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Apple won’t budge on controversial App Store payment rules

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Phil Schiller
Apple VP Phil Schiller sees no need for changes to the App Store payment rules on revenue sharing.
Photo: Apple

There are no plans to modify the rules of the iOS App Store that would allow Basecamp’s Hey mail app to avoid paying to be listed, according to Phil Schiller, Apple’s SVP of marketing.

The creators of Hey made news recently by calling Apple “gangsters” for requiring companies to pay 30% of their revenue to have software appear in the App Store.

iPhone Podcasts app could get more personal in iOS 14

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The Apple Podcasts app could be getting some new features in iOS 14.
iOS 14 could bring new features to the iPhone Podcasts app as Apple faces increasing competition.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Apple Podcasts app is reportedly getting a facelift. The version debuting in iOS 14 will supposedly include a “For You” tab with suggestions based on podcasts the user is already subscribed to.

Back to the future: iOS could get original ‘iPhoneOS’ name back

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Original iPhone running iOS 1
Apple’s first handset in 2007 ran iPhone OS. And the 2020 model might run an operating system with the same name.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Before there was iOS, early Apple handsets ran iPhone OS. A frequent Apple leaker apparently suggested on Thursday that the next version of this operating system will return to that classic name.

While this might seem like a seismic shift to some, if Apple really is prepping iPhone OS 14 — or perhaps iPhoneOS 14 — it’ll simply be using the same pattern for this operating systems as it does for all its others.

Leaked AirPower pictures suggest fix for Apple Watch charging issues [Updated]

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airPower
Will Apple finally be able to deliver on its promise?
Photo: Apple

Apple reportedly cracked one of the big problems with its ill-fated AirPower charging mat — specifically the question of how to charge the Apple Watch. That’s according to top Apple leaker Jon Prosser, who posted pictures on Twitter Thursday to prove his point.

“Remember how I said that the main problem was that current prototypes didn’t support Apple Watch?” Prosser wrote. “Yeah. Well. They got the Watch working.”

The AirTags sound effects you’ll hear in iOS 14 spill ahead of WWDC

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This is reportedly the tiny battery AirTags will use.
A picture of AirTags and the battery that will power them.
Photo: MacRumors

Two separate leaks Thursday provide new details about Apple’s forthcoming AirTags, circular Bluetooth tracking devices that will help users find lost keys and other items.

iOS leaker @Soybeys posted what supposedly are some of the sound effects Apple will use for AirTags. A second report from Twitter user @blue_kanikam says AirTags will utilize a custom R1 chip, similar to the iPhone 11’s U1 chip, to know where the tiny tracking tags are spatially in order to work with other devices.

UK flip-flops on Apple and Google’s contact-tracing API, will now use it

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contact.tracing.5
UK's contact-tracing app has been delayed.
Photo: World Health Organization

The U.K. government, which clashed with Apple and Google over its approach to contact tracing, has reportedly done a U-turn and will now adopt the tech giants’ privacy-conscious framework for fighting COVID-19.

The BBC reported the change of heart Thursday, one day after revealing that a former Apple executive, Simon Thompson, has taken charge of the delayed project. Thompson, who works as chief product officer at online retailer Ocado, supervised Apple’s e-commerce efforts a decade ago.

Apple now lets you trade in Macs for credit at Apple Stores, not just online

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Your old MacBook Air might be worth a pretty penny.
The Mac has finally joined Apple's retail store trade-in program.
Photo: Markus Spiske/Unsplash CC

Apple has officially started offering its Mac trade-in program at Apple Stores in the U.S. and Canada. Apple has long offered trade-ins for credit toward a new purchase or a gift card for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Store. However, until now Mac trade-ins were limited to online-only. That meant that people had to mail in their Mac to Apple.

By making this available in its retail stores, it makes it easier than ever to trade your old Mac.

This setup will get cinematographers drooling [Setups]

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iMac Pro Setup
The camera manages to outshine the UltraFine.
Photo: @benhessfilms

Ben Hess is a professional cinematographer — and he has the gear to prove it. He rocks an iMac Pro that’s hooked up to a 27-inch LG 5K UltraFine Monitor, giving him acres of premium screen real estate.

But the highlight of this rig is not the $5,000 computer or the $1,300 screen. It’s his $27,000 Red Gemini Camera and $5,000 lens. Hess comes to play. The Red Gemini is top-shelf, and an Atlas anamorphic lens gives him the eye of a hawk.

Anker’s Thunderbolt 3 hub packs an amazing 13 ports

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The Anker PowerExpand Elite connects to Macs over Thunderbolt 3.
The Anker PowerExpand Elite includes so many ports it’s almost easier to list the ones it doesn’t have.
Photo: Anker

Anker boasts that the just-released PowerExpand Elite hub lets you “connect everything imaginable,” and there’s a certain amount of justification. This accessory has no less that 13 ports. There’s Thunderbolt 3, USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, audio ports, memory card readers, and more.

The company also launched on Wednesday the Anker PowerExpand, which “only” has seven ports of a range of types.

Zoom does an about-face on end-to-end encryption

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Zoom
Zoom will offer top-tier encryption to all users.
Photo: Allie Smith/Unsplash

Zoom promised on Wednesday to make end-to-end encryption an option for all users, not just paying ones.

This video conferencing app became incredibly popular during the COVID-19 epidemic. But it also drew criticism for weak security.

Zoom worked quickly to fix that, but again faced complaints when the company decided that end-to-end encryption would only be for paying customers. That’s a decision it changed today.

Apple Camp fires up free activities for kids stuck at home this summer

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Apple Camp at Home replaces the in-store version.
Apple Camp at Home will teach kids about making art or coding with Apple devices.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s educational summer camps for children are moving online. They’ve been redubbed Apple Camp at Home.

In previous years, Apple Camps were held in the company’s retail stores. But this year, they’ll be teaching video, art and design, and coding through a self-guided Activity Book and virtual sessions.

Apple’s Tim Cook is lone holdout in congressional investigation of big tech

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Tim Cook called for Ohio State University grads to embrace hope in a fearful time during his virtual commencement address.
Apple CEO Tim Cook apparently doesn’t want to testify to the U.S. Congress on antitrust issues.
Photo: Ohio State University

U.S. lawmakers want to talk to the CEOs of the biggest tech firms. And the heads of Amazon, Facebook and Google said they‘re willing to testify in the House of Representatives’s probe into antitrust activities. Apple, on the other hand, reportedly told Congress that it’s willing to send a senior executive, but stopped short of promising that would be CEO Tim Cook.

Apple’s exclusive WWDC jackets feature an awesome emoji pattern

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WWDC 2020 jacket design is covered with emojis. From a distance, it looks like a plaid pattern.
From a distance it looks like a plaid pattern.
Photo: Brayden Gogis

WWDC 2020 The exclusive WWDC 2020 jackets that Apple sent to winners of its Swift Student Challenge feature a nifty plaid pattern made of emojis.

Brayden Gogis, a 16-year-old game developer who lives in Indianapolis, is one of 350 winners in this year’s youth coding competition. He described the experience of unwrapping his Apple prize package — and gave us a closer look at the unique emoji pattern.

Activate this Siri Shortcut if the cops pull you over to record what happens

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This Siri Shortcut will keep a record of police encounters.
This Siri Shortcut will keep a record of police encounters.
Photo: Mark Guim/Flickr CC

A Siri Shortcut activated by the phrase “Hey, Siri, I’m being pulled over” could prove valuable in the event of a police traffic stop. The shortcut triggers your iPhone to start recording video from its front-facing camera, pauses any music, sends your location to a trusted contact, and uploads the video to iCloud or another cloud server of your choice.

The shortcut is designed to help protect users during interactions with law enforcement.

Apple stock could reach crazy highs after pandemic recovery

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Spending money laptop 1
Time to invest in Apple?
Photo: Rupixen/Unsplash

Apple stock has already recovered to its pre-coronavirus lockdown levels, but according to two investment firms much larger gains are on the horizon.

Speaking with CNBC, Todd Gordon, managing director at Ascent Wealth Partners, argued that Apple could be set to rally an additional 40% from its current share price. That would take Apple to $490 — or $135 above its $355 all-time high.

Email startup accuses Apple of behaving like ‘gangsters’ with in-app payment demands

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Hey email
Hey email app launched this week.
Photo: Hey

One of the creators of newly launched email service Hey accuses Apple of behaving like gangsters by allegedly threatening to remove the app from the App Store if it did not start selling its premium subscription through Apple’s platform — thereby giving Apple a cut of the profits.

“Like any good mafioso, they paid us a visit by phone,” Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in a long Twitter thread. “…[W]ithout even as much of a curtesy euphemism, [Apple said] they’d burn down our store (remove our app!), lest we paid up.”

Christie Smith, Apple’s VP of inclusion and diversity, leaves the company

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diversity Apple
Diversity is one of Apple's biggest strengths, says Tim Cook.
Photo: Apple

Christie Smith, Apple’s vice president of inclusion and diversity, has left the company after two-and-a-half years in the role. Smith worked under Apple’s SVP of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien.

Smith’s departure was reported by Bloomberg and confirmed by Apple. Her departure had been planned for a couple of months, but Tuesday was her last day.

Set your reminder for Monday’s keynote via WWDC’s YouTube livestream link

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Apple WWDC 2020 lineup revealed
Apple's WWDC keynote will take place on Monday.
Image: Apple

WWDC 2020 Apple has posted the YouTube live stream link that will allow viewers to tune in to its WWDC 2020 keynote next week.

The June 22 event will kick off at 10 a.m. Pacific, streaming directly from Apple Park. This is the second time Apple has streamed a special event on YouTube, following last year’s iPhone unveiling.

Necessity is the mother of all setups [Setups]

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MacBook Pro Setup
This setup proves that sometimes less is more.
Photo: @ollieparker_

Last week, a new job forced Ollie Parker to build his work-from-home setup. No small task, but the British accountant made the most of it and he quickly whipped up a cozy setup great for grinding.

“I just finished the build of it all last week as I started a new job working from home,” he said. “And then I have my Xbox connected and play some Warzone in my spare time.”

The heart of Parker’s setup is a 2019 MacBook Pro attached to a 34-inch LG UltraWide Curved Monitor mounted on a Humanscale MW Monitor Arm.

Adobe Aero augmented reality creation tool goes multisensory with spatial audio

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An AR experience created by Naima Almeida with Adobe Aero.
Designer Naima Almeida used Adobe Aero to design an imaginary interactive garden with integrated spatial sound effects.
Screenshot: Naima Almeida

Artists can use an iPad or iPhone to create augmented reality experiences with Adobe Aero. And today the software added support for embedding audio into AR experiences. It’s now possible to add sound effects to virtual objects overlaid on the real world by this app.

Aero is free, and is intended for creatives not coders.