Apple

Apple's iMac Pro desktop will also sport an anew custom chip dubbed the T2, serving as a secure enclave for encrypted keys, giving users the ability to lock down their Mac's boot process and also handling system functions like the camera, audio control, and managing the solid-state hard drive.

Details on the T2 chip were revealed on Tuesday by Caleb Sasser, cofounder of developer Panic. According to him, the T2 chip combines previously discrete functions, including the system management controller, image signal processor for FaceTime camera, audio control, and SSD control.

This year’s launch of the iPhone X also included the introduction of Apple’s Face ID. Apple thinks that its facial recognition camera and hardware on the front of the iPhone X are among its biggest technological achievements. However, other Android phones have had facial and iris recognition hardware and software of their own. Samsung, as usual, is the leader in this effort, adding those kinds of features to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, along with the more recent Note 8 and the older, and explosion-prone, Note 7.

Apple confirmed today in statements to several media outlets that it will buy Shazam, pending approval. This news had previously been reported by TechCrunch, which had one source claiming the sale price was around $400 million—far less than Shazam's $1 billion valuation at its last round of funding.

After remaining tight-lipped for years, Apple is now more than eager to share how much progress it's making on self-driving car technology. AI research director Ruslan Salakhutdinov made a presentation this week that revealed more of what the company's autonomous driving team has been up to. Some of the talk was familiar, but there were a few new examples of how far the fledgling project had come.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a a reliable iOS jailbreak. You’d have to go back to iOS 10.2.1 to find a working version that’s widely-known. Since the last working exploit, the jailbreaking community has mostly gone dark, with repositories remaining un-updated (or closed) and a group of once cooperative hackers now at large with both each other and those hungry for future exploits.

Our own Abhimanyu Ghoshal even penned a piece to signify the cat and mouse game between exploit-hunting hackers and Apple developers was, well, pretty much over.

Apple has released a security update to address nearly two dozen vulnerabilities in macOS High Sierra.

The update comes little more than a week after Apple had to kick out an emergency fix to close up a glaring hole in macOS that allowed anyone with access to a Mac (either in person or remote) to bypass the login screen and act as a root account.

The latest software update for Apple Watch is now available, just a few days after Apple released iOS 11.2 earlier than expected. The biggest link between the iDevice and Watch software updates is Apple Pay Cash, which is now available for Apple's wearable in watchOS 4.2

Just over a month after the iPhone X debuted, Apple is now selling carrier-agnostic models of the iPhone X. US customers can place orders on Apple's website for SIM-free iPhone Xs, rather than ordering a device that's already married to a specific carrier.

Previously, the iPhone X could only be purchased on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon networks, but the unlocked option allows users to insert any SIM card they want. The iPhone X supports GSM and CDMA networks, so users can get on nearly any network they want with a SIM card.

The vintage and obsolete products page was updated to reflect the fact that the mid-2011 Mac mini is no longer supported by the company, meaning services and repairs are no longer offered.

Apple guarantees parts and service for products 5 years after it is no longer manufactured. After that, they become obsolete worldwide, with the exception of in California and Turkey, where laws require another two years of support.

Because of that, the mid-2011 Mac mini remains vintage in the U.S. and Turkey, but is obsolete elsewhere.

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made his first appearance at China’s World Internet Conference, using the surprise keynote to call for future internet and AI technologies to be infused with privacy, security and humanity.

Cook made the comments on Sunday at the opening ceremony for the conference -- an event designed to globally promote the country’s vision of a more censored and controlled internet. It’s the second Chinese appearance in two months for the executive, who met with President Xi Jinping in October.