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Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook today posted an open letter on Apple’s website that addresses the recent protests and riots fuelled by the death of George Floyd under police arrest, described by Cook as a “senseless killing”.
Cook says that everyone must stand together and recognize the fear and outrage from recent events and the long history of racism. You can read Cook’s letter in full here, entitled ‘Speaking up on racism’.
Apple Music is joining in a music industry wide ‘Black Out Tuesday’ campaign, to raise awareness for Black Lives Matter in the wake of Minneapolis resident George Floyd being killed whilst under police arrest. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously tweeted his support of the protests happening across the US and around the world.
Apple Music has canceled its usual Beats 1 radio schedule and is instead directing all iOS and macOS users to a single streaming station that celebrates the best in black music.
As we all await the announcement of iOS 14 — Apple’s next major OS update — at WWDC later this month, Apple news website The Verifier has today said that its sources indicate that all existing iOS 13 iPhone and iPod touch devices will be able to update to iOS 14.
Assuming the report is accurate, that means that Apple will not be leaving any devices out for this year’s big iOS software update. This universal device compatibility was also reported by iPhonesoft earlier this year.
Last night, Apple announced its latest original series heading to Apple TV+: ‘Ted Lasso’ starring Jason Sudeikis. The comedy is based on the character of the same name from the viral NBC Sports ads. The show will air on August 14.
This morning, HBO launched its new expanded streaming service: HBO Max, which is a superset of the existing HBO Now offering. You can get the HBO Max app on all Apple devices, but it comes at a price: the HBO partnership with Apple TV Channels is being wound down.
Starting today, the HBO channel has been removed from the Apple TV app if you don’t already subscribe to it. If you are a current subscriber, the channel will still be visible for the time being but will not be updated to feature Max-exclusive content.
Update: You can now watch all episodes of Fraggle Rock on Apple TV+ here.
Apple TV+ is said to have bought rights to the full back catalog of Fraggle Rock, comprising about 100 episodes of the live action puppet show originally owned by HBO.
Apple has already funded a short set of ‘Fraggle Rock On’ shorts, and is now taking that relationship further. In addition to the full back catalog of Fraggle Rock, Apple is ordering a season reboot of the show with full-length episodes.
The HBO Max application is now available for Apple users with apps for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV: get the app here. HBO Max replaces HBO Now, so if you have the Now app already installed, it will transform into Max the next time the App Store updates your apps. HBO Max is a US-only service.
The HBO Max content offering is a superset of what was available under the Now moniker, with the same $14.99 monthly subscription price. Alongside everything you expect from HBO, Max content includes the full catalog of sitcom Friends, Looney Tunes, Studio Ghibli, Adult Swim shows, and a documentary on sexual assault accusations against Russel Simmons (a film that was previously set for Apple TV+).
The iPhone and iPad App Store is re-releasing updates for a lot of iOS apps, with many users seeing 50 or more app updates scheduled over the weekend.
These app updates are the same builds as the device will have already downloaded. It appears Apple is doing this to workaround a Family Sharing glitch that was preventing some users from launching apps at all.
A long time Apple designer Christopher Stringer is set to launch a new home audio product as part of a new startup ‘Syng’. Stringer left Apple in 2017 after more than 20 years at the company. Stringer is believed to have left Apple partly because of Jony Ive’s retirement from product responsibilities.
According to the latest report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may not include the wired EarPods headphones in the box of the iPhone 12. This would naturally drive sales of Apple’s second-generation AirPods, as customers would no longer be getting free headphones with their new phones.
Kuo suggests that Apple may heavily promote or discount the AirPods this holiday season, with no new models of AirPods or AirPods Pro expected until 2021.
Apple launched TV+ with an ‘all-original slate’, as the company focused on paying top dollar for premium originals with star talent. Unlike most other streaming networks, it did not offer any back catalog. Apple TV+ currently features 30 originals titles with more added monthly. That strategy now appears to be changing as Bloomberg reports that Apple is buying rights to older Hollywood TV shows and movies.
Bloomberg also says that Apple TV+ exceeded 10 million members as of February, although that figure naturally includes a lot of people on the one-year free trial rather than active paying subscribers. Bloomberg says “only about half of that number have actively used the service”.
Back in March, we reported on a new augmented reality app that Apple is developing internally as part of iOS 14 builds. This involved scanning QR codes to enter AR environments, which will be viewable on the iPhone or a connected headset (like Apple’s in-development AR glasses).
The Twitter account Unknownz21 shared some screenshots from that build, which includes some cool custom QR code designs (the usual square QR code has a lot of redundancy, so you can include patterns or logos without data loss) as well as what appears to be a custom circular visual code designed by Apple. More via Josh Constine, from the Moving Product newsletter below …
Apple today released its new Apple Watch Sport Band for 2020 Pride, along with a matching band from Nike. Apple has released special Pride bands for the last couple of years, but this is the first time Nike has also joined in with the celebrations.
The new bands are available to order today from the Apple Store. The bands match new watch faces coming in watchOS 6.2.5, which we reported over the weekend.
A major UK smart home accessory maker Hive, heavily promoted by its owner British Gas, has finally joined the HomeKit train. Starting today, users can download the latest version of the Hive app and set up HomeKit integration for compatible accessories …
As announced earlier, the HBO Now app has been removed from the home screens of older Apple TVs (2nd- and 3rd-gen models) this weekend as HBO has ended support for the devices. The company will also be removing the HBO Go app soon.
HBO Now is still available on the newer Apple TV models, and other platforms like Amazon Fire TV and Roku. The upcoming HBO Max streaming service, which launches at the end of May, will also only be available on the fourth-gen and later Apple TV.
Update: The rainbow treatment is also available for Numerals Mono, Numerals Duo and California. Image after the jump.
In this week’s release of watchOS 6.2.5 developer beta 5, Apple has snuck in a couple new watch faces — just in time for the worldwide (at home) Pride celebrations of the year.
The new watch faces come in the form of customization options for the existing Pride Digital, Pride Analog, and Gradient faces. There are new 2020 modes for the Pride faces, which feature a more pastel color palette than previous years, and a brand new rainbow option for the Gradient spectrum.
When Apple updated the base model iPad in September, it increased the screen size to 10.2-inches but it did not change the CPU. Both the 6th- and 7th-generation iPads feature the A10 chip. According to one Twitter leaker, that is set to change this year.
After a few days of rumors, it is now official. TSMC announced in a press release that it intends to build a chip factory in the United States, specifically in Arizona.
Construction is expected to begin in 2021 and the first chips from the fab could be manufactured in 2024. TSMC is the exclusive manufacturer of the A-series chips Apple uses in its iOS devices.
The iPad Magic Keyboard accessory has been widely praised for its responsive multi-touch trackpad, backlit keyboard, and clever counterbalancing magnetic stand. Apple debuted the accessory alongside the 2020 iPad Pro update and the iPadOS 13.4 software, which added rich support for cursor input on iPad.
However, a number of users are now airing their frustrations about battery life issues. A slice of Magic Keyboard owners are noticing that their iPad’s battery drops quickly when using the keyboard with the backlight enabled, and some reports indicate battery drain problems arise even when the iPad is idle and not in use.
The production company of famous director Ridley Scott has signed a first look deal with Apple TV+, reports Variety.
Scott’s portfolio includes blockbuster films like Top Gun and The Martian, and series like Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, but Apple and Scott’s relationship actually dates back decades. Ridley Scott directed the iconic 1984 ad campaign, that Apple used to launch the original Macintosh.
According to a report from Nikkei today, Apple is encouraging Luxshare, a long-time supply chain partner, to expand its business and encroach on Foxconn’s turf. Right now, Luxshare primarily makes Apple AirPods but is investigating an investment in metal casing manufacturer Catcher (which is part of the iPhone, iPad and Mac supply chains).
Nikkei says Apple is keen on Luxshare going ahead with growing its business as it thinks Luxshare could become a viable competitor to the Taiwanese assembly giants Foxconn and Pegatron.
SteelSeries today announced the latest version of its MFi game controller, the Nimbus+. The controller is basically an MFi version of its Stratus Duo controller compatible with Android devices.
The new plus model offers ten hours of additional battery life over the old Nimbus controller, as well as clickable joysticks. The controller is going on sale for $69 at Apple retail, and will be available on SteelSeries’ website at the end of the month.
There have been a lot of rumors about a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, and many expected it to appear in the spring when the 13-inch was due for an update. But the 2020 MacBook Pro is now on sale, and it featured no larger screen nor any design changes to speak of. One Twitter leaker says to expect the 14-inch to appear next year.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Trump administration is discussing with chip manufacturers including TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor) and Intel about the possibility of building fabrication plants in the United States.
TSMC manufacturers the core system-on-a-chip silicon that Apple relies on for its iOS devices (and soon Macs too). The upcoming A14 chip that will debut in the iPhone 12 will be built on a 5 nanometer process. This manufacturing currently happens in China, but the US government is campaigning these companies to start domestic chip production.