U.S. government officials are using location data from millions of cellphone users around the country to track movement during the coronavirus pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The weekend report says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local governments, have begun receiving reports concerning areas of “geographic interest” in the country. This could cover as many as 500 cities around the United States.
At five years old, Square Enix’s Lara Croft Go is a comparative oldie, but a goodie. The tomb-raiding puzzle game is also now free to download — making it perfect for a time when many of us are stuck in the proverbial (definitely not literal) tombs that are our apartments and houses.
What better time to play a globe-trotting, death-dodging, brain-tickling action game?
A new CarKey feature for iOS 14 will let drivers start up compatible vehicles from their iPhone or Apple Watch, using a digital car key in their Wallet app. Leaked screenshots that appeared on Twitter this week show what the user interface might look like.
Tapping on the digital car key in the Wallet app will reveal the car model and automaker. It also offers the ability to share your key with another person. And an Express Mode works without requiring Face ID or your passcode.
Printed circuit board suppliers in the Apple supply chain in Taiwan have dismissed rumors that they’ve been asked to delay volume production of the 5G iPhone, according to a new report from Digitimes.
This comes at a time when there are mixed reports about whether this fall’s iPhone 12 handsets are going to be delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The latest episode of the Steven Spielberg executive produced sci-fi anthology series Amazing Stories is available to check out on Apple TV+.
The fourth of five standalone episodes, “Signs of Life,” tells the story of a teenager who struggles to reconnect with the stranger that is their mother after she awakens from a six-year coma. It landed on Apple TV+ Friday morning.
Apple will launch multiple Macs, including both MacBooks and iMacs, with its own eagerly anticipated custom ARM-based processors in 2021, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes in his latest note to clients and obtained by Cult of Mac.
The research note, published late Thursday, says that the switch to ARM-based processors will have several advantages for Apple. It will further differentiate its products from Windows PCs, reduce processor costs by 40-60%, and free Apple from following Intel’s product roadmap with any of the delays that might entail.
Apple is testing out its rumored AR/VR headset internally using a generic controller similar in design to that of the HTC Vive, a report published Thursday by MacRumors suggests.
The report notes that, “given the basic design of the controller,” it is likely for internal testing only. A finished version is likely to be a lot more, well, Apple in its design. However, it’s enough to let Apple engineers get to grips with the technology which might allow it to launch its rumored AR/VR headset in 2021 or 2022.
Last year, iPhone users in the U.S. spent an average of $100 on in-app purchases and premium apps for the first time, according to data published Wednesday by app analytics firm Sensor Tower.
This figure was up $21 on the $79 average spent in 2018. It does not cover payments made using retail apps like Amazon, ride-sharing apps such as Uber, or any other payments that aren’t processed via Apple and the App Store.
To support teachers as they embrace online e-learning during the current school closures, Apple is making its learning specialists available to educators for free one-on-one virtual coaching sessions.
Apple has made its 100+ educators on staff available to help teachers — from K-12 through higher education — manage workflows and online student learning.
Europe is usually one of the most proactive markets when it comes to user privacy. But there’s nothing usual about the current coronavirus crisis.
Because of that, eight big telecoms providers in Europe have reportedly agreed to share mobile phone location data with officials to track the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ireland is not allowed to use the 14 billion euros ($15.1 billion) in disputed back taxes it collected from Apple to help boost its economy during the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.
Yesterday, the leader of the opposition Sinn Féin party, Mary Lou McDonald, said the Irish government could “right this minute” reach into the escrow account where the funds are held and use them to help workers. However, Taoiseach politician Leo Varadkar says that simply isn’t the case.
Disney has delayed the launch of its Disney+ streaming service by two weeks in France. This is as a result of a request by the French government.
Disney has also agreed to a European Union request for streaming video providers to scale back streaming quality by “at least” 25%. This is to “ensure the smooth functioning of the broadband infrastructure” at a time when the internet faces the strain of more heavy traffic while people are stuck home due to the coronavirus crisis.
Face it: Apple’s probably never going to make a touchscreen Mac. It’s definitely never going to make a touchscreen Mac that looks like the 1986-era Macintosh Plus.
Fortunately, engineer and Mac fan Travis DeRose has stepped up to the plate to show us what such a glorious amalgamation of concepts would look like — by building what essentially amounts to a Mac Plus case for his iPad mini. No, it’s not particularly practical, but it is neat looking. Check out his video below.
Apple isn’t giving up on its dreams of an AirPower wireless charging mat, according to Jon Prosser of FrontPageTech. In a series of tweets sent Sunday, Prosser said that Apple is in the process of “re-engineering” AirPower from the ground up. “Prototyping is underway,” he wrote.
While that’s still no guarantee that AirPower will make it to market, it’s good news to hear that Cupertino’s not abandoning plans for a product many people were excited about.
Apple is offering users in the U.S. (and hopefully elsewhere soon) a selection of free books and audiobooks to help while away the hours while in self-isolation.
A push notification Apple sent out Sunday advises customers to “enjoy a good book, on us.” It reads as follows:
Using Apple’s CarPlay platform in its current state is worse for drivers’ reaction times than being high on weed, at the drink-drive legal limit, or texting behind the wheel, a new study claims.
IAM RoadSmart, the biggest road U.K. safety charity, analyzed the impact of various in-car distractions. While CarPlay may make the experience of using your car’s infotainment system more enjoyable, the group’s research concludes that it certainly won’t make you a better driver.
“The fundamental issue of these systems [is that they require] you to take your eyes off the road ahead,” Neil Greig, policy and research director for IAM RoadSmart, told Cult of Mac. However, Greig said steps could be taken to make systems like CarPlay safer.
Apple is doing its part to help positive messaging regarding the coronavirus pandemic by sharing a White House video emphasizing the importance of social distancing.
The public service announcement features three core members of the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force. It’s visible in the video carousel on Apple Music and iTunes. You do not need an active Apple Music subscription to view it.
Apple’s supply chain is still weathering the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, a report published late Thursday by Bloomberg makes clear.
Even though China has seemingly overcome the worst of the coronavirus spread, Apple products are continuing the suffer the impacts. That is likely to manifest itself in the form of delays for new products and fresh batches of existing ones.
Struggling for ways to entertain your kids with schools out and social distancing in play? Streaming audiobook company Audible has your back.
Audible is offering free audiobook stories for kids to “help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.” (And, hopefully one day, Audible subscribers.)
After a brief theatrical run to make it eligible for awards season, Apple TV+ movie The Banker made its debut on the streaming service Friday.
The movie, based on a true story, stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, two of the first black bankers in the United States. To get around discriminatory Jim Crow-era laws, they hire a white man (played by Nicholas Hoult) to be the face of their business, while they pose as a chauffeur and janitor.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently called a European Union official to discuss ways to stop the internet getting congested as more people rely on their home internet connection while WFH (working from home) during the coronavirus pandemic.
One of them? Automatically switching users to standard definition instead of HD during peak traffic hours.
TikTok is the hottest app going right now, and plenty of other developers are trying to hitch their wagon to TikTok’s proverbial star by building apps that function as “enhancements” to the mega-popular video editing and sharing app.
According to new data from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, of the 480 million installs generated by 2019’s top 20 new apps, almost 38% were video and photo editors and sticker apps designed to enhance the experience of using TikTok or Instagram. That’s quite the ecosystem!
Quirky but excellent new book iBauhaus traces Apple’s design principles to a German design school nearly a century old. Written by art expert Nicholas Fox Weber, the book won’t appeal to everyone.
If you’re exclusively interested in behind-the-scenes details of how Apple makes and sells its products, this book probably isn’t for you. If you shuddered through Jony Ive interviews heavy on design-speak, this definitely isn’t the book for you.
However, a certain segment of readers — myself included — will find iBauhaus really enjoyable. And they will learn a lot about the design of the iPhone along the way.
Apple has apparently had a change of heart after indefinitely delaying the iPhone SE 2, also referred to as the iPhone 9. According to Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser, Apple has put the handset into mass production.
If correct, this reflects just how rapidly the supply chain situation is changing in China. From factories being shut down completely in February, companies like Foxconn are now reportedly back on track.
It’s been a surreal sight watching late night hosts deliver monologues to largely empty theaters as they do their darnedest to carry on during the current coronavirus crisis.
But Conan O’Brien has a plan for how to continue shooting a full-length TV show during the age of COVID-19. His solution? He’s going to film the whole thing on his iPhone.