Apple is moving away from Intel’s chipsets in favor of its new, custom-designed ARM chips — but the company is promising that it’ll still support Intel’s Thunderbolt USB-C connectivity standard on new Apple silicon computers, despite the lack of Intel processors.
“Over a decade ago, Apple partnered with Intel to design and develop Thunderbolt, and today our customers enjoy the speed and flexibility it brings to every Mac. We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple silicon,” commented an Apple spokesperson, in a statement to The Verge.
The program launched in the United States last fall. Today it is expanding out of the U.S. for the first time. It’s also announcing that a total of more than 700 registered independent repair providers are now available across America.
“We are thrilled to expand our independent repair program to more locations across the US and to businesses across Europe and Canada,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams. “When a customer needs a repair, we want them to have a range of options that not only suits their needs but also guarantees safety and quality so their iPhone can be used for as long as possible.”
“A really important part of the work we do is really thinking about: What is the science that we're bringing to bear, and is it grounded in evidence? And then how do we take that and make it usable?,” said Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health, during a panel discussion at Fortune’s virtual Brainstorm Health event.
In November, Stanford researchers published the results of their Apple Heart Study in the New England Journal of Medicine, finding that wearable devices (like Apple Watches) could detect irregular heart beats. The clinical study, which was funded by Apple, enrolled more than 419,000 participants over eight months—a large and remarkably fast accomplishment for a clinical trial, and “far beyond what we anticipated,” Desai said.
Starting today, Apple Store visitors can head online before visiting the store in person and schedule a Shop with a Specialist appointment. Booking an appointment guarantees you a time to comfortably browse inside the store and shop without the hassle of waiting or potentially being turned away at the door. Customers with appointments will still need to follow Apple’s health and safety guidelines and wear a mask while inside.
In the latest installment of the ad campaign, Blake can be seen working on his latest track, "Are you even real," using Logic Pro X on his MacBook Pro. According to Apple, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist uses his Mac device to edit, pitch, loop, and layer his latest song.
It’s hardly a surprise that everyone seems to be looking for stress apps. Current events aside, we live in a time when it feels like you’ve got to be aware of all the horrors in the world. On top of that, you’ve got to manage the various stress sources in your daily life.
We can’t promise you that an app can help change all of that. However, the right app can be an important part of a stress management routine. They’re something you can reach for during a bad time to help you get through it all.
And for users who want to take task management to the next level, the Flowchart mode enables a new experience that lets you precisely organize your tasks’ priority.
The developers behind Camera+ have unveiled their latest app called REC. As the name suggests, it’s designed to shoot video and brings pro-quality full manual control for focus, exposure, white balance, bitrate, audio gain, and more.
Osmo has a good line in hybrid games, where you use an app on the iPad but the game pieces are real world. That could be anything from letter tiles to make words to a detective set that includs maps and a magnifying glass. They manage to combine the best of both worlds, and in some cases are educational too.
If you’re a Sling TV user with an Apple TV, a new update to the service today brings deep ingrate with AirTV 2 network tuners and local channels. With this update, Apple TV users can now access local channels in the Sling TV channel guide.
Fujifilm has released its software that lets you use X-series mirrorless cameras as a webcam for your Mac.
I can’t say what Apple will do with the Touch Bar. But if I had to guess, I’d say that the lack of effort put into the Touch Bar in the past few macOS updates suggests that Apple itself doesn’t believe in it, and has been waiting for an appropriate moment to let it fade away. The transition to Apple silicon is that moment. And while I kind of like the idea of a widget bar at the top of my MacBook keyboard, it’s an idea that feels like it’s trying a bit too hard.
That’s the story of the Touch Bar as a whole, isn’t it? It was designed to address some of the Intel Mac’s deficiencies, and with Apple silicon those deficiencies are going to be wiped away. The Touch Bar’s services are no longer needed.
Intel has outlined what to expect from the new Thunderbolt 4 standard, which is expected to start appearing in consumer devices later this year.
While it won't offer an increase over the 40GB/s that Thunderbolt 3 does, Thunderbolt 4 has steeper minimum requirements than Thunderbolt 3 for devices to claim certification—and that makes some new features and perks standard.
I don't think too many people had doubts that Apple is going to drop Thunderbolt, but it is nice to have the support confirmed.
Apple has been saying many right things about the future of the Mac. Let's now sit back and watch the execution.
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