Benjamin Mayo

Apple today announced a major new investment project, revealing its plans to establish a European Center for Chip Design in Munich, Germany. The financial commitment will exceed 1 billion euros over the next three years.

The facility will hire hundreds of employees and focus on advancing mobile and wireless technologies, including 5G. The research and development will ultimately inform future Apple silicon chip designs.

With the release of iOS 14.5, Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency policies require developers to get explicit consent before being able to share user data with third-party advertising networks. A new French complaint alleges that Apple’s own advertising network is not held to the same standard, as first reported by Bloomberg.

Specifically, the complaint says Apple itself is allowed to use data from across Apple’s apps to serve targeted ads, by default. Apple’s system does not technically fall under App Tracking Transparency (ATT) rules because there is no third-party data sharing, but it is viewed by the complainants as unfair treatment nonetheless.

Multiple leakers this morning have suggested the idea of the March 23rd date for Apple’s next product event. Apple often holds spring events to announce new products, but it isn’t a guarantee. Depending on the year, Apple sometimes releases products simply via press releases, like last year with the 2020 iPad Pro.

The lines are blurred currently as ‘Apple events’ are all held virtually because of the pandemic, but the main difference between an event and press release announcements is the inclusion of a prepared scripted video presentation.

Ted Lasso continues to bring home the awards for Apple TV+. Following its success at the Golden Globes, Ted Lasso swept the comedy category of the Critics Choice awards last night, winning every award it was nominated for.

The show itself picked up Best Comedy Series, Jason Sudeikis won for Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Hannah Waddingham won for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

The iMac Pro has been discontinued, with the Apple Store on Friday removed all build-to-order configurations for the product. The only model now available to buy is the $4999 base config and the Apple Store says that is only available ‘while supplies last’. Some other SKUs remain available at third-party retailers for the time being.

There has been a constant stream of display technology rumors over the last few years. Apple is rumored to be exploring mini-LED, micro-LED and OLED technologies across its product lineup. The upcoming 2021 successor to the 16-inch MacBook Pro is currently expected to feature a mini-LED screen.

Apple first used OLED in the Apple Watch, and later in the iPhone X. A report from Digitimes today says that Apple is also interested in releasing larger form factor products with OLED displays, like iPads and MacBooks.

Yesterday, we covered a story regarding Dustin Curtis’s experience with his Apple ID getting disabled when a payment to his Apple Card failed. Apple has today shared a statement with 9to5Mac clarifying the situation. The company says that Apple Card and Apple ID are not linked in the way that the blog post alleged, and the company does not disable Apple ID services because of missed Apple Card payments.

The situation arose because the trade-in process was left unresolved, and Apple was following its standard procedures in matters of money owed; this is not anything specific to the Apple Card. When an account is marked as in bad standing, use of Apple ID services is restricted; things like Apple Music or App Store purchases. iCloud is wholly separate and is not disabled at all. You can read Apple’s full statement on the matter after the break.

Analysts at Wedbush today said that supply chain checks suggest that the next generation iPhone lineup, colloquially referred to as iPhone 13, will feature a 1 TB high-end storage option for the first time. The current iPhone 12 maxes out at 512 GB capacity.

The financial analysts remain optimistic that Apple iPhone sales will continue to be strong through this year as part of the post-pandemic ‘reopening environment’ as COVID vaccine rollouts continue worldwide.

In January, Ming Chi Kuo excited fans of Apple’s pro laptops with news that the 2021 MacBook Pro would feature a new design, Apple Silicon, and the return of MagSafe and more IO ports.

The analyst has followed up on that report today to be slightly more specific: he expects Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro models to feature a HDMI port and a SD card slot. As a reminder, the current 16-inch MacBook Pro only features Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and a headphone jack in terms of connectivity.

Apple is apparently developing a MagSafe battery pack accessory for the iPhone 12, according to the latest report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. With previous iPhone models, Apple has released Smart Battery Cases to compete with the likes of battery cases from Mophie and others, that offer protection and give your iPhone extra juice.

For the iPhone 12 generation, Apple is yet to release its own battery case. The Bloomberg report suggests that Apple may never do so, as it instead intends to use the MagSafe connector on the back of the iPhone to be able to create a wireless charging battery pack that simply magnetically snaps onto the back of the iPhone 12.

As of a week or so ago, the CBS All Access and Showtime bundle for Apple TV+ is no longer available, lasting just five months since its August 2020 launch. This bundle gave Apple TV+ subscribers access to both CBS All Access and Showtime for $9.99 per month, representing a significant 50% saving.

While current subscribers to the bundle can still access the service, it’s no longer possible to sign up to the bundle as a new user. This is probably because Viacom is preparing to sunset CBS All Access in favor of their new streaming platform: Paramount+, which launches in the US starting March 4.

As part of the iOS 14.5 beta, it appears Apple is testing new ways to monetize the App Store. Building on the existing App Store Search Ads program, users are now seeing a new sponsored ad slot appearing on the Search tab as a “suggested” item.

Previously, Apple only showed ads in the App Store when users searched for an app with advertisers bidding on keywords, similar to Google Search ads. This new ad type is naturally more prominent as it displays to the user before they search anything at all.

Earlier this week, Apple told developers in its DTK Apple silicon program to be prepared to return the early access prototype Mac mini soon. It said developers would receive a $200 credit towards the purchase of an M1 Mac as a token of appreciation.

However, this announcement was not met too kindly by the community. Apple has ‘heard the feedback’ and has increased the credit accordingly …

According to local newspaper DongA, Apple is set to announce a major contract with Kia Motors, worth about $3.6 billion as the company ramps up its efforts to build an electric car. According to the papers, the news could be officially announced as soon as February 17.

Apple is apparently looking to produce about 100,000 cars a year, starting in 2024. A previous report had suggested that Apple was looking to sign a deal with Hyundai by March.

Apple TV+ is posting more viewership stats, with the company announcing that the just-gone weekend saw viewership on the platform rise by 33% to set a new record (via Deadline).

The record numbers for the service come as the company launched its latest original film, “Palmer” starring Justin Timberlake, on Friday.

Apple TV+ has won the rights to hot Sundance film ‘CODA’, which premiered at the film festival on Friday. The film received a warm reception from early viewers and critics.

As reported by Deadline, a bidding war for the film raised prices to a new record for Sundance film, with Apple securing the deal for $25 million.