Episode 27: HomePod Reveals iPhone 8 Details

MacMen

Apple last week seeded an over-the-air firmware file for the HomePod, revealing that it will run essentially a full version of iOS, albeit slightly modified. Within this, developers have discovered references to many features that seem to correlate to unreleased devices, such as the iPhone 8 and upcoming Apple TV.

Some of the iPhone 8 features within the leaked file include the ability to record video in 4K at 60 frames per second, information about the use of facial recognition, and an icon of the iPhone 8, revealing the look of the device.

The unreleased Apple TV is said to be able to play movies in 4K, and both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

It’s unlikely that Apple intended this information to be released, even to developers, before they had made any announcements about these features themselves.

John Gruber, of “Daring Fireball”, reports that the Apple Watch will have an “All-New Form Factor” this year, though he clarifies this this information comes from “an unconfirmed little birdie, though, so I wouldn’t bet the house on it.”

Bloomberg reports that the third generation Apple Watch will include its own LTE, meaning that it can be untethered from the iPhone. This will allow the Apple Watch to send messages, stream music, download apps and generally connect to the internet without the need for an iPhone.

Apple’s stock opened at an all-time high of $159.52 last Wednesday, and a market cap of nearly $830 billion, moving closer to becoming a trillion dollar company.

South Australia have agreed to Elon Musk’s offer of building the world’s biggest lithium ion battery, including the condition of having it built in 100 days, or it’s free. The array will be capable of an output of 100 megawatts of power at a time, and the battery will be able to store 129 MW hours of energy. If used at full capacity, it would be able to provide its maxiumum output for more than an hour.