Apple updated MacBook Pro line with a focus on pro-level performance and features

On the heels of reports that Apple is planning on updating and releasing a whole slew of products come September, we receive news that the MacBook Pro line gets a revamp with more power and performance targeting pro-level users.

As Apple puts it, "The new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar feature 8th-generation Intel Core processors, with 6-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance — ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing."

Starting at $2,399 CAD and $3,199 CAD respectively, the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar are available today through Apple.com/ca and in select Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers later this week.

Click to read more ...

Hisense shows off its 100-inch Laser Ultra-HD TV in time for the World Cup semifinals

Hisense has brought their impressive 100-inch Ultra HD Laser TV to Canada and showed it off along with other products that are coming to Canada. This monolithic TV and its companion Laser Projector bring 4K UHD images even in less than ideally lit conditions (like the hotel where the demo was taking place, which was bathed in summer brightness despite the blinds being drawn).

Hisense, who is a sponsor of the 2018 World Cup (but who backed the non-participating Team USA) is looking to seize the moment with a range of compelling TVs priced just under the more popular Korean stalwarts that dominate the high-end TV market. The 100-inch Laser TV is the centrepiece, proof that a new player (albeit, one that's appropriated some of Sharp and Toshiba's TV IP), can make a splash in North America.

Click to read more ...

AirPlay 2 now available, ask Siri to play music on your Sonos smart speakers

Sonos has taken pains to ensure that it's smart speaker line up can work with various partners. The Sonos One and Sonos Beam already work with Amazon Alexa out of the box.

Now that Apple's AirPlay 2 standard has been made available, users of iPhones and iPads can also use their Sonos speakers.

I've tested AirPlay 2 on some Sonos speakers by setting up the Sonos app on my iPhone. Suddenly I see some of my recent Sonos speakers appearing as AirPlay 2 compatible. This allows me to quickly route audio from my iPad or iPhone to any of these nearby smart speakers.

Click to read more ...

Apple’s upcoming ‘world-building drama’ will star Jason Momoa

You might know him as Game of Thrones’s Khal Drogo or Aquaman, but soon Jason Momoa will be starring in one of Apple’s new original shows. The actor has been cast to lead a show called See, which is described as a “world-building drama” that’s set in the future. Momoa will play Baba Voss, a “fearless warrior, leader, and guardian.” See was written by Steven Knight, who will also serve as an executive producer on the show. Francis Lawrence will be serving as another executive producer and will be directing it as well. No word yet on when this series will come out.

Source: 9to5Mac