Luke Dormehl - page 53

Missing out on a proper vacation this summer? Aren’t we all! While Spotify can’t change that, it has introduced a really fun new feature that promises you the virtual vacation you deserve. For about three minutes or so, at least.

Called “Wish You Were Here,” the feature lets users pick from a handful of summer songs and have them play in the background of a vacay audioscape.

Want to hear Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” as it would sound on the beach? Fancy The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” around a campfire? Spotify has you covered!

Apple reportedly plans to start adding augmented reality (AR) content to Apple TV+ programming, Bloomberg claims in a report published Wednesday.

The AR feature, which will supposedly debut next year, aims to find “new ways to attract and retain” subscribers for Apple’s VOD subscription service. Apple also hopes to use it to show off its AR tech.

You know that badass cliché where one person staggers out of a room, slightly worse for wear, only to utter the words, “You should see the other guy”?

That’s pretty much the role Apple plays when it comes to second-quarter smartphone shipments, as reported by research firm Gartner. While Apple’s 0.4% dip year-over-year means iPhone sales remain flat, that’s certainly a whole lot better than the overall 20.4% decline across the industry.

The companies they helped found might have been sworn enemies at times, but Steve Jobs and Bill Gates didn’t hate one another. In fact, as the former Microsoft boss admitted on a recent podcast, he was actually jealous of Steve Jobs.

Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast, Gates told actor and podcast host Dax Shepard that Jobs was a “wizard” when it came to motivating people. “I was a minor wizard so I couldn’t fall under his spells,” Gates said. “But I could see him casting the spells, and then I would look at people and see them mesmerized … I was so jealous.”

Keira Knightley will head up a TV adaptation of Sarah Perry’s 2016 novel The Essex Serpent for Apple TV+.

The novel, which is a period piece set in 1893, tells the story of a widow, Cora Seagrave, who moves from London to a small village in Essex after her marriage to an abusive husband comes to an end. There, she becomes interested in a local legend about a creature called the Essex Serpent.

Apple will open its first Apple Online Store for the India market next month, according to a new report by Bloomberg.

The online store will reportedly be up and running for the Dussehra through Diwali holiday season, which kicks off October 25 and runs through November 14. It comes as Apple is upping its focus on the India market.

Tim Cook, a freshly minted billionaire thanks to Apple’s continued powerhouse performance, last week gifted more than $5 million worth of Apple shares to charity.

According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Cook donated 10,715 shares on Friday. At close of play Friday, Apple was trading at $497.48. This week it has passed $500.

Apple A-series chip manufacturer TSMC has obtained land upon which it plans to build a 2-nanometer fabrication plant, the company’s senior vice president for operations revealed.

In a report published Tuesday, YP Chin said the next-next gen chip fab facility will be located in Hsinchu, a city in northern Taiwan. While there’s no confirmation on when the 2-nm chips will debut, if past patterns are anything to go by, it’s likely they will debut with the 2024 iPhone.

Apple’s market cap has surged by $600 billion in the past 20 days. That’s nearly the equivalent of Tesla’s $394 billion and Netflix’s $218 billion market caps combined, Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart points out on Twitter.

Upcoming live-action Disney movie Mulan will be available to purchase through Apple’s TV app, Variety reports.

A remake of the 1998 animated movie, the 2020 Mulan will cost $29.99 to purchase on third-party platforms — Apple’s included — starting September 4. If that’s the only Disney content you’re interested in seeing right now, that’s actually cheaper than watching it via Disney+.

Apple won’t be forced to boot messaging app WeChat out of the App Store in China, Bloomberg claims in a weekend report.

According to the publication, the Trump administration is “privately seeking to reassure” American companies like Apple that they can still do business with WeChat in China. Two weeks ago, Trump ordered a U.S. ban on WeChat, although the details were not clarified.

Possibly the most spectacular Apple Store yet is set to open in Singapore, Apple’s third retail store in the country.

Apple Marina Bay Sands has a look like no Apple Store before it. It resembles a geodesic dome or giant lantern sitting on a body of water in the iconic Marina Bay, a luxury venue which first opened its doors in 2010.

Apple’s South Korea business has said that it will make a 100 billion won ($84 million) payout to support small businesses and help consumers. This is to address antitrust concerns raised in the country.

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has been investigating Apple Korea for reportedly forcing mobile carriers to pay for advertising and warranty repairs. The payout — which is phrased like a pledge, but also sounds like a fine — will act as a make-good on Apple’s “unfair” terms.

Epic Games will hand out anti-Apple prizes in a new Fortnite tournament due to take place Sunday, August 23.

Prizes will include a “Free Fortnite” hat modeled after Apple’s classic “Think Different” branding, the in-game skin for the evil-looking Apple Big Brother character (dubbed the “Tart Tycoon”) from Fortnite‘s “1984” Mac ad parody, and more.

Apple passed $2 trillion this week, but one bullish Apple analyst doesn’t think the stock is anywhere near its limits. In a note published Friday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote to clients that he thinks Apple has “a lot of gasoline” left in the tank.

Ives predicted Apple could reach as high as $600. Currently, AAPL is trading at $473.10, defying the overall market with its upward trajectory.

Several major news outlets are throwing their hats into the ring with Epic Games and others in pushing back against Apple’s App Store commission.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a trade body that represents the New York Times, Washington Post, WSJ and other publishers has sent a letter to Tim Cook asking for better terms for digital subscriptions sold through the App Store.

Apple TV+ series Little Voice came to an end Friday with the season finale episode debuting on Apple’s streaming TV service.

Producer J.J. Abrams’ series, created with songwriter Sara Bareilles and writer Jessie Nelson, tells the story of aspiring singer Bess King and her attempts to make a career for herself as a singer. Alongside the season finale of Little Voice, Apple TV+ also added a new episode of comedy series Ted Lasso.

The addition of 5G connectivity is one of the most compelling elements of this year’s iPhone 12, but it’s going to come at a cost to Apple. Literally.

According to a new report by TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will likely pay $75 per unit for sub-6GHz 5G support, and a maximum of $125 for mmWave 5G. However, Kuo does not think Apple will pass these costs on to the end consumer.

Apple’s surge past a $2 trillion market cap this week underlines just how well CEO Tim Cook’s vision works for shareholders. But is this good news for Apple fans?

The first publicly traded U.S. company to hit this milestone, Apple has transformed from one of the world’s dynamic companies into one that can be, well, kind of boring. The strategy that fueled this unprecedented success makes it far less likely that we’ll seen an insanely innovative product coming out of Cupertino in the future.

Porsche’s forthcoming electric Taycan will offer three years of free Apple Music streaming. No tethered or wireless iPhone connection needed.

The system will rely on its own in-car dash. Drivers and passengers can use a touch screen and custom Porsche AI voice assistant to select albums, songs, or radio stations. Streaming data costs included.

Apple has debuted a new, free-to-watch documentary on Apple TV, directed by renowned photographer Ryan McGinley. Infinite Canvas follows “seven visionary artists as they push the boundaries of their work by exploring the uncharted territory of augmented reality art.”

The film is based on an AR[T] experimental art series that Apple staged last year at Apple Stores in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Apple is donating an undisclosed amount of money to support local wildfire relief in California, where fires have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes in San Francisco.

In a Wednesday tweet, Tim Cook wrote that: “To our employees, friends and neighbors affected by the heatwave and expanding fires across CA, please stay safe and listen to local evacuation orders.”

Apple on Wednesday debuted the first trailer for On the Rocks, a new Apple TV+ movie that reunites Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola with actor Bill Murray.

The movie will also star Rashida Jones and Marlon Wayans. It tells the story of a young mom in New York having doubts about her marriage, prior to going on an adventure with her dad.

Apple hit a massive $2 trillion valuation early Wednesday, becoming the first publicly traded U.S. company in history to hit this milestone.

Apple needed to climb to $467.77 per share to reach the $2 trillion valuation, according to CNBC. It reached a high of $468.09 in early trading Wednesday. On Thursday, it climbed even higher to $469.17.

Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, has finally embraced Apple Pay, the bank revealed Wednesday. The bank announced Apple Pay support as “coming soon” back in April. However, it has taken another few months for that to promise to come to fruition.

Customers of the bank can start using Apple Pay today for both credit cards and pre-paid cards.