It’s been almost two weeks since Apple started a new beta cycle with the release of iOS 12.3 beta 1. The update brought with it the initial code-level support for some of the features announced during the “It’s show time” event, including assets for the Apple Card, which we revealed would be paired in a similar way to AirPods.
Update: the second developer betas are now available for iOS 12.3, watchOS 5.2.1, tvOS 12.3, and macOS 10.14.5.
Apple is also releasing watchOS 5.2.1 beta 2 today, the updates should become available over-the-air at the top of the hour. There is also a public beta for iOS 12.3, which should also get an update soon after this second beta is released for developers.
The release notes for iOS 12.3 developer beta 2 only mention bug fixes and improvements, we’ll update this post once the beta goes out with more information.
One of the big features in this new beta is a major redesign of Apple’s TV app. As announced during the March event, the all-new Apple TV app brings together the different ways to discover and watch shows, movies, sports, news and more in one app across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, smart TVs and streaming devices.
iOS 12.3 beta 1 changes and features
New TV app icon on Home screen and Settings
Sports and Store tabs have been removed
New Movies, TV Shows, Sports, and Kids buttons at the top of Watch Now page
Purchase directly within the app using ‘How to Watch’
New account button in upper right-hand corner
New ‘For You’ section on Watch Now page
New ‘New and Noteworthy’ section on Watch Now page
‘Trending’ section now combines movies and TV shows
New ‘Featured on’ services
Apple TV Channels subscriptions w/trials
New tiles for movies and TV shows
Slightly redesigned search page
New movie pages with prominent artwork
Share and Up Next buttons now in upper right-hand corner
Sonos and Ikea have fully unveiled the pair of speakers that the two companies have collaborated on for years. The Symfonisk table lamp ($179) and bookshelf speaker ($99) will both ship this August, and you’ll be able to control them with Sonos’ app, allowing each speaker to be fully integrated as part of a multiroom audio setup.
“The products will deliver something that both companies are super proud of,” Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said in a recent interview with The Verge, which also included Ikea’s global business leader Björn Block. “We’ve given it our utter most and utter best from the IKEA side and Sonos has done exactly the same from their end,” said Block.
Spence suggested that the lamp’s audio performance should be similar to — if maybe a rung or two below — that of the $199 Sonos One. It has a dial on the lamp body to control volume, and there are track control buttons on the base plate portion. (They’re out of view in these promotional images.) The lamp does not include a smart bulb out of the box, so you’ll have to buy one separately.
Block said that, eventually, Ikea’s smart home app will integrate music controls for the speakers, allowing customers to build scenes that factor in the lamp, Ikea’s smart blinds, and any bulbs you own. (Sonos speakers can already be controlled entirely within Spotify, iHeartRadio, and other apps, so to see that extending to Ikea isn’t a surprise, given the significance of this partnership.) Who needs an alarm clock when your bedroom lamp can blast some music and switch on the light come morning?
The bookshelf speaker is the smallest speaker that Sonos has ever made (and it’s smaller than what you might expect based on its name), so I’m not very hopeful that it’s going to offer blow-away sound. Spence more or less confirmed that the bookshelf speaker won’t pack quite the same bass punch as the company’s regular lineup.
But he also said that Sonos’ TruePlay feature, which tunes a speaker’s audio output based on its position in a room, makes a big difference in improving sound quality for both the lamp and bookshelf products. Spence expressed confidence that both speakers will sound better than anything else at their respective price points. I wish the bookshelf speaker had a rechargeable battery inside — it seems like a good size to take outside during a party — but that’s not the case. Either way, like most things Ikea, I think the goal here was to make something good enough for the masses.
As for tech specs, this is about as much information as Sonos is willing to give:
Lamp:
Two class-D digital amplifiers
One tweeter
One mid-woofer
Sealed Enclosure
Bookshelf speaker:
Two class-D digital amplifiers
One tweeter
One mid-woofer
Ported Enclosure
Obviously, the sizes of those components will differ in each product even if the internal layout sounds similar.
The lamp and bookshelf speakers will be full-fledged members of the Sonos ecosystem. They can join an existing setup or serve as your entry into multiroom audio. If you buy two of each, you can stereo pair them or even use them as the rears in a 5.1 audio setup, assuming you already own a Playbase, Playbar, or Sonos Beam. (How many 5.1 systems do you know of that include lamps as rear speakers?) Both speakers also support Apple’s AirPlay 2 for playing music from a slew of apps or with voice commands via Siri.
If you’re wondering who’s in charge of what on the manufacturing end, it sounds like a two-way effort. “It’s jointly developed,” Spence told The Verge. “There’s certain aspects which we build on the board and then give to Ikea, and they assemble as well.” The two Symfonisk speakers share some chips with the Sonos One, but there’s no microphone built into either device. Also, both have traditional, physical buttons for music controls versus the touch-sensitive buttons on Sonos speakers. Both Ikea and Sonos are saying this is only the first phase of their partnership, so future speakers might very well offer Alexa support.
Ikea’s Block said that the home retailer’s research shows that 59 percent of customers surveyed cite music as the number one factor of a “great atmosphere.” The company dabbles in inexpensive Bluetooth speakers, but Block said that Ikea has lacked the expertise to really build and get behind a great-sounding speaker. That’s where Sonos came in. According to Spence, Ikea’s designs — and the mere idea of outfitting a lamp with a speaker — forced Sonos to get creative and approach these products differently.
Is it possible that some people will choose one of these new products over a standard Sonos speaker? Certainly. But Spence doesn’t seem particularly bothered by that notion. “We thought a lot about that as we went through it,” he said, pointing out that the Symfonisk speakers will help Sonos reach a lower price point and a range of costumers that the company might not have pursued on its own. (The old Play:1 is $149 and thus less expensive than the lamp, but Sonos doesn’t really consider that part of its modern lineup at this point.)
“If that’s the direction that customers ultimately want to go, and we really find a spark around furniture and sound integrated, then we’ll pour gas on that fire.”
Sonos and Ikea just announced the Symfonisk table lamp ($179), which is one part lamp and one part Sonos-powered speaker. It’ll work just like a Sonos speaker, so you can stream music directly to it or pair it with your existing Sonos speakers, and it’ll also function as a traditional table lamp; there’s a knob on the side of the speaker to manually turn the speaker on and adjust brightness. According to the press release, it’s “the loudest table lamp ever.”
The Symfonisk table lamp joins just-announced bookshelf speaker ($100) in the two companies’ Symfonisk line. It shares a similar aesthetic to the Symfonisk bookshelf speaker, too, which just won a 2019 RED Dot award for its product design.
There isn’t much competition in the “sonic lamps” category, admittedly, with the GE Sol Smart Light ($50+) being one of the only alternatives that come to mind. That said, this new creation by Sonos and Ikea definitely wins in the looks department; the gray model, in particular, looks fantastic.
An important differentiation to make is that unlike the GE Sol, the Symfonisk table lamp isn’t a smart light you can control with voice. As of writing, we don’t think it’s compatible with any smart assistants. In addition to manually adjusting the light, its brightness can also be controlled using the Tradfri app.
As far as price and availability, the Symfonisk table lamp will cost $179, which is slightly less expensive than Sonos’s One smart speaker ($199) and slightly more than its entry-level Play:1 speaker ($149). No release date has been announced for either the Symfonisk table lamp or bookshelf speaker, but both will be available in white or gray colors.
We still don’t know if the Symfonisk will support Sonos’s special speaker tuning technology, TruePlay, or exactly how loud it gets. We will update the post when we know more…developing.
Apple's 2019 iPhones will have fancy new camera capabilities and wireless charging that lets you juice up other gadgets, according to a report published Monday from Macotakara, a trusted Apple blog.
Macotakara said Apple will continue to sell two iPhones with high-end OLED screens, but it will increase the size of its smallest iPhone — currently the iPhone XS — from 5.8 inches to 6.1 inches, the same size of the iPhone XR. It will also continue to sell a 6.5-inch Max-sized device.
The website echoed a report from The Wall Street Journal in January and said that Apple will add a third camera sensor to the back of its new iPhones. Macotakara didn't say what the third camera will be used for, but Bloomberg said in January that it will enable new 3D augmented reality applications.
Macotakara also suggested a couple of other important changes, namely that Apple may switch to USB-C from Lightning on the iPhone. USB-C is a universal connector that works on all kinds of gadgets, including Android phones and Windows PCs. Apple now uses USB-C on its latest iPad Pro models and the MacBook, but hasn't yet switched over to the standard for iPhones. It could allow for faster charging and data rates that are otherwise limited by Apple's proprietary Lightning port.
The iPhones are also expected to adopt a feature that's available on Samsung's latest Galaxy S10 phones. Like top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securitiesreported, Macotakara said the devices will be able to wirelessly charge other products, like the Apple Watch and AirPods, using reverse wireless charging. The Apple Watch doesn't support the Qi wireless charging standard like new AirPods, however, so this may not work with older Apple Watch models. Kuo also said last week that the phones will have significantly larger batteries.
Apple typically introduces its new iPhones in September. A company spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
In a fresh twist on recent iPhone rumors, Japanese tech blog Macotakara today reported that Apple plans to launch two entirely new 2019 iPhone models with triple-lens cameras, which would debut alongside internally updated versions of the current iPhone XR/XS/XS Max lineup.
Citing reliable sources in the Chinese supply chain, the report claims that the two new iPhone models would come with 6.1-inch and 6.5-inch OLED displays and the previously heavily rumored triple-lens camera system.
The report goes on to suggest the two new models will have a thicker body to compensate for the larger camera module, so the 6.1-inch model will be around 0.15mm thicker than the existing iPhone XS, while the camera bump will see a 0.5mm reduction in protrusion.
Likewise, the body of the 6.5-inch model will supposedly be 0.4mm thicker with a camera bump reduced by 0.25mm, which equates to an overall 0.2mm thickness increase over the current iPhone XS Max.
Macotakara claims the two new models will come with a USB-C to Lightning cable and an 18 Watt USB-C power adapter, with an ability for the rear of the phone to wirelessly charge Qi-compatible devices like Apple Watch and AirPods 2 "likely."
In general, the rumor mill narrative suggests triple lens camera systems are a given this year, but most other leaks – from OnLeaks in particular – have implied that the three-lens camera won't be exclusive to any one iPhone, and certainly don't suggest it will be a unique feature of additional models in Apple's lineup.
Given the leftfield claims, today's report should be taken with a grain of salt, although Macotakara has provided accurate information on unreleased iPhones in the past, so it's possible there's something to it.
Netflix recently killed support for Apple’s AirPlay streaming technology in its iOS app. But there’s no conspiracy here, Netflix says: The firm didn’t drop AirPlay over some dispute with Apple about its coming TV+ service as many in the Apple community alleged.
“Airplay is no longer supported for use with Netflix on iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch due to technical limitations,” a Netflix statement vaguely explained on a support page on the firm’s help site. The note was tied to a recent app update that dropped AirPlay support.
And it would spawn dozens of conspiracy theories, most tied to the fact that Apple recently announced a coming TV service called TV+ that will compete directly with Netflix. Furthermore, Apple is bringing its AirPlay streaming functionality—which is like Google’s Chromcast/Google Cast but for Apple devices—to a range of third-party smart TVs, which will help spread usage of the TV+ service.
But it’s not making this change to hurt Apple, Netflix says. There’s no conspiracy.
“We want to make sure our members have a great Netflix experience on any device they use,” a Netflix statement explains. “With AirPlay support rolling out to third-party devices, there isn’t a way for us to distinguish between devices (what is an Apple TV vs. what isn’t) or certify these experiences. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue Netflix AirPlay support to ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met. Members can continue to access Netflix on the built-in app across Apple TV and other devices.”
Presumably, Apple will find a way to correctly identify AirPlay-compatible devices, and thus their capabilities (HDR support, and so on). And that, should this happen, Netflix could simply reinstate AirPlay support. Plus, Netflix still supports Chromecast on iOS, so you can use that technology with a compatible Smart TV or set-top box if you prefer streaming from your device for some reason.
One of the simplest ways to start watching your favorite Netflix shows is to get a hold of your phone and then just beam the content to a big screen TV. It’s that easy. But Netflix seems determined to make it harder than that for those people who pull this move with the help of iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV — or other AirPlay 2 compatible devices.
Netflix quietly pulled AirPlay support MacRumors reported on Friday, a move that might have easily been perceived as a new war among tech players. Apple a few weeks ago unveiled its brand new Apple TV experience, of which Netflix isn’t a part of, as well as its own Apple TV+ streaming platform that rivals Netflix directly.
But Netflix later confirmed to The Verge that it removed AirPlay support because of a “technical limitation.”
Netflix can’t tell AirPlay 2 devices apart, as they don’t have digital identifiers.
“We can’t distinguish which device is which, we can’t actually certify the devices… so we’ve had to just shut down support for it,” a Netflix spokesperson said, which sounds a lot like technical bullshit.
The official statement is a bit longer than that and stresses on the fact that Netflix wants to deliver a great experience to users, which isn’t something to scoff at:
We want to make sure our members have a great Netflix experience on any device they use. With AirPlay support rolling out to third-party devices, there isn’t a way for us to distinguish between devices (what is an Apple TV vs. what isn’t) or certify these experiences. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue Netflix AirPlay support to ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met. Members can continue to access Netflix on the built-in app across Apple TV and other devices.
At the same time, it also sounds like a poor excuse to limit the AirPlay functionality across the board. You can still use Netflix on Apple TV as well as on Smart TVs. It’s just the AirPlay feature that doesn’t work. And it sure sounds like this is the sort of issue that Apple could fix in the near future. But Netflix is choosing to make a big deal about something that’s irrelevant to end users. I’d absolutely want to know how many people stopped streaming Netflix via AirPlay because of the AirPlay-related quality issues that Netflix is referring to.
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