MacRumors

Prior to delivering the keynote address at the Ceres sustainability gala in New York City this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke briefly with GQ about the company's environmental efforts, iPhone trade-ins, and more.

Apple has heavily promoted its iPhone trade-in program at its retail stores and on its website over the last year, and Cook said the increased emphasis has been effective, noting that a third or more of customers that visit its retail stores end up trading in an older device for a newer one.

"This year we've really moved the dial on getting the consumer to think about trade-in," he said. "We were up to a third or more of the people that come into our stores that are trading in, and this number is trending up."

Apple's estimated trade-in values currently range from up to $100 for the iPhone 6s to up to $600 for the iPhone XS Max in the United States, with values varying in other countries. The credit can be applied towards your next Apple Store purchase or paid out in the form of an Apple Store gift card.

When asked whether Apple had a plan to encourage more third-party accessory makers to be more sustainable, Cook suggested that Apple is considering introducing some kind of sticker or label that indicates a particular product meets certain environmental standards, be it an iPhone case or a charging cable.

"[…] That is something we're talking about," he said. "I don't want to pre-announce it."

An eco-friendly badge would likely only apply to Apple-certified accessories that license hardware like the Lightning connector through the MFi Program.

Apple received an award from Ceres this week for its sustainability initiatives, including all of its retail stores, offices, data centers, and other facilities being powered by 100 percent renewable energy since 2018. Apple also has a recycling robot named Daisy that is capable of disassembling 200 iPhones per hour.

Apple has a more ambitious, long-term goal to create a fully closed-loop supply chain, in which it would be able to stop mining raw materials and instead build new products entirely with recycled materials. Cook said he is "not worried" about Apple eventually figuring out ways to achieve that feat.

Apple Arcade has received another weekly refresh, with five more games added to the service across iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

The new titles include neo-classic side-scrolling action platformer "Fallen Knight" by FairPlay Studios, barnyard game "Hogwash" by Bossa Studios, the hypnotic getaway "Lifelike: Chapter One" by Kunabi Brother, puzzler "Tales of Memo" by Tendays Studio, and roleplaying folktale "Yaga" by Versus Evil.

"Hogwash," "Tales of Memo," and "Yaga" have also been added to Apple Arcade on the Mac, while "ChuChu Rocket! Universe" and "LEGO Brawls" have been extended to the Mac after debuting on iOS last month.

Apple Arcade now has 89 games available for iOS and tvOS, and 81 on macOS, as Apple closes in on its promise of over 100 games.

Apple Arcade is Apple's new subscription-based gaming service, providing iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac users with access to dozens of premium games for $4.99 per month, with no in-app purchases or ads. The service launched in late September with a one-month free trial available.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently sat down for an interview with People en Español where he talked about diversity at Apple, his personal life and his decision to publicly announce his sexual orientation.

Back in 2014, Cook wrote a letter for Bloomberg Businessweek where he came out as gay in an effort to bring comfort to anyone who feels alone" and "inspire people to insist on their equality."

Cook says that he does not regret his decision to come out. "I have not regretted it for one minute," he said. "Not at all." Cook went on to explain that he had been receiving notes from kids struggling with their sexual orientation, and he wanted to do something. It took him a year between getting the words right and picking the right time for the announcement.

Obviously I couldn't talk to each one individually that reached out, but you always know if you have people reaching out to you that there's many more that don't, that are just out there wondering whether they have a future or not, wondering whether life gets better... From there I really decided. There's been a lot of people that came before me that made it possible for me to sit here today, and I needed to do something to help those people that were in a younger generation.

Cook said that he didn't experience any fear ahead of the announcement, but he was concerned about the world outside of Apple even with unanimous support from Apple's board. "I mean you look at it... there's still half the states or so where you can be fired for being gay or trans," said Cook.

Apple has a "history of being open and diverse" which made him feel comfortable making the announcement. According to Cook, being gay has given him a "level of empathy" that's "much higher than average."

I'm not saying that I understand the trials and tribulations of every minority group, because I don't. But I do understand for one of the groups. And to the degree that it helps give you a lens on how other people may feel, I think that's a gift in and of itself.

Cook also spoke about diversity and Apple's recent decision to file an amicus brief in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy. "We know that we create better products by being more diverse," said Cook. "We know the best products are created by the most diverse teams because products are created for everyone."

When I talk to folks that are in the United States in the DACA program, what I see is a level of grit, a level of determination, a level of excitement to be in America to achieve something and to go beyond perhaps where their parents did. I see enormous dedication and [a] very diligent work ethic, which I've always deeply admired. It was the way I was brought up as well. That's what I see, and I think it's a travesty that we're allowing, as a society, this cloud to hang over their heads for any period of time, but even more so for the period of time we have.

Cook's full interview, which has additional details on Apple's environmental efforts and Cook's advice for children who are gay and their parents, can be read over on the People en Español website.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues 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.

Former Apple lawyer Gene Levoff, who was in charge of enforcing Apple's Insider Trading Policy, is facing criminal charges related to insider trading of Apple stock, reports CNBC.

Levoff was today indicted for insider trading, and he is facing six counts of security fraud and six counts of wire fraud. According to the U.S. government, Levoff used inside information from Apple, including financial results before they were published, to sell Apple stock ahead of weaker than expected earnings results between 2011 and 2016 as well as to purchase stock during stronger quarters.

This scheme to defraud Company-1 and its shareholders allowed Levoff to realize profits of approximately $227,000 on certain trades and to avoid losses of approximately $377,000 on others.

When Levoff discovered that Company-1 had posted strong revenue and net profit for a given financial quarter, he purchased large quantities of stock, which he later sold for a profit once the market reacted to the news.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission first filed charges against Gene Levoff in February, but now he is facing criminal charges in addition to civil charges.

Levoff worked for Apple from 2008 to 2018, and prior to when he was fired from the company, he was the senior director of corporate law.

Apple declined to comment on the criminal charges filed today, but in February, said the following: "After being contacted by authorities last summer we conducted a thorough investigation with the help of outside legal experts, which resulted in termination."

macOS Catalina includes a new Mac Catalyst feature that's designed to make it simple for developers to bring their apps created for the iPad over to the Mac App Store.

Several developers have taken advantage of the new capabilities in Catalina to create Mac Catalyst apps for the ‌Mac App Store‌, and we thought we'd round up the most useful of these for those who are wondering how Mac Catalyst apps work and how they compare to their ‌iPad‌ app counterparts.

• Twitter for Mac (Free) - With Mac Catalyst, Twitter reintroduced a Twitter app for the Mac, a year after the original Twitter for Mac was eliminated. Twitter for Mac is a hybrid of the ‌iPad‌ app and the web interface, though it more closely resembles the browser version of Twitter. It works as you'd expect a Twitter for Mac app to work, with a navigation bar on the left for swapping between mentions and messages, and then a Twitter timeline.
• GoodNotes 5 ($7.99) - Popular note taking app GoodNotes 5 is available on the Mac following the launch of macOS Catalina. You can view and access your notes, but taking notes is a much better experience on the ‌iPad‌ because you can use the Apple Pencil or a stylus. You can write on the Mac version, but it requires a mouse or a trackpad, which is not the best experience. Being able to reference your notes on your Mac is super useful, even if the bulk of the functionality is designed for the ‌iPad‌.
• Allegory ($3.99) - For those who prefer Markdown, Allegory is a Mac Catalyst app that's now available on the Mac. It's simple, straightforward, easy to use, and the available feature set is the same across the ‌iPad‌ and the Mac.
• Carrot Weather ($14.99) - Carrot Weather is a popular iOS app that's now on the Mac. It uses Dark Sky and offers up some accurate weather data. What's more, it has a snarky attitude that turns boring weather information into a much more fun interaction. Carrot Weather is one of our favorite Mac Catalyst apps so far, and given the app's simplicity, it's quite similar to the ‌iPad‌ version.
• Rosetta Stone (Free) - Rosetta Stone on the ‌iPad‌ is an app designed to help you learn a language, and in Catalina, the Rosetta Stone app is also on the Mac. It's a solid port and the experience is overall the same, with the bonus of being able to swap between devices to learn a language no matter what you're using. The app is free, but it requires a subscription.

With Catalyst apps, Mac versions need to be purchased separately from iOS versions, which is a downside that may put some people off of them. For your favorite apps, though, the purchase price may be worth the cross platform availability.

Mac Catalyst apps are still in the early stages of rolling out, and Apple has plans to expand the Catalyst feature in the future. We can expect to see more apps designed for the ‌iPad‌ ported over to the Mac as time progresses, and if you've found a great Mac Catalyst app, feel free to mention it in the comments.

Right now, you can see a collection of other Mac Catalyst apps in the ‌Mac App Store‌ under the "Apps You Love Now On Your Mac" section of the ‌Mac App Store‌, but it's otherwise tough to tell a Catalyst app from a regular Mac app.

In macOS Catalina, Apple introduced Mac Catalyst, an initiative designed to make it simple for developers to port their iPad apps over to the Mac App Store with minimal work. Mac Catalyst is still new and developing, but its ultimate aim is to bring more apps to the ‌Mac App Store‌.

Following the launch of Catalina, macOS product marketing director Todd Benjamin spoke to CNET about Mac Catalyst, providing some insight into Apple's goals and the initial rollout of the feature.

Apple designed Mac Catalyst to let ‌iPad‌ developers use a single codebase and development team to create apps for multiple platforms. The feature, says Benjamin, is great for Mac users and developers alike.

"Our vision for Mac Catalyst was always to make it easier for any iPad app developer, big or small, to bring their app to the Mac. This allows them to leverage one codebase and one development team. Mac Catalyst gives iPad app developers a huge head start and for many, an opportunity to expand their reach onto the Mac platform that they may not have had before. Not only is this great for developers, but it's also great for Mac users, who benefit with access to a whole new selection of great app experiences from iPad's vibrant ecosystem."

Thus far, several major apps have been ported over to the Mac using the Catalyst feature. This includes GoodNotes 5, Twitter, Carrot Weather, Rosetta Stone, and more. Apple too has brought iOS apps to the Mac using Mac Catalyst, such as Find My, Podcasts, Stocks, Voice Memos, and Home.

According to Benjamin, Apple is learning a lot from early adopters and plans to take their feedback into account when expanding Mac Catalyst in the future. Additional resources are in the works to help developers create "amazing Mac experiences."

For many of the early Mac Catalyst developers, it was their first time ever developing an app for the Mac, and it's amazing what they've been able to achieve in such a short time. We're learning a ton from these early adopters, and are planning additional resources and support to help them create amazing Mac experiences with Mac Catalyst."

CNET's full piece on Mac Catalyst, which includes details from developers who have created apps using the feature, can be read over on the CNET website.

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina 10.15.1 update to developers, a week after seeding the second beta and a little over two weeks after releasing macOS Catalina to the public.

The new macOS Catalina beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper software from the Developer Center.

The first update to macOS Catalina is minor in scale and appears to focus on performance improvements and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be addressed in the first version of Catalina. An interim supplemental update was released just two days ago with some other bug fixes that needed to be addressed before 10.15.1 was ready.

Apple's release notes for the first beta said that the update introduces support for the AMD Navi RDNA eGPU architecture and brings some changes to Photos.

You can now filter by Favorites, Edited, ‌‌Photos‌‌, Videos, or Keywords in the All ‌‌Photos‌‌ view, and you can choose View > Metadata > Titles to enable titles and filenames in the All ‌‌Photos‌‌ View.

macOS Catalina is a major update that eliminates iTunes in favor of new Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, nixes support for 32-bit apps, adds a new Find My app, brings a new ‌Photos‌ interface, and includes multiple privacy enhancements and other app refinements.

For full details on what's new in macOS Catalina, make sure to check out our macOS Catalina roundup.

Last month, in the iOS 13.2 beta, MacRumors discovered an icon depicting never-before-seen AirPods with rubber ear tips, lending credence to rumors that Apple is planning to release higher-end AirPods with active noise cancellation and improved water resistance.

The new AirPods are expected to be released in late 2019 or early 2020. Ahead of time, accessory maker ESR has released both a cover and carrying case for the so-called "AirPods Pro", with the product images depicting a wider charging case designed to hold the AirPods with rubber ear tips.

The fact that ESR is now shipping perfectly-fitting cases for unreleased AirPods suggests that the accessory maker may have gleaned dimensions and design details from sources within Apple's supply chain. On the other hand, though, this could simply be a marketing stunt based purely on rumors.

The elongated charging case is consistent with the one that surfaced in a potential leak a few months ago:

Unsurprisingly, the higher-end AirPods are expected to have a higher price tag than the existing AirPods, which retail for $159 with a wired charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. Exact pricing remains to be seen.

Apple typically unveils redesigned products during its keynotes, but an October event is looking unlikely this year, so it could announce the new AirPods in a press release like the redesigned Beats Solo Pro. Or, if the new AirPods are a 2020 product, they could be unveiled at Apple's usual March event.

(Thanks, Chris!)

Apple Arcade-like subscription-based gaming service GameClub today announced it has launched on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

With a GameClub subscription, priced at $4.99 per month, iPhone and iPad users can gain access to a library that will eventually top over 100 games, including many classics that have been updated and optimized for the latest devices. GameClub subscribers also get in-depth overviews, tips, strategies, and more for each game.

Curated by Eli Hodapp, former editor-in-chief of MacRumors sister website TouchArcade, GameClub says its catalog includes many of the highest-rated mobile games on Metacritic, with multiple titles that topped Apple's own game-of-the-year lists. Each game is playable without an internet connection.

In the main GameClub app, users can browse games in the catalog and then download them individually from the App Store for free. With a GameClub subscription, the games are automatically playable, with no ads or in-app purchases.

GameClub is very similar to Apple Arcade, which also costs $4.99 per month, but with a focus on reviving classic iPhone and iPad games released over the past decade. The full catalog can be viewed on GameClub's website, with titles including Legendary Wars, Space Miner, Hook Camp, and MiniSquadron.

A one-month free trial is available.

Following in the footsteps of Roku, Amazon today announced that the Apple TV app is now available on select Fire TV devices, including the second-generation Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Stick 4K, and the Fire TV Stick Basic Edition.

Available through the Amazon Appstore, the Apple TV app allows users to access their iTunes libraries of movies and TV shows and the Apple TV Channels feature through the Fire TV platform. The app will also users to stream original content from Apple TV+ when the streaming video service launches November 1.

As of today, the Apple TV app on Fire TV is available in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, and the United Kingdom. The app is also available for Fire TV Basic Edition users in over 50 countries.

Amazon says the Apple TV app will be coming soon to the first- and second-generation Fire TV Cube, the third-generation diamond-shaped Fire TV dongle, Fire TV smart TVs from Toshiba and Insignia, and the Nebula sound bar. The app is not compatible with the first- or second-generation Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.

In addition to Fire TV, the Apple TV app is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, Roku, and select 2018 and newer Samsung smart TVs. The app is also coming to select LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs in the future.

Apple TV+ is a Netflix-like subscription-based service that will allow users to stream original TV shows and movies curated by Apple. Pricing will start at $4.99 per month with a one-week free trial. Up to six family members can share a single ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription through Family Sharing.