MacRumors

As part of the iOS 13.6 and macOS 10.15.6 updates, Apple is introducing new features for Apple News and its Apple News+ subscription service, including audio stories.

Audio stories include audio versions of the best stories from ‌Apple News‌, a daily audio news briefing created by ‌Apple News‌ editors, and curated local news collections launching in five cities and regions.

‌Apple News‌ editors plan to release about 20 audio stories per week across a wide range of interests, with the stories narrated by professional voice actors. Apple says we can expect pieces from Esquire, Essence, Fast Company, GQ, New York magazine, Sports Illustrated, TIME, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Wired, and newspapers that include The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

‌Apple News‌ audio stories are a feature limited to ‌Apple News‌+ subscribers in the United States, but the daily audio news briefing, called ‌Apple News‌ Today, is free for all ‌Apple News‌ users.

‌Apple News‌ Today will feature highlights of some of the "most fascinating stories in the news" and will be available Monday through Friday in the ‌Apple News‌ app in the United States and in Apple Podcasts.

Along with audio stories, Apple is adding new local and regional news outlets for readers, including The Charlotte Observer, the Miami Herald, and The News & Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina, plus a curated local news experience available in the Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

The curated news feature will include coverage of topics that are important to local communities like dining and restaurants, weather, news and politics, and more.

"Apple News showcases so much great journalism, and we're excited to help bring it to life in new ways with Apple News+ audio stories and a new daily news show, Apple News Today," said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News. "We also greatly value our many local news partners -- our new local news feature highlights their work for readers who live, and are interested, in those communities."

The new ‌Apple News‌ features are available today as part of the free iOS 13.6 update. Audio stories and ‌Apple News‌ Today can be accessed through the new "Audio" tab in the ‌Apple News‌ app. ‌Apple News‌ is free, while ‌Apple News‌+ costs $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial. Just today, Best Buy began offering a four month free trial for those who are new subscribers and a three month free trial for those who subscribed before.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.6, major updates that come more than a month after the launch of iOS and iPadOS 13.5.1. iOS and iPadOS 13.6 introduce new Health, Apple News, and software update features.

The iOS and iPadOS 13.6 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released an iOS 12.4.8 update for older devices unable to run iOS 13.

The software introduces a toggle for customizing updates, providing users with granular control over the downloading and installing of new iOS and iPadOS versions.

iOS users can decide if their iPhone or iPad should automatically download an iOS update when connected to WiFi, and when that update should be installed.

A Download iOS Updates toggle turns automatic downloads on or off, and an Install iOS Updates toggle lets users choose to install a software update overnight as a device charges. The new update feature will be a welcome change for ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ users who prefer to stay on older versions of iOS and do not want their devices to update automatically.

iOS 13.6 also brings support for Car Key, a feature available in both iOS 13 and iOS 14. Car Key is designed to allow an ‌iPhone‌ or an Apple Watch to be used in lieu of a physical key to unlock an NFC-enabled vehicle.

Car Key needs to be implemented by car manufacturers to function, and BMW is one of Apple's first partners. BMW's Digital Key for ‌iPhone‌ feature will let ‌iPhone‌ owners tap to unlock their vehicles, start the car by placing the ‌iPhone‌ in the smartphone tray, place limitations on young drivers, and share keys with up to five other users.

Car Key will work in a wide range of BMW models, including the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, X5, X6, X7, X5M, X6M and Z4 if manufactured after July 1, 2020. An ‌iPhone‌ XR, XS, Apple Watch Series 5, or newer is required, as is the iOS 13.6 update.

In the Health app, there's a new "Symptoms" section that lets users add symptoms of various illnesses, choosing from options such as body and muscle aches, appetite changes, coughing, dizziness, headache, nausea, and more.

For the ‌Apple News‌ app, iOS 13.6 adds a feature that saves your place in an ‌Apple News‌ article when you start reading something and then exit out of the article or app, handy for long-form content.

‌Apple News‌ in iOS 13.6 also includes new Apple News+ Audio feature where Apple will offer some news stories in an audio capacity, but this option was not activated during the beta.

Apple's full release notes for the update are available below:

iOS 13.6 adds support for digital car keys, introduces audio stories in Apple News+, and contains a new symptoms category in the Health app. This release also includes bug fixes and improvements.

Digital car keys
- Unlock, lock, and start your compatible car with your iPhone
- Securely remove digital keys from a lost device via iCloud
- Share digital keys easily with iMessage
- Driver-specific profiles so you can configure shared keys for full-access or restricted driving
- Power reserve lets you unlock and start your car for up to five hours after iPhone runs out of battery

Apple News
- Audio stories are professionally narrated versions of some of the best reads from Apple News+, selected and produced by the Apple News editors as part of your Apple News+ subscription
- Apple News Today is a new, free audio briefing on the day's top stories from the Apple News editors, also available in the Podcasts app
- A new Audio tab makes it easy to find Apple News Today and Apple

News+ audio stories
- CarPlay allows you to listen to Apple News Today and Apple News+ audio stories while on the road
- Local news in your Today feed provides extensive coverage of San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City
- More stories available from local news providers with a subscription to Apple News+
- Your daily newsletter from Apple News can now be personalized with stories that reflect your interests

Health
- New category for symptoms in the Health app, including symptoms logged from Cycle Tracking and ECG
- Ability to log new symptoms, like fever, chills, sore throat or coughing, and share them with third-party apps

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
- Adds a new setting to choose if updates automatically download to your device when on Wi-Fi
- Addresses an issue that could cause apps to become unresponsive when syncing data from iCloud Drive
- Fixes an issue that could cause data roaming to appear to be disabled on eSIM even though it remained active
- Fixes an issue thats causes some phone calls from Saskatchewan to appear as originating from the United States
- Addresses an issue that could interrupt audio when making phone calls over Wi-Fi Calling
- Fixes an issues that prevented some iPhone 6S and iPhone SE devices from registering for Wi-Fi Calling
- Resolves an issue that could cause the software keyboard to appear unexpectedly when connected to certain third-party hardware keyboards
- Fixes an issue that could cause Japanese hardware keyboards to be incorrectly mapped as a U.S. keyboard
- Addresses stability issues when accessing Control Center when Assistive Touch was enabled
- Provides a mechanism for administrators to specify domains to exclude from traffic carried by always-on VPN connections

iOS and iPadOS 13.6 could be one of the final updates to the iOS 13 operating system as Apple shifts its focus to iOS 14, which is available for developers and public beta testers and set to be released this fall.

Apple today released macOS Catalina 10.15.6, the sixth official update to the macOS Catalina operating system that was released in October 2019. macOS Catalina 10.15.6 comes over a month after the launch of macOS Catalina 10.15.5 with Battery Health Management features.

‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.6 is a free update that can be downloaded from the Mac App Store using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

No new features were found in macOS Catalina 10.15.6 during the beta testing period, but the update adds local Apple News stories in San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City, plus it introduces customization for the daily newsletter from ‌Apple News‌.

Apple says the update also fixes an issue where certain USB mouse and trackpads could lose connection, which is a problem that was affecting USB 2.0 devices that were used with new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 introduces local news in your Today feed in Apple News and improves the security and reliability of your Mac.

Apple News
- Local news in your Today feed provides extensive coverage of San Francisco, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, and New York City
- More stories available from local news providers with a subscription to Apple News+
- Your daily newsletter from Apple News can now be personalized with stories that reflect your interests

This update also includes bug fixes and other improvements.
- Adds a new option to optimize video streaming on HDR-compatible Mac notebooks for improved battery life
- Fixes an issue where the computer name may change after installing a software update
- Resolves an issue where certain USB mouse and trackpads may lose connection

Some features may not be available for all regions, or on all Apple devices.
For more detailed information about this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT210642
For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

macOS Catalina may 10.15.6 may be one of the final updates to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple shifts its focus to macOS Big Sur, the newest version of macOS set to be released this fall.

If you're in the United States, you can head to Best Buy today and get four months of Apple News+ for free. This offer is available for any new subscriber to Apple News+, but we've confirmed that if you previously signed up for the subscription news service and then cancelled, you can also take advantage of the Best Buy promotion and receive three months of ‌Apple News‌+ for free.

You can find this offer on Best Buy's website, where you can add it to your cart and checkout to receive an email for the redemption of your ‌Apple News‌+ free trial. It is not available for anyone outside of the United States. After the three or four month trial, ‌Apple News‌+ will auto-renew for $9.99/month until you cancel it.

Outside of this offer, ‌Apple News‌+ typically gives new users a one month free trial. The service launched in 2019, offering subscribers a way to track and read news from a variety of news publications, like The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times.

Recently, Apple has faced some issues with its publishing partners, with The New York Times pulling support for ‌Apple News‌+ last month. According to the publication, ‌Apple News‌+ does not "align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers."

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Apple is re-closing eight more retail stores across the United States, in the states of Maryland, Missouri, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

• Leawood (Leawood) – Kansas
• Towson Town Center (Towson) - Maryland
• Country Club Plaza (Kansas City) - Missouri
• MacArthur Center (Norfolk) - Virginia
• Lynnhaven Mall (Virginia Beach) - Virginia
• Bayshore (Glendale) - Wisconsin
• Hilldale (Madison) - Wisconsin
• Mayfair (Wauwatosa) - Wisconsin

Six of the 28 stores in California that have not yet re-closed are also reportedly returning to curbside service. They are Valley Fair and Oakridge in Santa Clara County, North County in San Diego County, Roseville in Place County, Arden Fair in Sacramento County, and Santa Rosa Plaza in Sonoma County.

Steeber notes that all the above California stores are in indoor malls that were forced to close, being located in counties on the state monitoring list.

With coronavirus outbreaks across the United States continuing to spike, Apple has been forced to re-close many retail locations that had previously reopened, with stores in Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, and more shuttered at the current time. In these locations, Apple is asking retail employees to work remotely in work from home support roles that the company has been offering since March.

Retail employees are able to serve as support advisors to handle online service requests and questions from customers unable to receive services in store.

Spotify has launched two new charts showing what top and trending podcasts users are listening to on the streaming service.

"Top Podcasts" and "Trending Podcasts," which have been rolled out in 26 markets on Spotify mobile, show users the most popular podcasts in their region based on listener numbers.

Top Podcasts lists the top 200 overall shows in the selected region or category, while Trending Podcasts displays the top 50 rapidly rising shows.

Certain markets, including Brazil, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, the UK, and the U.S., offer up even more detailed data and separate out the Top Podcasts by category, allowing users to more easily find the genres they're interested in.

Spotify users can find the new charts by tapping the Podcasts category in Search and selecting "Podcast charts."

To coincide with the new feature, the service is also updating its Spotify for Podcasters experience. Creators will now get a notification on their dashboard when their podcast is charting, and they can then turn it into a visual card for sharing their success on social media.

The EU General Court today overturned a ruling by the European Commission stating that Apple should pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in tax to the Irish government.

The court sided with Apple, and said the EU authority, led by antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, had failed to show Ireland's tax arrangements with the company were illegal state aid. Today's decision can be appealed.

Both Apple and Ireland appealed the original 2016 ruling, which stated that Apple owed the country over 13 billion euros in tax payments because the arrangements between the two countries were unfair.

In today's ruling, the General Court stated:

"By today's judgement, the General Court annuls the contested decision because the Commission did not succeed in showing to the requisite legal standard that there was an advantage."

In 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the EC's original decision "total political crap" and said that Apple believed it would be reversed. "The decision is wrong, and it's not based on law or facts, it's based on politics. And I think it's very important that we stand up and say that very loudly," said Cook at the time.

In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Apple said that it welcomed today's ruling.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

NBC Universal's Peacock streaming service launched nationally today, adding another competitor to the crowded streaming market that already includes Apple TV+, Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Hulu.

The service, which became available to some Comcast subscribers in April, is now available on iOS and Apple TV, and operates a free tier and a premium tier.

The free tier includes 13,000 hours of programming, while the premium tier costs $4.99 a month and features over 20,000 hours of TV, movies, news, sports and other content produced by NBC Television, NBC News, and Universal.

Both tiers include commercials, but the premium tier runs fewer ads and offers access to new original content, such as the dystopian drama "Brave New World," as well as access to shows the day after they're broadcast on TV. Peacock also offers an ad-free "premium plus" tier that costs $9.99 a month.

The service features NBC shows such as "30 Rock," "Cheers," "Downton Abbey," and "Saturday Night Live," with live sporting events to include four exclusive English Premier League matches on July 15 as well as coverage of the U.S. Open Championship.

Like HBO Max, Peacock is not available on Amazon Fire TV or Roku. According to CNBC, NBCUniversal does not want want Peacock to be included in Amazon Channels, where Amazon would take a cut of new subscriptions and would be the one collecting credit card information and other user data.

As for Roku, NBC Universal was reportedly unable to agree on how much of Peacock's ad inventory the smart TV platform can sell.

That's left the ‌Apple TV‌ set-top box as the main beneficiary, as it gets to add yet another name to its exclusive list of supported streaming services.

Last year in iOS 13, Apple introduced new hearing features in the Health app that are designed to help users avoid being exposed to high levels of sound when wearing headphones for an extended period of time. In iOS 14, Apple is advancing its hearing features by adding the ability to measure the volume level of what you're listening to in real time.

With the new feature, Apple is putting more emphasis on the health dangers of being exposed to high volume audio. Listening to something at 80 decibels (dB) for more than 40 hours in a one-week period increases your risk of hearing loss. Raise it 10 dB to 90, and damage can begin after only four hours a week. Turn it up over 100 dB, and listening for just a few minutes a week can cause damage.

With the new headphone measuring feature, you can check that what you're listening to is being played at an acceptable level for your ears. It's easy to set up and use once you know where it is. The following steps show you how it's done on an ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ running iOS 14.

How to Set Up the Headphone Level Checker in iOS 14

1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌‌iPhone‌‌ or ‌‌iPad‌‌.
   

2. Tap Control Center.
3. Scroll down and tap the green plus (+) button next to Hearing.
   

How to Use the Headphone Level Checker in iOS 14

The next time you're listening to something on your iOS device over connected headphones, follow these steps.

1. Launch Control Center: On an ‌‌iPad‌‌ with a Home button, double-tap the Home button; on ‌‌iPhone‌‌ 8 or earlier, swipe up from the bottom of the screen; and on a 2018 iPad Pro or ‌‌iPhone‌‌ X and later, swipe down from the upper right of the screen.
2. Look at the Hearing button in Control Center. If it has a green tick, you're listening at a healthy volume level. If what you're listening to exceeds the 80-decibel level, the measurement icon will display a yellow exclamation mark, warning you that the volume is too high.
   
   

3. For a more detailed picture of the current decibel level, tap the Hearing button.
   

• How to Use Apple's Live Listen Feature With AirPods

The real-time headphone level feature works well with most headphones, but bear in mind that Apple says the measurement is more accurate with AirPods and other Apple-certified headsets.

Apps created for Macs don't typically receive as much coverage as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we crated a series here at MacRumors to highlight interesting Mac apps worth checking out. This month's apps focus on productivity and feature great tools for working from home.

• Twobird (Free) - Twobird is an email app from the makers of Notability that's designed to integrate with Gmail accounts, adding tools for creating notes, setting reminders, and collaborating with others on notes and tasks. Twobird is basically an all-in-one app that merges list making, note taking, email management, and more, and it's worth checking out for those who like multi-function apps.
• Rectangle (Free) - Rectangle is an app for moving and resizing macOS windows using keyboard shortcuts and snap to align functionality. It's a free, lightweight app that's ideal for managing multiple windows on your Mac.
• Silicio (Free) - Silicio adds a mini player with album art and a Today Center widget for controlling music that's playing on the Mac. It works with iTunes, the Apple Music app, Spotify, and more, providing customizable themes, sizes, and shortcuts along with Touch Bar integration.
• Bumpr ($2.99) - Bumpr is a simple Mac app that's designed to choose where to open links when you click them. If, for example, you click on a web link, Bumpr pops up a menu displaying all of your installed browsers so you can choose where to open the link. The same is true for mail apps, which makes this a solid option for those who use multiple mail and browser apps.
• SideNotes - ($19.99) SideNotes is a note taking app that's hidden at the side of your Mac's display by default, but pops out when you need it for jotting down quick notes. The app keeps notes readily available on your desktop, but hidden away when not needed so there's not another open app taking up space. SideNotes can be accessed with a keyboard shortcut or a swipe gesture, and when opened up, will stay on top of other windows. It supports folders, lists, formatting, and more.

Know of a must-have Mac app or game that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our essential Mac apps archive.

The Los Angeles Metro today confirmed that TAP cards used for public transit in the city will work with Apple Pay later this year, allowing them to be added to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch for quick access to buses and trains in LA.

The LA Metro said last year that it was working with Apple to add mobile payment support for iPhones by the end of 2019, but the rollout didn't end up happening and work on the transition continues. In a tweet today, the LA Metro said that ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch support for TAP cards will be coming sometime in 2020.

Los Angeles has been working to overhaul its TAP system, introducing upgraded fare boxes with real-time data about fares purchased online and developing a new TAP mobile app that allows for payments and TAP account management.

As with other transit systems around the world that support ‌Apple Pay‌, the ‌Apple Pay‌ integration in Los Angeles will allow commuters to hold a compatible ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch near a TAP card reader to pay transit fares. TAP works with 25 transit systems across LA county.

Apple maintains a list of all of the cities that offer ‌Apple Pay‌ support for their transit systems, including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, New York City, Portland, and more.