Amazon’s Echo Studio, a new higher-end version of its Echo smart speaker, is designed to compete with Apple’s HomePod. The Alexa-equipped Echo Studio, which is priced at $199, supports 3D Dolby sound and, like the HomePod, is designed to optimize sound based on the layout of a room.

The Echo Studio is able to connect to 4K Fire TV devices and when Atmos-encoded content is played, the speaker will be engaged to “fill the room with sound.”

In addition to a HomePod competitor, Amazon also debuted a new product designed to compete with the AirPods. The Echo Buds, priced at $130, are Amazon’s first Echo wearable that offers hands-free access to Alexa.

Amazon says the earbuds deliver excellent sound with crisp, clear vocals and dynamic bass, plus they’re equipped with Bose Active Noise Reduction technology. The Echo Buds last for five hours and have a case that adds additional battery life for up to 20 hours.

Amazon also unveiled a new version of its main Echo smart speaker today, which features improved sound quality with new Neodymium drivers and a 3-inch woofer. Priced at $100, the speaker is said to have stronger bass, and clearer mids and highs. The speaker looks similar to prior Echo speakers, but comes in a new dark blue color.

There’s a new version of the Echo Dot, the Echo Dot With Clock, which is priced at $60. The Echo Dot With Clock features an LED display at the front with options for displaying the time, alarms, timers, temperature, and more.

The Echo Show 8, an upgraded version of the Echo Show 5, also debuted at Amazon’s event. It features an 8-inch display, crisp audio, and a sleek form factor. It’s priced at $129.99, and customers can now choose from three screen sizes: 5.5 inches, 10 inches, and the new 8-inch model.

For kids, Amazon introduced the Echo Glow, a multi-color smart lamp that pairs with Alexa. Priced at $30, Echo Glow can light up with different colors, mimic a flickering campfire, offer a Sleep Timer, or work in “dance party” mode with music and lights (an option coming soon).

A new Echo Flex device ($24.99) can be placed anywhere in the home, plugging right into a wall outlet. There’s a small speaker that’s optimized for Alexa’s voice, and there’s a USB charging port. Amazon is also allowing developers to customize the port, and accessories that include a motion sensor and nightlight are coming.

Amazon even debuted a new Alexa-equipped Smart Oven that can cook common foods through Alexa voice commands. Priced at $250, it is a combination microwave, convection oven, air fryer, and food warmer.

A new product, Echo Frames, is part of a program Amazon is calling “Day One Edition.” Amazon is making a limited number of Day One Edition products, and if they prove popular, Amazon will make more.

Echo Frames are Alexa-enabled glasses that look like regular prescription glasses. There’s no camera, but they offer Alexa voice access.

Another Day One Edition product is the Echo Loop, an Alexa-enabled smart ring that has two microphones that can be activated with a tap.

There’s a built-in haptic engine that vibrates discreetly when there’s a notification or an incoming call and a tiny speaker for responses. It’s meant to be paired with a phone and can do things like turning out lights, calculating a tip, and more. Echo Frames and Echo Loop will be available in limited volumes by invite only. The Echo Frames will be available for $180 and Echo Loop will be available for $130.

Amazon is adding a Multilingual Mode to its devices that will let customers interact with Alexa in multiple languages at one time. Three pairs will be available at launch on October 7: in the United States – English and Spanish, in India – Indian English and Hindi, and in Canada – Canadian English and French.

Alexa is also becoming more emotive and expressive thanks to neural text to speech technology, and Alexa can recognize when a customer gets frustrated when something is wrong, resulting in adjustments to Alexa responses. This feature will be rolling out in early 2020.

There’s also a new option to add celebrity voices to Amazon devices to change Alexa’s voice. Celebrity voice options will be available for $0.99, and the first one, coming later this year, is going to be Samuel L. Jackson’s voice.

Amazon customers can opt in to a new auto delete option that will see voice recordings older than three months or 18 months automatically deleted on an ongoing basis. The feature is accessible in the Privacy Hub for Amazon devices.

As for non-Echo Amazon-owned brands, Amazon unveiled a new version of the Eero mesh Wi-Fi system, a Ring alarm retrofit kit, an updated Ring Stick Up Cam ($99), and a new Ring Indoor Cam ($60).

Amazon is adding Wi-Fi specific skills that will let device users do things like pause the WiFi for dinner or turn on the guest WiFi, which will work with the new Eero and compatible ASUS and TP-Link routers (this fall). Starting next year, it will also support devices from Arris and Linksys.

Amazon is offering pre-orders for its newly announced devices starting today, with devices set to ship out in the near future.

This article, “Amazon Unveils Multiple New Echo Devices, Including HomePod and AirPods Competitors” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The screen savers were created in partnership with the BBC Natural History unit, the team behind “Blue Planet,” showing off the deep ocean around the world with under the sea creatures and scenes that include fish, coral, kelp, jellyfish, and more.

There is no way to download all of the screen savers at once, as the Apple TV only supports Daily, Weekly, or Monthly downloads. You can adjust how often screen savers download by opening up the Settings app on the Apple TV, going to General, and selecting the “Screen Savers” option.

While there’s no way to see all of the screen savers from Apple until they’ve been downloaded over a series of days, 9to5Mac‘s Benjamin Mayo maintains a website that showcases all of Apple’s screen saver options.

There are 10 new screen savers in total featuring these ocean creatures and scenes: barracuda, bumpheads, jacks, kelp, Palau coral, three Palau jellyfish options, sea stars, and seals.

Screen savers are high resolution and are somewhere around 950MB in size. Apple has been offering its Aerial screen savers for years and has been adding to its collection with each tvOS update. Last year’s tvOS 12 update brought screen savers created in collaboration with the International Space Station and NASA.

Screen savers come on after a set period of time of idleness on the Apple TV, but pressing the Menu button while on the Home screen of the Apple TV will cause a screen saver to start playing automatically.

A tap on the remote provides information on where a screen saver was filmed, while a swipe left or right will change the screen saver that’s displayed if multiples are downloaded. Apple’s support document on screen savers has further instructions on how they work.

This article, “New Under the Sea Themed Screen Savers Now Available on Apple TV in tvOS 13” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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That should come as no surprise as the two devices are identical in design, with the major differentiating factor being the Always-On display in the newer model.

iFixit hoped to get a look at the changes implemented to allow for the Always-On display, but much of what’s new relates to display technology and is “invisible to the human eye.”

The site did spot a new ambient light sensor embedded under the OLED panel, and Apple says there are more advanced display drivers and an improved power management chip in the Series 5 as well.

There’s a new built-in compass and the battery is slightly bigger than the battery in the Series 4 (1.4% larger in the 44mm model). The Series 5 chip includes 32GB of storage, up from 16GB, and the new compass, but it features the same GPU and CPU as the Series 4 so there are no real performance improvements.

This article, “Teardown Suggests Apple Watch Series 5 Components are Close to Identical to Series 4” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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“Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display” will show up in the General > About section of the Settings app if a repair shop uses an unverified display component.

The warning message was outlined by Apple in a new support document that says it will show up on iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max devices. Details about the message were also included in the iOS 13.1 release notes, suggesting the feature was enabled with the iOS 13.1 update.

Apple says that the warning is informational only and will not affect the ability to use your iPhone or your display. A notification will be displayed on the Lock screen for the first four days a device is used following the repair, and in the Settings app for 15 days after that before being limited to General > About.

An additional notification may also be displayed, letting users know that Apple has “updated the device information” for the iPhone in question. The notification means that Apple has updated the device info maintained for the iPhone for “service needs, safety analysis, and to improve future products.”

Given that the information is added to a device profile of some kind, Apple repair technicians will be able to see at a glance if a display is genuine or not.

Apple’s support document warns of the dangers of getting a repair from a non-certified technician using a non-genuine repair part. Parts not provided by Apple could result in degraded multi-touch performance, broken True Tone functionality, unintentional battery drain, incorrect color correction, non-uniform brightness, and more.

“Only technicians who have completed Apple service training and who use Apple genuine parts and tools should replace iPhone displays,” warns the support document. Apple says that this includes Apple itself, Apple Authorized Service Providers, and Independent Repair Providers using genuine Apple parts.

Apple in August launched a new Independent Repair Provider Program that’s designed to provide independent repair shops with the same genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals, and diagnostics provided to Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Apple last year implemented a similar warning about non-genuine batteries in iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR devices, letting customers know if an iPhone has been repaired with an Apple provided battery. That feature actually disables the battery health information of the iPhone, which caused some controversy.

An updated battery support document released this week says that the battery warning has also been implemented for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

On these devices, along with the 2018 iPhones, if a non-genuine Apple battery is used for a repair, users will see a warning about the battery not being able to be verified.

When it comes to batteries, the iPhones pop up the warning even if a non-certified repair shop uses a genuine Apple repair component, and the same could be true for display repairs. Even if a shop is using an actual Apple component, Apple’s repair process requires calibration not available to all repair shops.

No functionality is impacted by using non-genuine parts (aside from battery health not working), but Apple could potentially change this in the future. In the past, Apple has disabled some devices that had non-genuine parts, such as the major Error 53 issue that bricked Touch ID iPhones that had been repaired by non-certified repair shops.

This article, “iPhone 11 and 11 Pro Will Show Warning if Non-Genuine Apple Display is Used for Repairs” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Antara features a pavilion design with large 23-foot-tall sliding glass doors that create a 20-foot-wide entrance, complete with curved corner glass panels allowing natural light to flow into the store. Inside, there is also a Forum and 8K Video Wall for Today at Apple sessions, nestled among indoor trees.

Apple’s retail chief Deirdre O’Brien:

We are thrilled to open our stunning new store in central Mexico City and now welcome even more customers to Apple across this bustling city. Our amazing team can’t wait to welcome everyone to Apple Antara for the first time on Friday.

Apple Antara opens Friday, September 27 at 5:00 p.m. local time and will become Apple’s second retail store in Mexico.

This article, “Apple Previews Latest Mexico City Store With Large Sliding Glass Doors, Opens Friday” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple already provides many default glyphs for Shortcuts icons, but the MacStories set provides users with hundreds of extra options across dozens of categories, ranging from documents and clipboard to media and task management.

MacStories editor-in-chief and Shortcuts power user Federico Viticci:

MacStories Shortcuts Icons were designed by our longtime designer Silvia Gatta in collaboration with me. After years of covering Workflow, then Shortcuts, and following the launch of the MacStories Shortcuts Archive, I decided it was time to provide a custom icon set for Shortcuts as well.

MacStories Shortcuts Icons were designed with the needs of Shortcuts users in mind. They’re not just a random icon set: each icon was specifically created for a potential use case in the Shortcuts app.

Viticci adds:

We created the set to complement Apple’s default glyphs and offer more options for Shortcuts power users. I personally went through my list in the MacStories Shortcuts Archive, as well as popular shortcuts from Reddit and the community, and tried to come up with icons that would better represent each shortcut. The icons were designed with a modern, rounded look and subtle drop shadows.

For the icons to work properly, iOS 13.1 or iPadOS 13.1 is required. In those latest software versions, you can now use custom glyphs such as the MacStories icons and still keep the original colors of your shortcut icons.

How to use the custom icons:

• Download the MacStories icon set directly on an iPhone or iPad and unzip the folder in the Files app
  
• Open the Shortcuts app
  
• Tap on the circle with three dots on a Shortcut
  
• Tap on the circle with three dots in the top-right corner
  
• Tap on “Add to Home Screen”
  
• Tap on the icon outlined in blue and select “Choose File”
  
• Choose a MacStories icon and save to the Home screen

The icon set is available today for $14.99 on the MacStories website. For a limited time, MacStories is offering MacRumors readers a 15 percent discount with promo code MACRUMORS15 at checkout.

This article, “MacStories Releases 300 Custom Shortcuts Icons for iPhone and iPad” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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After several years of waiting, Apple updated the iPod touch in May 2019 with an A10 Fusion chip that offers improved gameplay, support for Group FaceTime, and augmented reality abilities. Otherwise, the new iPod touch looks the same as its predecessor, with an aluminum shell, 4-inch display, and body that features a Home button but no Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Prices start at $199 for 32GB of storage, then increase to $299 for 128GB, and $399 for 256GB, the last of which is a new storage tier for the 2019 models. There are currently no sales on the larger storage capacities that can be found online.

Head to Amazon before the iPod touch deal expires, and then visit our own Deals Roundup to stay updated on all of the newest Apple-related bargains.

This article, “Deals Spotlight: 2019 32GB iPod Touch Marked Down to $179 ($20 Off, Lowest Ever)” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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In his research note with TF International Securities, Kuo says Apple will change its flagship iPhone design “significantly” next year. Specifically, the new devices will feature a new metal frame with “a more complex segmentation design, new trenching and injection molding procedures, and sapphire or glass cover assembly to protect the trench injection molding structure.”

We predict that the new 2H20 iPhone design will change significantly […] The metal frame and the front and rear 2/2.5D glass are still used, but the metal frame surface will be changed to a similar design to the iPhone 4, replacing the current surface design.

Jony Ive’s design for the iPhone 4 was the first smartphone to introduce the concept of an exposed squared-edged aluminum frame sandwiched between two panes of strengthened glass – a design that has been variously copied in the smartphone industry.

Apple’s iPhone has undergone several changes since, with the latest iPhone 11 using an aluminum frame that wraps around the rounded corners of a display housed in an all-glass enclosure, and the iPhone 11 Pro devices sharing a matte glass material encased in a durable stainless steel frame. Notably, Apple has adopted a different design for the iPad Pro, which features a more industrial band around the sides that’s also reminiscent of the iPhone 4.

Kuo believes the grooving and injecting of the metal in next year’s iPhone frame will reduce the negative impact of metal shielding on the high-frequency transmission efficiency of the internal antenna, while the use of sapphire or tempered glass on the groove will serve to protect the injection molded structure.

The report predicts that the new design will be a major selling point that will contribute to supplier revenue and profitability, and combined with 5G support, will increase Apple’s smartphone shipments to 85 million units in 2020, compared to 75 million new iPhone shipments in 2019.

In a previous note, Kuo said the 2020 iPhones will be available in new sizes. He believes Apple is going to release 5.4 and 6.7-inch high-end iPhones with OLED displays, along with a 6.1-inch model with an OLED display. Two of the phones will also feature a rear-facing time-of-flight 3D camera that will support augmented reality and improve the camera experience.

Kuo also said all three of next year’s iPhones will support 5G networks, for which Apple will use Qualcomm’s 5G modem. Despite its acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem chip business, Apple will not use its own baseband until the launch of 2022 iPhone. Instead, Kuo believes Apple will first test its own baseband products in a new Apple Watch and other future devices.

This article, “Kuo: 2020 iPhones to Have Redesigned Metal Frame Similar to iPhone 4” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The kart racer title for mobile is set in the Mushroom Kingdom, where players are tasked with racing to beat their rivals to the finish line using drifts and items to gain an edge. Players slide their fingers across the screen to turn, while tapping the screen unleashes stored items.

Playable characters include Luigi, Toad, Shy Guy, Waluigi, Peach, Toadette, and others, and some characters are unlockable through in-app purchases. This is a freemium title that’s free to download, which means Nintendo is monetizing it through in-game purchases.

The game also has an optional “Gold Pass” subscription, which introduces various in-game items and badges and also unlocks the faster 200cc mode. Nintendo is offering a two-week free trial, after which it costs $4.99 a month. The five-minute video embedded below explains how it all works.

Update: As of writing, the game’s servers are currently experiencing heavy traffic and Nintendo is queueing login requests, so it might be a while yet before everyone can get racing.

This article, “‘Mario Kart Tour’ Now Available for iPhone and iPad” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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