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A series of iPhone Duo unboxing videos are now on YouTube, showing how the device ships in its open configuration, and how the display crease is practically invisible. Unboxing the iPhone Duo - image credit: Kingmi Mobile The first reviews of the iPhone Duo are expected shortly, although they may just prove tantalizing given how hard it is to buy one. But a series of three linked unboxing videos have surfaced, showing both the Star White and Night Sky color versions. Subscribe to AppleInsider on YouTube Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Apple Music subscribers can now stream directly to compatible Bluesound speakers and hi-fi equipment, allowing playback without sending audio via AirPlay 2. Bluesound offers a range of high-end home audio products ranging from wireless speakers and soundbars to streaming components that connect to existing hi-fi systems. Its products use BluOS, a platform that lets users control music and link audio equipment across multiple rooms. The new integration makes ‌Apple Music‌ accessible within the BluOS Controller app. Once a subscriber signs in, the player retrieves the music itself, freeing their iPhone or iPad from handling the audio stream. ‌AirPlay‌ 2 remains available. For households with several BluOS products, the addition also brings ‌Apple Music‌ into the same system used to manage playback around the home. Users can play music across grouped devices or choose different music for individual rooms. The update extends beyond Bluesound's own products to compatible BluOS equipment from NAD Electronics, PSB Speakers, DALI Loudspeakers, Cyrus, and Monitor Audio. Bluesound has not specified the streaming quality offered by the integration. The feature launched on October 20 via a free BluOS software update. Tags: Apple Music , Bluesound This article, " Bluesound Adds Native Apple Music Support " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple CEO John Ternus says improving the user's experience guides Apple's design decisions, whether that means adding practical features or an animation that simply makes a device more enjoyable to use. TIME published an interview with Ternus last week, and released the video version on Tuesday with additional discussion about design. In the video, Ternus was asked how Apple distinguishes a design choice that contributes to a product from one that merely attracts attention. He said teams work together to determine what will make a product better for its users, ruling out ideas that are frivolous or distracting. That approach apparently still leaves room for playful details. Ternus pointed to the animation that appears when opening the iPhone Duo 's inner display, explaining that it serves no functional purpose but can make the experience more satisfying. "Sometimes you just want a little whimsy," he said. Ternus also discussed Kids Cue, which displays Peanuts characters such as Snoopy on the ‌iPhone Duo‌'s outer screen to draw a child's attention toward the camera during a photo. He said developing a different kind of iPhone gave Apple's teams an opportunity to explore ideas made possible by the new hardware. Asked how involved he remains with design, Ternus said: I'm a mechanical engineer by background, and the team that the product designers work most closely with are the industrial designers. So, I've been working hand in hand with industrial designers at Apple since I started. And it's an amazing relationship. I think what's so special about this place is design is at the center of it. Design means everything to us. And what's incredible is our designers, both on the software side and the hardware side, they really understand the engineering. And the engineers have a very deep appreciation for design. And so it's a really powerful collaboration. The same focus on the experience purportedly informs Apple's approach to AI. Ternus said the technology creates opportunities to improve existing products and develop new ones, but users should be able to appreciate a feature without needing to understand that AI makes it possible. He identified personalized experiences, supported by access to information on the user's phone, as a particular focus for Apple. The comments follow a report earlier this month that Ternus has made product design a major priority since becoming CEO in September, visiting Apple's design studio several times a week. The interview ended with a question about what Ternus wants to preserve as CEO: The opportunities in the products, that stuff will change. It'll evolve as it does as new technologies come, but the way we work, I don't want that to change. The full interview also covers Apple's updated parental controls, Ternus's transition to CEO, and his interest in motor racing. Tag: John Ternus This article, " Apple CEO John Ternus Explains What Makes Good Product Design " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
The UK's competition regulator has proposed changes to make it easier and cheaper for companies to offer alternatives to Apple Pay on the iPhone (via Reuters ). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says Apple's fees and restrictions make it too difficult for rivals to launch contactless payment apps. Its proposals would give developers more ways to access the iPhone's NFC technology, which allows users to pay by holding their device near a payment terminal. Apple opened up NFC access to developers in the UK in 2024, but companies must sign an agreement with Apple and pay fees. They also have to use the iPhone's Secure Element, which is a chip that stores sensitive information such as payment credentials. The CMA wants Apple to also support host card emulation (HCE), an alternative that lets payment apps work without using the Secure Element. It also proposes rules that it expects would substantially lower Apple's access fees, although it would still allow the company to charge something. Apple already offers HCE access for free in the European Union under commitments agreed in 2024. The CMA highlights that rival payment apps have since launched in the EU, while no competing wallet-type product has launched in the UK under Apple's current terms. Apple told Reuters that developers can already offer contactless services using its technology: We do not believe the CMA should require Apple to adopt an approach with lower privacy and security protections. We will continue to engage constructively to reach an outcome that is in the best interest of our users. The CMA said the evidence it reviewed did not suggest either approach was inherently insecure. The proposals are open for consultation until November 17, 2026. The CMA will make a final decision after reviewing responses. Related Roundup: Apple Pay Tags: Apple Pay , NFC , United Kingdom Related Forum: Apple Music, Apple Pay/Card, iCloud, Fitness+ This article, " UK Proposes New Ways to Help Apple Pay Rivals " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
