Apple is one of 40 companies to sign an open letter published Wednesday by the Human Rights Campaign. The letter protests U.S. bills that will target the LGBTQ community — in particular trans people.

One such bill is the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act. This was passed last week by the Alabama Senate in Tim Cook’s home state. It would make it a felony for doctors to prescribe puberty-blockers or hormones to minors. Companies signing the letter say that legislation such as this does not reflect their values.

Ahead of its debut on Apple TV+ April 24, Apple has dropped the official trailer for Beastie Boys Story, its upcoming feature length documentary on the pioneering American hip hop group.

Beastie Boys Story is directed by Spike Jonze, the music video, feature film and documentary director who first worked with the band on the music video for Sabotage.

Apple has told its retail store employees worldwide not to recommend customers physically try on an Apple Watch or in-ear AirPods, in an effort to cut down on the spread of coronavirus.

Customers can still ask to try on ‌the products, but employees have been told not to offer the opportunity, according to a published report Wednesday.

Magrig Adapter lets USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 cables easily disconnect if they get yanked on. It’s a revival of MagSafe, which Apple used to build into MacBooks.

There are competing options, but most of these can only transfer power. Magrig, on the other hand, promises up to 40Gbps data transfers as well as 100W of power.

Sandwich chain Jimmy John’s will throw in a free drink to customers in its loyalty reward program who make a $10 purchase with Apple Pay.

This will encourage iPhone users to visit Jimmy John’s — and also to set up Apple Pay on their phone or Apple Watch.

Not every iPhone concept video is a crazy mashup of dream features. A new one gives a realistic preview of the low-cost iPhone Apple is expected to release this spring.

Watch a video of this concept device now:

Slideas is a new Mac app that turns Markdown text into fancy, stylish presentations. It’s like Keynote, only entirely driven by typed text. And like Keynote and PowerPoint, you can add videos, charts, images and more. How does it work?

Apple is set to shutter all of its stores in Italy beginning Thursday until further notice as the country goes into total lockdown due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

All 17 stores in Italy have updated their webpages showing that doors will close early Wednesday and the company isn’t saying when they will be reopened.

The COVID-19 coronavirus claimed another planned convention Wednesday with the postponement of the National Association of Broadcasters convention, scheduled for late April in Las Vegas.

Dozens of the show’s exhibitors create a variety of products that work with Apple equipment, including Blackmagic Designs, Avid, Adobe, Padcaster, Microsoft, Boris FX, Panasonic, Canon, and Sony.

A phone service Verizon launched today offers iPhone and Androids unlimited data for $39.99, including tethering. That’s significantly less than the cost of this carrier’s regular unlimited plan.

But, of course, there are limitations in the new service, dubbed Yahoo Mobile.

Thanks to the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus, lots of people are being told to work from home. And that’s good, work-wise, because working from home can be relaxing, highly productive and, of course, very convenient. But depending on your family situation, your home layout and your guilty stress from feeling like you’re not doing enough, it also can be a nightmare.

Most of the Cult of Mac team works from home, so I asked for their top telecommuting tips. Here they are.

Oscar-nominated actress Uma Thurman will join the Apple TV+ family as the star of a new thriller called Suspicion.

The drama series, which does not have a release date, is based on an award-winning series in Israel called False Flag, the rights of which Apple purchased last year.

Classic video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night landed in the App Store last week and, boy, is it great!

The 23-year-old side-scroller pits Dracula’s half-son Alucard against the evil count himself. The game, widely regarded as one of the best video games of all time, has made its way onto various games platforms over the years. Now you can finally play it on your iPhone. Frankly, that’s the best news I’ve heard in ages.

E3 2020 is the latest major event to be scrapped amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The game industry’s biggest trade show was scheduled to kick off in Los Angeles on June 9. It will no longer go ahead this year.

Amazon’s AWS Summit in San Francisco has also been canceled. The announcements come as the World Health Organization (WHO) declares coronavirus a global pandemic.

Going about your day wearing a medical mask is starting to seem like a good idea.

So if coronavirus concerns have you covering up, you can acclimate Apple’s Face ID to your new look.

A fresh watchOS 7 leak suggests Apple Watch will get a new “International” face this fall. Users will be able to choose which country’s flag to wear on their wrist with the time and other details displayed above it.

Apple dropped its newest AirPods Pro ad on Wednesday, showcasing the biggest selling point of its newest wireless buds. “Snap” uses busy streets and crazy dancing to demonstrate how effective noise cancellation can be.

Logitech says its new charging station, the Powered Wireless Charging 3-in-1 Dock, is “one wireless charger to charge all your Apple devices.” If you’ve got an iPhone 8 or newer, an Apple Watch and AirPods with a wireless charging case, the funky-looking stand should do the trick.

The Qi-certified charger packs some advanced charging capabilities that should make juicing up your Apple gear fast and safe.

Apple is reportedly introducing new measures at Apple Stores designed to help avoid the spread of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.

According to a report by Apple Insider, Apple Stores will be limiting the number of customers who can enter its retail stores at any one time. It is also reducing customer seating by half, and introducing “social distancing” protocols in which employees are asked to stay three feet away from customers and each other.

Like everything else, Macs get cluttered over time. With our houses and cars, clutter can cause trouble finding stuff or embarrassment when a visitor drops by. With our computers, it costs performance, so it’s extra-useful to keep a clean machine.

It’s now easier to keep track of the latest COVID-19 developments with Apple News. The service on Wednesday added a new coronavirus special coverage section dedicated to providing readers with updates on the outbreak.

Democrat lawmakers want Apple and other tech giants to rethink their stance on menstruation-tracking apps.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Apple, Google, and Samsung, New Jersey senator Bob Menendez and representatives Bonnie Coleman and Mikie Sherrill voiced their concern about menstruation- and fertility-tracking apps which share user health data without permission.

The spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus might have negatively impacted iPhone sales in China, but it may have also helped boost demand for iPads in the country.

According to a new report, iPads have experienced a surge in demand as families buy the tablets to carry out e-learning at home due to coronavirus-related school closures.

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak may be continuing apace, but Apple manufacturers are getting back to work.

According to two new reports published Wednesday, Apple contract manufacturers Compal Electronics and Wistron are joining Foxconn in planning for production levels to return to normal by the end of March. Apple’s A-series chipmaker TSMC is also gearing up to start producing its new 5-nanometer chips.

Apple, Facebook, Google and other tech heavyweights are reportedly heading for the White House on Wednesday. There they’ll meet with officials from various government agencies to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak.