In macOS Catalina, Apple introduced Mac Catalyst, an initiative designed to make it simple for developers to port their iPad apps over to the Mac App Store with minimal work. Mac Catalyst is still new and developing, but its ultimate aim is to bring more apps to the ‌Mac App Store‌.

Following the launch of Catalina, macOS product marketing director Todd Benjamin spoke to CNET about Mac Catalyst, providing some insight into Apple’s goals and the initial rollout of the feature.

Apple designed Mac Catalyst to let ‌iPad‌ developers use a single codebase and development team to create apps for multiple platforms. The feature, says Benjamin, is great for Mac users and developers alike.

“Our vision for Mac Catalyst was always to make it easier for any ‌iPad‌ app developer, big or small, to bring their app to the Mac. This allows them to leverage one codebase and one development team. Mac Catalyst gives ‌iPad‌ app developers a huge head start and for many, an opportunity to expand their reach onto the Mac platform that they may not have had before. Not only is this great for developers, but it’s also great for Mac users, who benefit with access to a whole new selection of great app experiences from ‌iPad‌’s vibrant ecosystem.”

Thus far, several major apps have been ported over to the Mac using the Catalyst feature. This includes GoodNotes 5, Twitter, Carrot Weather, Rosetta Stone, and more. Apple too has brought iOS apps to the Mac using Mac Catalyst, such as Find My, Podcasts, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home.

According to Benjamin, Apple is learning a lot from early adopters and plans to take their feedback into account when expanding Mac Catalyst in the future. Additional resources are in the works to help developers create “amazing Mac experiences.”

For many of the early Mac Catalyst developers, it was their first time ever developing an app for the Mac, and it’s amazing what they’ve been able to achieve in such a short time. We’re learning a ton from these early adopters, and are planning additional resources and support to help them create amazing Mac experiences with Mac Catalyst.”

CNET‘s full piece on Mac Catalyst, which includes details from developers who have created apps using the feature, can be read over on the CNET website.

This article, “Apple Planning New Mac Catalyst Resources to Help Devs Create ‘Amazing Mac Experiences’” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Signify, the company behind the Philips Hue line of lights, recently introduced new filament bulbs, which are designed to look like vintage filament-style light bulbs.

These bulbs, which come in three sizes, are the first bulbs in the Philips Hue lineup that are meant to be used with or without a lamp shade, making them perfect for decorative-style lamps that are meant to have naked bulbs.

There’s a >Standard A19 bulb that’s in the shape of a traditional lightbulb, an Edison ST19 bulb that’s elongated and without the rounder bulb shape, and there’s the Globe G25 bulb, the largest of the three, which looks like a larger version of the Standard A19.

Though designed to look like vintage filament bulbs, the Hue Filaments are LED bulbs and not incandescent bulbs so they don’t get hot at all when in use. You can touch the naked bulb and not feel a thing besides a bit of warmth.

The filaments inside the Hue Filament bulbs are arranged in an attractive spiral shape, with all of the bulbs in different sizes using the same internal design.

All three of the Filament bulbs from Hue are white light only, which means colors are not supported. The default color is a soft, warm yellow, which is ideal for accent lighting and dimmer indoor lighting. For those familiar with the white lighting spectrum, these are 2100K bulbs.

There’s just the one yellow shade with no option to change the white light temperature, but the Filament bulbs can be dimmed or brightened to adjust the lighting that is put off. The bulbs can get surprisingly bright, which allows them to light up a room when you’re using a few.

Each of the bulbs measures in at 530 lumens, so these are not as bright as your average 60-watt bulb. For comparison’s sake, some of the standard Hue bulbs are upwards of 800 lumens, so don’t expect the same maximum brightness levels (though you probably wouldn’t want that much brightness from a bulb without a lamp shade).

In a naked lamp that’s at eye level, a full brightness Filament bulb is impossible to look at, so I appreciated the ability to dim the bulbs down from their maximum brightness. I’m using one of the bulbs in a little monster lamp that I have and at low light, it works perfectly.

Since these are mostly designed to be used without a lamp shade, the Filament bulbs are probably best used at dimmer light, but in a ceiling lamp or up hung up above, the brighter lights will work well and will put off a decent amount of light.

These bulbs are part of the Philips Hue Bluetooth line, which means you can directly control them using the Philips Hue Bluetooth app even if you don’t have a Hue Bridge. If you do have a full Hue setup with a bridge, these bulbs are also compatible, and the bridge, of course, adds HomeKit so you can control the Filament bulbs with Siri.

I didn’t extensively test these on a standalone basis with the Bluetooth app because I do have an existing Hue setup, but I did try them out with the Bluetooth app and found the control to work well, though response times are bit slower compared to a bridge connection.

Offering the option to connect to the newest Hue bulbs with Bluetooth is a great move by Philips because now people can experience Hue bulbs and control their lights without committing to an entire setup.

As with all Hue bulbs that are able to connect to the Hue Bridge, the Filament bulbs can be used in ‌HomeKit‌ scenes and automations alongside other ‌HomeKit‌ products, and can be controlled either through the Hue app or Apple’s own Home app.

Bottom Line

If you’ve been waiting for a Hue bulb that’s able to work in a lamp without a lamp shade, the Filaments are the bulbs for you.

The vintage look is perfect for a naked lamp, and the soft white light works well without a lamp shade. The spiral design is attractive, ‌HomeKit‌ support is included, and if you don’t have a Hue Bridge, you can still control these and use dimming and on/off functionality over Bluetooth.

The bulbs are versatile, look fantastic, put off a good amount of light for a decorative bulb, and are an excellent addition to the Hue family. In the future, I’d love to see colored bulbs in this style or adjustable shades of white, but I’m not familiar with the technical details or what would be required for Signify to ultimately release such a product.

For now, though, these are a great option for those who need a more decorative bulb than the traditional Hue offerings.

How to Buy

The Hue Filament Smart Bulbs can be purchased from the Best Buy at the current time. The A19 model is priced at $24.99, the Edison ST19 is priced at $27.99, and the Globe G25 is priced at $32.99.

This article, “Review: Philips Hue Vintage-Style Filament Bulbs Are Perfect for Accent Lighting” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update to developers, a week after seeding the second beta and a little over two weeks after releasing macOS Catalina to the public.

The new ‌macOS Catalina‌ beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper software from the Developer Center.

The first update to ‌macOS Catalina‌ is minor in scale and appears to focus on performance improvements and fixes for bugs that weren’t able to be addressed in the first version of Catalina. An interim supplemental update was released just two days ago with some other bug fixes that needed to be addressed before 10.15.1 was ready.

Apple’s release notes for the first beta said that the update introduces support for the AMD Navi RDNA eGPU architecture and brings some changes to Photos.

You can now filter by Favorites, Edited, ‌‌Photos‌‌, Videos, or Keywords in the All ‌‌Photos‌‌ view, and you can choose View > Metadata > Titles to enable titles and filenames in the All ‌‌Photos‌‌ View.

‌macOS Catalina‌ is a major update that eliminates iTunes in favor of new Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, nixes support for 32-bit apps, adds a new Find My app, brings a new ‌Photos‌ interface, and includes multiple privacy enhancements and other app refinements.

For full details on what’s new in ‌macOS Catalina‌, make sure to check out our macOS Catalina roundup.

This article, “Apple Seeds Third Beta of Upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.1 Update to Developers” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Last month, in the iOS 13.2 beta, MacRumors discovered an icon depicting never-before-seen AirPods with rubber ear tips, lending credence to rumors that Apple is planning to release higher-end AirPods with active noise cancellation and improved water resistance.

The new AirPods are expected to be released in late 2019 or early 2020. Ahead of time, accessory maker ESR has released both a cover and carrying case for the so-called “AirPods Pro“, with the product images depicting a wider charging case designed to hold the AirPods with rubber ear tips.

The fact that ESR is now shipping perfectly-fitting cases for unreleased AirPods suggests that the accessory maker may have gleaned dimensions and design details from sources within Apple’s supply chain. On the other hand, though, this could simply be a marketing stunt based purely on rumors.

The elongated charging case is consistent with the one that surfaced in a potential leak a few months ago:

Unsurprisingly, the higher-end AirPods are expected to have a higher price tag than the existing AirPods, which retail for $159 with a wired charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. Exact pricing remains to be seen.

Apple typically unveils redesigned products during its keynotes, but an October event is looking unlikely this year, so it could announce the new AirPods in a press release like the redesigned Beats Solo Pro. Or, if the new AirPods are a 2020 product, they could be unveiled at Apple’s usual March event.

(Thanks, Chris!)

This article, “Accessory Maker Releases ‘AirPods Pro’ Cases Matching Rumored Noise-Cancelling Design” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Anker this week unveiled the EufyCam 2, one of the first security cameras that will support Apple’s new HomeKit Secure Video feature, allowing the camera to capture and store recordings securely in iCloud.

HomeKit Secure Video will only be available to users that pay for 200GB or more of iCloud storage, starting at $2.99 per month. Users with the 200GB plan can store 10 days of recordings from one camera in iCloud at no extra cost, while those with a 2TB plan can store 10 days of recordings from up to five cameras. HomeKit Secure Video recordings do not count towards a user’s iCloud storage usage.

With an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad as the home hub, HomeKit Secure Video uses on-device intelligence to privately analyze activity captured from the EufyCam 2 to detect whether it sees a person, vehicle, or an animal before securely sending it to iCloud, ensuring that users are only alerted to important activity.

A demo of HomeKit Secure Video from an iPad at an Apple Store was recently shared by Zach Truskowski, as noted by HomeKit Hero:

HomeKit Secure Video is billed as a safer option than storing recordings on the servers of third-party accessory makers.

With support for HomeKit in general, the EufyCam 2 can stream live video in the Home app on an iPhone or iPad, complete with Siri support. When the cameras detect motion, they automatically send a push notification to an iPhone or iPad, and users are able to view live video immediately from the lock screen.

EufyCam 2 will be available for pre-order in November from Best Buy in the United States, with pricing starting at $349.99 for a two-camera kit. Key features include 1080p recording, 365-day battery life, and night vision. Google Assistant and Alexa are also supported for voice control.

This article, “Anker’s New EufyCam 2 Security Camera Will Be Able to Store Video Recordings Securely in iCloud Later This Year” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Arcade-like subscription-based gaming service GameClub today announced it has launched on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

With a GameClub subscription, priced at $4.99 per month, iPhone and iPad users can gain access to a library that will eventually top over 100 games, including many classics that have been updated and optimized for the latest devices. GameClub subscribers also get in-depth overviews, tips, strategies, and more for each game.

Curated by Eli Hodapp, former editor-in-chief of MacRumors sister website TouchArcade, GameClub says its catalog includes many of the highest-rated mobile games on Metacritic, with multiple titles that topped Apple’s own game-of-the-year lists. Each game is playable without an internet connection.

In the main GameClub app, users can browse games in the catalog and then download them individually from the App Store for free. With a GameClub subscription, the games are automatically playable, with no ads or in-app purchases.

GameClub is very similar to Apple Arcade, which also costs $4.99 per month, but with a focus on reviving classic iPhone and iPad games released over the past decade. The full catalog can be viewed on GameClub’s website, with titles including Legendary Wars, Space Miner, Hook Camp, and MiniSquadron.

A one-month free trial is available.

This article, “GameClub Launches With Access to Dozens of Classic Games on iPhone and iPad for $4.99 Per Month” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Following in the footsteps of Roku, Amazon today announced that the Apple TV app is now available on select Fire TV devices, including the second-generation Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K, and the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition.

Available through the Amazon Appstore, the Apple TV app allows users to access their iTunes libraries of movies and TV shows and the Apple TV Channels feature through the Fire TV platform. The app will also users to stream original content from Apple TV+ when the streaming video service launches November 1.

As of today, the Apple TV app on Fire TV is available in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, and the United Kingdom. The app is also available for Fire TV Basic Edition users in over 50 countries.

Amazon says the Apple TV app will be coming soon to the first- and second-generation Fire TV Cube, the third-generation diamond-shaped Fire TV dongle, Fire TV smart TVs from Toshiba and Insignia, and the Nebula sound bar. The app is not compatible with the first- or second-generation Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.

In addition to Fire TV, the Apple TV app is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, Roku, and select 2018 and newer Samsung smart TVs. The app is also coming to select LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs in the future.

Apple TV+ is a Netflix-like subscription-based service that will allow users to stream original TV shows and movies curated by Apple. Pricing will start at $4.99 per month with a one-week free trial. Up to six family members can share a single ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription through Family Sharing.

This article, “Apple TV App Now Available on Amazon Fire TV Sticks” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple’s services business is set to grow by 20 percent next year, boosted by its forthcoming Apple TV+ streaming service, according to the latest predictions by Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty (via CNBC).

In a new investor note, Huberty predicts that ‌Apple TV‌+ will grow into a $9 billion business by 2025, despite increasing competition in the streaming market and even if only 1 in every 10 Apple user subscribes to the service:

“With an attractive price point at $4.99/month, and wide initial distribution to the Apple installed base via the bundled free year offer, we estimate ‌Apple TV‌+ can become a $9B revenue business with 136M paid subscribers by FY25, assuming just 1 in every 10 Apple user pays for the Service by FY25.”

Huberty also notes that for ‌Apple TV‌+ to have a more material impact on its near term estimates, Morgan Stanley would have to assume: “1) ‌Apple TV‌+ production costs are significantly higher at the launch of the Service, and/or 2) more users redeem the Apple 12 month free offer with the purchase of a device.”

Launching on November 1, ‌Apple TV‌+ costs $4.99 per month and will be available on the ‌Apple TV‌ app on iPhone, iPad, ‌Apple TV‌, iPod touch, Mac and other platforms, including online via www.tv.apple.com. Customers who purchase any new iPhone, ‌iPad‌, ‌Apple TV‌, Mac or ‌iPod touch‌ starting September 10, 2019, are eligible for one year of ‌Apple TV‌+ for free.

Morgan Stanley also raised its target price for Apple stock from $247 to $289. That works out as a 17 percent increase based on its outlook for ‌Apple TV‌+, as well as its prediction that sales will return “to growth as replacement cycles peak” in 2020 as users upgrade to Apple’s 5G-enabled iPhones.

This article, “Morgan Stanley Predicts Apple TV+ Could Be a $9 Billion Business by 2025” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Swathes of AT&T customers in the U.S. are said to be experiencing problems accessing voicemail, based on reports on social media and the network’s support forums.

The issues have apparently been going on for several weeks, but while AT&T says it’s aware of the problem, the company hasn’t yet provided a detailed explanation or given an indication of when it might be fixed.

Late on Wednesday, The Verge highlighted a 40-page thread in AT&T’s support forums that’s full of users relating their experiences trying to access voicemail, to no avail. Android users are being met with error messages, while iPhone users are unable to view the Visual Voicemail feature to manage their recordings. People have also reported problems on Google Pixel phones and Motorola phones.

The first reports date back to October 1, and customers are said to be affected in several states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, and North Carolina. AT&T representatives responding to the complaints have claimed that the issues are due to a “vendor server problem,” but it’s still unclear which manufacturer is being referred to, while a statement given to The Verge similarly lacks detail:

“A recent software update to some devices may be affecting our customers’ voicemail. We are working with the device manufacturer to issue a patch to resolve this and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”

The current AT&T advice for affected customers who need immediate access to voicemail is to create a new mailbox by calling customer service. However, customers who go down this route are being warned that they will lose all saved and unheard messages. The only alternative, it seems, is to simply wait it out and hope AT&T resolves the issue sooner rather than later. We’ll update this article if we learn of any developments.

This article, “Widespread AT&T Voicemail Outage Affecting iPhone Users in the US” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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