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Friday, August 28, 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Proof that Google may be making a Pixelbook 2 for 2020 after all
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Apple Settles Class Action Lawsuit Over Powerbeats 2, Agrees to Pay $9.75 Million
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Apple has settled a class action lawsuit related to the Powerbeats 2 headphones, which was levied against the Cupertino company after some customers found that the Powerbeats 2, first released in 2015, had a defect that could cause them to stop working and fail to retain charge after "minimal usage."
Plaintiffs alleged that Apple misrepresented the battery life of the Powerbeats 2, and that the Powerbeats 2 were sweat and water resistant. Apple was also accused of not repairing or replacing defective Powerbeats 2 within the one-year warranty period, with the lawsuit initially filed in 2017.
There was no ruling by the court as Apple and the plaintiffs in the case have agreed to a settlement that will see Apple paying $9,750,000. Apple says that it denies all allegations and is paying the settlement fee to avoid expensive litigation. The $9.75 million will be split between all Class Members who submit claim forms (one payment per household) after attorneys' fees and related costs are paid.
Details about the settlement were sent out to Powerbeats 2 owners this evening. Customers who purchased new Powerbeats 2 earbuds before August 7, 2020 can claim a payment from the settlement after it is approved by the Superior Court of the State of California, Santa Clara County. A hearing is set to be held on January 15, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
For those who owned or own Powerbeats 2, claims can be submitted online through the settlement website, which also includes more information on the settlement agreement. Those who want to participate in the settlement need to do so by November 20, 2020.
This article, "Apple Settles Class Action Lawsuit Over Powerbeats 2, Agrees to Pay $9.75 Million" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Apple has settled a class action lawsuit related to the Powerbeats 2 headphones, which was levied against the Cupertino company after some customers found that the Powerbeats 2, first released in 2015, had a defect that could cause them to stop working and fail to retain charge after "minimal usage."
Plaintiffs alleged that Apple misrepresented the battery life of the Powerbeats 2, and that the Powerbeats 2 were sweat and water resistant. Apple was also accused of not repairing or replacing defective Powerbeats 2 within the one-year warranty period, with the lawsuit initially filed in 2017.
There was no ruling by the court as Apple and the plaintiffs in the case have agreed to a settlement that will see Apple paying $9,750,000. Apple says that it denies all allegations and is paying the settlement fee to avoid expensive litigation. The $9.75 million will be split between all Class Members who submit claim forms (one payment per household) after attorneys' fees and related costs are paid.
Details about the settlement were sent out to Powerbeats 2 owners this evening. Customers who purchased new Powerbeats 2 earbuds before August 7, 2020 can claim a payment from the settlement after it is approved by the Superior Court of the State of California, Santa Clara County. A hearing is set to be held on January 15, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
For those who owned or own Powerbeats 2, claims can be submitted online through the settlement website, which also includes more information on the settlement agreement. Those who want to participate in the settlement need to do so by November 20, 2020.
This article, "Apple Settles Class Action Lawsuit Over Powerbeats 2, Agrees to Pay $9.75 Million" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Deals: Amazon Discounts New 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Starting at $1,599.99 for 512GB
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Amazon today has low prices on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro in two configurations. Sales start with the model that has a 2.0GHz eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, priced at $1,599.99, down from $1,799.00.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
You can also get the model with a 2.0GHz eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $1,799.99, down from $1,999.00. Both of these sales are a match of the previous low prices seen for the 13-inch MacBook Pro on Amazon.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro has a scissor-switch Magic Keyboard along with Intel's 8th and 10th-generation chips, Intel Iris Plus graphics, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 4TB of storage. The Magic Keyboard uses a refined scissor mechanism that is expected to be more reliable than the previous generation's butterfly keyboard.
We've begun tracking the best monthly deals on all new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks in our "Best Deals" guide. Be sure to visit the guide and bookmark it if you're on the hunt for a new Apple notebook; we'll be updating it weekly as we discover new MacBook offers across the web.
This article, "Deals: Amazon Discounts New 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Starting at $1,599.99 for 512GB" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Amazon today has low prices on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro in two configurations. Sales start with the model that has a 2.0GHz eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, priced at $1,599.99, down from $1,799.00.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.You can also get the model with a 2.0GHz eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $1,799.99, down from $1,999.00. Both of these sales are a match of the previous low prices seen for the 13-inch MacBook Pro on Amazon.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro has a scissor-switch Magic Keyboard along with Intel's 8th and 10th-generation chips, Intel Iris Plus graphics, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 4TB of storage. The Magic Keyboard uses a refined scissor mechanism that is expected to be more reliable than the previous generation's butterfly keyboard.
We've begun tracking the best monthly deals on all new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebooks in our "Best Deals" guide. Be sure to visit the guide and bookmark it if you're on the hunt for a new Apple notebook; we'll be updating it weekly as we discover new MacBook offers across the web.
Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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Speculation Over an Apple Search Engine Resurfaces, But Apple Likely Remains Focused on Siri and Spotlight
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Multiple developers have seen increased activity from Apple's web crawler Applebot in their website logs recently, reigniting speculation that Apple could be planning to launch a full-fledged search engine eventually. However, it's more likely that any possible uptick relates to Apple's efforts to improve Siri and Spotlight search results.
Jon Henshaw, founder of digital marketing insights firm Coywolf, kicked off the speculation with a blog post this week in which he said that Applebot had begun regularly crawling his websites on a daily basis, something he had not noticed previously. And on Twitter, Stack Overflow engineer Nick Craver and digital marketing consultant Michael James Field also noted spikes in Applebot crawling on websites they oversee in recent days.
Like other web crawlers, Applebot scans the web to help determine how search results should be ranked based on several factors, including user engagement, the relevancy and matching of search terms to a page's topics and content, the number of links that a page has received from other websites, and a page's design characteristics.
As noted by Henshaw, Apple updated its Applebot support document in July with new details:
The idea of an Apple search engine has been speculated since at least 2015, when Apple first confirmed its Applebot and posted a series of search-related job listings.
For now, Applebot likely remains dedicated to improving Siri and Spotlight search results, as Apple states in its support document. During its WWDC keynote in June, for example, Apple said that Siri can provide over 20 times as many facts as three years prior.
This article, "Speculation Over an Apple Search Engine Resurfaces, But Apple Likely Remains Focused on Siri and Spotlight" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Multiple developers have seen increased activity from Apple's web crawler Applebot in their website logs recently, reigniting speculation that Apple could be planning to launch a full-fledged search engine eventually. However, it's more likely that any possible uptick relates to Apple's efforts to improve Siri and Spotlight search results.
Jon Henshaw, founder of digital marketing insights firm Coywolf, kicked off the speculation with a blog post this week in which he said that Applebot had begun regularly crawling his websites on a daily basis, something he had not noticed previously. And on Twitter, Stack Overflow engineer Nick Craver and digital marketing consultant Michael James Field also noted spikes in Applebot crawling on websites they oversee in recent days.
Well, that's the first time Applebot went crazy crawling us. I always forget they have a crawler...
— Nick Craver (@Nick_Craver) August 18, 2020
This is very interesting. We're also seeing massive spike in crawls from applebot too on our sites (From 0 to 6k-7k over last few days) https://t.co/nUMAMty7Du
— Michael James Field (Mikuss) (@Mikuss) August 27, 2020
Like other web crawlers, Applebot scans the web to help determine how search results should be ranked based on several factors, including user engagement, the relevancy and matching of search terms to a page's topics and content, the number of links that a page has received from other websites, and a page's design characteristics.
As noted by Henshaw, Apple updated its Applebot support document in July with new details:
• Added how to verify traffic from ApplebotGiven that Apple promotes itself as a privacy-focused company without an ad- or data-driven business model like Google or Facebook, it is uncertain if it would ever want to go down the avenue of launching a full-fledged search engine, although DuckDuckGo has at least shown that it can be accomplished with privacy in mind.
• Expanded details on the Applebot user agent, including differences between its desktop and mobile version
• Expanded robots.txt rules
• Added a section stating that they don't just crawl HTML, but also render pages similar to Google
• Added a section on search rankings and the factors that affect how it ranks web search results
The idea of an Apple search engine has been speculated since at least 2015, when Apple first confirmed its Applebot and posted a series of search-related job listings.
For now, Applebot likely remains dedicated to improving Siri and Spotlight search results, as Apple states in its support document. During its WWDC keynote in June, for example, Apple said that Siri can provide over 20 times as many facts as three years prior.
This article, "Speculation Over an Apple Search Engine Resurfaces, But Apple Likely Remains Focused on Siri and Spotlight" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Chrome 87 Canary completely overhauls the profile setup UI
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Amazon Unveils 'Halo' Health and Fitness Wristband for $99.99 to Compete with Apple Watch
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Amazon has today announced "Halo," a new wearable with health and fitness tracking capabilities, reports The Verge.
The Amazon Halo wristband consists of a sensor module and a band that attaches to the top of it. The sensor contains an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphone on or off. The Halo offers a week-long battery life and a "swimproof" water resistance up to 5ATM. The device is compatible with both iOS and Android, but it will not be compatible with other health apps such as Apple Health.
Unlike the Apple Watch or Fitbits, the Amazon Halo band does not have a screen. It is instead reliant on an accompanying app, with no ability to check the time, steps, or any other information directly from your wrist. It also has no GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular connectivity, or Amazon Alexa voice-control.
The Halo's more advanced features are unlocked by an ongoing subscription, separate from Amazon Prime. The subscription will offer a selection of "labs" developed by Amazon partners. The labs are effectively short challenges designed to improve specific health areas and encourage routines.
Halo has two unique functionalities not present on the Apple Watch. The first of these is use of a user's phone camera via the Halo app for full-body 3D scans to determine body fat percentage. The second is the ability to listen for emotion in a user's voice and track mood.
Body scans take four photos of different sides of a user's body, and then uploads them to Amazon's servers where they are combined into a 3D body scan which can calculate body fat.
The Halo's microphone listens to the tone of a user's voice throughout the day and reports back on their emotional state. It detects the pitch, intensity, rhythm, and tempo of a voice and then categorizes the instances into "notable moments" that users can go back and review. Users can mute the microphone at any time by holding down the side button until a red blinking LED appears.
The wristband is also able to track sleep, steps, and cardiovascular health, similar to the Apple Watch. Unlike Apple Watch, however, it only records cardio fitness on a weekly basis rather than daily. The app then offers an abstracted weekly activity score from all of this information.
The Halo band can automatically detect activities such as walking and running, but every other type of exercise needs to be manually entered into the app. The Halo band also has no ability to detect falls, offer stand prompts, or proactively alert users to heart conditions like atrial fibrillation. Interestingly, Amazon told The Verge that it has not submitted the device to the FDA for any sort of approval, including the less rigorous "FDA clearance" classification common on many other fitness bands.
It appears that Amazon has taken a more laid-back approach with more of a general focus on lifestyle tracking, rather than active sport and exercise tracking. Halo's low cost, lack of screen, and emphasis on unique features make it an interesting competitor to the Apple Watch.
The Halo band is set to cost $99.99, with an optional subscription for $3.99 per month for access to advanced features. Amazon will also sell a large variety of band styles in a range of colors. Sport bands will be $15.99 and fabric bands will cost $19.99. The Amazon Halo launches today as an invite-only early access program for an introductory price of $64.99.
This article, "Amazon Unveils 'Halo' Health and Fitness Wristband for $99.99 to Compete with Apple Watch" first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Amazon has today announced "Halo," a new wearable with health and fitness tracking capabilities, reports The Verge.
The Amazon Halo wristband consists of a sensor module and a band that attaches to the top of it. The sensor contains an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor, two microphones, an LED indicator light, and a button to turn the microphone on or off. The Halo offers a week-long battery life and a "swimproof" water resistance up to 5ATM. The device is compatible with both iOS and Android, but it will not be compatible with other health apps such as Apple Health.
Unlike the Apple Watch or Fitbits, the Amazon Halo band does not have a screen. It is instead reliant on an accompanying app, with no ability to check the time, steps, or any other information directly from your wrist. It also has no GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular connectivity, or Amazon Alexa voice-control.
The Halo's more advanced features are unlocked by an ongoing subscription, separate from Amazon Prime. The subscription will offer a selection of "labs" developed by Amazon partners. The labs are effectively short challenges designed to improve specific health areas and encourage routines.
Halo has two unique functionalities not present on the Apple Watch. The first of these is use of a user's phone camera via the Halo app for full-body 3D scans to determine body fat percentage. The second is the ability to listen for emotion in a user's voice and track mood.
Body scans take four photos of different sides of a user's body, and then uploads them to Amazon's servers where they are combined into a 3D body scan which can calculate body fat.
The Halo's microphone listens to the tone of a user's voice throughout the day and reports back on their emotional state. It detects the pitch, intensity, rhythm, and tempo of a voice and then categorizes the instances into "notable moments" that users can go back and review. Users can mute the microphone at any time by holding down the side button until a red blinking LED appears.
The wristband is also able to track sleep, steps, and cardiovascular health, similar to the Apple Watch. Unlike Apple Watch, however, it only records cardio fitness on a weekly basis rather than daily. The app then offers an abstracted weekly activity score from all of this information.
The Halo band can automatically detect activities such as walking and running, but every other type of exercise needs to be manually entered into the app. The Halo band also has no ability to detect falls, offer stand prompts, or proactively alert users to heart conditions like atrial fibrillation. Interestingly, Amazon told The Verge that it has not submitted the device to the FDA for any sort of approval, including the less rigorous "FDA clearance" classification common on many other fitness bands.
It appears that Amazon has taken a more laid-back approach with more of a general focus on lifestyle tracking, rather than active sport and exercise tracking. Halo's low cost, lack of screen, and emphasis on unique features make it an interesting competitor to the Apple Watch.
The Halo band is set to cost $99.99, with an optional subscription for $3.99 per month for access to advanced features. Amazon will also sell a large variety of band styles in a range of colors. Sport bands will be $15.99 and fabric bands will cost $19.99. The Amazon Halo launches today as an invite-only early access program for an introductory price of $64.99.
This article, "Amazon Unveils 'Halo' Health and Fitness Wristband for $99.99 to Compete with Apple Watch" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
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