May 4 is Star Wars Day, and OtterBox is having a sale on iPhone cases with Jedi, droids and Sith aplenty. Plus, there are great Star Wars iOS games to play, and movies and TV shows to watch on your iPad or iPhone.
Apple is a charter member of the Car Connectivity Consortium, which on Monday unveiled a new version of its system to enable phones to act as digital keys.
This meshes with an unconfirmed report from February that Apple plans to add this feature to iOS 14.
Support for Apple’s biometric security systems just appeared in the Google Drive iOS/iPadOS application. With this update, users can lock access to this cloud-storage system, and then unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID.
Apple Watch Series 6 will be able to take blood-oxygen readings, according to an unconfirmed report. Word of this upcoming feature has leaked before — and COVID-19 makes adding it a bit more urgent.
The source for this rumor also claims the 2020 Apple Watch will usher in numerous other new features as well.
Apple and Goldman Sachs might cut you some slack on your credit card bill if you lost your job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Users of the Apple Card were notified today that they can apply to skip their May payment without interest charges being added.
Revenue from iPad sales dropped 10% during the first quarter of 2020. And shipments dropped 3%, according to a market-research firm. But analysts say that people working and studying from home during the pandemic could bring a burst of purchases this quarter.
Apple’s gaming service focuses more on lighter fare, but Friday brought the release of Neversong. Players take on the role of Peet, a boy just awoken from a coma as he searches for his missing girlfriend through an asylum while battling monsters and zombies.
While COVID-19 certainly overshadowed Apple’s most recent financial quarter, the company actually saw an annual increase in revenue, with the growth primarily coming from services and wearables.
Looking ahead, the company predicts that Mac and iPad sales will be strong. And CEO Tim Cook remains confidant about Apple’s future.
Apple released three new advertisements for its streaming video service on Thursday. These highlight the big stars that appear on Apple TV+, as well as the original stories told by the over two dozen shows and movies that have debuted since autumn.
Watch them now:
OtterBox’s latest screen protectors not only prevent scratches, they also contain an antimicrobial agent. The Amplify Glass line is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and manufactured by Corning. These screen protectors debuted Thursday for the iPhone 11 series as well as earlier models.
Apple designed a workable system to let people edit text messages after they send them. But now we have to hope it’ll be implemented.
This is potentially great news for everyone who ever wished they could fix an embarrassing text.
The popular utility CleanMyMac debuted way back in 2008, but MacPaw is finally bringing it to the Mac App Store all these years later. This will make it easier to find, buy and install.
The developer admits it did only direct sales of this product for business reasons. But the App Store version will also lack some features of the version sold on the MacPaw website for technical reasons.
A Group FaceTime feature some people find irritating can be disabled in the upcoming iOS version. Currently, the tile showing the face of the person speaking gets larger, pushing everyone else aside. The iOS 13.5 beta introduced Wednesday gives users the option to turn this off.
Unlocking your iPhone while wearing a protective mask might get a little quicker in iOS 13.5. Apple released a new beta of this upcoming version Wednesday, and it includes a neat trick that skips Face ID to immediately ask for a passcode if it detects the user is wearing a mask.
The third beta of iOS 13.5 released on Wednesday gives developers their first look at the coronavirus contact-tracing tool that Apple is creating in cooperation with Google.
iPadOS 13.5 Developer Beta 3 was also debuted today, along with the initial beta of Xcode 11.5.
Oak Felder writes and produces music for some of today’s top artists. In a new Apple video, he talks about the importance of technology that makes it easy to turn musical ideas into reality.
Watch it now:
Microsoft claims it won’t adopt the Thunderbolt standard for its Surface laptops and tablets because it’s inherently insecure, according to an internal company video leaked onto Twitter recently.
Thunderbolt was developed by Intel and Apple, and it’s widely used on Macs. It’s also been adopted by virtually every PC maker. But not Microsoft.
iPad Pros used in the field require hard-core protection, and there’s no better option than the OtterBox Defender. The case wraps the tablet in layer upon layer of plastic to cushion it from serious accidents. There’s even a built-in screen protector.
I encased my 2020 iPad Pro in the latest version of the OtterBox Defender to do some real-world testing. Here’s what I found out.
The official Apple Support iOS app got a facelift, including adding step-by-step guides to fixing common problems. And Dark Mode, too.
The app runs on iPhone or iPad, but offers information on Mac, AirPods and many other Apple products and services.
It would be easier to make a foldable iPhone or iPad if it could include a flexible battery. Apple is investigating these as a power source, and was granted a patent on the technology on Tuesday.
In recent years, the company received many patents related to computers built around folding displays. They’re proof that Apple is actively exploring using these in future products.
The 2020 iPhone SE is the first Apple smartphone to offer Portrait Mode photos created entirely with software techniques rather than hardware. That’s not true of any previous iOS device, not even the one you think it is.
Lux Optics, maker of Halide, examined how Apple’s new budget phone adds the bokeh effect to 2D pictures.
Verizon or T-Mobile won’t disconnect your iPhone if you can’t pay your bill because COVID-19 cost you your job. And Comcast won’t cut your Mac off from the internet either.
The companies committed on Monday to not terminate service or charge late fees through June 30.
There are quite a few wall switches that support Apple’s HomeKit home-automation system, but Aqara on Tuesday unveiled two that should catch the eye of anyone with an older home. Unlike virtually all competitors, these don’t require a neutral wire, something that exists primarily in newer buildings.
These switches make any ceiling fixture smart. They can be controlled via an iPhone or Siri commands from anywhere.
The U.K. reportedly decided to go with a coronavirus contact-tracing application different from the system Apple and Google are creating jointly. The National Health Service built an app that creates a central database of people who have tested positive for COVID-19. The Apple and Google solution uses a decentralized system for privacy reasons.
Before it was an Apple TV+ series, Defending Jacob was a bestselling novel. In a new Apple video, author William Landay talks about seeing his book adapted for the small screen.
Watch it now: