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Tag: skin

  • macOS Tahoe 26.4 beta 4, iOS 26.4 beta 4, and iPadOS 26.4 beta 4 distributions highlight nine upcoming emoji characters

    macOS Tahoe 26.4 beta 4, iOS 26.4 beta 4, and iPadOS 26.4 beta 4 distributions highlight nine upcoming emoji characters

    You may love or hate emoji, but they’re here to stay and more are coming with each software update of any operating system.

    According to MacRumors, the fourth iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and macOS Tahoe 26.4 betas released to developers today introduce nine new emoji characters:

    • Trombone
    • Treasure Chest
    • Distorted Face
    • Hairy Creature (aka Bigfoot or Sasquatch)
    • Fight Cloud
    • Orca
    • Landslide

    The updates also include new skin tone modifiers people wrestling and dancers with bunny ears, as well as a gender neutral option for the ballet dancer emoji.

    The emojis are part of the Unicode 17 update that the Unicode Consortium debuted in fall 2025. Apple generally takes several months to implement the new characters given that art needs to be drawn for each one.

    Apple last added new emoji characters in iOS 18.4, introducing bags under eyes face, fingerprint, leafless tree, root vegetable, harp, shovel, and splatter.

    iOS 27, which is expected to debut next year, is expected to get a squinting face emoji, a monarch butterfly, left- and right-pointing thumb gestures, a pickle, a lighthouse, a meteor, an eraser, and a net with a handle.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors

  • Civilization VII to arrive for the Mac, other platforms in February 2025

    Civilization VII to arrive for the Mac, other platforms in February 2025

    If you’re a fan of conquering everything on a world map and not letting any grudges go, you’re going to like this.

    Civilization VII will launch on the macOS in February 2025. Developer by Firaxis Games and published by 2K, the game will hit the macOS, Windows, and SteamOS/Linux platforms on February 11, 2025.

    Civ VII allows players to construct cities and architectural elements, expand their territory, improve their civilization with technological breakthroughs, and conquer or cooperate with rival civilizations.

    As with previous entries to the franchise, players can play solo campaigns as well as online cross-platform multiplayer. Up to five players are supported in the Antiquity & Exploration Ages, while up to eight players are supported in the Modern Age.

    There’s currently no word as to what the exact system requirements will be, and players can preorder the basic edition now on Steam for $69.99, the Deluxe edition for $99.99, or the Founders Edition for $129.99.

    The Deluxe Edition offers advanced access on February 6, 2025. It also includes the Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack, the Crossroads of the World Collection, with post-launch content featuring two new leaders, four new civilizations, four new wonders, a special cosmetic bonus. It also provides additional content including two leader personas, four profile customizations, and one alternate scout skin.

    The Founder Edition will contain everything that the Deluxe Edition does, along with the Right to Rule Collection, with post-launch content featuring two new leaders, four new civilizations, four new wonders, and a cosmetic bonus. This version also includes an additional two leader personas, four profile customizations, one fog of war tile set, and one Founders palace skin.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and Steam

  • Regulatory filings point to larger batteries on AirPods Pro 2 earbuds

    Regulatory filings point to larger batteries on AirPods Pro 2 earbuds

    Sometimes it’s the regulatory filings that tell you the really good stuff about a new product.

    According to a series of regulatory filings, the longer battery life of the AirPods Pro 2 batteries can be attributed to physically larger batteries.

    Compared to the first-generation AirPods Pro, Apple says that the second-generation model features an additional 1.5 hours of battery life with Active Noise Cancellation enabled for a total of six hours. Listings on the 3C database spotted by MySmartPrice reveal that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 earbuds feature a battery capacity of 49.7mAh. This is an increase of 15 percent over the 43.24mAh capacity of the first-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌.

    The new batteries offer a capacity of 523mAh, an increase of just 4mAh over the previous model. Per Apple, the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌’s ‌MagSafe‌ Charging Case provides an additional six hours of battery life for a total of 30 hours of listening time with Active Noise Cancellation enabled.

    The new AirPod Pro units also feature the H2 chips and skin-detect sensors, which also help to prolong battery life thanks to better efficiency.

    If you’ve gotten your hands on the new AirPods Pro 2 earbuds, please let us know about your experience with them in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and MySmartPrice

  • Apple Studio Display 15.5 firmware reviewed, appears to offer moderate improvements in webcam image quality

    Apple Studio Display 15.5 firmware reviewed, appears to offer moderate improvements in webcam image quality

    The good news is that the Studio Display 15.5 firmware appears to have improved the Studio Display’s webcam performance a bit.

    The bad news is that there’s apparently still some work to be done.

    The firmware update, which arrived as part of macOS Monterey 12.4. During the beta phase, Apple continued to iterate on updates to the display’s built-in webcam as well as to its stability and performance. With the third beta of macOS Monterey 12.4, users got their first peek at the camera improvements.

    The changes were subtle but noticeable. Side-by-side, there do appear to be improvements in the image quality.

    Throughout tests in the FaceTime app, QuickTime, and in Zoom, the updated firmware offered greatly improved skin tone reproduction. A face that was red before the update had a more natural color afterward. The details also looked less noisy, and it’s thought that Apple reduced the noise with additional smoothing.

    Center Stage seems to offer improved performance following the update, and the application doesn’t crop in as tightly on a face, leaving a bit more room above the user’s head. Whether this is an improvement of not comes down to personal preference, and Apple seems yet to offer this as something the user has direct control over.

    Over the course of continued testing, the camera’s image quality doesn’t seem have have progressed much from its beta days. That means the 15.5 update has some improvement from the firmware the monitor shipped with, but isn’t a magical solution to Apple’s subpar camera issues. Unless you are putting the images side-by-side, it will be hard to spot much difference.

    If you’ve installed the macOS Monterey 12.4 and Studio Display 15.5 firmware and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via AppleInsider

  • Rumor: Apple may implement body temperature measurement feature in Apple Watch Series 8

    Rumor: Apple may implement body temperature measurement feature in Apple Watch Series 8

    The Apple Watch Series 8 could be capable of measuring your body temperature, but only if Apple can work out the problems that prevented the feature from surfacing in the Apple Watch Series 7.

    Per noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, there’s been speculation that the Series 8 wearable could be capable of accurately measuring your body temperature. The feature was rumored for the Series 7, albeit Kuo has stated that this featured failed to be implemented due to an algorithm failing to qualify before entering the Engineering Verification Test (EVT) stage. If Apple is able to overcome this problem, Kuo stated that the Series 8 will more than like get body temperature measurements.

    Kuo stated that the issue surfaced in terms of precisions. Since skin temperature is dynamic, especially concerning outside environments, getting an accurate reading has proven problematic. Kuo further explained that in terms of hardware, a smartwatch is simply unable to support core temperature measurements. Thus, an “excellent” algorithm is necessary.

    Kuo also stated that Samsung is having problems implementing the feature and that it is unlikely for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 to arrive with body temperature measuring due to algorithm limitations.

    Apple is thought to only introduce the feature in the Apple Watch Series 8 if the company feels truly confident in its algorithm. Anything less than 100 percent functionality will most likely not see the market.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and @mingchikuo