Apple developers get to have another field day post-Thanksgiving weekend.
On Monday, Apple released new developer betas for most of its software platforms. Developers registered with the Apple Developer Program got to install the fourth developer beta of iOS 10.2, watchOS 3.1.1, and macOS Sierra 10.12.2. Registered developers can install these releases over-the-air now, and they will be made available as public betas to the people in the Apple Beta Software Program soon. You can enroll in the Apple Developer Program here.
In addition to addressing performance issues and issuing bug fixes, the cornerstone of these developer betas seem to be the integration of a bunch of new emoji in conjunction with the Unicode 9.0 update. These new emoji—which are being released with iOS 10.2, macOS Sierra 10.12.2, and watchOS 3.1.1—include a selfie emoji, a clown-face emoji, and emoji depicting new male and female professions. In watchOS 3.1.1 developer beta, you can also now change the emoji skin tone.
Furthermore, the iOS 10.2 developer beta also includes three new wallpapers exclusively for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. There’s also the return of the star-rating system in Music, as well as new buttons for repeat and shuffle options. Messages gets new full-screen effects, like “Celebrate” and “Send with Love.” And the all-new TV app will also have an iOS counterpart that replaces Videos.

Those annoying Calendar spam invites won’t be around much longer.
On Wednesday, Apple indicated that it was actively working to identify and block any further spam invites from hitting your iCloud Calendar. Last week, people started receiving suspicious spam invites on iOS and macOS alerting them of special sales for Ugg boots or Ray-Ban sunglasses.
The spammers were able to exploit an iCloud feature that uses email data to pop-up as Calendar notifications. If the spam invites were set as recurring events, the notifications would surface every day.
Address the issue, Apple sent the following statement to iMore:

“We are sorry that some of our users are receiving spam calendar invitations. We are actively working to address this issue by identifying and blocking suspicious senders and spam in the invites being sent.”

In the meantime, Macworld’s Glenn Fleishman has discovered a temporary fix. Here’s how it works: iCloud automatically parses through your email looking for iCalendar files (.ics) that it can surface as Calendar invites even if the the email sender is a spammer, so the best way to resolve this issue is to disable this automatic invitation parsing. Because iCloud manages this feature, you’ll have to make changes on the iCloud website.

1. Go to your iCloud Calendar page via a desktop browser. (Apple doesn’t allow you to use iCloud.com via mobile Safari.)
2. Click the gear icon in the lower-left corner.
3. Select Preferences.
4. Click the Advanced icon.
5. In the Invitations section, change the option from In-App Notifications to Email to iCloud Address.

If you have outstanding spam invitations that you can’t delete after disabling automatic iCloud parsing, follow these steps:

Apple issued an update to macOS Sierra this week, and along with it came a few unexpected surprises.
The macOS Sierra 10.12.1 update includes a hidden image depicting a brand-new MacBook Pro with an OLED touch bar at the top, allegedly dubbed a Magic Toolbar. Apple is officially expected to announce this new MacBook Pro on Thursday at 10 a.m. Pacific during its second fall event.
The leaked images, first unveiled by MacRumors, show how the new MacBook Pro integrates Touch ID on the Magic Toolbar to be able to verify online payments via Apple Pay.

According to earlier rumors, the Magic Toolbar replaces the top function keys and it will be adaptive, or able to change depending on what’s on the screen. The leaked images only depict how the Magic Toolbar supports Apple Pay functionality, by asking for verification of the payment with Touch ID by placing the fingerprint on the OLED panel.
Besides the new Magic Toolbar, the MacBook Pro seems to follow similar design cues of the current generations. If the machine depicted is the 13-inch model, then another notable addition is a row of speakers to each side of the keyboard. The images do not show the sides of the MacBook Pro, so it’s unclear which ports this new model will support. Rumor has it that it will only come with four USB-C ports and maybe a headphone jack. The new MacBook Pro is also expected to be lighter and thinner, but the leaked images do not confirm this, either.
At the event, Apple might also announce more refreshed Mac updates. Apple is reportedly working on a new MacBook Air with a USB-C port, an iMac with AMD chip, and a 5K display in partnership with LG.

It's finally here: the new-and-improved MacBook Pro, and it seems to have closed the gap between the Pro line and the competition – and them some.
But the MacBook Pro has done so in ways that matter perhaps even more than gigahertz and pixels. This is now Apple's most usable laptop yet. Sure, it's thinner, lighter and more powerful, but the improved keyboard and trackpad set Apple apart in an even bigger way.
And that's before we even get to the Touch Bar (though its mileage may vary).

MacBook Pro price and release date

The spankin' new MacBook Pro is available for pre-order right now. As for when you'll get it should you pre-order, that's another story.
The 13-inch version, with standard function keys and two fewer USB-C ports, will ship the day you pre-order it.

• MacBook Pro price: how much will it cost me?

However, if you want one of the fancy Touch Bar versions, that won't begin shipping until two to three weeks from now.
Here's how much the MacBook Pro costs to start, broken down by version:

• 13-inch MacBook Pro (no Touch Bar): $1,499/£1,449/AU$2,199
• 13-inch MacBook Pro (Touch Bar): $1,799/£1,749/AU$2,699
• 15-inch MacBook Pro: $2,399/£2,349/AU$2,999

Now, let's get into what's new about the refreshed MacBook Pro, and what it feels like to use. Spoiler: it's better – way better.

Latest developments

With both launches behind us – with and without the Touch Bar – we’re already beginning to consider the next iteration of MacBook Pro. Despite having just reviewed the most recent MacBook Pro, there’s admittedly still room for improvement.
Reports have already emerged that a 2017 MacBook Pro refresh is in the works with configurations supporting up to 32GB of RAM, twice of what is offered now. Moreover, Korean tech source ET News believes the next MacBook Pro could even house a full-fledged OLED display in lieu of its current LCD panels.
In the meantime, Apple is supporting the current MacBook Pro quite nicely, even treating it to its own front-page App Store section spotlighting Touch Bar-centric apps. Though Apple was open to the idea of the Touch Bar this year, don’t expect a proper touch display anytime soon. In a recent interview, the company exec Phil Schiller called the idea of a touchscreen Mac ‘absurd.’

Design and feel

At first glance, not much has changed about the MacBook Pro's design. The profile or silhouette generally remains unchanged, save for finally (sadly) losing the illuminated Apple logo on its lid in favor of chrome.
Take a closer look though and you'll see that nearly everything has changed. The 13-inch and 15-inch versions of the new MacBook Pro are 17% and 14% thinner than their predecessors, respectively – to the tune of a 14.9mm-thin 13-incher and a 15.5mm-thin 15-incher.
Naturally, with a thinner chassis comes lighter weight. The 13-inch version weighs just three pounds (1.37kg), nearly half a pound lighter than the previous version, while the 15-inch model hits the scale at four pounds (1.83kg), also shaving off nearly half a pound).
While Apple wouldn't let you forget it, that makes the 13-inch MacBook Pro now thinner and lighter than the latest (and likely last) MacBook Air – and picking up the device, you can definitely tell.
                            COPY FROM (TECHRADAR)