With the unveiling of Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, Apple introduced two new styles of band called the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop. Compatible with Apple Watch Series 4 and later watches, these new bands have no clasp, buckle or other fastener. Instead, they use a single strap of material with a stretchy design that allows them to be pulled on and off your wrist over your hand.

As a consequence of the "Solo" design, Apple offers customers 18 different size options to find a perfect fit. The company also provides a printable tool that can be printed out and used to measure your size before buying one of the bands. The tool is the easiest way to check which size is right for you, but you do still need to take care when using it.

Many MacRumors readers have found that their band orders don't quite fit. A...

Apple has paid in the high $40 millions for the rights to upcoming movie "Cherry," reports Deadline. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who were responsible for "Avengers: Endgame," "Cherry" is a crime drama that's an adaptation of a novel by Nico Walker.

In "Cherry," actor Tom Holland (known for his role as Spider-Man) plays a Cleveland man named Walker who joins the army after being spurned by the love of his life. He becomes an Army medic in Iraq and is traumatized by the experience, suffering from PTSD.

To treat his PTSD, Walker is treated with Oxycontin, and that eventually leads to a heroin addiction. To pay for the drugs, Walker begins robbing banks.

The $40 million+ price tag for "Cherry" marks one of the biggest film deals of the year, and it provides Apple with an awards...

Apple fans were stunned last March when Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, Dan Riccio, stated in an email statement that the AirPower device project had been cancelled. Late yesterday, Samsung released a new multi-device wireless charger, almost laughing at Apple.

Facebook is now actively seeking an option to make its Messenger app the default app for messages on iPhones, reports The Information.

Emboldened by changes in iOS 14 that allow users to set a default email and browser app of their choice, Facebook believes it now has a more persuasive case to argue for a similar change for messaging apps. Last year, Apple also allowed Siri to send messages through other apps.

"We feel people should be able to...

Apple has acquired a startup that makes listening to podcasts more like tuning into radio stations

Today, the first three episodes of the new Apple TV+ series are now available. Apple has released a "Behind the Scenes" video to get Apple TV+ fans pumped up for the series, as presented in our report.

B&H Photo today has a new sale offering the AirPods Pro bundled with AppleCare+ at $229.95. In total, you'd normally pay $278 for this bundle (AirPods Pro at $249 and AppleCare+ at $29), so this is a savings of $48.

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

AppleCare+ for the AirPods Pro extends your warranty coverage by two years from the purchase date. It includes repair and express replacement to the headphones, battery, and USB charging cable, as well as up to two incidents of accidental damage at $29 each.

$48 OFFAirPods Pro w/ AppleCare+ for $229.95

This sale will only last this weekend, so be sure to...

After almost a decade since the game's release on Mac, Valve's iconic co-op zombie shooter "Left 4 Dead 2" has just got a huge update thanks to new content pack "The Last Stand."

It has been many years since the infection first hit. Radio silence, no sign of life, nothing but lingering hopes... CEDA is not going to save us. But there is hope! A few brave souls have continued the fight against all odds, and soon we can all benefit from their resilience.Created by the L4D2 community and officially endorsed by Valve, the update includes over 1,000 changes to the game, including 26 new survival maps, new weapons, new enemy types, new animations, and unused dialogue. There are also several new achievements, many bug fixes and a handful of user interface enhancements to make the game feel fresh again.

The only downside...

Apple's espionage thriller "Tehran" premiered today on its TV+ video streaming service. The first three of eight episodes in the series are now available to watch, with a new episode to come out each Friday over the next five weeks.

"Tehran" tells the story of a Mossad agent who goes deep undercover on a dangerous mission in Iran's capital that places everyone around her in dire jeopardy.

The show stars Israeli actress Niv Sultan, along with Shaun Toub, Shervin Alenabi, Liraz Charhi, and Menashe Noy. Apple partnered with Cineflix Rights and Israeli network Kan 11 to co-produce the series.

Apple TV‌‌+ is priced at $4.99 per month and provides access to ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌+ shows and movies for the whole family. ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌+ can be viewed on iPhone, iPad, ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌, Mac, Roku devices, Amazon Fire...

In order to continue improving its Podcast offerings experience, Apple earlier this year purchased podcast app Scout FM, reports Bloomberg.

The website for Scout FM is now defunct, but it was available on iPhones, Android devices, and Amazon smart speakers. Scout FM generated podcast stations covering various topics, similar to a radio station but for a podcast experience.

A person could select a specific topic and then find podcasts related to that topic, with the service also offering up recommendations based on listening history and personal preference. TechCrunch explained how it worked in 2018:Scout.fm wants to change the way people listen to podcasts. Instead of scouring through the...

The Amazon event held today introduced a number of new products and services. Our report begins with Amazon's launch of their new cloud-based gaming service called "Luna" that's available on your Mac, PC and/or Fire TV devices starting today. They also introduce a bizarre home drone

Apple has reversed course and created an online band-only return method for customers who purchased an Apple Watch Series 6 or Apple Watch SE with the wrong size Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop band.

Apple's new Series 6 and SE models can be purchased with new Solo Loop or Braided Solo Loop band options that have no clasp or fastener, instead using stretch to fit over the hand. As there is no on-band sizing mechanism, the Solo and Braided Solo Loops come in nine sizes, leading to fit issues.

As we reported on Monday, customers who ordered and received a new Apple Watch with a Solo Loop or a Braided Solo Loop and then found that the band did not fit properly were told by Apple's staff that the only online return option involved returning the entire watch.

Following customer complaints and the attention...

Apple today released updates for Final Cut Pro X, iMovie, Motion, and Compressor, introducing a handful of bug fixes to address issues that have popped up since the last major update.

Final Cut Pro fixes issues released to brightness, keyframes, the transform tool, and more, with notes below.- Fixes an issue in which XAVC media from the Sony PXW-FX9 camera is not recognized

- Fixes an issue where brightness levels shift when switching between Better Quality and Better Performance in the viewer

- Fixes an issue in which effect keyframes are not added correctly when using onscreen controls

- Improves stability when using the transform tool with multiple clips in the timeline

- Improves reliability when exporting an FCPXML that contains Compound clips

- Addresses an issue which could prevent sharing at certain resolutions

- Fixes an issue in which sharing a Compound or Multicam clip from the timeline...

The next chapter awaits. Unlock the magic with a new season of the Emmy Award Winner Ghostwriter, available October 9 exclusively on Apple TV+

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a continuation patent application from Apple titled "Dynamic Focus 3D Display." The focus of Apple's patent is on a direct retinal projector system that provides dynamic focusing for an HMD's display delivering superior quality virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) content over conventional methods of presenting the content on the headset's display.

A range of companies, including Epic Games, Spotify, and Tile, have formed a new organization called the "Coalition for App Fairness," in an effort to highlight developer issues with Apple.

The organization describes itself as "an independent nonprofit organization founded by industry-leading companies to advocate for freedom of choice and fair competition across the app ecosystem." The coalition is based in Washington D.C. and Brussels, and aims to lead legal and regulatory changes with regards to what it says are three key issues; "anti-competitive policies," "30 percent app tax," and "no consumer freedom."

It sets out a ten-point plan on...

A year ago, Patently Apple posted a major patent report titled "Apple Reveals a Major Modular Wall Unit System that Automatically Configures Smart Homes & Buildings." Some of the embodiments illustrated in our cover graphic relate to a modular and configurable system for a home or building. Today's patent filing greatly expands on Apple's vision of a fully featured smart home with invisible tripwires and more

In watchOS 7, Family Setup is a new feature that allows kids, elderly relatives, and others to take advantage of many of the capabilities of Apple Watch without the need for their own paired iPhone.

Family Setup offers helpful tools for parents and kids, with Schooltime and Downtime features that offer controls over when and what kids can do with their Apple Watch. For older adults, it provides access to tools like fall detection, automatic emergency calling, and health features without the need for them to have an ‌‌iPhone‌‌.

However, if you were thinking of getting an Apple Watch Series 6 for a relative in your Family Setup circle so they could take advantage of the Blood...

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a next-gen hinge system primarily for future iPad Smart Keyboard accessories. The new hinge system is also shown in conjunction with a possible future MacBook-like portable device. Microsoft was first to move to flexible hinge system for their Surface book and Apple's next-gen flexible hinge presents a similar style of hinge though technically different using multi-roller and spacer elements.

Ahead of the release of macOS Big Sur, Apple has released the Safari 14 update for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave users, bringing with it a number of new features and improvements.

One of the most dramatic changes is the overhauled Start Page, which now includes a browsing privacy report, iCloud tabs, Siri suggestions, and more. It also features several customizable options, such as the ability to choose your own Start Page wallpaper.

My new Safari 14 enjoy with @dlanham wallpapers pic.twitter.com/iokdA5YHB1

— NOB NUKUI (@nobtaka) September 18, 2020

The new Safari 14 update can be downloaded by opening up System Preferences and choosing the Software Update option. Once the update is installed, you can choose...

Apple in September announced Apple One, a new services bundle that allows Apple device customers to purchase several services together in one package instead of separately, saving money for those who use multiple Apple service products.

Our dedicated Apple One guide covers everything that you need to know about the Apple One bundles, which are launching this fall.

Bundle Options

There are three Apple One bundle options to provide different levels of service access to customers at different price points.

• Individual ($14.95 per month) - Includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB iCloud storage.
• Family ($19.95 per month) - Includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage, with the services able to be shared between up to six family members.
• Premier ($29.95 per month...

NHS COVID-19, a contact tracing app created by the UK government, is rolling out to residents of England and Wales as of today, with the app available from the iOS App Store.

The app's debut comes a week and a half after the UK government said that it would launch on September 24, and a month and a half after the app became available to NHS Volunteer Responders, Isle of Wight residents, and Newham residents, all of whom have been testing the app.

Like other apps that take advantage of the Exposure Notification API from Apple and Google, NHS COVID-19 is designed to track who people come into contact with each other using Bluetooth, providing...

Apple's upcoming iPhone-centric event could perhaps be held on Tuesday, October 13, according to information shared with MacRumors by an employee at a UK cellular carrier.

There's no way for us to confirm the dates at this point in time nor are we sure on the credibility of the source, but even without a rumor, Tuesday, October 13 is a good guess based on Apple's historic launch timelines, preference for Tuesday launches, and penchant for holding events during the second week of the month.

The employee claimed that Apple would accept pre-orders directly after the event and launch the new iPhones on October 16, but that would be an unusually short time between the event and the launch date. It's quite possible that the source is confusing the pre-order and launch date timelines, with pre-orders actually set to happen on the 16th. If that's the case, a launch would logically follow on October 23, and that's what other sources have suggested.

The October...

In September 2020, Apple updated its popular Apple Watch lineup, introducing an entirely new model of Apple Watch: Apple Watch SE. This new model offers many of the Apple Watch features that have made the device so popular over the years, but at a much more competitive price starting at $279. As an even lower-cost option, Apple continues to sell the Apple Watch Series 3, which first arrived in 2017, for $199.

As these two models composite the lower-cost Apple Watch offerings and share many features, including a Retina Display, water resistance, and an optical heart sensor, it may not be immediately clear which model is better for you. Is it worth purchasing the older, cheaper Series 3...

Apple on Tuesday updated one of its support documents to emphasize that the new silicone rubber Solo Loop for the Apple Watch may increase in length over time, as mentioned in fine print at the bottom of the Solo Loop product page.

Apple has also updated its printable Solo Loop sizing guide with more specific instructions, as noted by 9to5Mac's Michael Steeber. The guide now advises users to wrap the sizing tool tightly around their wrist where they would typically wear their watch, and to make sure that the tool feels snug and does not slide up or down.

If the arrows on the sizing tool end up pointing to a line between two numbers, the sizing guide now advises users to choose the smaller of the two numbers. The guide has been updated with...

Popular calendar app Fantastical today received an update with support for new iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 features, including Home Screen widgets and Scribble.

A dozen customizable widgets are available, providing users with the date, a monthly calendar, scheduled events and tasks, and even the weather at a glance. All of the widgets are free to use, while widgets that incorporate Fantastical Premium features like conference call detection require a subscription for $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year.

Scribble support allows iPad users to handwrite in any field with the Apple Pencil and have it automatically converted to text.

The full release notes for version 3.2:- Widgets for iOS 14! 12 new and customizable widgets to view the date, weather, calendar, upcoming events, and tasks right on your home screen.

- Support for Scribble on iPadOS 14

- Support for...

Last Friday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Announces the Official Opening Date for their new Online Store in India," which was September 23. Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People stated last Friday that "We’re proud to be expanding in India and want to do all we can to support our customers and their communities. Today their online store went live. For our Indian fans, our report also presents a video on how-to order an iPad at the store that's in Hindi.

A number of Apple Watch owners who have updated to watchOS 7 are reporting an issue involving missing GPS mapping data after recording exercise in Apple's wrist-based Workout app.

Several MacRumors readers have been in touch to highlight the problem, which was first noted in a thread on Apple's support communities by a user who upgraded their iPhone XS Max to iOS 14 and Apple Watch Series 4 to watchOS 7.

Later, I went for a walk. I used the Outdoor Walk activity on my Watch, but this time didn't take my iPhone. When I returned, and attempted to upload the activity to Strava, I received a warning that no GPS/route data was present. I checked the Fitness and Health apps, and sure enough, there was no route on the map - only the starting point.

I spoke to someone at Apple Support and they suggested I turned off/back on a couple of related privacy settings. I have since tried another Outdoor Walk...

After announcing last week that it would be launching its online store in India on September 23, the store has now gone live, opening up direct sales for Apple in a largely untapped market with significant growth potential.

As in other countries, Apple's Indian online store offers a full range of Apple products and accessories, with shopping assistance from Apple Specialists, free no-contact delivery, a trade-in program for iPhone sales, free one-on-one online training sessions with certain product purchases, build-to-order Mac options, and multiple payment options.

Tag: India
This article, "Apple's Online Store Launches in India" first appeared on...

It's being report late this afternoon that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet on Wednesday with state attorneys general about removing a liability shield protecting social media companies. An executive order is likely to be issued against political bias on social media.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover and insanely detailed AirPods Pro Case Hinge. Who knew that such a small part of a case would receive so much attention and detail? Apple was also granted a design patent for Apple Pencil and more

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple work on a future AR Experience Sharing App that includes games and much, much more.

Apple today announced its latest Apple TV+ series, "High Desert," an upcoming half-hour comedy from Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette.

"High Desert" will follow Peggy (who will be played by Arquette), a former addict who decides to make a new start after the death of her mother, whom she lived with in the desert town of Yucca Valley, California. Peggy decides to make a life-changing decision to become a private investigator.

Along with starring in the series, Arquette will serve as executive producer, while Ben Stiller will direct and serve as an executive producer as well.

"High Desert" is Apple's second TV series created in partnership with Stiller and Arquette following "Severance," which...

Linksys today announced that its line of Linksys Velop Tri-Band mesh routers are now compatible with HomeKit, making good on a promise to introduce ‌HomeKit‌ support.

Unfortunately, support is being implemented on a rolling basis. A limited number of Velop Tri-Band users in the U.S. will be able to update their routers to add ‌HomeKit‌ support through a free firmware update made available in the Velop app for iOS and iPadOS.

After the initial launch, a phased rollout will continue to bring ‌HomeKit‌ support to other users in the United States along with those in other countries.

With ‌HomeKit‌ integration, Linksys Velop routers will be able to be managed through the Home app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, providing secure access to HomeKit-enabled accessories. There are options to define how each...

In May Patently Apple posted a report titled "While France is known for their great wines, more recently they've been better known for their whiny threat and attitude towards Apple." Our report pointed out France's Digital Minister Cedric O lashing out against Apple for not cooperating with their Country's contact-tracing app. The Minister said that "We will remember that," a clear threat. That threat is now materializing.

Microsoft has today announced plans to bring a new design to its Outlook for Mac app along with several other improvements and features for Outlook on iOS and watchOS.

In preparation for the public release of macOS Big Sur, Microsoft has been testing a new design for Outlook on Mac. The design includes Microsoft's Fluent icons and several design cues from Big Sur such as rounded corners. To make the design more simple, Microsoft's Ribbon interface has been removed. The end product is an amalgam of the design languages of Apple and Microsoft.

Reading and writing emails has been improved with the implementation of a new mail compose UI, single-line views, and an "ignore" feature. Collapsible panels and a compressible message list allow for greater customization of...

Apple's system status page indicates that a handful of its services are currently down or experiencing issues, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple TV Channels, the App Store, the Mac App Store, the iTunes Store, and more.

The multi-service outage appears to be quite widespread and affects users on multiple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV. However, not all users are affected, so your mileage may vary.

Update 9:53 a.m.: Apple says that all issues have been resolved.Tags: system status, Apple Music
This article, "Apple Music, App Store, Apple TV+ and Other Services Are Currently Down [Update: Resolved]" first appeared on...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover the use of QR Codes to pair devices such as an iPhone to an Apple Watch and to set up a device for the first time quickly.

In March 2019 Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple Invents a Thermal Regulation System for their Head Mounted Display System." Apple's patent noted that a lot of heat is generated within the eye chamber of a head mounted display (HMD) device and that they had created a mini thermal regulation system in order to keep the eye chamber of the headset cooler and more comfortable to the skin for future users. Today Apple was granted a patent for a similar system that has a simplified Airflow system.

Apple's Macs and iPads continue to have the highest satisfaction score among PC and tablet makers in 2020, according to new data shared today by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

In the 2020 Household Appliance and Electronics Report, Apple earned an ACSI score of 82, a one point drop from the score that it earned in 2019. Apple's satisfaction score beat out Samsung (81), Acer (78), Amazon (78), ASUS (77), Dell (77), HP (77), and others.

The score includes laptops, tablets, and desktop machines, but when splitting them out, Samsung and Apple are tied for customer satisfaction when it comes to tablets, according to the ACSI. Apple and Samsung also dominate laptop rankings, while there are narrower margins for desktop machines.

When it comes to overall customer satisfaction ratings across all manufacturers, desktop PCs,...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's patent covering GarageBand entering the Virtual Age. This will be a dream come true for Air Guitarists.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's win for an iPhone that could take photos underwater. While the iPhone has been able to work under 6 feet of water, Apple is now talking about a whole different level that could make this capable of being used for scuba diving.

"Forever and a day" Apple fans have been pumped about getting their hands on the next-generation iPhones, and this year is no exception when you look at the sheer amount of rumors that jam through the Apple blogsphere every week. However, this year could be a little different, according to AT&T's CEO as the 5G iPhone ....

With the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple introduced two new band options, the Solo Loop and the Braided Solo Loop. These new bands are unique because they have no clasps, buckles, or other fasteners, and instead use a stretch design to allow them to pull onto the wrist over the hand.

Because these bands are not adjustable, Apple sells each one in nine different sizes to make sure each person gets a snug fit. To get the right sizing, Apple offers a printable tool [PDF] and also measurement comparisons so you can estimate size, but as it turns out, that sizing isn't always accurate and Apple's returns for ill-fitting bands ordered with one of the new Apple Watches are a hassle.

Customers who chose a Solo Loop or a Braided Solo Loop along with an Apple Watch Series 6 or SE and have a poor fit can't just...

Apple in iOS and iPadOS 14 is allowing third-party apps to be set as alternatives to the default browser apps on the iPhone and the iPad, and now one of the most popular third-party email apps, Gmail, can be set as the default email app on your iOS devices.

With the latest Gmail for iOS update available in the App Store as of today, Gmail can serve as a replacement for the Mail app.

You can set Gmail as the default email app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ by downloading it from the ‌App Store‌, opening up the Settings app, scrolling down to Gmail in the apps list and then tapping on Default Mail App.

Google previously updated Chrome with the default browser function so it can be set to replace Safari on the ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌. Those who prefer...

MacRumors and Anker have partnered up this month to offer our readers new discounts on useful products like USB-C charging accessories compatible with a MacBook Pro or the new iPad Air, and portable batteries perfect for charging up an iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad. All of the devices in this sale can be found on Amazon.

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

You can find the full list of discounted accessories below. To see the sale prices, add the Anker products you want to your cart, then enter the relevant coupon codes during the checkout screen on Amazon. These discount codes will be live from today through Friday, September 25.

Anker September Sale

• ...

Apple's upcoming launch of 5G iPhones might not be a "massive event" due to economic uncertainty amid the global health crisis, AT&T Communications CEO Jeff McElfresh said in a paywalled interview published by CNBC.

"I do believe that you will see many of the iPhone subscribers move to upgrade to the device," said McElfresh. "But I wouldn't forecast that it's going to be a massive event. I also don't think it's going to be a nonevent. I think customers, based on the pressures of the economy that we're all facing today, will make a calculated decision as to what they want to do. And we're going to be there to offer them any device that Apple launches here shortly."

McElfresh added that AT&T already has engineers working on next-generation 6G networking, noting that it will take...