After spending years pressuring customers to give up their unlimited data plans, the cell carriers have come full circle and are offering unlimited data plans. Sorting out which carrier offers the best deal—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon—isn’t exactly straight forward, so we ranked each based on their features. Read on to see which comes out on top.
News
iPhone Prototypes Must Be Carried In A Special Case
Whenever Apple tests new iPhone prototypes, they must be used in real world conditions. But how do you test a prototype in public and still keep it secret? By using a special stealth case. MacRumors got its hands on photos of a special case that Apple uses.
iPhone 8: Goodbye Home Button, Hello Function Area
The latest in the steady stream of iPhone 8 reports says the familiar Home button with Touch ID is going away and in its place we’ll get the Function Area. That’s fancy talk for a space at the bottom of the iPhone screen for a row of virtual buttons.
New McDonald's Ad Pokes Fun At Apple to Promote 'STRAW'
Fast food chain McDonald’s has a new ad for a product called “the STRAW.” It pokes fun at Apple, in particular Jony Ive, as it features white backgrounds and a British narrator. The product will released along with four new shakes in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Check out the Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal in the commercial.
New Apple TV Getting 4K Video, But Not Much Else
Apple has plans to refresh the Apple TV this year and finally bring it in line with other set top streaming boxes—assuming this was 2015. The big change coming to the next Apple TV is 4K video support, and not much else.
WWDC 2017 Set for June 5-9, Moves to San Jose
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference will run from June 5th through June 9th this year, and is getting a change of venue. For 2017, WWDC will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose instead of Moscone West in San Francisco.
Facebook Says Auto-playing Audio is Just What You Want
Facebook wants to make video more engaging, so it’s going to make their audio auto-play in their mobile apps. Currently, audio is off by default and from Facebook’s perspective, that’s boring, limiting, and just plain blah.
Iconfactory Plans to Rebuild Twitterrific for Mac with Kickstarter Campaign
The Iconfactory has launched a Kickstarter for Twitterrific for Mac. The company wants to rebuild the Mac version of this venerable Twitter client for the Mac, and the company is looking to raise US$75,000 to do it.
Eddy Cue Says Video is a Big Part of Apple Music's Future
The future of streaming music is streaming media, according to Apple’s Eddy Cue, which is why the company is behind shows like Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps. The “Apple Music is more than just music” message is one he’s already expressed, and it’s a sign Apple’s competition in the streaming music market is growing beyond Spotify and Tidal to more inclusive services like Amazon Prime.
iPhone 8 to Get Bigger Battery, Ditch Included Headphone Jack Adapter
The iPhone 8 is either going to have longer battery life, or more power hungry components. Either way, the battery in Apple’s rumored OLED iPhone will be bigger, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Prince Joins Apple Music, Ends Tidal-only Streaming
The rumors about Prince’s works coming to Apple Music during the Grammys proved to be true. His albums joined Apple’s streaming music service on Sunday, finally letting us party like it’s 1999.
BeatsX Headphones Finally Launch On Apple Store
Apple has finally launched the long-awaited BeatsX headphones. The headphones were originally delayed in Fall 2016. Apple’s website listed shipping times of 4-5 business days for White and Black colors, and 8-11 days for Blue and Gray.
Kwikset Premis HomeKit-Compatible Smart Lock
Kwikset recently introduced Premis, the company’s first Apple HomeKit-compabitle touchscreen smart lock. John F. Braun received a demonstration of the new product from Marty Hoffmann, VP of Marketing, and here are the features he thinks you’ll like.
Cognitive Systems Announces Aura Home Monitoring System
Cognitive System recently announced a system that takes a unique approach to monitoring and securing your home. The Aura system uses radio frequencies to detect motion rather than the optical detection used in most systems.
![Deleted Browser History From Safari Gets Saved To iCloud [Updated]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_0798.jpg)
Deleted Browser History From Safari Gets Saved To iCloud [Updated]
In unnerving news, Forbes reports that your web browsing history in Safari gets stored in iCloud, even if you deleted it. Using a special tool, a security analyst accidentally discovered an iCloud record called “tombstone,” and this is where Apple stores the deleted history.
Get Ready for Apple's $1,000 10th Anniversary iPhone
In a world where people are still having a hard time accepting that smartphones cost money, Apple is prepping a special 10th anniversary iPhone model, and it’s going to cost more than US$1,000. The special model will reportedly be called the iPhone 8, and despite the hefty price tag people will likely buy it.
See and Sleep Smarter with the Helia LED Bulb from Soraa
Soraa has announced their Helia LED bulb, which incorporates several lighting and communication innovations not found in other LED bulbs. Todd Antes, Senior Vice President of Marketing, gave us an overview of the benefits of their bulb.
Hello, Irony: Samsung Note 7 Battery Factory Catches on Fire
It’s the kind of irony that takes serious script work to bring together in a TV show, but for Samsung it’s real life: The factory that makes the faulty batteries that led to the exploding Galaxy Note 7 caught on fire. Luckily no one was hurt, so it’s totally OK for us to poke fun at Samsung’s latest misfortune.
Amazon's Fire TV Boss Joins Apple TV Team
Apple TV has a new vice president for product marketing and he used top be in charge of Amazon’s Fire TV division. Timothy D. Twerdahl came on board with Apple in February and he’s taking over the marketing job from Pete Distad.
Steve Wozniak to Tell 'Untold Stories' about Apple at Startup World Cup Grand Finale
Steve Wozniak will be speaking at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco on March 24th, 2017. Event organizers Fenox Venture Capital said Tuesday that Woz will, “share insights on his time at Apple and tell some untold stories.”
Apple in a Standoff with Australia's Banks Over Apple Pay
Don’t count on Apple Pay coming to most of Australia any time soon because the ongoing fight between Apple and the banks is only getting worse. Apple is calling Australia’s banks a cartel looking to squeeze more money out of customers, and the banks say Apple is trying to kill competition. Both sides are digging in their heels, and it doesn’t look like they’re interested in finding a compromise.
Apple Turns to UAC for Yet Another iPhone Connector
Apple has plans for yet another connector in its Made for iPhone (MFi) program. The new plug—which is actually kind of old—is called Ultra Accessory Connector, or UAC, and will work along side Lightning and USB-C instead of replacing them.
32-bit iPhone and iPad Apps Are on Death Row
Apple’s look-forward philosophy means 64-bit iPhone and iPad apps are the future and 32-bit apps are fading into the past. That means the day is coming where 32-bit apps that haven’t been updated to 64-bit will stop working, and if you don’t have a replacement app ready to go you’ll be out of luck.
Jawbone Bails Out of Consumer Fitness Tracker Market
Apple and Fitbit are about to lose a competitor because Jawbone is ready to shut down its consumer fitness tracker business. The company is shifting to devices for health care providers.