The total includes 85 percent of respondents who said they are "very satisfied" with the iPhone X, which Creative Strategies analyst Ben Bajarin said "is amongst the highest" he has ever seen "in all the customer satisfaction studies we have conducted across a range of technology products."
12 percent of respondents said they are "satisfied" with the iPhone X, while three percent were unsatisfied to various degrees.
Of course, the higher the "very satisfied" responses, the better a product probably is. For perspective, research firm Wristly conducted a survey in 2015 that found the original Apple Watch also had a 97 percent overall customer satisfaction rate, but a lower 66 percent of respondents were "very satisfied."
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone X has a 99 percent customer satisfaction rate on the company's first quarter earnings call, citing a study by 451 Research, but Creative Strategies said its own survey had a significantly higher number of respondents that led to a more balanced number with room for slight variance.
Creative Strategies surveyed 1,746 respondents to be exact. The research firm informed MacRumors that respondents were profiled as early adopters based on a series of upfront questions about purchasing habits.
On a feature-by-feature basis, the iPhone X saw very high satisfaction rates in all but one area, including Face ID and battery life at above 90 percent. The sole exception was Siri, which scored only a 20 percent satisfaction rate among early adopters, leaving four out of every five respondents unimpressed.
As noted by Creative Strategies, early adopters tend to be more critical than mainstream consumers of technology, but Apple is widely considered to have lost the lead it once had with Siri in the artificial intelligence space.
The Information recently reported that Siri has become a "major problem" within Apple. The report opined that Siri remains "limited compared to the competition," including Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and added that the assistant is the main reason the HomePod has "underperformed" so far.
Apple responded to that report with a statement noting Siri is "the world's most popular voice assistant" and touted "significant advances" to the assistant's performance, scalability, and reliability.
"We have made significant advances in Siri performance, scalability and reliability and have applied the latest machine learning techniques to create a more natural voice and more proactive features," Apple wrote in its statement. "We continue to invest deeply in machine learning and artificial intelligence to continually improve the quality of answers Siri provides and the breadth of questions Siri can respond to."
The European Commission today announced it has opened an in-depth investigation into Apple's proposed acquisition of Shazam.
The regulators are concerned that the merger could reduce choice for users of streaming music services in Europe. In particular, they believe that Apple could gain access to sensitive data that could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music.
While the European Commission did not name any specific services, Apple Music's biggest rival in Europe is Spotify, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Other competitors include Deezer, Tidal, and Google Play Music.
European Commission competition chief Margrethe Vestager:
The way people listen to music has changed significantly in recent years, with more and more Europeans using music streaming services. Our investigation aims to ensure that music fans will continue to enjoy attractive music streaming offers and won't face less choice as a result of this proposed merger.
In addition, the European Commission said it will investigate whether Apple Music's competitors would be harmed if Apple were to discontinue referrals from the Shazam app to them following the acquisition. Shazam's app currently integrates with multiple services, including Spotify and Deezer.
The regulators have set a September 4, 2018 deadline to reach a decision, delaying an Apple-Shazam merger for at least 90 days.
Shazam is a popular service that can identify the name and lyrics of songs, music videos, TV shows, and more. It has apps across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, iMessage, and Mac, while the service has been built into Siri since iOS 8.
Apple Music has been the focus of numerous record-breaking reports in recent weeks, and the latest comes from rapper J. Cole after he broke the service's record for most album streams in the first 24 hours in the United States. In total, subscribers streamed J. Cole's fifth album "KOD" 64.5 million times on Friday, April 20, surpassing Drake's "Views" -- the previous record holder -- by almost 1 million streams.
Apple reported the numbers to The Verge, also stating that seven of the top 10 most streamed songs in a 24-hour period on Apple Music are all from "KOD." In total, Apple Music represented 66 percent of first-day streams for "KOD" in the U.S. and 60 percent worldwide, edging out streaming competitors like Spotify in terms of streams for J. Cole's latest album.
Earlier in April, Cardi B broke Apple Music's record for most first-week streams by a female artist, surpassing 100 million streams. The rapper's numbers grew so rapidly after "Invasion of Privacy" launched that she beat Taylor Swift's streaming record, launching the album into Apple Music's fifth most-streamed album ever.
As Apple Music continues to grow, one analyst predicted that the service will keep up its progress and average 40 percent growth each year for the next three years. Apple Music currently sits at just over 40 million subscribers, so analyst Ben Schachter's prediction puts the streaming music service at over 100 million paid subscribers sometime in 2021. Given Apple Music's steady growth, that milestone could happen even sooner.
J. Cole's success with "KOD" follows Carl Chery's exit from Apple Music to Spotify. As head of hip-hop programming, Chery was instrumental in garnering success for Apple Music in the hip-hop/rap genres, helping to discover artists like Khalid, 6LACK, and Post Malone. At Spotify, Chery will reportedly work on the service's RapCaviar playlist and bolster Spotify's hip-hop presence in much the same way as he did for Apple Music.
In a separate report from Variety this morning, Apple is said to be gearing up for a bigger push into country music by moving Apple Music's Jay Liepis to Nashville. In the city, Liepis will lead a team "dedicated to being more involved with artists, managers, songwriters and the label community at large." Later in 2018, Apple will open an office in Nashville with the hopes of keeping "an eye on closer relations" with the country music industry, as well as other genres growing out of Nashville, including rock, pop, Christian/gospel, Americana, and hip-hop.
Today is National Sovereignty and Children's Day in Turkey, an annual public holiday that takes place on April 23 in the country. As it has in years past, Apple is celebrating the holiday by sharing art that children have created using its products.
Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted a self-portrait created by 13-year-old Özgün Asya, who made the image on an iPad with Apple Pencil.
It’s Children’s Day in Turkey! 🇹🇷 Thanks to 13-year-old Özgün Asya from Istanbul for this colorful self-portrait, created on iPad using Apple Pencil. pic.twitter.com/N5EzH11F1x
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 23, 2018
Over the past week, Apple's Turkish YouTube channel has been sharing a few videos also highlighting Children's Day, in a series called "My Portrait." The first video posted focused on Asya's self-portrait, and in it she explains that she drew herself with her favorite flower, the cherry blossom.
Following the first video, Apple published six more short, 15-second clips where kids from Turkey explained the art that they created using iPad. Ali G. explained that he drew seven-and-a-half versions of himself due to his own age, Ece S. described her nature-focused portrait, and Defne A. showed off an image of her and her dog.
In the most recent video, shared over the weekend, Apple combined all of the self portrait videos into one 30-second ad.
The power of the iPad, the ease of use of Apple Pencil, and the unlimited creativity of children came together, and these extraordinary self-portraits came out.
Apple's Children's Day videos showcase the latest 9.7-inch iPad, which was announced at an education-focused event in late March. The sixth-generation device includes Apple Pencil support with sensors that measure pressure and tilt so that users can take notes or illustrate in supported apps. The tablet has a reduced education price and multiple accessories that are particularly aimed at kids in school.
In a new survey conducted by SurveyMonkey and shared by Recode, 11 percent of respondents said that they believe Apple has the most positive impact on society today. Apple came in third place, however, falling in line behind Google at 15 percent and Amazon in the top spot at 20 percent.
Survey respondents were given the option of choosing between a number of technology companies between April 8-9, and it totaled 2,772 adults based in the United States. When asked which company they believe has the most positive impact on society, 20 percent elected to choose "none of the above."
Despite the ongoing Cambridge Analytica scandal, 10 percent of respondents chose Facebook as having the most positive impact today. Microsoft rounded out the top 5 slots at 7 percent, followed by Tesla at 6 percent, Uber at 3 percent, Netflix at 2 percent, and a list of companies at 1 percent.
The survey also dived into the CEOs of the companies and asked respondents which leaders had the greatest impact on people's daily lives. Amazon came in first place again, with 22 percent saying CEO Jeff Bezos and his decisions impact them in some way each day. Google's Sundar Pichai came in second at 18 percent, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg was third at 17 percent.
Amazon has been a competitor for Apple in a few areas over the last couple of years, particularly in areas like AI assistants and smart home accessory support. Most recently, The Information reported that an increasing number of home builders have opted to go with Alexa-enabled smart homes, rather than install HomeKit products during construction.
A Bloomberg report today claims that Amazon's next big push into consumer products will be a robot that can navigate around the user's home "like a self-driving car." The ultimate purpose of the robot is still unclear, but people familiar with the project believe it to be a "mobile Alexa" that would follow customers into areas of the home that don't have an Echo device.
Last week, Apple supplier TSMC saw its shares decline around nine percent after it cut its full-year revenue growth target to 10 percent, compared to its previous 10-15 percent estimate. The manufacturer blamed the cut on lower-than-expected smartphone demand and growing uncertainty in the cryptocurrency mining market.
Apple's stock also declined around four percent on Friday, as many analysts equated the slowing smartphone demand with poor or declining sales of the iPhone X, which has an A11 Bionic chip fabricated by TSMC, in the second quarter.
Now, a report from DigiTimes suggests that TSMC may post better-than-projected revenues and profits in 2018 after all, as it gradually ramps up volume production of so-called A12 chips for Apple's next-generation iPhone lineup. The wafers are expected to be manufactured based on TSMC's advanced 7nm process.
The sources said that TSMC will see its revenue ratio for advanced 7nm process hit a high of 20 percent in 2018, and may therefore post better-than-projected revenues and profits for the second half of the year and register an annual revenue growth of over 10 percent.
TSMC may also benefit from Qualcomm's decision to roll out its new Snapdragon 700 series processors in May, ahead of schedule, according to the report. Qualcomm has allegedly grabbed significant orders from non-Apple smartphone vendors and will have TSMC fabricate the chips in the second half of the year.
The report is questionable given that TSMC presumably factored in production of A12 chips into its revenue guidance last week, but the better-than-projected revenues could rest more on the Qualcomm portion of the news.
How much money TSMC makes is a data point that Apple analysts often attempt to interpret in order to gauge iPhone sales. A constant flow of reports have claimed iPhone X sales have significantly declined following the device's late 2017 launch quarter, but Apple has yet to disclose any official figures.
Apple will report its second quarter earnings results on Tuesday, May 1, including how many iPhones it sold during the January-March period, but it doesn't provide a model-by-model breakdown of sales. Apple reported record-breaking revenue of $88.3 billion and 77.3 million iPhone sales in the first quarter.
Back in January, Toyota finally announced support for CarPlay, becoming one of the last major car manufacturers to support Apple's system for accessing iPhone apps through a vehicle's infotainment system. Mazda, one of the other major holdouts, announced similar support last month.
2019 Toyota Avalon and Corolla Hatchback
At its January announcement, Toyota revealed that the redesigned 2019 Avalon sedan would be the first Toyota model to include CarPlay support, with other Toyota and Lexus models adding support in the future. Several of those follow-on vehicles have since been announced, including the 2019 Corolla Hatchback, 2019 RAV4 and the 2019 Lexus UX. Other 2019 models with Toyota's Entune 3.0 and Lexus's Enform 2.0 systems will similarly be gaining CarPlay support.
Toyota invited me to Del Mar, California, earlier this month to preview both the Avalon and Corolla Hatchback, and I got to spend some time trying out and talking to Toyota representatives about not only CarPlay but other features of the new vehicles that will appeal to smartphone and smartwatch users. The Avalon and Corolla Hatchback really represent opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of market demographics, so it's good to see Toyota looking to embrace the feature for all types of customers.
2019 Toyota Avalon
The 2019 Avalon, arriving at dealers in the U.S. in mid-May, will be the first opportunity for Toyota fans to take advantage of CarPlay. While the Avalon has largely catered to an older demographic with a conservative sedan design, Toyota is upping the ante with the new fifth-generation design, which has been completely rebuilt from the ground up to modernize the sedan and appeal to not only the model's traditional audience but also younger drivers looking for sportier performance and a more aggressive design.
2019 Toyota Avalon XSE Hybrid
To that end, Toyota is offering the new Avalon in four grades, with the XLE and Limited grades offering the updated yet balanced look while the XSE and Touring grades offer a sportier design with a bold, mesh-patterned front grille, larger wheels, and black accents. The Touring model offers new Sport S and Sport S+ driving modes for those who want a more responsive driving experience that lets them feel the road more and optionally enhances engine sounds.
Base prices for the new Avalon start at $35,500 for the XLE model and rise to $42,200 for the Touring model, with the XLE, XSE, and Limited grades all available with hybrid powertrain options at a premium of just $1,000.
Apple fans will find a lot of new features to like in the 2019 Avalon, and they will undoubtedly make their way into much of the rest of the Toyota lineup as models are refreshed. CarPlay support is the big addition, and Toyota has made it standard across all four Avalon grades, which is a refreshing contrast to some other manufacturers that limit it to specific grades or packages.
I won't go into much detail on CarPlay specifically, as it's essentially the same experience from vehicle to vehicle and many users are already familiar with it from other vehicles launched over the past few years.
2019 Avalon with CarPlay home screen
Suffice it to say, CarPlay brings your iPhone's interface to your dashboard, letting you interact with a number of key stock and third-party apps to handle audio, navigation, phone calls, messages, and more. By plugging your phone into a USB port in your car, you can have convenient access to these functions in an interface that's easy to use by voice or touch while on the road, and it's all tied into your digital life already on your phone.
2019 Avalon with Apple Maps via CarPlay
As far as CarPlay details specific to the Avalon, the sedan's 9-inch touchscreen is a fantastic palette for CarPlay, with responsive touch capabilities and a great display size that makes it easy to see and reach everything while you're on the road.
Toyota has thoughtfully considered the design here, with the center console flowing smoothly up into the climate control system and the infotainment system as the large screen appears to float at the top of the stack. Hardware buttons to the left and right of the display let you access certain basic functions by feel, although the ones on the right side are quite a reach for the driver. Touchscreen and steering wheel controls do help avoid the need to use the buttons.
2019 Avalon overall dashboard and center stack layout
The Avalon only supports wired CarPlay, with the USB port for data and power located inside the center console storage compartment. A removable tray that sits at the top of the console box under the lid is a nice spot to rest your phone so you can keep everything tucked away.
Phone sitting in console tray and connected via USB, with two other USB charge ports visible
It's a tidy solution, but with the Avalon also offering Qi wireless charging (standard on XSE, Limited, and Touring and an option on XLE as part of a moonroof package) in a fairly spacious compartment at the front of the console, it's unfortunate that wireless CarPlay isn't supported. It would really be the ideal solution to be able to toss my phone onto a wireless charging pad when I hop into the car and have CarPlay pop right up without needing to plug in any cables, but hopefully it won't be too many more years before that becomes reality.
Qi charging pad in center console
I asked Toyota why it took so long to add CarPlay support, and they told me that they've historically been very conservative in adding these types of features, as they're wary of negatively impacting the user experience and are committed to collecting significant data on performance and other considerations before adopting new technologies. User privacy has been one particular area of concern, which is likely a significant reason why Toyota isn't rolling out support for Android Auto alongside CarPlay.
Aside from CarPlay, Toyota is clearly invested in more generally making things easier for the increasing numbers of mobile devices in our lives. In addition to the USB charging and data port in the console that lets you hook up to CarPlay, there are four other 2.1A charging-only USB ports in the Avalon — two more in the center console and two on the back of the console within easy reach of the rear passengers.
Pair of 2.1A USB charge ports on rear of center console
Considerations also extend to device storage, with one of the cupholders in the center console offering a flat rear wall to double as a phone holder, as long as your phone isn't too big. A slot in the rear fold-down armrest also serves as a convenient place to store a phone or a small tablet for rear passengers.
Phone storage with Qi charging pad (on some grades) tucked into front of console, cupholder also designed to hold phones
Onboard smartphone features also extend beyond CarPlay, with Toyota offering a Remote Connect app that lets you remotely start or stop your car, lock or unlock your doors, check the vehicle status for any open doors, windows, or trunk, and see where your vehicle was last parked. The app could use some design updates and support for iPhone X, but it gets the job done.
Remote Connect main screen, remote start confirmation, and vehicle finder
The app also supports guest drivers, which allows you to set up different categories of drivers such as friends, family, valets, or other specific people, and activate limits on speed, curfew, total miles, and driving radius/time. If the vehicle exceeds any of those limits, you'll receive a notification on your phone.
Remote Connect vehicle status and guest driver alert options
Remote Connect isn't a new feature, but with the 2019 Avalon, it'll be gaining Apple Watch and Android smartwatch apps that let you manage the most basic controls like remote start and lock/unlock right from your wrist, similar to the existing capabilities available through phones.
Remote Connect Apple Watch app
Remote Connect requires the Entune 3.0 Audio Plus package (standard on XLE and XSE) or Premium Audio package (standard on Limited and Touring, optional on XLE and XSE), and also requires a separate subscription priced at $8/month or $80/year after a free six-month trial. It's unfortunate that there's a separate subscription charge for this feature, but Toyota certainly isn't the only manufacturer charging extra for it.
Another interesting feature for smartphone and connected home users is built-in Alexa support across all Avalon grades. Once you log into your Amazon account, your Toyota will be linked to your Alexa home, which means you'll be able to perform both car-to-home and home-to-car tasks. For example, you'll be able to ask Alexa to turn on your house lights from your car. Some Alexa functions such as setting timers or turning on ovens won't be available from the car, but many will. In reverse, you'll be able to ask Alexa questions about your car from within your home, making sure doors are locked, checking on fuel level, or even checking where the car is parked.
Alexa’s in-car capabilities can also handle general queries, allowing you to ask for details such as weather. Alexa's capabilities can be expanded with third-party skills as well, letting you order pizza from your car using only your voice, for example. Unfortunately, the in-vehicle Alexa support won't be coming for iOS users until the fall, while Android users will get it at launch. Another limitation is that initially, Alexa will only support a single vehicle at a time, as Toyota and Amazon are still working on how to let users distinguish among multiple vehicles.
One of the reasons users have been clamoring for CarPlay support is dissatisfaction with Toyota's own Entune system, which lets you connect a smartphone to the car via Bluetooth and access a suite of apps such as Scout GPS Link from Telenav, iHeartRadio and Pandora for music, NPR, Yelp, and more. Entune 3.0, which debuted on the 2018 Camry and Sienna and is making its way into more of Toyota's lineup for model year 2019, offers a new and improved platform but has still received lukewarm reviews from users.
2019 Avalon with Entune 3.0 home screen
Three different levels of Entune 3.0 are available, with increasing levels of hardware quality available on the Audio Plus and Premium Audio tiers. The two higher levels are also required for supporting such features as Remote Connect, Wi-Fi Connect to leverage a Verizon data connection to create a Wi-Fi hotspot in your car, and Safety Connect, which offers emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notifications, and stolen vehicle locator functionality.
Scout Link GPS, which comes with a three-year subscription included on Audio Plus and subsequently requires a $24.99/year subscription, in particular has been maligned as clunky with a rather unfriendly interface and connectivity issues between phone and car. The embedded Dynamic Navigation built into the Premium Audio tier is much better (again with a three-year subscription included and then requiring a $169 fee plus dealer labor every two years for updates), but overall the Entune 3.0 apps can't compete with CarPlay's design and ease of use, as well as the convenience of having the most crucial apps from your phone seamlessly show up on your car's display.
2019 Corolla Hatchback
I won't go into as much detail on the Corolla Hatchback, as Toyota isn't quite ready to release full details on the car ahead of its summer release, but what I can say is that the in-vehicle tech offers a very similar experience, with a slightly smaller 8-inch touchscreen and CarPlay and Alexa support standard throughout all grades.
2019 Corolla Hatchback with CarPlay home screen
Remote Connect availability is a bit more limited here, as the lower SE grade (both manual transmission and CVT models) only includes basic Entune 3.0 standard, which doesn't support Remote Connect.
2019 Corolla Hatchback with Entune 3.0 home screen
The Audio Plus package required for Remote Connect is standard on higher-end XSE models and an option on the SE CVT model. It's not available at all on the manual SE model. The Audio Premium package with embedded navigation is an available option for the XSE CVT model. Toyota tells me that Apple Watch Remote Connect support will be available standard on the XSE CVT model and as part of an Audio Plus and Blind Spot Monitor upgrade package on the SE CVT model.
2019 Corolla Hatchback with Apple Maps via CarPlay
With the Corolla Hatchback coming in at a much cheaper price point than the Avalon, there are also a few sacrifices in terms of connectivity, with a single 1.5A USB port for connecting to the infotainment system somewhat awkwardly positioned under the instrument panel and a second 2.1A charge-only port in the center console. Rear passengers don't have their own dedicated ports easily accessible, and Qi wireless charging is available only as an option on the XSE CVT model.
All Avalon and Corolla Hatchback models also include Wi-Fi Connect capabilities, which turns your car into a Wi-Fi hotspot through Verizon. A free trial of six months or 2 GB of data is included, after which you'll need to add the car as a line on a Verizon plan.
Wrap-up
It's great to see Toyota finally getting onboard with CarPlay, as it's become something many users have come to expect in their vehicles with an increasing number of car buyers considering it to be a "must have" feature. Making CarPlay standard across all grades ensures that even entry-level users will have access without needing to pay for packages or higher model grades they may not necessarily want or need.
CarPlay puts your most important phone functions at your fingertips or a voice command away while behind the wheel, and with the standardized interface you'll have a familiar experience no matter what kind of car you're driving. But what surrounds and augments the CarPlay interface certainly differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, and it's good to see Toyota embracing features like Remote Connect with Apple Watch support, Qi wireless device charging, Alexa connectivity, and Wi-Fi hotspot services.
Not all of the extra features are perfect, and in some cases app designs could use some work, but that's pretty typical of car manufacturers and a big reason why users have clamored so long for CarPlay in the first place.
And unfortunately some of these features come with extra fees, which is understandable with products like Wi-Fi hotspot where Verizon provides ongoing data services for the vehicle, but somewhat less so with Remote Connect. There's certainly an infrastructure cost associated with handling communication to and from the car, but it should be pretty minimal and it would be nice if it could be baked into the cost of the vehicle rather than under a subscription plan that likely includes hefty profit margins.
Overall though, the new technology features coming to Toyota's lineup are welcome additions that many Apple fans will be able to benefit from and should help bolster Toyota's appeal as today's technologically connected consumers comparison shop for their next vehicles.
Recognizing the utility of Markup annotation tools, Apple has extended their availability in recent versions of iOS, but it's worth bearing in mind that you can access a similar and equally useful annotation toolset within several native Mac applications.
In macOS, accessing an application's Markup toolbar lets you draw on and annotate images or PDF documents within the app using arrows, shapes, and text. You can also use it to quickly sign a document with your digital signature.
We've highlighted which native apps support Markup in this article. But before you can access the toolset in desktop apps, you'll need to check that the relevant extension is enabled on your Mac. Keep reading to learn how it's done.
Apple is set to close its last remaining pop-up shop dedicated to Apple Watch next month. Signs displayed at the Tokyo shop, located in Shinjuku's high-end Isetan department store, were shared on Twitter announcing the closure.
The message reads, "This is a notice that Apple Watch at Isetan Shinjuku will close as of Sunday, May 13. Thank you very much for your continuous patronage."
The closure of the pop-up shop follows last month's opening of Apple's Shinjuku store, which is situated directly opposite Isetan and offers the full range of Apple products and services, including Apple Watch.
Japan's pop-up shop is notable for being the first of its kind to open, coinciding with the launch of the original Apple Watch in 2015. Apple has only operated three pop-up shops worldwide selling Apple watches and bands. The other two operated out of Galeries Lafayette in Paris and Selfridges in London. Both closed in 2017.
The closures appear to be part of Apple's recent strategy of promoting Apple Watch as a health and fitness accessory first and a haute couture fashion detail second. The pop-up shops specialized in selling Apple Watch Edition models, gold versions of which sold for at least $10,000 and up to $17,000 when they hit the market.
The pop-up shops were essentially outlets for Apple's remaining inventory of 18-karat Gold and Rose Gold Apple Watch Edition models, which were discontinued in 2016 and replaced with the ceramic Edition models the company continues to offer online and in-store to this day.
Today is Earth Day, and around the globe people are celebrating the annual event through demonstrations and gatherings aimed at showing support for the planet and protecting the environment. Apple began celebrations this past week in its retail stores, sending green shirts for its employees to wear and lighting up the Apple logo with a green leaf to mark the April 22 global event.
On Friday, April 20, Apple held one of its annual Beer Bash concerts with a performance by Ziggy Marley. In a tweet, the musician explained that his performance at Apple's campus was his "first set fully powered by solar energy." Marley continued by thanking Apple: "Thank you for the example you set for companies around the world."
Also in attendance during the performance was Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy, and social issues. In a tweet this morning Jackson reminded Apple Watch users about today's Earth Day Challenge, which requires you to do any workout for 30 minutes or more before the day ends, and record your activity within the Workout watchOS app or any other app that adds workouts to the Health iOS app.
The company is also celebrating Earth Day across its services, with a few themed playlists, iTunes movies, and iBooks getting top-billing today on each respective platform. On Apple Music, you can find the "Mixtape for Mother Earth," which Apple Music editors describe as a soundtrack for Earth Day with songs "inspired by our planet's natural wonders." Artists and songs include Radiohead's "Bloom," The Beatles's "Sun King," Tegan and Sara's "Our Trees," and more, totaling 30 tracks.
While "Mixtape for Mother Earth" is the main playlist currently being promoted on the Browse tab, if you search for "Earth Day" you can also find playlists like "What are Earth's favorite songs?" and other curated collections from previous Earth Day events.
Over on the iTunes Movies store, Apple has a collection of $0.99 rentals for films that all include messages about the environment. The list of just over 40 films has a mix of scripted movies and documentaries, including "FernGully: The Last Rainforest," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Fly Away Home," "Blackfish," "March of the Penguins," "An Inconvenient Truth," "A Plastic Ocean," and more. There's also a collection of Disneynature documentaries priced at $9.99, including topics like Oceans, Bears, African Cats, and Monkey Kingdom.
iBooks readers can also get in on the Earth Day celebrations thanks to a "Protect the Planet" section of the Featured tab within Apple's digital books app. The books in the new collection "include meditations on Mother Nature's delightful quirks, rallying cries for biodiversity, and blueprints for how to play a part in passing on a healthier planet." The collection is split up into three sub categories called "Explore the Natural World," "Get Informed & Inspired," and "Do Your Part." Books include "Unstoppable" by Bill Nye and Corey S. Powell, "Voices in the Ocean" by Susan Casey, and "A Hole in the Wind" by David Goodrich.
Earlier this month, Apple announced that its global facilities, including retail stores, offices, data centers, and more, are powered with 100 percent clean energy. Apple went into further detail about how it has lessened its overall environmental impact with the 2018 Environmental Responsibility Report, sharing stats about its reduced greenhouse gas emissions, lowered energy footprint, and more. The company also updated its trade-in and recycling initiatives into a new "GiveBack" program, and introduced a new iPhone disassembly robot named Daisy.
Apple today announced a new worldwide battery replacement program for some 13-inch MacBook Pro models that do not have a Touch Bar. Affected machines were manufactured between October 2016 and October 2017.
Apple says that a limited number of these units feature a component that can fail and cause the built-in battery to expand. It is not a safety issue, according to the company, and Apple will replace all eligible batteries.
Customers who want to see if their machines are eligible for a fresh battery should use the serial number checker on the MacBook Pro Battery Replacement page. You can find your serial number by clicking on the Apple logo in the menu bar and selecting "About This Mac." The serial number is located at the bottom of the information window.
Affected customers who are eligible for a new battery will need to visit an Apple Authorized Service Provider, make an appointment at an Apple retail store, or mail their device into an Apple Repair Center after initiating a repair with Apple Support.
Apple suggests customers who are getting a battery replacement back up their machines ahead of time. Apple also says that if the MacBook Pro in question has damage that will impair the replacement of the battery, it must be addressed prior to the battery replacement process.
Any customer who has already paid for a replacement battery can contact Apple Support about a refund.
The battery replacement program covers affected MacBook Pro models for five years after the first retail sale of the unit.
Each year, Apple offers free WWDC scholarships to students and STEM organization members who don't have the $1,599 necessary to purchase a ticket to the company's annual developer conference.
For the upcoming 2018 event, Apple accepted scholarship applications from March 26 to April 1, and since then, Apple has been going through the submissions and choosing winners. As of today, all scholarship applicants who are being awarded with free WWDC attendance are receiving emails from Apple.
Apple is awarding up to 350 scholarships, all of which include a free WWDC ticket, free lodging, and a free one year Apple developer membership.
Scholarship applicants were asked to create a short, three-minute interactive scene in Swift Playground. Apple judged applications based on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses on the accompanying application.
All applicants were required to be enrolled part-time or full-time in an accredited course of study or were required to be members of a STEM organization. Apple held its developer ticket lottery back in March and notified developers who won a full-price ticket on March 23.
#WWDCScholars#WWDC2018 Okay, WOW I just can’t believe it. This is my last year as a student, so this was my last chance to get a WWDC scholarship. To say that I put my soul into this is to say nothing. But it’s still a HUGE surprise for me. Wow. Huge. pic.twitter.com/fNX46lCea5
— Oleg Dreyman (@olegdreyman) April 20, 2018
This year's Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off on Monday, June 4 and it will last through Friday, June 8 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. Apple is expected to hold a keynote on June 4 where new software and perhaps new hardware products will be unveiled.
Scholarship students and developers who were not chose to attend the event will be able to follow along with the conference using the WWDC app.
The United States Department of Justice today launched an antitrust investigation to determine whether U.S. carriers, including Verizon and AT&T, have coordinated to prevent consumers from easily switching wireless carriers, reports The New York Times.
AT&T, Verizon, and GSMA, an industry group that sets mobile standards, were asked in February for documents related to their efforts to hinder the implementation of eSIMs. An embedded SIM, or eSIM, is a standardized chip that's designed to replace a physical SIM card.
With eSIM technology, there is no need to swap out SIM cards when switching carriers, making it easier to make a switch from one carrier to another. eSIMs are designed to be compatible with all major carriers, regardless of network type.
eSIMs are a major change from physical SIM cards, which require customers who wish to switch carriers to obtain a new SIM card when changing providers. eSIMs make it simpler for customers to swap carriers while traveling, and, of interest to device makers, they free up space currently taken up by a SIM card.
AT&T and Verizon are accused of colluding with the GSMA to create standards that would allow devices with eSIM technology to be locked to their networks. Representatives from the two carriers attended a meeting for a private task force called GSMA North America earlier this year and advocated for the ability to keep eSIM devices tied to a single carrier.
Verizon reportedly claimed that phones needed to be locked to its network in order to prevent theft and fraud.
At the heart of the investigation is whether the nation's biggest wireless carriers, working with the G.S.M.A., secretly tried to influence mobile technology to unfairly maintain their dominance, in a way that hurt competition and consumers and hindered innovation in the wider mobile industry.
AT&T and Verizon together control about 70 percent of all wireless subscriptions in the United States. A technology that made it easy to switch carriers could lead to more churn and fewer subscribers for them.
The Department of Justice launched began the probe several months ago following formal complaints from at least one device maker and one wireless carrier. The investigation may include other carriers beyond Verizon and AT&T.
AT&T, Verizon, and other U.S. carriers have long resisted features that would make it easier for customers to switch carriers at will without being tied to a specific network. Verizon, for example, refused to allow Apple to offer Verizon service through the Apple SIM built into newer iPads. The Apple SIM, a multi-carrier SIM card, is designed to make it easier for customers to choose a carrier after an iPad purchase and switch to a new carrier when traveling.
Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other wireless carriers in the United States are proponents of the eSIM. Apple, for example, is said to want to use eSIM technology in its 2018 iPhones, but may instead opt for dual-SIM technology because "some carriers are resistant to the idea."
Apple has already implemented eSIM technology in the Apple Watch Series 3 models equipped with LTE connectivity. The eSIM is also a feature of the Google Pixel 2 smartphone and the Microsoft Surface.
Update: According to CNBC, all four major U.S. carriers received requests from the U.S. Justice Department.
Update 2: Apple is one of the companies that submitted a complaint to the Department of Justice, according to Bloomberg.
Earning a featured spot in the revamped iOS App Store can increase app downloads by up to 800 percent, according to new data sourced from app analytics site Sensor Tower and shared by TechCrunch.
The data, collected from September 2017 to the present, suggests an app that's highlighted using either the "App of the Day" or "Game of the Day" feature in the U.S. sees the greatest increase in downloads.
Specifically, "Game of the Day" apps have seen a median download increase of 802 percent for the week following the feature, while "App of the Day" apps have seen a boost of 685 percent.
Other features, such as a developer story or an app list can increase downloads by up to 240 percent. Stories resulted in a 222 percent boost in downloads, while app lists increased downloads by 240 percent. A theme feature had the lowest impact at a 164 percent increase in downloads.
Sensor Tower has also outlined what kind of data Apple has chosen to highlight through the new App Store design. Many of the top publishers that have been featured are larger companies, like Electronic Arts, Warner Bros., Square Enix, Gameloft, Noodlecake Studios, and King, which is unsurprising as these companies have put out some of the most popular apps in the App Store.
13 of the top 15 featured publishers had at least one million U.S. iPhone downloads since the launch of the new App Store.
Apple has, however, also focused on highlighting indie apps. 29 percent of apps featured since the launch of the new App Store have been from publishers who had fewer than 10,000 downloads at the time.
"While it's clearly the case that big publishers are more likely to receive the largest number of features, small publishers still very much have their chance to benefit from a feature on the App Store," said Sensor Tower's Mobile Insights Analyst, Jonathan Briskman.
Apple introduced the redesigned App Store in iOS 11 to offer additional opportunities for exposure to app developers. The new App Store includes a "Today" section that's updated daily with app suggestions, featured spots, app lists, developer features, and more, and it splits apps and games into two distinct categories.
Content featured in the new App Store is chosen and curated by Apple's App Store editorial team, which ensures high-quality recommendations that don't rely solely on popularity rankings.
As noted by TechCrunch, Sensor Tower's data suggests that Apple's goal of increasing developer exposure through the new App Store design has largely been a successful venture.
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with ColorWare to give MacRumors readers a chance to win a set of custom-painted AirPods, which are available in dozens of different colors.
ColorWare is a company that's been around for quite some time, offering custom paint jobs and unique skins for a range of electronic devices. AirPods can be ordered from ColorWare in custom colors for a fee of $299, with an additional $40 fee to paint the case a matching shade.
At $299 (or $349 with the case), there's a premium for choosing AirPods from ColorWare, but ColorWare is the only site that offers one-of-a-kind color options you can't get anywhere else.
ColorWare's AirPods can be ordered in one of several solid or metallic colors, with both gloss and matte finishes available. Traditional black, gold, silver, and gray shades are options, but there are also a several bright shades in every color of the rainbow. If you want AirPods in teal, red, green, purple, or pink, ColorWare is the way to go.
You can choose to have both AirPods custom painted in the same color along with the case, or you can get each AirPod and the case all in different colors, meaning there are quite a few available color combinations.
ColorWare has been custom-painting devices since 1998 and has had a lot of time to perfect the painting process. The company uses a coating process that includes a primer, an application of a proprietary color formula, and an X2 liquid plastic coating that protects the new color.
Because ColorWare is using traditional AirPods, full AirPods functionality is intact, with a W1 chip for easy pairing, a long battery life, a built-in accelerometer for ear detection, iCloud support for quick device switching, and support for gestures.
We have one set of custom-painted AirPods and Charging Case to give away, with the winner to choose the color and finish of their choice. We've also teamed up with ColorWare to offer MacRumors readers an exclusive 30 percent discount on all iPhone, iPad, and Mac skins, which is a more affordable way to get a fresh device color.
To get the discount, just visit ColorWare's site and click on the MacRumors banner at the top of any page.
To enter to win our giveaway, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumorsFacebook page.
Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.
The contest will run from today (April 20) at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on April 27. The winner will be chosen randomly on April 27 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover are planning to combine their online payment options into "a single button," hoping to make customers' shopping easier and reduce friction in the checkout process. The button will be a major competitor to PayPal, and combat what's called "the NASCAR effect," where multiple payment logos and options dot the purchasing interface on online marketplaces "like the side of a race car" (via Bloomberg).
The new project is being headed by Visa and Mastercard, which announced during an industry conference that they will integrate the Visa Checkout and Masterpass payment options into the button. Afterwards, spokespeople for American Express and Discover announced they are joining the project as well. With all of these platforms located behind one button, users who already have payment options saved in each will be able to checkout "with a few clicks."
Still, the project is in early stages, with a name and the visual design of the button still undecided. Visa and Mastercard hope to start moving customers enrolled in Visa Checkout and Masterpass to the new program by the end of this year, and expanded checkout support is expected in 2019.
With all of the major credit and debit card companies joining forces, the new button is believed to be a direct competitor to PayPal, which amalgamates a customer's credit cards, debit cards, and bank accounts into one place for easier checkouts.
The aim, according to the card networks, is to make online shopping simple, letting people finish with a few clicks -- an experience pioneered by PayPal Holdings Inc. Yet some analysts say the coordinated effort may ratchet up competition between cards and PayPal, something long seen as a potential risk to that company’s meteoric growth.
“This is always kind of a looming threat to PayPal,” said Thomas McCrohan, an analyst at Mizuho Americas after the first announcements this week.
In a recent survey, 58 percent of merchants said they accepted PayPal in 2017, followed by Apple Pay at 48 percent, Visa Checkout at 26 percent, Masterpass at 16 percent, and AmEx Express Checkout at 9 percent. By providing a less splintered landscape for online shopping, the credit card companies hope to increase visibility among the "one-button concept" marketplace, where people currently "think of PayPal and Amazon Pay," analyst Raymond Pucci said. "People don't really say, 'Oh yeah, Visa and Mastercard.'"
PayPal has been facing increased pressure from rival payments processors recently, with eBay in February detailing plans to phase out its 15-year-long partnership with PayPal to integrate Adyen as its primary payments platform.
PayPal and eBay have an operating agreement to stay partners through mid-2020, so the Adyen alliance will begin slowly by educating buyers and sellers about the new processor in late 2018 and throughout 2019. By 2021, eBay wants to have "transitioned a majority" of its marketplace customers to Adyen, at which time PayPal will be relegated to a secondary checkout option.
Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and Visa also plan to make checkouts simpler in physical stores, this month eliminating the signature requirement for purchases.
Apple will release an updated iPhone SE in May, according to case makers who spoke with Japanese website Mac Otakara at the Global Sources Mobile Electronics trade show in Hong Kong this week.
The case makers said the second-generation model will retain the same physical size as the current iPhone SE, and Touch ID is expected to remain, suggesting the device will continue to have a four-inch display sandwiched between top and bottom bezels for the home button, camera, and earpiece.
Following in the footsteps of the iPhone 7 and beyond, the case makers do not expect the new iPhone SE to have a 3.5mm headphone jack. If accurate, and with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus likely to be discontinued in September, Apple would no longer sell any iPhone model with a headphone jack.
Also like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the new iPhone SE will supposedly be powered by Apple's last-generation A10 Fusion chip, up to 40 percent faster than the A9 processor in the current iPhone SE. The chip will likely enable support for the HEIF image format and HEVC video compression standard.
The report speculates that the new iPhone SE may have a glass back with wireless charging capabilities, like the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, but evidence is said to be inconclusive at this time.
It's unclear how and where the case makers obtained this information, but they are likely compelled to dig up details from the supply chain in order to be first to the market with properly fitting cases and accessories.
If history repeats itself, the regulatory filings in April do lend credence to a new iPhone SE debuting next month. DigiTimes also predicted May or June. Apple has only debuted new products in May twice in the past five years, including the fifth-generation iPod touch in 2013 and a refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro in 2015.
WWDC 2018 in June could also provide Apple with stage time to introduce the new iPhone SE, but that hasn't happened since the iPhone 4 in 2010. A press release in May could be more fitting if the update is insignificant.
iPhone SE rumors have been all over the map in recent months. A sketchy report from Chinese website QQ.com, for example, claimed the second-generation model will have a larger 4.2-inch display, Touch ID, A10 Fusion chip, 2GB of RAM, and metal back and frame, available with 32GB or 128GB of storage.
Apple is likely most focused on making under-the-hood improvements to the iPhone SE, as the device is now outdated by a few years. At its $349 price point, its new design is unlikely to resemble the iPhone X.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who relays information from Apple's supply chain in Asia, recently cast some doubt on rumors about a second-generation iPhone SE launching in the second quarter of 2018.
If there really is a so-called iPhone SE 2 on Apple's roadmap, Kuo expects it will have few outward-facing changes. He predicts the device would likely have a faster processor and a lower price, rather than iPhone X-like features like a nearly full screen design, 3D sensing for Face ID, or wireless charging.
The current iPhone SE looks much like the iPhone 5s, including its smaller four-inch display preferred by a subset of customers. The device is powered by Apple's A9 chip, like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and it has 2GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Touch ID.
Apple hasn't fully refreshed the iPhone SE since it launched in March 2016, but it did double its available storage capacities to 64GB and 128GB in March 2017. It also dropped the device's starting price to $349 last September.
AT&T is planning to add a new streaming service to its lineup called "AT&T Watch," priced at a low cost of $15 per month with the removal of all sports channels. The service will be one of the cheapest streaming bundles available on the market, and will even be free for AT&T wireless subscribers on unlimited plans (via The Wall Street Journal and Variety).
As of now not much else is known about AT&T Watch, including exactly what channels will be on offer, what platforms it will launch on, or even a specific launch date besides "in the next few weeks." When it does debut, the service will undercut Sling TV's cheapest $20/month streaming tier, and be more of a competitor to Philo's $16/month option, which predominantly advertises itself as the over-the-top bundle for people who don't watch sports.
The upcoming skinny bundle was announced yesterday by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, during his time on the witness stand where he defended his company's intent to acquire Time Warner. Stephenson mentioned AT&T Watch after the Justice Department argued that AT&T continuously raises prices for traditional DirecTV subscribers, reportedly "emphasizing" the new service and DirecTV Now's entry level $35/month tier, "while acknowledging price increases for traditional DirecTV subscribers."
Often speaking directly to the judge, Stephenson testified on the origins and rationale for the merger, but his examination also veered into other topics, like an email exchange he had with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg following last year’s Allen & Co. Sun Valley conference. He even revealed a new product offering, AT&T Watch, a $15-per-month bundle of channels, countering the Justice Department’s point that AT&T is still raising prices on its traditional DirecTV satellite service.
AT&T's other streaming service, DirecTV Now, extends beyond the entry level $35/month for 60+ channels to $50/month for 80+ channels, $60/month for 100+ channels, and $70/month for 120+ channels. Additionally, the service includes an Apple TV 4K offer that's been ongoing since November 2017, providing the device to new subscribers at no extra cost when they pre-pay for anywhere between three to four months of service.
