MacRumors

Apple opened its "By Innovation Only" event at Steve Jobs Theater today with a creative video highlighting its various products and services.

Apple today announced that its subscription-based Apple Arcade gaming service will launch September 19 in over 150 countries for $4.99 per month, with a one-month free trial available. This price will apply to individuals or a family of up to six members and will likely vary outside the United States.

‌Apple Arcade‌ will provide iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV users with access to a library of over 100 games, with no ads or additional in-app purchases. Read our Apple Arcade guide for more details and a preview of the games coming at launch.

Apple's suppliers are gearing up to assemble next-generation AirPods as early as October, according to industry sources cited by DigiTimes, suggesting an updated version of the earphones could arrive in time for the holiday shopping season.

An excerpt from the report:

Apple's supply chain makers reportedly have kicked off volume production of related components for next-generation AirPods that will enable ODM production partners to begin mass assembly of the gadgets as early as October to meet year-end shopping season demand, according to supply chain sources.

Given the supply of current AirPods model still remains tight, it will remain an issue whether Apple could maintain sufficient supply of the next-generation AirPods, whose structural changes might affect yield rates at production lines, according to market watchers.

In April, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said two new AirPods models would likely go into mass production between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, with Luxshare, Goertek, and Amkor serving as primary suppliers.

Kuo believes one of the new AirPods models will feature an "all-new form factor design" and a "higher price" than the second-generation AirPods, which cost $159 with a standard charging case and $199 with a wireless charging case. The other model is expected to be a more iterative update with the same pricing.

If new AirPods do launch later this year, they will likely be the more iterative pair that Kuo referred to, as Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the higher-priced AirPods with water resistance and noise cancelation to launch as early as 2020. It's unclear what features would be part of the iterative update.

In March, Apple released second-generation AirPods powered by an Apple-designed H1 chip, enabling hands-free "Hey Siri" functionality and up to 50 percent more talk time compared to the original AirPods. The second-generation AirPods feature the same outward design as the original.

Apple's "By innovation only" media event will be kicking off at 10:00 am Pacific Time today, and as is tradition, some MacRumors readers who can't follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.

For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be updated with a direct link to the presentation once it becomes available from Apple. No other news stories or announcements will be displayed alongside this story.

Notably, Apple is streaming today's event live on YouTube for the first time, which means a replay should be available almost immediately after the event ends, and in fact, users should be able to watch the video from the beginning even while the event is still going on, at the risk of getting a brief glimpse of the in-progress feed upon first loading the video.

Apple has also generally become quicker about making event videos available for replay on its own site over the past several years, and Apple-hosted videos are now frequently available within an hour of an event's conclusion.

Users waiting for the video to be posted are welcome to gather in the thread associated with this news story, and we ask that those who follow the events refrain from making any posts about Apple's announcements in this thread.

Update: The full keynote video is available on Apple's website as a direct link to the video file with no spoilers.

PayPal's Digital Gifts eBay storefront is back with a 15 percent discount on Apple's App Store and iTunes gift cards today, offering the $100 iTunes gift card at a price of $85 for a limited time. This matches the 15 percent discount we've been tracking for most iTunes gift card sales and is the best currently available online this week.

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

Like previous discounts, you'll need to have a PayPal account to see the savings and the gift card will be valid only on purchases made in the United States. The card is electronic, so once you place your order you'll get an email within a few hours with a code that you can use to fill up your Apple ID with the credit.

iTunes gift cards are good for buying movies, TV shows, and books on Apple's digital storefronts, as well as paying for subscriptions like Apple Music, Netflix, and Hulu. These discounts on iTunes gift cards come around once every few weeks (and sometimes take longer to reemerge), so if you've been waiting for a sale you should head to eBay soon before the bargain ends.

Our full Deals Roundup has all of the latest and greatest Apple-related discounts in one place.

Could Apple be about to announce that it's making Disney movies available in 4K format on Apple TV? Earlier this morning, MacRumors forum member Eminemdrdre00 spotted a 4K badge on the Aladdin banner in the carousel of the iTunes Movies app on his Apple set-top box. But when he selected it, the reference disappeared.

However, a Reddit user has since uploaded several images of Disney movie selection screens on iTunes – including several Marvel titles – all of which bear the 4K and Dolby Atmos badges. However, these references appear to have since been pulled.

When Apple said in 2017 that it had inked deals with all the major Hollywood studios to sell 4K movies on ‌Apple TV‌ 4K, Disney was the one notable holdout.

Perhaps an agreement has now been reached, although this would be all the more surprising given that both Apple and Disney are about to go head to head with their own rival streaming services.

Disney+ is set to launch on November 12 and will be available to watch on ‌Apple TV‌ (tvOS-supported models), iPad, and iPhone, with offline downloads supported on mobile. Rumors suggest Apple is also aiming to launch ‌Apple TV‌+ this November.

Disney+ will cost $6.99 a month and give subscribers the ability stream up to four devices at the same time, with high-definition 4K content included at no extra cost.

‌Apple TV‌+ will offer all of Apple's original TV shows and movies that are in development, and Apple is reportedly spending upwards of $6 billion for content. Little is known about ‌Apple TV‌+, but it will be available on all devices where the TV app is available when it launches.

Apple is widely expected to announce new ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch models at its event later today, and last-minute rumors suggest there could be a new Apple TV with an A12 chip as well, although the timing is unclear.

The event kicks off at 10:00 a.m Pacific Time. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event both here on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Facebook has attempted to pre-empt awkward questions about privacy ahead of the launch of iOS 13, with a blog post explaining what Apple's new location data alerts mean for users of its mobile app.

As we've covered elsewhere, Apple has doubled down on its privacy features in iOS 13, giving iPhone and iPad users a more granular view of how third-party apps access their location information – something that's obviously of concern to Facebook.

In a blog post titled "Understanding Updates to Your Device's Location Settings," the social network company highlights the fact that pop-up notifications now let users know when an app is using their location in the background, and even show a map of the location data that the app has tracked. The alerts also make users aware of how often apps are tracking them and their motivation for doing so.

Facebook points out that while iOS 12 gives users the option to allow apps access to precise location information "Always," "While Using the App" or "Never," iOS 13 adds an additional "Allow Once" option for permitting restricted one-time access. The social media giant clearly wants users to know that regardless of these changes, "Facebook is better with location..."

It powers features like check-ins and makes planning events easier. It helps improve ads and keep you and the Facebook community safe. Features like Find Wi-Fi and Nearby Friends use precise location even when you're not using the app to make sure that alerts and tools are accurate and personalized for you.

It's no secret that Facebook harvests huge amounts of data on all of its users, but the company is clearly trying to allay concerns when the alerts start rolling in on Facebook users' devices once they've updated to iOS 13.

Apple usually releases new versions of iOS one or two weeks after it unveils new iPhones. Apple's ‌iPhone‌ event takes place today at 10:00 a.m Pacific Time, so we should see iOS 13 drop relatively soon. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of today's event both here on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account. Stay tuned.

Microsoft has unveiled its new-look To Do app. First launched in 2017, the productivity app came along two years after the company acquired Wunderlist, but only now does it resemble a like-for-like replacement offering feature parity with the long-running cloud-based task management service. Announcing To Do v2.0, Microsoft had this to say:

When Wunderlist became part of the Microsoft family, our mission was to bring the delightful, simple, and elegant daily task experience and build it into Microsoft's intelligent, interconnected, and security-centric ecosystem to create a new app—Microsoft To Do. Today, we're unveiling the new version of To Do, which includes a fresh new design, access from wherever you are, and more integration with Microsoft apps and services.

The most obvious visual similarity is that To Do now supports background images – and even includes the Berlin TV tower image that longtime Wunderlist users will be familiar with. Every list can be given its own background image, and Microsoft says it has reduced the list header size and added new color theme customization options, with a dark mode for iOS and Mac coming soon.

Otherwise, it looks like business as usual for Wunderlist fans. The app features subtasks, recurring tasks, prioritized tasks, reminders and due dates, file attachments, and notes. Lists can also be grouped, shared with other people, and assigned.

There's a personalized daily planner feature called My Day that refreshes daily and features smart suggestions for tasks. And of course, all lists sync across devices, allowing users to stay organized at work, home, or on the go. Finally, there's deeper integration with Microsoft 365 apps and services like Microsoft Planner, linking to Microsoft-hosted email accounts like Outlook, Hotmail, and Live, and Cortana and Amazon Echo support.

GameClub, the upcoming subscription service that is bringing back your favorite classic iOS games, is set to launch this fall with more than 50 all-you-can-play titles that will be available for one monthly fee.

Since it was announced back in March, GameClub has been beta testing its service, offering up access to original iOS games for free, but the service will soon be ready to debut.

At launch, GameClub will offer access to more than 50 games that were some of the original games on the App Store but that stopped being updated over time. GameClub's business model is revitalizing and updating older titles, many of which were incredibly popular years ago.

Content is curated by Eli Hodapp, the former editor-in-chief of MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, and for the last several months, Hodapp has been communicating with the iOS gaming community and getting developers on board.

Super Crate Box, Legendary Wars, Minigore, Space Miner, Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor and subsequent titles, Mage Gauntlet, Plunderland, Incoboto, Hook Champ, and Super QuickHook are just some of the games that will be available.

As mentioned above, GameClub will have more than 50 games at launch, and additional titles will be added on a weekly basis. In addition to classic titles, after launch, GameClub plans to expand into new and original premium games.

GameClub games will be available cross platform, so you can play on either iOS or Android, and all games will be downloadable and playable offline. For people who purchased the original titles that GameClub is reviving, you'll be able to play them for free.

Apple is set to launch its own Apple Arcade ‌App Store‌ gaming service in the near future, which will provide access to iOS games for a monthly fee with no in-app purchases or ads. GameClub differs from ‌Apple Arcade‌ in that it brings back classic, much-loved titles while ‌Apple Arcade‌ focuses solely on new games.

Deals on the iPad Pro have appeared on Amazon this week, offering shoppers a chance to save as much as $400 on the 2018 models of Apple's tablet. There are a few lowest-ever prices during this sale, with prices starting at $674 for the 64GB Wi-Fi 11-inch iPad Pro and rising from there.

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

Low prices for the 12.9-inch models include the 64GB cellular tablet at $899.99 ($250 off), and the 1TB Wi-Fi model at $1,349.99 ($400 off). We've listed all of these sales below, and each discount can be found on Amazon.

2018 iPad Pro Sale

11-inch

• Wi-Fi, 64GB - $674.00, down from $799.00 ($125 off)
• Wi-Fi, 256GB - $799.99, down from $949.00 ($150 off)
• Wi-Fi, 1TB - $1,149.99, down from $1,549.00 ($400 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 256GB - $899.99, down from $1,099.00 ($200 off)

12.9-inch

• Wi-Fi, 1TB - $1,349.99, down from $1,749.00 ($400 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 64GB - $899.99, down from $1,149.00 ($250 off, lowest ever)
• Cellular, 512GB - $1,299.99, down from $1,499.00 ($200 off)
• Cellular, 1TB - $1,699.00, down from $1,899.00 ($200 off)

Our full Deals Roundup has even more information on the best Apple-related discounts going on right now.