T-Mobile used CES to shake things up once again by announcing that it’s only going to offer a single $70-per-month unlimited data plan with no hidden fees or charges. It’s a great deal, but only if you can get decent cellular coverage.
News
iPod-based iPhone Prototype Revealed in Leaked Video
An early iPhone prototype based on the iPod interface has been revealed in a leaked video, providing a glimpse at what could have been.
iOS 10 Adoption Hits 76% After 4 Months, Slightly Outpacing iOS 9
iOS 10 is now installed on 76 percent of active iOS devices, according to new data released this week by Apple. This puts it slightly ahead of iOS 9’s install share during the same period last year.
Steel HR Combines Elegance of Analog Watch with Sophistication of Digital
LAS VEGAS — Withings (a Nokia company) was showing Steel HR, a watch that combines the elegance of an analog watch with the features of a smart watch, at CES Unveiled 2017. Rob Le Bras-Brown, Chief Marketing Officer, gave John F. Braun the scoop.
TrackR Delivers New pixel, wallet 2.0, atlas Products, and Alexa Integration
LAS VEGAS — At CES Unveiled 2017, TrackR demonstrated several new products in their line of personal item management devices. In other words, they help you find not only your stuff, but stuff that other people have misplaced. Mia Costa, Vice President of Marketing, gave John F. Braun an overview.
New Year's Day Was the Busiest Day Ever for Apple's App Store
January 1st was a record-setting day for Apple’s App Store, with the company announcing over $240 million in purchases that day alone. It also capped a record-setting year, with app developers earning more than $20 billion in revenue.
CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 3 Preserves eSATA Ports for Legacy Drives
CalDigit has joined the Thunderbolt 3 crowd with the announcement of its new Thunderbolt Station 3 docking station. In addition to all the usual ports you’d expect in a docking station, CalDigit is one of the only options for those who need eSATA support for their legacy storage drives.
Original Six Mega Man Games Launch for iOS and Android
Couldn’t snag an NES Classic this holiday season? You can still relive some classic gaming memories with the launch of the original six Mega Man games for iOS & Android, each updated to support touchscreen play.
NVIDIA's 'GeForce Now' Lets Mac Owners Rent a High-End Gaming PC in the Cloud
NVIDIA’s ‘GeForce Now’ service will let Mac and PC owners rent access to a high-end GTX-powered gaming PC in the cloud, with full access to Steam, Origin, and other gaming platforms.
AAPL Q1 2017 Earnings Report Scheduled for January 31
Apple will release its earnings report for its first fiscal quarter on Tuesday, January 31, 2017. Investors expect record-setting revenue thanks to the iPhone 7 and the continued growth of the company’s services business.
Apple Shares Best of 2016 Video For Content
A few weeks ago, Apple released its annual ‘Best Of’ lists to showcase the most popular content for the year. Today the company shared a quick video to show top content across all of its categories. We’ll share the video and break down each category.
Make Your Apple Watch More Versatile With the Twelve South ActionSleeve
Do you like the fitness features of Apple Watch but hate to wear it on your wrist during your intense workouts? Check out ActionSleeve from Twelve South, an armband case for Apple Watch that may even improve the accuracy of its heart rate sensor.
Ford, Toyota Lead Auto Industry Consortium to Slow CarPlay Adoption
Traditional automakers may not have to compete with an Apple-manufactured car any time soon, but that’s not stopping them from ensuring that tech firms such as Apple and Google fail to reach dominance in the in-car entertainment market.
Elgato Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station Powers Dual 4K Displays
Elgato is joining the Thunderbolt 3 parade with the announcement of its new Thunderbolt 3 Dock. Available at the end of January for $299.95, the dock will support both 5K and dual 4K display outputs along with a range of ports for your 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pro.
The OWC DEC Promises to Make Your MacBook "Pro" Again
Do you find the 2016 MacBook Pro’s lack of ports a bit limiting? OWC may have the solution for you with the DEC, an upcoming accessory that attaches flush to the bottom of your MacBook Pro and adds external storage and a full array of ports including USB Type A, SD Card, and Ethernet.
Netflix DVD Subscribers Can Now Manage Their Queues With a New iOS App
Streaming video may be all the rage, but Netflix is still shipping DVDs and Blu-rays to more than 4 million customers. Now those physical disc hold-outs can manage their queues and keep up-to-date with new releases on the go with an iOS app.
Apple Sued for Failing to Prevent the Use of FaceTime While Driving in Fatal Accident
A Texas family is suing Apple for failing to implement iPhone safety features that would prevent the use of apps like FaceTime by drivers behind the wheel, and potentially have prevented a traffic accident that claimed the life of the family’s five-year-old daughter.
![Report: 3% of Super Mario Run Users Paid to Unlock the Game [Updated]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/super-mario-run-purchase.webp)
Report: 3% of Super Mario Run Users Paid to Unlock the Game [Updated]
Many hoped that Nintendo’s single in-app purchase approach for Super Mario Run would save us from the microtransaction free-to-play hell that is the iOS App Store. And while heavy marketing from Apple and the Nintendo brand gave it a boost, in the end only about 3% of users are estimated to have paid.
Rotting Apples: macOS Sierra PDF Bugs Get Worse in 10.12.2
PDF-related bugs have plagued macOS Sierra since its release last year, causing headaches for both users and developers. But while major bugs are nothing new for Apple’s operating system, developers are sounding a troubling alarm: things are getting even worse with the latest 10.12.2 update.
Happy 2017 from The Mac Observer!
With 2016 behind us and CES is only a couple days away, The Mac Observer is taking off Monday while we catch our breath before jumping neck deep into 2017. We’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Tuesday, January 3rd. We’ll also be on location at CES 2017 to bring you the latest on this year’s tech. Rest up, and get ready for another exciting year!
Want to Edit Your Tweets? Let Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Know
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wants to know what features you’d like to see added to the social networking and microblogging service. The ability to edit tweets is at the top of our list, and it looks like that’s what most everyone else wants, too.
AirPods Production in Overtime to Cut Shipping Delays
It may be easier to get ahold of AirPods soon because Inventec, the company manufacturing them for Apple, is expanding its production. That’s good news for impatient consumers who are currently waiting upwards of six weeks for theirs to arrive.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Brick Update Starts Rolling Out
The last few Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners won’t be able to use their fire-phones much longer because carriers are starting to push out an update that bricks the devices. T-Mobile is already remotely updating Note 7 phones, AT&T and Sprint are planning to start in the next few days, and even Verizon has reversed course and is going to push out the update, too.
Samsung Reportedly Supplying Apple with 5.8-inch Displays for Next iPhone
Samsung is making 5.8-inch AMOLED displays for next year’s iPhone, according to supply chain sources. If true, that makes rumors of a larger screen iPhone in 2017 more likely—and that next year Apple plans to add yet another screen size to its smartphone lineup.