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.
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Earlier this week, Apple released eleven new underwater screensavers for the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K. If you are using the Aerial screensaver, the Apple TV will automatically download them and appear in the rotation alongside the existing videos.
If you bought an iPhone 11 on launch day, or basically any iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch between September 10 and November 1, you are almost out of time to get your free year of the Apple TV+ service.
Apple TV+ is Apple’s new video streaming service, a combination of original TV shows plus movies. The normal subscription costs $4.99/month. Apple is using the free year trials with hardware purchases to help kickstart the launch of its service as it enters into competition with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and others.
A report from Ming-Chi Kuo today centered on the impact to Apple’s supply chain of the coronavirus. Nested in the report, Kuo mentions several new products from Apple expected to arrive in the first half of 2020.
The lineup includes the iPhone SE 2, a new iPad Pro and MacBooks with scissor keys, and most interestingly a “smaller wireless charging mat, UWB tag, and a high-end Bluetooth headphone”.
Apple shares are up 2% in pre-market following an earnings beat that included better-than-expected iPhone sales.
Whereas most analysts predicted Apple’s holiday quarter revenue would hit somewhere in the $88 billion range, the company reported $91.8 billion in a quarter that spanned October 1 through December 31, or 92 days. That means Apple (almost) averaged $1 billion in revenue per day.
At the iPhone 11 event in September, Apple showed off a demo from the makers of FiLMiC Pro — the ability to preview and record video from multiple cameras on the iPhone at the same time.
This functionality has today been released as a new free application called DoubleTake. The app allows you to capture simultaneous video from two cameras, compatible with iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11, iPhone XS and iPhone XR.
Apple responded to the latest EU efforts to enforce a standardized single connector for smartphones like the iPhone, saying that “regulation that forces conformity across the type of connector …. stifles innovation” (via the Financial Times).
Apple said that the proposed EU rules would force it to abandon the Lightning port and inconvenience consumers, as well as cause vast amounts of electronic waste from people needing to ditch all of their existing Lightning accessories, like docking stations and car adapters.
A report from Digitimes suggests that the iPad Pro will get refreshed later this year, and with it, a new Smart Keyboard with backlit keys.
Digitimes says Apple plans to roll out its “glowing” scissor switch keyboard across its products, starting with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in the first half of the year.
According to a report from Reuters, Apple abandoned plans to release an end-to-end encrypted version of iCloud backups after facing complaints from the FBI who told Apple that it would hinder their investigations.
The report says that Apple was working on the feature more than two years ago, but it was cancelled after the FBI raised concerns. One employee said “legal killed it, for reasons you can imagine”.
Disney today announced that the Disney+ (Disney Plus) streaming service will launch in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland earlier than initially announced.
The latest sales research report from CIRP suggests that the iPhone 11 series has been well-received, with the combination of iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max accounting for 69% of all iPhones sold in the United States between October and December 2019.
Unsurprisingly, the cheaper iPhone 11 was most popular, accounting for 39% of all iPhones sold. The year-old iPhone XR also continues to sell well at its newly-reduced $599 price point.
Apple today announced the release date for its highly-anticipated limited series starring Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery and more. Defending Jacob debuts April 24 on Apple TV+.
The show tells the story of a father who is dealing with the aftermath of his teenage son being accused of murder. It is based off a novel of the same name.
Following the news of Home Before Dark, Apple has also announced the release date for its first TV+ project with Steven Spielberg, the remake of Amazing Stories. Five episodes will be released on March 6.
Amazing Stories includes the final performance of Robert Forster, who passed away in October. Apple also today announced that its first British TV production, called ‘Trying’, will debut May 1 on its streaming service.
As part of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, Apple today announced that its original drama series Home Before Dark will premiere on April 3rd, on its Apple TV+ streaming service.
The show is inspired by the true story of reporter Hilde Lysiak, who broke the story of a murder in her town aged 11.
By default, the Apple TV plays full-screen trailers of shows from Apple TV+ and other sources on the home screen. However, you can disable it. Here’s how.
The Robin team today announced that its ProLine Compact Video Doorbell now support HomeKit Secure Video, having received certification sign-off from Apple earlier this week. Secure Video integration allows motion clips to be automatically saved to the user’s iCloud account.
Robin has been leading the charge in the HomeKit doorbell space, being the first company to ship a HomeKit compatible doorbell of any kind last year. However, the doorbells come at a (literal) cost.
Apple has started sending out push notification reminders to users who are eligible to redeem a free year of Apple TV+, but have not yet done so.
There’s a lot of publicity right now about the FBI’s request for Apple to help them unlock two iPhones owned by a murder suspect who opened fire at a Florida navy base.
However, what has gone underreported is the fact that the two iPhones in question are actually old models, an iPhone 5 and an iPhone 7.
As noted by the Wall Street Journal today, these devices are so old that their security has already been compromised. Plenty of security firms on the gray/black market are available to unlock older iPhone models, so why does the FBI need Apple?
In a story shared by the CEO of Stripe, Patrick Collison, Tony Fadell describes the timeline of the original iPod. Fadell says he joined Apple in late January to run the iPod project but that when he joined, the iPod wasn’t an iPod — Apple wanted to make a hard-drive-based MP3 player but that was essentially it. “No team, prototype, designs, nothing”.
Incredibly, the product was completed before the end of the year. Fadell pitched a design prototype to Jobs in March, the team found manufacturing partners in April, and Apple started shipping the first devices to customers in November.
Apple TV+ has scooped its first major awards win tonight. Billy Crudup won the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Critics Choice Award, for his performance as Cory Ellison in The Morning Show.
Oprah Winfrey has cancelled her involvement with a documentary on sexual assault and abuse in the music industry, only one month after Apple announced it would debut on Apple TV+ sometime this year.
In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, Oprah said that she has rescinded her title as executive producer on the project and said it will no longer be released on Apple TV+, citing creative differences.
Apple has today started a replacement program for the iPhone XS Smart Battery Case and the iPhone XR Smart Battery Case. Apple says that units sold from January 2019 through October 2019 may experience charging issues due to a fault.
Affected units may exhibit issues like intermittent charging when plugged into power or the case simply not charging the iPhone at all. If you own one of these cases, you are now eligible to get a free replacement.
Apple is launching a donation campaign to help with efforts in Australia to fight back the devastating bushfires. Once again, Apple is partnering with the Red Cross.
Customers can make Red Cross donations simply through the iTunes and App Store, using their associated payment method. Apple does not collect any commission or processing fees, 100% of donations go to the charity.
Tim Cook is set to meet the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, later this month with the CEO to collect an award on behalf of the company. Ireland is celebrating 40 years of Apple’s presence and investment in the country.
Apple today announced that it set a new single day record for the App Store, with $386 million worth of sales on New Year’s Day, an increase of 20% over last year. The App Store also set a new record for sales between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with $1.42 billion in revenue.
Apple announced the numbers as part of a press release that looked back on Apple’s “landmark” year of services offerings.