomePod setup screen on your iPhone asks for a type of permission called Personal Requests. You’re going to say yes by tapping on Enable Personal Requests but it’s worth being clear about just what this means.

This page of the setup is quite straightforward about how saying yes means anyone can use this HomePod to do various things. What they will actually be using is your iPhone, they’re just talking to it via the HomePod.

So that’s why the setup says that it will allow anyone to read and send messages, and so on.

Allow Personal Requests unless you’ve great reason not to. It’s just so handy.

This is genuinely one of the best things about HomePod because it means you come as close to a Star Trek-style of ambient computing as possible. Just say to the air that you want to place a call to someone and the HomePod will do it.

Yet it’s also the worst part of the HomePod because it is so specifically tied to you and your iPhone. If your partner tries to phone someone through the HomePod, it’s going on your cellular bill. Similarly, anyone can add a calendar event or a reminder but they’re adding it to you.

Add in that the HomePod is tied to your Apple Music account so it has only your playlists. Add in that any music anyone else asks it to play will have an impact on how Apple curates your weekly Favorites list, too.

Then the HomePod becomes this brilliant device for you and merely a great one for the rest of the household.

Still, you are you and this is your HomePod, you might as well get all the value you can out of the money you spent. So tap on Enable Personal Requests.

One more thing to note, incidentally. All of this using the HomePod to add things to your iPhone only works when that phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your HomePod. If it isn’t, if you’ve switched Wi-Fi off for some reason, Siri on the HomePod will explain to you what’s wrong. Really irritatingly, though, it will sometimes explain it to you twice.

Maybe that’s covered under the next screen, Terms and Conditions, but we nod through that one just as fast you do.

Accounts and Settings

You noticed that this setup required your iPhone to have Bluetooth switched on. Everything you’ve done so far has been over Bluetooth and of course it has. There’s no control on the HomePod to tell it which is the right Wi-Fi network, let alone any keyboard to let you enter a password it.

Tap on Transfer Settings and your HomePod will pick up your Wi-Fi network, password and much more

All of that is handled by this next and final step. Accounts and Settings offers to pass details from your iPhone to your HomePod. Those details include which Wi-Fi network and what password, but also your iCloud account login and others such as your choice of Siri voice.

Tap the Transfer Settings button. You’ll hear a chime on the HomePod and the iPhone setup screen will change to show a picture of that HomePod.

When it’s done, that screen will change to one saying hello to you and the HomePod will speak. “Welcome to HomePod,” your new speaker will say. “You can’t tell, but I’m waving.”

If you can figure out why that’s gently amusing instead of irritating, you’re a better person than we are, but it is. It’s a make-you-smile moment that leads you into some training.

You’re being trained

Siri tells you that you can get the HomePod’s attention by saying “Hey, Siri”, and then it walks you through trying that out through a couple of examples.

The last example has you asking Siri to play some music, and it does. This is the moment when you’re going to realise that yes, you spent your money well. Siri will play some music based on what it believes you like from your previous Apple Music selections but if you want a suggestion, say “Hey, Siri, play Hymn Orchestrated by Midge Ure.”

It’s not such a loud song that it’s going to get the neighbors annoyed, but it will shake your floor. When you’ve jolted your head at how clear and strong the music is, say “Hey, Siri, turn it down”. Or be more specific and say “Hey, Siri, turn the volume to 20 percent.”

That’s it

Your HomePod is setup with all your details and what you won’t have noticed is that it is also setup for the specific room you’ve put it in. It’s setup for the exact position you’ve placed it within that room, too.

HomePod has scoped out the area and adjusted its speaker output to mean that you get its best possible sound regardless of where you are in the room.

Which just raises the first of several questions about what happens when you want to move rooms or make any other substantive changes.

Moving stories

If you want to move your HomePod to another part of your house or even another part of your room, unplug it and move it. When you then plug it back into power, it will automatically do its scanning to work out the best use of its many internal speakers.

You don’t have to do anything else at all. The HomePod will play music just as well in your office as in the living room, regardless of where it thinks it is.

Nonetheless, open the Home app on your iPhone. Under its Home section, there will be a button somewhere with an icon of a HomePod and the name of the room you said it’s in.

Tap and hold on that button. If you just tap it, the HomePod either starts playing or pauses its playback if it’s already working. Tapping and holding gets you a very bare screen with a small image of a HomePod and then two buttons.

Alarms is just like the alarms section of your iPhone’s Clock app and it’s where you can set new ones or see when your existing ones are going to sound.

Then there’s the Settings button and that’s the one to tap.

In the Home app, search for HomePod and then press and hold to get settings

There are a lot of options within this HomePod settings app but you’re going to ignore most of them. They’re ones such as controlling how you can use Siri and what voice that will use. You’ll also find a section where you can specify whether HomePod will play music that has explicit lyrics or not.

This is one setting that was automatically taken from your iPhone so if you cared about explicit lyrics there, the HomePod already cares about them here.

Instead, the sections that you’re going to find useful when you’re moving the HomePod around are all at the top of the screen. First there’s one that just says HomePod. This is grayed-out as if you can’t edit it, but you can.

If you choose to, tap on that gray HomePod word and start typing a name for your HomePod.

Right beneath it, there’s a section called Room and on that same line there is the name of the room you’ve said your HomePod is in. Tap on that name and you get a list of alternatives.

Among the many things you can adjust there is a setting for what room the HomePod is in

The list is a standard one with items like Living Room, Master Bedroom and so on but it also takes all the ones you’ve ever set up in the Home.

Pick the room you’ve moved the HomePod into or tap on Create New if it’s not already on the list. When you do that, you get the option to give the room a name and also to pick a wallpaper for it.

This is moving away from HomePod-specific issues to how Home and HomeKit works so just briefly, if you assign the device to a room, you can later see it listed with everything else there.

On the main screen of Home, there is also a section called Rooms and this shows you all of the HomeKit devices room by room. It’s not the fastest system. Each room gets its own page and you have to swipe along to reach the right one.

Each room has its name at the top but to help you focus after you’ve got bored swiping, you can choose to have any or all rooms have their own wallpaper. This can mean any image you like but there’s also the option to take a photo. So if you move the HomePod into the den, you could take a photo of the den with it there.

Favorites

Back in the HomePod’s settings page, there is then a switch called Include in Favorites. In theory, switch this on would put the HomePod into Control Center. Or rather, Control Center can have a Home button and tapping on that gets you a grid of favorite devices that includes the HomePod but also, for instance, lightbulbs.

The trouble is that there’s only room for nine favorites. As the default is for Include in Favorites to be on, you very rapidly fill up all nine slots. And there’s nothing to tell you that you have.

You have to swipe down on your iPhone to get Control Center, tap the Home button and then see whether your HomePod is there. If it isn’t, you have to go back through all the devices in your Home app and switch off this Include in Favorites switch for some of them.

You can add HomePod to a Home button in Control Center

If you want to, that is. It is handy to be able to get Control Center and just tap to switch off the lights in the living room, kitchen and den then to switch on the ones for the landing and the bedroom.

It feels less handy to have a button to play or pause HomePod. Maybe you’ll sometimes leave the room and only remember later that it’s playing. Otherwise, skip adding HomePod to Favorites and instead just get in the habit of calling out “Hey, Siri, stop.”

Advantages

Maybe the Home app isn’t a quick one to use but if you list the HomePod in the right room, you could save time later. Say you’ve got it in your office and you’re heading there in the dark one cold winter morning. Call up the office room and you might be able to tap to switch on the lights, turn on the heating and set the HomePod playing.

It depends on what devices you have but HomePod can both be controlled by HomeKit and it can control it right back.

So it’s worth taking a moment to set all this up. Plus there is one more important part of this Home app’s setup for HomePod and it’s to do with the single best thing you can do to your speaker.

Get another one

Yes, HomePod is expensive. Nonetheless, when you’ve got one, you will soon want two. And then when you get that second HomePod, if you’re setting it up on the same Wi-Fi network as the first, it will know.

You’ll be prompted to set them up as a pair. If you do want them in the same room then you do want them as a pair.

Still, they are expensive and a single HomePod on its own is very good so you might well buy the second one for a different part of your house. In that case you would say no to creating a pair when you’re initially setting up the second one.

Later, though, you will either buy a third HomePod because these things are only as resistible as your bank account says, and you will then want to pair up two of them. Plus, if you haven’t already heard that two HomePods together sound incredible, let us be the first to tell you. Two HomePods together sound incredible.

To pair two up some time after the initial setup, go to the Home app. Press and hold on either of them to bring up settings. So long as the two are on the same Wi-Fi network, the settings page will now have an extra option.

Right underneath the Include in Favorites section there will be a new button called Create Stereo Pair.

The HomePod whose settings you’re adjusting will be one of the pair and you get to select any other HomePod you’ve got as the second. Then you can choose which is to be the left speaker and which the right, or swap them around again as you need.

It takes time

Initially you wonder if the HomePod is going to be worth the money, especially when it costs far more than rivals such as Amazon Echo. Then when you’ve got one, you hear how great it is and you get a kind of new-toy feel for a time.

Later you might add a second HomePod or you might not, but this is how you know that you’ve made a good buy. At some point you are going to be in a room without a HomePod and you’ll announce to the air that you want to play some music.

Posted on January 18, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Apple stock threatened by growing backlash against App Store revenue cut

By Roger Fingas
Friday, January 18, 2019, 07:41 am PT (10:41 am ET)

Rumblings against Apple’s sizable take from App Store revenues could have an impact on the company’s stock, given the new focus on Services revenue, an analyst said on Friday.

“While the services segment grew 18 percent in the December quarter, we’ve now started to get investor questions worrying about whether the App Store will be the next shoe to drop,” wrote AB Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi in a note seen by AppleInsider. Specifically, he cited a series of headlines indicating that Spotify and Netflix have stopped offering in-app subscriptions, and that others like Fortnite developer Epic Games have threatened similar actions.

Apple claims 30 percent from the majority of App Store transactions, which Spotify and others have complained can force them to hike prices or take a major financial hit. For some time Spotify charged $3 extra to in-app Premium subscribers, ultimately deciding to end the discrepancy and direct iPhone and iPad owners to its website.

Apple’s revenue cut does shrink to 15 percent for subscriptions over a year long, but this doesn’t seem to have appeased developers.

“Unsurprisingly, this 30 percent cut has transformed the App Store into the largest single driver of Apple Services, accounting for about 40 percent of all Services growth in the last three years by our estimates,” Sacconaghi continued. “In recent years, however, discontent over this ‘Apple tax’ has been brewing among several major iOS app developers.”

The analyst cited Netflix’s action as the trigger for investor concerns. Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has argued that Netflix represented “less than 0.3 percent of total services revenue” in 2018.

Sacconaghi also pointed out, however, that an ongoing U.S. case is weighing whether App Store practices constitute a monopoly. The App Store is the only place developers are normally allowed to sell iOS apps, and losing the case could break the company’s revenue streams. Developers on macOS, Windows, and Android are free to use third-party storefronts or their own.

However, Sacconaghi doesn’t seem to put any weight on any services that Apple will debut in the future, such as the expected video streaming service. Nor, does he seem to note that Services is more than the App Store, as Apple Music, AppleCare, and iCloud are all part of the revenue stream as well.

Posted on January 17, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Apple Watch could get more hands-free tilt controls in future watchOS update

The Apple Watch could include more gestures similar to Raise to Speak in the future, after the revelation Apple has explored the possibility of producing more hands-free ways to interact with wearable devices and other hardware.

Apple Watch

Apple introduced Raise to Speak as part of a raft of updates in watchOS 5 last year. The gesture, where the user raises their wrist up and prepares to speak to the Apple Watch, is automatically treated as an intention to issue a command to Siri, all without saying the “Hey Siri” prompt beforehand.

The gesture is useful for more than dismissing the need for a verbal prompt, as it is a way of interacting with the Apple Watch without needing to use both hands. Most actions still require the use of the free hand, such as by touching the screen or turning the digital crown, and while voice commands are also useful, it may not be a desirable time to use them while the user’s hands are occupied with other tasks.

A patent application from Apple published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday for “interacting with an electronic device through physical movement” describes how an Apple Watch could be controlled in a more elaborate manner than currently offered, just by tilting the wrist.

The concept relies on the Apple Watch detecting the user raising their wrist, in a similar way to the current Raise to Speak gesture, but the bulk of the filing details what the users do after the detected raise. By rotating their wrist or tilting their arm, it is suggested the user can select one from multiple different actions presented to them on the display.

While this could be used to prompt actions, it is more likely that such a system would be needed for when a user needs to respond to a notification, without needing to use both of their hands. One example offered is to either accept or reject an incoming call to the Apple Watch.

In one interpretation, the display has a three pronged image that works in a similar fashion to ball-in-maze puzzles. One prong of the M-shaped maze contains an indicator that can be moved to other two lanes, with each representing the response to answer the call or to hang up.

An example of the simple tilt maze used to answer calls in the proposed patent application

By rotating the wrist back, the user can shift the indicator in the relevant direction, then tilt to determine which operation they wish to perform, and then rotate the wrist back for a specific period of time to bring the indicator all the way along the path, to confirm the action.

In another way, a single-path lane with two corners can provide two different responses, such as muting a call and hanging up while in a call, with the duration appearing in the middle of the U-shaped path. The indicator can be kept between the two corners while the call is made, but can be tilted and made to reach one of the path’s ends if the user requires one of the two actions to be performed.

The two corner U-shaped path variant in the Apple Watch tilt control patent application

The concept can also be extended to allow for calls to be answered without the user even needing to see the screen.

When a call is received, the Apple Watch could play a special ringtone consisting of high and low notes in a specific short sequence, potentially for a specific user. To answer the call, the user could perform a series of rotating “flick” movements that matches the ringtone’s notes, rolling away from their face for a high note, and towards for a low note.

An example of the musical notes tilt-cue ringtone concept from the patent application

The lifting and rotating mechanic could be employed for selecting and sending pre-made instant messages to contacts. Once the right response is highlighted, the user could keep their wrist still for a few seconds to confirm they wish the message to be sent.

A further tilt mechanic could be used to answer calls by tilting towards the user and holding in place for a few seconds to start the conversation, or away and holding to reject. The same can also be performed by tilting the wrist forward or back, then holding to confirm.

Tilting and holding could be used to answer and reject calls on the Apple Watch

While Apple does produce a large number of patent filings and applications on a weekly basis, their existence isn’t a guarantee that the concepts described will make their way into future products or services. They do however serve as an indication of areas where Apple has shown interest.

For this patent application, employing any of the ideas is plausible for Apple, as it would require only software changes made to watchOS. Since the Apple Watch has tilt sensors and accelerometers for fitness tracking and the aforementioned Raise to Speak, it already has the hardware required to implement such features in the future, if Apple decides to use them.

The application is the latest in a number of other filings where Apple has examined alternative ways for users to interact with devices. For the HomePod, it suggested the creation of a depth map for a room to detect a user’s hands, in order to perform gestures from anywhere in the room.

Gestures have also been considered as a way to control a self-driving vehicle, with actions performed within a designated “interaction zone” able to order a vehicle to do one of a selection of maneuvers. More recently, Apple has looked into force-sensing gloves, which could allow gestures to be performed without a touch-sensitive surface or cameras monitoring the hand itself.

This is also not the first time Apple has considered using wrist gestures with the Apple Watch. Dating back to October 2016, one idea involved adding detectors to the band to detect changes in wrist position and hand shape that alter the stress on the band, rather than using tilt sensors.

Posted on January 16, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

AirPower reference spotted in Malaysian iPhone Smart Battery Case website

By Roger Fingas
Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 06:29 am PT (09:29 am ET)

Potentially keeping hope that the AirPower is still alive, Apple’s Malaysian website makes a reference to the charging mat in relation to its new Smart Battery Cases.

“The Smart Battery Case is compatible with AirPower Wireless Charging Mat and other Qi-certified chargers,” a Malaysian product page reads as of Wednesday morning Eastern time. On Apple’s U.S. site, the equivalent page says simply that the case is “compatible with Qi-certified chargers.”

The reason for the discrepancy is uncertain, but the culprit may be older marketing copy, in which case Apple was apparently expecting AirPower to already be available or ship alongside the new cases.

Apple first teased the AirPower at a fall 2017 press event, intending it to complement its newfound Qi support in the iPhone 8 and X. The company even gave the press hands-on time with the accessory, promising a 2018 launch.

As the year progressed though the company said virtually nothing about the product, sometimes outright refusing to comment to media outlets, AppleInsider among them. By the time the iPhone XS and XR were revealed Apple had practically wiped all mention from its website, fueling speculation that the company couldn’t make the technology work and was simply abandoning it.

The iPhone XS did ship with mention of the AirPower in its user guide however, and by mid-January manufacturing partner Luxshare Precision was reported to be going into production. Luxshare also produces some of Apple’s AirPods and USB-C cables.

Apple may have been held up by heat, mechanical, and interference problems, such as interdevice connections to communicate battery level, and its use of up to 24 power coils. The same rumor pointed to a spring 2019 release date at the earliest.

Posted on January 15, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Apple Business Chat continues expanding with auto dealer platform Gubagoo

By Roger Fingas
Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 06:38 am PT (09:38 am ET)

The newest company to adopt Apple Business Chat is Gubagoo, which specializes in setting up 24/7 chat for auto dealerships and manufacturers.

Business Chat brings a “Chat with Messages” button to dealer sites, and tapping on it will connect with Gubagoo chat crews via the iOS Messages app. From there a person can browse car inventory, ask questions, and book appointments such as repairs or test drives.

Tapping on a vehicle in chat will pop up a range of tools and details, such as a payment calculator, trade-in options, tech features, and performance specs. People can even go through early application stages, finishing up in person if and when they decide to buy.

While the average person may not know Gubagoo the company claims over 4,000 dealerships as clients, making it likely that online car shoppers have run into the company’s platform. Until now that platform has been linked exclusively to the Web and Facebook.

Apple Business Chat expands on normal Messages functions so companies can support or sell to customers on iPhones and iPads. For Apple, at least part of the point is probably deflecting people away from Facebook Messenger, which not only offers similar services but is one of the world’s most popular chat platforms in general, with the advantage of being cross-platform. Messages is only on iOS, watchOS, and macOS.

Also on Tuesday, brokerage firm TD Ameritrade began offering both Business Chat and Apple Pay, letting people transfer up to $10,000 per day to their accounts for immediate use. Previously clients had to conduct wire transfers or wait several days for money to process.

Posted on January 14, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Samsung has a long history of mocking Apple before copying it

Stop us if you’ve heard this one. Apple makes some change to its iPhones, Samsung’s PR company mocks the very idea —and finally Samsung copies it. Sometimes the company keeps a low profile, sometimes it shouts about Apple’s missteps, but always, always Samsung then goes the same way.

Samsung logo with an Apple-style bite taken out of it

We’re not going to critcize Samsung phones here. Let’s not even get into the argument that Android copied iOS —partly because yes, of course it did, but mostly because we want to specifically examine Samsung.

The company usually makes a case that its technology is ahead of Apple’s and while you can regularly dispute that, it is often quite true. Samsung’s phones were waterproof before the iPhone was, for instance, and later in 2019 it’s highly likely that they will release 5G-capable phones and Apple won’t.

What we can’t get over is how Samsung’s PR department keeps hammering on this same nail. As part of all this, it regularly lampoons people who buy iPhones as being deaf to Samsung’s alleged technology superiority —but it treats its own users as being blind. Where Apple users sometimes get called sheep, Samsung is always hoping that its own users have goldfish memories.

The latest case is of course to do with the notch in the iPhone X range which naturally features far more prominently in Samsung’s advertising than it does in Apple’s own.

Yet this all goes back a long way. If it’s usually in such a specific sequence that you could predict when Samsung will mock and how many months later it will copy, there are occasions when its PR company is just wilfully ignoring the facts in order to take a shot at Apple.

Such as with Apple Stores. This one took a long time as Apple Stores opened in 2001 and it was late 2018 when Samsung ran a series of ads spoofing them.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7trMPJNBV20&w=560&h=315]

That was part of Samsung’s series of ads called Ingenius which are all set in a mockup of Apple Stores and use, well, mockups of Apple Genius staff.

To be fair, Samsung could’ve done much the same thing with Microsoft Stores and would there have saved some money by not having to hire so many extras as customers.

Yet they could also have used their own stores. There are Samsung Experience Stores and there have been since they were introduced in 2013. It’s easier to find the website for them than it is an actual store, though. And that’s in part because of the last line on the page. “Finding a Samsung Store inside Best Buy near you is easy. Just enter your zip code.”

We added the emphasis but we didn’t enter our zip code—because there’s nowhere to type it. We do hope that this is a fluke, some temporary hiccup, because each time we try, we see only this the page.

Surely this usually works

It’s a gorgeously-designed page in the sense of how it looks but it doesn’t actually work.

Lightning fast

So Samsung is mocking the Apple Store experience when you didn’t even know that there was a Samsung Experience Store. Shortly before it opened these shelves inside Best Buy, Samsung also ripped Apple apart for how the company changed from a 30-pin dock to a Lightning cable.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-LeWDPkwnY&w=560&h=315]

This was 2012 and when we’re reminded that Apple made this change at all, it is startling to realise it was so long ago now. Samsung was right that it was happening and Samsung had a point about how big a change it was. To this day, you will find 30-pin connectors on devices in hotels, for instance.

However, there was also this: when Samsung released that ad, several websites pointed out this third-party product which you can still buy today.

What was that about changing from 30-pin to Lightning?

That’s apparently the fistful of different cables that you needed to charge all the variations of Samsung phones. In 2012, it was being sold as a 17-in-1 set and today it’s an 18-in-1 set so either the makers missed one or Samsung’s done it again —without Apple mocking them.

Blatant

Call us idealistic, but we do credit customers with noticing things like this. We’re idealistic but also practical, though, so we wouldn’t assume that absolutely everybody would recognize a copy six years after the original. We do expect industry people too, however.

This one is Apple’s version in 2007. Call it Before.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MicECONdno0&w=560&h=315]

And in 2013, Samsung’s After.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azouIjsZrds&w=560&h=315]

Innovation

In that case, Samsung used Apple’s advertising skill. In the cause of speed and efficiency, it skipped the bit where it first mocked Apple, it just went straight to using the ideas. This isn’t the only time it’s done that —see if you can spot any Apple-esque elements in this ad —but from around 2013, it kept quiet. For a while.

It’s as if it believes both industry experts and its own customers are so siloed that they won’t recognize a copy. They might well have a point there as usually Android advertising passes us by but we did pick up on Samsung’s great online payment innovation.

Samsung Pay innovation

Apple Pay launched in 2014 and Samsung Pay was announced about a year later in 2015.

And Samsung couldn’t stop itself. While its advertising claimed that Samsung Pay was more widely accepted than any other system at all, it only showed an Apple Pay transaction failing. That claim about wide acceptance is qualified, by the way, with a little footnote saying “Refers to service coverage”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDyHeQ–USQ&w=560&h=315]

We’re sure they’re right and the fact that it initially only worked with then then new Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5 is just a detail. And actually, Samsung Pay does have an advantage over its rivals in that can work with old-style payment machines where you had to swipe your card.

Maybe that gag about failed Apple Pay transaction emboldened Samsung’s PR department, because it’s since then that they’ve gone all out to ridicule their Cupertino rival.

You don’t know jack

Civilization ended in 2016. That was when Apple dropped the headphone jack with the introduction of the iPhone 7. It was such a cataclysmic event that it may have taken you until 2018 to get over it —only to have another of Samsung’s Ingenius ads revive the trauma.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O_MjXbX3VA&w=560&h=315]

Take a guess what’s happening now. It appears that Samsung’s Galaxy A8S hasn’t got a headphone jack either. We’ll see what happens with the S10.

One notch

Someone at Samsung’s PR department is clearly spotting genuine issues with Apple’s iPhones, or at least things that could be genuine issues to some people. That dropping of the headphone jack was mildly inconvenient and it did mean we all have headphones lying around that we can’t use any more. It was definitely a valid point.

We’re just amused that nobody in Samsung’s PR department talked to Samsung itself. Fortunately, though, they would never make that mistake twice.

Or at least not twice in the same ad campaign.

Throttling

In 2018, both Apple and Samsung were fined for allegedly throttling the speed of their older phones, intentionally slowing them down in order to make you buy new ones.

Italy’s anti-trust body fined Apple the equivalent of $11.4 million and Samsung only $5.7 million so maybe Samsung could claim a little higher moral ground. Except it didn’t, it carried right on mocking how Apple iPhones slow down.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qhW1sDPHYI&w=560&h=315]

That’s enough now

Then riddled throughout the whole series of Ingenious ads, there are also decreasingly subtle digs at Apple and at Apple fans for that notch introduced in the iPhone X.

There’s no disputing that it detracts from the otherwise edge to edge display on the iPhone X, XS, XS Max and XR. You might not mind it, but you know that it would be nicer if it weren’t there. That said, you also know that it’s necessary. The notch is where Apple puts its TrueDepth technology which powers the Face ID system.

Samsung can’t let Apple be the only one with working Face ID so its new phones are set to have the same idea, at least to an extent. And in the case of the Samsung A8S, that same idea is going to feature what looks like a hole punch in the display.

It’s not a notch, you’ve got to give them that

It’s up to you, it’s up to each of us, whether we find that more distracting than a notch but the same thing applies. The display would be better without it.

And there’s one other thing that you know applies. Apple is not going to mock Samsung’s hole punch in its advertising.

Classy

We’re going to say that, yes, Apple is too classy to hammer on Samsung in its major advertising campaigns. However, it’s also smarter. Possibly it’s also more arrogant, but it’s definitely smarter.

All phone manufacturers copy from —are inspired by —each other and, again, Samsung has legitimately beaten Apple to certain features.

Yet, the way that Samsung keeps on going through same loop of derision and copying leaves us feeling that it’s an also-ran. That’s wrong, Samsung makes some great phones yet this pummelling away at Apple is dangerous.

And having your ad agency insult the buyers of your rival’s products doesn’t feel like a winner, either. Maybe it is, maybe this is why Samsung is doing so well compared to all other Android makers.

Except of course that it’s now copying Apple’s China woes.

Keep up with AppleInsider by downloading the AppleInsider app for iOS, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos.

Posted on January 13, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Exploring what you can, and can’t do with HomeKit for TVs

HomeKit and AirPlay 2 will unlock a host of new functionality thanks to integration into many leading manufacturer’s television sets, including Samsung, Vizio, and LG. AppleInsider examines what that will look like, and what you’ll be able to do, when the features are available.

Arguably the biggest news out of CES 2019 was Apple’s surprise embrace of the TV industry with four major manufacturers announcing the integration of key Apple features into their sets. LG, Vizio, Sony, and Samsung all announced support for AirPlay 2 and Siri on some recent TVs while all but the last introducing support for HomeKit.

Immediately after the news emerged, social media was rife with potential customers evaluating the purchase of a new model —even before solid information was available about what HomeKit can and can’t do. So, while we await software updates, and the release of the promised new models, let’s talk about it.

A new category is introduced

TVs are now an entirely new category in HomeKit, which means they don’t show as solely as a simple speaker or Apple TV. They have their own properties and characteristics exposed to HomeKit.

Speakers, for instance, you can just turn up/down as well as play/pause. Alternatively, TVs have many more options within HomeKit.

To start, you can turn your set on or off or adjust the volume all the means you interface with HomeKit now, including Siri. Changing the input, controlling the brightness, and setting the picture mode or media state is all possible through HomeKit as well. This opens up so much more, especially if can be integrated into scenes.

Taking things even further, normal remote functions can be carried out through HomeKit with key simulation. So if there is something the TV needs to do unique, it is possible to expose those keys for use, negating the need to ever grab the manufacturer’s remote ever again.

This is possible with the Apple TV now —to some extent. There is limited HDMI-CEC information transmittal back to a television through the HDMI cable to a compatible television, but the implementation is spotty.

Integration into scenes

Speakers, as mentioned, really only can have their volume and media state controlled through HomeKit. They can’t be integrated into scenes like other accessories. This is very limiting to users and high on our wish list for June.

TVs, on the other hand, have many more properties that could make more sense in scenes —but, as of yet, specific information on what can be done is limited, and vendors at CES itself weren’t talking about it.

But for now, your bedtime scene now doesn’t just turn off the lights, lock the doors, close the garage, shut the blinds, and turn down the temperature. It should be able to do all that plus shut off your TV without relying on a HomeKit socket.

Maybe a “movie time” scene will be able to dim the lights and turn on the TV. A “Night mode” scene may be able to turn on the TV and turn the volume to a less wall-shaking decibel out of respect for others. “Game time” could turn on the TV, set a cool color backlight with the Hue Play, turn up the volume, and switch the input to your PS4.

Inevitable limitations

Naturally, there are going to be limitations here on what you can do. The biggest is that this won’t act as an Apple TV replacement. Samsung’s implementation isn’t getting HomeKit —but is getting the iTunes movies and TV store. Also, the Vizio and LG versions don’t have iTunes, and are limited to just AirPlay 2 and HomeKit. The full tvOS experience and all that entails still remains exclusive to the Apple TV.

The new TVs also won’t act as a Home Hub. You still need an Apple TV, a plugged-in iPad, or a HomePod for this. Having a Home Hub gives external secure access to any HomeKit accessories like lights or locks.

Start playing

These new TVs and updates will be available soon in a variety of sizes and price points. If you’re in the market, these would be excellent to consider, whether or not you already have an Apple TV. And, it’s worthwhile to see what can be found refurbished from Vizio, given that the company will roll out support for some supporting models back to 2016.

Apple has compiled a list on its website to see which models may be getting the update and which new ones are on the way.

Posted on January 12, 2019 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Qualcomm pushed for iPhone exclusivity in response to $1B incentive payment demand, CEO says

By Mikey Campbell
Friday, January 11, 2019, 08:27 pm PT (11:27 pm ET)

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf took the stand to defend his company at a trial with the Federal Communication Commission on Friday, saying the chipmaker pushed for exclusivity on iPhone because Apple demanded a $1 billion “incentive payment” to secure the deal.

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf speaks at the Brainstorm Tech conference in 2017. | Source: Fortune

According to Mollenknopf, Apple said the payment would be used to cover technical costs to transition from communications hardware made by Infineon to comparable components manufactured by Qualcomm, reports Reuters.

Qualcomm agreed to Apple’s request, at least in part, as the firm rendered an undisclosed sum to Apple in the form of a rebate starting in 2011. As described by Mollenkopf, Apple received the rebate on chips and licensing as long as Qualcomm remained the sole supplier of iPhone modems.

The deal, which was renewed in 2013, put Qualcomm in a precarious position as it did not specify the number of chips Apple would be obligated to buy. Qualcomm sought an exclusivity arrangement to offset the inherent financial risk, Mollenkopf testified.

“The risk was, what would the volume be? Would we get everything we wanted, given that we paid so much in incentive?” Mollenkopf said on the stand.

The testimony adds a wrinkle to the FTC case, which alleges Qualcomm participates in anticompetitive business practices to the detriment of industry competitors like Intel. Both Apple and Intel assisted antitrust regulators in bringing the case against Qualcomm to court, saying the chipmaker abuses FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) patent licensing commitments to maintain a stranglehold on the market.

Mollenkopf’s statements contrast testimony offered by Apple supply chain executive Tony Blevins earlier in the day.

Apple typically attempts to diversify its supply chain by securing at least two manufacturers for each iPhone component, Blevins said, adding that Qualcomm’s rebate made it “very unattractive” to seek a secondary chip supplier.

“We think competition and market forces are very important to us to achieve the best leverage,” Blevins said, according to CNET. “With exclusivity, there would be no competition.”

Apple is involved in its own legal struggle with Qualcomm over licensing, patents and alleged nefarious business practices. Apple fired first with a $1 billion suit in January 2017, claiming the chipmaker abused its “monopoly power” of the wireless modem industry to demand excessive royalties. Qualcomm has since filed multiple countersuits claiming Apple is in breach of contract.

Most recently, Qualcomm won two key rulings in China and Germany, where courts issued a sales ban on certain iPhone models for infringing on Qualcomm patents. Apple is appealing both cases, though Qualcomm this month posted a $1.52 billion bond in Germany to take all iPhones save for iPhone XS and XR off store shelves.