Saturday, May 30, 2020

Apple Doubles the Price of RAM Upgrade on Entry-Level 13-Inch MacBook Pro

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Apple today doubled the price for upgrading the RAM on the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro, with customers in the United States now being charged $200 to move from 8GB to 16GB compared to the previous $100 upgrade price. Similar increases are seen in other countries, such as moving from €125 to €250 in Germany and from £100 to £200 in the United Kingdom.

Current pricing on RAM upgrade for entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro

While Apple does sometimes adjust upgrade pricing as its costs for components change over time, what makes today's change unusual beyond the fact that it is an increase rather than a typical decrease is that the 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ just launched less than a month ago.

The entry-level model is largely similar to its predecessor, using the same 8th-generation Intel processors and many other internal components have similarly been carried over. Still, it is considered an updated model with changes like the new Magic Keyboard and it's extremely rare for Apple to adjust pricing so soon after launch, suggesting an unexpected increase in Apple's costs being passed along to consumers.

RAM upgrade pricing yesterday

Supply chains around the world have been disrupted in recent months due to the current health situation, but China, where most of Apple's manufacturing partners operate, has been reopening ahead of many other countries around the world as it was the first to shut down. So with pricing having been set on the 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ just a month ago, the supply situation should generally have improved since then rather than worsened.

Apple does not appear to have altered pricing for RAM upgrades on its other Mac lineups, although different machines use different types of RAM, so a shortage or cost increase for one specific type would not necessarily affect all of Apple's Macs. Even the high-end 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is unaffected, as it uses a faster type of RAM paired with its newer 10th-generation Intel processors and upgrading from 16GB to 32GB remains priced at $400.

(Thanks, Ashlin!)
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

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Now Patched 'Sign in With Apple' Bug Left Users Open to Attack

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Researcher Bhavuk Jain in April discovered a critical Sign in With Apple vulnerability that could have resulted in a takeover of some user accounts. The bug was specific to third party apps that used Sign in With Apple and didn't implement additional security measures.


Jain notes that Sign in With Apple works by authenticating a user through a JWT (JSON Web Token) or a code that's generated by Apple's server. Apple then gives users the option to share either the email tied to their Apple ID or a private relay email address,which creates a JWT that's used to login a user.

Jain then discovered that once JWTs for both Apple ID emails and private relay email addresses were requested and the token's signature was verified using Apple's public key, it "showed as valid." Should the bug have not been discovered, a JWT could be created and used to gain access to one's account.

In an interview with The Hacker News, Jain spoke about the severity of the bug:
The impact of the this vulnerability was quite critical as it could have allowed a full account takeover. Many developers have integrated Sign in with Apple since it is mandatory for applications that support other social logins. To name a few that use Sign in with Apple - Dropbox, Spotify, Airbnb, Giphy (now acquired by Facebook).


According to Jain, Apple conducted an investigation and concluded that no accounts were compromised using this method before the vulnerability was patched. Jain was paid $100,000 by Apple under its Apple Security Bounty Program for reporting the bug.
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Lenovo Chromebook Duet Review: unreal value


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Apple TV+ Show 'Ted Lasso' With Jason Sudeikis Launching August 14

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Actor and Saturday Night Live alumnus Jason Sudeikis's "Ted Lasso" series is set to launch on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 14.

Sudeikis played Ted Lasso for the 2013 NBC Sports English Premier League coverage, and now he is reviving the character for his new television show.
Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer.
In addition to starring in the series, Sudeikis is also an executive producer alongside Bill Lawrence, known for his work on "Scrubs."

The original Ted Lasso content

Apple has been adding new television content to ‌Apple TV‌+ on a regular basis, yesterday premiering "Central Park," a new animated series from Loren Bouchard and earlier this week adding all of the old episodes of "Fraggle Rock."
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Apple Music Debuts New 'Interview Series' Podcast Hosted by Zane Lowe

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Apple this week launched a new Apple Music podcast titled "The Zane Lowe Interview Series," featuring iconic artists such as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Kanye West.



The series is set to be home to interviews with popular artists, often coinciding with the launch of new albums. Artists will speak "about their lives and the stories behind their songs," in "candid, in depth conversations."

Although the podcast has just launched, there are already seven episodes live. These seem to be previous interviews from Beats 1, but available in full-form. Host Zane Lowe announced the new podcast on Twitter.



‌Apple Music‌'s artist interviews have usually been confined to Beats 1. This move therefore may indicate a new strategy to bolster Apple's original podcast offerings. Earlier this week it was reported that Apple is looking to launch exclusive original podcasts to compete with Spotify.
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Smart Deal: Today only, grab the Lenovo Smart Clock for $39.99


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Top Stories: macOS 10.15.5, New Powerbeats Pro Colors, iPhone 12 and 13 Rumors, and More

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This week saw an interesting mix of news and rumors on the Apple front, led by the release of macOS 10.15.5, which brings a new battery health feature to newer Mac notebooks, while we also saw the official announcement of new colors for the Powerbeats Pro earphones.


On the rumor front, we heard a few tidbits about not just this year's iPhone 12 but also next year's iPhone, while we saw photos and videos of a new style of Leather Loop Apple Watch band. And finally, there was a weird iOS bug last weekend that saw users unable to open some popular apps. Apple fixed the issue, although it appears to have required users to redownload a bunch of recent app updates.

Read on for more details on all of this week's top stories!

Apple Releases macOS Catalina 10.15.5 With Battery Health Management Features, Fix for Finder Freezing


After releasing operating system updates for most of its products last week, Apple this week pushed out macOS Catalina 10.15.5, an update that brings a new battery health management feature to recent notebook models, as well as some other updates and bug fixes.


Not all of the changes are being greeted with applause, however, as there appears to be a bug related to creating bootable backup drives, and a change by Apple will make it harder for users to escape being nagged to upgrade to the latest macOS updates going forward.

Apple Confirms 'No Longer Shared' App Bug Has Been Fixed


Late last week, many iOS users found themselves unable to open a number of popular apps, with their devices displaying a "This app is no longer shared with you" alert whenever an affected app was launched.


While there were some workarounds for the issue, Apple ultimately fixed the issue late Sunday, but it required reissuing recent updates for a number of apps, which for many users resulted in dozens or even hundreds of app updates.

On Tuesday, Apple confirmed that it had fixed the issue, although it didn't offer any additional explanation about the cause of the problem.

Leaker: Apple to Stick With Lightning Over USB-C for 'iPhone 12' Before Going Port-Less Next Year


Noted Twitter leaker @choco_bit has shared that the iPhone 12 will unsurprisingly continue to feature a Lightning port for charging rather than transitioning to USB-C, but it's what the leaker has to say about next year's iPhone that's more interesting.

Apple will reportedly be eliminating the charging port entirely on the 2021 iPhone, shifting to a Smart Connector similar to that seen on recent iPad models to allow for power and data transfer with accessories like keyboard cases.

MacRumors mockup based on 2021 iPhone camera rumor

A separate rumor from @choco_bit indicates that the 2021 iPhone could include four camera lenses in the 40- to 64-megapixel range, in addition to a LiDAR sensor for augmented reality purposes. The leaker says the rumor should be taken with a "huge amount of salt," so we won't put too much stock in it just yet, but it's an interesting claim that bears watching.

Powerbeats Pro Debut in Four New Colors: Spring Yellow, Cloud Pink, Lava Red, and Glacier Blue


Following a couple of leaks in recent weeks, Beats today is officially announcing four new colors for its Powerbeats Pro wireless earphones: Spring Yellow, Cloud Pink, Lava Red, and Glacier Blue. The new earphones will go on sale June 9 and sell for the same $249.95 price as the existing color options.


Aside from the colors, the new ‌Powerbeats Pro‌ models are otherwise identical to the original Powerbeats Pro, offering up to nine hours of listening time with the charging case bringing the total listening time to over 24 hours. Apple's H1 chip brings easy pairing, seamless switching between devices via iCloud, and "Hey Siri" functionality, while on-ear volume and track buttons on each earbud offer simple controls and adjustable earhooks help secure the earphones during vigorous workouts.

Apple Could Be Planning Redesigned Leather Loop Apple Watch Band


Recently surfaced photos and videos show what could be a redesign for Apple's Leather Loop Apple Watch band, shifting from a single-piece loop style to two pieces that attach magnetically.


It remains to be seen whether these are ready for launch in the near future, perhaps at WWDC next month or in September alongside the Apple Watch Series 6. Alternatively, these could be prototypes that were ultimately scrapped, or even knockoffs meant to mimic Apple's band style.

Jailbreak Tool 'unc0ver' 5.0 Released With iOS 13.5 Compatibility


Jailbreaking to install unauthorized apps and modifications on iOS devices has waned in popularity over the years, but the team behind the "unc0ver" jailbreaking tool has released a blockbuster new update that claims to be able to jailbreak "every signed iOS version on every device" ranging from iOS 11.0 to iOS 13.5.


Apple will undoubtedly move to fix the vulnerability that allows the jailbreak to work, so expect to see a new iOS update in the not-too-distant future.

MacRumors Newsletter


Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!
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