MacRumors

In an effort to encourage social distancing, Apple has indicated that it will provide subsidies to Apple Authorized Service Providers that offer product repairs on a pickup and drop-off basis in the United States and Canada.

In an internal memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple said it will provide $20 for each iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Beats repair and $25 for each Mac repair that is completed on a pickup and drop-off basis. Apple stressed that it "encourages such arrangements when possible."

Apple has provided technicians with further instructions on how to qualify for the subsidies, which begin today and will be offered indefinitely.

With all Apple Stores outside of China remaining closed, many customers have turned to local Apple Authorized Service Providers for service and support, at least in communities where electronics repair shops are permitted to stay open. Apple's subsidies will hopefully lead to customers and technicians feeling safer during these difficult times.

Go to Apple's website to initiate a repair and find an Apple Authorized Service Provider near you.

The Amazon Prime Video apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV now allow customers to purchase and rent movies and TV shows within the app, and Apple appears to be allowing Amazon to use its own payment system, skirting the traditional in-app purchase screens.

Opening up the Prime Video app now includes the message "Browse, rent, or buy new release movies, popular TV shows, and more -- now within the app." Purchasing or renting a movie brings up an option to charge the credit card that a user has on file, rather than the charge going through the App Store.

According to The Verge, the new Prime Video app features a dedicated "Store" tab where customers can make purchases of TV shows and movies, but we didn't have access to the new tab and were still able to make a purchase.

Prior to now, Amazon did not allow customers to rent or purchase content within the Prime Video app, instead asking them to use a web browser to make the purchases. Amazon appears to have worked out some kind of deal with Apple, though, as Apple does not normally allow in-app content purchases that do not go through the ‌App Store‌.

Amazon recently added a new Prime Video Cinema hub to its app highlighting movies that are currently in theaters that can be purchased, which could have something to do with the decision to strike a deal with Apple to add in-app purchase options on ‌Apple TV‌, ‌iPhone‌, and ‌iPad‌.

Update: Apple told Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that it has an existing program for "premium" video apps subscriptions, including Amazon Prime, to allow them to use their own payment methods instead of in-app purchases. Apple has already used this program with Altice One and Canal+.

Apple and Goldman Sachs are allowing Apple Card users to defer their April payments without incurring interest, extending a similar program that was introduced in March, reports Bloomberg.

‌Apple Card‌ users can opt in to the deferred payment program by messaging an ‌Apple Card‌ support representative through the Wallet app on an iPhone or iPad. Apple is informing ‌Apple Card‌ owners about the option through email.

We understand that the Covid-19 situation poses unique challenges for everyone and some customers may have difficulty making their monthly payments. Apple Card is committed to helping you lead a healthier financial life.

If you previously enrolled in the Customer Assistance Program in March, you will need to enroll again.

Apple Card balances will eventually need to be paid, but the deferred payments sans interest will provide some breathing room for people who have seen their incomes drop.

Update: Apple has shared a new support document with further details about its COVID-19 Customer Assistance Program for ‌Apple Card‌.

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.2.5 update to developers, one week after releasing the watchOS 6.2 update that added in-app purchases to the Apple Watch App Store and a day after seeding the first iOS 13.4.5 beta.

watchOS 6.2.5 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To install the new software, the ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌.

There is no word yet on what features might be included in watchOS 6.2.5, if any, but we'll update this article if we find anything new.

Apple has more than doubled its donation to China's virus recovery efforts, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on Chinese social networking site Weibo today (via Reuters).

Apple has now donated more than 50 million yuan ($7 million) to the country, which will be used to support long-term public health recovery efforts.

China has shown incredible spirit and resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak and we are grateful to our teams, partners and customers for their support during these challenging times. In addition to the 20 million yuan contribution we made with CFPA to support Lei Shen Shan and five other hospitals in the Hubei area, we are supporting longer-term public health recovery efforts. Our total commitment to CFPA is now above 50 million yuan. Around the world, the essential, collaborative response fighting the virus continues, and we are especially grateful to all the medical responders in China, and around the world, who are inspiring us all with their selflessness and courage.

Apple's stores in China were closed for much of February, but have since reopened. The 42 stores in China are the only Apple Stores in the world that are open right now, as Apple has closed every other retail location in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Some of the stores are expected to start reopening in April, but on a staggered basis and in areas less impacted by the coronavirus.

Apple has also made extensive donations in the United States and Europe. Last week, Cook announced that Apple has been able to source and donate more than 10 million N95 masks for healthcare workers in the U.S.

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.

Apple is working on some useful changes for iCloud Keychain, according to details found by 9to5Mac in a leaked version of iOS 14 that has been circulating for the last few weeks.

‌iCloud‌ Keychain, for those unfamiliar with the feature, stores login names and passwords for websites and apps, with the information synced across a person's iOS and Mac devices through ‌iCloud‌. It is a free and useful way to manage unique passwords for each different service used.

In iOS 14, ‌iCloud‌ Keychain will include warnings whenever a password is reused, which should help encourage users to select different passwords for each login. With all the password leaks these days, choosing a different password for each site prevents malicious entities from being able to access multiple sites that use the same password when leaked info is obtained.

Apple also appears to be adding a way to save two-factor authentication passwords, which would presumably allow ‌iCloud‌ Keychain to generate two-factor authentication codes to prevent the need for a two-factor authentication app. 1Password and other password management apps already have these features, and if Apple added them, it would make ‌iCloud‌ Keychain an appealing alternative to paid solutions.

Apple is working on quite a few other features for iOS 14, and details on what's in the works can be found in our iOS 14 roundup.

T-Mobile today announced that it has completed its merger with Sprint, with the merged company to operate under the T-Mobile brand. Effective immediately, T-Mobile's former COO Mike Sievert will assume the role of CEO, with John Legere stepping down.

T-Mobile said it plans to focus on creating a "transformational" nationwide 5G network. Within six years, the carrier promises to provide 5G to 99 percent of the U.S. population and average 5G speeds in excess of 100 Mbps to 90 percent of the U.S. population. T-Mobile also plans to provide 90 percent of rural Americans with average 5G speeds of 50 Mbps.

The "new" T-Mobile has committed to delivering the same or better rate plans for at least three years, including access to 5G. Rate plans are not changing today.

For now, the merged company says all customers will stay with the same Sprint and T-Mobile network, stores, and service they have been using. Over time, Sprint assets will simply begin to be rebranded as T-Mobile.

In a private conference call with investors this week, Apple supplier Foxconn suggested that there is still a possibility that 5G-enabled iPhones will launch on time this year despite pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, according to Bloomberg.

Of course, Foxconn did not mention Apple or the iPhone specifically:

"We and the customer's engineers are trying to catch up the missing gap, after we lost some days due to travel ban. There's opportunity and possibility that we might catch up," Yang said. "But if there's a further delay in the next few weeks, months, then you probably have to reconsider launching time. It's still possible."

The report claims that trial assembly of new iPhones typically begins in early June ahead of mass production of the devices in August, so there are still several months for Apple to catch up should pandemic restrictions begin to be eased.

With hundreds of suppliers of iPhone components, however, Apple will have to rely on more than Foxconn to ensure an on-time launch.

Prior to the pandemic, it was rumored that Apple planned to introduce four high-end iPhone 12 models with notched OLED displays and 5G support in the fall, including a 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and a 6.7-inch model. Following in the footsteps of the new iPad Pro, some or all of the models are expected to gain a LiDAR scanner for augmented reality.

Newer devices running Apple's recently released iOS 13.4 and macOS 10.15.4 software updates are currently unable to make FaceTime audio and video calls with older devices running iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6, according to numerous users across the Apple Support Communities, MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and Twitter.

Apple normally recommends that users who cannot make or receive FaceTime calls update their devices to the latest software version, but iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6 are the last supported software versions for several older devices, including the iPad 2, third-generation iPad, iPhone 4S, the first-generation iPad mini, and the fifth-generation iPod touch.

Devices running iOS 13.3.1 or macOS 10.15.3 can still make FaceTime calls with older devices, so it is unclear if this is a bug introduced with iOS 13.4 and macOS Catalina 10.15.4 or if this was an intentional decision. Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but we will update this story if we hear back.

In any case, the timing of this is unfortunate due to the ongoing pandemic. Many affected users have mentioned being unable to reach a grandparent who still uses an older iPad, for example, during a time when social distancing is strongly recommended.

Hopefully this proves to be a simple bug that is resolved in short order.

44 years ago today, on April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne signed a contract founding the Apple Computer Company.

Days later, Ronald Wayne bowed out and received $800, leaving Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak to launch the Apple I that led to Apple revolutionizing the personal computer industry before moving on to other markets and becoming one of the most successful companies in modern history.

Steve Wozniak left Apple in 1985, leaving Steve Jobs at the helm. Under Jobs' leadership, and after weathering a few hiccups like Jobs' time at NeXT, Apple launched iconic products like the iMac G3, the MacBook, the iPod, the original iPhone, and the iPad, along with services like the App Store and iTunes.

After Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, Tim Cook took over and kept Jobs' legacy alive, launching new iPhones and iPads and new product lines, such as the Apple Watch, HomePod, and AirPods. Cook also oversaw Apple's deep foray into services with the launches of Apple News+, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Music.

Today Apple is weathering a storm and has temporarily shuttered its stores outside of China, and device sales are seeing a drastic dip as a result. It will take Apple some time to recover, but there are many innovative products on the horizon, such as the 5G iPhones, Macs with Apple designed Arm-based processors, AR glasses, and more, some of which will come this year and some of which are slated to launch over the course of the next few years. As it has in the past, Apple will bounce back.

April 1st, in addition to being the day Apple was founded, is also April Fools' Day. Given the current situation, MacRumors will not be sharing the April Fools' pranks that typically circulate, and many companies, such as Google, have bowed out of jokes this year. We wanted MacRumors readers to be aware of the date to avoid falling for any ill-timed pranks or joke products.