Category: Apple Insider

By Malcolm Owen
Wednesday, July 18, 2018, 12:14 pm PT (03:14 pm ET)

Apple is continuing to increase the number of autonomous vehicles it has on the roads for testing, reportedly registering more vehicles with the Californian Department of Motor Vehicles to bring the fleet up to 66 self-driving cars operating in the state.

In a recent filing with the state DMV spotted by Macreports, the 66 cars being used by Apple are being controlled by 111 registered drivers. This is an increase in both vehicles and drivers since May 14, when Apple had 55 test vehicles and 83 authorized drivers.

The increases suggest Apple is adding more vehicles to the fleet at a steady rate. The previous update on March 20 claimed there to be 45 Apple-owned self-driving cars, which would put Apple at introducing roughly ten more cars to the collection every two months.

Despite the increases, Apple still does not operate the most autonomous test vehicles in the state. California’s records indicate Apple’s fleet to be the third-largest, behind the 117 cars and 333 drivers for GM Cruise, as well as the 72 cars and 411 drivers of Waymo. Tesla has 39 cars and 92 registered drivers in its own project.

California has issued 56 autonomous vehicle testing permits, with 468 approved vehicles operated by 1,677 approved drivers. Notably, Apple has yet to apply for a driverless car permit from the DMV, suggesting it would prefer to continue with driver-assisted testing for the moment.

Worked on under the “Project Titan” name, Apple’s autonomous vehicle technology was originally thought to be part of a branded car, but the focus reportedly changed to just the self-driving vehicle system in late 2016. It is unclear what the current goal for Apple’s work is, but it is thought to be the autonomous platform itself rather than an entire vehicle, with the potential of partnering with an outside firm to create a ridehailing service.

A connected self-driving project intending to shuttle company employees between facilities was reported in May to use Volkswagon T6 Transporter vans, after attempts to negotiate with BMW to work on the project allegedly failed. Running from Palo Alto to Infinite Loop, the PAIL program will include specialized dashboards, seats, and extensive modifications made to the vehicles, and will still be operated by a back-up driver and co-pilot, in case the self-driving element fails.

Apple is also expanding the self-driving car team with senior Waymo engineer and NASA JPL engineer Jamie Waydo, who was responsible for checking the safety of prototype vehicles and coaching the autonomous competitor ahead of real-world road tests in Phoenix. Before Waymo, Waydo’s time at NASA included working on one of the agency’s Mars rovers.

Project Titan has also been the subject of attempted trade secret theft, with one former Apple employee entering a plea of not guilty on July 16, after being accused of stealing a 25-page detailed schematic of a circuit board intended for use in an autonomous vehicle.

By Roger Fingas
Monday, July 16, 2018, 02:07 pm PT (05:07 pm ET)

Finishing up its teardown of the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro, iFixit on Monday noted that the computer has bigger battery and speaker components, which appear to have come without an increase in overall weight.

The system has upgraded from a five-cell, 49.2 watt-hour battery to a 58 watt-hour six-cell part, the repair firm said. The battery is indeed slightly heavier, up to 232.7 grams (8.2 ounces) versus 196.7 (6.9 ounces). Updated speakers are both “longer and narrower,” to the point that they bump up against the logic board.

To compensate, Apple appears to have cut some mass off of the top case, iFixit indicated.

The teardown mostly illustrates expected features of the Pro, such as its T2 co-processor for functions like “Hey Siri,” security, and boot operations. One other point of interest however is its modified power adapter, model A1947, which has more shielding as well as added impact-resistant foam, at the expense of switching from a metal USB-C port to plastic.

The Pro is as hard as ever to repair, with a soldered processor and memory, and the upper case — including the battery, keyboard, and speakers — forming a single unit. The one significant improvement is said to lie in the trackpad, which can be removed by extracting several Torx screws.

Apple’s new Pros have a variety of upgrades over 2017 models beyond standard processor and memory upgrades. These include Bluetooth 5.0, and the first use of True Tone color balancing on a Mac.

Review

By Andrew O’Hara
Saturday, July 14, 2018, 09:18 am PT (12:18 pm ET)

Apple’s leather sleeves must be solid performers, even with their questionable price. Apple has continued to add leather accessories to their growing lineup of cases and covers after starting out with those for the iPhone, and AppleInsider has the latest addition.

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Their first leather sleeve launched for the iPad before coming to the 12-inch Retina MacBook, and now sliding onto the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros. Just in time for the brand new Pros Apple also just announced. Available in three different colors —Saddle Brown, Midnight Blue, and Black —these genuine leather sleeves carry a high price tag for those looking for cursory protection for their pricey portable Macs.

Each sleeve is pretty simple in design, as is the Apple way. Crafted from European leather to precisely fit over either size of the current MacBook Pros, they have subtle convex dimples on the bottom to align with each of the laptop’s feet. An embossed Apple logo on the top completes the look.

The top of the sleeve —that is, where the laptop is inserted —is open a fair amount, making it easy to remove the laptop from its tight fit. Different than on the USB-C MacBook, the one for the Pros does not allow the MacBook to be charged while it is inserted.

On the interior is a soft microfiber lining that starts just below the opening. Instead of making the entire interior, the opening on top is leather, since it will susceptible to more wear and tear over the rest of the interior. Everytime the laptop is inserted, it will rub against the top of the sleeve, so having leather right at the opening will help prolong the life of the sleeve.

Outside the leather feels very soft, though it is clear there is some sort of protection on it to help prevent the drastic marring un-finished leather is known for. If a drop or two of water hits this, it beads right off, whereas others would soak in and leave a blemish, for better or for worse.

One of the charms of using leather is how it develops a great patina over time. This sleeve will do that, it just might take a bit longer to achieve.

Conclusion

These simple sleeves don’t have a lot of fancy features like other cases, but they are just minimalistic enough to get the job done. They are quite well made, even if the price tag is a bit high. If you can get over the three-figure price tag, these are great sleeves for taking your Mac with you on the go.

If price is no object, you can’t go wrong and the case is a solid 5 out of 5. But, like most of us, if it is, Apple’s latest leather sleeve for the MacBook is a

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Where to buy

These newly launched MacBook Pro sleeves are available to fit either the 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3. The 13-inch will run $179 and the 15-inch will run $199 and are available directly from Apple. If you like the sleeves but have a 12-inch MacBook or iPad, Apple still has you covered. The 12-inch MacBook sleeve runs $149 and the iPad sleeve is $129 and $149 for the 10-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros respectively.

By Roger Fingas
Friday, July 13, 2018, 01:02 pm PT (04:02 pm ET)

Apple on Friday announced a partnership between its Brazilian Developer Academies and the Malala Fund, which will launch projects intended to “empower girls, teachers and policymakers through skills development, school enrollment efforts and education advocacy.”

Students and alumni of the Developer Academies are being challenged to work with the Malala Fund, named after Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, to create apps that “enhance education opportunities for girls,” Apple said. Yousafzai was invited to the company’s academy in Rio de Janeiro on Friday to meet students and explain the new initiative.

“Whether she wants to be a developer, a pilot, a dancer or a politician, education is the best path to a brighter future,” she said in a prepared statement. “By tapping into Apple’s network of student developers, Malala Fund will gain access to new tools to support our mission of free, safe, quality education. The students in Apple’s Developer Academy program share my passion for improving the world around us, and I am eager to see their innovative ideas to help girls in Brazil and across the globe.”

The company notes that it became the Malala Fund’s first Laureate partner in January, allowing the Fund to double the number of grants handed out by its Gulmakai Network, while also sponsoring new programs in India and Latin America. The goal was to extend secondary education to over 100,000 girls.

Under current CEO Tim Cook, Apple has become increasingly involved in both education initiatives and social causes. The former are often fairly self-serving, such as its Swift initiatives in schools. While the language does have other uses, and is relatively easy to learn, Swift is almost exclusively intended for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Cook has championed causes in which the company has no direct financial incentive, such as gender and racial diversity in the workplace, and LGBT rights.

By Roger Fingas
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 02:01 pm PT (05:01 pm ET)

Apple CEO Tim Cook and senior VP Eddy Cue have once again made an appearance at the annual Sun Valley conference in Idaho, attended by the elite of the media and technology worlds.

Cook and Cue at Sun Valley 2018. Cook has a bodyguard with him for the event. Image Credit: Alex Heath on Twitter

This year marks Cook’s seventh consecutive appearance, and Cue’s fifth. Both were in attendance in 2017.

The conference is hosted by investment firm Allen & Co., and plays host to top-level executives who sometimes use the event to broker deals behind the scenes. This year some of the people present are said to include media baron Rupert Murdoch, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

NBC notes that some high-profile deals have been begun at Sun Valley in the past, such as Disney’s $19 billion ABC/Capital Cities buyout, and Bezos’ takeover of the Washington Post.

This year could be particularly interesting, since Disney and Comcast are currently fighting to buy out key assets of 21st Century Fox. The Murdoch family has voting control of 21st Century Fox, so Sun Valley could be used to sway them towards supporting one bid or another.

Any agreements Apple has struck at Sun Valley have largely been kept in the shadows, but the company has a growing footprint in media. On top of owning key hardware platforms, Apple Music, and iTunes, the company is venturing into high-budget original TV shows which could premiere as soon as March 2019. Cook and Cue might want to lure networks into producing more content, or even secure distribution deals outside of Apple platforms.

Apple is still examining the possibility of creating a mobile device with a large screen that can be compacted into a smaller size, using a flexible section in the middle of the device to allow the screen to bend enough for it to fold without breaking.

Granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, the patent for “Electronic devices with flexible displays” details how a folding mobile device could be created. While foldable, the device could feasibly have a screen taking up an entire side of the device, similar to a smartphone or tablet, but with one cohesive display rather than using two or more with a noticeable line in the middle.

According to the patent, the concept relies on using multiple flexible elements in the middle of the device. In the process of flexing the device for the fold, the patent notes there will be a compression of material on the inside of the fold, and a thinning of material on the outside, with the former likely to cause an issue for the display layer.

To counter this problem the patent suggests the use of recesses in the material protecting the display layer in the middle section of the device, reducing the congregating mass and the amount of stress on layers closer to the inside of the fold.

It is said that there could be solid inflexible glass covers for sections of the display that are not affected by the fold, with a flexible cover spanning the gap between the two solid sections. In one implementation, the glass layer can even be bent, supported by a polymer layer for the bend itself, with grooves added to the glass in parallel to the bent section.

Aside from the display, the rest of the hypothetical device would also require flexible materials to cover the outside of the fold, and can possibly even include a hinge in the middle to help keep the bend occurring at one point in the flexible section.

Apple initially filed the application on June 8, 2016, and credits Jiang Ai, Erik A. Uttermann, and Soyoung Kim as inventors.

The latest patent is one in a string of similar applications Apple has submitted to the USPTO over the years.

One filing discovered in October 2017 surfaced at the same time as a rumor claiming Apple is working with LG to produce an OLED iPhone by 2020. Merrill Lynch analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote a note to investors in March suggesting a similar launch timeframe for the device, adding that the device could also “double up as a tablet,” giving the utility of a larger screen but with the portability of a smartphone.

Another patent granted in November 2016 suggested the use of a hinge and a metal-backed flexible OLED panel to create a foldable smartphone, one that could clip onto clothing for storage when not in use.

Apple has also invested heavily in a new display technology that could help bring such hardware to fruition. MicroLED is effectively a display panel made up of tiny LEDs on a sheet, which aside from potentially offering power savings and a reduced screen thickness, could be used to produce a flexible screen required for a foldable device.

While Apple regularly files patent applications with the USPTO, the publication of an application or the granting of a patent is not necessarily a sign that Apple is actively working on using the technology with its products, nor is it a guarantee it will be usable by consumers in a future release. Though it is plausible to be used in a foldable smartphone, a concept also being examined by Apple’s competitors, it is equally likely elements of this patent could be used in other hardware and not a mobile device.