Apple

In addition to betas for iOS, tvOS, and watchOS, Apple on Monday also deployed its third developer-centric beta of macOS 10.12.4 with Night Shift, and other bug fixes.

Like the second developer beta issued on Feb. 7, Monday's third version brings Night Shift mode to Mac. Originally incorporated into iOS, Night Shift minimizes user exposure to blue light from device screens during nighttime working hours, a technique thought to minimize impact on a user's circadian rhythm.

Apple will ditch the home button when it debuts a new 'iPhone 8' model later this year, and will dedicate the extra screen real estate to an area for virtual buttons, according to KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Adding detail to his previous predictions regarding the next-generation iPhone, Kuo in a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider said the full-screen design will allow Apple to integrate a "function" area never seen in an iPhone.

A report from Business Insider this morning claims that Apple will no longer be selling LG's flawed 5K UltraFine Thunderbolt display in its retail stores. The retail listing in Apple's online store, Business Insider continues, would also be pulled, completely halting sales of the monitor. After conversing with Apple, we can report that this is only partially true; you won't be able to go into Apple's retail stores to buy the display for the next few weeks, but only because Apple is waiting for LG to fix the display and manufacture new ones before it resumes sales.

Back in June, Apple announced its new upcoming file system: APFS, or Apple File System. There was no mention of it in the WWDC keynote, but devotees needed no encouragement. They picked over every scintilla of data from the documentation on Apple’s developer site, extrapolating, interpolating, eager for whatever was about to come. In the WWDC session hall, the crowd buzzed with a nervous energy, eager for the grand unveiling of APFS. I myself badge-swapped my way into the conference just to get that first glimpse of Apple’s first original filesystem in the 30+ years since HFS.

As part of his tour through France, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday sat down to discuss a few hot topics including the company's EU tax bill, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and a Parisian retail store rumored to take root along the storied Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Not much new information is offered in Cook's interview with French language publication Le Figaro, picked up by local Apple blog Mac Generation, as the discussion covered well-trod ground. The Apple chief did, however, drop a few hints about a potential new retail location in Paris.

Apple is working on more ARM co-processors for future MacBooks, at least if a new report from Bloomberg is to be believed. The company is allegedly developing a chip codenamed "T310" that could be used to handle macOS' "Power Nap" functionality and other low-power features.

After many years and at least one false start, Apple announced at WWDC last year that it would begin shipping a new, modern file system in 2017. Dubbed APFS (for Apple File System), it is designed to improve support for solid-state storage and encryption and to safeguard data integrity. When released, it will finally replace the nearly two-decade-old HFS+ filesystem that Apple has been tacking new features onto since 1998.

In addition to minor updates for iOS, watchOS, and tvOS, Apple has released version 10.12.3 of macOS Sierra to the public today. The update is available through the Mac App Store and will be available later today on Apple's Downloads page; new copies of the Sierra installer downloaded after today should also include the update.

Apple updates iOS with enough regularity that it begins to feel routine. And most time, it is, especially the farther you get from the company’s yearly, feature-packed version overhauls. iOS 10.2.1, released today, is not routine. In fact, it’s very important that you download it as soon as you reasonably can.

Most iOS updates involve security fixes of varying severity. iOS 10.2.1, though, protects against a wide range of potentially devastating attacks.

Apple is developing advanced biometric security technologies, including facial recognition and optical fingerprint sensing designs, to replace the vaunted Touch ID module implemented in all iPhones and iPads since the release of iPhone 5s.