Apple to Stop iCloud Calendar Spam

If you use iCloud Calendars, you've likely seen a strange calendar event that you didn't create. I've seen them too. These are spam invitations and should be ignored at any cost. Unfortunately, because of how iCloud invites work, this isn't easy. Apple has told iMore that they are working on a fix. Until then, a good workaround is moving the spam event to a new calendar. Then, delete this new calendar. Doing this will not notify the spammers if your account is real. Credit to MacRumors for that tip.

"We are sorry that some of our users are receiving spam calendar invitations. We are actively working to address this issue by identifying and blocking suspicious senders and spam in the invites being sent."

iPhone 8 To Have Wireless Charging

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 8 will likely have wireless charging. Specifically, the 4.7-inch model, however, they have stated that all models will have wireless charging previously. This is likely still true. As for wireless chargers, it appears that certain models will include them in the box. It's not known yet if all models will include one. Wireless charging is something that Apple fans have not been exposed to without the need for third party accessories, but hopefully Apple has taken its time in getting it right.

LG UltraFine 5K Display Swooping In and Out of Stock

The LG UltraFine 5K Display announced alongside the new MacBook Pros have gone in and out of stock today. Whether this is because of short stock or an accidental store listing has yet to be seen. However, if you are in need of this display, definitely jump at the chance if you find it in stock at the sale price of $974. The 4K version of this display is still in steady stock, although will take over a month to ship. Both of these displays use the new P3 color gamut found in the new MacBook Pros and USB-C.

iOS 10: Parked Car

One of the nice things about Maps in iOS 10 is how it tracks where you park your car. If your car works with your phone via Bluetooth or CarPlay, you should be able to see where you parked your car in the main maps menu. Depending on your Calendar events, your parked car should be second or third on the list. Just tap it and you should get walking directions to your car. Note that you should be somewhat distanced from your car. I'm not sure what determines this distance, but you typically have to park in a parking lot for it to work. I hope this helps!

Customizing Touch Bar

If you want to customize your Touch Bar's layout, it's very simple. For most supported apps, you can find this option in View > Customize Touch Bar... From here, just drag the icons down to the bottom of the screen, and you'll see them appear in the Touch Bar. This is especially useful for editing applications, like Pixelmator. I hope this helps!

Creating Memories

In iOS 10, there's a new feature in Photos called Memories. If you'd like to make a Memory out of this Thanksgiving weekend, simply go to the Photos app in iOS, tap the location above the group of photos you want. Now, scroll down to the bottom and tap "Add to Memories." From here you can make cool movies, but in general, it's a cool way to look back on your favorite photos. I hope this helps!

Apple Watch Thanksgiving Badge

If you own an Apple Watch, then you might know about how you can earn badges through workouts. For Thanksgiving, Apple would issue a special badge for those who did a workout that was more than 5K in distance, or 3.1 miles. I managed to earn mine this morning and I personally love the design. In addition, you get a Messages sticker when you earn this badge. It looks the same as the medal, except the design is flat. Hopefully, we see more special badges like this in the future.

Touché

If you'd like to try out Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro without having to leaving the comfort of your home, try Touché. It's a Touch Bar simulator that can be enabled on the fly. Just tapping the control, option, command, and space keys together quickly brings the simulator onto the screen. It appears to be the same simulator that the latest developer build of Xcode uses. If you choose to try it out, you should know that Touch Bar enabled apps typically have a "Customize Touch Bar" menu item in the View menu. Touché by Red Sweater is available for free from their website [Direct Link].

Video Causes iOS Devices to Freeze

Yet another strange way to crash iOS has been discovered. It's through a video link. To prevent spreading malicious content, I won't post the link. In short, loading this link on iOS slows down the system and eventually freezes the device. This requires a hard reset of the device. To hard reset on an iPhone 7, hold down the power button and lower volume button until the Apple logo appears. On any other device, hold down the power button and the home button until the Apple logo appears.

Apple Announces Black Friday 2016

This Friday will mark another Black Friday and Apple has some deals planned. For those who don't remember, Apple didn't have any Black Friday deals last year because they wanted to phase them out and let third-party retail stores handle them. However, Apple will have their own deals this year. We don't know what they are yet though. Apple has put more of an effort this year in advertising their products as gifts, so that may be part of this. Black Friday starts at midnight after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2016.

Apple Offers Repairs for Unexpected iPhone 6s Shutdowns

If you own an iPhone 6s that you bought between September and October 2015, you may be affected by a bug that causes your iPhone to unexpectedly shutdown. If this has been happening to you, Apple is launching a repair program. This will replace your iPhone's battery. I find it funny that Apple addresses that this is not a safety issue, given what's happened with Samsung's batteries. 

iBooks Update Imminent?

After the unveiling of the new TV app, I began to notice a trend. First, Apple Music. It gave Music a  lot more interactivity with users. It added a nice music feed of your albums and playlists, along with the Up Next feature. Now, TV. It gives you a feed of video across multiple video platforms and a new Up Next feature. So, what could be next? I would guess iBooks. While an Up Next feature wouldn't really work, I could totally imagine a feed where you could see recommended books and new books from your favorite authors/series. I could also imagine this happening with Podcasts, but the app is so similar to Music, it wouldn't matter much. Another iBooks update that could happen could be a subscription service similar to Apple Music and Amazon Kindle Unlimited. This is all just my own speculation by the way, not based on any rumors.

New MacBook Pro Available for In-Store Pickup

In-store pickup is now available for the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Certain configurations are available to pickup within hours if you'd like to get your hands on the new laptop. However, certain configurations are not. Of course, stock varies by store and demand is very high. If you're in no hurry to get a new laptop, I would recommend picking a configuration online and wait for the 4-5 weeks shipping for a few reasons. First, by the time it gets into your hands, more apps will support Touch Bar. If you had a new MacBook Pro, less apps would support it and as a result, leave more of an empty hole in your heart. Secondly, more bugs will be fixed by this time. There have been some strange, but minor, security, graphics, and developer bugs that have been reported on a small number of computers and Apple will likely fix it by the time it ships. Finally, 4-5 weeks is likely overshooting it since we already have in-store pickup. I hope this helps anyone considering buying one. 

Apple Pay Holiday Perks

In an effort to promote Apple Pay on the web, Apple has announced some holiday offers when shopping with Apple Pay on the Web. There are quite a few, but the offers vary widely. Some will give you a free iTunes Gift Card, while others will give you free shipping. There are a bunch, so be sure to check out Apple's site for the promotion to see all of the offers.

Logic Pro Update in 2017

Ever since Apple discontinued Aperture, their professional photo editing app, I've had fears of them discontinuing their other apps. Aperture, Final Cut Pro, and Logic Pro was Apple's Holy Trinity of professional apps. Real people rely on these apps. I personally use Final Cut Pro for a variety of projects. Final Cut seems to not be going anywhere soon, with an update for Touch Bar support, however, Logic Pro has not received an equivalent update. However, Logic Pro users won't have to worry, as Digital Trends reports that Apple will add support for Touch Bar in Logic Pro in early 2017. More importantly, that means we'll get an update in 2017. Likely, the design will be updated and we may get a new feature here and there.

Apple Releases 'Designed by Apple in California' Book

Apple announced today that they will be selling a book called 'Designed by Apple in California' starting tomorrow in the memory of Steve Jobs. The book contains 450 photographs of Apple products from the past 20 years. This book has been made over the past 8 years, which makes me wonder if Steve Jobs commissioned this project himself. Either way, it's quite expensive. The 10.20" x 12.75" size is $199 and the 13" x 16.25" is $299.

Touch Bar Falls Asleep

When I read into the Human Interface Guidelines for Touch Bar in the new MacBook Pro, I found it a bit strange that Apple wanted Touch Bar to be used strictly as an input device. I understood that it was an extension of the keyboard, that using it to display information would take attention away from the screen, and of course, it's small. This is precious real estate. You don't want to use the small amount of space on the Touch Bar to show something that could be displayed on the main display. But perhaps another reason it's like this is because the Touch Bar falls asleep to save energy. It dims after 60 seconds, and turns off after 85 seconds. There is no setting for this at the moment. It can be easily turned back on with a tap. So it only makes sense that if you're gonna have to touch the Touch Bar often to keep it in use, you're gonna want to use it as a medium for quick interactions, not immersion. Anyways, I hope this helps.

AirPods Launch Theories

In all honesty, Apple's AirPods should've been launched alongside the iPhone 7 release. Although I am looking forward to the release of these earbuds, many mock these products as a simple cash grab for Apple since they removed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7, which doesn't help the fact that they've been delayed. That being said, I have two sources that have two different stories about when they may release. The first one is a bit sketchy. According a Apfelpage.de, AirPods will release next week. The main source is a European reseller, which doesn't add much credibility. The second rumor comes from Barclays, which says production will begin in December. They're not even made yet according to this rumor. Love them or hate them, it can't be denied that Apple needs to get AirPods out into the public as soon as possible. My theory that combines both is that perhaps pre-orders will begin next week and they'll be here late December or, more likely, early January. In this case, you can still give AirPods as a Christmas gift, but they'll come a bit late.

Apple Pay on Fangamer

With Apple Pay becoming much more useful on the new MacBook Pro and becoming more prominent on the web, I figured I'd show off one of my favorite places to use it. Fangamer is an awesome online shop for geeky video game products. Most of them are produced independently by Fangamer. Anyways, they accept Apple Pay on the web. Previously, I would have to enter a plethora of information just to get a single item, but now I just have to confirm my information and use Touch ID to confirm purchases. Anyways, this isn't an advertisement or anything. This is just one of my favorite places to use Apple Pay. If you have your own favorite place to use Apple Pay on the web, be sure to leave it in the comments below.

Spotify Trashing Hard Drives

When I heard of Spotify installing malware on computers for users who didn't have a paid subscription, I lost a lot of respect for the brand. However, it gets worse as it seems that Spotify excessively writes to hard drives, using up a ton of storage. On various forums, it seems that anywhere from tens to hundreds of gigabytes may be written in an hour because of this. While this is a serious issue, it seems to only be contained to the desktop versions of the apps. If you want to avoid this issue, I would recommend using Spotify through your browser, instead of through the desktop app.

Touch Bar MacBook Pros Begin Shipping

It's been two weeks since Apple's MacBook Pro-centric event and Apple said it would take 2-3 weeks to ship if you ordered a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar on that day. It seems that they were just about on the dot, as MacBook Pros have begun shipping for those who ordered them. In addition, Apple has begun accepting updates for apps that support Touch Bar in the Mac App Store. Since being available, the new MacBook Pro has sold tremendously well, outselling every competing laptop this year and currently taking about 4-5 weeks to ship. I'm looking forward to finally seeing these notebooks out in the wild and what people have to save about them.

(PRODUCT)RED Beats

With World AIDS Day coming up in December, Apple has once again teamed up with (PRODUCT)RED to help the fight against AIDS. For this, Apple has created a new color of Beats Solo3 Wireless and Beats Pill+ called "Citrus Red." We don't have a release date on these yet, but we do know the pricing. The Beats Solo3 Wireless is $299.95 and the Beats Pill+ is $229.95, as expected. It should be noted that all proceeds from these sales go to preventing HIV and AIDS.

Apple Support App Releases in Netherlands

An "Apple Support" app has been released in the Netherlands, something that we haven't heard of before. The app is similar to Apple's support website. Why they chose to roll it out in the Netherlands, I'm not quite sure. There are just three Apple Stores over there, so that may be a factor. Whether it comes to the U.S., I can't say for sure either, but I would assume it would eventually make its way. The Apple Support app is available from the Netherlands Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Emergency SOS in iOS 10.2

In iOS 10.2, pressing the home button 5 times quickly will trigger Emergency SOS. This is a feature that originated on the Apple Watch that will call your country's emergency services number. If you're worried you will accidentally trigger this, there is a countdown and warning sound that will play. You can also disable it, which may be viable, since emergency services can be called already through the lock screen. The only difference is emergency contacts will not be texted. To disable this, go to Settings > General > Emergency SOS and disable "Click Sleep/Wake to Auto Call." Keep in mind that this is in iOS 10.2, which is still in beta.

Algorithmic Voting

With the U.S. Presidential Elections fast approaching, voting seems to be on everyone's minds. Google has made it clear it its users that they should vote by providing them with various resources. However, this post isn't about the upcoming election. Instead, it's about the one in 2020. Imagine if a smartphone could pick a political candidate for you and vote for them with just a tap on the "I agree" checkbox. On one hand, it would increase the amount of voters exponentially by making the process simple and provide fast, accurate polling. After all, Google Forms has been quite successful. Why not use the same premise for voting? But there is an issue it brings up: having a phone suggesting a candidate for you. It does beg the question how much influence a tech company should have over an election and your political beliefs. When it comes down to it, these are tech companies, not political advisers.

Note: I was incorrect in stating that Apple was hiding Donald Trump's app from the App Store. Me not seeing his app was situational and may not occur for all users. I apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you to @sot0fied on Twitter for pointing that out.

iPhone SE Won't Receive Update in 2017

The iPhone SE is probably not going to receive an update next year according to Ming-Chi Kuo. This is because Apple wants to keep their focus on their high-end smartphones. Personally, I was hoping for an update this year. Even if we don't get one this year, it may be better if we get one for the iPhone 8, as that is expected to be a huge update for the iPhone. It's hard to really pinpoint the iPhone SE because it's different from the rest of the iPhones, in that it's cheaper and smaller. In addition, it uses a dated design. As always, we'll just have to see how things play out.

Apple Drops Price of USB-C Adapters and New LG Displays

Apple has dropped the price of several of their products related to the new MacBook Pro. The LG UltraFine Displays are 25% cheaper. The LG UltraFine 5K Display is now $974, down from $1,299. The LG UltraFine 4K Display is just $524, down from $699. Suddenly, these displays got a bit more appealing. All of Apple's USB-C adapters are also discounted. The USB-C to USB Adapter is just $9, down from $19. The Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter is now $29, from $49. The USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter and USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter are both $49, down from $69. Finally, the USB-C to Lightning Cable (1m) is just $19, from $25, and the USB-C to Lightning Cable (2m) is $29, from $35. All of these prices are good until the end of the year.

Single Sign-On In Beta

Single Sign-On allows you to access all of your streaming video through your TV provider with a single sign-on. For example, if you want to use the CBS app, you would normally have to sign in with your TV provider, then watch your shows. Then, you use the FOX app. Again, sign in. With Single Sign-On, you sign in once in Settings, and it works across all your apps. In the latest betas of tvOS and iOS, this feature has finally been activated. It only works with Dish, GVTC Communications, Hotwire, and Sling TV. The amount of providers is expected to grow as the full release comes.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Fermata Headphone Dock

As far as Apple accessories go, Twelve South make some of the best I've seen. They make beautiful accessories that often match the finish of your Apple product. So it should come to no surprise that Twelve South would make an accessory for Beats headphones. The Fermata is a charging dock for your headphones. Although they work with most on-ear headphones, I think they look really nice with a pair of Beats Solo Wireless headphones. They have a subtle reversible micro-USB cable for charging. They were just announced today and cost $79.99.

Note: This post is not sponsored or endorsed by Twelve South.

AirPods Delayed Until 2017?

According to the DigiTimes, Apple may delay the AirPods until 2017. For those who didn't know, AirPods were supposed to come out in late October. When the deadline wasn't met, a vague "Coming Soon" was the new release date. We still have no confirmation from Apple when they will be released, but if it's next year, Apple will miss out on the holiday sales from AirPods. Of course, at the same time, we don't want our earphones to catch on fire and explode while in our ears, so maybe it's worth the wait. Suppliers of AirPods believe that they will come out in 2017, which is a pretty reliable guess at this point.