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COVID-19 could convince Apple to put pulse oximeter in Apple Watch

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Apple Watch Series 5 LTPO screen
An Apple Watch pulse oximeter could potentially warn of COVID-19 infections.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple Watch Series 6 will be able to take blood-oxygen readings, according to an unconfirmed report. Word of this upcoming feature has leaked before — and COVID-19 makes adding it a bit more urgent.

The source for this rumor also claims the 2020 Apple Watch will usher in numerous other new features as well.

Automatic Labs shuttering connected car service May 28

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automatic.labs
Tough times, tough competition has taken its toll on Automatic Labs.
Photo: Automatic Labs

Automatic Labs is shutting down is vehicle monitoring service which worked with the iPhone beginning May 28, saying Friday its business has been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The service provides various data via a diagnostic port on many vehicles as well as warns authorities when a car has been in an accident.

Apple Card users can skip May payment if COVID-19 cost them their job

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Apple Card is underwritten by Goldman Sachs.
You could have your Apple Card interest fee waived for May if you’re in financial trouble because of COVID-19.
Photo: Apple

Apple and Goldman Sachs might cut you some slack on your credit card bill if you lost your job during the COVID-19 pandemic. Users of the Apple Card were notified today that they can apply to skip their May payment without interest charges being added.

iPad sales dragged down by COVID-19, but rebound predicted

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The new 2019 iPad Air, with its 10.5-inch screen, works with Apple's existing Smart Keyboard.
The first quarter of 2020 wasn’t great for iPad Sales but Q2 might be much better.
Photo: Apple

Revenue from iPad sales dropped 10% during the first quarter of 2020. And shipments dropped 3%, according to a market-research firm. But analysts say that people working and studying from home during the pandemic could bring a burst of purchases this quarter.

Take a dark trip through Neversong on Apple Arcade

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“Neversong” from Serenity Forge debuted Friday on Apple Arcade.
Anyone searching Apple Arcade for something a bit grim can turn to Neversong.
Photo: Serenity Forge/Apple

Apple’s gaming service focuses more on lighter fare, but Friday brought the release of Neversong. Players take on the role of Peet, a boy just awoken from a coma as he searches for his missing girlfriend through an asylum while battling monsters and zombies.

Plex adds thousands of Crackle movies, TV shows to its free streaming service

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Captain Philips on Plex
There are some great movies available for free.
Photo: Plex

Running out of things to watch during lockdown? Streaming service Crackle is bringing “thousands” of free movies and TV shows to Plex, the digital media and organizational app that launched its ad-supported streaming service in December.

Having initially rolled out movies by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate and Legendary, it’s now introducing a plethora of free titles from Crackle. These include the likes of hit movies Captain Phillips, Patriot Games and The Illusionist, alongside TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen and Roseanne.

Smartphones are getting slaughtered, but iPhone fares better than most

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iPhone 11 Pro
Things were bad. For Apple, they could have been worse.
Photo: Daniel Romero/Unsplash

Smartphone shipments took a major tumble in the first quarter of 2020 as coronavirus wreaked havoc on the supply chain and demand. That’s the conclusion drawn by three of the top mobile-tracking research firms, Strategy Analytics, Canalys, and IDC.

While their numbers don’t all tally perfectly they tell the same overall picture. While Apple wasn’t immune to the decline, however, it fared better than some of its rivals.

iPad apps had an insanely great quarter in Q1

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30% of tablets sold last quarter were iPads
So much for that economic downturn.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iPad app downloads had their first positive quarterly growth in four years during the first three months of 2020, app analytics platform Sensor Tower claims.

In a new report, the firm says that quarterly downloads of apps for the iPad surpassed 1.1 billion worldwide in Q1. Meanwhile, consumer spending in iPad apps crossed $2 billion for the first time ever. Not bad for a time when the world is in the midst of coronavirus lockdown.

Daily Show joke raises awareness of Face ID trick for iPhone owners wearing masks

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Trevor Noah iPhone 1
Noah says Apple's taking us back to a time before coronavirus.
Photo: Daily Show

On Trevor Noah’s Daily Social Distancing Show, the comedian addressed Apple’s decision to make it easier for users to skip Face ID for passcodes on their iPhone, due to the challenges of unlocking them while wearing a protective mask.

“This is the genius of Apple,” he said. “They’re trying to take us back in time. Because if we’re back in time, there’s no corona.” Check out the clip below.

Apple’s VP of public policy is helping pick Joe Biden’s running mate

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Should Apple take over the White House?
An Apple employee could potentially help pick the future second most important person in America.
Photo: MattCC716/Flickr CC

Cynthia Hogan, Apple’s VP for public policy and government affairs, is helping pick Joe Biden’s running mate for the U.S. presidential campaign.

Hogan previously worked as Biden’s White House and Senate counsel. Now she’s working alongside former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, congresswoman Lisa Blunt and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to find Biden’s pick for vice president.

Adoption comedy series Trying, new episode of Defending Jacob debut on Apple TV+

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Trying on Apple TV+
Trying is the first British comedy to debut on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

With coronavirus lockdown, new streaming TV content is more appreciated than ever. Fortunately, Apple TV+ has loaded up on new content for another packed week of new shows. Debuting Friday are all eight episodes of the first season of new comedy series Trying.

There’s also episode four of the excellent Chris Evans-starring drama series Defending Jacob. That should be enough to fill at least part of the weekend!

5 reasons Apple still looks totally unstoppable

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Apple Q2 2020 earnings call: Apple still looks unstoppable.
Can nothing stop the Cupertino juggernaut?
Image: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

While COVID-19 certainly overshadowed Apple’s most recent financial quarter, the company actually saw an annual increase in revenue, with the growth primarily coming from services and wearables.

Looking ahead, the company predicts that Mac and iPad sales will be strong. And CEO Tim Cook remains confidant about Apple’s future.

Apple reportedly plans store reopenings in Austria, Australia in next few weeks

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Apple's stunning Covent Garden store will be one of the many London stores making provisions for international journalists.
Outside China, Apple might reopen in Austria and Australia soon.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to reopen its retail stores in Austria and Australia sometime in the next one to two weeks, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said Thursday.

Cook told Blooomberg he believes that “just a few, not a large number” of stores in the United States will re-open in the first half of May.

OtterBox Amplify Glass screen protectors straight up murder bacteria

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OtterBox antimicrobial screen protectors are murder on microbes.
I bet you didn't know your iPhone could be so dirty.
Photo: OtterBox

OtterBox’s latest screen protectors not only prevent scratches, they also contain an antimicrobial agent. The Amplify Glass line is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and manufactured by Corning. These screen protectors debuted Thursday for the iPhone 11 series as well as earlier models.

Apple wants to let you edit sent text messages

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Autocorrect errors vs. editing sent texts
Autocorrect fails would be a thing of the past if we could correct text messages.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple designed a workable system to let people edit text messages after they send them. But now we have to hope it’ll be implemented.

This is potentially great news for everyone who ever wished they could fix an embarrassing text.

Tim Cook personally tried (and failed) to teach Warren Buffett to use an iPhone

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Buffett
A financial wizard? Yep. A future Apple Store Genius? Nope.
Photo: CNBC

Warren Buffett may be one of the shrewdest financial minds of our time, but don’t expect him to be able to use an iPhone. Despite receiving a personal lesson from Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“I went out to California, and Tim Cook very patiently spent hours trying to move me up to the level of the average two-year-old,” Buffett told Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer. “And didn’t quite make it.”

Microsoft finally offers Word and PowerPoint users multi-window support on iPad

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Word and PowerPoint get multi-windows
Hopefully it's worth the wait.
Photo: Microsoft

iPadOS 13 introduced native support for opening multiple windows of the same app side by side. Now, seven months after iPadOS 13.1 officially shipped to users, Microsoft has started beta-testing the ability for iPad users to do this on Word and PowerPoint for iPad.

Microsoft shared the news in a blog post detailing how users can “take advantage” of the new (for Microsoft) feature. Here’s how you do it:

iPhone 12 prices rumored to stay close to current models, even with OLED screen upgrades

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iPhone 12 with LiDAR scanner
Change out the display and add a LiDAR camera, and the expected iPhone 12 models are rumored to stay closely the same price as current models.
Photo: svetapple.sk

Pricing on Apple’s expected 5G-ready iPhones will remain mostly the same, even though they are predicted to include OLED screens, according to a new report.

Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser tweeted Thursday base pricing on what Cult of Mac has reported as four new iPhone 12 models coming later this year.

New lobbyist group will support the interests of smaller app developers

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app-store
Lobbyist group will act as an independent organization.
Photo: Apple

A group of app developers have set up a new lobbyist association called the App Coalition. This independent group will lobby Congress regarding issues relating to app developers.

A Bloomberg report, published Wednesday, notes that nine mobile app developers have banded together for the new organization. The new lobbying group is distinct from the App Association, already sponsored by Apple, Microsoft, and others.