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Charlotte Henry

Charlotte is a media junkie, covering how Apple is not just a revolutionary tech firm, but a revolutionary media firm for TMO. She is based in London, and writes and broadcasts for various outlets.

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An iPhone 12 mini Teardown is Here

The iPhone 12 mini and Pro Max became available Friday. iFixit has published its teardown of the smaller device.

The two most common smartphone repairs—display and battery—are well-prioritized here. Most major components are modular enough to be accessed/replaced independently. Specialized screws complicate repairs, but remain preferable to overuse of glue. Waterproofing measures make many repairs more difficult, but safeguard against (extremely difficult) water damage repairs.  Glass covering the rear housing is fragile and impractical to replace—a single drop could necessitate replacing the entire body of the iPhone.

Disney+ Surpasses 73 Million Paying Subscribers

As of October 3, Disney+ had surpassed 73 million paying subscribers, Variety reported. Around 42.6 million are estimated to Apple TV+.

That marks a leap from the 60.5 million paying subscribers that Disney Plus had when Disney last reported earnings in early August. Hulu now has 36.6 million total paying subscribers, up from 35.5 million in late June, while ESPN Plus has grown to 10.3 million subscribers, up from 8.5 million reported last quarter… That marks a leap from the 60.5 million paying subscribers that Disney Plus had when Disney last reported earnings in early August. Hulu now has 36.6 million total paying subscribers, up from 35.5 million in late June, while ESPN Plus has grown to 10.3 million subscribers, up from 8.5 million reported last quarter.

iOS 14.3 to Suggest Third-Party Apps During Setup

iOS 14.3 is going to suggest third-party apps to users when they set up their iPhone or iPad. 9to5 Mac discovered a menu doing this in the latest beta version of the software.

This new section of the setup process is not intended to be shown to all users. Instead, the code says that it will be enabled only for some countries based on local laws. “In compliance with regional legal requirements, continue to view available apps to download,” the code says. It’s unclear in which regions Apple will enable this new feature, but it will most likely be first implemented in European Union countries.

 

Foxconn Sees 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand Following iPhone 12 Release

Foxconn has seen more demand than it expected following the release of the iPhone 12 range, Reuters reported. It also plans to “push forward” with producing items in Wisconsin.

Foxconn said on Thursday its investment plan did not depend on who the U.S. president was. It was, however, exploring the option of building a new production line there. “We continue to push forward in Wisconsin as planned, but the product has to be in line with the market demand … there could be a change in what product we make there,” Chairman Liu Young-way said at an investor conference. Liu said Foxconn saw “stronger than expected” demand for both smartphones and servers, with strong shipments of Apple’s new iPhone 12 supporting revenue.

Why The New Mac mini and M1 Chip is a Big Deal For Hollywood

Apple put creativity front and center when unveiling its new products on Tuesday. The Hollywood Reporter found that many in the film and creative industries are excited about the possibilities of the Mac mini with it’s new M1 chip.

Veteran editor Harry B. Miller III says the new Mac minis in particular “could be huge” for the editing community. “Most of the editing industry is either on old cheese-grater or trashcan Macs. It seems to me the Mac mini with this new chip could easily and fairly cheaply replace all those old units,” he says. “Fox Studios, for example, had been refurbishing cheese-graters to keep them up to date with CPU’s and memory for more complex workflows. It would now be cheaper to replace them with the new Mini.” Miller says he plans to buy one. “I’ve used a Mini for the past 18 months for Avid [Media Composer] and [Adobe] Premiere Pro work on all my projects,” he notes. “Because of the pandemic, I know there have been a lot of equipment investments into iMacs for remote work. I could see the Mini’s replacing them as well.”

Apple Silicon Could Lead to Lower-Cost Macs, Predicts Top Analyst

Apple will host its ‘One More Thing’ event on Tuesday, at which the first Apple silicon macs are expected to be unveiled. In a new note to investors, JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee became the latest to predict that the shift may result in lower-cost Macs.

“With the move to in-house capabilities, Apple is looking to regain control over the pace of the technology roadmap on the processor chips, and create a common architecture across all Apple products, making it easier for developers to write and optimize applications for the product ecosystem,” the analyst writes. For consumers, Chatterjee believes that a lower bill of materials cost with a new Apple Silicon chip could lead to Mac devices with a lower price point targeting a wider market. More specifically, the analyst contends that Apple could release an SKU with a price point between that of the MacBook Pro and the MacBook AirThe analyst estimates a standalone market opportunity of 10 to 15 million unit volume for the new Mac device, with a starting average selling price (ASP) of $1,000. That implies about a $15 billion opportunity for Apple, “which will assure multi-year growth in a lackluster PC market.”

YouTube Updates iOS App to Support HDR Video on iPhone 12 Range

The YouTube iOS app now supports HDR video on the iPhone 12 range. As iMore noted, the video-sharing platform has supported such video for a while but needs to update the app every time a new device is released.

While YouTube has offered HDR support for iPhones since the arrival of iPhone X, the app does require an update every time a new device is released. That’s less than ideal but, thankfully, YouTube seems to be pretty on the ball and gets the updates out relatively quickly. It did take a few weeks last year, though. The newly updated YouTube is available as a free download from the App Store right now. Not that you’d know what to expect from the release notes! ‘Fixed bugs, improved performance, explored the edges of the known universe.’