Italy is the latest country to throw its hat into the ring when it comes to investigating Apple for its purposeful slowing down of older iPhone devices.
In doing so, it joins countries including Brazil, South Korea, China and France, which have all questioned Apple about its iPhone-throttling software update. In a new twist, however, Italy is also investigating Apple rival Samsung.
Apple today announced that it is expanding its “Everyone Can Code” initiative to 70 colleges and universities in Europe, bringing its syllabus focused on app-making with Swift to more users outside of the U.S.
The expansion covers educational institutes in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal.
Apple’s ongoing PR nightmare concerning the iPhone slowdown case could turn out to be a boon for “Right to Repair” advocates, backing bills that will force companies to supply the necessary parts to repair older devices.
Specifically, it would mean Apple offering customers more options by giving third-party repair shops the legal right to buy official spare parts, and access service manuals. The result could help bring down the cost of repairs for iPhones.
Harry Potter is coming to iOS. Well, kind of.
In fact, a forthcoming game from Los Angeles-based developer Jam City, in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will let you create your very own Hogwarts student and then take them through the school: attending classes, learning magic, forming friendships and rivalries, and generally learning how to grow as a wizard.
It sounds intriguing, and we’re hoping it lives up to the enormous potential of its concept. Check out the first trailer for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery below.
Apple’s not giving up on fighting what it considers to be the good fight when it comes to immigration. On Thursday, a coalition of businesses including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and others urged President Trump not to abandon a program that allows the spouses of high-skilled immigrants to work in the U.S. while they are in the process of seeking permanent residence.
The initiative was introduced by President Barack Obama in 2015, but could be abandoned by the Trump administration as part of its crackdown on immigration.
Apple will pay its 13 billion euros ($15.5 billion) tax bill between March and September this year, Ireland’s Department of Finance Secretary General Derek Moran has told the country’s Public Accounts Committee.
The European Commission ordered the Irish government to recover the money from Apple after ruling that it received illegal state aid in Ireland. While Ireland is still appealing the decision, it must still collect the money, which will then be placed in an escrow account until the dispute is settled.
With Apple facing mounting pressure, Tim Cook has revealed that a future iOS 11 update will let users disable the feature that was causing their iPhone to throttle performance.
In an interview with ABC News, Cook said that, “We’re going to give people the visibility of the health of their battery so it’s very, very transparent. This hasn’t been done before.”
Up until now, Apple’s in-car platform CarPlay has been offered as a one-off payment if you want it in a BMW vehicle. That could soon change, however, according to a new report, suggesting that BMW is looking to switch to a subscription-based system.
Apple and HBO are vying for a new sci-fi drama series written by Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams. The untitled show is the first bit of TV writing Abrams has done since working on Fringe a decade ago in 2008.
In addition to Fringe, Abrams co-created the popular TV show Lost, as well as creating both Felicity and Alias. He has also executive-produced multiple shows in the past few years, including HBO’s Westworld, Showtime’s Roadies and Hulu’s upcoming Castle Rock.
Apple has said that it will reduce the cost of replacement batteries as a result of its iPhone slowdown controversy. However, according to a new lawsuit leveled against Apple this practice could wind up destroying valuable evidence.
In a motion filed in Los Angeles by lawyer Adam Levitt of DiCello Levitt & Casey, the claimant says that it is important to, “maintain and preserve any data [Apple] collects through diagnostic testing in order to protect the claims of all affected consumers.” In other words, stop throwing away batteries!
As CEO of the world’s most valuable company, Tim Cook can pick and choose where he gives interviews. Which is why it’s kind of cool that he just gave an interview to high school student Rebecca Kahn.
In an article published by the National Center for Women & Information Technology, Kahn recalls her experience speaking Tim Cook — and the unlikely way it all came about.
Poor sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus may be dragging down “the momentum” of the iPhone X, a new report claims.
Citing component suppliers in the iPhone supply chain, it’s claimed that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus began to show signs of declining demand in the fourth quarter of 2017, and overall component orders for iPhone devices in Q1 2018 have dropped 15-30 percent below the expected numbers as a result.
Foxconn isn’t the only Apple supplier to be accused of having hazardous working conditions. According to a new report, manufacturer Catcher Technology Co. — which produces casings for iPhones and MacBooks — also promotes an unsafe work environment in its factories.
This includes getting employees to handle noxious chemicals without the proper gloves or masks; cold, cramped accommodation, and an excessively loud workplace, with noise levels over 80 decibels and a lack of earplugs to protect workers’ hearing.
iOS increased its market share in the U.S. over the most recent quarter, a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reveals.
The newly published research claims that iOS devices accounted for 39 percent of new mobile device activations over Q4, compared to only a 34 percent increase this time last year. Android, meanwhile, saw activations fall from 71 percent to 64 percent.
Apple subsidiary FileMaker, which makes the popular “cross-platform relational database” of the same name, just launched a new ad, reuniting several stars from the U.S. version of hit comedy The Office.
Titled “Farm Time,” the ad stars Kate Flannery, Leslie David Baker, and Paul Lieberstein, who play Meredith, Stanley and Toby respectively. It borrows from the format of the failed The Office spinoff, The Farm, and tells the story of a news reporter who investigates a root vegetable farm whose success is attributed to their use of FileMaker.
Check it out below.
Nearly 1 billion users of Chinese messaging app WeChat will soon be able to resume sending tips to content creators with their iPhones.
Tipping a fellow user is a big part of the popular social media platform in China. However, last year a dispute over whether Apple should get a healthy cut of those tips basically blocked WeChat tipping.
Apple has released Speedometer 2.0, a benchmark that lets you test your browser’s web app responsiveness. The tool is part of Apple’s contribution to WebKit, a collaboration between Apple, Adobe Systems, Google, KDE, and others.
Speedometer 2.0 works by simulating “user interactions.” Essentially, it runs 480 tasks and then measures how long it takes your browser’s speed in carrying these out, before providing you with a report.
A Chinese consumer group is joining the number of organizations and individuals asking Apple for more information about its purposeful slowing down of older iPhones as their batteries degrade.
In a letter sent to Apple this week, the Shanghai Consumer Council asks Apple for details about what it plans to do to rectify the issue. It wants a response by Friday.
As it has for years, Apple is commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day by changing the image on its homepage and displaying a quote from the legendary civil rights leader.
“The time is always right to do what is right,” reads the quote from King, which accompanies a photo of the slain minister who was born on this date in 1929. On Twitter, Tim Cook also paid homage to King, who the Apple CEO often refers to as one of his personal heroes.
Clearing out your desk can be a great way of discovering paraphernalia you’d long since forgotten you owned. Things are no different if you’re a long-time Apple employee, packing up your office at 1 Infinite Loop to move to the amazing new Apple Park campus.
Here are a few of the pieces of Apple memorabilia that Chris Espinosa — Apple’s longest-serving employee, who joined the company as a 14-year-old kid when it was still based in Jobs’ garage — found when he was clearing his desk recently. Check them out below.
Apple debuted two ads over the weekend, both showing off features of the iPad Pro, running iOS 11.
The first ad, “Take Notes,” depicts how the Apple Pencil can let people write down handwritten notes, complete with doodles. The second, “Augmented Reality,” shows off Apple’s ARKit technology by demonstrating the way that apps like Ikea Place can drop virtual items of furniture into the real world.
Check them out below.
Apple has no plans for a major upgrade to its MacBook line this year, a report claims. The last time Apple gave a major upgrade to the MacBook was in 2016, when Apple introduced the Touch Bar.
Provided this is accurate, it may disappoint customers who view the introduction of the iMac Pro as proof that Apple is placing renewed emphasis on its Mac product line.
More than six years after Steve Jobs pitched it to the Cupertino City Council, and more than four after it was given the official go-ahead, Apple Park is officially open.
In a spectacular new drone video shot by drone videographer Duncan Sinfield, the enormous Apple Park campus is shown looking sleek, polished, and ready for business. While landscaping still needs a few finishing touches, much of the large construction equipment has now been removed from the campus as it is no longer needed. Check out Duncan’s amazing video below.
An app to help parents keep track of what their kids are doing on their iPhones is just one of our picks for “Awesome Apps of the Week.”
In addition, we’ve got a pair of fun retro-style platformers, and an impressive display of artificial intelligence to help keep track of the food you’re eating. Check out our selections below.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer and director Rian Johnson turned to the Mac to help him keep his top-secret screenplay under wraps.
According to a new interview with the filmmaker, Johnson used a dedicated, “air-gapped” MacBook Air while working on the latest installment in the Star Wars saga.