Benjamin Mayo

One of the few design changes coming as part of the iPhone 13 is that the display cutout at the top of the screen is now smaller in width, thanks to the fact that Apple redesigned the layout of the TrueDepth camera housing. The speaker now sits above the camera components.

In the presentation today, Apple said the TrueDepth components now fit in a space that is 20% smaller. It is noticeably smaller in width, however if you compare the photos of an iPhone 12 and 13 side by side, you will notice it is actually slightly taller too.

At its September event, Apple today announced the new iPhone lineup: iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini. iPhone 13 prices remain the same as last year, from $699 and $799 for iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13. Base storage has been bumped to 128 GB and a 512 GB storage configuration is now available.

The iPhone 13 design is mostly the same as the iPhone 12, however the display notch at the top of the screen is slightly smaller in width; Apple says about 20% smaller. The dual cameras of iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are now arranged diagonally in the rear module …

As is tradition, the Apple Store has gone down ahead of the Apple event later today suggesting that new hardware is on the way. The “California Streamin'” Apple event kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time.

We are almost certainly going to see Apple unveil the new iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. A new Apple Watch is also expected featuring a chassis redesign, most likely called Apple Watch Series 7. New AirPods and iPads may also make an appearance.

Apple-owned music recognition service Shazam today announced that users have recognized more than 1 billion songs using the Music Recognition feature from Control Center in iOS.

1 billion uses for something that was only introduced with iOS 14.2 last fall is an impressive figure. Apple said the most Shazamed track was “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars, followed by “Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf.

As expected, Epic Games has today filed a notice of appeal in the case against Apple over App Store policy. On Friday, the judge delivered her verdict, several months after Epic and Apple executives waged war in the court trial.

The judge found in favor of Apple in 9 out of 10 ten counts. However, Epic did successfully get the judge to agree that Apple needs to remove anti-steering provisions around In-App Purchase and allow companies to direct their users to alternative payment systems outside of the app. However, Epic is appealing as it wanted more.

In a report from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today, Apple is said to be announcing the new generation of AirPods as part of Tuesday’s iPhone 13 event. The new ‘AirPods 3’ will be the new version of Apple’s AirPods earbuds, which were last refreshed in March 2019.

However, Kuo says that Apple will keep selling the second-generation AirPods when the new models ship. He says this suggest either AirPods 3 will be sold at a higher price — current models start at $159 — or that AirPods 2 will see a price drop alongside the AirPods 3 release, which would adopt the current AirPods 2’s price point.

Epic Games has announced that it plans to appeal the judge’s decision from today’s Epic v. Apple case. Although today’s ruling says that Apple must relax rules around In-App Purchase and allow apps to link out to third-party payment systems, the judge ruled in Apple’s favor on all other counts.

For instance, Apple was not shown to have a monopoly nor must be compelled to allow third-party app stores or alternative third-party payment systems inside the app itself, as Epic had hoped. In a statement, Apple described the decision as a “huge win for Apple”.

Apple TV+ today announced a new partnership with WildBrain to become the exclusive streaming home of the kids puppet series ‘Yo Gabba Gabba!’.

In a very similar vein to the Peanuts deal announced last year, Apple TV+ will become the new home for all classic Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes and specials. The company has also ordered the production of 20 new half-hour episodes.

This morning, Ming-Chi Kuo released an analyst note that acknowledged Apple faced manufacturing issues when ramping the production of the new Apple Watch, set to be unveiled on Tuesday at the September 14 Apple event.

However, Kuo says Apple and its suppliers have now overcome those issues, and mass production will be beginning soon. The analyst expects the new Watch lineup to be released in late September.

Update: Apple says Epic currently has “no legitimate basis for the reinstatement of their developer account”, in a statement to Bloomberg. Original story below.

Last August, Fortnite was famously pulled from the iOS App Store after Epic surreptitiously enabled a direct payment option for V-Bucks, circumventing Apple’s In-App Purchase system and the 30% cut. This kicked off a major protest against Apple’s ‘monopolistic’ App Store rules, which went to trial earlier this year.

Recently, a new law introduced in South Korea specifically outlaws payment system exclusivity inside apps, and legally forces Apple to allow alternatives to In-App Purchase for digital goods. Today, Epic has announced that it intends to re-release Fortnite for iOS in South Korea featuring its own payment system.

For iOS 15 users, Apple has begun prompting for their consent to enable Personalized Ads for their Apple ID, which allows Apple to use your App Store purchase history and several other demographics, to inform what advertising is displayed in the News and Stocks apps, as well as for targeting App Store Search Ads.

Apple ad targeting, or ‘Personalized Ads’ as Apple calls it, was previously enabled by default without any kind of prompt. Users had to learn about the preference on their own and navigate four levels deep in Settings to disable it, running somewhat counter to Apple’s privacy-first image.

Yesterday, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that Apple would be including satellite communication features as part of the iPhone 13. Today, Bloomberg confirmed the news, clarifying that the upcoming iPhones would include hardware capable of communicating with low-earth orbit satellites, but the software to use it may not be enabled initially.

Bloomberg says Apple is focusing on helping users in emergency situations. For instance, satellites will allow users to send texts to first responders, even in remote locations without cell service. However, Bloomberg cautions that “the features are unlikely to be ready before next year”.

In September, Apple TV+ will host the return of Jon Stewart to television with his new current affairs series ‘The Problem with Jon Stewart’.

The show will also have a companion audio podcast, which is now available to subscribe to in Apple Podcasts. The first episodes of the series and the podcast will premiere on September 30.

Apple TV+ has added another blockbuster-potential movie to its slate of projects, with Deadline reporting late last night that the company has added a new film, named ‘Ghosted’, to its slate. The movie will star Chris Evans — previously seen in Apple TV+ series Defending Jacob — and Scarlett Johansson, and is described as a romantic action adventure story.

The film will be directed by Dexter Fletcher and produced by Skydance studios for Apple.

The iPhone 12 has been a massive sales hit for Apple thanks to the launch of 5G. It seems Apple wants to keep the momentum by adding another new radio technology to the iPhone this year. In an investor note, Ming-Chi Kuo today said that he expects the upcoming iPhone 13 models to feature a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite communication mode. This would allow an iPhone 13 user to send messages and make phone calls, even when they are not within standard 4G/5G cell tower coverage.

Bloomberg first reported Apple’s investigations into using satellite technology to beam data to iPhones in a story from 2019. However, this is the first time we have heard that the feature is coming as part of the 2021 iPhone 13 lineup.

Apple today announced a new initiative that will see makers of newspaper and magazine apps keep more of their subscription revenue when participating in the program.

The Apple News Partner Program means that if a publisher has a significant presence inside the Apple News app, including adopting Apple’s custom Apple News Format for generating articles, that publisher will get a discount on the commission on subscriptions taken out inside their native iPhone and iPad app.