Sometimes it’s the beta builds that offer the coolest hints as to what Apple products are en route.

With the release of iOS 12 developer beta 5, a screenshot was discovered of the upcoming AirPods charging case. The new case features an LED displaying an amber light, meaning the device is currently charging or low on power while the other one shows the case with its LED displaying a green light, indicating that the AirPods case is sufficiently charged.

(more…)

IT certification firm Certiport has announced the launch of its new Swift certification program for the secondary and collegiate markets. The program, which stems from Apple’s Everyone Can Code effort, will launch its first full-year course in the fall of 2018, and is aimed at teaching students to create their own apps for Apple’s platforms using the Swift programming language. Earning the certification will then validate those students for the growing number of firms that use the Swift platform in their software programs.

“Earning an App Development with Swift certification will give students the confidence they need to further their programming education or move on to a career in programming,” Ray Murray, Vice President, Business Development of Certiport parent company Pearson VUE said as part of the announcement. “Earning a certification endorsed by Apple shows that they have a solid grasp on the language and can apply it – today – to create innovative iOS applications. We expect this new certification to gain widespread adoption due to the popularity of the Swift programming language.”

(more…)

A series of leaked images show what could be dummy units of Apple’s upcoming 6.5-inch “iPhone X Plus” and mid-tier 6.1-inch LCD iPhone.

Benjamin Geskin has leaked the pictures, as he has in the past, only a few months ahead of Apple’s usual fall iPhone launch.

Dummy units are usually based on chassis design schematics sourced from the Chinese supply chain.

(more…)

If your Apple product was damaged in the recent Japanese floods, the company will fix it for free.

Apple has announced that devices damaged in the floods, if repairable, will be fixed for free.

Users can go to the linked web site or call Apple by dialing 0120-27753-5 and arrange for a pickup. Apple will service them through the end of September.

(more…)

Apple shipped an estimated 3.5 million Apple Watch units worldwide for the second quarter of 2018 according to new data shared today by analytics firm Canalys.

The number marks a 30 percent improvement from the number of watched sold a year ago during the second quarter of 2017. The primary difference between the two quarters was the availability of the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE connection, a feature that likely spurred many customers to upgrade or purchase one of the watches for the first time.

The LTE Apple Watch proved especially popular in Asia, accounting for 60 percent of the 250,000 units that were shipped to the region. Per Canalys, the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE was the best-shipping smartwatch in Asia in Q2 2018.

(more…)

This might call for a firmware update.

A number of iMac Pro and MacBook Pro users have reported macOS kernel panics, learning investigators to begin suspecting Apple’s T2 security chips.

Threads in Apple’s support forums discuss issues with the iMac Pro, and more recently the 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro. All describe how the Mac crashes, entering a kernel panic and requiring it to be restarted, or in some cases rebooting itself automatically.

(more…)

Per the latest from the rumor mill, Apple could delay the launch of its new, low-cost 6.1-inch iPhone by one month and launch the device in October.

The rumor hails from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, who cited suspected issues with “LED backlight leakage” leading to the “possible” one month delay in mass production on the 6.1-inch iPhone.

According to the report, there was originally a six week delay for the 6.1-inch handset. Huberty has stated that the cheaper smartphone will launch in October, while the second generation 5.8-inch iPhone X and 6.5-inch “iPhone X Plus” will “see no delay” and debut in September. All three devices are expected to be revealed during an event in September.

(more…)

Roughly two years after their circulation, security researchers have discovered infections of macOS malware named “Calisto”. The malware was seemingly developed in 2016 and may have been a precursor to the “Proton” macOS trojan that started to circulate in 2017.

Calisto functions as a trojan that takes the form of an unsigned DMG for Intego’s Mac Internet Security X9, an antivirus and security suite. Kaspersky’s Secure List notes it is similar to the official release, so it is likely meant to try and fool users wanting to install the software and acquiring it by other means than directly from Intego itself.

After asking users to accept an agreement, Calisto asks for the user’s login and password via a convincing authentication box. After the credentials are entered, the software shows an installation error message advising to redownload the official software. By doing this, the malware acquires the user’s login details, which it can then use to perform other actions.

(more…)

Apple has released a patch that it hopes will address a heat-related issue in the 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro notebooks.

The now-somewhat-infamous heat issue on the Core i9-powered 15-inch 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro has been identified as a software flaw in the system’s thermal management software, and Apple is rolling out a macOS patch to deal with the problem.

“Following extensive performance testing under numerous workloads, we’ve identified that there is a missing digital key in the firmware that impacts the thermal management system and could drive clock speeds down under heavy thermal loads on the new MacBook Pro,” noted an Apple spokesperson. “A bug fix is included in today’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update and is recommended.”

(more…)

It won’t be long before you can use Apple Pay to snag items on eBay.

Ebay has announced that it will begin accepting Apple Pay in the fall.

PayPal will continue to be a payment option on EBay at least until July 2023. The companies have been slowly unwinding from each other according to the terms of a separation agreement. EBay remains a significant source of business for PayPal. PayPal says any loss of EBay business is offset by growth in helping small businesses sell on other marketplaces and their own sites. That businesses totaled $65 billion in yearly payments volume, which was growing at more than 40 percent per year, compared to EBay’s single-digit sales growth, PayPal told investors in April.

(more…)