Benjamin Mayo

The WGA went on strike back in May. Now, Hollywood actors will be joining writers on the picket lines, marking the first time both unions are on strike at the same time since the 1960s.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents Apple TV+ and the other Hollywood studios, has failed to reach an agreement with the Screen Actors Guild. SAG said it is negotiating for better compensation on streaming shows and protections against the use of AI in TV shows and movies.

Apple is expanding its online retail presence in China, through a new initiative that integrates the Apple Store experience directly inside China’s incredibly popular “super app,” WeChat.

The Apple Store “mini-program” will let customers buy Apple products like iPhones, iPads, and Macs directly through WeChat for the first time (via TechCrunch).

Apple TV+ dropped the first episode of sci-fi series Silo on Twitter last month, garnering tens of millions of views on the platform, as a promotional tactic ahead of that show’s season finale.

The company is now doing the same thing with its other big sci-fi fantasy series, Foundation. The first episode of the first season will be streaming on YouTube this Monday, ahead of the second season premiere on July 14.

Bloomberg today released a report describing some of the planning going on in the Apple retail division to prepare for the launch of the Apple Vision Pro headset, previously announced as available in the US “early next year.”

The report says that — at least out the gate — Vision Pro will only be purchasable by appointment. Apple retail workers will help ensure customers get a Vision Pro with an appropriately fitting headband and light seal. It will represent the most logistically complex rollout ever for an Apple product.

Jeff Pu of Haitong International Tech Research today said that he expects the iPhone 15 series to enter mass production in August, on track to build around 84 million made for the second half of 2023.

This is up about 12% compared to the iPhone 14 builds last year, suggesting Apple thinks demand will be strong. However, Pu warns that he believes the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be priced higher than the $1,099 starting price of iPhone 14 Pro Max. Unlike last year, we expect the iPhone 15 Pro Max to have exclusive features not found on the 6.1-inch Pro.

The new social media app Threads, from Meta, has experienced a mass swarm of popularity on launch day. The company announced more than 10 million sign-ups to the service, less than 10 hours after launch.

The popularity is fueled in large part by the deep cross-promotion with Instagram. After downloading the app from the App Store, Instagram users can sign up to Threads in one tap – with their same username – and a Threads badge appears on your Instagram profile.

The Financial Times is reporting this morning that Apple has significantly cut its targets for Apple Vision Pro unit shipments. Down from an expected million units per year, Apple will now only make around 400,000 Vision Pro headsets in 2024.

This is due to manufacturing issues arising from the headset’s complex design. Plans for a more affordable second-generation headset have also been delayed, according to the report.

In the latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman writes that he understands Apple is working on a new Mac external display option that can double up as a smart home display when idle.

Apple is also working on other monitor options, likely aimed as direct successors to the Pro Display XDR and Apple Studio Display.

As reported by Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to launch a USB-C case for the AirPods Pro, presumably alongside the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup lineup this fall which will switch from the Lightning port to the USB-C port.

Gurman says Apple is also testing a new hearing test feature, in addition to the other iOS 17 AirPods features Apple announced at WWDC.

Apple has not decided to renew High Desert, the Apple TV+ drama series starring Patricia Arquette. The show producers announced today that the series has been cancelled and won’t be returning for a second season.

However, some solace was found by Ben Stiller, executive producer. He tweeted that — unlike other streamers at the moment — Apple is not removing underperforming shows from its platform. That means the season one of High Desert will continue to be available to stream indefinitely on the Apple TV app.

The public deadline for the Reddit API changes is July 1. Popular third-party client Apollo is one of the casualties, and just released its swan song update asking users to decline a refund on their outstanding subscriptions. Many other clients are also shuttering in two days time, with API usage costs set to skyrocket.

However, the developer of popular third-party client Narwhal Rick Harrison posted a surprise announcement that goes against the trend, saying that Narwhal will be able to continue operating (after originally stating that it would have to close down). A major new version, Narwhal 2, is also apparently coming soon and will be funded exclusively by a subscription pricing model.

Apple and Spotify are back in court this week, as the EU antitrust case remains ongoing. The EU reached its preliminary conclusion in 2021 that App Store unfairly favored Apple Music over Spotify and other music streaming services.

Via Bloomberg, on Friday, Apple lawyers will argue that it has addressed competition concerns in the last two years and no more changes are necessary. In a statement, Spotify said recent App Store policy changes were “just for show” and do not address the core issue of Apple’s anti-steering rules.

Apple has upped the price of iCloud storage in the United Kingdom and some other geographic regions, possibly reflecting changes in foreign currency exchange rates. iCloud pricing in the United States remains the same.

The monthly price of iCloud storage has increased by about 25% for UK Apple customers. Similar rises have also been applied to a handful of other markets around the world …

In his Bloomberg Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman reported today on Apple’s upcoming product roadmap. Alongside the iPhone 15 lineup this fall, customers can expect the launch of Apple Watch Series 9 and a second-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

More updates to the Mac lineup, like M3 MacBook and MacBook Pro devices, are not expected until later this year or early 2024. Notably, Gurman reports new iMacs with 24-inch screens are in the works, after skipping the M2 generation entirely, as well as a brand new iMac model with a screen larger than 30 inches (this may be the long-awaited Apple Silicon successor the iMac Pro.)

In today’s Power On newsletter by Mark Gurman, he reports that Apple has opened up the Apple Vision Pro headset testing to more employees inside the company following the WWDC unveiling. One issue that has come up in expanded testing is the weight.

The Vision Pro headset is not light, partly because it is made of aluminum and glass rather than plastic materials. To combat this, Apple has developed a top strap that helps mitigate the pressure of the weight on the user’s face. But Gurman says Apple is not currently considering that to be so essential it will be included in the box.

Here’s a small iOS 17 change that had gone unnoticed until now. Via @AppleIntro on Twitter, iOS 17 includes a new speed option for the Haptic Touch setting. This setting controls how long the user has to long-press on the iPhone screen in order for the system gesture action to be committed.

This setting affects things like how fast context menus appear. You can customize it by opening the Settings app and navigating to Accessibility -> Touch -> Haptic Touch.

Apple today announced it is officially rolling out a new ad format for the App Store. The new Today tab format is more compact than the previous full-height card design but is viewable immediately upon opening the tab on the iPhone. The previous design required the user to scroll down the page to see it.

A nonsponsored slot continues to take the first position, but the ad placement is now always above the fold. The new format also allows Apple to make it easier for advertisers to submit campaigns and get approved more quickly.