Benjamin Mayo

Apple has apparently advanced its plans to expand manufacturing outside of China, telling contract manufacturer partners that it is aiming to diversify production. This is according to a report posted today by the Wall Street Journal.

Although some of Apple’s products are already produced in countries like Vietnam and India, the vast majority of Apple’s manufacturing takes place in China, at Foxconn and Pegatron facilities.

Display analyst Ross Young today tweeted that his latest supply chain analysis indicates that the rumored 27-inch external display with mini-LED has been delayed until October. He previously said it would arrive in June.

Young says the delay is due to the recent wave of COVID-induced lockdowns at the Quanta production plant. Production is reportedly being setting up at another facility.

According to a new report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple has recently demoed its upcoming AR/VR headset device to the Apple company board of directors. This is a good indicator that the project is at an ‘advanced stage’ and that a public product launch is imminent.

Bloomberg previously reported that a consumer launch for the headset is planned for 2023 but an early announcement of the device is likely. Today’s report also said that the development of the headset’s operating system has ramped up in recent months.

In April, a large group of Final Cut editors signed their name to an open letter asking Apple to do more to promote the use of Final Cut in the TV and film industry, in addition to closing long-running feature requests.

Today, Apple publicly responded. The letter reads: “the creative community has always been so important to us at Apple,” and the company pledged to address “your important feature requests.” Apple also said that is adding new training products, expanding workshops, and setting up a consultation panel of experts.

According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is exploring the use of color paper displays by E Ink for its future products. Kuo says that this manufacturer’s technology is particularly well suited to enabling a low-power second screen experience for a foldable form factor device.

Of course, Apple does not currently make a foldable although there have been ongoing rumors that the company is considering designs for a foldable iPad.

Apple today shared the official trailer for the upcoming third season of alt-reality For All Mankind. Season three picks up ten years further on in the story, with NASA aiming to occupy the surface of Mars.

Apple’s flagship space drama debuted as part of the Apple TV+ launch in November 2019, and the show has continued to receive strong critical acclaim. For All Mankind season two was selected as the #1 show of last year, by Rolling Stone. Watch the trailer for the new season after the break …

In February, Apple announced a new system called to Tap to Pay on iPhone which allows an individual to take a contactless payment, only using their iPhone as the payment terminal. With the feature active, a customer simply has to tap their NFC iPhone or bank card on the top of the receiving device’s phone, to enact a contactless transaction.

The Apple Store is already trialling a rollout of this feature, at the Apple Park Visitor Center. Watch a video of Tap to Pay in action after the break …

Heading into 2022, Apple TV+ was preparing to fill its original film slate with a major blockbuster original film, ‘Emancipation’, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith.

However, as part of the ongoing fallout from Smith deciding to assault Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, it now appears that the film’s release has been delayed to 2023 according to a report from Variety.

As expected, Apple today was hit with an official Statement of Objections from the EU competition commission over the dominance of Apple Pay.

The EU says that it has come to the preliminary view that Apple unfairly abused its dominant position in the ‘market for mobile wallets’ by restricting access to the NFC chip to third-parties, thereby elevating the adoption of Apple Pay.

The Financial Times is reporting that Apple is set to come under fire on fresh anticompetitive charges from the European Union, which will likely be formally announced next week.

Apple will face the complaint that it unfairly monopolizes the mobile payments system on the iPhone, by promoting Apple Pay and restricting other services from having the same access to the iPhone’s NFC hardware.

Apple today launched the Self Service Repair Store, allowing iPhone customers in the United States access to parts and manual that they can use to repair their own devices.

The new store enables repairs of iPhone SE, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 components, including display, battery and camera replacements. Apple also said it will launch Mac self-service repairs later this year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that he will serve as the 2022 commencement speaker for Gallaudet University.

Gallaudet and Apple already had a close relationship, with each incoming student equipped with a MacBook Pro or iPad Pro on arrival. The company also hosts hiring and recruiting events for graduates. The bond with the institution has only strengthened further in light of Apple’s promotion campaign and Oscar win for original film CODA.