News

Apple is finally solving its green bubble problem

By adopting RCS next year

Published

November 17, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Earlier this week, Carl Pei’s Nothing unveiled a way to interact with iMessage users on an Android device. In the introductory video, Pei cautioned that Tim Cook probably won’t like what he just did. While it’s likely just a massive coincidence, Apple just unleashed its grandest trump card yet by actually announcing RCS adoption right after Nothing’s announcement.

In a statement made to 9to5Mac, Apple confirmed that the company will support for the RCS standard sometime next year, ditching SMS and MMS as the default for non-iMessage communication. While the statement doesn’t name the other side of the playing field explicitly, the change will specifically ease communication between iOS and Android.

Now, though the sudden adoption seemingly heralds a huge change in the ecosystem, iMessage isn’t going anywhere. Apple’s popular messaging platform will still exist as the go-to for communication between iOS users. It’s likely that RCS communication will use another app. Additionally, Apple will still use SMS as a fallback if RCS fails.

Still, Apple’s sudden adoption of RCS is a huge deal. The company, especially according to Tim Cook’s own words, has been comically opposed to adopting the standard for years. Last year, Cook even told a journalist to just get an iPhone to address communication issues. Google, for its part, has consistently campaigned for RCS on iOS.

Prior to the announced adoption, iOS users have always cringed at communicating with Android users because of the dreaded green bubble. A green bubble meant no high-resolution media sharing, live typing, and read notifications. Right now, it’s unclear whether Apple is getting rid of green for good. It’s likely that RCS communication will still retain the same color at the end of the day.

Entertainment

Netflix is getting a second F1 docuseries

Focusing on F1 Academy

Published

May 4, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

Image source: Bianca Bustamante (@racerbia), Instagram

Formula 1’s success these days owes a lot to Netflix’s Drive to Survive. In concise ten-episode chunks per season, the documentary series takes viewers through an entire season of the sport. Next year, Netflix is getting a second Formula 1 series, focusing on F1 Academy, to add to its motorsports slate.

The F1 Academy is a much smaller series attached to Formula 1. Before a few F1 races sprinkled through the season, 15 female drivers take to the circuit. Though the series only started in late 2022, its main goal is to grant developmental opportunities for female drivers in motorsports.

The newly minted series gained a lot of traction because of McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante, the first Filipino driver to win an F1 Academy race. She also has two other podium finishes in the series to her name.

Now, almost a year since winning her race, Bustamante will get her Netflix debut through a new docuseries simply titled F1 Academy. As the name indicates, the upcoming series will focus on the female-only series, much like how Drive to Survive focuses on the main series.

In production now, the series is set to premiere sometime in 2025. It will be produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

Laptops

Apple MacBook Air M3 has finally reached the Philippines

With exclusive pre-order perks

Published

May 3, 2024

Vincenz

After a month (or two) of waiting for the local launch of Apple’s newest MacBook Air, Power Mac Center has finally unveiled and brought the MacBook Air M3 to the Philippine shores this May 3, 2024 at their Premium Partner Store in Greenbelt 3.

This goes live hand-in-hand with select Power Mac Center branches as well as The Loop stores nationwide.

Lean and Mean

Just like its predecessor, the new generation of Silicon-powered MacBook Air is either available in 13 or 15-inch Liquid Retina displays.

Both sizes are lean at just around 0.45-inches in thickness — or thinness, rather. The laptops are lightweight too weighing at just 1.24 kilograms and 1.51 kilograms respectively.

But being light in heft doesn’t mean it’s light in features. In fact, the MacBook Air M3 is power-packed to consider it as “the world’s best consumer laptop for AI“.

There are several configurations like choosing between 8GB or 16GB of unified memory and 256GB or 512GB of internal storage.

But the highlight of the show is none other than its new M3 chipset. This has an 8-core CPU that’s powerful than ever and promises 13x faster than its last Intel-based countepart. Aside from that, GPU can be configured between 8 or 10 cores.

Moreover, the new MacBook Air M3 boasts a Wi-Fi 6E connectivity support as well as a promising all-day battery life of up to 18 hours! Also, there’s an extra support for another external display — that’s when you use it closed.

Mac and Me

Hosted by Aiyana Perlas

To further hype up the launch of the much-awaited MacBook Air powered by M3, Power Mac Center has invited some renowned Mac users and using it to further hone their craftsmanship.

First is none other than Hey! Hey! Hey! Janina Vela here — a sought after content creator in the Philippines who’s also a “proud Power Mac Consumer since Forever” ✨

This was then followed by Merphi Panaguiton, the Creative Director and Co-Founder of ATOMM Studios — one of the country’s leading self-shoot studios.

Last but definitely not the least is Sid Maderazo, a prominent film director especially in terms of brand filmmaking.

Pricing and Availability

The M3 MacBook Air, just like its predecessor, is still available in four color choices: Midnight, Starlight, Space Gray, and Silver.

Both display sizes are available in three different configurations:

Configuration	13-inch	15-inch
8GB unified memory + 256GB storage**	PhP 76,990	PhP 89,990
8GB unified memory + 512GB storage	PhP 89,990	PhP 102,990
16GB unified memory + 512GB storage	PhP 102,990	PhP 115,990

**Base configurations are only limited to an 8-core GPU

If straight payment isn’t your cup of tea, Power Mac Center offers flexible payment options via select banks and credit issuers. There’s even a 24-month installment if you’re really that decided to own one without much savings in mind.

Click here to know more about Power Mac Center’s installment pricing plans for the new MacBook Air M3.

Exclusive Perks Await

From May 3rd until the 5th, prospective MacBook Air M3 buyers can enjoy up to 40% discount on select premium accessories plus a free Microsoft 365 Personal Electronic Software Delivery.

If you’re planning to join this weekend’s launch at Greenbelt 3, you will also get a free backpack and laptop stand courtesy of Tuscano.

And that’s not all! Between May 6th to 12th, buyers of the M3 MacBook Air regardless of the size and the Power Mac Center or The Loop branch you purchase it automatically gets an entry to win the raffle. Those include:

1 winner of Power Mac Center Gift Certificates worth PhP 30,000
1 winner of LaCie Rugged Mini USB 3.0 1TB worth PhP 6,800
4 winners of Seagate One Touch Slim USB 3.0 1TB worth PhP 4,190
10 winners of SanDisk iXpand Flip OTG Flash Drive Lightning + Type A 128GB worth PhP 4,999

Accessories

F1’s Daniel Ricciardo spotted with an unreleased Beats Pill

LeBron James was also spotted with the same thing

Published

May 3, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

Image source: Formula 1 | Instagram

In a world inundated with leaks, spotting an unreleased device out in the wild is less of a spectacle these days. However, there are still some sneak peeks that manage to catch our eyes. One such example is the sudden appearance of an unreleased Beats Pill in the hands of F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

A Beats Pill is not an easy speaker to find these days. After all, the company discontinued the last one back in 2022. Unless they particularly love old devices, it’s likely not a coincidence if a popular personality is somehow toting one out in public.

In preparation for the upcoming Miami Grand Prix this weekend, Daniel Ricciardo, who currently races for the Visa Cash App RB team, strolled into the paddock carrying a golden Beats Pill. It’s also interesting that the Pill is positioned perfectly to display the Beats logo.

As if that’s not a sure sign already, LeBron James was also spotted with the same speaker before a game back in April. Serendipitously, the pictured speaker swung perfectly to display the Beats logo in the NBA star’s photo.

Because Beats has not announced a revival yet, it’s difficult to see what the audio company has in store for its next portable speaker. However, one thing’s for sure: A new lanyard will make it easier to carry around. It’s also safe to assume that the device will come with USB-C this time around.