iphone 12 – Apple Breakfast: Apple Starts Selling Touch ID Keyboard

Apple generates a lot of news, and it can be hard to keep up. If your mind was on other things this week, our Saturday morning roundup of Apple-related headlines will bring you up to date.

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New products

On the very day that David Price published his Different Think column complaining that Apple doesn’t announce anything in August (read: Different Think: Give us a summer blockbuster, Apple!) Apple launched the new Touch ID keyboard, mouse and trackpad. So you can now buy the Touch ID keyboard – previously only available with the 24in iMac. Just note that it requires a M1 Mac to work. More information here: How to buy a Apple Keyboard with Touch ID.

The Mac Pro also got an update – but not the one we were waiting for. Mac Pro update rumours were pointing to the Mac Pro getting a new Intel Xeon W processor – specifically an Ice Lake Xeon processor. But all Apple’s done is launched a collection of new graphics options for the 2019 Mac Pro. More here: Mac Pro gets new high-end graphics cards.

And if you are wondering where you can buy these new products, Apple’s made it a little easier. You will now see a Store tab on Apple’s website that will take you to a dedicated store front. This new layout is reminiscent of the Apple website navigation from around 1997 to 2015. This change should make shopping at Apple a simpler experience. The homepage of the store is https://www.apple.com/uk/store or https://www.apple.com/store if you are in the US (which is what it used to be).

News in brief

Windows 365 has launched (although it’s only for business/enterprise use right now). Why are we telling you this? Because it will bring Windows 10 AND Windows 11 to Macs, iPad and iPhones! Find out more here: How to use Windows 365 on Mac, iPad and iPhone.

Software, bugs & problems

There was news this week that the Apple TV app has a bug affecting some users. As a result of the bug audio is not playing in rented movies. Reports indicate that the bug affects Apple TVs, smart TVs, Chromecast, Roku, and other streaming products with the Apple TV app. (Read What TVs and streamers have the Apple TV app).

We also heard of a fault with the new M1 MacBooks. Apparently some users are finding that their screens crack for no apparent reason. Read: M1 MacBook Fault: Reports of Cracked Screens.

You may have missed the news that you can now beta test the AirPods Pro. Testers have noticed that the latest update to the beta includes the ability to increase the volume for conversations, a feature known as Conversation Boost. That new feature joins support for spatial sound in FaceTime and improved noise reduction. More here: New AirPods Pro features available in beta.

The rumour mill

It’s pretty clear by now that Apple is getting ready to launch a new iPhone, Apple Watch and even new MacBooks this autumn, but this week we had some more evidence that new variants of the Watch and Mac are coming: Apple registered new Mac and Apple Watch models in the EEC database.

Also coming alongside the new iPhone 13 is a new set of AirPods, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, an Apple leaker with a proven track record. Gurman said in his latest newsletter: “Look for Apple to debut its new low-end AirPods this fall, around the same time as the next iPhones.” Read: AirPods 3 To Launch With New iPhone.

Gurman also revealed that he believes Apple’s new iMac and Mac Pro will arrive by November 2022 – which is two years after the first M1 Mac launched, and, he says, in keeping with Apple’s two year deadline. And another revelation from Gurman’s newsletter: expect a two to three year wait before Apple launches a foldable iPhone. That’ll mean that the foldable iPhone could launch as much as six years after the first foldable smartphone, but nobody is saying Apple aspires to be first.

There’s lots of rumours about the iPhone 13, but what of the iPhone 15. Apparently the 2023 iPhone will have smaller components and bigger battery.

Apple deals of the week

I’ve embedded a list of the best current Apple deals below, but other than that, we’re done for this week. See you next Saturday, and stay Appley!