If you haven’t upgraded to macOS Sierra yet, get ready for Apple to push it to your Mac automatically. That doesn’t, however, mean Apple is forcing you to upgrade because the automatically downloaded update isn’t auto-installing.
News
Apple Bumps Q4 Earnings Announcement and Call to Tuesday, October 25th
Apple announced Monday that it was rescheduling its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report and call to Tuesday, October 25th. The company cited an unspecified “scheduling conflict.” The call was originally scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th.
VirnetX Scores $302.4M Win from Apple in Patent Trial
The third time is a charm for VirnetX and its ongoing patent infringement lawsuit fight with Apple because a Tyler, Texas, Federal Court jury ruled the iPhone and iPad maker owes the company US$302.4 million. The patents in question cover secure communication and FaceTime, and now the case will head to the Appeals Court where VirnetX may have a harder time convincing a judge to let it keep the money.
CW Shows Come to Apple TV, No Cable Subscription Required
The CW made good on its promise to bring shows like Supergirl, The Flash, and iZombie to Apple TV for free. The network’s Apple TV app is available now, and doesn’t require a cable or satellite subscription to watch, or need any sort of login.
New Retina MacBook Pro Models Expected in October
That new MacBook Pro you’ve been holding out for may finally be only a few weeks away. A new report claims Apple plans to release updated models in the second half of October.
Fujitsu Plans ScanSnap Fix for Sierra by Middle October
Futjitsu issued another update for ScanSnap customers and macOS 10.12 Sierra. The company narrowed down the circumstances and features of ScanSnap that cause a problem in Sierra to three (below). More importantly, Fujitsu said, “A fix for the above problems is expected to be made available in the middle of October, 2016.”
ScanSnap on Sierra Update: Fujitsu Warns of Data Loss In 'Specific Circumstances'
Fujitsu updated ScanSnap users Friday on Sierra compatibility, warning of data loss in “specific circumstances.” This is an escalation from an earlier advisory that ScanSnap users should not update to macOS 10.12 Sierra.
iOS 10: How to Optimize Downloaded Music Storage
One of the many new features in iOS 10 is the ability to “Optimize Storage” of the locally-cached data from your iCloud Music Library. When turned on by the user, this feature instructs your iPhone or iPad to remove local copies of your music if your device gets low on storage space. Don’t worry, only the local copies of those songs are removed. They still remain in the cloud.
iOS 10.0.2 Fixes Headphone Audio Controls, More
Apple released iOS 10.0.2 Friday. The headline feature is a fix for an issue that kept some headphone audio controls from working. A Photos bug was also fixed, as well as a problem with app extensions.
TASCAM Users: Don't Upgrade to macOS Sierra Yet
As has become unfortunately typical from TASCAM, macOS Sierra-compatible drivers for much of their audio hardware are not yet available. Previous years have seen a three-to-six month wait after the release of each new build of OS X for TASCAM to finally put out even preliminary public beta drivers.
TL;DR: if you use TASCAM audio hardware, don’t upgrade to macOS Sierra yet. Check back around Christmas. Maybe.
Snapping Raw Photos in iOS 10: What You Need to Know
One of the cool new features Apple added with iOS 10 is support for capturing photos as Raw files—a favorite for photographers who want total control over their images. Snapping Raw photos isn’t as simple as flipping a switch on your iPhone, but it doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Read on to get up to speed on iOS 10’s Raw image support.
Apple Releases Safari 10 for OS X El Capitan and Yosemite
Apple released Safari 10 for OS X El Capitan and Yosemite on Tuesday. The release was timed with the release of macOS Sierra, and it includes several new features, as well as 21 security fixes. Bryan Chaffin explains what’s what.
Apple Ships macOS Sierra
Apple released macOS Sierra on Tuesday. The successor to OS X El Capitan, Sierra brings Universal Clipboard, iCloud Desktop and Documents, Auto Unlock and Apple Pay to the Mac. It also features Siri integration, as well as other improvements. The update is free.
Apple Promises Fix for Lightning EarPods Controls Bug
Apple’s Lightning connector EarPods and Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter for the iPhone 7 have a bug that can temporarily leave you without remote controls. Luckily, Apple says a fix is on the way.
PSA: ScanSnap Users Should Not Upgrade to macOS Sierra [Updated with Fujitsu Statement]
Fujitsu issues a major warning about ScanSnap compatibility in macOS Sierra. The take away is that if you use ScanSnap to create PDFs, don’t upgrade to Sierra. As of this writing, Fujitsu PDFs generated by ScanSnap could become blank if opened in Sierra. [Update: this article was updated with a statement from Samsung.]
PSA: iOS 10 No Longer Supports 3rd-Gen Apple TV as HomeKit Hub
Are you an early HomeKit adopter using a third-gen AppleTV as your hub? If so, you may need to buy some new hardware after upgrading to iOS 10, as the new features in Apple’s home automation and control platform also introduce new compatibility requirements.
How to Hard Reboot iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus may be technological marvels, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to occasionally choke and require a forced reboot. With the iPhone 6s and earlier, pressing the Sleep/Wake button along with the Home button did the trick, but not so with the iPhone 7. Read on to learn how to force reboot your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus.
Apple Fixed the iOS 10 T-Mobile Bug
Good news, T-Mobile users. Apple has a fix out for the iOS 10 bug that knocked some iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone SE users off the carrier’s network.
iPhone 7 Teardown: Apple Replaced the Headphone Jack with a Fake Speaker
The iPhone 7 is already on sale in the Asia-Pacific region, and the iFixit team was on hand to rip one apart. The iPhone 7 Plus teardown reveals a number of notable differences compared to the 6s, including some interesting choices for the space formerly occupied by the headphone jack.
Watch Twitter's Thursday Night Football Livestream on Your Apple TV
Instead of using Twitter to complain about tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and NY Jets, you can actually watch the entire game for free. Here’s how to stream tonight’s game via the Twitter website or the Twitter app on your fourth-gen Apple TV.
Porn is Sneaking into the New GIF Search Feature in iOS 10 Messages
The new Messages app in iOS 10 lets users search for GIF images directly in the app, but some users are encountering inappropriate results. It seems that whatever search filters the Bing-powered GIF search is using aren’t quite catching everything.
iOS 10 Bug Hits T-Mobile Customers on iPhone 6, SE
Are you a T-Mobile customer with an iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or iPhone SE? You might want to hold off on upgrading to iOS 10 (if you haven’t done so already). It seems a nasty bug is knocking these phones off the carrier’s network, but Apple is reportedly working on a fix.
iPhone 7 Plus Sold Out Worldwide, iPhone 7 Availability Limited
It’s no secret Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus inventory is constrained, but now it’s clear just how limited availability will be come Friday morning when the new models are supposed to hit store shelves. The iPhone 7 Plus is sold out around the world, as is the Jet Black iPhone 7, which means what’s left of the black, rose gold, and silver iPhone 7 inventory will be hard to come by.
Pandora Plus Offers Unlimited Skips, Offline Playback for $5 Per Month
Pandora Plus is a new streaming radio plan which offers unlimited skips and offline playback for $5 per month, a price the company hopes will entice users who haven’t been convinced to pay $10 per month for full on-demand streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.