COVID-19 - page 12

While you retreat indoors to avoid exposure to the COVID-19 virus, Apple is worried you might catch cabin fever.

So to help you deal with your locked-down life, Apple is offering a sale on iTunes movies. The sale includes bundles as well as individual titles.

Apple Stores outside of Greater China now look unlikely to reopen on March 28 after Apple on Tuesday updated its notices to read “closed until further notice.”

A banner displayed at the top of the company’s website makes it clear to visitors that its retail locations are out of action for now. Apple insists, however, that it remains “committed to providing exceptional service to our customers.”

Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area initiated a shelter-in-place mandate Monday that will force businesses, including Apple stores, in the area to temporarily shut down for three weeks. The goal is to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Nearly 7 million people will be forced to stay inside except to visit grocery stores, pharmacies or doctor’s offices. The new mandate means Apple stores in the area will remain closed longer than Apple’s originally intended time frame. The company initially intended to reopen its stores on March 27.

Has the government in your city or country shut down everything due to COVID-19? Are the bars, gyms and other nonessential places closed? Are you stuck at home, cooped up with nothing but Facebook and Twitter to fan the flames of your outrage and fear?

Don’t worry. There are plenty of things to do at home. Why not take advantage of all that extra time and use it for something you enjoy?

Apple is extending product return policies after it made the decision to close all retail stores outside of Greater China amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In its updated Temporary Retail Store Closures document, the company says customers will be able to return items for up to 14 days after stores reopen.

Apple employees at the company’s Culver City offices may have been exposed to COVID-19 after an employee tested positive for the virus. Culver City is Apple’s entertainment hub where much of the work on Apple TV+ and Apple Music is done.

Many Apple employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly run into problems because of this company’s efforts to keep details on future projects from leaking out. This is forcing some of them to keep coming into the office.

Apple is prepared to pay authorized repairers maximum payouts for qualifying products amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a leaked internal memo distributed to Authorized Service Providers.

Cupertino has closed all of its own stores outside of Greater China, leaving third parties to tackle repair needs. It reportedly wants to ensure that those partners are supported financially while the outbreak spreads worldwide.

Apple Card owners who are impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have the option to skip their March payment without incurring interest.

In an email to customers, Apple said it understands that it may be difficult for some to keep up with their payments during the outbreak. The company is “committed to helping you lead a healthier financial life,” it added.

You must be aware, however, that you need to tell Apple if you don’t intend to pay this month.

There’s won’t be a COVID-19 version of Pac-Man, or any other equally tacky game. Apple today banned all entertainment applications that use this pandemic as a theme.

In addition, Apple reiterated an earlier rule requiring software that provides information about this global health crisis be from official sources.

Many Apple Stores across the United States are closed to consumers, but a select number are being staffed to handle pre-existing orders and already-scheduled repair pickups, according to social media posts, calls to selected stores and physical visits.

Cult of Mac was able to confirm 22 stores across the U.S. were manning their locations Saturday with a skeleton staff to finish fulfilling existing orders and repair jobs. Some stores and online agents said locations will be staffed into Sunday and as far out as March 16.

In an unprecedented move, Apple said late Friday it will immediately close all its retail stores outside Greater China in an effort to battle the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The stores will remain closed through March 27.

CEO Tim Cook revealed Apple’s decision to close hundreds of stores late Friday in an open letter-style press release titled “Apple’s COVID-19 response.” He wrote, “This global effort — to protect the most vulnerable, to study this virus, and to care for the sick — requires all of our care, and all of our participation.”

Apple has shuttered its 11 retail stores in Spain in an abundance of caution as the coronavirus continues to spread through Europe.

Cult of Mac has confirmed the closings will take effect Saturday after all the stores were open for business Friday. Social media reports indicate a small number of stores closed early on Friday.

Apple has suspended all filming of Apple TV+ projects currently in production, according to a published report Friday.

The shows include the science fiction series For All Mankind, the Stephen King miniseries Lisey’s Story, the science fiction drama See, the TV drama The Morning Show, the psychological horror television series Servant, and the Isaac Asimov sci-fi series Foundation.

An Apple Store employee, who went on leave earlier this month to care for a relative, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Apple and the employee from the Third Street Promenade store in Santa Monica learned of the positive test late Thursday, according to reports. The employee has not been back to the store since taking leave on March 2.

Microsoft is keen to go ahead with this year’s Build conference, but the event will now be online-only, the company confirmed on Friday. Build was scheduled to take place in Seattle from May 19 to May 21. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced Microsoft to go completely digital instead.

Microsoft’s announcement came just before Apple announced that WWDC 2020 will also go ahead with “an all-new online format.”

Apple on Friday confirmed that its annual Worldwide Developers Conference will go ahead in June with “an all-new online format” and not take place at a conference center as has happened since the first WWDC in 1987.

The high-tech giant said the approach was essential amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but that it was determined to deliver a full program with an online keynote and developer sessions. Apple has also confirmed it will commit $1 million to local San Jose organizations to offset revenue loss as a result of WWDC going online-only.

Two more cases of coronavirus have been detected at Apple’s Ireland HQ in Hollyhill, County Cork, a report published Friday by Irish news outlet The Echo.

This brings the number of COVID-19 cases reported at the Irish Apple offices to three. The first case was confirmed by Apple on Tuesday.

A second Apple TV+ production has taken a COVID-19-related hiatus. Apple and Skydance Television closed the set of Foundation, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s science fiction trilogy.

This week on The CultCast: iOS 14 leaks! We’ll run you through the best new features. Plus: Corona has hit the tech industry hard, and will mean delays for some of your most anticipated gadgets. Is Apple’s rumored March event canceled too? We’ll tell you what we know.

Apple is continuing to take preventative measures against the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. by canceling all ‘Today at Apple’ sessions at Apple stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Earlier this week, ‘Today at Apple’ sessions in Seattle and San Francisco stores were canceled until March 29. Cult of Mac confirmed Friday that the company has canceled all further sessions at all retail locations in the U.S. and Canada for the foreseeable future.

Production halts in China last month caused by the COVID-19 outbreak have resulted in iPhone shortages in some US stores, according to market analysts.

Fortunately, Apple’s top contract manufacturer said today it’s ramping production back up.

Apple’s updated gadget cleaning guidelines give you the tips you need to keep your iPhone clean during the COVID-19 pandemic. But if you bought a Galaxy smartphone instead, Samsung will clean it for you.

The South Korean company on Thursday launched the Galaxy Sanitizing Service — a free program that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV-C) light to rid your handset of germs and bacteria.

It’s apparently nearly back to business as usual at Foxconn, the company that assembles most iPhones. Its general manager says plants in China and Vietnam are once again getting the components they need.

Production had been tremendously slowed by the COVID-19 outbreak in China, but the epidemic is now nearly over in that country.