Available in a new titanium material, the blue shade will have a brushed finish that is unlike the stainless steel that Apple has had in the past. The color is similar to the blue that Apple used for the iPhone 12 Pro models, but it appears to be darker and with more gray to better complement the titanium finish. We’ve created a series of images that show the expected blue shade.

Blue is expected to accompany silver, space gray/space black, and titanium gray shades, with the latter color a lighter silver-gray than the space gray/space black shade.

We’ve seen multiple rumors of a deep red color for the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models, but Unknownz21 has not seen signs that this color is in development. The blue color, however, has been used on ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ prototype devices, suggesting that the blue could be the final color that Apple is working on.

There is always a chance that Apple is using the blue to test PVD coating on the new titanium material and will transition to a different color the launch version of the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌, but the blue being used for prototyping likely indicates that it is one of the color options that Apple plans to provide for the next-generation smartphones. MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming that Apple has used the blue color for prototype versions of the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌.

As for the iPhone 15 models, colors that we know of so far include a bright pink shade, a bright blue, and a green color.

When it comes to design, the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models will look similar to the iPhone 14 Pro models, but with some minor design tweaks. Slimmer bezels around the display are expected, and the mute switch will be replaced by a multi-function mute button. There will be a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port, and the volume and power buttons could be in slightly different locations.

The camera lens layout will see an update on the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ Max to accommodate the periscope lens that’s exclusive to that device, and with the new titanium frame finish that’s less shiny, the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models will stand out compared to the ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ models.

For more on what to expect from the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌, we have a complete iPhone 15 Pro roundup where we highlight all of the rumors we’ve heard so far.

This article, "iPhone 15 Pro Expected to Come in Blue" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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According to Semafor, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro yesterday sent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a letter [PDF] accusing Meta of “systemic, willful, and lawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”

Twitter claims that Meta hired “dozens” of former Twitter employees that “had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information.” The company further says that the employees “improperly retained Twitter documents and electronic devices,” and that Meta took advantage of this to have those workers develop the “copycat” Threads app on an accelerated timeline.

When Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter, he fired thousands of employees who then had to look for work. It is likely that some of those employees transitioned to Meta, but hiring people actively looking for a job is typically considered poaching.

Twitter’s letter says that it plans to “enforce its intellectual property rights,” with the company demanding that Meta “take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets.” Twitter threatens that it reserves the right to seek “civil remedies and injunctive relief” to prevent Meta from using its intellectual property.

Along with claims that Meta poached Twitter employees to develop Threads, Twitter says that Meta is “expressly prohibited” from scraping Twitter’s followers or following data. Twitter is asking Meta to “preserve any documents” that could be relevant to a future dispute, suggesting that Twitter might be planning to file a lawsuit in the future.

Twitter has not gone after other Twitter-like social networks that include Bluesky and Mastodon, but Threads is a newly-launched app that is built off of Instagram, giving it a notable user base from its debut. Mastodon and Bluesky have far fewer users. In February, for example, Mastodon had 1.4 million active users, while Bluesky had 50,000 users at the end of April.

Following Twitter’s accusations, Meta’s communications director Andy Stone said that no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee. “That’s just not a thing,” he wrote.

This article, "Twitter Accuses Meta of Poaching Employees to Build Threads" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Meta describes Threads as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app,” and there’s purpose in that precise phrasing. It doesn’t just mean that your Instagram username ports over to Threads and that you have the option to follow the same people you follow on Instagram. It also means that once you create a Threads profile, there’s no way to delete it unless you’re prepared to delete your Instagram account wholesale.

If you want out of Threads but you’re not prepared to delete your Instagram account, the only other alternative is to “temporarily” deactivate your Threads profile. This is Meta’s way of encouraging you to keep both. Threads’ privacy policy makes it pretty clear: “You may deactivate your Threads profile at any time, but your Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting your Instagram account.”

The moral of the story for Instagram fans is that if you don’t want an eternal Threads profile on Meta’s servers, then don’t sign up to Threads. If it’s too late for that, the less-than-ideal alternative is to deactivate your Threads profile, which you can do by following the steps below.

1. In the Threads app, tap the profile icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
2. Tap the two-line menu icon in the top right of your profile.
3. Tap the Account icon, then tap Deactivate profile.
4. Tap Deactivate Threads profile, then confirm your choice.

When you deactivate your profile, your posts and interactions with others’ posts won’t be visible until you reactivate your profile. That said, those posts will still live on Threads’ servers unless you manually delete them one by one.

If you change your mind after deactivation, you can re-activate your Threads profile simply by logging back into the Threads app using your Instagram account. Just bear in mind that you can only deactivate your profile once a week.

This article, "Want to Delete Your Threads Profile? Then Delete Your Instagram Account, Says Meta" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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An important deadline just passed for the biggest tech platform companies in the world to notify the European Union (EU) that they are gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Seven companies have officially acknowledged they meet the criteria: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp), Microsoft, and Samsung. Companies on the list have a market capitalization of over €75 billion ($82 billion) and own a social platform or app that has at least 45 million monthly users or 10,000 active business users.

The statement published by EU commissioner Thierry Breton says it “will now check their submissions and designate the gatekeepers for specific platform services by 6 September,” and after that, the companies will have just six months to comply with the DMA’s rules.

Reuters reports that TikTok parent company Bytedance disputed its placement on the list and noted that Booking.com informed regulators it expects to be on the list next year.

According to Breton, the new rules include several key items:

They will no longer be able to lock in users in their ecosystem.

They will no longer be able to decide which apps you need to have pre-installed on your devices; which app store you have to use.

They will not be able to “self-preference”: exploiting the advantage of being the gatekeeper by treating their own products and services more favorably.

Their messaging apps will have to interoperate with others.

Breaking the rules would put companies at risk of a fine of up to 10 percent of its total worldwide turnover, 20 percent for repeat offenders, and repeat failures could lead the commission to “open a market investigation and, if necessary, impose behavioural or structural remedies.”

Apple, which says the new law “will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users,” has reportedly planned to allow third-party app stores in iOS 17, though with possible restrictions such as only allowing them in Europe or mandating security requirements.

We’re also seeing the beginning of new avenues for competition between the tech giants. Meta said last week it would allow users to download apps via Facebook ads in Europe.

]]> https://www.latest-apple-news.com/2023/07/04/apple-faces-march-5-deadline-for-third-party-app-stores-but-dont-hold-your-breath/ Tue, 04 Jul 2023 11:42:35 +0000 https://9to5mac.com/?p=894744

Apple will have until March 5 next year to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act, which in theory means that it will have to permit either third-party app stores, or sideloading of apps, by that date.

The deadline has been revealed after Apple confirmed that it qualified as having ‘gatekeeper’ status, meaning that it is one of the companies that will be subject to the upcoming law. However, don’t expect much to change on this date …

more…

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