Follow Benjamin on Threads to keep up with his latest projects. Benjamin blogs about Apple news and rumors and posts insightful product and app reviews. Read his work on 9to5Mac and his personal blog.
Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.
Follow @bzamayo on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.
Right on cue, the Apple Store is down today ahead of new iPhone and HomePod mini preorders.
The store will be back up at about 5 AM PT, so if you are waiting to order a new HomePod mini or the iPhone 12 mini, or the iPhone 12 Pro Max, you’ve got a few more hours to wait.
Expand Expanding Close
One of the new Siri features in iOS 14.2 is called the Personal Update. This is similar to the daily briefing feature available on Amazon Echo, answering a long-lasting feature request for Apple’s personal assistant.
You can get Siri to read out your update on iPhone, HomePod, and HomePod mini. Just ask Siri “What’s my update?”
Expand Expanding Close
Today, Apple announced its final event of the year, set for November 10. This is widely expected to be the time when Apple announces its first round of ARM Macs, with the company having already stated that it will transition the entire line away from Intel within two years.
Bloomberg has more specific reporting on exactly which models are getting updates first. The publication says new 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are currently ramping production, all featuring Apple Silicon. However, Bloomberg says the new laptops will not feature dramatic design changes other than the chip upgrades, which should provide improvements to performance and battery life.
Expand Expanding Close
With the current iCloud plans, the maximum tier is 2 TB. Although that’s a lot of storage, some iPhone users have already filled theirs up with thousands of photos and 4K videos and such. Until today, those people have simply been stuck at capacity — but with the release of Apple One, it is now possible to get up to 4 TB total of iCloud space.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple One is now available. You can upgrade now by going to Settings -> Apple ID -> Subscriptions on your iPhone or iPad. Apple One is a services package including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud storage.
There are three Apple One tiers. The cheapest tier costs $14.95 per month and includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 50 GB of iCloud. The most expensive ‘Apple One Premier’ costs $29.95 per month … but how much money do you actually save?
Expand Expanding Close
As part of its quarterly earnings call release, the company announced that its services bundle Apple One will be officially launching tomorrow, on Friday 30th. Apple One combines Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ at a discounted price for individuals and families.
For $30 a month, the top tier plan Apple One Premier includes 2 TB of iCloud and Apple News+. It will also include access to Fitness+, Apple’s upcoming workout videos service that will debut before the end of the year.
Expand Expanding Close
Jon Stewart left US talk show scene in 2015, but is now set to make a triumphant comeback with a new current affairs series exclusive to Apple TV+. Via Hollywood Reporter, Apple and Stewart today announced a multi-year deal covering the series and future projects.
Each hour-long episode will focus on a single news topic. The show is expected to begin airing next year. Hollywood Reporter says Stewart will also likely host a companion podcast.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple TV+ is continuing to expand its original slate of comedies with an announcement today of a 10-episode series order for “Platonic”, with Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne in starring roles.
Expand Expanding Close
Many publications have reported in the last 48 hours that MGM was looking to sell the newest James Bond film, No Time To Die, to a streaming service as low box office numbers continue to threaten the success of a traditional cinema release. The film currently has a release date of 2nd April 2021, with the studio having already delayed the date twice this year following the pandemic-induced slump in cinema ticket sales.
According to Variety, MGM took bids from Apple TV+, Netflix and others. However, it was looking for a deal worth approximately $600 million, a price tag that even the deepest pocket streaming services were not interested in.
Expand Expanding Close
The Apple TV app is officially coming to games consoles, starting with an announcement from Sony. On the PlayStation blog, the company revealed that the Apple TV app will be available on November 12, that’s the same day as the PlayStation 5 release date.
The app will be made available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Just like the smart TV apps, users will be able to subscribe and enjoy Apple TV+ originals, and access their movie and TV show purchases from the iTunes Store.
Expand Expanding Close
Jony Ive retired from Apple about a year ago, following an almost 25 year tenure as head of Apple product design. At the time, it was announced that Ive would form a new independent design firm called ‘LoveFrom’ which would regard Apple as a primary client.
Whilst we are still waiting for Ive’s supposed ongoing relationship with Apple to bear any fruit, today Airbnb revealed a multi-year partnership with Jony Ive and LoveFrom. Ive will help design the next generation of Airbnb products and services.
Expand Expanding Close
The Apple Store is down ahead of the first set of iPhone 12 preorders. Due to the pandemic, the iPhonne 12 launch season is staggered this year. Today, customers can order the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 and the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro.
The store is down quite far ahead of time. Preorders open at 5 AM Pacific Time, or about six hours from now. The phones officially launch on October 23rd.
Expand Expanding Close
A month after it was announced, you can now preorder the new iPad Air 4 …. at Walmart. The retailer has just opened up its order page for the new $599 iPad, with deliveries starting on Friday, 23rd October. Shop for the best iPad Air deals on 9to5Toys.
The new iPad Air brings the full-screen thin-bezel design of the 2018 Pro down to a much lower price point, featuring the latest A14 chip for speedy performance and Touch ID sensor integrated into the top button.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple users have long tried to use their HomePods as their Apple TV speaker system. The standard AirPlay 2 experience mostly works … except when it doesn’t. The usual frustration is that the Apple TV will forget the AirPlay 2 connection and you have to keep reselecting the HomePod as the audio output. Apple has finally addressed this with iOS 14.2 and tvOS 14.2 beta 3.
Expand Expanding Close
In an incredibly sneaky move, it turns out the iPhone 12 does not actually cost $799 as advertised. If you go to the website and look at the pricing for the iPhone 12, the SIM-free price is actually $829. The iPhone 12 mini is similarly $729, and not $699.
The top-line advertised prices actually include a $30 carrier discount, which is only available on AT&T and Verizon plans. That means if you are buying SIM-free unlocked or through T-Mobile or Sprint, the phone cost is $829. The same holds for the iPhone 12 mini …
Expand Expanding Close
Last year, Apple introduced a special offer for new Apple device purchases: a one year trial of Apple TV+. As of today, that offer continues but Apple has now added another hardware free trial combo.
Starting October 22nd, new purchases of an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV or iPod touch now come with 3 months free of Apple Arcade, Apple’s game subscription service which includes more than 100 games. Before today, Apple offered a single month free of Apple Arcade for new sign ups.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple will not include a power charger or earbuds with the iPhone 12, citing environmental reasons. Apple said it will be able to significantly reduce carbon emissions by not having to make the accessories in the first place, in addition to reducing the shipping box size of each iPhone sold.
For the first time, neither the power charger brick nor the Apple EarPods will be included with your iPhone purchase. Apple says doing this will save 2 million metric tons of carbon annually.
Expand Expanding Close
Update: It turns out the iPhone 12 is $30 more expensive than originally thought.
Apple today announced the new iPhone 12, featuring a 6.1-inch OLED display. The iPhone 12 is one of four models unveiled today as part of the new fall iPhone lineup. iPhone 12 will go on sale for $799, and the smaller iPhone 12 mini starts at $699. iPhone 12 will be available to order starting this Friday, October 16.
All new iPhones support 5G and feature a new industrial design with flat edges and thinner bezels. The phone looks a lot like an iPhone 5 but with a full-screen face. The iPhone 12 comes in five color finishes: black, white, red, green and blue.
Expand Expanding Close
Apple today announced the HomePod mini, its latest smart speaker product following the launch of the original HomePod in 2017. The speaker features a new circular ‘bowl’ design, available in white or black, wrapped in mesh fabric. HomePod mini will be released on November 16 for $99. Orders start November 6.
Apple said the new HomePod mini combines amazing sound with the smarts of a voice assistant. The speaker emits sound in a 360-degree array. The HomePod mini is powered by the Apple S5 chip. Alongside the hardware, Apple announced several new feature updates for Siri …
Expand Expanding Close
The Apple Store is down ceremony continues with Apple’s October event, which kicks off (virtually) at 10 AM Pacific Time today. We are expecting to see the iPhone 12 lineup — comprising four different models in new smaller and larger sizes than the iPhone 11 — as well as a new smaller ‘HomePod mini’
Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.
Expand Expanding Close
With the new iPhones set to be unveiled in three days from now, TF Securities Ming-Chi Kuo released a report this weekend detailing the analyst’s expectations for relative demand of the four models.
To recap, the iPhone 12 will be available in four SKUs: a 5.4-inch model (“iPhone 12 mini’), two 6.1-inch models (Pro and non-Pro) and a new 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Kuo says that the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 will be the most popular.
Expand Expanding Close
We’ve already had an Apple September event and are currently looking forward to the iPhone 12 / HomePod mini event next week, but Bloomberg reports Apple won’t be stopping yet. In a story today on what to expect from next week’s event, Mark Gurman writes that the first Apple Silicon Macs will be announced at another Apple product launch event in November.
In line with Ming-Chi Kuo’s reporting from a while ago that the first ARM Mac would be a 13-inch MacBook Pro, Bloomberg says that the first Mac laptop with Apple Silicon “among other products” will be launched next month.
Expand Expanding Close
If you purchased a new Apple device from September 2019 last year — like an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV — you were automatically eligible for a free year of Apple TV+. These trials would begin expiring at the end of October.
If you are in that group, it turns out you are going to get a few more months to enjoy the service at no charge. Apple will be extending all Apple TV+ trials through February 2021. The company will also be giving store credit for people on TV+ monthly plans during this period.
Expand Expanding Close
The anachronistic drama/comedy ‘Dickinson’ was one of Apple TV+’s launch shows, with all ten episodes airing on Apple TV+ launch day, November 1st 2019. Now, the streaming service is again leading with Dickinson as it today announced that the show’s second season will premier on January 8th.
Expand Expanding Close