Adobe's John Nack notes on his blog that the company's Flash Player 10.2, currently in beta testing, can offer up to a ten-fold improvement in CPU usage under certain circumstances by taking advantage of new "Stage Video" functionality to more fully utilize hardware acceleration, particularly for SWF files in which other elements have been overlaid on top of video.
Adobe MAX demo of Stage Video on MacBook Air (audio and video slightly out-of-sync)
Nack points to a demo from last month's Adobe MAX conference showing off how Flash Player 10.2 and Stage Video can reduce CPU load. The demo shows a standard Flash video playing on Apple's new 11-inch MacBook Air checking in at about 80% CPU usage, and when vector images are overlaid on the video, CPU usage spikes to over 120%. The same video using the new Stage Video API demonstrates CPU utilization of about 10% with and without vector images overlaid.
The Stage Video implementation requires that Flash developers update their video players to support the feature, but some major developers such as YouTube have already updated their players, with others expected to do so in the near future.
Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces.
The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019.
Q.ai...
Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
