Apple News

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple News:

How to play Apple’s daily crosswords on iPad and iPhone

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Daily Puzzles in Apple News
Get a crossword every day in the Apple News app.
Image: Wil540 art/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Apple has a daily crossword and crossword mini that you can play on your iPad and iPhone inside the News app. This new feature of iOS 17 is available to anyone with an Apple News+ subscription or the Apple One Premier bundle.

I absolutely love playing the crossword puzzles every day. I’m not very good at them, but it’s a fun challenge and it’s a well-designed app.

Here’s how it works.

Apple adds 100+ podcasts with improved access

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iOS 17 gives Apple Podcasts users a refreshed player and queue, episode art, search filters and the ability to connect subscriptions to top apps.
iOS 17 gives Apple Podcasts users a refreshed player and queue, episode art, search filters and the ability to connect subscriptions to top apps.
Photo: Apple

Now you can listen to more than 100 new podcasts from various apps and services in Apple Podcasts, the company said Tuesday.

“Subscribers to Apple Music, Apple News+ and participating apps like Calm and Lingokids can connect their subscriptions to access new shows and more,” Apple noted.

After the Whistle podcast with Ted Lasso’s Coach Beard is back

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Tune in July 19 for a preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup and follow each episode covering the tournament's matches.
Tune in July 19 for a preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup and follow each episode covering the tournament's matches.
Photo: Apple News

Apple News said Monday its popular soccer podcast After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe will return for a second season July 19.

While the first season saw Hunt — Coach Beard on the smash hit Apple TV+ soccer comedy Ted Lasso — and veteran sports broadcaster Lowe applying their super fandom to the Men’s World Cup tournament, the second season focuses on the 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5 and macOS Ventura 13.4 arrive

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iOS 16.5
Time to check for updates on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Following a beta period spanning over a month, Apple has released the stable build of iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5, and macOS Ventura 13.4 to the public. Your Apple Watch and Apple TV are also getting a new update.

Unlike iOS 16.4, the latest iOS release is not packing a ton of new features. There are a few improvements and enhancements, but otherwise, this is mostly a bug-fixing release.

Soccer, anyone? Apple TV+ launches MLS Season Pass soon.

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Are you ready for some football? And by that we mean soccer, natch.
Are you ready for some football? And by that we mean soccer, natch.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ and the top pro soccer league in the United States, Major League Soccer (MLS), said Wednesday the MLS Season Pass subscription service showing all matches with no blackouts launches February 1, 2023.

The launch, which includes features on multiple Apple services, kicks off a 10-year partnership between Apple and MLS.

Ted Lasso’s Coach Beard covers the World Cup in new Apple podcast

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The new After the Whistle podcast covering the World Cup kicks off November 17.
The new After the Whistle podcast covering the World Cup kicks off November 17.
Photo: Apple News

An amusing audio teaser from Apple News on Monday introduced the limited podcast After the Whistle, in which Coach Beard from the Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso — aka actor Brendan Hunt — and veteran English sportscaster Rebecca Lowe will explain everything about the world’s biggest sporting event, the World Cup, as it happens.

As you may know, the World Cup is a massive football tournament (to use the world’s sensible term for soccer). It kicks off Sunday in Qatar and will be broadcast globally. Apple News boots up the podcast on Thursday in anticipation of it.

How to follow your favorite sports teams with My Sports in Apple News

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Follow the team in Apple News
Follow teams to get scores, schedules and news, all in Apple News.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

New in iOS 16 is the ability to follow your favorite sporting pastime with My Sports. It allows you to get the latest scores, read coverage from newspapers and magazines, see scheduled games and watch highlights.

It works across multiple apps, including Apple News, Apple TV and others. You can follow teams from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NWSL, WNBA and MLS. It also includes college football and basketball. Here’s how to set it up.

Apple wants to make more money from streaming and advertising

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An Apple One bundle might be announced in September. Or October.
Eddy Cue wants Apple to make more money from its streaming and advertising businesses.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services, is reportedly looking to restructure the company’s offerings to make a more significant push in streaming and advertising.

Apple’s services business has been growing rapidly over the last few years. It currently boasts more than 825 million paid subscribers.

Apple News expands local coverage to two cities in Canada

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Apple News local coverage
Montreal and Toronto are the first Canadian cities to see support.
Image: Apple

Apple News’ local coverage feature this week expanded its reach to Canada. Users in Montreal and Toronto can now enjoy local news from a number of different sources, including CTV News and Toronto Star.

Local coverage was first added to Apple News in July 2020, but growth has been slow since then. Although it has made its way to additional U.S. cities since it debuted, this is the first time the feature has landed in another country.

Apple News expands local coverage to select cities

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Apple News expands its local coverage to Charlotte, Miami and Washington, D.C.
Apple News expands its local coverage to Charlotte, Miami and Washington, D.C.
Photo: Apple

Apple News will now offer its “local news experience” in three additional U.S. cities: Charlotte, N.C., Miami and Washington, D.C. The service’s editors curate local news, selecting coverage of topics important to communities, Apple said.

iOS 15 asks for your permission to show personalized ads in Apple apps

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Personalized ads popup in iOS 15
This is what you'll see when you open the App Store.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple will ask iPhone and iPad users for their permission to show personalized ads within its own apps in iOS and iPadOS 15.

A new popup appears when opening the App Store for the first time after installing one of Apple’s latest betas. It says personalized ads “help you discover apps, products and services that are relevant to you.”

Apple News program takes smaller cut of publishers’ revenue

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Apple News program takes a smaller cut of publishers’ revenue
It’ll cost publishers a bit less to participate in Apple News.
Photo: Apple

A new Apple News Partner Program allows subscription news publications to provide their content to the Apple News app while paying a lower than usual share of the revenue coming from customers. Companies that choose to participate will have to give Apple 15% of subscription fees in the first year — half the usual amount.

This move is apparently in response to complaints from big publications about Apple’s cut.

Apple plans podcasts, training and exercise sessions for Women’s History Month

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Apple plans podcasts, training and exercise sessions for Women’s History Month
For Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, Apple will call attention to female voices that drive culture and change.
Image: Apple

Apple will highlight the contributions of women to society in many ways during Women’s History Month, including suggesting relevant outstanding books, podcasts and apps. It also plans virtual Today at Apple sessions led by female creators.

Plus, there’ll be an International Women’s Day Apple Watch Activity Challenge for March 8, and there’ll be other ways of observing this day.

Read all about it! News apps get nice Inauguration Day bump on App Store

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Joe Biden
Biden is the new President -- and a big Apple News guy, to boot.
Photo: The White House

With a new president installed, this has been a big week for the United States — and, to paraphrase Billy Madison, news app are reaping all the benefits.

According to a new report by top app analytics platform Sensor Tower, news apps in the App Store received a nice Inauguration Day bump. Three of the big winners were CNN‘s news app, aggregator News Break, and Newsmax. They respectively jumped 530, 13, and 43 spots in the App Store rankings.

President-elect Biden is a big Apple News guy

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Joe Biden
The face of a man who loves his Apple News.
Photo: The White House

Barack Obama, the last Democratic POTUS, was reportedly a big Apple fan. And his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, is supposedly an Apple guy as well — more specifically Apple News.

Evan Osnos, CNN’s newest contributor and author of Joe Biden: The Life, The Run, and What Matters Now, says Biden “relies on Apple News to help him get headlines from … reputable media sources.”

News publishers want Apple to give them a better deal for App Store subscriptions

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‘The New York Times’ kicked Apple News to the curb
New York Times and others are pushing back against App Store commissions.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Several major news outlets are throwing their hats into the ring with Epic Games and others in pushing back against Apple’s App Store commission.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a trade body that represents the New York Times, Washington Post, WSJ and other publishers has sent a letter to Tim Cook asking for better terms for digital subscriptions sold through the App Store.

Wall Street Journal won’t bail on Apple News

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The Wall Street Journal is staying put with Apple News
The Wall Street Journal sees multiple benefits from being part of Apple News.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

In the wake of The New York Times quitting Apple News, the head of News Corp. says that The Wall Street Journal isn’t leaving the news service that’s built into iOS and macOS.

Apple News Today is an Apple News+ promo disguised as a peppy news podcast [Review]

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Apple News Today review: A daily news podcast with zero partisan rage.
Apple News Today is a news podcast with zero partisan rage.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Apple News Today, the breezy new podcast showcasing the day’s top news stories, sounds perfectly peppy and polished. Maybe too perfectly polished, in fact — you won’t find a single rough edge on this slickly produced daily news report, which Apple unleashed last week with iOS 13.6. You will endure no energized, partisan rants, either. These straight-down-the-middle reports won’t get your blood boiling while you make your morning coffee or tea. If you’re tired of partisanship, this is the antidote.

What you will find in the weekday audio show is steady promotion of the Apple News app, and of Apple News+, the company’s reportedly struggling subscription news service. This upbeat and earnest free daily news briefing basically functions as a Trojan horse for getting in the ears of potential Apple News+ subscribers.

New York Times bails on Apple News

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‘The New York Times’ kicked Apple News to the curb
Don’t expect to see The New York Times in Apple News any more.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

New York Times articles stopped appearing in the Apple News app on Monday. The newspaper ended its partnership with Apple because the Times wants a more direct connection between itself and its customers.

This is not just about the Apple News+ subscription service. Content from this source no longer appears in the free version either.