Benjamin Mayo

Update (May 2nd): Apple appears to have changed something on the backend as now Siri refuses to attempt to find the Apple TV remote, and responds with a ‘That type of device can’t be set up in Find My’ message.

In a rather curious discovery, Siri seems to believe that the Apple TV Siri Remote will have some kind of Siri integration. If you ask Siri on iOS 14.5 to “Find my Siri Remote” or “Find my Apple TV Remote,” it will reply that it cannot find any Siri Remotes associated with the iCloud account. (Thanks to William from Maryland for the tip-off.)

However, the fact that it attempts to execute your request at all is interesting. Asking for other unsupported devices (like an Apple Pencil) will result in a different failure response stating that this type of accessory cannot be used with Find My. So why does Siri believe the Apple TV remote can?

Update: The Apple newsroom source code is also floating a May 21 date. Image after the break …

According to multiple sources, including Jon Prosser who has a good track record of nailing these release dates, Apple will release the new iMac, iPad Pro with M1 and the upgraded Apple TV 4K with revamped Siri Remote on May 21.

Apple previously announced these products at its April product event, only saying that they will ship in ‘the second half of May’. These devices go up for preorder tomorrow.

One of the cool new features in iOS 14.5 is the ability to share lyrics directly from Apple Music. In fact, Apple has built out a custom UI flow to share up to 150 characters of real-time lyrics with friends, straight from the Now Playing screen. Here’s how to share lyrics from Apple Music.

The European competition commission is set to announce charges against Apple regarding App Store policies later this week, in the conclusion of an investigation that was led by Spotify’s formal complaint filed two years ago.

The Financial Times says the ruling will come ‘late this week’, on the basis that App Store rules break EU law.

According to Nikkei, the next-generation of Apple silicon — tentatively dubbed “M2” — has entered the production cycle. Chip ramps are slow, and Nikkei indicates that beginning production now means the chips would be available in mass supply as soon as July. This schedule likely means they will be included in new MacBook models in the fall, probably the upcoming revamped MacBook Pro line.

The 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU M1 chip architecture delivered impressive performance and battery life when it debuted in the first Apple Silicon Macs last fall. Apple used the same chip in the just-announced iMac and 2021 iPad Pro. However, the chip has some limitations that pro users are hoping will be addressed in the second-generation.

Apple today announced that it is increasing its financial commitments for US investment, now up to $430 billion and 20,000 new jobs over the next five years. Apple said it is now supporting 2.7 million jobs across direct employment, US suppliers and manufacturers, and developer jobs in the iOS app economy.

The $430 billion is set to be spent on various projects including supplier relationships, data centers and research into 5G modem, chip silicon, and artificial intelligence research. Apple also said it has created thousands of jobs in creative industries thanks to dozens of Apple TV+ productions in the United States.

Apple announced the 2021 iPad Pro last week with an M1 processor, Thunderbolt port, 5G support and more. The larger 12.9-inch iPad now sports a mini-LED display offering ‘XDR’ contrast ratios and high peak brightness levels.

The new wallpapers for the iPad Pro highlight that fact with vibrant swirls of color juxtaposed on a dark background. These wallpapers will come preinstalled on the 2021 iPad Pros when they ship in May. But if you want the stylish new wallpapers for your current iPad, you can download them below.

The Apple Store is back up and you can now order an AirTag or four, as well as the purple iPhone 12. First orders deliver next Friday, April 30. Remember you’ll also need an AirTags case or bag loop to actually attach the AirTag to your keys or luggage.

A single AirTag costs $29 or you can get a four-pack for $99. The new purple color is available for the iPhone 12 (from $799) and iPhone 12 mini (from $699).

This week, Apple announced its entry into the premium podcasts space allowing creators to monetize their shows directly within Apple Podcasts, with subscriptions. Apple’s service launches in May and will let podcasts offer ad-free episodes and bonus content to listeners for a monthly membership.

Somewhat controversially, Apple will take 15-30% commission of the podcasts subscription revenue. The Wall Street Journal says Spotify is set to announce similar subscription features next week, but will not take a cut of revenue.

The Apple Store is down ritual is back for a second time this week as the company launched orders for AirTag and the new purple iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini. 

However, orders don’t start until 5 AM PT so you’ve still got 3.5 hours before Apple’s new devices go on sale. 

Apple is developing some major improvements for the iPad home screen as part of the next major operating system, iOS and iPadOS 15, according to a new report by Mark Gurman for Bloomberg.

This will include adding widgets to the iPad’s home screen, just like iOS 14 enabled widgets on the iPhone home screen. The report calls this the biggest change to the iPad home screen ever. iPhone users will benefit from an ‘updated’ lock screen UI.

9to5Mac reported in February that Apple was testing a new ad slot in the iOS 14.5 beta. Pictured above, the ad appears on the main page of the App Store’s Search tab, before the user has entered a search query. This joins existing App Store ads that appear alongside search results, relevant to the user’s search terms.

The Financial Times says that this new ad slot has completed testing and Apple will be rolling it out publicly by the end of the month. The timing comes as third-party ad networks are set to be disrupted by iOS 14.5’s App Tracking Transparency changes, which require a permission dialog to be shown before an app can display user-targeted advertising.

Update: The files also include an image that shows the I/O of a new MacBook Pro with USB-C, HDMI, and an SD card slot on the right-hand side of the machine.

A hacker group called REvil is currently in the process of blackmailing Apple supplier Quanta for about $50 million. The group claims to have thousands of leaked files that include information about upcoming Apple products.

9to5Mac has had a look at some of the files already released. The documents include technical specifications for Apple’s upcoming Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, with the codenames J314 and J316. These specs corroborates previous reports that the new MacBook Pro will feature MagSafe, HDMI and an SD card slot.

As part of the Apple event today, the company unveiled the new lineup of iPad Pro tablets. The 2021 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro feature the 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU M1 chip, and a new Thunderbolt connector (over the same USB-C port). The larger 12.9-inch model also sports a new mini-LED screen, which Apple calls ‘Liquid Retina XDR’.

For the first time, iPad Pro is also available in a 2TB storage option and up to 16 GB RAM. Cellular iPad Pro now support 5G connectivity for ultra-fast data transfer speeds. The new 11-inch iPad Pro starts at the same $799 price point, whilst the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is now $100 more expensive, starting at $1099.

Apple today unveiled a brand new Siri Remote for the Apple TV, alongside a hardware refresh for the Apple TV box itself.

The new remotes combines a trackpad with clickable D-Pad buttons. The remote is backwards-compatible with older Apple TVs than run tvOS, and it will be available in May. You can buy the remote separately for $59.

Apple today released the first trailer for the highly-anticipated second season of Apple TV’s ‘Ted Lasso’. The second season will debut on the service beginning July 23rd.

You can watch the trailer after the break …