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This week’s top stories: iPhone 12 leaks, iOS 13.4.1 release, Apple’s COVID-19 response, more

Chance Miller | Apr 12 2020 - 5:24 am PT

In this week’s top stories: iOS 14 home screen redesign and feature rumors, Apple designs a custom Face Shield, new iOS 13.4.1 release, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

Apple continued its work to help those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic this week. Apple CEO Tim Cook detailed in a video this week that Apple has sourced and donated over 20 million masks to healthcare workers and has also designed a custom Face Shield that it’s shipping to those workers.

This week also brought a handful of new iPhone 12 leaks. One image claimed to reportedly show the iPhone 12 with a smaller notch, an iPhone 4-style body redesign, and home screen widgets. Another leaked image purportedly showcases the iPhone 12 Pro with a new camera array on the back featuring a LiDAR Scanner.

Elsewhere, Apple released iOS 13.4.1, iPadOS 13.4.1, watchOS 6.2.1, and a supplemental macOS 10.15.4 update to the public this week. These updates include bug fixes and performance improvements related to FaceTime, USB-C performance, and much more.

9to5Mac has learned that Apple is in the process of acquiring a California-based virtual reality company called NextVR. The acquisition is expected to be valued around $100 million, and a shell company formed this year that’s believed to be Apple is hiring most of the engineers who develop the product. Read our full coverage here.

Lastly, you may have seen reports this week that Apple is looking to “phase out” the Beats hardware brand. As it turns out, this is not actually the case. 9to5Mac can report that this is not a strategy that Apple plans to pursue. The strategy is not one that should be viewed as being on the table for the company.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.

iOS | tvOS |

iPhone |

Apple Watch |

iPad |

Mac |

Apps |

COVID-19 |

Apple TV |

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This week’s top videos |

9to5Mac Daily |

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.

9to5Mac Watch Time episode #20 |

Developer David Smith joins 9to5Mac Watch Time this week to discuss his brand new Apple Watch app called Watchsmith. Read our review to see how Watchsmith works, then dive into this episode to learn so much more about David and his new app.

Sponsored by:

FlickType Keyboard: FlickType allows you to effortlessly respond to messages from your Apple Watch using a real keyboard. Download FlickType Keyboard on the App Store to get started.
Pillow: Pillow is an all-in-one sleep tracking solution to help you get a better night’s sleep. Download it from the App Store today.

9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how the Apple Watch is affecting their lives. 9to5Mac Watch Time is available on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and your favorite podcast player through RSS.

Happy Hour Podcast #272 |

Benjamin and Zac dive into LiDAR on the new iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard weight and availability, a new ARKit app called Pocket Rocket, iPad Pro’s new hardware disconnect feature, new iOS 14 wallpaper and widget features, a new app clips feature, Watchsmith for Apple Watch, the new Quibi video app, and what’s happening with HBO on Apple TV 3.

Sponsored by:

Pillow: Pillow is an all-in-one sleep tracking solution to help you get a better night’s sleep. Download it from the App Store today.
TextExpander: Visit textexpander.com/podcast and select 9to5Mac Happy Hour to save 20% off your first year!

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 078 |

John and Rambo take a spontaneous deep-dive into XPC and the pros and cons of using it to modularize a Mac app. Also, what can be learned from looking at old code, comments on the latest Apple rumors, and designing a delicious dinner.

Sponsored by:

OWC: Get the new OWC memory and Accelsior 4M2 SSD for the 2019 Mac Pro now. Enter the Mac Pro Rack giveaway here.

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Apple @ Work Podcast |

In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Joel Rennich to discuss the FIDO Alliance and the future of password management for the enterprise and consumers.

Apple @ Work Podcast is brought to you by Jamf, the standard for Apple in the enterprise. Learn more at Jamf.com/9to5mac.

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. .

Apple @ Work and Making the Grade |

Apple @ Work 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 hundreds of Macs and hundreds 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.