After years of waiting, Apple’s AirPower accessory could be just around the corner.

Per some code references found in the latest iOS 12.2 beta, released Monday morning, the mighty Guilherme Rambo noted that there have been “significant changes” to the wireless charging code in the beta update, including “code responsible for identifying that two devices are charging on the same mat,” which could indicate that Apple is planning an AirPower launch soon. 

The AirPower charging mat, once released, has been promised to be able to simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods simultaneously. The device was first announced in 2017 alongside the iPhone X, but has hit a series of production difficulties that pushed back the release date.

The latest iOS 12.2 beta features changes to the 3D animations that indicate various device charging levels.

Apple has been silent on the AirPower ever since announcing it, but there have been continual signs that the company is still working on it, including multiple recent rumors that a launch is happening in the spring. 

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via MacRumors and 9to5Mac

The new iMac rolling iron was announced today, Apple noting the new iMac models as featuring up to 8-core Intel processors as well as Vega graphics cards onboard.

The 21.5-inch iMac features an 8th-gen quad-core processor, with an option to add a 6-core processor, which which offers 60 percent faster speeds than the previous model. Meanwhile, the 27-inch iMac has the 9th-gen 6-core and 8-core processor options, which is 2.4 times faster than before.

In addition, the Radeon Pro Vega graphics cards are available for the iMac. On the 21.5-inch this means up to 80 percent faster performance, and up to 50 percent faster on the 27-inch.

The updated 21.5-inch iMac with a Retina 4K screen begins at $1,200, while the 27-inch iMac with a retina 5K screen starts at $1,799. Customers can also still snag a non-Retina iMac for $1,099.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via The Mac Observer and store.apple.com

The bad news: Even though Apple released the new 2019 iPad Air and iPad mini models yesterday, they’re not compatible with the old Smart Cover and Smart Folio accessories that accompanied previous models of the tablet.

The better news: Apple, knowing you need a protective case for your tablet, has updated these accessories, which are now available for purchase.

The company’s Smart Cover for the 10.5-inch iPad Air (3rd generation) is now available in charcoal gray, white, pink sand, and a new papaya color. The cover retails for $49. The Leather Smart Cover for iPad Air is also available in midnight blue, saddle brown, black, and red colors and retails for $69.

The new iPad mini (5th-generation) now has the same Smart Cover choices as the polyurethane version for the iPad Air and comes in $10 less at $39.

The 10.5-inch iPad Air also has a Smart Keyboard as an option for $159. As noted by Apple, it’s the same as the Smart Keyboard that was offered for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

Wrapping things up, the iPad Pro Smart Folio is available in a pink sand color and retails for $79.

It was also learned that both the new iPad Air and iPad mini boast Logitech Crayon support as an Apple Pencil alternative, which could come in handy.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via 9to5Mac

Somewhat out of nowhere and detached from next week’s scheduled “Show Time” media event, Apple has unveiled two new iPad models in the form of an updated iPad Mini and an updated iPad Air.

The new iPad Air essentially replaces the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and brings a couple of key changes that help lower the price from $649 to $499. It has the exact same 9.8 x 6.8-inch frame as the 2017 iPad Pro as well as a fully laminated display—although without the Pro’s speedier ProMotion tech—along with an 8MP rear camera (versus 12MP on the discontinued iPad Pro). The new iPad Air also keeps the headphone jack and adds first-generation Apple Pencil support and the newer A12 Bionic processor.

The iPad mini retains the 8.0-inch x 5.3-inch frame and Touch IP sensor and features a boosted processor and Apple Pencil support. The unit is also available in 64GB and 256GB storage tiers versus the single 128GB configuration on the previous model. The display also boasts the same 2048 x 1536 resolution, but now features True Tone technology, a wider P3 color gamut, and Apple Pencil support.

Both models are available for order today for shipping immediately.

The new price spectrum goes as follows:

• iPad 32GB: $329

• iPad mini 64GB: $399

• iPad 128GB: $429

• iPad Air 64GB: $499

• iPad mini 256GB: $549

• iPad Air 256GB: $649

The new iPad Air and iPad mini are available at both Apple Store and other retail locations as well as through the Apple Store web site.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Macworld and store.apple.com

Straight from the depths of Rumorville, a new mockup, sourced from Chinese suppliers has gone into the wild, of the iPhone 11 featuring a triple-camera system in a rectangular formation. The formation would consist of three cameras plus a flash, as seen in the Huawei Mate 20.

It’s also thought that this camera configuration could be found on the higher-end iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max successors, complete with larger storage capacities.

The rumor is also lent some additional credence by case manufacturers who claim to have seen evidence of cases with square cutouts where a triple camera system could poke out.

It’s also thought that mid-level storage iPhone 11 units might retain the dual camera module seen in the iPhone XS.

It would not be the first time that Apple has limited features to higher-tier variants of their devices. With the iPhone 7, the glossy new Jet Black color was only available on the 128 GB and 256 GB SKUs. More recently, the 2018 iPad Pro includes 6 GB RAM on the 1 TB iPad — although obviously RAM differences are less noticeable from a mainstream consumer perspective compared to the color of the chassis or the addition of a triple-camera.

Apple is expected to officially announce its 2019 iPhone lineup come September.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via 9to5Mac and Macotakara

Late last week, Apple announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, from June 3rd to the 7th.

WWDC19 marks the 30th anniversary of the conference, which showcases the newest features in iOS, macOS, and other Apple products. While WWDC is only for developers and not open to the general public, Apple does make major announcements during the keynote presentation, which is usually streamed online on Apple’s website.

For developers looking to attend WWDC19, there are a limited number of tickets available, and you must apply for the opportunity to buy them. Participants will need to be part of the Apple Developer Program or Apple Developer Enterprise Program prior to registering to purchase tickets. From there, selected entrants can buy tickets for $1,599 each.

Entrants have until March 20th to sign up.If you are a developer and would like to attend WWDC19, know that there are a limited number of tickets and you must apply for the opportunity to buy them. You must be part of the Apple Developer Program or Apple Developer Enterprise Program before you can register for WWDC19. If you are selected to buy tickets, the price is $1,599 each. You have until March 20 to sign up.

Apple also offers WWDC scholarships to a number of students, each scholarship including a ticket, lodging, and a year-long Apple Developer Program membership. Students looking to apply for a scholarship must submit a Swift Playground that will be judged by Apple. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 24th.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via Macworld and developer.apple.com

This is one of those times where you read the End User License Agreement, realize what you clicked, then kind of sigh.

Dropbox has quietly updated the terms and its criteria for it free Basic Tier account. These accounts are now limited to three linked devices.

Users will have to purchase a $10/month Plus or $20/month professional subscription to link more devices. You can keep already-linked devices, but won’t be able to add additional devices until you dip beneath the three-device maximum.If that’s too confining, you’ll have to shell out for a $10 Plus or $20 Professional subscription. You can keep any links you’ve already established, but you won’t get to add any more until you go below that three-device maximum.

In short, you’ll have to pare down the connected devices on the free account, as Dropbox apparently realized it was giving away too much for free.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via The Mac Observer and Engadget

Sometimes you just buy a machine learning company.

Apple on Wednesday confirmed its acquisition of Laserlike, a Silicon valley startup that’s worked to apply machine learning to content discovery.

Per The Information, Laserlike was absorbed sometime in 2018, albeit it’s unknown as to what the terms of the deal were or why Apple wanted the business.

Laserlike was active for four years and concentrated on an “interest search engine” that could fetch news, video, and general Web content relative to each user. A key assumption was that people may want to know about things that don’t necessarily pop up in their usual sources, such as a car recall or an upcoming music festival. The app for the engine is no longer available.

It’s thought that Apple might use Laserlike’s technology and/or staff to strengthen its own machine learning efforts. In the past, Siri has been criticized as weaker than AI assistants from Amazon and Google, which have the advantage of being hooked into massive quantities of cloud data. Apple’s privacy stance has left Siri out of the cloud in many cases, with the technology often relying on on-device processing for its workload.

The Laserlike crew has reportedly joined Apple’s AI division, led by John Giannandrea, who was hired away from Google in 2018. His unit oversees the strategy for AI and Machine Learning across all Apple products, as well as the development of Core ML and Siri.

It’s also been said that Giannandrea dismissed Bill Stasior out of the Siri department, the team’s new goal being to work towards research and away from evolutionary upgrades. It’s unknown if Stasior has been replaced as this point in time.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via AppleInsider and The Information

This could come in handy.

Mozilla has launched Firefox Send, a free tool that allows you to send encrypted files up to 1GB in size, or 2.5GB is you sign in with a Firefox account.

Per the product description:

What sets Send apart is its ease of use. It works in any browser; just go to send.firefox.com. Upload or drag and drop files, and Send will generate a link that you can set to expire after a certain number of downloads—up to 100—or a certain amount of time, ranging from five minutes to seven days.

If you have a chance to try this out and have any feedback to offer, please let us know what you make of it in the comments.

Via The Mac Observer and Wired

Once again, it’s the beta code that provides some of the best hints as to what’s on the horizon.

As such, hints of an Apple News subscription service that would provide access to magazines and paywalled news content have been spotted in the macOS 10.14.4 beta builds.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith shared a number of screenshots from the beta, complete with notifications from the Apple News subscription service, which will alert subscribers when new issues of their favorite magazines are available. Similar subscription information has also already been seen in iOS 12.2, with the subscription service called “Apple News Magazines.” 

The magazine subscription service is based on Texture, the digital magazine app the company purchased in 2018. The Texture app, which can still be found on the App Store, offers access to more than 200 magazines, all for a $9.99/month subscription fee.

It’s likely Apple’s built-in Apple News magazine subscription service will be priced similarly, with customers able to sign up in the Apple News app and pay through standard iTunes billing. 

Apple is thought to be working on incorporating news subscription options into Apple News, although final pricing and details have yet to be unveiled.

According to rumors, while magazine publishers have agreed to Apple’s subscription plans, the Cupertino company has been clashing with news publishers over the planned revenue split. Apple wants to collect 50 percent of the subscription revenue from its Apple News service, which is unappealing to paywalled sites that already collect more money from their standalone subscription options. 

Stay tuned for additional details, especially in the wake of Apple’s just-announced March 25th media event, which is thought to focus on the new service.

Via MacRumors and Twitter