Remember the guy who built an iPhone 6s from scratch using spare parts purchased in China, for less than half the price of a new one? Well, he's back at it with another DIY mod which adds a fully functional 3.5mm headphone jack into an iPhone 7.
Today at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Samsung Electronics announced a pair of enhanced Gear smartwatches along with a second-generation version of its Gear IconX wireless earbuds.
Apple on Wednesday announced its 2017 Back to School promotion for customers in the United States and Canada. Students, teachers and university staff members will get a free Beats Solo3 wireless headphones when they purchase an eligible Mac with education pricing, including the MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac and Mac Pro models.
If you opt for a 10.5-inch or 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Apple will treat you to a free BeatsX wireless earphones or you can pay $50 extra to get a Powerbeats3 in-ear headphones or $150 extra for the Solo3 on-ear wireless headphones.
The Solo3 headphones are a great choice because they contain Apple's W1 chip for more reliable connections, better sound quality and longer battery life compared to Solo2.
The 2017 Back to School deals area available to students enrolled in college, parents, teachers and faculty members. Verification is required at checkout.
Apple also recommends Back to School accessories such as AirPods, Apple TV and more.
Plus, students can take advantage of existing Apple Music deal with a monthly subscription available to eligible students half price at just five bucks per month, or sixty bucks per year.
The Back to School promotion for customers in Australia, New Zealand and Japan went live back in January. It offered an Apple Store credit in exchange for a qualified iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook/Air/Pro or iPad Pro purchase made from February 7 to March 16.
The most common complaint about AirPods is their inability to change the currently playing song directly on the earphones, without invoking Siri. Well, YouTuber Appsolutely Tech has discovered that iOS 11 solves this customer pain point by adding the ability to skip forwards and backwards between tracks with a double tap.
On iOS 11, your AirPods settings include some handy new options for choosing a double-tap action separately for the left and right earbud.
TUTORIAL: Tips and tricks for using AirPods like a pro
You could, for example set your left AirPod to skip to the next track and your right AirPod to go to the next track. Or, you could leave Siri as the default action for one of your AirPods and set the other one to go to the next track when double-tapped.
Watch Appsolutely Tech's video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQ9J1mwU78
Simply tap the “i” next to your AirPods in Settings → Bluetooth on your iOS 11 device.
You will see you can now set a different double-tap action for each of your AirPods:
Siri Play/Pause Next Track Previous Track OffIt's unclear if Apple might bring this new feature to iOS 10 via a future AirPods firmware update.
Apple today released AirPods software 3.7.2, bringing unspecified improvements and bug fixes to the company's first Bluetooth earbuds featuring the in-house designed W1 wireless chip.
According to the German-language publication Macerkopf.de (Google Translate), which first spotted the new firmware, it's possible that it addresses the reported Bluetooth connectivity issues where AirPods would lost connection with their paired iPhone during phone calls.
To install the new AirPods firmware, put both earbuds inside their charging case, then close the case and connect it to a charger or a USB port on your computer. Your iPhone must be paired with your AirPods and connected to Wi-Fi in order for the firmware to download and install.
TUTORIAL: How to install software updates for your AirPods
Keep the charging case within a few inches of your iPhone or the AirPods firmware won't be updated. Keep in mind that updating your AirPods may take a few minutes to complete.
During the update process, your AirPods may be unavailable for use.
You can find out your AirPods firmware version in Settings → General → About → AirPods on your iPhone when the earbuds are connected to the phone.
AirPods originally released with firmware version 3.3.1.
Apple on Tuesday released a new television commercial promoting the Beats Studio Wireless on-ear headphones and the Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless in-ear headphones. “Beats powers the world’s greatest basketball players to make their statement on the biggest stage,” notes the ad.
The 30-second commercial, titled “Be Heard”, features NBA all-stars LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and James Harden who can be seen listening to a song by American rock duo “The White Stripes” while warming up with their Beats headphones.
And here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcnmfyYETD0
As mentioned, the commercial uses the song “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes from their album “Elephant”. You can purchase their album from iTunes or stream it on Apple Music.
How do you like Apple's new Beats ad?
Apple today released the mostly maintenance macOS Sierra 10.12.5 software update alongside updates to iOS, watchOS and tvOS. According to release notes accompanying the download, 10.12.5 fixes issues with USB headphones and Windows 10 installations while laying the groundwork for future macOS releases.
Plus, this version of macOS “enhances compatibility of Mac App Store with future software updates.” Apple is expected to preview the next major version of macOS at its annual developers conference next month.
macOS Sierra 10.12.5 can be installed via the Mac App Store's Updates tab.
Read Apple's support doc for detailed information about the update's security content.
Safari 10.1.1, which comes included in the 10.12.5 update, patches for more than half a dozen WebKit-related vulnerabilities while fixing yet another instance of address bar spoofing that could fool users into believing they're visiting a genuine rather than a maliciously crafted webpage designed for phishing attacks.
It's available for OS X Yosemite 10.10.5, OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and macOS Sierra 10.12.5.
A minor update to iTunes for Mac and Windows was also pushed today.
iTunes 12.6.1 comes with unspecified app and performance improvements along with a fix for a WebKit exploit on Windows 7 and later which could result in arbitrary code execution after processing maliciously crafted web content.
Japanese blog Mac Otakara claimed Saturday that iPhone 8's rumored wireless charging feature may require a dedicated wireless charger accessory that customers would need to purchase separately. Citing reliable sources within Apple's supply chain, the story goes on to say that iPhone 8 also won't ship with the 3.5mm headphone jack adapter found in the iPhone 7 box nor will it come with a Lightning to USB-C cable as some have hoped.
Following an extended delay, Apple's BeatsX earphones are now available for purchase from Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and other retailers. The $150 earphones file as Apple's most affordable audio product powered by the in-house designed W1 wireless chip, also found in the $160 AirPods, $200 PowerBeats3 and $300 Beats Solo3 headphones. The W1 chip enables seamless iCloud pairing with Apple devices and reliable wireless audio connection. BeatsX also work on non-Apple hardware as standard Bluetooth headsets.
The earbuds sport 8-hour battery life and come with a Siri-compatible RemoteTalk with built-in playback controls that let you control your music without using Siri.
Apple's W1-equipped BeatsX earphones with a new flexible neckband design should be available to purchase this Friday in Black or White along with a pair of new color options: Gray and Blue. A few hands-on videos have gone live ahead of the official launch.
Comparing BeatsX to AirPods, YouTuber Jonathan Morrison has discovered that all purchases of BeatsX come with a code that customers can redeem for three free months of Apple Music (on top of Apple Music's existing three-month free trial).
Corroborating yesterday's report, CNET today said that the upcoming BeatsX earphones with the Apple W1 wireless chip and a new neckband design will be launching this Friday, February 10, in the United States. The earbuds will be available to purchase from Apple.com and company-owned retail stores. Aside from the existing Black and White color options, CNET has learned that the $150 accessory will be available in two additional finishes, Gray and Blue, following this Friday's launch.
Apple will soon allow vendors who design MFi-certified accessories to build support for an obscure but already-existent port in order to ease some of the connectivity and adapter woes associated with Lightning-based headphones. 9to5Mac reported that the company might market UAC, an intermediary in headphone cables, as “Ultra Accessory Connector” (UAC).
Citing sources at Apple, The Verge adds that UAC is an old plug you might have seen with your Nikon DSLR camera rather than a proprietary new connector type from Apple. Apple's ultimate goal with UAC, The Verge claims, is making Lightning and USB-C work better together rather than replacing them with a brand new I/O port.