Amazon is making some huge changes to how it handles rentals and movie purchases for its Prime Video app on Apple devices.
Starting today, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV users can rent or buy movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Video without being directed to a website first to avoid Apple’s tax on in-app purchases.
Being stuck at home with nothing to do but watch the world collapse around us is kind of a downer, but there are some upsides. One is that people are getting creative. Like, literally creative — making more music, writing and sharing videos. The other silver lining is that app-makers are offering big discounts and extended trials for some amazing apps.
For instance, Apple now offers a free, three-month trial of its music-production app, Logic Pro X. And Ableton just matched this offer with its Live Suite.
Most Americans are used to celebrating April Fools’ Day on the first day of April, but there’s another hugely important holiday happening today that you probably don’t know about: Census Day.
The decennial holiday kicks off on April 1, which is an important reference date for the census as enumerators attempt to count how many people there are in the country and where they live. This time, census takers are turning to the iPhone 8 instead of pencil and paper to get the job done.
Apple Cardholders facing sudden financial distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic can skip their April payments without interest.
Goldman Sachs, which backs the new Apple credit card, offered the same program to cardholders who had trouble making March payments.
Apple gave developers their initial watchOS 6.2.5 beta on Wednesday. This will be a “bug fix” update for watchOS 6.2 that launched last week.
The iCloud Keychain password manager built into iOS and macOS is reportedly getting support for two-factor authentication. This is a feature now only available in third-party password managers like Dashlane. It would make storing and using passwords more secure.
Apple is gearing up to celebrate Earth Day 2020 later this month with an all-new animated film and the greatest actress of her generation, Meryl Streep, has lent her voice to the project as the narrator.
The first trailer for Apple’s Earth Day show, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, landed on YouTube this morning and it looks like it will be something kids and adults fall in love with. The only thing more soothing in the trailer than Meryl’s voice is the cozy animation style that strikes a balance between being super detailed and approachable at the same time.
Check it out:
Apple’s most recent software updates have reportedly broken FaceTime compatibility with older iPhone and iPad models, leaving many users unable to make voice or video calls during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue affects devices running iOS 13.4 and macOS 10.15.4 when they attempt to connect with devices running iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6 — or vice-versa. There is no fix for now.
Apple shocked us with its acquisition of the Dark Sky weather app and dev team yesterday leading many fans to wonder how the app and its tech will be integrated into iOS in the future. And thanks to Parker Ortolani’s quick Apple Weather concept, we already have a good idea of what that could look like.
It will likely take months or even a year for Dark Sky to be integrated into the iOS weather app, but Ortolani’s concept shows how the acquisition could dramatically alter the app’s UI. New elements like a Map Radar view and precise rain notifications could turn the weather app from an after-thought into a crucial tool for everyone.
Take a closer look at some of the features:
WhatsApp might be the only messaging platform that you cannot use on multiple devices simultaneously — but that might finally change. A discovery in the latest WhatsApp beta suggests a true multi-platform experience is coming.
The T-Mobile and Sprint merger is now officially complete, transforming the third and fourth-biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. into a more giant-sized rival to take on Verizon and AT&T.
The New T-Mobile, as it will be known, will be run by CEO Mike Sievert. Sievert takes over from T-Mobile boss John Legere, who has been chief executive of T-Mobile since 2012. Legere will remain on T-Mobile’s board until June.
The world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple’s biggest supply chain partner has reassured investors that it can ready the 5G-capable iPhone 12 in time for a fall debut.
Tim Cook on Wednesday confirmed that Apple has more than doubled its donation to China’s COVID-19 relief efforts. The iPhone-maker has now handed over more than 50 billion yuan ($7 million).
Trapped in an oppressive single location, allowing no-one to get within breathing distance of you, while the apocalypse teeters ever closer on the horizon… Life in coronavirus lockdown? Maybe. But it’s also an apt description of Doom and Doom II, the classic first-person-shooters which just got a nifty update on iOS.
With a variety of improvements and more than 30 new levels to enjoy, there’s never been a better (or more appropriate) time to check out or revisit this grisly duo of classic 1990s blasters.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created an app that can detect COVID-19 simply by listening to you cough and talk.
The COVID Voice Detector analyzes voice recordings to detect signs of infection and is open to anyone who wants to use it. It’s the cheapest, most accessible method of testing so far — but it’s still “experimental” for now.
Apple late on Tuesday rolled out the latest updates to its iWork and iMovie apps for iPhone and iPad. All now offer full mouse and trackpad support, iCloud file sharing, and a number of other new features and improvements.
Apple chipmaker TSMC is reportedly on track to move forward with volume production of its next-gen 5-nanometer chips. This most likely refers to Apple’s next A-series chips for the iPhone 12 series of handsets.
According to a report published Wednesday, this production process is currently on as scheduled. This counters recent speculation that Apple had asked TSMC to defer manufacturing for the new iPhone.
Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.3.1 after the release of iOS 13.4, stopping people who have upgraded to the latest version from going back again.
Every iOS update Apple introduces is designed to be speedier, more stable, and more secure than its predecessor. As a result, Apple blocks downgrades soon after its latest release has rolled out to everyone. This was the turn of iOS 13.3.1 to go to the big software graveyard in the sky!
All the apps in Apple’s free iWork productivity suite for Mac now support iCloud Drive folder sharing, a collaboration feature that debuted last Tuesday in macOS 10.15.4.
This new feature is a highlight of each iWork application — Pages, Numbers and Keynote — reaching version 10.0. And there are numerous other enhancements, too.
Apple’s decision to cancel the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, and move to an online-only format was not only a good idea but a no-brainer, according to an international survey of more than 2,200 independent software programmers.
The FCC on Tuesday gave wireless carriers until next summer to implement a system designed to prevent caller ID spoofing. The goal is blocking phone scammers from using fake caller ID information to convince call recipients that they are talking to someone trustworthy or from their local area.
Microsoft on Tuesday revealed its brand-new Family Safety app designed to make it easier to protect and monitor your loved ones.
Family Safety will be part of the upcoming Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) overhaul, and will include features like location sharing, driver safety stats, activity reporting, and more.
Apple may eventually offer hyperlocal, down-to-the-minute forecasts.
Dark Sky Weather, the popular weather app, announced Tuesday it was acquired by Apple.
A Russian law requiring all phones and computers, including iPhone and Mac, sold in that country come bundled with third-party software localized for Russia won‘t go into effect July 1, as had been originally planned. Instead, implementation won‘t occur until early next year.
This comes as a temporary reprieve for Apple. The company has such privacy concerns over this legislation it might withdraw from the country rather than comply with the law.
Just a week after Apple released iOS 13.4 and other big software updates to the public, the iPhone-maker is back with a big batch of beta builds for developers.
The first beta builds for iOS 13.4.5, iPadOS 13.4.5, macOS 10.15.5 and tvOS 13.4.5 were seeded to developers this morning, bringing a bunch of bug fixes to the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.