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Apple TV+ sees viewership bump from self-isolation

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“Amazing Stories” is coming to Apple TV+
Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” helps push up Apple TV+ viewership.
Screenshot: Apple

More people are watching Apple TV+ now that they are staying home to avoid the coronavirus, according to a market-analysis firm. Plus, this streaming service has a couple of strong shows that have increased viewership.

Oprah to address COVID-19 impact on black America for Apple TV+

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oprah.covid.special.jpg
Oprah special on COVID-19 and its impact on black America to air on OWN and Apple TV+ for free.
Photo: OWN/Apple TV+

Oprah Winfrey is set to host a conversation about how COVID-19 has impacted black America during an Apple TV+ special that will be available for free.

The special, “Oprah Talks COVID-19 – The Deathly Impact on Black America”, will air Tuesday, April 14, at 11 p.m. and stream on AppleTV+ and OWN.

Check out the teaser:

NBCUniversal streamer Peacock comes early to Comcast customers

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peacock
Peacock is ready to take on Netflix and Apple TV+.
Photo: NBCUniversal

Comcast is jumping into the streaming wars this week with an early preview of Peacock that gives customers access to over 15,000 hours of movies and TV shows from NBCUniversal. Peacock isn’t set to launch to the public until July, but if you’re an Xfinity X1 or Flex customer, you can get a taste of service starting on Wednesday, April 15, 2020.

Amazing Apple Card concept shows the power of augmented reality

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Concept shows the potential of Apple augmented reality.
Augmented reality could make an Apple Card even more user friendly.
Photo: Volodymyr Kurbatov

A concept artist created an answer for anyone dubious about the usefulness of augmented reality. His video demonstrates how AR could give an Apple Card user their balance and recent transactions with only a glance.

Watch the full concept video now:

Alluring FaceTime photo shoots won’t stop when quarantine lifts

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Nick Fancher's FaceTime portraits
Nick Fancher's portraits are "remotraits."
Photo: Nick Fancher

Photographer Nick Fancher has been photographing models in his studio at a time when COVID-19 social distancing rules have forced his contemporaries to cancel portrait sessions.

But the only chances the Columbus, Ohio-based Fancher takes are creative ones. In the very spot where models normally stand for him, Fancher is projecting live images of sitters following his directions via FaceTime.

He calls these the “Remotrait” sessions.

Watch Mac OS X Leopard running on 2020 iPad Pro

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ipad
You've never seen an iPad Pro like this.
Photo: Hacking Jules

Running OS X on a tablet was a pipe dream for many Apple fans long before the iPad came out. Now that the iPad Pro has a processor that can compete with desktop CPUs, that pipe dream is almost a reality.

YouTuber Jules Gerard managed to get Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 running on his new 2020 iPad Pro without jailbreaking the device. Jules turned to the UTM emulator to show off how fast the old Mac operating system can run on the iPad Pro. Everything works shockingly well, including the built-in apps and Microsoft Office.

Prepare to be amazed:

Google is making its own chips for phones and laptops. Sound familiar?

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iFixit teardown of pixel
A new in-house chip may power the Google Pixel next year.
Photo: iFixit

Google will take a play out of Apple’s playbook as it reportedly ramps up development of its own processors for use in Chromebooks and Pixel smartphones.

Under the code-name Whitechapel, Samsung is collaborating with Google on the design of the chip. Samsung also supplies chips to Apple.

Add a one-tap AirPods connect button to your Home screen or Dock

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airpods connect
This sticker is just one way to speed up AirPods connections.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you own multiple iOS devices, then AirPods are supremely convenient. As soon as you connect them to one device, they automatically pair (and remain paired) to all your other devices. So, if you have a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad, and an Apple Watch, then all you have to do is tap connect on whichever device you want to use.

The problem is that the connect button is hidden, and a pain to reach. You have to swipe to open Control Center, then tap the AirPlay icon, then tap your AirPods in the list. And then wait a few seconds to see if it worked. Admittedly, this is a small inconvenience, but we can make it better. How about adding a button to your iPhone Home screen or Mac Dock that connects the AirPods with one tap?

Apple Maps data shows people worldwide staying home during COVID-19 pandemic

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The mobility data trends tool based on data from Apple Maps.
Data from Apple Maps users was combined to show movement trends during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Photo: Apple

A mobility data trends tool based on data from Apple Maps released on Tuesday graphically demonstrates that people around the world are staying home to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Apple introduced the tool to provide insights to health authorities looking for ways to mitigate the spread of this disease.

Facebook creates experimental messaging app only for Apple Watch

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kip
Kit's interface is very simple.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook launched an experimental new app today that aims to make it easier to message friends and family from your wrist while stuck inside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new app, called Kit, short for “Keep in touch”, only works on Apple Watch. Kit can be used to send voice messages, your location, emoji and more all with just a few quick taps.

Sling TV goes free every night. No strings attached

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Free Sling TV every evening.
Sling TV launched a Happy Hour Across America with free service every evening. And for much longer than an hour.
Photo: Sling TV

Sling TV streaming video service is now available during primetime at no charge. New customers can watch every night from 5 pm to midnight for free.

The company hopes this will help American families staying home during the COVID-19 crisis.

Bollywood streaming service Eros Now Select goes live on Apple TV and App Store

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Eros Now Select 1
Bored of Netflix? This Bollywood streaming service just launched on Apple TV.
Photo: Eros Now Select

Tired of chowing down on American movies and TV shows during your time in lockdown? Global Indian entertainment company Eros International announced Tuesday that its Eros Now Select service is now available via Apple TV and the App Store.

It brings to Apple users in the U.S. and elsewhere a large catalog of thousands of Bollywood movies, exclusive series, and originals — for a monthly fee of $3.49.

Trashed Apple Watch prototypes bear weird markings and logos

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Apple-Watch-proto-1
They're battered, but they might be worth a fortune.
Photo: Giulio Zompetti

New photos of rare Apple Watch prototypes give us a sneak peek at pre-production versions of Apple’s first ever smartwatch.

The prototypes, which date back to early 2014 — a year before Apple Watch made its official debut — were discovered at an unspecified e-waste facility. Their new owner plans to restore them before selling them on.

Apple is the most imitated brand in global phishing attacks

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Apple is the most imitated brand in global phishing attacks
You can tell he's a hacker because he's got computer code reflected in his sinister glasses.
Photo: Nahel Abdul Hadi/Unsplash CC

Apple has the dubious distinction of being the most imitated brand globally used in attempted phishing attacks, claims a new report.

Check Point Research’s latest Brand Phishing Report covers the first quarter of 2020. It shows that Apple was the top target for web-based phishing attacks and the second for mobile-based attacks for the first three months of the year.

This $10 iOS simulator makes your laptop work like an iPad [Deals]

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iPadian
Experience iOS right on your non-Apple tablets, and run your apps like you would on your iPhone or iPad.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re comfortable with the Apple ecosystem, using a Windows machine can feel a little alien. But with iPadian iOS 13 Simulator, you can get the sleek, familiar iOS experience even on a PC.

The app re-creates the mobile Apple experience on Windows desktops or laptops. (It works on Macs, too.) And right now, you can download it for less than $10.

iPhone sales in China rebound 416% after a disastrous February

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iPhone sales are finally rebounding in China
Apple looks to have sold 2.5 million iPhones in China in March alone.
Photo: Tim Cook/Weibo

iPhone sales may be rebounding in China after a new China Information and Communications Research Institute report suggests that Apple sold 2.5 million iPhones there during the month of March.

Due to the coronavirus-related dip in sales in February, during which Apple sold just 500,000 handsets, that’s a massive 416% increase month-on-month.

Coronavirus lockdown isn’t stopping U.S. spending on streaming music services

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Streaming services like Apple Music dominate the US music market
Looks like Apple picked the right time to pivot to focus on Services.
Photo: Apple

The coronavirus-induced lockdown is affecting huge parts of the service economy. However, one area it doesn’t seem to be negatively impacting in the U.S. is the streaming music market.

According to a report from Music Business Weekly, published Monday, streaming music service subscriptions are not only not slowing down right now; in some cases they’re actually increasing.

Trump praises Apple and Google’s contact-tracing tool, but says it raises ‘big constitutional problems’

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Trump praises partnership, but acknowledges challenges.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

During a White House briefing Monday evening, President Donald Trump praised Google and Apple’s unprecedented partnership to build a contract-tracing tool for both iOS and Android as “amazing.” However, he noted that many people “have some very big constitutional problems” with it.

Trump didn’t spell out the exact problem. But he voiced the concerns of people worried about the privacy aspects of new surveillance technologies.

Apple, Google detail coronavirus contact tracing system with privacy at its core

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Apple Google
Apple & Google gives specifics of their contact tracing system it is developing to better track and protect people from COVID-19.
Photo: Apple/Google

Apple and Google have given further details on their plans for a joint contact tracing technology to combat coronavirus, saying the program will focus on privacy, will be voluntary, and that data will only be shared with public health organizations.

HomePod isn’t a TV but it might run tvOS

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HomePod in China
There supposedly was a big change to HomePod that no one outside Apple knew about.
Photo: Apple

Since a system software update released in March, Apple’s HomePod smart speaker reportedly runs a version of tvOS, the operating system for Apple TV. The change might make it simpler to update this device, and support older hardware for longer.

Apple responds to lawmakers’ concerns of COVID-19 screening site

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apple
The new COVID-19 app and website provide the latest information and guidance from the CDC for users across the US.
Photo: Apple

Apple has responded to US lawmakers’ concerns regarding the company’s COVID-19 screening site that was created in coordination with the CDC and the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and FEMA.

Earlier this month, lawmakers demanded proof that the new tools protect citizens’ privacy. In its letter addressed to senators Robert Menendez, Richard Blumenthal, Kamala Harris and Cory A. Booker, Apple details how its site was designed to protect users’ rights during this important time.