Apple takes out ‘time remaining’ battery life estimate to address MacBook Pro battery complaints

It seems like a weird fix to the battery life complaints the new MacBook Pro has been receiving but there is logic behind Apple’s decision to take out the “time remaining” battery life estimate from these machines. According to an internal investigation by Apple, the battery issue isn’t a hardware flaw but more of a prediction inaccuracy of the time the MacBook Pro remains usable. This unreliability issue is seen to be caused by the latest low-power processors and how it switches between tasks. The battery life status menu couldn’t keep up with the CPU when it switches between low-power and high-performance modes, thus causing the erratic predictions.

Another cause seen is the use of iCloud syncing, especially when first using the machine. Some users don’t realize that the process of syncing kicks into overdrive when the new Mac is first set up so it can sync all your data. This works in the background and it’ll greatly affect battery life. It would take a few days for battery life and its estimate to normalize. What Apple has decided to do is just put the percentage of the remaining battery life on the screen.

Source: 9to5Mac

Adobe Photoshop is finally Touch Bar-ready

As you probably know, Apple’s new MacBook Pro does away with physical function keys to make space for the swipe-friendly Touch Bar. Apple claims this will make it easier to do things such as making edits with apps like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. These apps weren’t ready yet when the new laptops came out but now Adobe’s photo-editing app has finally brought new Touch Bar-ready features to its space.

Photoshop now gives you quick access to tools from the Touch Bar and eve provide a contextual next step depending on the task you just completed. The features introduced with the Touch Bar are divided into three parts: Layer Properties, Brushes, and Favorites. You have access to blend modes, scrubbing through a file’s history, clipping layers, etc. with the Layer Properties section. For Brushes, you get a slider that lets you adjust things such as color, size, and opacity, among others. And Favorites, as the name suggests, brings you the most used Touch Bar features so you can access these quickly. This isn’t the final iteration, though, as Adobe says it intends to “continue to evolve” Touch Bar support, meaning we could be seeing more features in the future.

Source: Engadget

Play the piano on the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar with this app

A new app made by developer Graham Parks adds a bit of whimsy to the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. Called Touch Bar Piano, the app turns the MacBook Pro Touch Bar into a small touch-based piano. It’s completely polyphonic and offers 128 instruments for you to make music with. If you don’t have a MacBook Pro but want to play around with it, the app works with emulator Touché. You can download the app from his site.

Apple renders some old products obsolete starting next month

When Apple products are labeled as obsolete, these products lose official Apple repair support. Products are usually rendered obsolete five to seven years after manufacturing has been discontinued, making the parts no longer available to repair staff. The products that have been rendered obsolete for Canada starting December 31, 2016 include the MackBook Pro 15-inch (early 2011), MacBook Pro 17-inch (early 2011), Mac mini (early 2009), and MacBook 13-inch (mid 2009).

Source: 9to5Mac