Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.6 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second 10.12.6 beta and a month after introducing macOS Sierra 10.12.5. macOS Sierra 10.12.6 can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. No significant features or notable bug fixes were found in the first two macOS Sierra 10.12.6 betas, and because…

CalDigit’s Tuff line of rugged USB-C external drives have been a great option for those looking to take extra storage or backups on the go for a while now, but in addition to the existing 2 TB model using a 5400 rpm spinning hard drive, the company recently expanded the line to include a 1 TB solid-state drive option. At a list price of $499, the solid-state drive version is not cheap,…

Our first glimpse at components that could be destined for the much-rumored 5.8-inch “iPhone 8” and its 4.7 and 5.5-inch companion devices surfaced this morning in a post on reddit. The images are said to be sourced from a case manufacturer who received them from a glass supplier in China. The first photo depicts what is said to be the front and back panel of the iPhone 8, with the front panel…

Apple recently emailed Apple ID users with two-step verification enabled to inform them that, upon installing iOS 11 or macOS High Sierra, they will be automatically updated to its newer two-factor authentication method. Apple introduced two-factor authentication in 2015 as an improved version of its two-step verification method for securing an Apple ID account with both a password and a secondary form of verification. Two-factor authentication requires an Apple device with iOS…

The official Apple Store app is currently offering free redeem codes for AirPano’s City Book app, which lets iOS users explore bird’s-eye view panoramas of 10 famous cities from around the world. Each high-resolution cityscape consists of multiple connected spherical photo panoramas that users can rotate and zoom 360 degrees via touch or by physically moving their iPhone or iPad in the direction they want to look. Tapping a circled dot on…

Apple has posted a message on its regional Taiwan website to announce the imminent opening of its first official retail store in the country. The store is located in the Xinyi District, on the ground floor and basement level of Taipei 101, the fourth tallest skyscraper in the world. A specific opening date for the store has not yet been provided by Apple, but Taiwanese site AppleDaily speculates it will be by…

This week in iOS gaming was a littler quieter than usual, likely due to two things: WWDC, obviously, causes most other people in the Apple universe to avoid the week as news from Apple dominates everything. Secondly, the surprise launch of Monument Valley 2 likely had many iOS developers scrambling to push the release date of their games back. In TouchArcade news, we posted our hundredth weekly Hearthstone roundup. Similar to these roundups on MacRumors,…

Apple revealed more details of its new Business Chat feature for iMessage at a WWDC developer preview on Friday. Coming in iOS 11, Business Chat allows real customer service representatives to communicate directly with users, making the feature separate from existing AI chat bot systems. Users send the first message to start a Business Chat conversation by tapping Message icons that appear beside the names of businesses in Spotlight searches, Siri, and…

In a Friday session at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed some major updates to is native Podcasts app that will be coming in iOS 11. Some of the changes will affect podcast listeners, while others should make it easier for podcasters to learn more about their audience’s listening habits. As mentioned at Apple’s WWDC Keynote earlier this week, the Podcasts app is getting an overhaul in iOS 11. Along with a…