News - page 481

This week on The CultCast: Apple’s first ARM-based Mac is headed our way — we’ll tell you what we know. Plus, Apple’s new AirTags tracking tiles will be unlike anything we’ve seen, and way more powerful than we thought. We discuss! And stay tuned — we’ll tell you the weird rule Apple makes big movies follow if they want to put iPhones or Macs on the silver screen.

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The UK’s director general of intelligence agency MI5 thinks that tech companies should provide it with “exceptional access” to encrypted messages when required.

Sir Andrew Parker made his remarks for an ITV documentary broadcast on Thursday about the domestic intelligence agency. He said that it is “increasingly mystifying” why intelligence agencies are not able to easily read the secret messages being sent and received by terror suspects they are monitoring.

The deadline for California citizens who bought an iPhone 4, 4s or 5 with a defective sleep/wake power button to cash in is coming up.

A class action lawsuit against Apple was filed in 2013. It alleged that Apple knowingly sold iPhones with “defective” power buttons and then failed to properly remedy the issue. A settlement reached with Apple means that people who bought one of these devices can complete a form to receive “up to $24” for their troubles.

iPhone XR took the top spot in the global 2019 phone sales, according to market researchers. And these analysts highlight that the 6.1-inch iPhone 11, a model only available in the final four months of 2019, also outsold every other handset.

Apple made six of the top 10 best-selling phones in 2019.

The meteoric rise and fall of the co-working space startup WeWork is set to be turned into a show for Apple TV+, according to Variety.

Apple tapped Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello to develop a limited series based on the six-part Wondery podcast WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork. The last episode of the series was just published this week but Apple is wasting no time trying to come out with the first movie or series based on the disastrous startup.

Sony’s brilliant new Back Button Attachment adds two handy rear buttons to any standard PlayStation 4 controller. It’s a must-have for hardcore gamers — and it works great with iPhone and iPad.

America’s largest cellphone carriers are about to get hit with hundreds of millions of dollars in fines from the Federal Communications Commission according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Officials at the FCC found the companies broke the law by selling customers’ location data to third parties and are prepared to make AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint pay big time. The companies have reportedly been notified that fines could be on the way.

Lady Gaga’s first music video in years drops tomorrow, and a teaser shows it’ll be a sci-fi epic. Perhaps to follow this theme, the video for “Stupid Love” was shot on an iPhone.

Zagg today increased the number of keyboard folios in its product lineup designed for the 2019 iPad. The latest versions of the Slim Book Go and Rugged Messenger fit this 10.2-inch tablet exactly.

Earlier this month, a version of the Zagg Messenger Folio for this newest iPad also hit store shelves.

Apple plans to deliver a brand-new iPad Pro keyboard with a built-in trackpad, according to a new report.

The accessory is will take advantage of mouse compatibility in iPadOS, and is aimed at making iPad Pro a better laptop alternative. Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner, is said to be preparing for mass-production ahead of a launch later this year.

The coronavirus killed another major tech event today as Facebook revealed the in-person component of its annual F8 developers’ conference is canceled due to concerns around the coronavirus COVID-19.

Facebook’s move comes close to the time when Apple normally announces the dates for its Worldwide Developers Conference. The iPhone-maker revealed WWDC 2019 dates on March 14 last year, but with more and more tech events getting shut down, it could change Apple’s plans for its biggest conference of the year.

Apple was forced to pull one of the world’s most popular games from the App Store in China by order of the country’s Cyberspace Administration.

The creators of Plague Inc. say it is unclear whether their pandemic-themed game was removed because of China’s ongoing battle to contain the coronavirus known as COVID-19.

In Birmingham today, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Ed Farm, which will help teach students to program with Apple’s “Everyone Can Code” curriculum.

In addition, Cook  reportedly spoke about employing his company’s augmented reality tools in Birmingham’s civil rights historical sites.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said he is “optimistic” that China is starting to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Cook also said device production stalled by quarantines and travels restrictions are now in “ramp mode.”

Spotify is rolling out some big UI changes as part of its latest update for its iOS app.

The new UI tweaks bring a more streamlined experience to Apple Music’s biggest rival, including a universal ‘Shuffle Play’ button that combines the app’s two most-pressed icons into one button.

Imagine easily swapping out the battery of your iPhone as you would a smoke detector.

The European Union may consider adopting a law that would regulate the design of all smartphones sold in the 27 member nations to provide consumers with easy access to the battery.

The Federal Communications Commission signed off on Apple’s next pair of headphones Thursday, without revealing many details. Still, the government agency indicated these will be part of the Powerbeats line, not the “AirPods Pro Lite” model that appears in recent rumors.

You no longer need to fire up Chrome just to explore our planet inside Google Earth. The service today rolled out support for three new browsers, while the ability to use Google Earth in Safari is coming … eventually.

One veteran executive is leaving Apple, while another exec is considering departing the company as well, a new report claims. Both worked in the operations and supply-chain management side.

Nick Forlenza, a vice president of manufacturing design, has retired from Apple. Meanwhile, Duco Pasmooij, a vice president of operations, is discussing an exit in the near future. The operations side of Apple is currently facing challenges related to the outbreak of coronavirus in China, where many of Apple’s supply-side contractors are located.

Were you hoping for Friends on Apple TV+? According to Tim Cook, you’re out of luck.

During Wednesday’s shareholder meeting, an investor asked Cook why Apple hadn’t bought the streaming rights to the popular sitcom and its forthcoming special. Cook’s answer not only squashed hope of this happening in the immediate future, it also underlined his vision for Apple TV+.

Path to Mnemosyne, an esoteric puzzle game featuring gorgeous hand-drawn grayscale art, is coming to the App Store. And it’s a doozy.

Having previously made waves on Steam in late 2018, in addition to launches on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, the critically acclaimed game’s forthcoming arrival on iOS will open it up to a whole new audience. If David Lynch made an iOS game it would probably look a lot like this.

Only 23 of Apple’s registered self-driving cars were active between December 2018 and November 2019, according to data provided to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. In total, Apple’s fleet of modified Lexus RX450h SUVs travelled 7,544 miles during the period.

That’s down from the 79,745 miles its vehicles travelled in the previous year.

Apple reportedly asked for-pay game developers in China to prove they have government approval for their applications. This is requirement under Chinese law.

The iPhone maker didn’t say what would happen to games that don’t have approval.

Cloud gaming service Shadow announced Wednesday that its iOS app has been removed from Apple’s App store for what that tech-giant called a violation of its developer guidelines. 

In a Reddit post, Shadow would not explain in detail those infringements or say if it even knows at this point what those are. It said it is working to resolve the issues and “bring Shadow back to every one of you mobile users as soon as possible!”

Ben Stiller’s directorial TV series debut for Apple TV+, Severance, added another male lead to its roster today after striking a deal with Tramell Tillman.

Tramell, who can currently be seen in the Amazon series Hunters with Al Pacino, will play alongside Adam Scott in the thriller written and created by Dan Erickson.