In an internal memo to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that its network of authorized repair shops will receive maximum payouts for qualifying product repairs for the months of March and April, regardless of their monthly performance metrics. Apple is making this move to ensure that its authorized technicians are financially supported amid the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple also told its technicians that it supports their decisions and encourages them to be thoughtful regarding the safety of its employees and the operations of their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a week to go before Disney+ launches in the U.K., the streaming giant has partnered with mobile provider O2 to offer two exclusive deals to customers on the network.
New and upgrading O2 monthly customers can get six months of free access to Disney+ when it launches in the U.K. on March 24. The offer is open to anyone who orders a new (or upgrades to a new) handset, tablet, or SIM-only contract through the mobile network.
Meanwhile, existing O2 customers who aren't ready to upgrade can get a £2 discount on the normal £5.99 asking price for Disney+ when it launches by adding the new streaming platform as an extra.
O2 customers that take advantage of the deal will be able to watch Disney+ content across mobile devices, online, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, just like other Disney+ subscribers.
Anyone in the United Kingdom can get a year of Disney+ for £49.99 instead of the standard £59.99 annual subscription rate if they sign up between now and March 23.
Over 500 feature films and over 7,500 shows will be available on the service including new original content like the critically acclaimed "The Mandalorian" and "The World According To Jeff Goldblum," along with timeless classics like "Lady and the Tramp" and the entire Pixar library.
Apple's Beats subsidiary today announced an updated version of its Powerbeats 3 headphones, with the new version simply called "Powerbeats" with no number. Version wise, though, these are the rumored Powerbeats 4 headphones that we've been seeing in iOS 13 for the last few months, and they'll be officially available to purchase this Wednesday, March 18.
Design wise, the Powerbeats look similar to the Powerbeats 3, but have an angled earpiece that's closer in design to the Powerbeats Pro and a cord that trails down from the earhook rather than the opposite side. Apple says this makes for a natural, ergonomic contour around the neck.
Like the Powerbeats Pro, the new Powerbeats have an angled in-ear fit and wraparound earhooks, but there is a wire between the Powerbeats that connects the two earbuds to one another. Apple ships the Powerbeats with eartips in four sizes for optimal sound and comfort for each user.
Physical playback controls are included on each earbud for doing things like adjusting the volume, skipping songs, declining or accepting incoming calls, and playing and pausing music.
Apple has included an H1 chip in the Powerbeats for faster pairing with iOS devices, quick switching between devices that are signed into the same iCloud account, and hands-free "Hey Siri" support. Powerbeats work with Apple's audio sharing feature that lets two sets of Apple-designed headphones connect to one iPhone or iPad.
When it comes to sound, Powerbeats deliver the same rich audio as the Powerbeats Pro with pistonic drivers that offer clean sound reproduction with low distortion across the frequency curve and enhanced clarity and dynamic range.
The Powerbeats have an IPX4 water resistance rating, which is the same water resistance rating as the Powerbeats Pro. IPX4 means the new Powerbeats will be able to hold up to sweat and splashes of water, though keeping them as dry as possible is always preferable.
There are dual beamforming microphones inside of the Powerbeats for enhanced call quality along with Class 1 Bluetooth for extended range and fewer dropouts. Powerbeats will last for 15 hours on a single charge (3 hours longer than Powerbeats 3), plus there's a 5-minute Fast Fuel feature that provides an hour of listening time after a five-minute charge.
Unlike the Powerbeats Pro and the AirPods, the standard Powerbeats do not have a charging case and will need to be charged using a Lightning cable.
Powerbeats are a significant upgrade over the existing Powerbeats 3, but Apple is also dropping the price. While the Powerbeats 3 were priced at $199.95, Apple is charging $149.95 for the new Powerbeats.
France's competition watchdog on Monday fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) for anti-competitive behavior in its distribution network and an abuse of economic dependence on its resellers, reports Reuters.
At the same time, France's Competition Authority also levied fines of $84.7 million and $69 million against Apple wholesalers Tech Data and Ingram Micro for their roles in the anti-competitive practices.
In announcing its largest ever fine, the Competition Authority's president, Isabelle de Silva, gave a statement summarizing the findings of its investigation that led to the decision, an English machine language translation of which follows:
"During this case, the Authority deciphered the very specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad. First, Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products. Secondly, so-called Premium distributors could not risk promoting or lowering prices without risk, which led to an alignment of retail prices between Apple's integrated distributors and independent Premium distributors.
"Finally, Apple has abused the economic dependence of these Premium distributors on it, by subjecting them to unfair and unfavorable commercial conditions compared to its network of integrated distributors. In view of the strong impact of these practices on competition in the distribution of Apple products via Apple premium resellers, the Authority has imposed the highest penalty ever pronounced in a case (1.24 billion euros). It is also the heaviest sanction pronounced against an economic player, in this case Apple (1.1 billion euros), whose extraordinary dimension has been duly taken into account. Finally, the Authority considered that, in the present case, Apple had committed an abuse of economic dependence on its premium retailers, a practice which the Authority considers to be particularly serious.
"Apple and its two wholesalers have agreed not to compete with each other and to prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products," it said.
According to the French anti-trust agency, the case originally opened after a dispute between Apple and one of its leading French wholesalers, eBizcuss. The premium reseller accused Apple of abusing its position and in 2012 it shut down in France as a result of what it claimed was unfair competition.
"The French Competition Authority's decision is disheartening. It relates to practices from over a decade ago and discards thirty years of legal precedent that all companies in France rely on with an order that will cause chaos for companies across all industries. We strongly disagree with them and plan to appeal."
Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that some aspects of its sales and distribution practices were in violation of French law, but did not provide details on which aspects of its business were under investigation.
Apple earlier this year was fined 25 million euros by French consumer fraud group DGCCRF for intentionally slowing down iPhone 6, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 models with the power management software that was meant to prevent older iPhones with degraded batteries from shutting down during times of peak power usage.
Popular photo editing app Darkroom received a significant update over the weekend, introducing major under-the-hood changes to the rendering engine that should bring dramatically improved performance, stability, and reliability.
The substantial rebuild has touched over 50 percent of the app's code, so while the update doesn't bring any new features, the developers say that every existing feature is better and faster as a result of the changes.
First up, the new depth engine should provide much more accurate blur rendering results that are on a par with Apple's Photos app.
Now when you open a Portrait photo, we match the simulated aperture that the photo was captured by, and when available, we use the same blend of available depth images to provide a very high quality editable Portrait image that the system camera does.
In addition, a year-long reworking of the entire RAW editing feature has also been undertaken that should provide a faster, smoother, and more stable experience across all platforms.
The revamp has also made the transition into and out-of RAW images much lighter and more smooth, improved the performance of all editing operations, and added support for pixel-level zoom on all RAW images.
Other improvements in this update include a 5x increase in the zoom range that enables more efficient spot checking of smaller image regions, improved photo grid performance including the use of higher quality thumbnails, and an altogether more responsive app interface.
Darkroom is available on the App Store for the iPhone and iPad. The app's subscription-based model is set at $3.99 per month or $19.99 per year. A one-time $49.99 purchase option is also available.
Apple's unreleased A14 chip is rumored to be the first Arm-based mobile processor to officially exceed 3GHz, according to a new report by Research Snipers.
Apple's A14 processor, the successor to the A13 chip in both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, is expected to debut this fall in Apple's "iPhone 12" models. The report highlights the suspected Geekbench 4 score of the A14 chip, with a frequency reaching 3.1GHz. This would be 400MHz higher than Apple's current A13 Bionic chip with a frequency of 2.7GHz.
At such a frequency, the chip's Geekbench 5 running points have surged. The report mentions that the A14's single-core performance shows a score of 1658 (up 25% from the A13), and a multi-core score of 4612 points (up 33% from the A13). The extra processing power will be helpful in running simultaneous workflows, navigating through apps, and more.
Apple chipmaker TSMC is expected to ramp up production of Apple's 5nm-based A14 chipsets in as early as April of this year.
According to new research by Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk, dozens of popular iOS apps are reading the contents of the pasteboard without user consent, which could include sensitive information.
The investigation discovered that many popular apps, such as TikTok, 8 Ball Pool™, and Hotels.com, quietly read any text found in the pasteboard every time the app is opened.
iOS and iPadOS apps have unrestricted access to the system-wide pasteboard, also known as the clipboard, as of iOS 13.3.
Text left in the pasteboard may be inconsequential, but it could also be highly sensitive data such as passwords or financial information. The potential security risks of this vulnerability have previously been investigated by Bakry and Mysk, where they found that precise location information was leaking through the system pasteboard.
A diverse range of apps, from popular games and social networking apps, to news apps of major news organizations such as Fox News or The Wall Street Journal, were examined using standard Apple development tools. Many of these apps do not provide any UI that manages text, yet they read the text content of the pasteboard every time they are opened.
It is also of note that if Universal Clipboard is enabled, an app may also access whatever has been copied on a Mac.
What exactly these apps do with the contents of the pasteboard once they have read it is unknown.
The process of tech companies sending thousands of employees home amid the coronavirus crisis has been messy, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The shift has been tough on Apple especially, due to strict guidelines and secrecy around its products.
The report mentions that software developers who were sent home have been complaining of both slow download speeds and confusion about what work they are allowed to perform. Other employees have been unable to access key internal systems from home due to Apple's stringent security policies.
Many engineers have continued to work at Apple's headquarters to adhere to Apple's policy of forbidding any unreleased products to leave the campus. Some staff say that Apple has loosened restrictions, however. One Apple employee mentioned "it's all about lowering the density," thus highlighting the importance of social distancing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Apple today announced that it is evaluating COVID-19 coronavirus-related apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions.
Apple says only developers from one of the above types of recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19, adding that entertainment or game apps with a COVID-19 theme will not be allowed on the App Store.
Apple adds that recognized entities can request an expedited review of COVID-19 apps here.
Apple also gave a reminder that nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store related to COVID-19 can request to have their $99 annual membership fee for the Apple Developer Program waived, if based in an eligible country.
The full announcement:
The App Store should always be a safe and trusted place for users to download apps. Now more than ever that commitment takes on special significance as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities around the world are depending on apps to be credible news sources — helping users understand the latest health innovations, find out where they can get help if needed or provide assistance to their neighbors.
To help fulfill these expectations, we're evaluating apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions. Only developers from one of these recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19. Entertainment or game apps with COVID-19 as their theme will not be allowed.
We understand the need to get these apps into the hands of customers as soon as possible. We encourage developers that meet this criteria to select "Time-Sensitive Event" on the expedite request form to ensure prioritized review since App Store review may take longer.
If you are developing an app on behalf of a client, please advise your client to add you to the development team of their Apple Developer account. If your client does not yet have an Apple Developer account, they can enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store can request to have their annual membership fee waived, if based in an eligible country.
Apple on Friday announced that all of its retail stores outside of the Greater China region are closed through March 27 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. However, multiple sources have indicated that Apple is keeping some of its retail stores open this weekend for customers with pending in-store pickups only.
At least some Apple retail employees in the U.S. and Canada are reportedly still being asked to go into work today to assist with in-store pickups tied to Apple's online store and Genius Bar repairs that had already been processed.
An online Apple support representative has indicated that customers will be able to collect their pending pickups between March 14 and March 16 during limited opening hours. All other in-store services are unavailable until March 27.
It is unclear if this policy is in place at all of Apple's stores in the U.S. and Canada, or in other countries, so we recommend contacting Apple.
Apple Card holders today received an email informing them that should they need financial assistance due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, they can enroll in a new customer assistance program that will allow them to skip their March payment without incurring interest charges for that billing cycle.
To initiate the process, send the following message to Apple Card support via iMessage: "I would like to enroll in the Customer Assistance Program."
It was a massive week for news and rumors, led by Apple officially announcing that this year's WWDC will be a digital-only event due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. Apple is also closing all of its retail stores outside of China for the next two weeks.
On the rumor front, there were a ton of iOS 14 leaks this week, while we also heard some rumors from several sources about upcoming notebook updates, so check out our video above and read on below for all of the details!
Apple Announces WWDC 2020 Will Be a Digital-Only Event Set to Take Place in June
In what shouldn't come as a tremendous shock to anyone, Apple has announced that this year's Worldwide Developers Conference will be a digital-only event with no physical gathering due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus around the world. The online-only event will take place in June.
We don't yet the know exact dates or just how the digital event will be structured, but Apple says WWDC will be "packed with content" for consumers, press, and developers alike. Millions of creative and innovative developers will be provided with early access with new software, and will be able to engage with Apple engineers.
iOS 14 Leak: Apple Testing New iMessage Features Such as Slack-Like Mentions and Unsending Messages
For starters, Apple is testing a new Slack-like mention system that would allow users to tag other contacts with their name like @Joe or @Jane. This would be particularly useful in busy group chat conversations, as it would be possible to enable the "Hide Alerts" setting and only receive push notifications when you are mentioned by someone directly.
Other features in development include the ability to retract messages after sending them, typing indicators in group chats, and the option to mark the last message of a conversation as unread after opening it.
Apple Closes All Retail Stores Outside of China Until March 27
Apple, like many large companies, has been taking a number of precautions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading up to the announcement that it will close all of its retail stores worldwide outside of Greater China until March 27. The company has also formally announced several other measures including increased donations, flexible work arrangements with expanded leave policies, and more.
Apple's rumored March event has allegedly been canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and in addition to WWDC, many other large events like Google I/O, Facebook F8, and GDC have also been canceled, postponed, or converted to digital-only.
iOS 14 Leak: Apple Developing Fitness App That Lets You Download Guided Workout Videos
The app, which is codenamed "Seymour" in iOS 14, may be named "Fit" or "Fitness" when it is released. Apple appears to be aiming to release the app for iOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14, and it seems to be a standalone app that will be available alongside the existing Activity app.
More Leaks in iOS 14, Expanded Cursor Support on iPad Pro, New Apple TV Remote, and More
According to a source with a reasonable track record, Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models next week. We have yet to confirm this information, but given the tipster's established track record, we have elected to share this rumor. We don't have any other details from this source, but we're also waiting for a number of other product releases from Apple, so we'll have to see if there's more in the works for the weeks ahead.
Kuo also said Apple plans to launch MacBook models with its own custom processors in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021, followed by MacBook models with an all-new design in the second or third quarter of 2021.
MacRumors Newsletter
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
Apple today announced that it is closing all of its retail locations outside of Greater China until March 27 due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus, which means Apple Stores worldwide will be shuttered for the next two weeks.
In a letter letting customers know about the store closures, Tim Cook says that China has taught us that the most effective way to minimize the risk of the coronavirus's transmission is to reduce population density and maximize social distance, which is why Apple Stores are closing. Apple had already closed all of its stores in Italy and Spain, but stores in other countries like the United States have remained open until now.
As of today, all of our stores in Greater China have reopened. I also want to thank our operations team and partners for their remarkable efforts to restore our supply chain. What we’ve learned together has helped us all develop the best practices that are assisting enormously in our global response.
One of those lessons is that the most effective way to minimize risk of the virus’s transmission is to reduce density and maximize social distance. As rates of new infections continue to grow in other places, we’re taking additional steps to protect our team members and customers.
We will be closing all of our retail stores outside of Greater China until March 27.
Cook says that customers who need to purchase devices or accessories can do so on Apple's website or through the Apple Store app. Customers who need service and support can use Apple's support site.
Apple plans to continue to pay its hourly workers during the store closures and has expanded leave policies to accommodate personal or family health circumstances created by COVID-19, including recovering from an illness, caring for a sick loved one, mandatory quarantining, or childcare challenges.
Apple has released a statement addressing their response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that has been affecting the entire world. The statement details many of the steps Apple has taken in response.
Apple has committed $15 million in donations to the global response
Apple is matching employee donations two-to-one to support COVID-19 response efforts
All Apple retail stores outside of Greater China will close until March 27
Flexible work arrangements available to employees
Extensive, deep cleaning will continue at all sites
All hourly workers will continue to receive pay in alignment with business as usual operations
Apple's online store remains open, and for service and support, they point users to their online support site.
The statement, signed by Tim Cook, closes with the following:
There is no mistaking the challenge of this moment. The entire Apple family is indebted to the heroic first responders, doctors, nurses, researchers, public health experts and public servants globally who have given every ounce of their spirit to help the world meet this moment. We do not yet know with certainty when the greatest risk will be behind us.
And yet I have been inspired by the humanity and determination I have seen from all corners of our global community. As President Lincoln said in a time of great adversity: “The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”
That’s always how Apple has chosen to meet big challenges. And it’s how we’ll rise to meet this one, too.
Tim
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has affected the entire world economy including Apple. Many other companies, organizations, and governments have been closing down activities to promote social distancing, in an attempt to reduce the transmission of the virus.
Apple has closed all 11 of its retail stores located in Spain as the coronavirus continues to spread in the country. Spain earlier today declared a state of emergency.
In a message posted on all of its store websites in Spain, Apple says that health precautions have forced the closure of its retail locations, with no word on when the stores will reopen.
Due to current health precautions, this store will remained closed until further notice. If you need online support, visit getsupport.apple.com. Apologies for the inconvenience.
There are 4,200 people infected with coronavirus in Spain, and 120 people have died. Spain has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe after Italy, where Apple has also closed all of its retail locations.
Apple Stores in the United States remain open, though in some areas with restrictions on store openings, stores have closed. Apple Willow Grove Park in Pennsylvania, for example, is no longer open after the governor ordered mass closings of schools, gyms, entertainment venues, and more in Montgomery County in an effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak in the area.
In the coming days, there's a chance that additional stores in the United States could close, but at the current time, Apple employees are doing frequent cleanings and Apple has implemented measures to increase the amount of space between customers to mitigate the spread of the infection.
T-Mobile today announced a few changes that should help out some of its customers who are relying on their T-Mobile data plans during the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.
Most T-Mobile customers already have unlimited data, but for T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers who still have plans with data limits, T-Mobile will provide unlimited smartphone data for the next 60 days.
T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers are also getting access to an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot/tethering service for the next 60 days, something that T-Mobile says it will offer soon.
Free international calling is available for all T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers to level 3 impacted countries, which includes all European countries.
For schools, T-Mobile is upping the data allowance provided to students through the EmpowerED digital learning programs to ensure that every participant has access to at least 20GB of data per month for the next 60 days.
Customers who use T-Mobile's low-income Lifeline program will receive extra free data up to 5GB per month over the next two months.
T-Mobile is also participating in the FCC's "Keep Americans Connected Pledge," which prevents internet providers from cutting off service to individuals and small business customers unable to pay their bills during the coronavirus outbreak.
To alleviate foot traffic in stores, T-Mobile is offering customers free two-day shipping fees for online purchases for 60 days as a courtesy.
Apple has suspended all active filming on Apple TV+ projects from outside studios, temporarily pausing work on "The Morning Show," "Foundation," "See," "Lisey's Story," "Servant," and "For All Mankind."
"The Morning Show" yesterday announced that it was shutting down production temporarily in an effort to prevent cast members and crew from catching the coronavirus, and as The Hollywood Reporter points out, the temporary halt on production has now expanded to all other Apple TV+ shows that are in the process of filming.
"The Morning Show," "See," "Servant" and "For All Mankind" were filming season two episodes, while "Foundation" and "Lisey's Story," were filming their inaugural seasons.
Netflix has also shut down all scripted TV and film physical production for two weeks in the United States and Canada, and Disney TV Studios has shut down filming on 16 pilots. Warner Bros. Television Group has stopped production on more than TV shows and pilots that were in the works, and CBS, Paramount TV Studios, Showtime, and the CW have postponed production on some TV content.
Several late night talk shows, including "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon," "Late Night With Seth Meyers," and "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" are also on hiatus until at least March 30.
Given the spread of the coronavirus, it is not clear how long Apple and other TV production companies will need to pause work on television shows, and how that will affect TV debut dates. Several films that were set to debut soon are also being pushed back from their theatrical releases, including "The Quiet Place 2."
Apple yesterday canceled Today at Apple sessions across all of its retail locations in the United States and Canada, after canceling sessions earlier in the week in areas highly impacted by the coronavirus like the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
Today at Apple sessions will be canceled until at least April 5 at this point in time, according to a retail employee with knowledge of Apple's plans, though that could change based on how the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread. High-profile events that would potentially draw a lot of people have been canceled until April 12.
Apple has implemented strict cleaning measures in its retail stores, and has cut down on the number of seats at the Genius Bar and the number of seating cubes in the forum areas, plus stores are limiting the number of people that can be inside at one time.
As Apple takes these measures, the company is also stocking up on Macs and Mac accessories in some of its retail stores, with an employee stating that there's been a "sharp increase" in Mac supply.
Across the country, schools and office buildings have shut down, leaving people to do their jobs and schoolwork from home. With an increase in Mac stock at some retail locations, Apple may be hoping people come into its stores to buy the tools they need to work remotely.
This is one of many measures that Apple is taking in response to the pandemic, along with 
