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.
Need a new MacBook Pro? You won’t want to miss Woot’s brilliant deal on 13-inch models, refurbished by Apple, which are now available for as little as $679.99. Or pick up the brand-new 2020 Mac mini from $699 — $100 off its usual price tag.
That’s just some of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup that will help you tackle self-isolation and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Other highlights include:
Find all these discounts and more in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.
This post contains affiliate links. Cult of Mac may earn a commission when you use our links to buy items.
You may have seen a notification from Apple Music at some point. It popped up, told you about a new album from a favorite artist, and you thought, “Thanks Apple Music! That’s great news.” Finally, you thought to yourself, this is a machine doing what machines are supposed to do. Then maybe you clicked on that notification, and the Music app launched, but didn’t go to the artist or album. Or perhaps you dismissed the alert, and when you opened the Music app later, you were confused because you couldn’t find the notification anywhere.
Now, Apple has (maybe) fixed this problem. Instead of just plain old lock-screen notifications, the Music app will now show you new music alerts inside the app itself. Here’s how to switch them on.
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.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, N95 filtration masks are in short supply worldwide. It remains unclear whether wearing a mask as a prophylactic is necessary, but that isn’t stopping people from strapping them on when they venture outside their homes. And if you are infected with the COVID-19 virus, or you are working closely with infected people, then you probably do want a mask.
Can these masks be reused? New guidance from Stanford Medicine says yes, you can sterilize N95 masks — by “baking” them in a low-temperature oven. However, you should definitely not do this at home.
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.
Janitors, landscapers, bus drivers and other contract hourly workers at Apple’s campus in Cupertino and other buildings will still get paid during work stoppages related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Apple CEO reassured retail employees earlier this month that they would still get paid while stores are closed, but there was some concern that other hourly workers’ pay would be eliminated. That’s not true though according to an Apple spokesperson who said the checks will still be flowing.
Apple has supposedly penciled in an April 15 launch date for its low-cost iPhone 9.
New claims that surfaced Tuesday indicate the company held an internal briefing this week to decide “tentative” announcement and shipping dates for the new device. Those claims remind us, however, that “we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and things could change.”
Video-conferencing tool Zoom is seeing a surge in use during the coronavirus pandemic, due to people being stuck at home and unable to meet in meatspace groups. I’ve read about people using Zoom to drop in on yoga and pilates classes, as well as for more usual business-related activities.
Spotify Kids, a standalone app focused on kid-friendly musical content, made its debut in the U.S., Canada, and France on Tuesday.
The app, which requires a $14.99 per month Premium Family Plan to use, highlights curated material aimed at kids of various ages. It won’t include any inappropriate lyrics, features no ads, and offers age-suitable content ranging from audiobooks to lullabies and nurseries rhymes.
AT&T on Monday laid out its COVID-19 relief measures for ensuring that customers can stay in touch with friends, family, and colleagues while they’re stuck at home. Starting April 2, there will be a number of measures in place to keep subscribers connected — including 15GB of additional hotspot data.
Struggling Apple display Japan Display said Tuesday that it has finalized a deal to raise $200 million from an unnamed “overseas customer.” While the customer is unspecified, Reuters claims that it is Apple.
The $200 million fund will come from the customer buying equipment at Japan Display’s main smartphone screen factory in central Japan. Japan Display owed Apple upward of $800 million last year due to Apple spending $1.5 billion building a plant used for iPhones.
Apple will roll out an iOS 13.4.1 update this week to fix a VPN bug on iPhone and iPad, according to a new report out Tuesday.
An earlier investigation revealed a security flaw in Apple’s most recent iOS releases that prevents virtual private networks from encrypting all traffic. The issue can cause data and IP addresses to be exposed.
One great way to spend newfound downtime during the coronavirus shutdown is to sharpen your skills. Jobs are growing scarce, so any edge you can give yourself is beneficial. One skill that’s almost universally valuable is a working knowledge of Excel, Microsoft’s industry-standard spreadsheet application.
To help people adapting to life in coronavirus lockdown, Apple Music has debuted a series of playlists under the title “Come Together.”
Covering a range of genres, and including some fun tongue-in-cheek titles like the “Social Distancing Social Club,” the hand-picked (hopefully wearing the necessary sanitary gloves) playlists are sure to entertain those locked in-doors. Which is seemingly everyone right now!