Following a successful debut on Kickstarter, Sphero’s newest robot, the RVR, is now available for purchase worldwide.

The RVR is a fully programmable and customizable RC car that’s drivable right out of the box, but also built for customization with a wide range of built-in sensors and support for multiple skill levels.

There’s a color sensor, a light sensor, infrared, a magnetometer, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. There’s a 4-pin UART expansion port that’s able to work with third-party hardware like Raspberry Pi, Arduino, micro:bit, and more, for adding components like robotic arms, camera, and tons more. Sphero’s littleBits add-ons are also compatible with the included USB port.

The RVR includes a removable, rechargeable battery in the RVR that also offers enough juice to power third-party hardware, plus it features a high-power motor, all-terrain treads, and enough torque to be able to be driven on rougher terrain.

Sphero says the RVR includes an accurate, professional-level control system that’s able to navigate obstacles and uneven surfaces, plus it can interface with other Sphero robots.

Sphero RVR can be purchased from the Sphero website starting today for $250.

This article, “Sphero’s New RVR Programmable and Customizable Robot Now Available for Purchase Worldwide” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple is testing different Face ID prototypes that would allow a smaller notch to be used in its 2020 iPhones, according to leaker and concept artist Ben Geskin.

Geskin previously created a rough concept to visualize the alleged 2020 iPhone.

Last month, Geskin claimed Apple has prototyped at least one iPhone with a 6.7-inch display and no notch, housing the TrueDepth sensors for Face ID in the bezel above the display instead. Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also previously reported that Apple intends to introduce a new form factor, which could potentially include a slimmer bezel.

Ben Geskin now claims various Face ID models are being considered, with prototypes using new optics. Some are said to be smaller in width, while some are narrower to fit the sensors in the top bezel.

2020 iPhone prototypes include wider antenna lines (>1mm) for 5G ⚡️

Instead of plastic lines it will use a new material (glass, ceramic or sapphire) pic.twitter.com/69z02kSTa8

— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) October 22, 2019

Additionally, Geskin claims Apple is revising the antennas on its 2020 iPhones in order to support the forthcoming 5G. Specifically, the prototypes are said to include “wider antenna lines (>1mm) for 5G.” These lines will be made of glass, ceramic or sapphire, says Geskin.

Lastly, Geskin reports that Apple eventually wants to do away with the Lightning port and switch to an entirely wireless charging solution, suggesting the company has no plans to adopt USB-C across its iPhones, as some have hoped.

Geskin has shared some accurate information in the past, including details about the iPhone X prior to that device’s release, but his track record is not perfect. This rumor should be treated with skepticism until it is corroborated by other sources.

This article, “Sketchy Rumor: Apple’s 2020 iPhones to Feature Smaller Notch and Wider Antenna Lines for 5G” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple premiered its futuristic thriller “See” at the Regency Village Theater in Westwood, California, on Monday night. The show is set to debut on Apple TV+ when the service launches on November 1.

Left to right: Alfre Woodard, Jason Momoa, Nesta Cooper, Archie Madekwe, Hera Hilmar, Yadira Guevara-Prip, Sylvia Hoeks, Christian Camargo.

Written and created by Steven Knight and directed by Francis Lawrence, “See” stars Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard, and is reported to have a budget of $15 million per episode.

The epic post apocalyptic drama takes place in a world in which much of the human population has been wiped out by a virus and the remaining survivors have been left blind. According to Apple, dozens of visually impaired and blind actors were cast for the show, and consultants on blindness, biology and survival were hired to make the drama as realistic as possible.

Jason Momoa plays the lead role of Baba Voss, a fearless warrior, leader, and guardian. Momoa is well-known for his role as Khal Drogo in “Game of Thrones,” as well as roles in “Aquaman,” “Stargate Atlantis,” and “Conan the Barbarian.”

Jason Momoa at the premiere of “See”.

Alfre Woodard plays Paris, an advisor and a priestess. Woodard has starred in movies that include “12 Years a Slave,” “Annabelle,” and “Captain America: Civil War,” and she has had roles in several TV shows, such as “Luke Cage,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “State of Affairs.”

The first three episodes of “See” will be available to watch on ‌Apple TV‌+ in over 100 countries and regions around the world from November 1, with new episodes scheduled to roll out weekly, every Friday.

The streaming service 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.

This article, “Apple’s Futuristic Thriller ‘See’ Premieres in California Ahead of Apple TV+ Launch” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Tim Cook gave the keynote speech at the Ceres 30th Anniversary Gala in New York City on Monday night. Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization, and Cook was invited to share Apple’s outlook on the future of sustainable energy.

‌Tim Cook‌ at Ceres (Photo credit: @JamesGould21)

To that end, the Apple CEO used his time at the podium to engage issues of sustainability and renewable energy, while framing climate change as an opportunity.

“We don’t see climate change as risk, but opportunity,” said Cook. “With our supply chain partners, we see a chance to develop new and valuable competencies, because it is the right thing to do.”

We can’t face challenges by “shrinking our thinking or pulling up the draw bridge,” Cook continued, later tweeting: “Companies have a responsibility to use their innovation and agility to lead on the climate crisis.”

Companies have a responsibility to use their innovation and agility to lead on the climate crisis. Thank you to Ceres for their work and for this award — and to @LisaPJackson and the team for driving us all forward. 🌎🌍🌏

— ‌Tim Cook‌ (@tim_cook) October 22, 2019

Big applause for @apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ from from @CeresNews because he spoke out — and stayed in — when US backed out of Paris climate agreement. He’s keynoting at 30th anniversary bash for Ceres. pic.twitter.com/o7mdnH2xZJ

— Dave Armon (@daveyarmon) October 22, 2019

Apple has led the way in renewable energy in the corporate world. Apple Park in California is powered by one of the largest onsite corporate solar energy installations, and all of the company’s data centers are similarly powered by 100 percent renewable energy, as are its U.S. retail stores, and the large majority of its corporate facilities.

Ceres says that it works with leading investors and companies to “build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy” as it tackles the world’s biggest sustainability challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and pollution.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Music software company Serato has updated DJ Pro and DJ Lite to bring full support for macOS Catalina, which ditches iTunes in favor of a new standalone Music app.

The elimination of iTunes had an immediate impact on DJs who relied on the software to access their music libraries via XML playlist files. That’s because the new Music app uses a different library format that isn’t compatible with XML, which led companies like Serato and Native Instruments to advise users against upgrading to Catalina.

Fortunately, Serato’s updated software works with Apple’s new Music app, and libraries in Music can automatically load in the latest versions of Serato DJ Pro and DJ Lite.

Serato has also update Serato Studio for Catalina, but users will have to wait a bit longer for full Catalina support across all of Serato’s software.

According to The Verge, Serato Sample and Pitch ‘n Time Pro and LE are still not compatible with Catalina, but the company is actively working on updates.

Also, Serato has warned about some DJ hardware from its partners that still doesn’t work with the new OS, and the status on that is said to be “out of Serato’s control.”

Both paid and free versions of the new DJ Pro and Lite software are available to download from Serato now.

This article, “Serato DJ Pro and DJ Lite Now Compatible With macOS Catalina” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Yelp has updated its Apple Watch app for watchOS 6, introducing a new modern interface and leveraging the device’s new integrated compass, which should make finding the nearest coffee shop or eatery even easier.

The new UI closely mirrors the Yelp iPhone app, with a scrolling interface that takes into account the user’s personal preferences in its recommendations, making use of the recently introduced heart icon for labeling businesses as “For You”.

But the highlight is surely the compass icon that now shows in the bottom-right corner of the interface and points you in the direction of your destination, while also displaying how many feet or miles you have to go. Yelp had this to say in its press release:

“Now, with the ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 5, you’ll find a new compass feature that points you in the right direction of a local business. The compass will appear on the bottom right-hand corner of Yelp business listings. Based on where you’re facing, the compass will turn with you in real-time, providing updated estimates of how many miles or feet a business is away from you.”

The ‌Apple Watch‌ Series 5 is the first model to feature a built-in compass that allows users to see which way they are facing, along with a new Compass app that displays heading, incline, latitude, longitude, and current elevation.

The Yelp app is available now from the App Store. [Direct Link]

This article, “Yelp App Updated to Include Compass Support on Apple Watch Series 5” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Following a recent Bloomberg report that Adobe continues to be committed to releasing the promised Photoshop CC for iPad app by the end of 2019, Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber has offered up some additional info on Adobe’s plans.

Gruber says that Adobe is “all in” on photoshop for ‌iPad‌, and that it’s viewed as a “serious top-shelf project for creative professionals.”

The team of engineers working on it has grown significantly from a year ago, and they have plans to add features iteratively on an aggressive schedule. It’s reasonable to be disappointed that it isn’t further along feature-count-wise, but anyone who cares about Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ as a long-term product should be very excited about its foundation, direction, and the attention Adobe is paying to the fine details of a touch-first Photoshop UI.

In response to reports that Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ beta testers are unhappy with limited and missing core Photoshop features, Gruber explains that Adobe is positioning the software as “real” Photoshop as it’s built using the same code base that’s used for the desktop version. That’s been interpreted as a “full” version of Photoshop, which isn’t quite correct.

Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ is real because it is using the same code base that’s been running on the desktop for decades. That’s an amazing technical accomplishment. Photoshop for ‌iPad‌ is not full – and the initial release was never planned to be – because it only exposes a subset of features from the desktop version.

Adobe first announced its plans to introduce an ‌iPad‌ version of Photoshop CC in October of 2018, promising it for release in 2019. Adobe has been testing the app with beta testers since May, but there’s still no specific word on when it will launch.

Though it won’t be a complete mirror of Photoshop on the desktop, the Photoshop CC app for ‌iPad‌ is designed to let users open and edit native PSD files for cross-platform functionality. Adobe is planning to add several features later, including rotate canvas, shapes/paths, custom brushes and fonts, color swatches, curve adjustment, smart objects, and grids and guides.

In a separate report released this afternoon, Bloomberg says that Adobe is also working on a version of Illustrator that will work on the ‌iPad‌. Adobe is said to be planning to preview Illustrator for ‌iPad‌ at its Adobe MAX conference in November before releasing the app in 2020.

This article, “Adobe ‘All-In’ on Photoshop for iPad, Illustrator for iPad Coming Next Year” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple CEO Tim Cook is now the chairman of the advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management (SEM), and he recently hosted the 20th annual meeting of the committee.

The news of his appointment was shared in a recap of the 2019 meeting of the board, which is the 20th annual meeting since the committee was established.

Cook has been a member of the Beijing-based university’s advisory board since October of 2013. Tsinghua SEM is considered one of the top schools in China, and other advisory board members include General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Dell CEO Michael Dell, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta, Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and more.

Cook took over as chairman from Breyer Capital founder and CEO Jim Breyer, who led the board for the last three years.

In a speech at the meeting, Cook said that he plans to work with board members to “promote the development of the college” over the course of the next three years that he will hold the position.

Cook’s promotion to chairman of the board at Tsinghua SEM comes as Apple struggles to navigate tensions between China and Hong Kong. Earlier this month, Apple pulled the HKMap Live app that protestors were using to communicate police movements after China suggested the app was being used to target specific police officers.

Last Friday, U.S. lawmakers condemned Apple’s decision and called on the company to reinstate the app, but Apple has not yet responded.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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The so-called iPhone SE 2 will be equipped with an LCP aka liquid crystal polymer antenna design for improved wireless transmission, according to noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a research note with TF International Securities today, viewed by MacRumors, Kuo said Career Technologies and Murata Manufacturing will begin supplying Apple with antenna components for the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ in early 2020, in time for the device to launch by the end of the first quarter.

In previous research notes, Kuo said the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ will have a similar design as the iPhone 8, including a 4.7-inch display and a Touch ID home button, but with a faster A13 Bionic chip and 3GB of RAM. He also expects the device to have 64GB and 128GB storage options and come in Space Gray, Silver, and Red.

Like the iPhone 11 lineup, the ‌iPhone SE 2‌ is expected to ship without 3D Touch, which Apple has replaced with a software-based Haptic Touch solution. Kuo predicts the device will start at $399 in the United States.

It is worth noting that ‌iPhone SE 2‌ might not be the final name of the device, with iPhone 8s and iPhone 9 speculated as other possibilities. With a larger 4.7-inch display, the device would certainly not be as portable as the original iPhone SE, which has disappointed some fans of the original device.

Many of these details have been corroborated by Bloomberg, Nikkei, and other sources.

This article, “Kuo: ‘iPhone SE 2’ to Feature Improved Antenna Design, Production Will Begin in Early 2020” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple today released a new supplemental update for macOS Catalina, nearly one week after releasing the first supplemental update and two weeks after the launch of ‌macOS Catalina‌.

The update can be downloaded through the Software Update section of the System Preferences app, but it may be limited to those who didn’t download the first supplemental update as it appears to be a minor incremental change that offers the same release notes as the first version.

The ‌‌macOS Catalina‌‌ Supplemental Update includes installation and reliability improvements, and is recommended for all users.

This update:

– Improves installation reliability of ‌‌macOS Catalina‌‌ on Macs with low disk space

– Fixes an issue that prevented Setup Assistant from completing during some installations

– Resolves an issue that prevents accepting iCloud Terms and Conditions when multiple ‌‌iCloud‌‌ accounts are logged in

– Improves the reliability of saving Game Center data when playing Apple Arcade games offline

Apple is also working on a ‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.1 update, which is available to developers at the current time.

This article, “Apple Releases Revised macOS Catalina Supplemental Update” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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