By news@appleinsider.com (Wesley Hilliard) Rather than having to assign a default, HomePod will now automatically launch the user’s preferred app for music, podcasts, and audiobooks for the relevant Siri command with the incoming 17.4 update.HomePods Software 17.4 adds new default media service featureHomePod owners have been able to log into apps like Pandora within the Home app and give specific commands to HomePod to start playback. That manual process is going away for a more streamlined version similar to what is available on iPhone.According to a Threads post from user @mahmoudzitani, the HomePod Software 17.4 RC removes the default service menu from the Home app in favor of a more automatic solution. Apple says Siri will learn your preferred media service for music, audiobooks, and podcasts. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) The MacBook Air’s famous wedge-shape design is no more, replaced by the square-sided M3 model. Long live the sloped MacBook Air.The famous envelope image, redone for an Apple MacBook Air adBack in 1991, Apple showed up the entire laptop industry by making one key design decision that all rivals then forever copied. That was the moving of the keyboard from the front of the laptop to the back, and turning what was wasted space into a useful palm rest.As simple and even obvious as that now appears, it remains the single best ergonomic design change in laptops — but then there was a second one. Some 17 years later in 2008, Apple unveiled the wedge as we’ve known and adored since. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Malcolm Owen) A court in British Columbia has given its approval for a settlement that will see Apple pay out up to $14.4 million, to end a class-action lawsuit over alleged iPhone throttling.An iPhone batteryThe class-action lawsuit alleged that Apple’s software updates slowed down the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 models, allegations that Apple firmly denies. However, to deal with the lawsuit, Apple agreed to make payments to the class, totaling between $11.1 million and $14.4 million.The defined class consists of Apple customers who bought an iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, or iPhone SE running iOS 10.2.1 or later, or an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus running iOS 11.2 or later, before December 21, 2017. It applies to all residents in all provinces in British Columbia, except for Quebec, and that a serial number must be supplied. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Andrew O’Hara) On this episode of HomeKit Insider, your hosts go through several new product launches and postulate how Apple could leverage AI in the smart home.HomeKit Insider PodcastAqara had two new products announced this week. They first went back to Kickstarter for their new U200 door lock, while also releasing the T1M ceiling light.The door lock is a retrofit solution with Matter support and the promise of Home Key in a future update. The ceiling light has two different lighting zones and supports Apple’s Adaptive Lighting. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Malcolm Owen) After release candidates for iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 hitting last week, Apple has not provided them for macOS Sonoma 14.4, watchOS 10.4, tvOS 17.4, and visionOS 1.1.Developers can download the new watchOS RCDevelopers participating in Apple’s beta program can get the new builds via the Apple Developer Center or more directly by updating their hardware already running the betas via their respective Settings apps. The public beta versions usually turn up shortly after the developer versions, and can be signed up to through the Apple Beta Software Program.Updates can be triggered automatically or via the Settings app for most of Apple’s hardware with little difficulty for users. For visionOS, users require a registered Apple developer account, though it can be a free account rather than a paid-up one. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Malcolm Owen) Apple’s addition of M3 to the MacBook Air line is the very definition of a spec-bump upgrade. Here’s what has — and hasn’t — changed in Apple’s value-oriented notebook family.15-inch MacBook AirIt has taken Apple four months to update the MacBook Air range after introducing the M3-equipped MacBook Pro lineup. Just like the more powerful models, the 13-inch MacBook Air and 15-inch MacBook Air get mostly internal changes, with a largely untouched physical design.A spec-bump isn’t entirely unexpected for Apple, since it does tend to use the same enclosure designs and core technologies in place for multiple revisions before making major changes. The real question is working out how much of the insides Apple has actually changed. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Daniel Eran Dilger) After a solid month of using Apple Vision Pro, I’m finding the product a lot easier to wear for longer periods of time than I expected. At the same time, I think Apple made at least three critical errors in the initial launch of its new spatial computing platform.Apple Vision ProThe technology Apple packed into its first generation Vision Pro is phenomenal. In typical Apple fashion, the company did not rush out a product that merely tried to duplicated the “look at feel” of an existing Virtual Reality product pioneer — the way Microsoft Windows 95 belatedly copied the 1984 Macintosh, the way Google’s Android desperately copied Apple’s iPhone in 2008, or the way Samsung slavishly copied iPhone, iPad and every other aspect of Apple’s business beginning in 2010.Instead, Apple’s take on spatial computing was radically different from Google’s experiments with Glass, or Microsoft’s HoloLens business, or the various “Android phones on your face” strategies, and is also far more technically advanced than simple VR gaming rigs priced for consumers. I’ve already written why I think Apple’s more ambitious goal of achieving spatial computing appears prescient. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Mike Wuerthele) The new MacBook Air with M3 processor supports two external monitors — when the lid is closed. Here’s what to expect when using Clamshell mode.Two MacBook Air computersApple’s Clamshell mode has existed for a very long time. In short, Clamshell Mode allows the user to connect an external display, and shut the lid. Depending on user choices, the main display will then generally be displayed on the external monitor.On the M1 and M2 MacBook Air, you could only have one external display, regardless of the lid position. So, when you’d shut the lid, you’d get that internal display, mirrored, to the external with no option at all for a second external display. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Mike Wuerthele) As expected, Apple has updated its Apple Watch and iPhone case roundup, offering new and bright springtime colors for both.Apple Watch sunshine bandThe lineup is a bit more extensive than rumored. There are 11 new Apple Bands, and 13 new Hermes bands. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Mike Wuerthele) Four months after Apple debuted the M3 chip, it is now making an appearance in updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models.13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook AirThe New MacBook Air lineup doesn’t come with a design refresh. However, the internal spec boosts are notable.A new feature also allows the M3 MacBook Air to use two external displays when the lid is closed in “Clamshell” mode. Previously, it could only drive the internal display and one external display. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
