Follow Benjamin on Twitter 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.
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Apple TV+ today launched its new big-budget limited series, Masters of the Air, a long-awaited installment in the Band of Brothers and The Pacific franchise. Based on the book of the same name, Masters of the Air follows the 100th Bomb Group as they take on treacherous air raids, in broad daylight.
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the show’s star-studded cast list includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, Ncuti Gatwa and more …
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The highly-anticipated limited series Masters of the Air is streaming now on Apple TV+, the follow-up in the Band of Brothers and The Pacific series on World War II. Based on the book of the same name, the nine part series stars Austin Butler and Callum Turner in the lead pilot roles. Here’s how to watch.
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Apple announced a slew of App Store policy changes today to conform to the EU’s Digital Market Act, including supporting alternative app stores (Apple calls them ‘app marketplaces’) for the first time in Europe.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has immediately come out to criticize the changes, in a post on his X account. Sweeney says the new rules are an “anticompetitive scheme rife with junk fees”, and an example of “malicious compliance”.
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In compliance with the Digital Markets Act, Apple is opening up the NFC chip on the iPhone for the first time. This will allow banking and wallets app to offer competition to Apple Pay for the first time, allowing users to choose an alternative payment system as the default app that appears when holding the iPhone near a payment terminal, as well as the double-click side button shortcut.
Developers of banking/wallet apps can apply to Apple to get an entitlement to support these features. To get approved, the developers will have to meet various industry and regulatory requirements.
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Apple is updating its App Store policies to relent on a longstanding ban on game streaming apps. Developers are now allowed to submit a single app that can contain a catalog of games, where the game code is running off a server. This allows services like Xbox Cloud Gaming to finally release a native app for the iPhone and iPad.
Previously, Apple required developers submit a separate app for each game individually, a laborious and untenable affair.
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To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Apple is announcing a sweeping set of changes to the App Store policy. This includes a new reduced commission structure.
iOS apps in the EU can now accept alternative terms with commission set at 17%, plus 3% if apps are using Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Either way, that’s a significant cut from the old 30% rate. Small business program developers will pay commission of 10%, plus 3%, down from 15%. There’s an additional new Core Technology Fee for ‘high volume apps’, which applies per install …
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Apple will soon announce policy changes to conform to the Digital Markets Act in Europe, with an impending implementation deadline of March. The DMA will force Apple to allow iPhone app sideloading, with the goal of reducing Apple’s monopolistic control of software on iOS.
However, exactly how that will go down remains in question. The Wall Street Journal believes it has the inside scoop on Apple’s plans. Although apps will be available outside of the App Store for the first time, the Journal says Apple still plans to charge fees and conduct app review processes for sideloaded apps.
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Project Titan, the Apple electric car project, has been underway since 2015. But the project has faced numerous delays and repeated executive turnover. Initially planning to make a fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, those lofty ambitions have come crashing down to earth in recent years.
With Apple VP Kevin Lynch leading the project since 2021, the company has set a new release date for the launch of its first vehicle: 2028. That’s according to a new report today from Bloomberg.
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Apple TV+ films scored 13 Academy Award nominations today, ahead of the Oscars ceremony to be held on March 10.
Martin Scorsese epic Killers of the Flower Moon led Apple’s haul, including the prestigious Best Picture nod and Lily Gladstone for Best Actress. Ridley Scott’s Napoleon scored nominations for costume design, production design and visual effects.
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Apple Music is now encouraging artists with a financial incentive to make their music available in Spatial Audio, which offers an immersive surround sound experience when listening with AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and other headphones.
Apple will pay up to 10% more per play in royalties for tracks where a spatial version is available. This is starting with January’s payouts.
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After Apple went a whole year in 2023 without a single iPad hardware update, there are big expectations for the upcoming refreshes. New generations of iPad Pro and iPad Air are expected as soon as this spring.
91mobiles has today published purported schematics for the new iPad Air, which features a larger 12.9-inch display, a size increase from the current 10.9-inch model.
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The Apple Store is down ahead of Apple Vision Pro preorders starting at at 5AM PT. The Apple tradition is to take the store offline ahead of major events and new product launches.
In this case, Apple has gone one step further by using a bespoke store is down page, with custom animation. On the ‘Back in a blink’ page, the Apple logo transforms into the Vision Pro headset.
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As of today, all new Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models sold by Apple do not support the blood oxygen feature. This is due to an ongoing patent dispute with Masimo. But if you are buying an Apple Watch from eBay or a third-party retailer right now, how do you know if your watch will have the blood oxygen feature enabled or not?
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A notable omission from Apple’s press release of Vision Pro entertainment apps earlier this week was Netflix. This signalled that the most popular streaming service was not planning on making a native app for the headset.
But it turns out, Netflix is even less interested in supporting the new platform. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company confirmed it is not planning to allow users to run the iPad version of its app on Apple Vision Pro either.
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Apple today unveiled its new 2024 Black Unity collection for Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad. That includes a new watch band to buy, as well as a new watch face and iOS Lock Screen wallpaper.
The new Black Unity Sport Band is available to order today from Apple.com, priced at $49. The new Unity Bloom watch face will be available next week with watchOS 10.3, and the corresponding iPhone and iPad wallpaper will come with iOS 17.3.
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The outcome of the much publicized 2021 Apple vs. Epic trial saw Apple winning on most counts, except for the fact the judge did rule that Apple must relax its App Store anti-steering policy and allow developers like Epic Games to include links to alternative payment systems in their apps.
Apple delayed implementation of this judgement by submitting an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today refused to consider Apple’s appeal, which means the original decision should be upheld.
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Apple has launched a rare Lunar New Year promotion in China featuring discounts on all its key products, including the iPhone.
Chinese customers can save up to 500 RMB (about $70) on the iPhone 15 lineup. Savings up to 800 RMB are available on the 15-inch MacBook Air, and customers can find smaller discounts on offer for iPad, Apple Watch SE, AirPods and the Apple Pencil.
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Belkin is going to sell one of the first official accessories for Apple Vision Pro, a clip attachment for the headset’s battery pack. Via Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Belkin battery clip will go on sale alongside the Vision Pro launch on February 2, and be available in Apple retail stores.
The clip will let customers attach the Vision Pro battery to their clothing, if they don’t have a handy pocket or bag.
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Via Bloomberg, Apple is closing an office in San Diego, which housed part of the Data Operations Annotations group, which evaluates Siri customer responses and helps improve accuracy of the system, among other duties.
The reorganization impacts 121 jobs in San Diego. Apple has offered all affected employees jobs at its Austin, Texas, offices if they are willing to relocate.
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Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro and Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to stream and watch on Apple TV+.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie depicts how members of the wealthy Osage nation were murdered in a plot to take over the land rights to the plentiful Oklahoma oil supplies. The film is based on the book of the same name by David Grann.
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The first original of the year for Apple TV+ is a new British police crime drama called Criminal Record, starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo. The first two episodes are streaming now, with the remainder of the season rolling out weekly.
Apple seems to have started 2024 with a winner, with Criminal Record receiving strong critical acclaim. The show is currently touting a 100% recommended score on Rotten Tomatoes. If you’ve never had Apple TV+ before, you can get a seven day free trial here.
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Apple TV+ funded Ridley Scott’s epic interpretation of Napoleon, but it isn’t streaming just yet. Following its theatrical box office run, the Napoleon movie is now available for buy or rent in a premium video on demand window. You can get it here on the iTunes Store or Amazon Prime.
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In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the launch preparations for Apple Vision Pro are in full swing, across Apple’s retail division and the supply chain.
Gurman writes that the headset is already shipping to distribution warehouses in the US, seemingly in enough quantity to be able to stock Apple retail stores for a February launch.
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Directed by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro and Lily Gladstone. The film hit theaters in October.
The three-and-a-half-hour epic is wrapping up its run across thousands of cinemas worldwide. But when will it be available to stream on Apple TV+?
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