Apple continues to dominate when it comes to customer support, according to Laptop Mag's annual tech support showdown, which is designed to help customers determine which companies are offering the most reliable customer service in the tech industry.

Apple received an aggregate score of 91, earning 54 points for its web-based tech support and 37 points for its phone-based tech support. Laptop Mag says that Apple's support staff are among the "fastest and most knowledgeable," offering up "accurate answers" to Mac questions across live chat, social media, and the phone.

In a more in-depth breakdown of Apple's score, Laptop Mag says its editors queried Apple about Dark Mode in macOS Mojave, disabling automatic updates, and turning off the webcams...

On April 24, 2015, the original Apple Watch launched in nine countries around the world. Four years later and we are now on the fourth iteration of the wearable device, the Apple Watch Series 4. Over the years Apple has worked on improving Apple Watch with a better and bigger display, water resistance, additional health and fitness features, and more.

Apple Watch (first generation)

As usual for Apple products, rumors about an Apple wearable device began ramping up in the years before the official Apple Watch launch. In 2013, Apple filed a trademark for an "iWatch," despite the fact that the device would eventually be known as the Apple Watch. Apple did the same thing for the iPad, seeking to secure rights for the...

On Monday a coalition of international companies, including technology giant Apple urged the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reaffirm its commitment to a 2013 policy statement on the issue of standards-essential patents. The letter to PTO director Andrei Iancu and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urged them to maintain support for the 2013 policy statement. On the flip side, Qualcomm, Nokia, Ericsson and others applaud the President, DOJ and PTO of withdrawing from the 2013 Obama patent policy.

Tomorrow marks a month since Apple announced its Apple News+ subscription service, which means if you signed up on March 25 following the event, you're going to start getting charged $9.99 per month.

If you're not happy with Apple News+ and want to avoid the fee, make sure to cancel today. Here's how:

• Open up the Apple News app.
• On iPad, scroll to the bottom of the side bar. On iPhone, tap the "Following" tab.
• Choose "Manage Subscriptions."
• Tap on "Cancel Free Trial."

Once you've canceled Apple News+, the free trial ends immediately and you won't be charged. If you don't cancel, your subscription will renew at $9.99 per month going forward. After canceling, you can opt to resubscribe, and you'll be charged $9.99...

A class action lawsuit originally filed against Apple in 2013 over broken iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, and later iPhone 5 power buttons is finally set to proceed to jury trial in San Diego state court beginning October 25, 2019.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple knowingly sold the aforementioned iPhone models with "defective" power buttons and refused to properly remedy the issue. For this, Apple is accused of "deceptive" or "fraudulent" business practices, breach of warranty, and violating multiple California consumer laws.

The proposed class includes California residents who purchased an iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, or iPhone 5 from Apple or a third-party retailer:iPhone 4 and 4S Class:

All California citizens who purchased one or more iPhone 4 or 4S smartphones from Apple or a third-party retailer, from June 24, 2010 through October 10, 2011 for the iPhone 4, and from October 11, 2011 through September 20...

Apple will likely launch two new AirPods models as early as the fourth quarter of 2019, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In his latest research note, obtained by MacRumors, Kuo forecasts that two new AirPods models will likely go into mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, with Luxshare, Goertek, and Amkor expected to be Apple's primary suppliers of the new earphones.

Kuo believes one of the new AirPods models will feature an "all-new form factor design" and a "higher price" than the second-generation AirPods, which cost $159 with a standard charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. The other model is expected to be a more iterative update with the same pricing.

Both new AirPods models are said to adopt a new system-in-package design internally, which can improve assembly yield rates,...

Apple Pay officially launched in Austria this morning. Apple's mobile payment system is now supported by the country's largest bank Erste Bank und Sparkasse, as well as German-based mobile bank N26, allowing customers to add bank cards to their digital wallet.

Apple says additional Apple Pay partners "coming soon" to Austria will include Bank Austria, Boon, Edenred, Revolut and VIMPay.

Last month, both Erste Bank und Sparkasse and N26 banks announced that Apple Pay was coming to Austria, with support for Maestro, Mastercard, and Visa debit and credit cards.

Apple Pay...

Earlier today President Trump met with Twitter's founder and CEO Jack Dorsey in the oval office for about 30 minutes. The meeting came just hours after the president lashed out at Twitter ...

Apple has launched a new YouTube channel that's dedicated to its TV app, offering up trailers, behind the scenes commentary, interviews, show clips, and more.

Apple appears to have debuted the new channel, which was noticed this morning by MacStories, about a month ago. The channel seems to have launched when Apple announced plans for a revamped Apple TV app and a new Apple TV+ streaming service.

Quite a few videos have been uploaded, many of which are clearly labeled with titles like "Official Trailer," Interview," or "Clip."

Trailers for many popular upcoming movies are included, such as "The Lion King," "The Secret Life Of Pets 2," and "The Joker," along with clips and interviews from "Game of Thrones," "Veep," and more....

Apple's Powerbeats Pro, set to launch in May, will only be available in black when they first go on sale. The detail, first noticed by 9to5Mac, was recently added to the Powerbeats Pro listing on the Beats website.

Powerbeats Pro will eventually be available in Ivory, Moss, and Navy alongside the standard Black color, with Apple offering a greater range of colors than are available with the AirPods.

Powerbeats Pro in Black availability begins in May. Ivory, Moss and Navy will be available this summer. Color availability is subject to change.Apple announced the Powerbeats Pro in Early April, positioning the $250 earbuds as an AirPods alternative...

Apple has indicated that most MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboard repairs will be required to be completed at Apple Stores until further notice, rather than being shipped to an off-site Apple repair center, according to an internal memo shared with Apple Store employees last week and obtained by MacRumors.

Apple's memo, titled "How to support Mac customers with keyboard-related repairs in store," advises Genius Bar technicians that these keyboard repairs should be "prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time":Most keyboard-related repairs will be required to be completed in store until further notice. Additional service parts have been shipped to stores to support the increased volume.

These repairs should be prioritized to provide next-day turnaround time. When completing the...

On the latest episode of the Connected podcast on Relay FM, MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci suggested that USB mouse support could eventually be coming to the iPad Pro as an accessibility feature.

"What I heard is without adapters, you will be able to use any USB mouse on your iPad, but as an accessibility device," said Viticci. "The iPad Pro has a USB-C port, so just plug in a USB mouse and if you have physical impairments, if you have any other kinds of motor impairments, just use a USB mouse in accessibility mode."

It has long been possible to use a compatible adaptive accessory like a joystick or trackball with Apple's accessibility feature AssistiveTouch...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 54 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover a single granted patent that takes Animojis to the next level by allowing a user to replace their head and face with an Animoji character while the user's body and movements are naturally from the user. Who says you can't stay young forever?

AT&T and Sprint have settled a lawsuit that Sprint levied against AT&T for its misleading "5G Evolution" or "5GE" branding that AT&T uses for its upgraded 4G LTE network.

A spokesperson for AT&T today told Law360 that the matter has been "amicably settled." Details on the terms of the settlement have not been shared, but AT&T is planning to continue to use its 5GE branding.

AT&T earlier this year began displaying a 5GE icon on some iPhone and Android smartphones. 5GE is AT&T's misleading name for an enhanced 4G LTE network and is not actual 5G connectivity, which incensed Sprint.

After AT&T rolled out the 5GE terminology, Sprint...

The trend of offering in-display fingerprint sensors is quickly growing and the popularity of OLED panels paired with this technology will continue to expand in 2019. The trend is being driven by the reduction in sensor prices and the price gap between OLED and LTPS LCD panels according to industry source. While Apple may use in-display-like technology in the future on a number of devices, for now Apple's Face ID is for premium iPhones that the competition can't match.

Apple will today seed the third beta of an upcoming iOS 12.3 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the second beta and a month after the launch of iOS 12.2, an update that introduced Apple News+, new Animoji, and more.

Registered developers will be able to download the new iOS 12.3 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center. The beta will be available right around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time or 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3 introduce a new version of Apple's TV app, which has been updated with a new look and fresh functionality.

In the new TV app, "Watch Now" and "Up Next" are still front and center for keeping track of...

iOS 13 will enable developers to integrate Siri into their apps for several new use cases, including media playback, search, voice calling, event ticketing, message attachments, flights, train trips, and airport gate and seat information, according to 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo.

In a report today, Rambo detailed several other developer-focused features that he expects Apple to announce at WWDC in June, including the ability for iOS apps ported to the Mac to use Mac-specific features such as the Touch Bar and keyboard shortcuts along with support for multiple windows.

Rambo says enabling Mac support for an existing iOS app is "as easy as checking a checkbox" in Xcode, akin to adding iPad support to an iPhone app.

Apple's...

Sony today announced that some of its upcoming smart TVs will support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit in summer 2019, including its A9G series of 4K OLED TVs, Z9G series of 8K LED TVs, and X950G series of 4K LED TVs.

The TVs themselves will be released on a staggered basis, starting with the X950G series in late April and followed by additional models in May and June, including a 98-inch 8K TV for a whopping $70,000. AirPlay 2 and HomeKit will presumably be rolled out in a subsequent software update.

Apple also lists Sony's upcoming X850G series of 4K TVs in its AirPlay 2–enabled TVs list, but no timeframe for those features...

2020 iPhones will support 5G networks, with chipmaker Qualcomm likely to supply Apple with 5G modems for the devices after the two companies settled their high-profile legal battle last week, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Interestingly, Kuo also expects Samsung to fulfill some of the 5G modem orders as well. Apple frequently aims to diversify its supply chain in an effort to reduce risk and have improved bargaining power, potentially reducing its costs.

An excerpt from Kuo's latest research note, obtained by MacRumors:Apple and Qualcomm’s end of patent dispute and entrance into a six-year licensing deal implies new 2H20 iPhone models will support 5G; Qualcomm and Samsung are potential 5G baseband chip suppliers. The market was worried that Intel’s disappointing 5G baseband chip development might be the most...

American department store JCPenney has removed support for Apple Pay from its retail stores, it emerged over the weekend.

The withdrawal of support for Apple's digital payment system was confirmed on Saturday by the company's customer service Twitter account in response to a query, but offered no reason for its decision.

JCPenney made the decision to remove Apple Pay for our stores, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We will definitely forward your feedback regarding this for review.

— Ask JCPenney (@askjcp) April 20, 2019

The option to use Apple Pay at checkout in the JCPenney iOS app has also been removed, reports...

SlashLeaks posts an image that is alleged to be iPhone XI and XI Max molds for 3rd party case production.

These physical molds are presumably produced by case manufacturers based on leaked schematics to test early cases for the upcoming 2019 iPhones.

The front design is also shown on a Weibo post which may have been the original source for the images:

The square grouping of the triple-camera is consistent with other rumors and images that have leaked from the supply chain regarding...

iOS apps and features including Shortcuts, Screen Time, and iMessage effects will be coming to macOS later this year, after they're first unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in June. The information was shared today by 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo, who spoke with people familiar with the development of macOS 10.15.

The major update to macOS, which is expected to launch in the fall, will include support for Siri Shortcuts. Apple updated the previous Workflow app for iOS to become Siri Shortcuts in September 2018, alongside the release of iOS 12. It allows you to create multi-step automations that you can initiate with a simple Siri command.

Today, Shortcuts has...

Foxconn Technology Group said Thursday it remained committed to "long term" job creation in Wisconsin. Foxconn also mentioned its other planned projects in the state, including innovation centers in Green Bay, Eau Claire and Racine, and a $100 million partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison for medical and other research.

Apple supplier Foxconn today said that it remains committed to its contract to build a display plant and research facility in Wisconsin (via Reuters). The company's comment comes a few days after Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said that the state wanted to renegotiate the Foxconn deal, partly due to the belief that the Taiwanese company was not expected to reach its goal of creating 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin.

Foxconn's original goal for the project was to eventually employ 13,000 workers on the site, and today the company has confirmed that it "remains committed" to this plan. Foxconn initially announced the project in 2017 at a White House event alongside President Donald Trump. Governor Evers recently took office in January 2019, inheriting...

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published another continuation patent from Apple that relates to new features added to their long standing head mounted display (HMD) system. Patently Apple covered one of Apple's first patent with these particular patent figures back in 2010. We covered one of their continuation patents back in 2015. Today Apple evolves their HMD one more time with a specific sensor tracking head movements and more

Today a "continuation patent" patent was published by the U.S. Patent Office regarding Apple's Magic Mouse, that is technically patented as the "Ambidextrous Mouse." After being in the market for over 9 years, Apple decided to update their patent for gestures. Why you might ask? Well ....

Unlike a competing site's report this morning that claims that it's a new patent filing, the patent itself reveals it's nothing more than a "continuation patent" not a new patent in the least. Apple's continuation patent covers an emphasis on force touch being an important part of their original invention

All three 2019 iPhones will feature 12-megapixel front-facing TrueDepth cameras, up from 7-megapixels on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, according to the latest research note from well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The note, obtained by MacRumors, adds that the next iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models with 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED displays respectively will feature triple-lens rear cameras, including a 12-megapixel telephoto lens, 12-megapixel wide-angle lens, and a 12-megapixel super-wide-angle lens supplied by Sony:We forecast the camera upgrade will be one of the new 2H19 iPhone's major selling points. Critical spec upgrades are as follows. (1) Rear cameras of 6.5-inch OLED, 5.8-inch OLED, and 6.1-inch...

Samsung this week provided reviewers with Galaxy Fold devices for some hands-on time, and it appears the folding smartphone may be suffering from some serious flaws. Three of the reviewers who received a Galaxy Fold have already experienced failures, all of which focus on the display.

The Verge's Dieter Bohn says that his Galaxy Fold device broke after a random bulge appeared on the display, perhaps from a piece of debris that had gotten into the hinge. The debris, or whatever the bulge was, pressed into the display hard enough to break it.

Broken Galaxy Fold OLED display via The Verge

Bohn says that he did not mistreat the phone, doing "normal phone stuff" like putting it in a pocket and opening and closing the hinge.It's a distressing thing to discover just two days after receiving my review unit. More...

Apple is facing a class action lawsuit accusing the company of securities fraud for making false statements and failing to disclose adverse information regarding its business prospects. These actions allegedly led to an artificially inflated stock price.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims that Apple was not initially forthcoming about a drop in demand for the iPhone due to poor sales in China and the 2018 battery replacement program, both of which contributed to lower than expected iPhone sales in the first fiscal quarter of 2019.

Apple is also accused of hiding the fact that production orders from suppliers had been slashed and prices had been cut, Apple's decision not to provide unit sales for iPhones and other hardware is also cited as a method Apple used to cause stock prices to rise to $209 per share.

When Apple did reveal the dip in iPhone sales and announced that it would not make its...

The City of Roseville Employees’ Retirement System has filed a lawsuit against Apple. This is a securities fraud class action on behalf of all purchasers of Apple common stock between November 2, 2018 and January 2, 2019. The court filing lists Apple Inc., Timothy D. Cook and Luca Maestri as defendants.

Apple is a developing a new app that combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single package, according to 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo. The report cites sources familiar with ongoing testing of the app.

In addition to existing Find My iPhone features like Lost Mode and the ability to remotely erase a device, the report claims the new unified app includes a new "find network" feature that allows Apple devices to be tracked even when they are not connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

The app would also incorporate existing Find My Friends features, including location sharing and location-based notifications from friends and family.

The report claims the...

Late yesterday Intel Corporation announced its intention to exit the 5G smartphone modem business and complete an assessment of the opportunities for 4G and 5G modems in PCs, internet of things devices and other data-centric devices.

Apple this morning shared a new video in its ongoing "Shot on iPhone XS" series, this time focusing on awe-inspiring natural scenes caught on Apple's smartphone camera by artist group Camp4 Collective.

Titled "Don't Mess With Mother," the one-minute video features various stark images of nature in action, captured from around the world, synced to the song "Last Rites" by Megadeth.

Shots in the clip include galloping zebra, scurrying desert insects, ice-capped mountain vistas, charging antelopes, mingling elephants, swimming lizards, snow avalanches, lava-spewing volcanoes, and more.

Apple has shared many "Shot on iPhone" videos and photos over the course of the last several years, including one posted last week that focused on the Maldives Shark Research Programme, a charity focused on whale shark research and...

Apple is planning to purchase 5G modem chips from Qualcomm for use in its 2020 iPhones, according to a source with knowledge of today's settlement plans that spoke to Nikkei.

Apple won't be able to use Qualcomm chips in its 2019 iPhone lineup, but has already been testing Qualcomm's 5G chips for 2020 devices.

"It is too late for Apple to use Qualcomm's chips this year, but for 2020 it will purchase modem chips, including 5G modem chips, from the chipmaker for iPhones after finalizing the deal," a source with direct knowledge of the settlement plan told Nikkei.

As it moved toward a settlement, Apple started testing Qualcomm's 5G modem chips and asked some of its suppliers to test the chipmaker's product, Nikkei has learned.Qualcomm and Apple have reportedly been negotiating for weeks to reach the settlement that was...

The battle between Apple and Qualcomm could have been really ugly and the stakes were high. Before it really got started, it ended with Apple and Qualcomm having reached an agreement.

Facebook's executive team, including Mark Zuckerberg, used the data of Facebook users as leverage over partner companies, according to leaked emails, webchats, presentations, spreadsheets, and more obtained by NBC News.

More than 4,000 pages of leaked documents from 2011 to 2015 provide insight into how Facebook was taking advantage of user data while publicly promising to protect user privacy before and after its 2015 move to end broad access to user data.

The documents were sent to NBC News by British journalist Duncan Campbell and originated from a 2015 lawsuit filed against Facebook by startup Six4Three after Facebook cut back on third-party data access. Six4Three had an app called Pikinis that let users find photos of their friends in swimsuits that was not able to function after Facebook's data changes.

...

Apple's high-profile trial against chipmaker Qualcomm kicked off in San Diego federal court on Monday with jury selection.

Among the nine jurors selected are a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, a woman who has never owned a smartphone, a retired clinical psychologist, a pilot, an accountant, a retired nurse, and an environmental consultant, according to reports from CNET and Bloomberg.

Opening statements will be heard today. Apple has accused Qualcomm of anticompetitive business practices by way of demanding excessive patent royalties, while Qualcomm alleges that Apple manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 62 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover patents relating to radio-navigation used in an Apple Watch; Apple's eco-friendly paper bags for Apple Stores; and 3D lighting techniques. We wrap up this week's granted patent report with ...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 62 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover two relating to the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar and a scanning depth engine that covers capturing imagery much further than available today on the iPhone's TrueDepth camera.