iOS 14 could offer home screen widgets and wallpaper customizations for the first time, according to 9to5Mac and Twitter user DongleBookPro.

Apple is reportedly working to implement widgets that can be moved freely around like icons on the iPhone and iPad homescreen for the very first time. The feature is reportedly codenamed "Avocado" and no other details are available. It was also mentioned that Apple is still working on implementing the feature and it may be scrapped.

In addition to home screen widgets, Twitter user...

Logitech has expanded its Powered lineup with the new 3-in-1 dock as well as a standalone pad. Whether you need to just charge your iPhone or your phone, AirPods, and Apple Watch, Logitech has you covered.

Drama with Apple’s graphics processing unit chip maker partner Imagination has been revived again, but not for the same reason as 2017. Sky News reports that the UK-based chip designer is hastily responding to the likelihood that its state-controlled Chines investor is planning to take over control of Imagination. The issue could have privacy ramifications Apple, an on-again-off-again customer of Imagination GPU chips.

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It’s no secret that Apple has ambitious plans for augmented reality and a future AR-focused headset. Apple is practically building the platform for its future headset out in the open with ARKit. What’s new is that Apple is believed to be in the process of acquiring a California-based virtual reality company called NextVR, 9to5Mac has learned.

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The post Exclusive: Apple likely buyer of NextVR, a live event streaming AR/VR company being sold for ~$100M appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Ever feel like you are not falling asleep? Sometimes it is difficult to go to sleep, even when you have a boring book to read at night. When all fails, you should try the technology. Yes, the Restly Sleep App is an amazing solution to make you sleep.

Make use of technology and go to sleep within two minutes. Buy the app with this deal and get a 60% discount. With this deal, you can get a lifetime subscription for Restly Sleep App for only $39.99. 

Restly Sleep App

This app uses scientifically proven methods to put a person to sleep. It has both male and female voices that help you to sleep. This scientific method comes directly from the US Army. The App also uses various soothing sounds to create an environment that makes you fall asleep. So, if you are having trouble sleeping, try using this App. 

You can combine various sounds with different voices to make it even easier to fall asleep. The app has several other features such as an alarm clock. It...

Earlier Apple informed its employees that they have to work from home until the start of May as the retail stores will remain closed till then. 

Deirdre O’Brien who is Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail and People told the employees via a memo that the stores will remain closed until May 2020. There will be flexible work arrangements for a few employees who come to work at the office. 

The memo also stated that Apple is constantly monitoring the situation and conditions for Apple facilities. Deirdre O’Brien also said Apple will decide to reopen the retail stores after careful analysis of the situation and also by utilizing guidance from public health experts and the local governments.

Apple Park and several retail stores are located in Sana Clara County, will remain closed until May 3, 2020. Apple has no plans to reopen its corporate stores until further order.

Apple had plans to reopen its stores in April, but in the USA it seems not a viable...

Apple, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ford Foundation and Laurene Powell Jobs have come together to launch America’s Food Fund. The purpose of this initiative is to provide food for those who are needy. 

GoFundMe which is a fundraising platform is hosting this initiative. According to GoFundMe, hunger is a big issue which many families and individuals face all across the USA. Before the coronavirus outbreak, there were more than 37 million people in the USA who were struggling to get the next meal. The number has only increased in the past few weeks. 

To start the fund, Ford Foundation, Apple, Powel, and DiCaprio have donated $12 million. This fundraiser will benefit World Central Kitchen and Feeding America, both these are hunger relief non-profit organizations in the USA. 

According to a...

On Thursday the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a next-gen version of HomePod that could have a built-in camera system that supports gaze controls and longer-range Face ID.

After over a year of rumors, we are finally nearing the release of Apple’s highly-anticipated low-cost iPhone. The 2020 iPhone SE, also previously referred to as the iPhone 9 and iPhone SE 2, is expected to be released imminently. Here’s everything we know about it.

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The post 2020 iPhone SE: Everything we know so far and what you should expect appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Global online music streaming subscriptions grew 32% year-on-year reaching 358 million subscriptions in calendar year 2019, according to the latest findings from Counterpoint Research. 

The research group says this is driven by the availability of exclusive content like podcasts, originals which attracted people towards the platform and eventually turned them as subscribers. Also, promotional activities like price cuts in subscriptions in emerging markets, bundled offers from telcos added to the growth. 

Counterpoint Research expects that online music streaming subscriptions to grow more than 25% year-on-year to exceed 450 million subscriptions by the end of 2020.

Spotify topped calendar year 2019 grabbing a 31% share of the total revenue and a 35% share of the total paid subscriptions. The...

Maybe 2019 was practice for Apple, as it is now used to releasing new products via a press release. That's what it had to do in March 2020 as the whole world self-isolated, and Apple Stores closed their doors.

New data from Counterpoint this week underscores the continued growth of streaming music as the competition intensifies between Apple Music and Spotify. According to the data, Apple Music’s subscriber base grew by 36% in 2019, giving Apple a 19% share of the total paid subscriptions in the industry.

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The post Apple Music gains on Spotify in subscribers and revenue, Counterpoint data indicates appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Although there are a lot of similarities in K–12 and enterprise networks, K–12 networks will have some requirements that must be considered when overhauling a network. Over the next few weeks, I am going to discuss all the various pieces of building a K–12 network. We will look at firewalls, switches, Wi-Fi, device management, and device selection. This week, I am going to look at picking the best firewall. more…

The post Making the Grade: A firewall is a crucial part of your network, here’s how to pick one appeared first on 9to5Mac.

I’ve been using my iPhone to track my runs since 2010 when I first signed up for RunKeeper when I had an iPhone 3GS. I’ve  only used a GPS watch for varying points in my running career, so for me, the iPhone has always been my primary run tracker. In recent years, many of the popular running apps have been moving towards a subscription model (which is understandable considering the apps need constant development), but I always believed there was room for a simple running that that was private by default and shared the data with Apple Health/Activity app. Finally, there is a simple iPhone Run Tracker, and its called OutRun.

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The post OutRun...

Apple has been granted a patent for an “audio system with configurable zones” that hints at future features for paired HomePods in, among other things, a home theater set-up.

In the patent data, the tech giant notes that speaker arrays may reproduce pieces of sound program content to a user through the use of one or more audio beams. For example, a set of speaker arrays may reproduce front left, front center, and front right channels for a piece of sound program content (e.g., a musical composition or an audio track for a movie).

However, Apple says that though speaker arrays provide a wide degree of customization through the production of audio beams, conventional speaker array systems must be manually configured each time a new speaker array is added to the system, a speaker array is moved within a listening environment/area, an audio source is added/changed, or any other change is made to the listening environment. Apple says that this...

On a regular basis, Apple World Today posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they're popular and deserve mention. Here are this week’s picks.

macOS

The Pixelmator Team has released Pixelmator Pro 1.6, codenamed Magenta, an update to its Mac image editor.

The update adds a color picker, includes the ability to quickly choose colors using hex color codes and makes it possible to select multiple objects by simply dragging over them. Along with these changes, Pixelmator Pro 1.6 Magenta brings some significant performance improvements, adds the ability to more easily see RGB color codes, includes a way to view recently used fonts, and features y other improvements and fixes.

Pixelmator Pro 1.6 Magenta is available today from the Mac App Store....

Disney has adjusted the theatrical release dates for its biggest upcoming movies this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, except for Artemis Fowl. Instead of pushing back its opening date from May 29th to a later one, the entertainment giant won&#3...

Apple has acquired Dublin based Voysis, a conversational AI platform that enables third parties to integrate high quality voice and natural language capabilities into their products.

Global online music streaming subscriptions were up 32 percent year-over-year in 2019, hitting 358 million subscribers, according to new estimates shared today by Counterpoint Research.

Spotify was the market leader with a 31 percent share of total revenue and a 35 percent share of total paid subscriptions, while Apple Music earned the second place slot with a 24 percent share of total revenues in the industry and a 19 percent share of the total paid subscriptions. ‌Apple Music‌'s subscription base grew an estimated 36 percent year-over-year.

Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tencent Music all trailed both ‌Apple Music‌ and Spotify."Spotify maintained its top spot with the help of promotional activities like free Spotify Premium for three months, price cuts, customized campaigns like Spotify and a focus on exclusive...

Google is temporarily rolling back a feature it launched with Chrome 80 to make sure it doesn't break websites in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Back in February, the tech giant started enforcing a new cookie classification system that wa...

Tim Cook is known to deliver a commencement address in front of graduating college students every spring. This year is no exception, although the global health pandemic calls for unique measures: a virtual appearance.

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The post Tim Cook keeping commencement address streak with virtual Ohio State graduation on May 3 appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the commencement address at Ohio State University's virtual commencement event that's set to take place on May 3, Ohio State President Michael Drake announced today.

The event, which will be live streamed, will kick off at noon local time, with 12,000 diplomas to be awarded virtually to students. The broadcast will include Cook's commencement speech, musical performances, and with Drake and university officials in traditional commencement regalia at Ohio Stadium, which will be empty of students."I am delighted to welcome ‌Tim Cook‌ as our spring commencement speaker," Drake said. "We are grateful for Mr. Cook's participation in this important tradition and know his unique insights will guide Buckeyes as they continue to innovate the future."Ohio State has an ongoing...

The battle between AI voice assistants continues to rage on, and now Apple has acquired a tech firm, Voysis, that is all about helping computers understand natural language. As reported by Bloomberg, the firm's now-deleted website said it could p...

Enlarge (credit: Ryan Pickren)

A security bug that gave malicious hackers the ability to access the cameras of Macs, iPhones, and iPads has fetched a $75,000 bounty to the researcher who discovered it.

In posts published here and here, researcher Ryan Pickren said he discovered seven vulnerabilities in Safari and its Webkit browser engine that, when chained together, allowed malicious websites to turn on the cameras of Macs, iPhones, and iPads. Pickren privately reported the bugs, and Apple has since fixed the vulnerabilities and paid the researcher $75,000 as part of the company’s bug bounty program.

Apple tightly restricts the access that third...

Analysis shows that Apple TV+ decisions about new content don’t seem to be resonating with viewers under lockdown.

Adds the new Live Stream output block for broadcasting audio to services using services that use Real-Time Messaging Protocol (such as Periscope, Twitch, and YouTube). ($49 new, free update, 16.1 MB)

Adds the capability to flip the amounts of transactions when importing from CSV. ($69.99 new, free update, 22.3 MB)

Brings bug fixes and improvements to the drive-cloning and backup utility. ($39.99 new, free update, 14.5 MB)

Brings a redesigned offline Research Assistant and several improvements to the network traffic management utility. ($45 new, free update, 40.5 MB)

Two weeks ago a group of Democratic Senators, who are all on record for bashing President Trump at every given turn, went on the attack raising concerns about Google's related COVID-19 screening website not guarding privacy. Now they're investigating Apple's agreements with The White House looking for anything to begin a new hearing against President Trump.

Introduces an all-new color picker that improves color selection and management. ($39.99 new, free update, 196.6 MB)

During the coronavirus pandemic, college football teams are faced with the interesting scenario of trying to get their players in peak physical shape for the fall season…remotely. A new report from The Athletic (paywall) details how Alabama has issued Apple Watch to all of its players before the college was shut down to keep the training of its players going and check in on their sleep and heart rate data, all while walking a tricky line of not breaking SEC rules.

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The videoconferencing service Zoom has seen a 20-fold increase in usage during the coronavirus pandemic. That extra attention has put a spotlight on poor technical and policy decisions that have exposed Zoom’s users to harm and revealed personal data unnecessarily. But hope blooms with the company’s latest comprehensive apology and roadmap.

Satechi launched its latest multi-device USB-C charger at CES back in January and it comes with the most ports and power you’ll find in pretty much any option on the market. Read on for our full review of Satechi’s 108W USB-C PD Desktop Charger.

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The post Review: Satechi’s 108W USB-C Desktop Charger offers Apple devices max power and ports appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Several Democratic senators asked Apple CEO Tim Cook about the privacy of the company’s new COVID-19 screening app and website, according to Bloomberg.

Senators Bob Menendez, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the tech giant expressing concern “for the safety and security of Americans’ private health data.” They want to know about data-sharing practices and safeguards, and whether the app complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The senators are also seeking information on Apple’s agreements with federal or state governments for the development of the app, according to the letter.

On March 27, Apple released a new screening tool and set of resources to help people stay informed and take the proper steps to protect their health during the spread...

The MacBook Air is again available with an i7 processor. We've benchmarked the base 2020 MacBook Air with i3 processor, and the high-end quad-core i7 MacBook Air to see how much of a performance difference there -- and to see if the i7 is worth the higher price tag.

While WrestleMania normally has up to 100,000 fans attend the big event, this year due to the coronavirus, it will be held in a more or less empty arena in Orlando. Follow along for how to watch WrestleMania 2020 for free on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and the web.

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The post How to watch WrestleMania 2020 for free on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and the web appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple has filed a rush application for their COVID-19 App icon/logo. They filed for the trademark on the very day that they sent out their press release on March 27, 2020 titled "Apple releases new COVID-19 app and website based on CDC guidance." USPTO only made it public today. In addition, Apple filed for a second trademark for ...

Democratic senators have reached out to Tim Cook to inquire about how Apple handles personal data on its new COVID-19 screening app and website.

These days, any connected device with a microphone could arguably be treated with suspicion, from smart speakers to phones to computers. Apple helped to address privacy concerns in 2018 by adding a feature that disconnects MacBook microphones when th...

Apple launched its user-friendly and helpful COVID-19 screening app and website last week. Even though the company publicly detailed it isn’t collecting responses, four US senators have asked Tim Cook for more details on the privacy policy of the app. Here’s what we found in our analysis of the app.

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The post US senators are asking Apple how private their COVID-19 app is, so we tested it appeared first on 9to5Mac.

The launch of the so-called 2020 "iPhone SE," largely expected to be an updated iPhone 8-style device, is imminent. Here's what's been discovered about the subject of rumors for the last three years.

Apple is offering employees significant discounts on products that include the HomePod and Beats headphones, according to details on the deals shared by MacGeneration and 9to5Mac.

Apple is said to be clearing stock of Beats headphones and HomePods, providing them to employees through an internal deals program. The ‌HomePod‌ is available at a 50 percent discount, dropping the price to $149.50, while Beats are also available at a reduced price.

There's no confirmed word on why Apple is offering HomePods and Beats headphones to employees at a discount, but in the case of the ‌HomePod‌, there are rumors that Apple is...

Are you looking for one of the latest models of Apple Macbook Air? One of the best places where you can find the Macbook with a discount is Amazon. Amazon offers special discounts for Apple products such as the latest Macbook Air.

With this deal, you can buy the 13-inch model of MacBook Air for $749.99 instead of $999. When you buy it here on Amazon you get 25% off. 

Apple MacBook Air

Preview
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Price

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NSO Group, the team behind the 2019 WhatsApp spyware attack, says Facebook proposed buying "Pegasus" software to better keep tabs on iOS users' activity.

Apple's original iPad went on sale 10 years ago today, which means that it's been 10 years since people finally started taking tablets seriously. Hyperbole? Not really. The idea of a tablet computer had been kicked around for years, fueled in large p...

The last time the iPhone SE appeared in an Apple presentation was in this 2018 slide showing it being scrapped for materials. (credit: Valentina Palladino)

An apparent leak on the Apple Store suggests that a new phone carrying the iPhone SE name is coming soon.

A product title for a Belkin screen protector in Apple's online store listed the supported devices as iPhone 7, 8, and SE. This seems to indicate that a new SE would be the same size as an iPhone 7 or 8, making the new SE bigger than its 4-inch predecessor from 2016. The product page has since been updated to remove the iPhone SE name; it just says 7 and 8 now.

This leak corroborates a vaguely sourced rumor from 9to5Mac...

John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the iPad on the tenth anniversary of release. Looking back, and forward, at its impact and potential.

Apple is now equipping iPads with a feature that cuts off the microphone at the hardware level when an attached case is closed, preventing apps from spying on you.

Read original article

Musicians who rely on concert ticket sales are hurting -- shows across the world have been cancelled, leaving bands with little recourse. Thankfully, platforms like Bandcamp and SoundCloud have been softening the blow. The latter is allowing musician...

Apple is planting its own flag in the streaming wars with Apple TV+, its in-house streaming service that features only original programming—no reruns of hit TV shows or last year’s blockbuster movies.

The company is said to be spending several billion dollars a year on original programming. That’s a lot of TV! Apple is attracting some of the best talent in TV and film production, including huge stars and directors, and locking down the television and movie rights to best-selling books.

Though the service is relatively new and has few shows available, there’s a lot in the works. This is a list of all its content for it that we know of so far, along with details about prominent stars, directors, producers, and release dates.

To read this article in...

According to court filings, when Facebook was in the early stages of building its spyware VPN called Onavo Protect, it noticed that it wasn’t as effective on Apple devices as it was on Android. So Facebook approached a hacking group called NSO Group to use its Pegasus malware.

According to the court documents, it seems the Facebook representatives were not interested in buying parts of Pegasus as a hacking tool to remotely break into phones, but more as a way to more effectively monitor phones of users who had already installed Onavo.

Twitter is making good on its promise to verify more health experts. Since the company said it would expand verification two weeks ago, more than 1,000 accounts have received the coveted blue checkmark, according to a company spokesperson. The accoun...

Here’s another reason to dislike Facebook (the world’s frenemy): according to a declaration from NSO CEO Shalev Hulio, two Facebook representatives approached NSO in October 2017 and asked to purchase the right to use certain capabilities of Pegasus. In other words, the company wanted to buy an Apple spying tool, according to Motherboard.

NSO Group Technologies is an Israeli technology firm known for its Pegasus spyware enabling the remote surveillance of smartphones. (An interesting side note: in October 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook sued NSO under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.)

Motherboard says that, three years ago, Facebook was in the early...

There has been a lot said about Apple's forthcoming AirTags in the last six months, including what we'll be able to do with them and how we'll do it once they're in our hands.

Over the last few years, Facebook has had a slew of privacy and security blunders and more details about one of them have come to light through a new court filing as the social media company is suing the spyware company NSO Group. It turns out Facebook tried to buy controversial government spyware to monitor iPhone and iPad users.

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The post Facebook tried to buy controversial tool to spy on iPhone users, court filing reveals appeared first on 9to5Mac.

What at first seemed like a potential April Fool's joke has turned out to be real: almost seven years after the original came out, Cellar Door Games has confirmed it's working on a Rogue Legacy sequel. The indie studio didn't share a rele...

Benjamin and Zac unpack the week of news including more features coming to iOS 14 and watchOS 7, Siri for Spotify on Apple Watch, Apple’s COVID-19 app, the Amazon Prime Video App Store situation, new AirTag leaks, Apple buying Dark Sky, breaking 2020 iPhone SE news, and much more.

Subscribe to receive new episodes every Friday: 

In the past few years of building up my collection of HomeKit products, I would tell people that the value of HomeKit is the ability to bring multiple products from multiple manufacturers into a single application that makes it easy to use. After installing my abode alarm system a few weeks back, something clicked for me. As I was settings up my automations, it clicked in my brain that the true benefit of HomeKit is to leverage automations from all of the devices exposed in your HomeKit ecosystem. more…

The post HomeKit Weekly: The true benefit of HomeKit is in the automations you can create appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack is a handy application that allows you to record audio from any Mac app including Safari, video calls, and much more. Now the app has gained support for live streaming with some of the most used services.

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The post YouTube Live and Twitch streaming now available in Audio Hijack from Rogue Amoeba appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Today is the tenth anniversary of the iPad, which means… you are probably not reading this post on an original iPad. After all, 10 years is a long time in the world of tech and you’ve probably moved on to bigger and better things by now, like the mos...

Woot today began a new flash sale on Netgear Orbi Mesh Routers, offering up to 50 percent discounts on two Orbi systems in refurbished condition. Both routers come with a 90 day warranty from Netgear.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Woot. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

To start, there's the Netgear RBK43 Orbi Wi-Fi Router with one router and two satellites for $174.99, compared to an original price of $349.99. This sale is also below Amazon's refurbished price of $219.99 in renewed condition. Orbi's tri-band router...

"Legend of the Skyfish 2" is this week's addition to Apple Arcade on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV:A hundred years have passed since the hero known as Little Red Hook ended the reign of terror of Skyfish, the Lord of the Deep Seas… and now the peace that civilization struggled so much to build is in danger again.

As the last Red Hook guardians, you and your master must use the atypical tool of your clan – the Combat Fishing Pole – as both a weapon and a grappling hook to face the rising threat.

Unveil an exciting story as you journey in a world full of intriguing characters and devious traps. Explore gorgeous landscapes and mysterious dungeons while defeating mutant abyssal creatures."Legend of the Skyfish 2" is available on the App Store with an...

WiFi-enabled pellet grills are a backyard luxury for aspiring pitmasters. They not only allow you to remotely monitor temperature, but to adjust settings from your phone. However, they're a significant investment, and not everyone is keen on usin...

A UK woman dropped her new iPhone 8 into the River Thames. Two months later she stumbled across it, the Mirror reported. After a spell in some dried race, she and her fiance turned the iPhone 8 on… and it worked.

At two metres beneath the surface, the phone was difficult to reach so the pair returned home to look for something to retrieve it with. After looking on Amazon, the pair eventually decided to fashion a homemade fishing net by attaching a kitchen sieve to the end of a broom. They next day they returned to the site with the contraption and spent 40 minutes fighting against the current to reach the phone.

Last week, Lyft announced that it would provide free bike rides for healthcare workers in New York City, Chicago, the Bay Area and Boston who are helping to keep the public safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The company is expanding its efforts to...

Global online music streaming subscriptions grew 32% year-on-year (YoY) reaching 358 million subscriptions in Current Year (CY) 2019. While Spotify was number one based on market share, the majority of their customers use the free tier.

Simon Stålenhag isn't a household name. But if you like robots and Scandinavian design, you've probably seen his work on the internet. The Swedish artist, musician and designer is known for producing images that combine rural or suburban life with fl...

Apple paid hacker Ryan Pickren $75,000 via its bug bounty program (via Forbes). The former Amazon Web Services engineer found seven zero-day vulnerabilities and used three of them to hijack an iPhone’s camera.

During December 2019, Pickren decided to put the notion that “bug hunting is all about finding assumptions in software and violating those assumptions to see what happens” to the test. He opted to delve into Apple Safari for iOS and macOS, to “hammer the browser with obscure corner cases” until weird behavior was uncovered… To cut a very long and technical story short: Pickren found a total of seven zero-day vulnerabilities in Safari (CVE-2020-3852, CVE-2020-3864, CVE-2020-3865, CVE-2020-3885, CVE-2020-3887, CVE-2020-9784, & CVE-2020-9787) of which three could be used in the camera...

John Voorhees wrote a terrific appreciation piece, for MacStories, on the under-appreciated iPad mini. Worth reading, especially worth scrolling through to see all the use cases for which the iPad mini is just perfect.

At the very least, I think the iPad mini is perfect for reading. It’s got the right screen proportion, bigger than iPhone, but still very light. And it supports trackpad and mouse input. Spot on.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Ne-Yo has teamed up with Apple TV+ children’s characters Helpsters for a new song. The pop star joins the Muppet-like creatures for a song about directions. It’s very sweet and, unfortunately for parents, very, very catchy. New episodes of Helpster arrive every Friday.

Apple Platform Security document:

All Mac portables with the Apple T2 Security Chip feature a hardware disconnect that ensures the microphone is disabled whenever the lid is closed. On the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers with the T2 chip, and on the 15-inch MacBook Pro portables from 2019 or later, this disconnect is implemented in hardware alone. The disconnect prevents any software—even with root or kernel privileges in macOS, and even the software on the T2 chip—from engaging the microphone when the lid is closed. (The camera is not disconnected in hardware, because its field of view is completely obstructed with the lid closed.)

That’s the Mac side. On the iPad:

iPad models beginning in 2020 also feature the hardware microphone disconnect. When an MFI compliant case (including those sold by Apple) is attached to the iPad and closed, the microphone is disconnected in hardware, preventing microphone audio data being made available to any...

The science community now has free access to a COVID-19 research portal that launched today. Vivli, a global independent, nonprofit data-sharing and analytics platform for clinical trial research, with the help of Insight Enterprises, an integrator of Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions for organizations of all sizes, developed the COVID-19 data sharing portal.

“Especially during this time of a public health emergency, data sharing is more important than ever,” said Rebecca Li, Vivli...

The science community now has free access to a COVID-19 research portal that launched today. Vivli, a global independent, nonprofit data-sharing and analytics platform for clinical trial research, with the help of Insight Enterprises, an integrator of Insight Intelligent Technology Solutions for organizations of all sizes, developed the COVID-19 data sharing portal.

“Especially during this time of a public health emergency, data sharing is more important than ever,” said Rebecca Li, Vivli...

Apple has accidentally leaked some info on two unreleased Apple products: the follow-up to the iPhone SE and the “AirTags.”

As noted by AppleInsider, Apple’s online Store appears to have leaked the official name of Apple's next iPhone, as a listing for an iPhone 8 screen protector was updated on Thursday to reflect compatibility with "iPhone SE." The Belkin InvisiGlass Ultra screen protector now shows support for the iPhone SE. Previously, the accessory noted compatibility with iPhone 8 and iPhone 7, according to a cached version of the webpage, notes AppleInsider. 

Previous rumors have suggested that the follow-up to the iPhone SE would be dubbed the “...

There’s nothing like a global pandemic to ruin your sleep patterns. You’re working from home, you’re worried about everything, and it’s just plain hard to get a good night’s sleep. Restly is an app designed to send you into deep sleep in just two minutes, proven by the military and scientific studies. Get a lifetime Restly subscription for $39.99 and sleep well tonight!

Its 2 a.m. and you’re tossing and turning. Every time you look at the clock, another 30 minutes have gone by and still, not a wink of shut-eye. Download Restly to learn the foolproof trick of getting to sleep in 2 minutes or less straight from the US army. Restly provides a scientifically-based...

Bloomberg reports that Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People, told employees in a memo that its retail stores in the U.S. will remain closed and work-from-home procedures will stay in place until early May due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the stores outside the Greater China area were closed on March 17.

The article said O’Brien told staff that the company anticipates that “flexible work arrangements will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May.” She added that Apple is “continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis” and that the company will make “reopening decisions on the basis of thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts.”...

Following yesterday’s big TV show sale, Apple is back with a fresh batch of movie deals highlighted by $5 essentials from the last few decades. You’ll also find price drops on recent releases at $10 alongside a smattering of other deals. Hit the jump for all of our top picks.

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The post Apple’s decades movie sale has iconic hits for $5, more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

It seems hardly a day can go by without more Zoom vulnerabilities being discovered – with not just one but two more being revealed today …

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The post Another day, another couple of Zoom vulnerabilities discovered … appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

In a memo to employees, Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and People Deirdre O’Brien told staff that the company anticipates that “flexible work arrangements will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May.”

She said that Apple is “continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis” and that the company will make “reopening decisions on the basis of thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts.”

Apple deciding to open a specific Apple Store will definitely be a canary in the coal mine, a sign that we’re heading back to normal, at least in that area.

Wondering what those early days will be like. Will there be social distancing methods in place? After all, until we have tests for everyone, and a widely available vaccine, how will stores prevent the spread of COVID-19?

...

Water resistance iPhone? Humbug! That’s nothing. Apple wants one that’s totally waterproof as evidenced by a newly granted patent (number 20200104021) for an “underwater user interface.”

The tech giant says that current methods for displaying user interfaces while an electronic device is under water “are outdated, time consuming, and inefficient.” Apple says underwater controls should be simpler and streamlined. It stands to reason that if the company is working on an underwater user interface, an iPhone that can be used to take photos and film videos underwater is also under consideration.

Here’s the summary of the invention: “The present disclosure generally relates to underwater user interfaces. In some embodiments, a method includes at an electronic device with a display and one or more input devices, receiving a first request to display a user interface for accessing a first function of the electronic device. In response to receiving...

This week on the AppleInsider Podcast, Andrew details how the 2020 iPad Pro compares to previous models, we explore Zoom's many privacy issues and its shady install process, Apple buys the Dark Sky weather app and what it all means, and we debate Apple Sherlocking third-party apps.

The smart speaker market size is projected to grow from US$4.4 million in 2017 to $23.3 million by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 23.4%, according to Valuates.

A smart speaker is a type of speaker and voice control system with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive behavior and hands-free activation. Demand for smart speakers has been steadily growing, especially in smart homes, owing to increased consumer demand for advanced, multifunctional products. In addition, the proliferation of smartphones has allowed applications to stream music to a specific unit, increasing demand for smart speakers, according to Valuates.

The highest smart speaker market share, region wise, was held by North America with 36.9%. However, Asia-Pacific is predicted to show the highest growth rate for the smart speaker market, with a CAGR of 24.93%.

Valuates says trends influencing the global smart speaker market...

The smart speaker market size is projected to grow from US$4.4 million in 2017 to $23.3 million by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 23.4%, according to Valuates.

A smart speaker is a type of speaker and voice control system with an integrated virtual assistant that offers interactive behavior and hands-free activation. Demand for smart speakers has been steadily growing, especially in smart homes, owing to increased consumer demand for advanced, multifunctional products. In addition, the proliferation of smartphones has allowed applications to stream music to a specific unit, increasing demand for smart speakers, according to Valuates.

The highest smart speaker market share, region wise, was held by North America with 36.9%. However, Asia-Pacific is predicted to show the highest growth rate for the smart speaker market, with a CAGR of 24.93%.

Valuates says trends influencing the global smart speaker market...

With many cities, states and countries asking people to remain at home, Google and Facebook location data is being used to help determine how many people are complying with the coronavirus lockdown …

more…

The post Google and Facebook location data shows coronavirus lockdown compliance appeared first on 9to5Mac.

One of the defining characteristics of Apple’s ecosystem over the last decade has been its carefully curated nature—what critics refer to as the “walled garden.” The idea being, essentially, that if you don’t like the way Apple runs its extremely popular platforms, you can take a hike.

Over time, Apple has loosened and even removed some of its restrictions, sometimes officially and other times merely tacitly. But many have still remained in place, and while there are definitely advantages to the way that the Cupertino-based company does things, there are also places where perhaps the company could stand to relax a bit more.

Case in point: This week, some users noticed that they could now rent and purchase movies and TV shows directly in the Amazon Prime iOS app, without having to resort to an arcane work-around. Apple confirmed that this is an “established program”—despite it being the first time it seems to have been publicly acknowledged—that exists with certain...

It's official: the Publix super market chain (my favorite, by the way) has announced that it’s rolling out contactless pay — including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay -- to all its stores, including GreenWise Market.

The rollout is expected to be completed by Saturday, April 4. CEO Todd Jones says this is one more measure Publix is taking to protect the health and well-being of its customers and associates during the coronavirus pandemic.

This digital payment method will be in addition to the existing mobile pay option through the Publix app, which customers can still use to finalize their purchases. Publix is privately owned and operated by its more than 200,000 employees and currently operates 1,242 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Young star Brooklynn Prince is the best thing about the latest Apple TV+ original series, a solid show that's nevertheless lacking in obvious breakout potential.

Webcams are hard to find. But if you have a dSLR camera, GoPro, or camcorder lying about, you may be able to conscript it for the same purpose.

The rumor mill has it that Apple could be planning to open orders for a new iPhone as soon as today. The handset has been referred to as the “iPhone SE 2” and “iPhone 9,” and per a source close to the story, could simply be tagged the “iPhone SE” while referencing the hardware as the 2020 version.

Apple will reportedly offer the handset in black, white, and Product (Red) color options, and is said to offer the following iPhone SE cases alongside it:

• Black silicone
• White silicone
• Red leather
• Black leather
• Midnight blue leather

Apple is also said to be offering the new iPhone SE in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities.

• 64GB
• 128GB
• 256GB

In addition, according to noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is expected to keep the price point around the same for the iPhone SE, and is thought to be setting a $399 price point for the handset.

The new iPhone SE is expected to have...

On the new episode of MacVoices, host Chuck Joiner provides five more ways to improve your videoconferencing skills. Find out what to do and what not to do. 

MacVoices is an Internet show that delivers in-depth discussions with the most influential people in the Mac industry as well as the individuals who are out there making it happen on the front lines of the global Apple community. Founded as an audio program in 2005, the show has evolved into audio and video versions to offer the best of both worlds.

Joiner is the producer and host of MacVoices. You can catch up with what he’s doing on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

As useful as Zoom has become, especially in the wake of Coronavirus and the need to videoconference, the company’s once again in hot water over how some of its software operates.

In addition to taking flak for not encrypting its data end to end, a developer has noted that Zoom installs into the macOS without ever clicking the installation button.

Per the tweet:

Ever wondered how the @zoom_us macOS installer does it’s job without you ever clicking install? Turns out they (ab)use preinstallation scripts, manually unpack the app using a bundled 7zip and install it to /Applications if the current user is in the admin group (no root needed).

This definitely fits into some questionable territory, and it’s something that’ll have to be looked into, or at least questioned.

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

Via...

Best Buy has a fresh 1-day sale today with a number of price drops across all areas of consumer technology, including Apple products, TVs, and more. Free shipping is available on orders over $35, and curbside pickup is also in option at most retail locations at this time. Head below for all of our top picks.

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The post Best Buy 1-day sale: Up to $1,100 off MacBook Pro, 25% off iPhone cases, more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple in a memo to employees on Thursday said it plans to keep all U.S. retail stores closed until early May as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the nation.

Tesla has announced a record-breaking quarter for the company when it comes to vehicle production and delivery. The automaker manufactured 102,672 and delivered 88,400 vehicles in the first quarter of 2020 ending on March 31st. Tesla called these res...

Apple today informed employees that its Apple retail stores in the United States will remain closed until early May, and Apple employees will continue to work from home until then.

In a memo to employees, excerpts of which were shared by Bloomberg, Apple's retail chief Deirdre O'Brien said that Apple is "continuing to monitor local conditions for every Apple facility on a daily basis" and that reopening decisions will be made on after "thorough, thoughtful reviews and the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts."

For now, Apple's flexible work arrangements "will remain in place for all offices, and all retail stores will remain closed, until early May."

In Santa Clara County, where...

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen, Apple has made the decision to keep all of its retail stores in the United States closed until at least May. In a message obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple’s SVP of Retail + People Deirdre O’Brien reassured store employees that Apple will continue to support them during this difficult time.

more…

The post Apple anticipates U.S. retail store closures to last until at least ‘early May’ appeared first on 9to5Mac.

The Apple Store appears to have leaked the official name of Apple's next iPhone, as a listing for an iPhone 8 screen protector was updated on Thursday to reflect compatibility with "iPhone SE."