Fresh Air: The 2018 MacBook Air Review

Having Touch ID on the MacBook Air is transformative upgrade. Why jog your memory for passwords when your fingerprint is good enough. This also means quicker check outs for online sales for stores that accept Apple Pay. Simply touch to pay. Brilliant.

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

For 2018 Apple has listened to its users and delivered refreshes on not one but two of its most beloved products. The venerable MacBook Air and the plucky Mac mini both got a new lease on life after years of languishing at the back of Apple’s product catalog.

The MacBook Air defined what modern laptops are all about. Its iconic wedge-shaped and slim and light design has been cloned ad nauseam, and it was the genesis of the ultrabook segment. 

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Flagship Apple Champs-Élysées retail store mixes modernity with rich Parisian history

Apple is opening a new flagship store in France. The Apple Champs-Élysées, paying tribute to Paris’s rich history and creativity. Housed in a Haussmann-era apartment building, the inner courtyard has been transformed into Apple’s grandest Forum, dedicated to free Today at Apple sessions. 

Apple offers more than 18,000 Today at Apple sessions around the world every week, focused on creative passions like photography, music, coding and design. In the first week, Apple Champs-Élysées will host sessions with popular musicians, filmmakers, animators and more. 

“The energy in Paris is electric and it will be one of our premier cities for Today at Apple,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. “I hope that everyone who visits Apple Champs-Élysées will be inspired to unlock their creative curiosity and learn something new.” 

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Apple releases new version of its charging dock for the Apple Watch

Apple seems to have tweaked its Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock and taken out its older model. The new one carries a model number of MU9F2AM/A and shows up on the on the online Apple Store. The previous version carried a model number of MLDW2AM/A. There doesn’t seem to be any design tweaks to the dock, which suggests the new model has some minor internal updates added to it. Apple hasn’t announced why it updated the dock in the first place.

But this new Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock has received FCC approval, according to a filing shared today. It didn’t indicate though any new information on said dock. The Apple Watch Magnetic Charging Dock is available for $99 and will start delivery on November 16. You should see it in retail stores soon.

Source: MacRumors

Google's 'Night Sight' mode for Pixel phones is a game changing low-light solution

Text and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Google's Pixel smartphones have buiilt a reputation for being the very best smartphone cameras without resorting to multiple cameras or larger image processors. A lot of the advantages of Google cameras lie in the computational power and AI (artificial intelligence) that is built into their devices. More impressive is the HDR + functionality which can pull colour and detail while maintaining depth and clarity.

All generations of Pixel devices now get another superpower in the latest Night Sight mode. This uses computational power to take bright and clear photos even in the dimmest conditions. I took my Pixel 3 with a beta version of the Night Sight feature to New York City and was amazed at the colours and detail of the images I took.

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