Apple still hasn’t given an official launch date for the new Magic Keyboard that brings the iPad Pro closer to being a PC-replacement than it’s ever been, but Amazon’s UK site may have spilled the beans Tuesday with an update to its Magic Keyboard page.
Apple’s IS&T division sounds like a chaotic war zone
Apple’s Information Systems & Technology division (IS&T) has come under scrutiny in a new book that analyzes the business practices and cultures of America’s biggest tech companies.
Scoring a coding job at Apple is a dream gig for most developers, but an excerpt from Alex Kantrowitz’s book, Always Day One, reveals that if you accept a job on the IS&T team, you better be ready for “a Game of Thrones nightmare.”
Amazon plans to delay Prime Day due to COVID-19
Amazon’s annual shopping bonanza holiday, Prime Day, has reportedly been delayed due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Day, which started in 2015 as a way to boost sales in the summer, is usually held in July, but according to Reuters, the online retailer plans to push the marketing event to August.
SXSW Film Festival goes free on Amazon
SXSW 2020, one of the biggest annual conferences covering the convergence of music and film, was canceled last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic last month, but it’s getting a brief second life online.
Amazon Prime Video is partnering with SXSW to offer on-demand streaming of the films that were set to debut at the festival in Austin, Texas. Anyone with an Amazon account will be able to watch the movies for free for 10 days as part of the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection.
Amazon Prime Video finally embraces in-app purchases on iPhone and Apple TV
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.
YouTube drops video quality to standard def globally
YouTube viewers are set to see a big drop in video quality worldwide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Alphabet-owned streaming giant revealed that it will reduce the quality of all videos to standard definition starting today as a way to alleviate internet congestions due to more people having to shelter in place.
Apple TV+ cuts streaming quality in Europe to lower stress on internet
Following a request to streaming services to switch from high definition to standard in an effort to reduce the strain on the internet, indications were Friday that Apple has followed suit of other major services and slowed down its Apple TV+ streaming service.
Cult of Mac has confirmed through two Apple TV users – one in Great Britain and one in southern France – that the quality of content on Apple TV+ has been lowered. Subscribers described the differences as primarily fast-moving content that is slower to refresh, heavily compressed and more pixelated.
YouTube, Amazon Prime Video follow Netflix in throttling video quality throughout Europe [Update]
YouTube and Amazon Prime Video confirmed Friday they will will start throttling video quality in Europe in an effort to reduce the strain on network infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary measure will see all YouTube videos displayed in standard definition by default, though, it is still be possible for viewers to select a higher resolution.
Amazon starts taking 2020 iPad Pro preorders for March 25 release
Apple’s new 2020 iPad Pro lineup is now available to preorder from Amazon just a day after its official unveiling.
Both the 11- and 12.9-inch options in all storage capacities are available with a release date of March 25. Prices start at $799.99 — 99 cents more than Apple charges — for the base model.
Fixed Wi-Fi chip flaw leaves many Apple devices vulnerable to intrusion
Security researchers discovered a critical flaw in Wi-Fi chips made by Broadcom and Cypress Semiconductor that were used in Apple devices.
The discovery was presented at the RSA security conference in San Francisco this morning, revealing that billions of devices could have been affected. Attackers could use the vulnerability to decrypt private data sent over the air. Most manufacturers have already released a patch to fix the issue, but it’s unclear how many of the devices have been updated.
The following Apple devices were affected:
Amazon adds HomeKit support to Eero routers
Some of the best mesh-routers on the market is finally adding support for Apple’s HomeKit.
Eero revealed today that its devices can now be added to the Home app on iPhone and iPad. The update allows you to control aspects of the eero routers remotely and also adds extra protections for other HomeKit accessories in your house.
Bernie Sanders tops list for most donations from Apple employees
Big Tech employees are feeling the Bern as the U.S. presidential primary season shifts into full gear. New fundraising data disclosed this week reveals that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised more money from the country’s top tech companies than any other presidential candidate.
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter employees donated nearly $270,000 to Sanders’ bid to take the White House, with nearly half of that money coming from Google. Check out the full breakdown by company:
Shrewd millennial investors make Apple their top stock pick
Millennials don’t just love Apple for the iPhone. Turns out AAPL is also their favorite stock.
A recent survey of over 734,000 portfolios from US-based investors with an average age of 31 found that Apple and Amazon are the two most popular stocks with young investors by a long shot.
Apple spends far less on lobbying than some other tech giants
Apple spent more lobbying Washington last year than it ever has before. Still, its spending was dwarfed by the likes of Google and Facebook.
Sonos claims Google and Amazon stole its smart speaker tech
Sonos, the smart speaker company that (usually) plays nice with pretty much every other tech company, is fighting back against Google and Amazon for allegedly stealing some of its secret sauce.
Two lawsuits were filed by Sonos this week against Google that accuses the search engine giant of infringing on five of its patents. Sonos claims Amazon is guilty of the same thing but the company decided to only sue Google because it can’t take on two tech giants at once.
Amazon is bringing Fire TV to autos
Amazon is ramping up its expansion of the Fire TV platform in 2020 by making the streaming media platform available in automobiles and other third-party products.
The company revealed this morning that Fire TV now has over 40 million active users and its coming to even more devices. More than 150 Fire TV Edition devices across multiple product categories will be available by the end of 2020 and everyone from BMW to VOXX Automotive jumping onboard.
Apple joins rivals to create open standard for smart home devices
Apple is teaming up with Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance to create a new open and royalty-free standard for smart home devices.
Project “Connected Home over IP” aims to increase compatibility among smart home gadgets and make development easier for device manufacturers. It should also simplify smart technology for consumers.
Apple TV app debuts on Amazon Fire smart TVs in U.S.
The Apple TV App is now available on Fire TV Edition Smart TVs in the U.S., slowly increasing its availability on various third-party streaming players and televisions.
The addition includes built-in Alexa voice-command support to ask for AppleTV+ programs and to open the Apple TV app.
Time magazine picks 3 Apple products as best gadgets of the decade
Time magazine’s pick of the “10 best gadgets of the 2010s” is out, and perhaps unsurprisingly, three of them are Apple products.
iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods were all chosen as some of the “most important and influential gadgets” of the decade. Other products include the Nintendo Switch, Tesla Model S, and the Amazon Echo.
Amazon adds Apple Podcasts on Echo speakers
Amazon has added support for Apple Podcasts on Amazon Echo devices, enabling users to stream more than 800,000 shows.
Users can link their Apple ID to the Alexa app, giving them the ability to not only play, but pause and resume podcasts where they left off.
Amazon’s new battery-powered Echo can go with you everywhere
Those who consider Amazon Alexa one of their closest friends can now take her almost anywhere with the new portable Echo speaker.
The confusingly named Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition has a built-in battery that lasts up to 11 hours in between charges. But you can’t buy one (yet) if you don’t live in India.
AirPods Pro shipping times slip past Christmas on Apple.com
The new AirPods Pro are shaping up to be one of the most asked for items on peoples’ Christmas lists this season, there’s just one small problem: shipping times on Apple.com are showing units won’t arrive until after Santa Claus comes to town.
Apple kicks reviews off online store
Just before the holiday shopping season kicks into full swing Apple has decided to make it harder to see reviews of the products it sells online.
The Ratings and Reviews section of Apple’s online store was recently removed from all product pages with no word on why the change was made.
Apple spends ‘billions’ overhauling Apple Maps app
Apple says it spent unspecified “billions” on its updated Apple Maps app.
Cupertino’s revelation about the Apple Maps expenditures came amid answers to questions from the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which is currently carrying out antitrust probes into Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook.
Amazon one-ups Apple with free music on iOS
Start blasting those holiday tunes with free Amazon Music on iOS.
The streaming service can now be enjoyed without a paid subscription for the first time on iPhone and iPad, giving it a big advantage over Apple Music.
But just like other free music plans, it does come with ads … and some restrictions.