Apple and Google released additional details about their coronavirus contact-tracing system Monday, informing public health officials that they will not be able to use Location Services to track people. The companies also said they will limit use of the contact-tracing API to one per country.
Both companies also showed off what an app might look like on people’s smartphones — and shared sample pieces of code local governments could use in their own mobile apps.
An adhesive sensor much like a Band-Aid has been developed by Northwestern University to monitor for early signs of COVID-19 infection when connected wirelessly to an iPad.
Announced Monday, the device sticks to the throat and looks for coughing and various onset symptoms of COVID-19 to aid treatment of patients with the deadly virus.
Apple updated its COVID-19 screening app Friday with new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including additional symptoms of the disease and tips on using cloth masks.
Unlocking your iPhone while wearing a protective mask might get a little quicker in iOS 13.5. Apple released a new beta of this upcoming version Wednesday, and it includes a neat trick that skips Face ID to immediately ask for a passcode if it detects the user is wearing a mask.
Apple and Google said Friday they are building in stronger privacy protections to their planned contact-tracing system for COVID-19 and that an early version of the initiative will launch for developers next week.
Apple and its Apple TV+ streaming service could only dream of numbers this big.
Call it the ‘Tiger King effect’ or whatever you like, but Netflix benefited from the stay-at-home, shelter-in-place directive by adding 15.77 million new subscribers worldwide in the first quarter, according to earnings results released Monday.
Google has confirmed in an email to Nest customers on Tuesday that it is throttling camera quality to “conserve internet resources.”
The temporary measure, which will roll out to every Nest user over the coming days, is one of many Google and other tech giants have made in an effort to reduce network strain during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
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.
Great Britain’s National Health Service has confirmed plans to use joint contact tracing technology developed by Apple and Google in an upcoming app to warn users if they have been near someone suspected of being infected with COVID-19.
Friday’s announcement that Apple and Google are teaming up to create a contact-tracing program to stop the spread of COVID-19 generated more questions than answers.
We broke down how these apps could help with our Cult of Mac explainer on the subject. However, we also found a more lighthearted, comic resource that addresses the ins and outs of contact tracing.
Apple and Google revealed Friday that they’re teaming up to take on one of the most colossal tasks in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19: contact tracing.
If you’re like me, you probably hadn’t heard about contact tracing until the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s proven to be an important tool in countries that have seen a drop in their reported cases of the coronavirus.
With a little background, here are the basics of contact tracing and what you need to know.
In a rare moment of collaboration, Apple and Google said Friday they have teamed up to create a contact-tracing program that uses smartphones to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The privacy-focused solution created by the companies will use anonymous Bluetooth “chirps” from phones as a way to tell where an infected person has been and who they’ve come in contact with.
Apple updated its COVID-19 screening application for iPhone with information from each U.S. state’s health department to help users know what’s expected in their area.
This fits with the goal of Apple’s app — giving people resources to stay informed on steps they can take to protect their health during the coronavirus outbreak.
Stanford Health Care and Apple have partnered on a new iPhone app for local police officers, firefighters and paramedics in the California Bay Area with guidance on screening for symptoms of first responders and, if needed, schedule testing.
New data reveals the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on iPhone sales in the United States. Apple Store closures fueled a 56% drop in March. Average selling prices have also crashed.
Foxconn, Apple’s largest manufacturing partner, has reported a whopping 59.9% increase in revenue for March 2020 as production ramps up following COVID-19 disruptions.
It’s not all good news for Apple fans, however. One report warns that while some facilities are running at full throttle, plans for some new products have been scuppered by travel restrictions.
A ventilator simulator app for iPad and Mac is helping medical workers quickly learn how to use the life-saving machines during the coronavirus pandemic. The software, originally developed for classroom use, is now being used to train doctors on the fly as demand for ventilators — and professionals who can operate them — soars due to COVID-19.
The free simulator software looks and operates just like the Hamilton-C6, a state-of-the-art ventilator sold by Switzerland-based Hamilton Medical AG, one of the world’s largest medical ventilator manufacturers. Much like a flight simulator for pilots, the iPad app allows medical professionals unfamiliar with mechanical ventilators, or simply rusty after years of not using them, to practice adjusting settings without endangering lives.
“You don’t want to practice on a real patient, so that’s why we developed this simulator that basically provides that interaction,” Alexander Starcevic, director of marketing at Hamilton Medical AG, told Cult of Mac. “It provides you with a real interface that you have on the real ventilator. In addition, you have behind this a patient model that actually responds to what you’re setting.”
WhatsApp on Tuesday outlined measures to keep its more than 2 billion users safe and secure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The measures include tighter limits on message forwarding, and working with organizations and governments like the World Health Organization to help connect user with more accurate information.
“We believe that now more than ever people need to be able to connect privately,” WhatsApp said. “Our teams are hard at work to keep WhatsApp running reliably during this unprecedented global crisis.”
You’ve probably made more video calls in the last few weeks than you’ve made in the previous few years combined. And if they were on your iPhone or iPad, then they probably sounded great. But what if you’re using a Mac, with its prehistoric mics1?
No worries. Through the magic of technology, you can use a better mic with your Mac’s Skype or FaceTime. (As a bonus, it also might make you feel more comfortable during videoconferences.)
Your favorite games may soon be reminding you to stay at home and save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of developers have begun injecting the messages into popular titles across all platforms — including mobile.
iPhone resellers in China are offering big discounts on Apple’s latest handsets in an effort to reverse falling sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suning, one of Apple’s largest retail partners in China, is offering discounts of up to 1,500 yuan (approximately $212) on the iPhone 11 series. The move is expected to trigger further price adjustments on other 4G smartphones.
Apple’s websites for the U.K. and France were on Thursday updated to display COVID-19 advice from the government.
Large featured sections on their homepages remind visitors of the official advice related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.K., this includes the same National Health Service (NHS) video that can be found in the App Store.
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).
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.
