Last year, Apple teamed up with the University of Michigan to launch the Apple Hearing Study, focused on examining factors that impact hearing health. Apple and the University of Michigan are now reaching to participants to inform them of a bug in the study app that caused historical data to be shared with Apple.

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Los Angeles County is going to be a testbed for using digital records to track and present proof of vaccinations in Apple Wallet — and give patients notifications for their second shot.Save your vaccination proof to your Apple Wallet; Image Credit:BloombergA health startup called Healthvana wants to lead the way for digitizing vaccine data so people can prove they've been fully vaccinated to airlines and event venues. The company has partnered with Los Angeles County to digitize the information and give users notifications to get their second dose.

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Hot on the heels of its $6000+ iPhone 12 Pro case, MacRumors spotted Caviar selling Gold AirPods Max headphones with either black or white crocodile leather. They cost a mere $108,000 and will be available in 2021.

Tags: AirPods Max

Residents in Los Angeles who get a COVID-19 vaccine will receive a digital record they can add to Wallet on iOS (via Bloomberg).

Apple Wallet Medical Records

The record will make sure vaccine recipients can get the second shot of the two-shot vaccine. It’s also a way for people to verify they got vaccinated and could help them access public venues if such a record becomes a requirement. It’s being provided starting this week with a partnership with startup Healthvana.

Jarashow acknowledged issues around granting a company access to residents’ protected health information, but said that they had worked through them. Healthvana stores the data on Amazon Web Services’ HIPAA-compliant servers, according to Bastani.

“It’s as safe as we can make it,” Jarashow said. “Personally I would feel comfortable using...

Belkin’s Boost Charge Pro with MagSafe and Apple’s MagSafe Duo chargers take very different approaches to solve a similar problem. In a world where everything has to be recharged, combination chargers that can reduce cables and plugs in our life are really practical. While Apple’s first-party combo charger is described best as a minimalistic travel charger, Belkin aces utility in what may be the best MagSafe combo charger.

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The post Review: Belkin Boost Charge Pro is the iPhone 12/Apple Watch power station with MagSafe to buy appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Apple has announced the Launch@Apple mentorship program, a mentorship program for first-generation college freshmen and sophomores majoring in finance, economics, and accounting.

Launch matches students one-on-one with Apple mentors and provides resources for learning and opportunities for personal and professional growth. It will focus on the essentials to manage and then excel in school and work. Opportunities for job shadowing, paid externships, and paid internships may also be available to Launch participants.

Apple has quietly launched a new mentorship program aimed at first-generation college students studying accounting and economics. It includes support from Apple employees and the possibility for job shadowing and even paid internships. The new program starts early in 2021 and applications are open now.

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Soul has arrived on Disney+ and, I don’t know about you, but all my social media timelines are filled with people saying how much they love it. It stars Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey, and tells the story of Joe, a musician who lands a gig at the best Jazz club in town. There is also a load of related extras available within the streaming service. The score is by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Tags: Disney+

Bryan Chaffin joins host Kelly Guimont to chat about cryptocurrency. Learn a little something even though it’s winter break.

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As noted by Reddit and The 8-Bit, as of software update 14.3 the HomePod mini can now be powered via 18W adapters.

This means that users will now be able to use the 18W adapter that shipped with the iPhone 11 to power their HomePod minis. Prior to the 14.3 update, users who tried power the wireless speakers with an 18W adapter were met by an orange glowing light on the HomePod, which according to Apple, means that the HomePod mini is plugged into a power adapter that’s not rated 20W (9V ~2.22A).

However, the HomePod mini will only accept power from 18W chargers with a specific power profile. As noted by The 8-Bit, there’s  no official word on what the power profile exactly is, “which...

Thanks to the HomePod version 14.3 update, Apple's new HomePod mini now supports 18W power adapters or battery packsHomePod mini will now work with 18W power sources and adaptersThe HomePod mini ships with a 20W power adapter and originally required at least 20W to function. An update reduces this limit to 18W, which enables a wider range of adapters and battery packs to work.

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Prior to Christmas Apple TV+ launched a ‘for you consideration’ campaign for its film, Cherry. However, the poster shared online was ineligible. Was the film called Cherk? 8Herk?

Variety Shares wrong ‘Cherry’ Poster

Bad design and typefaces is not really something we associated with Apple. The explanation, according to Cult of Mac, is that Variety, a publication focussing on the film and television trade, shared the wrong poster. Not surprisingly, just before Christmas, it apologized for the error:

Variety apologizes for our mistake in the digital misprint of the ad for the film “Cherry.” This is not up to our standards. Here is the corrected version of the ad ...

Rumors have been swirling that Samsung will reveal its Galaxy S21 lineup a little earlier than usual next year, perhaps on January 14th (the last day of CES) rather than at an Unpacked event in February. Samsung has stoked the flames of those reports...

Apple is widely expected to begin transitioning to mini LED displays in 2021, and a new report from Digitimes adds further corroboration. The report indicates that Apple will debut a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with mini LED display technology in Q1 of 2021.

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The post New 12.9-inch iPad Pro with mini LED still on track for Q1 2021, report says appeared first on 9to5Mac.

You want someone to get a fresh iPhone or iPad, but you also want to be sure no one gets your data with it. Here's how to make trading in, giving, or selling your iOS device painless for everyone.Seriously, you've got to backup your iPhone or iPad before you give it awayIf you're giving your old iPhone or iPad to a relative, you're going to get questions about it in return. There's nothing you can do there. But for everyone else, you can prepare your iOS device so that it works for them like it came straight from the factory.

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The first supply of COVID-19 vaccines is finally reaching the states, but we’re not out of the woods yet. You’re probably itching to hit the driving range or golf course to finally meet up with your tee buddies again, but PhiGolf can keep you occupie...

The holidays may be over, but five aggressive Apple deals are still going strong at Amazon, with year-end savings on iPads, Apple Watches and even M1 Macs in effect today.1. AirPods Pro for $199Still going strong following Christmas, Amazon's discounted price on Apple AirPods Pro remains the best available. Units are in stock and ready to ship at press time, with optional AppleCare+ also available for purchase.

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Voice-controlled refrigerators are already a practical reality, but LG might just make them particularly handy. The tech giant has introduced a 2021 line of InstaView fridges that can open the door with a voice command. That’s useful when you have yo...

This year has made clear that the internal combustion engine’s (ICE) days are numbered. 2020 saw explosive growth in the automotive industry’s EV segment, with nearly every major manufacturer and brand group announcing, unveiling or debuting new and...

New images have surfaced showing what appears to be an Apple Watch prototype. The device somehow managed to avoid being destroyed and features fully functioning internal software and development settings.

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The post Images show disguised Apple Watch prototype running pre-watchOS software appeared first on 9to5Mac.

These were the best cord-cutting services, devices, and developments in 2020.

Mariah Carey is in talks with Apple for more specials for its Apple TV+ streaming service following the success of her Christmas special, according to The Sun.

Quoting an unnamed “insider,” the article says: "No one could have predicted its success and it went to No1 in their charts in over 100 countries. Bosses at Apple now want to secure her for another special show next year. Mariah’s team are, of course, completely behind it and everyone is going to do what they can to make it happen.

“They spent over £4million on this year’s show but next year this could go even higher. Apple know the worth of Mariah and are willing to splash the cash to make a follow-up even bigger and better.”

“Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” debuted on Friday, Dec. 4, on Apple TV+ and is, of course, still available...

Apple TV+ exclusive "Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special" is said to be getting a sequel with a much larger budget, after hitting number one on the charts in over 100 countries.Mariah Carey's Christmas Special was a big hitThe Mariah Carey Christmas Special launched on Apple TV+ on December 4 as an exclusive paid for and produced by Apple. This was not Mariah Carey's first Christmas special, but it was one of her biggest.

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A Microsoft 365 12-month subscription normally costs $99.99, but a deal today adds a $40 Amazon gift card to the package for that same price.One year of Microsoft 365 with $40 Amazon gift cardUsers who take advantage of this limited offer will receive a $40 Amazon Gift Card. The Microsoft 365 subscription is the Family plan, which can be used with up to six people in your family. The apps provided by the service include Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Excel. Users are also provided 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage space.

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Satechi’s US$29.99 USB-C Magnetic Wireless Charging Cable is a more-than-viable alternative to Apple’s $39.99 MagSafe Charger — although neither product will be of any use to iPhone 12 owners who, like me, are facing wireless charging issues.

Hopefully, this frustrating problem will be resolved soon, and the USB-C Magnetic Wireless Charging Cable  will work with a wide variety of iPhones (though the charging issue is on Apple’s end, not...

Apple Japan has released a new ad spot highlighting various categories of the App Store including productivity, social, and gaming to help users get 2021 off to a good start.App Store Japan imageryApple tends to make short ad spots to fill in YouTube and other social platform's video ads. One other notable ad is Japan's "Behind The Mac" ad featuring various anime characters using Apple computers.

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Considering the best products of a particular year is a time-honored tradition at tech blogs, and even though there wasn’t much to be thrilled about in 2020, the year definitely did offer some highlights in terms of Apple products and third-party accessories. Without further ado, here are my offerings for The Best of 2020!

M1 MacBook Air. Image via Steve Sande

Best Apple Hardware: M1 MacBook Air

Hands-down, the best hardware of the year from Apple has to be any of the three Macs sporting the M1 system on chip. For me, that Mac is the 2020 13-inch MacBook Air.

I already own a 16-inch MacBook Pro as my primary work computer, but after spilling water on that device in early 2020 and having it sent out for service, I decided that I really needed a backup laptop. I started off with a refurbished late 2019 MacBook Air.

...

Don’t hold your breath for an Apple-made automobile anytime soon, as speculation is all over the map as to when/if this might happen.

On December 21, the Economic Daily News claimed the long-rumored “Apple Car” is running at least two years ahead of schedule and will be released in the third quarter of 2021. That same day Reuters — referencing two unnamed “people familiar with the matter” — made the more feasible prediction (if still unlikely, in my opinion) that the tech giant plans to begin production on an Apple-branded self-driving vehicle starting in 2024.

Now, in a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he felt that a launch is unlikely until 2025-2027 at...

Fusion energy could, possibly, meet all our energy demands. It’s just a not-so-simple matter of getting the process to work in a sustained way. We’re still talking seconds of output at the moment, but the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Resear...

The entire world seemed to be in lockdown, and yet April 2020 still turned out to be an extremely busy month for Apple with new products like the iPhone SE, new controversies, and surprises.Left: Coronavirus, Middle: iPhone SE second generation, Right: Tim CookFollowing Apple's comparatively quiet March 2020, You couldn't move for Apple anniversaries in April. But then we were in coronavirus lockdown so it's not as if you could move much anyway. Even with the world in chaos, though, there were these anniversaries of the iPad, the iMac, the...

If you are lucky enough to get a new iPhone 12 this holiday season, there are two things you need to do: Get a 20W USB-C power adapter and pick out the right case. And there’s one thing you don’t need to do: change to a more expensive wireless plan just to get 5G.

While it’s true that the new iPhone 12 is capable of mind-blowing wireless speeds thanks to its new 5G capabilities, you might not actually be able to get them. Depending on your plan and where you live, you might not be able to tap into 5G speeds under your current carrier plan, so you probably think you need to upgrade to one that does.

To read this...

The last 12 months haven’t been the year anybody expected, but as we forge ahead into 2021, we’ve all got our collective fingers crossed for a brighter future. This was a year of major moves for the company, some of which set the stage for more big announcements in the year ahead.

Let’s set aside the past for a moment and project ourselves forward. While 2021 still isn’t going to be “normal”—whatever that means now—Apple has proven that it can continue to put out the high-quality, innovative products that we’ve come to expect from it, even amid a global pandemic. What might be coming down the company’s pipeline?

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The rumored “Apple Glasses” could serve as both an augmented reality/virtual reality headset AND a replacement for prescription lens. Apple has applied for a patent (number 20200400948) for “display and vision correction center with removable lens.”

As a glasses wearer, I like this idea. Apple’s patent filing is for adisplay and vision correction system includes a head-mounted display (HMD) unit, a glasses frame, and a removable lens assembly. The HMD unit is configured to be worn on a head of a user and includes a display for providing graphical content to the user. 

The glasses frame is configured to be worn on the head of the user. The removable lens assembly is removably coupleable to the head-mounted display unit and to the glasses frame. And the removable lens assembly includes a corrective lens element.

In the patent filing, Apple notes that different users of Apple Glasses may have different refractive errors of their...

Whether you've cut the cord or are sticking with cable, our guide will show you all the ways you can watch America's favorite sport on TV, including Monday Night Football and NFL RedZone.

The Verge writes:
Lei Jun, the CEO of Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, has confirmed that its upcoming Mi 11 phone will not come with a charger, citing environmental concerns. While that's a legitimate argument against providing yet another hunk of plastic that resembles all the other chargers people already have, Xiaomi joined other phone makers who poked fun at Apple a few short months ago for not including chargers with the iPhone 12.

Jun made the remarks on Chinese social media site Weibo, saying people have many chargers which creates an environmental burden, and therefore the company was canceling the charger for the Mi 11.

Apple's decision not to include chargers with the iPhone 12 was met with some derision, and competitors like Samsung reminded customers in an ad that charging bricks were "included with your Galaxy." That Galaxy ad has apparently been deleted, however, as rumors continue to build that Samsung won't include a charger with its upcoming...

Most technology creators would consider a seconds-long test a bitter disappointment, but it’s a rousing success in the world of fusion energy. According to Phys.org, the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device recently set a wo...

There’s little doubt that WarnerMedia had high hopes for Wonder Woman 1984’s simultaneous debut on HBO Max and in theaters, and that trust appears to have been well-placed. Warner Bros. is fast-tracking development of Wonder Woman 3 based on both its...

The TerraMaster D5-300C is external storage that can offer relatively speedy conenction to up to 80 terabytes across five drives, all connected to your Mac via USB Type-C.The TerraMaster D5-300C.The increased need for storage, especially in fields like video editing, can force some users to seek out external options to supplement their Mac mini or MacBook Pro's more limited internal capacity. The need for backups can also prompt a search for storage, and sometimes a single-disk external drive enclosure just won't cut it.

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MacStadium is the number one choice for iOS developers looking to host app development testing, continuous integration, and other developer workflows. MacStadium knows this market inside and out, allowing it to bring the best solutions to its individual, small business, and enterprise customers. And now, M1 Mac mini servers are available through MacStadium.

You can trust MacStadium with your hosted M1 Mac mini servers in the cloud. MacStadium has been deploying rack Mac server hardware for over eight years, specializing in Apple-centric server solutions. In addition to expertise, MacStadium offers competitive pricing. You can host a Mac mini at MacStadium for a year for an estimated $1,668. That same arrangement at AWS will cost you almost five times as much.

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The...

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has poured water on rumors that the Apple Car could arrive at any point before 2025, warning that many elements are still being worked on.A December supply chain report claimed a number of car part factories in Taiwan were rushing shipments to Apple for a potential car launch in September 2021. The dubious report's claim seemed unlikely for a number of reasons, ranging from a lack of hard-defined specifications of the vehicle to the seemingly short lead time for the production of a substantial product.In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities warns against believing the hype surrounding the report, which has helped push up the value of "concept stocks" for companies...

Directors aren’t thrilled about WarnerMedia’s decision to release every 2021 movie on HBO Max, and that’s proving to be good news for at least one rival. As The Verge reports, Sony Pictures chief Tony Vinciquerra told CNBC in an interview that his st...

Widgets have proven to be the most popular iOS 14 feature, allowing users to give their home screens an added layer of personalization. iOS 14 includes two built-in widget options that aim to use Siri intelligence to help further personalize your iPhone home screen widgets.

If you’ve just unwrapped a new iPhone this holiday season, here’s how to take your iPhone’s home screen to the next level with Smart Stacks and Siri Suggestions.

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The post How to customize your new iPhone’s home screen with Smart Stacks and Siri Suggestions appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Home screen widgets are one of the best and easiest ways to customize your new iPhone’s home screen. You can add widgets for Apple applications, as well as third-party apps. Here are some of our favorite third-party apps that offer home screen widgets.

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The post These iOS 14 apps offer home screen widgets, App Clips, and much more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Ever wished you could just lay your iPhone onto your desk or table and have it charge up? That’s the idea behind the Hudly Invisible Wireless Charger ($69.99), a device that sticks to the bottom of a desk or table up to 1.6 inches thick and can charge any Qi-compatible device on top.

The Hudly Invisible Wireless Charger keeps your workspace clean and your devices charged. Featuring long-range induction coils, it lets you turn any desk or table into a wireless charging surface. The Qi-compatible fast charging provides 10W high-speed charging for Samsung Galaxy phones and the maximum 7.5W...

One of the changes in watchOS 7 that went under the radar is support for changing your Apple Watch activity rings. While Apple has long allowed you to customize your red move goal, only this year did it add support for changing the green exercise ring and blue stand ring. Here’s how it works and how to set it up on your new Apple Watch.

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Apple’s system status webpage indicates that the company has resolved an outage affecting “iCloud Account and Sign In” services. Apple doesn’t indicate how widespread this outage was, but it does say that the issue was affecting users for 36 hours.

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The post Apple says iCloud and sign in outage affecting new device setups has been resolved appeared first on 9to5Mac.

After openly mocking Apple for omitting the requisite charger from the box of the new iPhone 12 line, Xiaomi's CEO has confirmed that the company will also drop the charger from the upcoming Mi 11 smartphone.The new Xiaomi Mi 11 won't include a chargerXiaomi CEO Lei Jun confirmed on the Chinese social media site Weibo and first spotted by The Verge, that the electronics company would be ditching the bundled power brick in the Mi 11 citing environmental concerns. Jun goes on to say that users already have a surplus of chargers and that the charger would be "canceled" for the Mi 11 device.

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9to5Rewards and MacStadium are teaming up to give away the new M1 Mac mini from Apple. For the next two weeks readers will have the chance to bring home the newest Mac mini, and take advantage of our exclusive discount on MacStadium services. Head below to enter, and remember to follow the submission requirements on the form for your best chance to win.

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