Facebook took another swipe at Apple on Tuesday, saying it hopes Apple's power will be reigned in by new European Union draft proposals.Credit: Solen FeyissaThe European Commission on Tuesday introduced two pieces of draft legislation that would impose new regulations on tech companies in the EU, and levy hefty fines for noncompliance. One of those acts, the Digital Markets Act, would mean major changes for the Apple App Store.

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Should Doom Eternal's arrival on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Game Pass have you hankering for even more demon slaying, then you're in luck. If you have the re-releases of Doom (the original one) and Doom II, you can battle a bunch more enemies in a mod...

Over the past five years, a company called Neverware has allowed individuals, schools and businesses to essentially turn their old PCs and Macs into a Chromebook with its CloudReady software. The beauty of the operating system is that it allows you t...

In the run-up to critical runoff elections in Georgia, Facebook will lift its ban on political advertisements in the state starting Wednesday, December 16th at 12pm ET. The company will work with authorized advertisers and prioritize those with direc...

Microsoft is rolling out fresh versions of its Office apps that work natively with Apple’s M1 chip, the powerhouse of the new Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Mac Mini. Specifically, the apps getting an upgrade are Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and On...

UnitedHealthcare — a wearable device well-being program available for purchase to employers across the country with self-funded and fully insured health plans — has introduced enhancements to one of its national well-being programs.

It’s now providing certain members free access to Apple Fitness+ for studio-style workout classes. UnitedHealthcare Motion enrollees with Apple Watch will have access to Apple’s fitness service for at least six months at no additional cost.

Following the extended trial, UnitedHealthcare Motion enrollees may be able to apply program incentives to cover the Apple Fitness+ monthly subscription cost (US$9.99). UnitedHealthcare Motion members are also able to apply program earnings toward the purchase price of Apple Watch, enabling participants to own – with a zero balance – the Apple Watch after approximately six months of meeting daily activity goals.

Investment bank Wedbush says that recent reports of iPhone production bumps are only the latest indication that the iPhone 12 "reality is meeting the initial hype."Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsiderIn a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, lead analyst Daniel Ives cites a Nikkei Asian Review report from Tuesday that indicated that Apple plans to produce up to 96 million iPhone units in the first half of 2021.

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On Tuesday afternoon, the HomePod and HomePod mini received a software update to version 14.3 providing general performance and stability fixes to users.HomePod OS updated to version 14.3The HomePod and HomePod mini run a specialized version of tvOS and receive updates sporadically when compared to Apple's other operating systems. Updates generally include bug fixes and improvements for features attached to the larger ecosystem.

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In a blog post on Tuesday, Microsoft said that the core apps of Office 365—Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word—are now Universal apps that run natively on either Intel or Apple silicon.

To installed the updated apps, check the Mac App Store, or open an Office app, click the Help menu, and select Check for Updates.

A Universal version of Microsoft Teams is still under development. In the meantime, Teams runs under Rosetta on Apple silicon Macs.

Microsoft also previewed many new features that are coming within a few weeks and in the early part of 2021. An upcoming update to Outlook will support iCloud and UI enhancements to match the look of macOS Big Sur. Next month, Microsoft will release a revamped Office Start, which will incorporate Microsoft’s...

Tech giants like Apple and Google could soon face heavy fines and stricter controls over their behavior as part of sweeping new rules in the European Union, according to CBNC.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Tuesday presented two new pieces of legislation that will affect how Big Tech operates. One of the potential changes is putting an end to self-preferencing.

CNBC also notes that:

° Companies like Apple and Google will also have to allow users to uninstall apps that have originally come with their devices.

° Failure to comply could result in fines as high as 10% of the companies’ annual turnover worldwide.

° The remedies could ultimately include forcing companies to disinvest if they breach the rules systematically.

Additionally, the...

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for the new documentary film, “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry.” The film will be released in theaters by NEON and premiere globally on Apple TV+ February 26, 2021.

“Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” tells the true coming-of-age story of the singer-songwriter and her rise to global superstardom. From award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler, the documentary offers an intimate look at this singer/songwriter’s journey, at just 17 years old, navigating life on the road, on stage, and at home with her family, while writing, recording and releasing her debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”

The documentary film, featuring Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, is from Apple Original Films, in association with Interscope Films, The Darkroom, This Machine and Lighthouse...

Microsoft's main app collection of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook in Microsoft 365 have all been updated to run natively on Apple Silicon M1 Macs, with more related apps coming.Microsoft's main Office apps now run natively on Apple SiliconMicrosoft has announced that most of its Microsoft 365 apps, previously known as Office 365, have now been updated and are universal apps. Alongside support for Intel Macs, Microsoft's most popular apps will also run on the new Apple Silicon M1.

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Microsoft has made a variety of major announcements for Office 365 users on the Mac. With updates rolling out today, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for the Mac are all now optimized for Apple Silicon. The apps have also been redesigned with macOS Big Sur in mind, and more.

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Nomad has just released its long-awaited sleeve for Apple's MacBook Pro that is gorgeous in its design and adds plenty of functionality and protection. We've been using it for the past week, and it has quickly become our go-to preference for protecting Apple's portable Macs.Nomad's Horween leather sleeve for MacBook ProThis device has been a long time coming and, in many ways, seemed inevitable. Nomad's signature leather cases first covered our iPhones before branching out to the larger size of our iPads. The Mac is the most ambitious yet and requires far more raw material than anything Nomad's done before.

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If you’re a fan of Nomad’s Horween Leather products for iPad and iPhone, then you may be interested to know that the Santa Barbara, California-based company just launched new Apple-centric leather goods — a 13- and 16-inch MacBook sleeve, and mousepad. Check out our brief impressions for the details.

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We’ve known for some time that Apple along with the other tech giants have been on the European Commission’s “hit list” of companies it wants to regulate more tightly. Now, new legislation has been proposed in the EU that could mean serious changes to how Apple runs the App Store and its preinstalled, first-party apps.

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Emily Abbate, GQ:

After nine months of pandemic life, I’ve tried what feels like every streaming workout and app there is, and I’ve gotten picky. But as you would expect from the company, Fitness+ is an incredibly slick app, where users can choose workouts from nine different categories: HIIT, yoga, core, strength, treadmill, cycling, rowing, dance, and “mindful cooldown.” The studio used for filming is gorgeous, and the quality of the videos is top notch.

And:

Whether you’re using the app at the gym on an iPhone or in your living room with an Apple TV, you’ll get cues and vibrations on your wrist that synch up with the workout, and the watch will beam biometric stats like heart rate and calories burned to the screen.

This last bit is a critical feature of Fitness+, that tight integration between Apple Watch and Fitness+. And you can add Apple TV to that mix as well. If you are brand new to Fitness+, you can register yourself by just holding your Apple...

With iOS 14.3, Apple has rolled out support for ProRaw photos on the iPhone. Professional photographer Austin Mann has shared his initial thoughts on the format.Apple ProRAW brings professional photography to the default iPhone camera appApple ProRAW is here and professional photographers are speaking up about the power behind the format. Apple took the power of the A14 processor and camera system of the iPhone 12 Pro and created a new professional image format called ProRAW.

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Kif Leswing, CNBC:

Apple’s Siri assistant can now quack like a duck if you ask it nicely.

To try it out, users have to update to iOS 14.3, the newest version of the iPhone operating system, and say, “Hey Siri, what does a duck sound like?” In response, Siri will play the natural call of a ruddy duck.

On Monday, Siri started to play short audio clips in response to questions about what something sounds like. Sounds now built into the system include animals, instruments, and vehicles, and Apple says there are hundreds of options. On an iPhone or iPad, Siri also brings up a picture of the animal and a link to more information from Wikipedia.

As of this writing, I’ve not been able to reproduce this behavior and, searching Twitter/web, have not encountered other mentions of folks getting this to work. I asked Kif about this and he said:

It should be rolled out to everyone in the US and most other countries today.

So keep checking.

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This is Apple’s official Fitness+ press release. There is a lot of detail, worth making your way through if you are interested in the service.

A few things that stand out:

Customers who have purchased an Apple Watch Series 3 or later from Best Buy since September 15, 2020, will get an additional three months of Fitness+ for a total of six months free. Best Buy customers who already owned an Apple Watch Series 3 or later before September 15, 2020, and are My Best Buy members will get an additional month of Fitness+ for a total of two months free.

And:

As part of its overall membership offering, both digitally and at its athletic resorts nationwide, premier health and wellness brand Life Time will be the first health and fitness club company in the US to offer Apple Fitness+.

And:

Starting January 1, 2021, UnitedHealthcare will offer five additional months of Fitness+ at no additional cost for UnitedHealthcare Motion enrollees with Apple...

One of the headline features of the two iPhone 12 Pro models is the LiDAR scanner. Night mode Portrait photos had already impressed me, and an app to create 3D scans of your home has now done so, too.

Canvas is an iPhone app that you can use to scan your rooms, and then pay a modest fee to have them turned into professional CAD models that can be used to help remodel your home. You may have spotted that it was featured in the iPhone 12 launch…

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The post...

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by Direct Mail: Create and send great looking email newsletters with Direct Mail, an easy to use email marketing app for the Mac. Get started for free and save 10% when you sign up for any pricing plan. 

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Apple announced the AirPods Max last week and they will henceforth be known as the headphones that launched a 1,000 takes.

Ever alert to when an Apple product is not priced correctly, pundits called them “ludicrously overpriced” with a case that looks like a brassiere (tip o’ the antlers to @designheretic). The price has further inspired CNN Business to look at “The real cost of being the ultimate Apple fan” (tip o' the antlers to Rick) which they say is $80,000 because if you don’t buy the top of the line of each product line Apple...

Google is once again delaying its return to the office in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, although it’s now planning a change to the way people work when they get back. The New York Times has obtained company-wide email from Sundar Pichai indicating...

Plugable has announced a new addition to its line of Thunderbolt 3 docking stations: the TBT3-UDC3. It’s an upgrade to the popular TBT3-UDC1 docking station. 

The TBT3-UDC3 offers higher wattage than the TBT3-UDC1 at 100W (96W certified) and upgraded, flexible video connectivity with 1x HDMI and 1x DisplayPort, while also including a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter for users who want to connect two HDMI monitors. 

The new dock has the ability to extend dual 4K 60Hz displays, connect two USB-C peripherals and three USB-A peripherals, and is compatible with USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 laptops — all while charging laptops at the highest...

Secure chat app Signal now lets you make encrypted group video calls in its iOS and Android apps. As with Apple’s FaceTime, end-to-end encryption is used …

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Ever thought about designing and developing websites, either for a living or just to enhance your career? You’ll need training, and we have it for you! The Ultimate 2021 Web Developer and Designer Super Bundle ($34.99) provides 14 courses and 439 lessons designed to give you the knowledge you need to excel as a web developer and designer.

The courses include:

Web Design JavaScript Frontend Code Course

This course covers JavaScript and how it can be used to select elements from the web page. Create new elements and update and manipulate elements directly using JavaScript. Explore how easy it is to...

Let the Apple Car rumors roll on. Apple has been granted two patents involving holographic displays for a vehicle.

Patent number 10,866,562 is for a “vehicle onboard holographic communication system” that could generate, manage, and display various three-dimensional holographic objects, holographic digital assistance, and dynamically-updatable holographic contents in automotive infotainment, vehicle control, and occupant communication environments. 

The vehicle onboard holographic communication system would include a vehicle infotainment hardware module, a vehicle infotainment operating system (such as Apple’s CarPlay) and a vehicle onboard holographic communication operating system (e.g. "HoloDash OS") executed in a CPU and a memory unit of the vehicle infotainment hardware module.

The holographic display pod would be integrated into a vehicle dashboard or another part of the vehicle interior. According to...

Apple is launching a large movie sale this morning with a number of notable price drops on Disney films, Star Wars, various bundles, and more. With Christmas week in-sight, now is a great time to load up your library with some fresh content as many of us will be spending the holidays at home this year. All of today’s deal will become a permanent part of your library of content. Head below for our top picks.

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Despite earlier claims alleging $56 million in damage, Wistron asserts it only suffered between $3.5 million and $7 million in damages after riots broke out over claims that workers were not being paid properly.Wistron damage not as bad as initially reportedThe first reports on the riots estimated around $56 million in damage which Wistron says is far too high an estimate. The company says it is still calculating its losses and working to restore the plant to full operation.

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Apple plans to produce up to 96 million iPhones for the first half of 2021, a nearly 30% year-on-year increase, after demand for its first-ever 5G handsets surged amid the pandemic, according to Nikkei Asia.

The tech giant has purportedly asked suppliers to build 95 million to 96 million smartphones, including the latest iPhone 12 range (the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max) and the older iPhone 11 and iPhone SE. However, Nikkei Asia notes that industrywide shortages of key components could derail those plains.

The article adds that the tentative full-year forecast that Apple shared with its suppliers suggests it plans to build up to 230 million iPhones in 2021, including both old and new models. If it happens, this would mark a 20% increase from 2019.

Traditionally, email, messaging, and phone calls have been separated out into different applications on our smartphones. illumy wants to change that, though. Today, they’re announcing a new service designed to streamline communications for remote workers.

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Life Time, a health and wellness brand, has announced it will be the first U.S. health &and fitness club company to include Apple Fitness+ as part of Life Time memberships starting later this month.

Apple Fitness+ is the first fitness experience built around Apple Watch, providing immersive, studio-style workouts via iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, intelligently incorporating workout metrics from Apple Watch.

The new offering will complement Life Time's existing, robust training and fitness programs, elite performers, and comprehensive health and wellbeing services and content offered to its members digitally – wherever they are – and at its more than 150 Life Time destinations across North America, says Founder, Chairman and CEO Bahram Akradi..

Life Time...

The display of a future Apple Watch, iPhone, or any Apple screen, may be able to contain a camera and camera flash which are externally visible only when needed.Future Apple Watches may contain cameras that are hidden until neededThe sole thing that stops the Apple Watch a wrist-worn video communicator popularized by a great deal of entertainment, is that it lacks a camera. Apple may have now solved that, though, with a newly-granted patent that in part describes embedding a camera and flash within a display.

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Strong iPhone 12 demand has led Apple to boost iPhone production plans for 2021 by between 20% and 30%, according to a Nikkei report today.

It says Apple’s total planned iPhone production for the first half of next year is up almost 30% year-on-year, while initial full-year production targets are up by 20% to hit 230M phones …

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Component manufacturers claim Apple has an "aggressive" plan for production in 2021, with new Apple TV hardware expected plus a bevy of MacBook Pro models and a new iMac Pro predicted.Alongside supply chain reports about Apple increasing iPhone 12 orders, it's claimed that Apple is similarly expecting to need more MacBook Pro and iMac Pro models."[As well as the iPhone,] Apple is also preparing an aggressive production schedule for its high-end computers including the MacBook Pro and iMac Pro, for 2021, two other people familiar with the matter said," claims Nikkei Asian Review...

The new MacVoices Live! Serves up the fifth Holiday Gift Guide. This timePatrice Brend’Amour and Rosemary Orchard share their ideas for your holiday gift giving.

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.

On Monday afternoon, Apple released its iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 updates, offering access to its new Fitness+ service. The updates also offer the following fixes and changes: Fitness+: This is is Apple’s $9.99/month service that brings personalized workout videos, trainers, and exercise recommendations. Video workouts added each week in ten popular workout types: High Intensity […]

Following the release of iOS 14.3 on Monday, Apple announced developers are now able to take advantage of App Clips and app privacy "nutrition labels," two features that expand the utility and security of the company's mobile platform.Announced at WWDC 2020 in June, App Clips are bite-sized versions of apps that provide users easy access to core software features without a large download.For example, a user can quickly pay for a meal or rent a scooter by scanning a special App Clip code, downloading a small part of a third-party app from the App Store and completing the transaction. The process is triggered by the Camera app, an NFC tag, Safari banner, Messages link or Place Card in Maps, and integrates with platform tools like Apple Pay and Sign in with Apple.

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Customers who purchased Apple's AirPods Max headphone minutes after sales of the device went live last week are now receiving their orders, while those not lucky enough to nab a launch day unit might find one at a nearby Apple Store.Source: Chris Caine via TwitterLike any major Apple product launch, early adopters in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia are taking to social media outlets to report delivery of AirPods Max. The high-end accessory is arriving on time, with first day units promised for Dec. 15.

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Dropping a phone is a nightmare for almost everyone, but have you ever imagined letting your iPhone fall from a plane? That’s exactly what happened to Brazilian documentary filmmaker Ernesto Galiotto, who dropped his iPhone from the sky — and more surprisingly, the phone survived, and its built-in camera recorded everything.

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Released in tandem with iOS 14.3, Apple on Monday introduced a new feature to Siri that enables the virtual assistant to play back short audio clips when queried about specific sounds.Spotted by CNBC, the new capability is somewhat limited, though that could change if Apple continues to build out Siri's sound library. Apple says there are hundreds of options, but finding what audio is supported boils down to trial and error.As of this writing, Siri can reproduce animal noises, sounds from musical instruments, and audio recordings of vehicles. The publication found these questions trigger the new audio clip feature:

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Patches security vulnerabilities in Catalina and Mojave. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15.7 and 10.14.6)

In yet another feature-focused update to Apple’s entire stable of operating systems, the company introduced support for various new products and promised technologies, including Apple Fitness+, the AirPods Max, the Apple ProRAW image format, and more.

Mozilla, the organization that maintains Firefox and other open source projects, has launched a new campaign in support of a suite of privacy features that Apple is introducing in 2021.Credit: MozillaSpecifically, the internet company praised Apple's iOS 14 anti-tracking feature, which makes a specific type of advertising tracking tag opt-in on a per-app basis.

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Apple Fitness+ launched on Monday, and several previously unknown details about the service have surfaced — including AirPlay compatibility, Apple Watch requirements, and other tidbits.Credit: AppleFitness+, first announced alongside new Apple Watch models earlier in 2020, is a new workout service designed to leverage Apple's integrated ecosystem. It costs $9.99 a month, and requires an Apple Watch to get started.

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Apple on Monday released minor updates to Final Cut Pro and its other video apps that introduce new options for sharing videos to YouTube and Facebook.Credit: AppleNew in this version is a feature that creates a new file specifically for each video platform, and users will be able to select resolution, compression, and captions. From there, users can easily upload the files to Facebook or YouTube.

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With the public release of iOS 14.3 today, Apple has made the experience of using custom home screen icons much better. Now custom icons created through the Shortcuts app launch right into your desired app instead of opening the Shortcuts app first.

Below you can find a roundup of some beautiful and unique custom icon packs to spice up your iOS or iPadOS device. If you don’t already know how to add these icons to your Home Screen, you can check out our how-to guide.

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