Apple spent more lobbying Washington last year than it ever has before. Still, its spending was dwarfed by the likes of Google and Facebook.
The Yellow Jacket is both an iPhone case and powerful stun gun. The newest version is slimmer and supports the iPhone XS and iPhone X.
Plus, it can also be as a phone charger.
Allegations that the ruler of Saudi Arabia played a role in hacking Jeff Bezos’ phone made headlines around the world today. A forensic report indicates this was supposedly an iPhone X, and a WhatsApp account was used.
Bezos is more than the CEO of Amazon — he’s also the owner of The Washington Post, which has been critical of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
New York City works every day on hacking into thousands of iPhones, Androids, iPads, etc. The district attorney of Manhattan believes these contain evidence of crimes, and spent $10 million on a lab to find ways around or through iPhone encryption.
Some U.S. senators apparently just can’t be without their Apple gear, even when they aren’t supposed to have it. Lawmakers have been noticed wearing Apple Watches during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a violation of the agreed-upon rules.
Transferring your Apple Card statement to a spreadsheet application just became a simple process. No third-party software is required — Apple today added the ability to export your transactions in a format that software like Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers can easily import.
Oprah Winfrey today revealed more details on her decision to not bring a high-profile documentary to Apple TV+ about alleged sexual misconduct by Russell Simmons.
She’s adamant that she still supports the women bringing the allegations, but wanted to do more investigation before releasing the documentary. And broaden its scope, too.
The budget iPhone 11 version was Apple’s biggest seller by a very wide margin last quarter, according to a market-research firm. It has the lion’s share of all iOS sales.
Still, the 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max also sold fairly well in Q4 2019, making up a higher proportion of Apple’s total sales than the iPhone XS series did in the same period the year before.
Apple doesn’t want iPhone 11 owners to forget they can record slofies: slow-motion video of themselves taken with the front-facing camera. As a reminder, the company posted a pair of selfie videos of professional snowboarders captured while they’re doing tricks.
Watch them now:
No less than seven new shows will debut on Apple TV+ before the middle of this year. There’s Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories reboot, a thriller starring Chris Evans, a mystery, two comedies and a pair of multipart documentaries.
And Apple says an animated comedy by the creator of Bob’s Burgers will launch this summer. Here’s a rundown of the other new Apple TV+ shows coming in early 2020.
A documentary series dubbed Dear… will profile internationally recognized leaders in a unique way: each will feature letters written to the subject of the biopic by people whose lives they’ve changed. That’s the source for the name of the series, which is headed for Apple TV+ in a few months.
Support for Apple’s new HomeKit Secure Video system has been added to the Robin ProLine Video Doorbell. With this combination, users can see who is at their door while staying assured that this information is kept private.
Don’t expect Apple to go easy on you if you get delinquent on payments to your Apple Card. Because that is not in Apple’s control.
The credit card is underwritten by Goldman Sachs. And the bank made it clear this week that it alone makes the decisions about collections from delinquent cardholders.
A princess must be quick and clever to rescue a prince in Kings of the Castle, the latest addition to Apple Arcade. This game is all about speed, as players hastily collect gems and avoid traps.
The developer, Frosty Pop, is a big supporter of Apple’s new gaming service. This is its fifth contribution.
NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock will employ a distinctly different pricing strategy than Apple TV+, Netflix and other competitors. It’ll be free, but with advertisements.
Those willing to pay will have access to additional content, however.
The 5G iPhone coming this fall is widely expected to be a huge windfall for Apple. But this handset might then turn around and hurt the company next year, according to a pair of market analysts.
And their prediction is equally bad news for those planning to upgrade to the 5G iPhone.
Apple’s 1-for-1 donation matching program, and paying employees for time spent volunteering, resulted in $100 million going to charities last year, the company said.
And it’s not only developers helping kids learn to code. There’s also a barbershop for the homeless run by an Apple employee.
Apple sold almost 60 million AirPods wireless headphones in 2019, according to a market-analysts firm. That’s a dramatic increase from the 35 million the company is estimated to have sold the year before.
And Apple took the lion’s share of 2019 sales of totally wireless (TWS) headsets.
A pair of fresh Apple videos demonstrate that its tablets can be tools for professional artists. They show the complete creative process of several advertising posters for Apple TV+ shows done on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil.
Watch them now:
Apple hired an expert on drones and aviation law as a lobbyist. But this doesn’t mean the company is about to introduce a line of unmanned aircraft.
Apple purchased Xnor.ai, a company that creates artificial intelligence software for mobile devices. The acquisition will apparently lead to AI applications running directly on iPhones, iPads, etc., not outsourced to the cloud. This should make these tasks more private and quicker.
A documentary about the rap group the Beastie Boys written and directed by Spike Jonze reportedly will debut on Apple TV+ this spring.
It will also supposedly be the first film from Apple’s streaming service to appear in theaters.
A new version of the Microsoft Edge web browser based on Google’s Chrome starts rolling out today for Windows, of course, but also macOS.
Among the most notable benefits is support for Chrome extensions.
MacBooks are wonderfully portable but a laptop display can be cramped for getting serious work done. The Lepow 15.6-Inch USB-C Portable Monitor is so slim and light it can easily go with you and double your available screen space.
I fully tested this surprisingly affordable USB-C monitor. Read my review to see how well it performs in the real world.
Apple today began taking orders for the alternative Mac Pro version designed to be installed in server rooms; previously it was only taking pre-orders. Units purchased today ship next week.
The rack-mount model comes in a different casing than the more standard tower one, and costs $500 more.