Apple has revealed the servicing costs of the AirPods Max, with buyers of the new personal audio accessories expected to shell out $59 if they want cover with AppleCare+.Buyers of the new AirPods Max have the option to purchase AppleCare cover for the premium headphones, in case they are damaged or broken during usage. Apple is currently charging $59 for AppleCare+ for the headphones, which is a little over a tenth of the $549 cost of the AirPods Max.The $59 fee is relatively high compared to the $29 charge associated with AppleCare+ for the AirPods and AirPods Pro, but the cost for the AirPods Max is still roughly proportionate to its stablemates.

...

Logitech has just announced a new smart video doorbell that is one of the few to take advantage of Apple's HomeKit Secure Video features including iCloud storage and facial recognition.Logitech's new HomeKit Secure Video doorbellThe new Logitech Circle View Wired Doorbell is very similar to Logitech's own Circle View camera in that it is designed to work exclusively with HomeKit Secure Video and iCloud. It has a compact black profile with a TrueView 160-degree field of view. It has integrated color night vision as well as HDR. Logitech says it features "head-to-toe" HD video so that you can capture a visitor's face as well as any packages placed on your porch.

Read more...

Today, YouTube is adding the ability to broadcast live streams in High Dynamic Range (HDR), enabling a better quality of live video. The platform says that anyone with existing hardware that supports the standard can start streaming HDRified footage...

Today’s best deals include Apple Watch SE, various discounts on MacBooks and iPads, plus an all-time low on Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Head below for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

more…

The post Apple Watch SE from $259 highlights today’s best deals, plus previous-gen. Macs, more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple:

Apple today announced AirPods Max, innovative wireless headphones that bring the magic of AirPods to an over-ear design with high-fidelity sound. AirPods Max combine a custom acoustic design, H1 chips, and advanced software to power computational audio for a breakthrough listening experience with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max come in five gorgeous colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15.

There is so much to unpack here.

First things first, these are some gorgeous headphones. They’ve got Active Noise Cancellation, as you’d expect, and they seem to me to fit into that high end category of headphones that are over ear, great for sound isolation, and designed to be an incredibly comfortable fit, perfect for the studio, perfect for a long airplane ride.

20 hours of battery life...

Apple has several subscription services available, and now you can save some cash by signing up for Apple One, a pricing plan that bundles Apple’s services together for discounts. In effect, it replaces expensive a la carte pricing with cheaper pricing bundles.

Here’s what you need to know about Apple One.

Update 12/08/20: Apple has announced that Fitness+ will launch on December 14 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. It costs $9.99 per month on its own, but is included in the Apple One Premier plan. 

What services are available in Apple One?

All of Apple’s services are available for bundled pricing: Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News, Apple TV+, and iCloud. 

To read this article in full, please click here

[VIDEO] Marques Brownlee walks through major iPhone removals over the years, including the home button and the 3.5mm headphone jack. This leads up to a discussion of the potential removal of the lightning port.

To add depth to the discussion, Marques brings on Mark Gurman. Don’t miss the snarky comment about MacBook Pro webcams. Great video, embedded in the main Loop post.

Google Blog:

Starting today, Apple Music is rolling out to Google Assistant-enabled devices like Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, and more. Apple Music subscribers can search and play songs (more than 70 million!), albums and playlists—all ad-free—just by using their voice.

To play music from Apple Music, first link your Apple Music account in the Google Home app. You can also select Apple Music as your default music streaming service. Then, all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, play New Music Daily playlist,” or “Hey Google, play Rap Life playlist.”

Interesting break in the ecosystem on both sides. Google has opened the door to Apple Music being the main music service, and Apple has allowed Google to be the music hardware provider and Siri replacement.

Available now in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan.

...

The classic Star Wars KOTOR 2 is now scheduled for an official release on iOS and Android on the same date as The Mandalorian season 2. The original KOTOR game has been available on mobile platforms for quite some time now, but after fans asking for a mobile port of the sequel for “so long,” publisher Aspyr has now officially announced the mid-December launch date. Head below for more details and a look at today’s announcement trailer. 

more…

The post Classic Star Wars KOTOR 2 lands on iOS and Android later this month appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple:

Apple today announced Fitness+, the first fitness experience built around Apple Watch, is launching Monday, December 14. Apple Fitness+ brings studio-style workouts to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, intelligently incorporating workout metrics from Apple Watch for a first-of-its-kind personalized and immersive experience users can complete wherever and whenever is convenient for them. Apple Fitness+ will launch with 10 of the most popular workout types, including High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, Cycling, Treadmill (for running and walking), Rowing, and Mindful Cooldown, led by a phenomenal team of trainers whose approach is welcoming to all. The workouts are fueled by inspiring music from today’s top artists designed to keep users motivated from start to finish.

And:

Apple Fitness+ dynamically integrates personal metrics from Apple Watch to inspire users, animating them on the screen during key moments in the workout,...

Apple has quietly added a Lightning to 3.5mm bi-directional audio cable to its online Apple Store, a $35 accessory that can be used with the just-launched AirPods Max.Surfacing in the online Apple Store on Tuesday and appearing as a recommended item when ordering the AirPods Max, the Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable is a fairly straightforward product. Measuring 1.2 meters (3.9 foot) in length, the cable has a 3.5mm headphone jack on one end, and a Lightning connector on the other.Apple advises it can be used to connect the AirPods Max and Beats Solo Pro headphones to 3.5mm audio sources, which would enable the personal audio accessories to work with hardware that doesn't offer wireless connectivity. It would also make the AirPods Max usable with the headphone jacks supplied in modern airplane seats, an industry that...

Now that Apple has officially launched its AirPods Max over-ear premium headphones we’ve got specifics on what exactly is and isn’t included and what accessories or add-ons you might need to pick up. Read on for all the AirPods Max details.

more…

The post AirPods Max tidbits: Charger and audio cable not included, fast-charging, AppleCare, more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Online fitness services such as Peloton and Daily Burn have become very popular, and now Apple wants in on the business. They will soon offer Apple Fitness+, the latest service for Apple users. Fitness+ combines your Apple devices, videos, and collected exercise data to allow you to have satisfying workouts.

This article will tell you all you need to know about Apple Fitness+. We’ll update it whenever there are new developments.

When will Apple Fitness+ be available?

Apple announced that Fitness+ will launch on Monday, December 15.

What is Apple Fitness+?

Internet-based fitness services and apps that work on your iPhone has been around for a while from companies like Aaptiv, Daily Burn, and YogaGlo. They saw a huge growth in...

Apple says Fitness+, the first fitness experience built around Apple Watch, is launching Monday, December 14. 

According to Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of Fitness Technologies, Apple Fitness+ brings studio-style workouts to iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, intelligently incorporating workout metrics from Apple Watch for a personalized and immersive experience users can complete wherever and whenever is convenient for them. Apple Fitness+ will launch with 10 workout types, including High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Strength, Yoga, Dance, Core, Cycling, Treadmill (for running and walking), Rowing, and Mindful Cooldown. The workouts are fueled by inspiring music from today’s top artists designed to keep users motivated from start to finish, Blahnik says. 

He adds that Apple Fitness+ dynamically integrates personal metrics from Apple Watch to inspire users,...

Apple Fitness+, the iPhone maker's workout app offering Apple Watch-connected video workouts, will be launching on December 14 with a collection of 10 workout types.First introduced during the "Time Flies" event, Apple Fitness is an app meant to allow users to work out at home or wherever they are, with the added bonus of live feedback. Workouts will be played as a video on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, with the studio workout hosted by a roster of trainers.Rather than just providing a video stream to watch and follow along with, Apple Fitness+ will also keep track of a user's progress by tapping into sensors on the Apple Watch. Metrics from the Apple Watch will be displayed on the screen as an overlay, so...

After a long period of speculation, Apple has released the $549 AirPods Max, fully leveraging Apple's H1 chip for high-performance audio reproduction.Apple's new AirPods Max feature 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic drivers for a wide-range of high-performance audio reproduction. The company claims that a dual neodymium ring magnet motor allows AirPods Max to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1 percent across the entire audible range, even at maximum volume.The AirPods Max use Apple's H1 chip, with one in each ear cup, a custom acoustic design, and advanced software. Apple's computational audio is processed on 10 audio cores per ear, with Apple saying that it is capable of 9 billion operations per second. The H1 chip provides Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio for the headset.

...

Apple depot repair vendor CSAT Solutions has been hit with a ransomware attack that calls its overall security into question — and is causing extended mail-in repair times and in some cases lost customer hardware.CSAT Solutions hit with ransomware attack causing hiccups in Apple repair pipelineThe attackers provided screenshots of internal tools used by CSAT and posted screenshots of computer directories online. The attack appears to be directly on CSAT and not on the computers being repaired at the facility.

Read more...

Adobe today updated its ecosystem of Lightroom photography apps, most notably adding native support for Apple Silicon Macs. Lightroom is one of the first Adobe Creative Cloud apps optimized for the Apple M1 chip.

more…

The post Adobe Lightroom is now optimized for Apple Silicon Macs appeared first on 9to5Mac.

If you just can’t get enough bass in your Sonos-based home theater experience, the company has a solution.

Apple is starting Tuesday with a fresh batch of movie deals on its iTunes storefront from $5. There’s a wide range of titles being discounted, including price drops on iconic sports films, action movies, and more. All of which will become a permanent part of your library. You’ll also find this week’s $1 HD rental, as well. Head below for all of our top picks.

more…

The post Latest Apple movie sale offers up sports films, holiday favorites, rentals, more from $1 appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple’s long-rumored over-ear headphones are officially here. AirPods Max feature an over-ear design, deep integration with the rest of Apple’s ecosystem, the H1 chip, and more. They are available to order today for $549, with the first orders arriving next week.

AirPods Max feature Apple’s latest H1 chip with support for spatial audio, automatic device switching, and more. They are available in five colors and include a carrying case as well. Here are all of the details you need to know.

more…

The post Apple officially announces AirPods Max for $549, order from today appeared first on...

Apple Fitness+ was unveiled at the company’s September Apple Watch event but an arrival date wasn’t shared other than sometime this fall. Now it’s been announced that the personalized fitness service based around Apple Watch is launching on December 14.

more…

The post Fitness+ workout service for Apple Watch launching on December 14 appeared first on 9to5Mac.

“Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special,” which debuted on Friday, Dec. 4, topped Apple TV+ charts in 100 countries, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Apple doesn’t release stats on its streaming service, but the industry publication based its report on unnamed “sources close to the streaming platform.”

Here’s how Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special is described: “Faced with a holiday cheer crisis, the North Pole knows there's only one person who can save the day: Santa’s great friend, Mariah Carey. Combining musical performances, dynamic dancing and groundbreaking animation, the undisputed Queen of Christmas jumps into action to create a holiday spectacular to make the whole world merry.”

Guests on the holiday special include Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, Ariana...

Engineers at Apple are working with Cloudflare and Fastly to create Oblivious DNS, a new standard that can make it harder to track a user's online activities.While the Internet offers various privacy protection measures for its denizens, including encryption and VPNs, one of the areas that are more easily trackable is the Domain Name System. Effectively the address book for the Internet, DNS enables the use of domain names that link to specific website IP addresses, making the entire system more usable to humans.However, the nature of DNS means it is sent and received between machines in cleartext, which is easily observed by third parties, making it a trackable item. Developments like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) make it harder for outside forces to change DNS queries to point to malicious sites, but it still makes it possible for user activities to be tracked.

...

The Tripadvisor app has been pulled from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, along with 104 other apps. The Chinese government said that this was part of a ‘clean up’ of the Internet – though it has likely been done for political reasons.

Apple has also sent an email to Chinese games developers who have not yet provided proof of approval from the government, warning them that their apps will be removed on January 1 …

more…

The post Tripadvisor app pulled from App Store in China, with 104 other apps appeared first on 9to5Mac.

You can now ask Google Assistant on Google Nest and other Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays to play Apple Music. 

Apple’s music subscription service is rolling out to Google Assistant-enabled devices like Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini, and more. Apple Music subscribers can search and play songs, albums and playlists by using their voice. 

To play music from Apple Music, first link your Apple Music account in the Google Home app. You can also select Apple Music as your default music streaming service. Then, all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, play New Music Daily playlist,” or “Hey Google, play Rap Life playlist.”

You can ask Google Assistant to play any specific song, artist or playlist available on Apple Music, and you can play music based on genre, mood, or activity. You can also play your liked songs from your Apple Music library by saying, “Hey Google, play my songs” or “Hey Google, play my library...

Apple may use components made by Samsung for its folded zoom camera on iPhones launching in 2022, reports TheElec, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

Samsung will supply components such as actuators and lens to LG InnoTek, a long-time supplier of camera modules to Apple, the article. LG will use them to make the folded zoom camera module to supply to the iPhone maker.

On Nov. 30,  Korea IT News reported that Apple has begun looking for suppliers of “folded cameras” in order to strengthen the optical zoom feature of its iPhones, the article says.

A folded camera refracts light like a periscope and has lenses and sensors placed horizontally and not vertically. Korea IT News says that Apple plans to introduce triple cameras to its smartphone line. If...

Apps that fail to "play by the rules" of Apple's anti-ad tracking policy will be removed from the App Store, executive Craig Federighi has warned to developers who attempt to circumvent iOS 14's inbound privacy feature.In September, Apple advised of its intention to implement a new ad-tracking mechanism in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14 that will launch in early 2021. The feature is designed to minimize the amount of tracking of a user in-app advertisers can perform, as part of a wider crackdown to improve the privacy protection of its...

Following up on previous rumors, a third report has indicated that Apple will be incorporating technology that allows up to 10x optical zoom to iPhone cameras within the next couple of years. In the July report, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo didn’t share much detail beyond Apple using Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) to supply periscope lenses for iPhone […]

It’s not a huge update, but it paves the way for some more substantial changes down the road. Apple on Monday released its iOS 14.2.1 update for its HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers. The update comes a few weeks after releasing the operating system for the iPhone and iPad in late November. It also […]

Christopher Nolan has been vocal about his distaste for releasing movies in theaters and online at the same time for many years, including a 2017 interview when he called Netflix’s attempt “untenable” before later apologizing. So it shouldn’t be a su...

We’re all curious about a potential new hardware that Apple is expected to announce this week. While the reliable leaker @L0vetodream made it clear that he’s not expecting a new Apple TV this year, AppleTrack said today that Apple is planning an imminent launch of the AirPods Studio.

more…

The post Last minute rumor says Apple might launch rumored AirPods Studio this week appeared first on...

Just one week after Singapore became the first country in the world to approve the sale of lab-grown meat, XPrize has announced a new competition to foster the development of technologies that will transform the global food industry. In partnership w...

Music enhances almost every experience, from family dinners and house chores to kicking up one's feet after a long day of work. So, it should come as no surprise that one of the most highly requested gifts around the holidays is an at-home speaker. A...

California is partnering with Apple and Google on an app to let people use their phones to track potential exposure to COVID-19. CNET reports: The digital system uses Bluetooth signals from people's phones to alert them if they've been in contact with someone who's tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The project takes advantage of two of the world's most popular operating systems -- Apple's iOS and Google's Android -- to potentially reach billions of people. To use the features, people can download the app, called CA Notify, starting Thursday. On iPhones, people can turn on the alerts in their phone settings. The companies said they intend to shut down the tools after they are no longer needed to fight the pandemic.

...

We’ve seen some small hops, but the SpaceX Starship is ready to make a much larger leap. The SN8 prototype is on the launch pad in Boca Chica, TX, and SpaceX has confirmed that its first high-altitude test flight could take place as soon as Tuesday,...

Medical device company AliveCor has levied a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the Apple Watch electrocardiogram feature infringes on a trio of its patents.Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsiderThe lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Monday, claims that the ECG functionality on the Apple Watch Series 4 and later infringes on its intellectual property related to use wearable sensors to improve cardiac monitoring technology.

Read more...

To help bring in the 2020 holiday season, 9to5Mac is offering readers exclusive deals on the latest accessories for iPhone, Mac and more, with help from our Holiday Deal Hub. That includes our featured deals: 25% off sitewide at Hyper with code 9TO5HOLIDAY and 20% off sitewide at Monowear with code 9TO5MAC20.

Head below for some of the best holiday deals on iPhone and Mac accessories, ranging from cases for iPhone 12, to Qi chargers, USB-C hubs and docks, and much more. There’s also a ton of discounts to help upgrade your workspace.

more…

The post Holiday Deal Hub: Exclusive discounts on the best iPhone and Mac accessories...

Right after the Apple event in October, Samsung mocked the company for not including the power adapter in the iPhone 12 box and also removing it from the older models. Now, as some rumors have predicted, the Galaxy S21’s documentation suggests that it will also not come with a charger included in the box.

more…

The post Samsung plans to ditch power adapters just 3 months after mocking Apple over the same appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro equipped with the speedy M1 chip is currently on sale, with exclusive promo code savings knocking $150 off an assortment of models with 16GB of memory.New, steeper M1 MacBook Pro savingsExclusive discounts are in effect for AppleInsider readers at Apple Authorized Reseller Adorama when shopping through this pricing link and applying coupon code APINSIDER during checkout. Need help redeeming the code? Step-by-step instructions can be found further down this page.

Read more...

You've long been able to buy an app once and have your entire family use it, but now Apple's brought that to some subscriptions — although with similar limitations and exceptions.Credit: AppleAs announced back in June, and finally going live in early December, Apple has introduced the ability to share your subscriptions with your family. It's taken some time to roll out to all users, but it's now available to everyone — with a certain limitation.

Read more...

If your iPhone 11’s touchscreen has become unresponsive, Apple may fix it for free under a new repair program.

NVIDIA has developed a new approach for training generative adversarial networks (GAN) that could one day make them suitable for a greater variety of tasks. Before getting into NVIDIA’s work, it helps to know a bit about how GANs work. Every GAN cons...

Apple has released a video promoting the Up Next "Class of 2020," new artists championed by the Apple Music initiative throughout the year.Apple Music's Up Next aims to shine a light on upcoming musicians, bands, and musical artists that Apple believes are "fresh-faced innovators and ground-breakers" in the music scene. One up-and-coming artist is selected each month to become the focus of the initiative, which includes promotion on Apple Music itself, a mini documentary or an interview, an Up Next Session, and potentially a television performance.

Read more...

Netflix ends Chromecast with Google TV integration in a step back for streaming.

A few months after Baidu's robotaxi service arrived in Beijing, the company has received the first permits to run driverless vehicle tests in the city. China's capital granted Baidu Apollo permission to deploy five such vehicles on public roads.The c...

California will launch its coronavirus exposure notification app, based on the Apple and Google framework, to the public on Thursday.Credit: Patrick Holmes/UC BerkeleyThe CA Notify app is based on the Apple-Google Exposure Notification API, which the two tech giants unveiled earlier in 2020. The app was initially piloted at the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, San Francisco.

Read more...

It’s not quite a hell-freezing-over moment but it’s close. Google and Apple have announced that Apple Music is now available to stream on all Google Nest smart speakers without needing to resort to Bluetooth pairing.

To get started, you’ll need to make sure you have the Google Home app, which you can download from either the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or the Google Play Store (Android). After you log in to the Google Home app with your Google account, head over to the Assistant Settings inside your account and tap Music. Under More music services, select Apple Music, then Link account...