Benjamin Mayo

Apple today announced that it is removing the USB power adaptor from Apple Watch boxes going forward, citing environmental concerns. Next month, the company will announce the iPhone 12 … and is rumored to no longer be bundled with a power adapter nor wired EarPods.

The company’s announcement today for the Apple Watch will help customers get used to the idea of having no bundled accessories in the box, and soften the blow when the same thing happens to the iPhone in October.

Apple has launched an array of new watch bands alongside the Apple Watch Series 6, including the new Solo Loop. It comes in a smooth and braided version.

The new bands are available in five colors, which pair perfectly with the new colored case options of Apple Watch Series 6.

The Apple Store is down ahead of Apple’s September event, where the company is expected to announce a new redesign for the iPad Air and the Apple Watch Series 6. The new watch lineup will include a higher-end model featuring a new blood oxygen sensor, and an entry-level cheaper model that will replace the $199 Apple Watch Series 3 that Apple currently sells.

Today’s Apple event kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time. Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for full coverage of all the announcements.

Earlier this week, our sister site 9to5Google found references to Apple One – Apple’s upcoming subscription bundle – in the Apple Music app for Android. Bloomberg previously reported that Apple One encompasses several tiers offering combinations of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, and iCloud storage for a single discounted price.

Now, 9to5Mac has found references to Apple One in iOS code. These strings appear in the localization files used for the iPhone’s Manage Subscriptions screen. The text has been added recently, which may further suggest that Apple One is going to be announced at Apple’s special event on Tuesday.

iOS 14 allows for third-party web browsers and email clients to become the default, so if you really don’t like Safari and Apple Mail, you now have other options.

With the latest update to Google Chrome, now available on the App Store, you can change your default browser from Safari to Google Chrome, on iPhone and iPad. Here’s how to do it …

Earlier this week, Epic Games said that Apple was going to shut it off from using the Sign in with Apple API, which meant many mobile Fortnite players – those that signed up through Apple’s universal sign in service – would be unable to log into their account altogether. Epic subsequently released account migration FAQs.

In a follow-up tweet posted today, Epic now says that Apple has given them an indefinite extension.

Apple has designed and manufactured custom face masks for employees, as first reported by Bloomberg. The company has created what it calls the ‘Apple Face Mask’, which uses three layers of material to filter particles.. Apple has also purchased special clear masks from a third-party distributor; the first completely clear surgical mask to be approved by the FDA.

The clear mask will allow someone who is deaf or hard of hearing to be able to lipread what an employee is saying. The Apple masks will start being sent out to Apple’s corporate and retail employees over the next few weeks, replacing the standard cloth masks like those being worn by the employees pictured above.

The connected gym equipment market has heated up in the last couple of years, with Peloton as a leading brand in the space. Today, the company announced a new home exercise bike, called Peloton Bike+, which features Apple GymKit support for seamless syncing of workouts to Apple Watch.

The Peloton Bike+ will be available starting September 9, priced at $2495. The original Peloton Bike is getting a price cut to $1895. The company also announced a new range of treadmills – find out everything new over at Connect The Watts.

Apple is set to begin mass production of the iPhone 12 later this month, according to a report from Nikkei. It says at least one of the four 5G-enabled iPhone 12 models will ramp production in mid-September, about one month later than a normal year. Production lines for the entire lineup will start up later in the month and the first weeks of October.

Apple’s CFO has already told the world that the iPhone 12 will launch a few weeks later than usual, suggesting an October release date. The Nikkei report also says that Apple’s long-rumored competitor to Tile trackers, dubbed Apple AirTags, are already at the mass production stage.

In addition to expanding the amount of content on the service, Apple has shown an interest in bundling Apple TV+ with other properties. In August, the company launched a heavily-discounted Showtime + CBS combo subscription for Apple TV+ members. It is also reportedly preparing a mega Apple content services bundle, set to launch alongside the iPhone 12.

Today, The Telegraph reported on a new hire that seems to be related to these initiatives. Apple has hired Tim Connolly to join Apple’s video division. In his former roles at Hulu and Quibi, Connolly was tasked with striking major distribution deals.

Apple has released a formal statement asserting its company’s commitments to human rights and freedom of speech. Apple says it believes in the “critical importance of an open society” and “the best way we can continue to promote openness is to remain engaged, even where we may disagree with a country’s laws”.

A group of investors had voiced concerns about how much Apple defers to China’s censorship demands, such as removing VPN apps from the App Store or moving citizen’s iCloud data to Chinese-controlled data centers. However, Apple’s new statement does not really mean it is going to change how it operates. The company says it will follow local laws as it has always done, which means it will have to continue locking down the iPhone and other Apple devices in China, until Chinese laws change.

In addition to details about the new iPad and Apple Watch, Bloomberg also shed some light on the next Apple TV, which apparently might not be ready to ship until next year. The Apple set-top box was last updated in 2017, with the launch of the Apple TV 4K.

Evidence of a new Apple TV hardware refresh has been circling around in iOS code for a while. Bloomberg says the new Apple TV will include a faster chip for improved gaming performance (the current Apple TV features an A10X chip). The site also says that it will include an ‘upgraded remote control’ and a Find My feature to make it easier to locate a remote when it goes missing in the house.

In a new report published today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman runs down the list of products that Apple is expected to launch in the fall product season. In addition to the widely reported iPhone 12 lineup, the publication says that Apple will release an edge-to-edge iPad Air; an alleged instruction manual depicting the new design was leaked last week.

Apple is also said to be readying hardware updates to the Apple Watch. There will be a successor to the Apple Watch Series 5 and a successor for the Series 3, which will target the lower-end of the market.

Earlier this year, leaker @l0vetodream reported that Apple was developing a new iPad Air model featuring a full-screen design and a Touch ID power button. Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted a new 10.8-inch iPad is coming in the fall.

Today, @DuanRui shared images of what appears to be the instructions pamphlet for the as-yet-unreleased iPad Air 4, written in Spanish. It shows a drawing of a dramatically different iPad Air, that resembles the iPad Pro series with its thin bezel full-screen face. The pamphlet also mentions that the new iPad Air would use USB-C instead of Lightning, again like its iPad Pro siblings.

Eurasian Economic Commission filings have tipped the hats on many new Apple products ahead of official announcements, and today we have more to share.

First reported by Consomac, the regulatory database reports never-before-seen model identifiers for Apple ‘tablets’ and ‘wearables’, likely relating to Apple Watch Series 6 and the upcoming iPad refresh.

As we close in on Apple TV+’s first year, the service is gradually growing its library of premium-brand original shows and movies, with Apple ordering dozens of series this year to start production as coronavirus restrictions ease.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is also planning to take TV+ into another dimension, with the addition of augmented reality content.

The original iteration of Apple Maps relied mostly on data from partners. Over time, Apple has worked to bring more of the mapping experience directly under its own control, such as with the new ground truth map initiative that it rolled out in the US last year and is expanding to several more countries before the end of 2021.

As of the latest iOS 14 beta, it appears that Apple is looking to remove dependencies on Foursquare and Yelp as sources of reviews and user photos of restaurants, bars, shops, parks, and other points of interest.

Apple is set to launch an official first-party presence in India, with the launch of the Apple Online Store beginning next month according to a report today from Bloomberg. This lines up with a Q3 timeline reported by TechCrunch earlier this year.

Apple is finally able to start direct sales in the region as Indian government rules that companies must source 30% of components domestically were relaxed last year. The launch of the Indian Apple Online Store will be followed by the opening of physical stores, starting in Mumbai.