Earlier today 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. Now  Reuters — referencing two unnamed “people familiar with the matter” — makes the more feasible prediction that the tech giant plans to begin production on an Apple-branded self-driving vehicle starting in 2024.

Apple Car mock-up courtesy of wccftech 

The article says that central to the company’s strategy is a new “monocle” battery design that could “radically” reduce the cost of batteries and increase the vehicle’s range, according to a third person who has purportedly seen Apple...

A pair of new Philips Hue products have leaked today, providing a glimpse at what the smart home company has in store for early 2021. As reported by Hueblog, Philips Hue will release a new Wave Linear outdoor lighting accessory in spring of 2021, as well as redesigned Smart Dimmer.

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The Apple Watch Series 5 (44mm) is on sale on Amazon. Today, the GPS + cellular variant is down to just $294 from its original price of $529.

The Apple Watch Series 5 now sports an always-on Retina display so you can check the time, heart rate, and notifications easily and without having to flick your wrist. It’s 30% larger compared to the Series 4 and has new features such as the ECG app, electrical heart sensors, and emergency SOS.

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Apple’s image capturing vehicles have been spotted roaming around Singapore, New Zealand, and Israel, indicating that the feature may arrive to the countries soon.

‘Look Around’ is available on Apple Maps and was introduced in iOS 13 and later, as well as macOS Big Sur. It’s similar to Google Streetview and allows users to get street-level map details for a better navigational experience.

Apple uses imaging vehicles to capture street-level details. In Israel, the vehicle has been spotted passing through Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Central, Southern and Northern regions. In Singapore, the vehicle has been spotted passing through the five regions, namely South West, South East, North West, North East and Central, while in New Zealand it was spotted along Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.

Apple Maps’ Look...

Turn your iPad into a versatile device with the help of the Logitech Slim Folio PRO and save $40 in the process. Today, the iPad Pro accessory is down to just $69.99 from its original price of $109.99 on Amazon.

Logitech’s offering has a set of useful features for just about every iPad Pro owner. You get backlit keys which let you type away without having to find an illuminated area or light source. The keys are large and well-spaced so you can type without having any issues. What’s more, there’s a row of iOS shortcut keys so you’ll feel right at home.

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Apple has recently published a guide on how people can protect their personal data from other people.

Apple has been a proponent of privacy for some time now, with its latest endeavor being the integration of ‘nutrition labels’ on the App Store.

Now, the Cupertino-based company has published a document titled ‘Device and Data Access When Personal Safety is at Risk’, which explains all security options and how people can use them.

On Apple’s support site the description reads, ‘if you’re concerned that someone is accessing your information you did not share from your Apple device, this guide will also help you identify risks’. Furthermore, the text says that the guide can walk the individual through steps to make technology as secure and private as...

When the new Mercedes EQS sedan hits the road next year, it will feature a new and improved version of the automaker’s MBUX infotainment called the MBUX Hyperscreen as an optional upgrade. The company says the ultrawide screen spans the entire front...

Browser makers Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla, have banned a root certificate that was being used by the Kazakhstan government to intercept and decrypt HTTPS traffic for residents in the country's capital, the city of Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana). From a report: The certificate had been in use since December 6, 2020, when Kazakh officials forced local internet service providers to block Nur-Sultan residents from accessing foreign sites unless they had a specific digital certificate issued by the government installed on their devices. While users were able to access most foreign-hosted sites, access was blocked to sites like Google, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Netflix, unless they had the certificate installed. Kazakh officials justified their actions claiming they were carrying out a cybersecurity training exercise for government agencies, telecoms, and private companies. Officials cited that cyberattacks targeting "Kazakhstan's segment of the internet" grew 2...

In keeping with our tradition, we’re going to take off the last few weeks of 2020, which this year means staying safe with our immediate households and scheduling virtual gatherings with our extended families. You can expect the next email issue of TidBITS on 11 January 2021. Thanks for reading TidBITS, and we hope you’ve found our content useful, accurate, and enjoyable!

BBEdit is ready for macOS 11 Big Sur and the new M1 machines! Bare Bones Software is offering a BBEdit & Yojimbo holiday bundle that’s a perfect gift for a friend (or yourself) for just $59. I’ve been using BBEdit for over 20 years—it’s one of the first things I put on any computer.

∞ Read this on The Loop

New legislation in the EU is set to take effect on December 31 that will impact online purchases. Apple has given a heads up about how developers will be impacted and what to do to prepare for the changes.

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Your Apple gear wasn’t cheap. And if you drop your iPhone, your iPad stops turning on, or you smack your Apple Watch into something and shatter it, getting it repaired probably won’t be cheap either.

Apple includes a one-year limited warranty with all hardware so if there’s a manufacturing defect, you’ll be covered. To also protect against accidental damage plus extend the original warranty for longer and enjoy free tech support, you can opt to purchase AppleCare+. Here’s what it is, what it covers, and what you can expect to pay. Is AppleCare+ worth it? Only you can decide for your own situation, but this should be everything you need to know to make a smart choice.

To read this article in full, please click here

2020 was a rollercoaster year for TikTok. A constantly changing deadline from the Trump administration meant the company spent most of the year unsure of it would still be around to see the end of it. So can you blame ByteDance’s US outpost for wanti...

TikTok has become the latest social network to add a year-in-review feature. The company is rolling out a new “Year on TikTok” recap that lets you “revisit some of your defining TikTok memories in true TikTok style.” Here’s how it works in the TikTok app on iOS.

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The post TikTok for iOS adds new year-in-review feature, here’s how to find it appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Young creatives in London made the best of a quarantine summer with Today at Apple and Made in LDN, the ongoing program that brings new opportunities to aspiring artists. To wrap up the year, Apple and the Mayor of London’s Office are celebrating youth creativity with short films that document Made in LDN virtual sessions.

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The post Today at Apple and Made in LDN celebrate a summer of virtual creativity in new films appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Astronomers have encountered a mystery surprisingly close to Earth. The Guardian and Scientific American have learned that Breakthrough Listen astronomers using the Parkes telescope in Australia discovered a strange radio signal coming from Proxima C...

Apple Mac revenues rose 50% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2020 as global PC unit shipments increased 18%, driven largely by continued work-from-home and remote learning trends.Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsiderIn a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall writes that Apple's Mac revenues rose 50% year-over-year. The Cupertino tech giant is also likely to see continued gains as users adopt M1-equipped Macs for their performance upgrades.

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Homestar Runner remains one of the best-known internet cartoons built on Adobe Flash, a site that regularly produced hilarious absurdist content throughout the 2000s. Of course, the era of the smartphone and iPad eventually led to a major move away f...

The holidays are upon us, and with that comes gatherings of friends and family—usually. In this time of COVID-19, in-person gatherings with people outside of your immediate circle are discouraged. After all, it is the season of giving, but no one wants to give anyone the virus.

Apple

Zoom is now available for Apple silicon. It’s not a Universal app, and if you download the Apple silicon version to an Intel Mac, the icon. will have a slash through it, indicating that it won’t run.

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It might not be too late to get your hands on a 2020 12.9-inch iPad Pro in time for the holidays. If you’re looking to pick one up, you might not find a better deal at the moment than at B&H. Several models are on sale for the lowest prices we’ve...

Jean-Louis Gassée:

Today, an unstructured, sentimental reminiscence and acknowledgment of my debt to Apple. A company that, warts and all, was gratifying to have worked for and continues to be enjoyable to watch.

This is an interesting read, a look back by someone who was in the room when it happened, both when Steve Jobs was kicked to the curb, and as the founder of a competitor to NeXT when Steve made his triumphant return.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Adds support for importing Apple iPhone ProRAW, Photoshop .PSB, and Canon .CR3 files. ($39.95 new, free update, 250 MB, macOS 10.9+)

Ben Schoon, 9to5Google, on Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Buds Pro:

Perhaps most notably, though, is a copy of Apple’s “Spatial Audio” feature for the Galaxy Buds Pro. That feature, which is available on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, can creature a faux surround sound system that changes the direction of the audio based on the direction of your head and the position of the phone.

Oh Samsung, you just couldn’t resist, could you. You did skip a step, though. You forgot to mock the feature when Apple shipped it before you started your copiers.

∞ Read this on The Loop

Adobe has announced the first public access to Premiere Pro native M1 support through a beta version of its Mac video editing software. Premiere Rush and audio editing tool Audition also get native support in new betas for Apple’s M1-powered Macs.

As with Photoshop (but in contrast with Lightroom), Adobe is taking a phased approach, with initial betas supporting only a limited number of features …

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One of the most notable YouTube premium features is the ability to download basically any video for offline playback. According to Android Police, YouTube briefly tested an extension of that feature that would use your account to sync downloads acros...

Looking for the perfect last-minute gift for the Apple fan on your shopping list? Apple AirPods Pro are in stock and on sale for $199.99 today only at B&H Photo, with free expedited shipping.Flash AirPods Pro dealToday's AirPods Pro flash deal is in addition to one-day only savings on 12.9-inch iPad Pros that we covered earlier this morning, with B&H offering free expedited shipping within the contiguous U.S. on the handy wireless earphones while supplies last.

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The coronavirus most definitely did not stop Apple from releasing a slew of new hardware in 2020. The company announced three updated iPads, five new phones, some crazy-expensive headphones and three new Macs with its new M1 silicon inside. Putting a...

Good mental health is important, and early research suggests AI might help diagnose that health for people who are under a particularly heavy strain. Scientists have developed a combination of deep learning algorithms that use eye tracking to gauge t...

Citizen Lab researchers say they have found evidence that dozens of journalists had their iPhones silently compromised with spyware known to be used by nation states. From a report: For more than the past year, London-based reporter Rania Dridi and at least 36 journalists, producers and executives working for the Al Jazeera news agency were targeted with a so-called "zero-click" attack that exploited a now-fixed vulnerability in Apple's iMessage. The attack invisibly compromised the devices without having to trick the victims into opening a malicious link. Citizen Lab, the internet watchdog at the University of Toronto, was asked to investigate earlier this year after one of the victims, Al Jazeera investigative journalist Tamer Almisshal, suspected that his phone may have been hacked. In a technical report out Sunday and shared with TechCrunch, the researchers say they believe the journalists' iPhones were infected with the Pegasus spyware, developed by Israel-based NSO Group. The...

Adds new restrictions, payloads, and commands for Profile Manager and now requires macOS 11 Big Sur or later. ($19.99 new, free update, 79.2 MB, macOS 11+)

The iPhone 12 was the world’s best-selling 5G smartphone model in October despite a delayed launch, which resulted in only two weeks of sales during the month, according to Counterpoint Research. 

The iPhone 12 Pro, which launched  alongside the iPhone 12, was the second best-selling 5G model for the month, according to the research group’s monthly Market Pulse Service. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro together captured close to one-fourth of the total 5G smartphone sales in October.

The iPhone 12 also entered the top 10 bestseller list of 5G devices for January-October 2020, attaining the seventh position. This is a “big achievement, considering the new iPhone series was available for only two weeks in October,” according to Counterpoint Research.

I don’t buy it, but the Economic Daily News claims the long-rumored “Apple Car” is running at least two years ahead of schedule and will be released in the third quarter of 2021. The article cites “unnamed executives at Taiwanese manufacturers.”

“According to the executives of a major electric vehicle supply chain manufacturer, with the order shipment and assembly completed, dozens of Apple Car’s first prototype cars have been secretly tested on the road in California,” says the Economic Daily News. “It is expected that heavy shipments and business opportunities will be mature next year.”

Most pundits — including usually-accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo — have pegged a 2023 or later time table for such a vehicle to roll out. However, the Sellers Research Group (that’s me) doesn’t think Apple will ever make an...

Testing the new Logitech Circle doorbell camera in the real world has turned up some interesting shortcomings in HomeKit Secure Video. Plus Eve's macOS app is out, while the iOS 14.4 beta brings U1 benefits to HomePod mini, all on the HomeKit Insider podcast.HomeKit Insider: A new AppleInsider podcastThe primary topic for this podcast episode surrounds the recent release of the Logitech Circle View Wired Video Doorbell — and what it tells us about HomeKit Secure Video.

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Zoom is now subject of probes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a pair of U.S. Attorney's offices, the company claims, with the investigations focusing on the company's interactions with China and other governments around the world.On Friday, a corporate blog post revealed Zoom had caught the attention of the SEC and U.S. Attorneys, and had been investigated for a number of months. The investigations, launched over the summer, examined how the company conducted itself with foreign governments and political parties, with close scrutiny over its handling of Chinese government requests.This included requests for information relating to security and privacy, encryption, usage metrics, and disclosures. A subpoena from the Northern District of California also wanted details of contacts between Zoom employees and the Chinese government, and attempts by foreign governments to influence Zoom's policies...

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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Discounts on Apple’s latest products are pretty rare, and the Watch Series 6 is no exception. Normally, it costs at least $399, though we’ve seen small discounts at Apple and prices as low as around $350 on Amazon. Right now, however, you can grab th...

Under Indian law, Apple has ultimate legal responsibility for the underpaid wages at a Wistron iPhone assembly plant near Bangalore, says a local report.

iPhone assembly was suspended at the plant due to damage caused when workers rioted following underpayments. An investigation by the Indian government found ‘serious labor law violations’ …

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The post Apple legally responsible for underpaid wages at iPhone plant, says report appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Zoom is releasing a version of its app that is compatible with Apple Silicon Macs, with the updated app capable of natively supporting Apple's M1 SoC without needing to employ Rosetta 2.The Monday update of the video conferencing tool will include support for Apple's ARM-based CPUs, support pages for the app reveals. The desktop client will have "better support" for the M1 chip, with a separate installer to be made available from the Zoom Download Center including that compatibility.The change is important to users that have an M1-equipped Mac mini, MacBook Air, or 13-inch MacBook Pro...

You probably already have your holiday shopping taken care of and are already looking at a stack of confirmed delivery tracking numbers. But if, say, a friend of yours is still in need of last-minute shopping information, or you just want to double...

Adobe announces that video editing app Premiere Pro is to be released with Apple Silicon M1 support in stages, starting with the "core editing functions," which are available in beta now.Final Cut Pro rival Adobe Premiere Pro is now available with support for the M1 processor, but only partially and solely in beta. Adobe warns users that there are key limitations in the current beta, but also says that full support will be introduced in stages."Since Premiere Pro is built on a large codebase with support for a wide range of media and workflows, we will implement native support for Apple M1 in phases and some parts have not been ported yet," Adobe announced in a...

Samsung currently has three models of Galaxy Buds earphones, including the original Buds, Buds+ and bean-shaped Buds Live — the latter its first with active noise cancellation (ANC). However, as rumored, a fourth model called the Buds Pro is set to j...

Here’s a good reason to add a protective case to your iPhone: Americans who have dropped their smartphones on the sidewalk or into a swimming pool are far from alone. A new survey by Allstate Protection Plans found that 140 million Americans have damaged a smartphone at some point in their lives, with 87 million having a mishap in the past 12 months.

The Allstate Protection Plans Mobile Mythconceptions Study looked at the common causes of smartphone damage, along with consumers’ attitudes toward repairing and replacing their phones. It found that while Americans believe only 43% of smartphone owners have had an accident that required repair, 61% have actually had damage that needed repairs.

In the past year, damaged screens (45%) led the list of most common types of smartphone damage. Battery failure (19%) was second, with damaged corners and sides coming in third (13%). Other study highlights:

Launched in 2014, Apple Pay has begun to grow at an exponential rate. The payment service by Apple only works on the devices made by the company. The goal with Apple Pay is to offer a seamless payment experience using fingerprint or facial recognition as authorization methods.

According to Apple Insider, Apple Pay has grown heavily since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic. Past few months and years as well, have been all about regulators taking a hard look at big tech companies. It appears that all of regulators’ eyes are on Apple again for the way in which it runs Apple Pay.

Apple users are reportedly “motivated” to use Apple’s own methods such as Apple Card or Apple Pay Cash. The company launched its own credit card by the name of “Apple Card” in partnership with Goldman Sachs as its banking partner while Mastercard took over the payment network.

According to Apple Insider, Apple “minimizes” other payment...

This mid-priced botvac holds its own with premium models—and it can mop, too.

The coronavirus continues to affect all walks of life. Apple has once again shut all of its stores in California. The company had begun shutting its stores in San Francisco starting Friday. The closure status has now taken over the whole state of California as Apple has shut all the stores within the state.

The stores now have a notice put up which reads that the (specific) Apple store will remain closed temporarily. However, Apple is continuing to offer pick-up and Genius Bar appointments until the 22nd of December, 2020. It’s unclear as to when the stores will reopen again.

Apple will very likely keep all its stores in California shut during the holiday season. The intensity of COVID-19 continues to rise as the number of positive cases continues to rise in California and across the globe as well. The Cupertino based company Apple has not only shut its stores in California but also in other parts of the world.

According to a report by 9To5Mac...

It’s been a good month for fans of decades-old unreleased games based on existing, well-known pop culture properties. A couple of weeks after the unreleased PlayStation version of Superman 64 was posted online, an unannounced The Simpsons game for Dr...

Final Cut Pro (FCP) is one of the most popular softwares that Apple makes. Video editors love the simplicity and feature rich experience that FCP offers – a combination that is found nowhere else. Many professional video editors use a Mac just for Final Cut Pro, moving away is difficult for a lot of people. The other popular video editing tool is Adobe’s Premiere Pro which a lot of users find difficult to use (me included).

Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple was working on an iPad version of Final Cut Pro. The information was shared by many noted Apple leaksters with the detail that Apple could do so at its annual developers conference (WWDC). However, Apple did not unveil the iPad version of Final Cut Pro this year. But that does not mean that it’s never happening.

ARM to power all Apple devices

At WWDC, Apple announced its plans to move the Mac from Intel to its own Apple made silicon. The company unveiled its first chip made for consumer...

Apple has closed all 53 stores in California and up to 16 across the UK, Tennessee, Brazil and Mexico due to soaring COVID-19 cases in those regions, the company told the New York Times in a statement. It’s the second major closure of Apple’s retail...

Apple released the first batch of Macs powered by its own silicon. The company unveiled updated MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini – all powered by the first consumer centric M1 chip instead of the usual Intel chip.

What comes next is the big question now? All eyes are on the beefy 16” MacBook Pro which could possibly receive Apple silicon treatment. At the annual developers conference (WWDC), Apple announced that it will take around two years to complete the transition from Intel to its own silicon (Apple silicon).

Dedicated or Integrated GPU?

The M1 chip has shocked people with its immense performance gains over the Intel counterparts. In some cases, according to tech reviewers, the M1 chip is able to perform better than the 16” MacBook Pro with the top-tier Intel chips. However, the 16” MacBook Pro has the advantage of having a dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) whereas on the M1, everything is built into one chip.

It’s unclear as to whether...