HomePod Gaining New 'Ambient Sounds' Siri Feature This Fall, Radio Station Support Launching September 30

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Apple this week quietly updated the HomePod's product page on Apple.com, including a few release dates for upcoming features (via 9to5Mac). HomePod will gain the ability to tune into live radio stations through Siri controls on September 30, after this feature was first announced at WWDC in June (and made available to some users in Germany this July).


Additional HomePod features, including multi-user support and music handoff, will not launch until "later this fall." With iOS 13, Siri on HomePod can recognize the voices of different HomePod users, queuing up each person's favorite music on the speaker. Handoff lets any media you have playing on your iPhone or iPad be handed off to the HomePod.

Another feature that hasn't been discussed before by Apple has been added to the HomePod page on Apple.com, called "Ambient Sounds." Apple says that you'll be able to relax to sounds like ocean waves, forest birds, rainstorms, and more with this feature, also coming in the fall.


It sounds like the company is working on making ambient noise a big new feature of the HomePod, after being requested by users since the speaker launched in early 2018. Although Apple Music has a multitude of ambient noise playlists, this should make it even easier to start playing relaxing sounds on HomePod.

There have been numerous announcements from Apple this week thanks to the iPhone event yesterday, including the all new iPhone 11 family, the new 10.2-inch iPad, and Apple Watch Series 5.

Related Roundup: HomePod

Buyer's Guide: HomePod (Neutral)

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Apple Becomes Trillion Dollar Company Again

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Apple has regained its status as a trillion dollar company by market cap, which is its total outstanding shares multiplied by its stock price.


Apple achieved this milestone by hitting a stock price above $221.28 in intraday trading today, giving it a market cap slightly over $1,000,000,000,000, based on its 4,519,180,000 outstanding shares as of July 19, 2019, which the company disclosed in its most recent quarterly 10-Q filing with the SEC.

Apple first achieved a trillion dollar valuation in August 2018 with a $207 share price, but the company continues to buy back its shares, which is why it took a higher share price this time around to hit the 13-digit mark.

Apple's stock is up over three percent since it hosted its annual iPhone and Apple Watch event at Steve Jobs Theater yesterday.

Tag: AAPL

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Apple Watch Series 5 Models With Titanium and Ceramic Casings Include Extra Sport Band in Box

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Apple Watch Series 5 models with titanium and ceramic casings include an extra, color-matching Sport Band in the box.


White ceramic models come with a soft white Sport Band with a ceramic pin, titanium models come with a light gray Sport Band, and space black titanium models come with a dark gray Sport Band. This is in addition to whichever band a customer chooses for the Apple Watch during the purchase process.

An extra Sport Band is also included with Hermès models, but this is par for course.

Apple Watch Series 5 models with aluminum and stainless steel casings do not include an extra Sport Band. If you do not select one during the purchase process, the Sport Bands are sold separately for $49 each.

Apple Watch Series 5 pre-orders are available now in fully customizable fashion, with deliveries to customers and in-store availability beginning Friday, September 20. Notable features include an always-on display, a faster S5 chip, and 32GB of on-device storage, compared to 16GB for Series 4 models.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, watchOS 6

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

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LG's $30,000 88-Inch OLED TV Now Available, Will Support HomeKit and AirPlay 2

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LG today announced that its new 88-inch 8K OLED and 75-inch 8K LED smart TVs are available at select U.S. retailers starting today, priced at $29,999 and $4,999 respectively. LG says both models will receive a firmware update that enables HomeKit and AirPlay 2 support later this fall.


AirPlay 2 support will enable users to stream videos, music, podcasts, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to these TVs, with no Apple TV box necessary. And with HomeKit, users can easily control the TV's power, volume, source, and more using Siri or the Home app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

LG says the 88-inch model is the largest OLED TV ever, with an 8K Ultra HD resolution of 7,680x4,320 for a total of nearly 33 million pixels. The TV features a slim-bezel display with a brushed aluminum stand and comes with an integrated 80W speaker system that is said to deliver powerful sound.

LG first rolled out HomeKit and AirPlay 2 to select 2019 OLED and NanoCell 4K UHD smart TVs with ThinQ AI capability in July, with remaining 4K UHD TV series in LG's 2019 lineup slated to receive the features in October.

Many customers have petitioned LG to offer AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on its older smart TVs, but the company has not budged so far, noting that it "cannot guarantee" that pre-2019 models "will be able to deliver a seamless user experience." LG did note that it "may be a possibility in the future."

AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are also available on select Vizio smart TVs, and Sony promised to roll out the features in summer 2019, but it has yet to do so. Samsung offers an Apple TV app and AirPlay 2, but not HomeKit, on select TVs.

Tags: HomeKit, LG, AirPlay 2

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Apple Drops $149 Price Tag of Milanese and Leather Loop Apple Watch Bands to $99

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Alongside the announcement of the Apple Watch Series 5 yesterday, Apple has now updated the price on some of its high-end leather and metallic bands.


Specifically, the original $149 price tag of Leather Loop and Milanese Loop Apple Watch bands has now dropped to $99. This means that they're only $50 more expensive than Apple's cheapest Sport Bands and Sport Loops, which cost $49.

Leather Loop is now available in Meyer Lemon, Black, and Saddle Brown; it only fits 44mm Apple Watch cases. Milanese Loop is available in Silver, Gold, and Space Black; it can fit both 40mm and 44mm cases.

Apple has not dropped the price of the Modern Buckle any further, although at $149 it is still $100 cheaper than it initially was at launch. Hermès bands are as much as $539, and the Silver Link Bracelet is $349, while the Space Black Link Bracelet is $449.

More information about the new Apple Watch Series 5 can be found in our full launch post on the new wearable.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, watchOS 6

Tag: Apple Watch bands

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

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Portrait Mode on iPhone 11 Works With Objects and Pets

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Portrait Mode on the new iPhone 11 works with not only human faces, but also objects and pets, according to Apple.

Apple's sample photos of Portrait Mode on the iPhone 11
From the iPhone 11 page:

Take portraits to new places. With new kinds of portraits and more lighting controls, the dual cameras in iPhone 11 work together to create stunning images. And Portrait mode now works with everything you love to shoot — that includes your best friends, two‑legged or four.

While this was already possible on the iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max, Portrait Mode on the iPhone XR was only able to detect human faces in Apple's stock Camera app. (A few third-party apps like Halide did manage to enable Portrait Mode for objects and pets on the iPhone XR.)

There are also six Portrait Lighting effects available on the iPhone 11, including Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, and High‑Key Mono. This is up from three on the iPhone XR: Natural, Studio, and Contour.

Portrait Mode automatically creates a depth-of-field effect known as bokeh, allowing iPhone users to shoot a photo that keeps the subject sharp with a blurred background, while Portrait Lighting applies studio-quality lighting effects like black-and-white stage lighting to the Portrait Mode photos.

To use Portrait Mode, open the Camera app and swipe to Portrait mode. Portrait Lighting effects will appear at the bottom of the viewfinder.

iPhone 11 is the direct successor to the iPhone XR, with features including a dual-lens rear camera system with Ultra Wide and Night modes, faster A13 Bionic chip, improved water resistance, six new colors, up to one hour longer battery life, Dolby Atmos sound, 802.11ax Wi‑Fi, Gigabit-class LTE, and more.

Related Roundup: iPhone 11

Tags: Portrait Lighting, Portrait Mode

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Chrome’s new feature will let you share your clipboard with synced devices

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