Follow Benjamin on Threads to keep up with his latest projects. Benjamin blogs about Apple news and rumors and posts insightful product and app reviews. Read his work on 9to5Mac and his personal blog.
Benjamin Mayo also creates apps for iOS as a professional indie developer and contractor; more details here. Email to discuss making your iOS project.
Follow @bzamayo on Twitter and follow @bzamayo on Threads.
Apple TV+ today launches its new movie Causeway, from Apple Studios and A24. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as a soldier, Lynsey, who has returned from Afghanistan. At home in New Orleans, She bonds with James (played by Brian Tyree Henry). Both are trying to suppress their own traumas, and move forward.
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Update [March 2023]: The Netflix ‘Basic with Ads’ tier is now supported on Apple TV.
Update [November 2022]: In a statement, Netflix told 9to5Mac that Basic with ads plan support is coming soon to Apple TV devices. Original story below.
Here’s a PSA for anyone out there looking to save some money on their Netflix. Beginning today, Netflix Basic with ads plan is rolling out around the world, priced at $6.99 per month.
However there’s a big gotcha for people in the Apple ecosystem: the ad-supported plan is not supported on the Netflix app on the Apple TV box.
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It might be hard to believe, but it has now been a decade since Scott Forstall was fired from Apple. Forstall was replaced by Craig Federighi on October 29, 2012, although he stayed on in a perfunctory advisor capacity for approximately six months after that.
Here’s a look back at what happened… and what happened next.
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Happy Halloween! This year, the Peanuts and Charlie Brown holiday specials are not broadcast on traditional TV. Instead, they are Apple TV+ exclusives. But Apple is offering short free windows for anyone to stream — no purchase necessary … here’s how to watch.
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Starting in 2023, Apple TV is the exclusive streaming home for all Major League Soccer matches. This deal involves the MLS taking on almost all production duties. The Athletic reports MLS wants to send on-site announcers to commentate all games, offer multiple audio streams and other interactive elements, and use as many as 12 cameras per match.
However, the report says technical production planning for the broadcast is running behind schedule. The league is yet to sign an executive producer, for instance, and is facing many logistical challenges to pull off such an ambitious broadcast. Some corners may be cut to hit the 2023 season start deadline …
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This week, Apple rolled out new ad placements in the App Store for the Today tab and at the bottom of product pages of other apps. App Store ads are always a controversial (and widely disliked) subject, but this latest expansion was particularly grating to the developer community.
Developers were particularly fuming that many of the ads now being shown next to their apps in the ‘You Might Also Like’ were highly irrelevant, or ethically questionable, like seeing apps from gambling companies and casino-esque freemium games. In response to the complaints, via MacRumors, Apple has “paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories” from appearing on app product pages.
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As described in a new update to its Time to Play Fair website, Spotify has faced the ire of App Review over its attempt to launch an audiobooks store inside the Spotify app on iPhone. The app was rejected three times by App Review due to violations of Apple’s In-App Purchase rules, before finally being approved on Tuesday. The eventually-approved app experience entails a nine step process, far more complicated than Spotify ideally wanted to offer, to comply with App Store rules.
Spotify says this is yet another case of Apple’s anticompetitive dominance on the app economy. Spotify first filed a formal complaint to the European Commission back in 2019 The commission is still investigating.
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After first being previewed as part of the iPhone event back in September, flight tracking app Flighty is now rolling out comprehensive Live Activities and Dynamic Island support alongside the launch of iOS 16.1.
When using Flighty, a live activity for your upcoming flight automatically begins three hours before departure. This means you can easily follow along with your flight status, including delays and gate changes, from the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro.
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Apple is today increasing the prices of its Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscription services. The Apple One bundle price is also rising in unison.
The Apple Music monthly price has been upped by ~$1 for individuals and ~$2 for families. Apple TV+ is rising by $2 (which only has one tier and supports Family Sharing on all plans). Apple One is also going up by approximately $3 per month. Full pricing changes after the break …
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Apple execs Tim Cook and Eddy Cue were present at the Formula 1 race in Austin today, with Cook (somewhat unenthusiastically) waving the checkered flag for the final lap.
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One of the heads of Apple’s design group, Evans Hankey, is to leave the company, via Bloomberg. The former VP Industrial Design officially led Apple’s design team alongside software design chief Alan Dye, following the departure of Jony Ive in 2019.
Bloomberg says Hankey told employees she will stay at the company for the next six months, before departing. Apple has not yet named a replacement for Hankey’s role.
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Apple TV+ today premieres its latest original film, Raymond and Ray. The comedy-drama stars Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke as brothers Raymond and Ray, essentially given the same name by their estranged father as just one act of spite in a line of many. Upon his death, they soon learn their father’s last wish was for the brothers to dig his grave.
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Apple today unveiled the new generation of 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, powered by the latest M2 Apple Silicon chips. The M2 chip made its debut in the 2022 MacBook Air and 2022 13-inch MacBook Pro, and this update brings that same performance to Apple’s lineup of pro tablets as well.
Alongside the M2 performance boost, the iPad Pros can now detect when the Apple Pencil is hovering above the display. This means UI elements can expand and respond as the user approaches the screen with the stylus.
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Apple’s mixed reality headset is set to feature iris scanning biometrics features, enabling capabilities similar to the Face ID biometrics system found in modern iPhones and iPads. According to a report from The Information, ‘Iris ID’ would allow the user to authenticate payments without entering a password, and would enable seamless user switching.
Apple’s augmented reality and virtual reality capable device has been in the works inside the company for many years, and is finally expected to be unveiled to the public sometime in 2023.
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The novel Shantaram is a modern classic of fiction. And now, a TV series adaptation of Shantaram premieres today on Apple TV+, starring Charlie Hunnam in the lead role …
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With my previous iPhones, I have always relied on Apple’s first-party leather case option. It’s not cheap, but I have found they held up well to years and years of use, the clicky buttons feel nice and the subtle branding. However, when upgrading to the iPhone 14 Pro this year, I found myself slightly alienated. Apple does not make a true black color case option anymore … and that’s where the Mujjo leather case comes in …
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An AirTag will last about one year to eighteen months on a single CR2032 battery. When they are close to running out of juice, you will get a notification on your phone telling you to replace the battery. But how exactly do you replace the battery in an AirTag?
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Microsoft today announced that desktop Apple TV and Apple Music apps will be available on Windows PCs next year, downloadable from the Microsoft Store. Early beta previews of these apps will launch on the Microsoft Store soon.
The Apple partnership also expands to personal media, with the news that the Windows 11 Photos app is adding iCloud integration. This means Windows users can smoothly browse their iCloud Photo Library inside the stock Windows Photos app.
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According to Digiday, Apple is looking to sell video ad inventory beginning in early 2023. This follows early talks with media agencies where Apple has discussed preliminary plans to sell video advertising space against its original content and live sports ventures.
The move would bring Apple TV+ in line with the strategies of other streaming services. All major streaming services, except Apple, have announced or already offer ad-supported plans. Market leaders Netflix and Disney+ will launch ad-supported tiers in the next couple of months. The cheaper price attracts price-conscious consumers during this period of inflation and a weak economy climate.
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Apple’s overall deal with WildBrain sees Apple TV+ as the exclusive streaming destination for all things Snoopy and Peanuts, including archive classics and wholly new specials and series.
For the last two years, Apple allowed PBS to air the iconic Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas Peanuts specials. This year, they are Apple exclusive however. Apple will stream them for free for everyone — no subscription needed — for a limited time (dates below). The service is also premiering brand new holiday specials and original movies for the festive season …
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Apple’s streaming service Apple TV+ today released the official trailer for the upcoming Selena Gomez documentary film, My Mind & Me. The movie will debut on Apple TV+ on November 4.
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Apple appears to be rolling out a wide-reaching branding change about how it refers to its Mac portable lineup. Up until recently, Apple officially referred to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro as “Mac notebooks” or just “notebooks,” leaning on the relatively outdated industry terminology of notebook computers.
But now, everything user-facing appears to be slowly converting to using a “laptop” nomenclature. Updates to the Apple Online Store product pages, articles in the Apple Support knowledge base, and even the Mac operating system is beginning to reflect this branding update …
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Apple’s streaming service, Apple TV+, features a periodic topical news discussion show from Jon Stewart. The Problem with Jon Stewart returns for season two beginning this Friday. Here’s how to watch.
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The Greatest Beer Run Ever is the latest Apple Original Film, now streaming on the Apple TV+ streaming service. The movie stars Zac Efron as Chickie Donohue, telling the incredible true story of a man who volunteers to go to Vietnam, during war time, just to give his allied soldiers a beer. It’s based on a written memoir of the same name.
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