In this week’s top stories: Apple goes all-in on Services at its March 25th event, 9to5Mac offers an exclusive first look at the truly wireless Powerbeats Pro, AirPower is officially cancelled, and more. Read on for all of this week’s top stories.
At its March 25th “It’s show time” event, Apple introduced four new subscription services focused on Apple News, video, and more.
Apple kicked things off with Apple News+, which is a $9.99 per month subscription service offering access to 300 magazines and select newspapers. It includes the likes of Vogue, GQ, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. It’s available now via the News app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Next on the docket was Apple Card, which is Apple’s first step into the consumer finance industry. The card is co-branded with Goldman Sachs and integrates closely with the Wallet app on iOS. Apple touts that Apple Card features no fees, daily cash back, and more. Apple Card will be available this summer.
One of the most interesting announcements at the event was Apple Arcade. This is an App Store bundle of games that aims to unify gaming across tvOS, macOS, and iOS. It’s slated to launch later this fall with access to “over 100 new and exclusive games” for a single monthly fee.
The rest of the event was focused on television. Apple first announced an all-new TV and a new Apple TV Channels feature, both of which are available now in the first betas of iOS 12.3 and tvOS 12.3. You can now subscribe to third-party services directly through the TV app, while there’s also a new focus on curation.
Lastly, Apple announced Apple TV+. This will be the home of its original content efforts, and it paraded out a series of A-list stars to help introduce the service. Apple TV+ will be available this fall, but details on price and TV show release dates are unclear.
Also this week, Apple finally acknowledged the existence of AirPower…but not with good news. The company confirmed on Friday that it was not able able to achieve its “high standards” with AirPower, and thus is cancelling the project. We rounded up some nice alternatives to AirPower here.
Meanwhile, 9to5Mac offered an exclusive look at the forthcoming Powerbeats Pro. These will be the truly wireless version of the popular Beats Powerbeats headphones. Read all of the details in our full coverage here.
Read these and the rest of this week’s top stories below.
iOS | macOS | tvOS | watchOS |
- watchOS 5.2 coming to all customers today, includes ECG support in Europe, more [U: Now Available]
- Apple announces iOS 12.2, macOS 10.14.4 coming today [Now available]
- Apple releasing first iOS 12.3 beta for developers today
- Apple Watch Explorer face lost its numbers after watchOS 5.2? You’re not alone
- PSA: Many users reporting issues signing into Google accounts through Mail on macOS 10.14.4
- Apple releasing first iOS 12.3 public beta today with upgraded TV app, watchOS 5.2.1 developer beta 1
iPhone |
- Does this ‘new iPhone XR’ schematic actually show us the iPhone 11?
- Apple Pay coming ‘soon’ to seven more European countries, including Austria and Portugal
- Apple loses semiconductor engineer who oversaw development of A-series chips in iPhone and iPad
- Samsung’s new Galaxy S10+ with Gorilla Glass 6 loses to iPhone XS Max in drop test durability
Mac + iPad |
- Apple apologizes for ‘small number’ of MacBook customers experiencing issues with new keyboard
- Office tour — standing desk, favorite apps, Mac setup, and more
Top Apple stories, retail |
- Apple confirms Plano and Frisco, Texas retail stores will permanently close on April 12th
- Video wall upgrades begin at Apple Stores in Amsterdam, Australia, more
- Apple officially announces new Galleria Dallas retail store opening April 13th
- ‘It’s show time’ around the world: Photos from Apple Store keynote livestreams
Apple Watch |
- These are all of the countries where Apple Watch’s ECG feature is available
- Apple’s fashion ambitions for the Apple Watch have quietly faded away – NYT
AirPods + AirPower |
- Apple AirPower mat cancelled, Apple says unable to meet its own standards of quality
- Now that AirPower is dead, here are some of the best wireless charger alternatives
- Exclusive: First look at Apple’s new AirPods-like ‘Powerbeats Pro’ truly wireless sport headphones
- Hands-on: Apple AirPods 2 provide incremental improvements to the best truly wireless headphones for iPhone
- Experiencing AirPods: First impressions of Apple’s second-gen wireless earbuds after resisting the originals
- iFixit teardown of new AirPods finds two improvements to the build quality
Apps |
- The Elder Scrolls: Blades launches on iOS and Android with an early access program
- What’s the best note-taking app for the Mac?
- How to use Twitter’s automatic and black dark modes on iPhone
- Cardhop for iOS debuts, bringing Fantastical-like interactive contacts experience to iPhone and iPad
Apple News |
- Apple announces Apple News+ for $9.99/mo, adds 300 magazines and select newspapers to the News app
- Apple News+ sign-up screen violates App Store guidelines, says ex-Apple developer
- Apple News+ includes access to only 3 days worth of WSJ archives, all topics accessible by search
- Did Apple’s News+ announcement seem familiar? Ask Scott Forstall [Video]
Apple TV |
- Apple announces Apple TV+ service for its original TV shows and movies
- Apple announces ‘all-new’ TV app with ‘Apple TV Channels’ and more
- Apple rebrands 2015 Apple TV as ‘Apple TV HD’ as it introduces Apple TV+ streaming service
- Apple shows off first snippets from its Apple TV+ original content TV shows
- Upgraded TV app available in beta on Apple TV 3, HD, 4K; includes Channels with free trial
- Apple TV app coming to Mac, Fire TV and Roku, smart TVs this year
Apple Card |
- Apple unveils Apple Card in partnership with Goldman Sachs
- Apple Card tidbits: Wallet integration, Daily Cash details, no fees, more
- Here’s how the physical Apple Card will be activated on iOS
- How Apple will make money from the Apple Card – and the ways it will save money
- Analysts underwhelmed by Apple event – even the company’s card partner, Goldman Sachs
- Apple ends funding Apple Pay Cash from credit cards as it announces its own card
- Surprisingly high interest in Apple Card, as other cards likely to follow Apple’s security lead
- Goldman Sachs says it is ‘exploring international opportunities’ to launch Apple Card outside the US in the future
- Apple Card tidbits: No support for shared accounts, security details, penalty interest rates, more
Apple Arcade |
- Apple announces ‘Apple Arcade’ game subscription service through App Store
- Developers cautiously optimistic about the effects of Apple Arcade, report explains
Top Apple stories, company |
- Apple Event News Hub — live coverage from Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park
- Everything Apple announced today and the details we’re still missing
- Comment: Yesterday’s Apple event didn’t excite me – how about you?
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This week’s top videos |
- AirPods 2 review – wireless charging is nice, but it’s all about Hey Siri and new H1 chip [Video]
- New features in iOS 12.2: Apple News+, new Animoji, new AirPods support, and more [Video]
- What’s new in iOS 12.3 beta 1 – hands-on with a redesigned TV app [Video]
Happy Hour Podcast #218 |
This week Benjamin and Zac discuss Apple’s March 25th event, including Apple News+, Apple Card, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, plus new AirPods are out and new Powerbeats have leaked, plus much more.
9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Stacktrace Podcast #029 |
John and Gui are joined by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, to analyze this week’s Apple event, and to speculate about what both the revealed and yet unrevealed products may tell us about Apple’s future direction. That, and the results of last week’s poker episode, and a special appearance by… a chicken?
Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
Making The Grade |
Making The Grade is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing 100s of Macs and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.
- The 9.7-inch iPad didn’t get updated, but schools should keep buying it
- Apple Configurator 1.0 set the groundwork for modern iOS management
- How to avoid the biggest education mistakes with technology
- Making the Grade: Apple and Microsoft are the unlikeliest of friends in education
- How Wi-Fi 6 addresses key networking problems for the enterprise
9to5Mac Deal of the Month |
This month, Hyper is back to give our readers the 9to5Mac Deal of the Month. For the entire month of March, you can get 50% off Hyper’s combo wireless charger/USB-C hub and its other wireless chargers for your home and vehicle:
Get 50% off wireless charging from Hyper w/ exclusive promo code “9to5wireless”
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