MacRumors

Microsoft today announced the preview launch of a new "intelligent task management app" that's designed to make it easier to plan and manage a day's activities.

Called "Microsoft To-Do," the app was designed by the team behind Wunderlist, which Microsoft purchased in June of 2015. To-Do is designed to replace Wunderlist, which Microsoft plans to retire after all Wunderlist features have been built into the new app.

It includes Intelligent Suggestions that aim to help users focus and plan to complete tasks that are the most important. The app offers up "helpful suggestions" based on a "smart algorithm."

What areas of your life do you want to be more productive in? You can have a color-coded list for each. Now you can quickly add your homework to one list, your groceries to another, your packing list, your work projects and your home DIY projects to yet more lists. You can create as many lists as fits your lifestyle. And if you follow a productivity system such as GTD (David Allen's Getting Things Done Methodology) then you can create a Someday list or a Follow-up list. To-Do is here for you, whether your goals are for this week or in 5 years time.

Microsoft is making To-Do available for iPhone, Android, Windows 10, and the web. It's available in a Preview capacity starting today, and in the future, Microsoft plans to add support for the iPad and release a Mac app.

Microsoft To-Do can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Hulu's upcoming live streaming television service could launch as soon as early May, reports TechCrunch. Hulu has already confirmed the service will launch in the spring, but has not given a more specific public launch date.

Internally, the company is said to be telling employees that the first week of May is being targeted for launch, but TechCrunch says this is a rolling target date that could shift to later in May if necessary.

Despite the internal communication - which we've seen - claiming the "first week of May" launch, we've also heard that the chatter among employees is that consumers will likely get the service around mid-May. In addition, other sources familiar with Hulu's launch plans have confirmed that mid-May is just as likely as earlier in the month. It could even end up being the third week.

In other words, "mid-May" doesn't translate to a May 15th launch.

However, the month of May - in general - is definitely a go.

The official launch date of the service is perhaps dependent on an ongoing beta testing period that the company is using to garner feedback from users and eliminate bugs.

Rumors suggest Hulu plans to price its upcoming television service at $39.99 per month, with an add-on cloud DVR service that could cost an additional $20 per month for "unlimited" storage capped at 200 hours of programming.

Hulu is said to be planning to allow concurrent devices on up to three devices in the same home, and channels will include content from CBS, 21st Century Fox, ESPN, and Disney. Many details of Hulu's upcoming service remain a mystery, including whether or not the company will offer multiple packages like DirecTV Now, but its TV package is "comparable" to rival services.

Hulu's streaming service will offer a mix of live TV and on-demand content, something that will make the service unique among its peers.

Qualcomm today reported earnings for the second fiscal quarter of 2017, and in its report, the company says Apple suppliers are withholding royalty payments amid Apple's ongoing legal dispute with Qualcomm. [PDF]

According to Qualcomm, Apple's contract manufacturers underpaid royalties in Q2 2017 in an amount equal to that which Qualcomm has not paid Apple. Qualcomm says this hasn't had a negative impact on revenue, but it could be an issue next quarter if manufacturers continue to underpay.

Apple's contract manufacturers reported, but underpaid, royalties in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. However, our revenues were not negatively impacted as the contract manufacturers acknowledged the amounts are due and the underpayment was equal to the amounts that Qualcomm has not paid Apple under our Cooperation Agreement that are currently in dispute. The Cooperation Agreement expired December 31, 2016.

It is not clear whether Apple's contract manufacturers will underpay royalties owed under their contracts with us in the third quarter of fiscal 2017, which could have a negative impact on our financial results. Our guidance range for fiscal third quarter EPS is wider than our typical practice primarily due to this uncertainty. We have considered a variety of scenarios within this range, but have not included a scenario where no payment is made by the contract manufacturers. We will update our guidance if we subsequently learn of any action that would take us outside of the announced guidance range.

Qualcomm and Apple are embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute that dates back to an FTC complaint alleging Qualcomm engaged in anticompetitive patent licensing practices. Shortly after the FTC filed its complaint, Apple levied a lawsuit against Qualcomm, accusing the company of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with."

Apple claims that Qualcomm "reinforces its dominance" through exclusionary tactics and high patent licensing fees, charging Apple "at least five times more" in payments than other cellular patent licensors.

Qualcomm has separately refused to pay Apple quarterly rebates due to Apple's participation in an antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm in South Korea, which has led Apple to seek $1 billion in rebate repayments. Qualcomm has called Apple's claims "baseless" and has accused Apple of "encouraging regulatory attacks."

Earlier this month, Qualcomm filed a countersuit against Apple, claiming Apple has breached its licensing agreements, made false statements, and encouraged regulatory attacks on Qualcomm's business in multiple countries. According to Qualcomm, Apple "could not have built the incredible iPhone franchise" without relying on Qualcomm's "fundamental cellular technologies."

Cartoon Network today announced that it has implemented support for several of Apple's recently introduced television features on the Apple TV and iOS devices, including the TV app, Single sign-on, and universal search.

Through the TV app installed on Apple iOS devices in the United States, Cartoon Network content is now displayed alongside content from other apps that have added TV app support. Cartoon Network shows are now available in the "Up Next" and "Recommended" sections of the TV app.

With Single sign-on, Cartoon Network app users with supported Single sign-on cable providers will no longer need to sign into the Cartoon Network app with their cable credentials on the Apple TV and iOS devices as signing in will be automatic.

When using Siri on the Apple TV to ask about content, Cartoon Network app content will now be displayed alongside other results thanks to universal search support.

The Cartoon Network is a popular channel that offers shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball, Regular Show, and The Powerpuff Girls. While the app offers some free content, cable authentication is required to access all of what the app has to offer.

Cartoon Network can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple is expanding the available features in its Maps app in Europe according to a briefing that was held in London on Wednesday and shared by Bloomberg.

Apple Maps for iOS devices and Macs now includes locations of electric vehicle charging stations in the UK, thanks to a partnership with Cirrantic Moovility. More than 3,000 EV charging stations are available in the Maps app in the UK.

In the United States, electric vehicle charging stations have been listed in Maps since December of 2016, through a partnership with ChargePoint.

"We think that consistent, live information of the growing charger infrastructure increases the confidence of EV drivers and, especially with Apple Maps, attracts new user groups to sustainable mobility offerings like EV cars," said Arne Meusel, CEO and co-founder of Cirrantic. "In the U.K. we started with supporting the major charger operators, including Podpoint, CYC, Ecotricity, NPower and NewMotion. Any interested operator is welcome to set up a connection with us."

Apple is also introducing public bicycle rental and drop-off points in London, Paris, and New York, an addition that's meant to bring Apple Maps in line with Google Maps, which also lists public bicycle rental locations.

Additional Maps improvements are likely on the horizon as Apple works to open a new Apple Maps development center in Hyderabad, India, which will employ more than 4,000 people. Apple is also employing a team of robotics and data collection experts who will use drones to further bolster Apple Maps.

A number of MacRumors readers received an email from Apple today stating that their 50GB iCloud storage plan subscription has been "discontinued" and will no longer automatically renew. Several users on Reddit and Twitter have also reported receiving the email, which may have been sent mistakenly.

Relatedly, some iCloud storage plans were unavailable for purchase on iOS and macOS Sierra. When we checked the "Upgrade iCloud Storage" menu on an iPhone, both the 50GB and 200GB tiers were no longer listed. Later, the 1TB tier disappeared as well. On another iPhone, the menu wouldn't load at all.

Apple has not announced any changes to its iCloud storage plans, and it has not recently updated its iCloud storage plans and pricing support document, so this was likely simply a server-related issue on Apple's backend. Apple's System Status page does not reflect any ongoing iCloud-related issues.

Apple has not indicated why the "discontinued" emails were sent, but all four of the 50GB, 200GB, 1TB, and 2TB tiers appear to be available for purchase again for most users. We'll update this article if we hear anything else, particularly if Apple does have surprise changes to its iCloud storage plans in the works.

AlwaysOnline Wireless, one of the data providers for the Apple SIM built into newer iPads, today announced that it is expanding to 14 additional countries, making it available in a total of 88 places around the world.

New countries where AlwaysOnline Wireless is available include Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jordan, Morocco, and Uruguay.

"AOW was designed for people on the go - people who want and need the freedom to connect anytime, anywhere, right when they need it," explained Emir Aboulhosn, CEO and Founder of Otono. "This announcement means that iPad users now have more options for staying in touch in more places worldwide, something that is increasingly important in today's connected world."

Data plans in most countries have also dropped in price by more than 40 percent, with the price adjustments coming after significant price cuts in the UK earlier this year.

A full list of countries and accompanying rate plans can be found on the AlwaysOnline Wireless website. Prices start at 11 cents per hour but vary based on country.

Apple SIM and AlwaysOnline Wireless service works with the new iPad (5th generation), the 9.7 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the iPad mini 4, the iPad Air 2, and the iPad mini 3.