MacRumors

Apple has levied a lawsuit against RISC-V startup Rivos, a company that has hired several former high-ranking engineers from Apple. Rivos describes itself as a "startup in stealth mode," and according to Apple, Rivos not only poached Apple employees, but also stole chip trade secrets.

As noted by Reuters, the lawsuit that was filed last Friday accuses Rivos of hiring more than 40 former Apple employees over the course of the past year to work on system-on-chip (SoC) technology that competes with Apple's own A-series and M-series chips.

Apple claims that at least two former engineers (Bhasi Kaithamana and Wen Shih-Chieh, aka "Ricky") took "gigabytes of sensitive SoC specifications and design files" during their last few days working at Apple. Rivos is accused of launching a "coordinated campaign" to target employees with information about Apple's SoC designs.

"Stealth mode" startup Rivos, which was founded to design and market its own competing SoCs, has filled out its ranks with dozens of former Apple engineers. Starting in June 2021, Rivos began a coordinated campaign to target Apple employees with access to Apple proprietary and trade secret information about Apple's SoC designs. Apple promptly sent Rivos a letter informing Rivos of the confidentiality obligations of Apple's former employees, but Rivos never responded.

The employees who allegedly stole information are said to have used USB drives and AirDrop to offload sensitive Apple material to their own personal devices, as well as steal presentations on unreleased SoCs and save them to their cloud accounts. Apple believes that Rivos communicated with some employees through encrypted messaging apps, and the former Apple workers who allegedly participated in the theft of information attempted to wipe their Apple devices to try to cover their tracks.

In the lawsuit, Apple said that it had no choice but to sue because of the volume of information taken, the nature of the information stolen, and that the employees are "now performing the same duties for a competitor with ongoing access to some of Apple's most valuable trade secrets."

Kaithamana, one of the specific employees accused of data theft, allegedly copied thousands of Apple documents containing "proprietary and trade secret information" over the course of a week in August 2021. He copied the files on his work computer before transferring them to a USB drive, and Apple's lawsuit goes into detail about the specific data that he collected.

Wen, a second employee that allegedly stole info, transferred 390 gigabytes of data from his Apple-issued computer to a personal hard drive just before departing the company. Apple says that he stole information on both current and unreleased SoCs, accessing proprietary data just before the file transfer.

Between July 26, 2021 and July 29, 2021, Mr. Wen transferred approximately 390 gigabytes from his Apple-issued computer to a personal external hard drive. Among the data transferred are confidential Apple documents describing Apple trade secrets, including aspects of the microarchitecture for Apple's past, current, and unreleased SoCs.

Other Apple employees not specifically named in the lawsuit also connected external hard drives to their Apple-issued computers shortly after being hired by Rivos, and at the same time, were accessing Apple trade secret information about SoC designs.

Apple is asking for an injunction against the employees who joined Rivos to prevent them from continuing to leak sensitive data, compensation for the loss caused by trade secret misappropriation, and additional damages for "unjust enrichment" Rivos gained from Apple's data. In lieu of damages, Apple is asking for "a reasonable royalty rate" from Rivos. Apple has requested a jury trial, so we are likely to hear more from the Apple v. Rivos dispute going forward.

For those interested, the full lawsuit can be read over on Scribd.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have created an artificial intelligence algorithm that is able to use single-lead ECGs taken by the Apple Watch to find patients who have a weak heart pump, according to research data that was shared this week at the Heart Rhythm Society conference.

A weak heart pump, or left ventricular dysfunction, is an issue that affects two to three percent of people around the world, and up to nine percent of people over age 60. Like atrial fibrillation, another heart issue the Apple Watch can detect, a weak heart pump can have no symptoms. It can also be accompanied by symptoms that include racing heart beats or shortness of breath.

Paul Friedman, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that it is "absolutely remarkable" that AI is able to use a consumer watch ECG to detect the condition, as it is normally something that requires an echocardiogram, CT scan, or MRI to identify.

The ECG feature on the Apple Watch is a single-lead ECG, and it requires users to place a finger on the Apple Watch digital crown for 30 seconds. Results are uploaded to the Apple Health app and can be shared with medical professionals. The ECGs are designed to help detect atrial fibrillation, but ECG functionality and other Apple Watch features are also being studied in the detection of other conditions.

A standard ECG uses 12 electrode leads that are placed on a person's chest, arms, and legs to monitor the heart's electrical signals. To use the single-lead ECG results from the Apple Watch, researchers modified an existing 12-lead algorithm that is known to be able to detect a weak heart muscle.

The study included 125,610 ECGs collected over a period of six months from 46 states and 11 countries. Each person submitted many ECGs, and the cleanest readings were used for the algorithm. Several hundred of the participants had clinical testing to measure pump strength, and that data was used to determine whether the Apple Watch could detect an issue.

Approximately 420 patients had a watch ECG recorded within 30 days of a clinically ordered echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart, a standard test to measure pump strength. We took advantage of those data to see whether we could identify a weak heart pump with AI analysis of the watch ECG. While our data are early, the test had an area under the curve of 0.88, meaning it is as good as or slightly better than a medical treadmill test. AI analysis of the watch ECG is a powerful test to identify a weak heart pump.

Researchers plan to launch global prospective studies to do further testing in more diverse populations to demonstrate the benefit of the single-lead ECG feature in the Apple Watch.

"This is what the transformation of medicine looks like: inexpensively diagnosing serious disease from your sofa," said Friedman.

Popular secure messaging app Telegram is testing new monetization strategies, and hints of a new Telegram Premium subscription have shown up in the 8.7.2 beta version of the iOS app.

As noted by Android Police, the beta includes both stickers and reactions that are locked behind a paywall. Users who select these premium stickers and reactions are prompted to sign up for the Telegram Premium service, and non-subscribers cannot see the stickers or reactions as they are blocked for those who do not pay. Non-subscribers who receive a premium reaction or sticker are prompted to sign up for a subscription themselves.

As of right now, Telegram makes money through ad sales and features for group channels, but there are no add-on purchase options that target individual users. Should this new Premium feature be implemented, that could change.

It is not unusual for social networks to charge extra for premium reactions, as Twitch and Discord also have subscription options that include additional emoji and customization options. Telegram founder Pavel Durov has previously said that Telegram does not plan to charge for core features that already exist, though he did say in 2020 that additional monetization strategies would be coming.

Full details on what might be included in some kind of Telegram Premium subscription are unknown at this time, and there is no word on when the functionality might see a wider rollout following the beta test.

This year, Mother's Day lands on Sunday, May 8, and we're tracking quite a few offers and deals from some of the best Apple-related accessory companies. If you're planning on purchasing a gift for someone, we recommend looking at the below deals as soon as possible, considering shipping estimates vary for every company.

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

AT&T

Carriers are one of the best retailers to find solid discounts around holidays like Mother's Day, and this year is no different. You can get up to $700 off the iPhone 13 Pro Max at AT&T with an eligible trade-in this month.

AT&T also has a BOGO offer on Apple Watch devices, offering up to $330 off an Apple Watch when you purchase one at full price. If you opt for the Apple Watch SE, you can get this model at no extra cost.

There are plenty of other discounts going on at AT&T this week, including 50 percent off the iPhone 12 and savings on Internet packages, so be sure to browse the carrier's website for more information.

B&H Photo

B&H Photo has a big sale this year for Mother's Day, discounting Nikon cameras, Beats headphones, tablets, computers, and more.

One of the highlights of the sale focuses on the Beats Studio Buds earphones, available for $99.95, down from $149.00, which is one of the lowest prices we've tracked.

Brydge

Brydge is discounting a collection of accessories this week, including steep markdowns on the MacBook Vertical Dock, iPad keyboards, and Leather Folios for MacBook Pro models.

• Brydge Leather Folios - $49.99 - $59.99, down from $89.99 - $99.99
• MacBook Vertical Dock - $99.99, down from $169.99
• Brydge 10.2 - $89.99, down from $129.99

Casely

Casely is offering 30 percent off everything across its website this week; just use the code MAMA at the checkout screen to see the discount.

Casely has a wide variety of cases and accessories for iPhones, AirPods, iPads, Samsung smartphones, and more.

Nomad

Nomad is discounting a collection of its best accessories for Mother's Day this year. To see the sale, you'll need to enter the code MOM20 at checkout and get 20 percent off any of the items in the sale.

This event includes savings on Apple Watch bands, iPhone cases, AirPods cases, cables and chargers, and more. The event will run through the end of this week, so be sure to use the discount code before it expires.

More Sales

• Adorama - Save on smart watches, headphones, and more.
• Hyper - Save on Hyper's Pearl Battery Packs that double as LED makeup mirrors.
• JBL - Save up to 30% on JBL's portable speakers.
• Moment - Save up to 75% on backpacks, iPhone cases, and more.
• Newegg - Save on smartwatches, notebooks, PC equipment, and more.
• Pad & Quill - Save on iPhone folios and travel organizers.
• SENA Cases - Use code CALLMOM to get 20% off iPhone cases.
• Twelve South - Shop Twelve South's gift guide to find savings on chargers and more.

Head to our full Deals Roundup to get caught up with all of the latest deals and discounts that we've been tracking over the past week.

Roku today announced that Apple Music will be available on its streaming media platform worldwide starting later today.

Apple Music will be available as an app through the Channel Store on TVs connected to a Roku streaming player and on built-in Roku TVs sold by brands like TCL and Hisense. Apple Music subscribers will have full access to over 90 million songs available on the streaming service, in addition to playlists, radio stations, and other features.

Roku has expanded its integration with Apple over the last few years by rolling out HomeKit and AirPlay 2 support to select devices in late 2020 and by adding an Apple TV+ button to some Roku remotes in the United States last year.

Apple Music is also available on Android, the PlayStation 5, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, Amazon Echo and Google Nest speakers, and more.

The competition regulator in the Netherlands today announced that Apple's rules surrounding Dutch dating apps remain insufficient.

In a statement obtained by journalist Nando Kasteleijn, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) said that while Apple eliminating its requirement for Dutch dating apps to create a separate app binary in order to accept alternative payments was an improvement, the company has yet to fully comply with Dutch and European regulations. The statement did not outline the specific conditions that Apple has yet to comply with.

The ACM already fined Apple a total of €50 million between January and March for failing to comply with the order, and the competition regulator said it is now preparing a new order with additional penalties that will be published in the coming weeks.

The saga began in December 2021, when the ACM announced that Apple must let dating apps accept alternative payment methods on the App Store in the Netherlands. Apple complied with the demand, but it initially required Dutch dating apps to submit a separate app binary to accept alternative payments. Apple has since made several changes to its rules surrounding Dutch dating apps, but the ACM remains unsatisfied.

Apple previously said that while it disagrees with the order and is appealing the decision, the changes it announced on March 30 demonstrated the company's ongoing commitment to fulfill its legal obligations in the Netherlands.

Today we're tracking a pair of discounts on AirPods models offered by Amazon, including solid markdowns on the AirPods 2 and AirPods Max.

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

AirPods 2

Apple's AirPods 2 have returned to their best price of 2022 at $99.99, down from $129.00. This sale is available on Amazon, and you won't need any coupon codes to see the deal.

Amazon has the AirPods in stock now and free delivery estimates an arrival date of this weekend for most places in the United States. This is the model that comes with the wired Charging Case.

AirPods Max

Next, Amazon has four colors of the AirPods Max at $449.00, down from $549.00. This is one of the best prices we've tracked in 2022, coming in just $10 away from the year's best price.

Like the other model, you won't need a coupon code to get this discount as Amazon has automatically applied it on the product page. The AirPods Max are in stock and should arrive sometime this week if you order a pair today.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

In line with a report late last week, the European Commission today officially announced that it has issued a Statement of Objections to Apple over its restrictions that prevent third-party services from accessing the NFC capabilities of the iPhone, thereby restricting competition in mobile wallets on iOS.

The statement is a preliminary view that will need to be confirmed with further investigation before any consequences can be administered, but lays out the direction the investigation is headed.

The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that it abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices. By limiting access to a standard technology used for contactless payments with mobile devices in stores (‘Near-Field Communication (NFC)' or ‘tap and go'), Apple restricts competition in the mobile wallets market on iOS.

European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager argues that access to NFC is a requirement for viable mobile wallet services at brick-and-mortar locations.

Our concerns relate to Apple's decision to block access to the NFC technology for payment purposes and use it solely for its own mobile wallet, Apple Pay. As a result, users of Apple devices can only pay with the ‘tap and go' function using Apple Pay and not with other wallets. This is because competing wallet developpers need access to the NFC on Apple devices to reach Apple users.

Developing a mobile payment application is costly. Investment may only be worth it if developers can reach both Apple and Android customers. Evidence on our file indicates that some developers did not go ahead with their plans as they were not able to to reach iPhone users. This behaviour stifled innovation and prevented competition in the mobile wallet market. As a result, European consumers have little choice of mobile payment solutions when paying in shops.

Vestager mentions that Apple has cited security as its rationale for not allowing third-party access to NFC, but that regulators' investigation have not found any evidence of that risk.

Tripp Mickle, a technology reporter who recently moved from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times, is releasing a new book on Apple this week, entitled "After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul," and an adapted excerpt of the book was shared today that provides a look at the tensions between Tim Cook and Jony Ive that ultimately led to Ive's departure.

The main anecdotes in the piece focus on the Apple Watch, which Ive wanted to be a fashionable accessory launched with all of the glitz of a runway show complete with a $25 million white tent. Apple's marketing team questioned the expense and the emphasis on fashion, preferring a more traditional introduction focused on the Apple Watch's capabilities.

While Cook ultimately sided with Ive on the fashion-oriented introduction, sources interviewed for the book suggest it was the beginning of the end for Ive's time at Apple.

To many present, Mr. Cook’s approval seemed like a win for Mr. Ive. But the designer would later recast it as a Pyrrhic victory. He would tell colleagues that the debate over the event and the larger struggle over the watch’s marketing were among the first moments that he felt unsupported at Apple.

As the Apple Watch was pivoted to become a fitness-oriented device with broad retail distribution, Ive reportedly began to chafe at the "rise of operational leaders" within the company and an increasing emphasis on services rather than hardware, and ultimately he transitioned out of Apple to found his own design firm, Lovefrom.

The piece goes into more detail on Ive's early days at Apple, his relationship with Steve Jobs, and additional anecdotes on Ive's evolution following Jobs' death.

Without Mr. Jobs, he had assumed much of the responsibility for the product’s design and its marketing. People close to Mr. Ive said he had found it draining to fight with his colleagues over promotion and had become overwhelmed by managing a staff that stretched into the hundreds, multiples of the 20-person design team he ran for years.

Cook and Ive ultimately agreed on a new Chief Design Officer role for Ive that would see him turn over daily management of the design group and shift to a part-time role laser-focused on product development.

Ive's participation and presence waned with his new role, with Ive reportedly often going weeks without weighing in on work going on in the team. The report includes an anecdote from the iPhone X development process when Ive called an important product review meeting that he ended up being nearly three hours late for and ultimately concluded without making any final decisions.

In Ive's absence, Apple continued to pivot more toward services while Cook's eye for operational efficiency evolved the company even further. With Apple Park essentially finished in mid-2019, Ive decided it was time to move on.

Few knew the full extent of Mr. Ive’s battles. Few were aware of his clash with Apple’s finance team. Few understood how draining he found it to fight over marketing the watch, a product that had increased sales over time and become core to the company’s $38 billion wearables business. Yet many could recognize the tediousness of annually updating the company’s iPhones, iPads and Macs.

A review of After Steve by The New York Times praises it for Mickle's thorough efforts to interview over 200 former and current employees and advisors. It takes issue, however, with Mickle's epilogue that places blame on Cook for being "aloof and unknowable, a bad partner for Ive" and largely responsible for Apple's failure to launch another product on the scale of the ‌iPhone‌. The review argues that the ‌iPhone‌ was a singular opportunity as evidenced by the fact that the Jobs–Ive partnership never yielded anything else on that scale, either before or after.

"After Steve" debuts this Tuesday, May 3 in the U.S. and is available from Amazon and other retailers.

Amazon today has the latest 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini available for a record-low price of $399.99, a savings of $99 off the regular price of $499.

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

This is by far the lowest price we've ever tracked on the iPad mini 6, which debuted last September, and it is currently available for all four color options.

256GB Wi-Fi models are also seeing record-low prices, with Space Gray, Starlight, and Purple colors priced at priced at $539.99, a $109 savings compared to normal retail price. The Pink color option is currently seeing a slightly more modest discount, priced at a still-excellent $549.99.

For even more iPad deals, head to our full Best Deals guide for iPad. In that guide, we track the best discounts online for iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

Update May 2: Updated to note that all colors of the 64GB Wi-Fi iPad mini are now available for $399.99 while all colors except Pink of the 256GB Wi-Fi iPad mini are now available for $539.99.

MacRumors is pleased to announce our Thirteenth Annual MacRumors Blood Drive, throughout the month of May 2022. With your help we can save lives by increasing the number of donations of blood, platelets, and plasma. While most blood drives are specific to a geographic location, our blood drive is online and worldwide.

Over the past 12 years, MacRumors Blood Drives have recorded donations of 1056 units units of blood, platelets, and plasma, and celebrated new signups for the organ donor and bone marrow registries. We've heard from first-time donors, from users who donate regularly, and from users whose lives were saved by the blood donations of strangers.

This year's featured blood donor is user chengengaun, who lives in Singapore. chengengaun has participated in the MacRumors Blood Drive and has also registered for the bone marrow registry.

How to participate in the MacRumors Blood Drive - during May 2022

1. If you are an eligible donor, schedule a blood, platelet, or plasma donation (see FAQ), at any donation center near you. Post in the MacRumors 2022 Blood Drive! thread to tell us about it. Also post if you register as an organ donor or register for the bone marrow registry (see FAQ). We'll add all donors and registrants to our Honor Roll.
2. If you aren't eligible to donate, please encourage someone else to make a donation, and let us know. If they donate, you'll both be added to our Honor Roll.
3. Share our message with friends, relatives, and followers. Thank the people who post in the MacRumors 2022 Blood Drive! thread.

How to participate in the MacRumors Blood Drive - from June 2022 to April 2023

In between the MacRumors Blood Drives each May, record your donations on our Team MacRumors page. We'll tally your donations and count them for the MacRumors Blood Drive next May.

1. Go to the Team MacRumors page and click PLEDGE TO GIVE BLOOD. (Bookmark the page for the future.)
2. Fill in your MacRumors username as your first name and @ macrumors as your last name.
3. In the comments field, tell us what type of donation and how many units, e.g., 1 unit of whole blood, 2 units of platelets, etc.
4. The email address and zip code fields don't matter. MacRumors won't use that information.

We look forward to another successful MacRumors Blood Drive!

Apple canceled plans to add a body temperature sensor to the Apple Watch Series 7, but the feature could come to the Apple Watch Series 8 instead, according to reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a thread of tweets, Kuo explained that Apple originally intended to offer a body temperature measurement feature with the Apple Watch Series 7 models, but the company shelved the plans when the body temperature algorithm it had developed failed to meet requirements before the device entered the engineering validation testing (EVT) phase last year.

Kuo believes that the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 could feature body temperature monitoring, providing "the algorithm can meet Apple's high requirements before mass production."

The problems Apple has experienced relating to body temperature measurement purportedly relate to the fact that skin temperature quickly varies based on the environment, and since a smartwatch cannot monitor core body temperature using hardware, the feature is heavily dependent on an algorithm that produces accurate results.

Kuo added that Samsung is experiencing similar challenges with body temperature measurement, noting that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 may not come with a body temperature monitoring feature due to algorithmic limitations.

Both Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman have previously discussed how the 2022's Apple Watches were likely to offer body temperature monitoring capabilities, but rumors related to the feature have quietened in recent times. Kuo's comments today appear to raise further doubts around whether the feature will actually debut with the Apple Watch Series 8 later this year.

For everything we know so far about the Apple Watch Series 8, check out our dedicated guide.

Apple this week finally launched its Self Service Repair program for recent iPhone models in the United States, while the company also made progress toward rolling out improvements to the much-maligned Studio Display webcam and announced strong quarterly earnings while warning of continued supply chain challenges.

On the rumor front, we saw several iPhone 14 leaks including the front glass for all four models, so read on for all the details on these stories and more!

Apple Launches Self Service Repair Program for iPhone

Apple this week announced the launch of its Self Service Repair program in the United States, starting with iPhone 12 models, iPhone 13 models, and the third-generation iPhone SE. The program will be expanded to Apple silicon Macs and to additional countries later this year.

As part of the program, Apple has made common iPhone parts available to purchase online, such as displays, batteries, and cameras, as well as a series of tools for completing the repairs. Apple has also made free step-by-step iPhone repair manuals available on its website.

iPhone 14 Pro Display Panels Reveal New Pill-and-Hole Design Replacing Notch

Apple's upcoming iPhone 14 Pro models are widely rumored to feature new displays with a pill-shaped cutout and a hole for the Face ID sensors and front camera, respectively, and this week we received our first real-world look at this design.

A leaked image of front glass panels for all four iPhone 14 models revealed not only the rumored pill-and-hole design for iPhone 14 Pro models, but also slightly thinner bezels around the display and a slightly taller aspect ratio. The standard iPhone 14 models are expected to retain the same notch as iPhone 13 models.

Apple Releases Studio Display Firmware 15.5 Beta With Webcam Improvements

Apple this week released Studio Display firmware version 15.5 with webcam improvements, but it is only available to users running the macOS Monterey 12.4 beta for now. There is no timeframe for a public release.

Apple confirmed that the new firmware improves the Studio Display's camera tuning, noise reduction, contrast, and framing, after early reviews of the Studio Display criticized the webcam's image quality.

Apple Reports 2Q 2022 Results: $25.0B Profit on $97.3B Revenue, Best March Quarter Ever

Apple this week announced financial results for its second fiscal quarter of 2022, which corresponds to the first calendar quarter of the year.

For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $97.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $25.0 billion, or $1.52 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $89.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $23.6 billion, or $1.40 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Despite record-setting performance across nearly every product category, Apple says that supply chain challenges will continue to impact its business in the current quarter, resulting in a $4 billion to $8 billion hit to its anticipated revenue.

Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5

iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5 continue to progress towards release, with the third betas of each update now available to developers and public beta testers.

Both updates are minor and contain only a few changes, such as references to Apple's upcoming classical music app and tweaks to Apple Pay Cash. Apple also seeded the third betas of macOS Monterey 12.4, watchOS 8.6, and tvOS 15.5.

Apple's Studio Display vs. Dell's Latest 27-Inch UltraSharp Monitor

On our YouTube channel this week, we shared a video comparing Apple's Studio Display to Dell's latest 27-inch UltraSharp Monitor.

Priced at $655 on sale, the Dell display is the same size as the Studio Display, but it has 4K resolution rather than 5K and it maxes out at 400 nits brightness rather than 600. Watch our video for a complete comparison of the displays and subscribe to MacRumors for more videos.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Apple today released a brief teaser trailer for an upcoming "Behind the Mac" film featuring Skywalker Sound, the sound effects division of Lucasfilm known for the Star Wars franchise and many other high-profile movies.

The full film will be released on Apple's YouTube channel on May 4, Star Wars Day, and will examine how artists at Skywalker Sound use Macs and other tools to generate the sounds featured in the iconic films.

Late last week, controversy erupted after Apple began notifying some developers that their apps that had not been updated in some time would be removed from the App Store as part of an "‌App Store‌ Improvements" project to clean up "outdated" apps.

Many of the affected developers objected to Apple's policy, noting that their apps continued to function just fine despite a lack of updates, highlighting the amount of work that might be needed to submit even a minor update, and pointing out that many apps can exist as finished works without a need for continual updates.

Apple has now shared a new developer update clarifying its ‌App Store‌ Improvements policies and extending the amount of time it is giving developers to update their affected apps from 30 days to 90 days.

Apple says that apps that have not been updated within the past three years and which do not meet a minimum threshold for downloads ("not been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period") are subject to the policy, with developers receiving notices via email.

As part of the App Store Improvements process, developers of apps that have not been updated within the last three years and fail to meet a minimal download threshold — meaning the app has not been downloaded at all or extremely few times during a rolling 12 month period — receive an email notifying them that their app has been identified for possible removal from the App Store.

Developers can either appeal the pending removal or submit an update within 90 days in order to keep their apps live on the ‌App Store‌. Apps that are removed will continue to function normally for users who previously downloaded them.

Mac apps often don't receive as much attention as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we have a regular video series that is designed to highlight some of the useful Mac apps that we've come across over the past few months. Our April picks feature apps for quickly accessing websites, adjusting external display settings from the menu bar, using a Windows-like "alt-tab" tool, and more.

• WebCatalog (Free) - WebCatalog is a handy app that's designed to turn websites into desktop apps so you can access all of your favorite website content in one handy place. It offers up self-contained, distraction-free windows and is an alternative to using browser tabs. WebCatalog is free to use, but it offers a limited number of apps. To unlock unlimited apps, you need to pay $40.
• AltTab (Free) - AltTab is a simple app that is based on the Windows "alt-tab" windows switcher. With the tool, you can customize your controls to mimic how alt tab works on Windows, quickly swapping between your open app windows and manipulating them with simple keyboard commands.
• MonitorControl (Free) - As the name suggests, MonitorControl is a straightforward menu bar app that lets you adjust the parameters of an external display. You can tweak brightness, contrast, volume, and more.
• Raycast (Free) - Raycast is kind of an all-in-one extendable launcher or Spotlight replacement app that offers a bunch of features for writing scripts, activating shortcuts, searching for files, controlling your system, writing quick notes, opening links, launching apps, tracking clipboard history, and much more.
• CleanShot X ($29) - CleanShot X is a screen capture tool that's ideal for taking screenshots and videos. It's simple to capture whatever you want on your screen, annotate it, and send it off, plus there's a cloud component that saves everything in one spot. It can do screen recordings and capture screenshots even if the content doesn't fit all on one screen. There's a $29 one-time payment option that unlocks a year of updates, or users can pay $8 per month for continual updates.

Know of a great Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our Mac apps archive.

Qualcomm's answer to Apple silicon will be available in devices by late 2023, the company's CEO said earlier this week (via Tom's Hardware).

In November last year, Qualcomm announced plans to build next-generation Arm-based System on Chips (SoCs), designed to rival Apple's M-series chips, for the PC market. The chips are "designed to set the performance benchmark for Windows PCs" and are being developed by the Nuvia team. Qualcomm said that it will directly compete with Apple's M-series chips, including the M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max, and hopes to lead the industry for "sustained performance and battery life."

During the company's latest earnings call earlier this week, Qualcomm President and CEO Christian Amon said that the Nuvia team was progressing toward its goal of developing a significant leap forward for Arm processors. Amon added that the first Nuvia-designed processor will be "going after the performance tier" and that Nuvia-powered Windows laptops are on track to be available to customers by late 2023.

The timing seems to indicate a slight delay compared to the original 2023 timeframe set out by Qualcomm last year. The company previously said that sample Nuvia chips would be available to device manufacturers by August 2022, but now that expectation has been broadened to the second half of 2022, with particular emphasis on the debut of the first consumer Nuvia devices in "late" 2023.

Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, a chip startup company founded by ex-Apple chip designers, for $1.4 billion in January 2021. The former Apple engineers wanted to create Arm-based SoCs specifically for servers and target the always-connected PC (ACPC) market with a chip that could compete with the ‌M1‌, but now the team's aims seem to have been significantly broadened.

By late 2023, Apple is expected to be well into its M2 series of chips. The company may have even introduced the first M3 chips by the time the first Nuvia chips come to market.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Apple introducing the eMac, designed specifically for educational use in classrooms and computer labs.

Priced at $999 in the United States, the original eMac featured a white enclosure with a 17-inch flat-faced CRT display, a 700 MHz PowerPC G4 processor, 128 MB of RAM, a 40 GB hard drive, five USB ports, two FireWire ports, two speakers, and a built-in CD-ROM drive. An upgraded model with a faster 56K internet modem was available for $1,199.

"Our education customers asked us to design a desktop computer specifically for them," said Steve Jobs, in April 2002. "The new eMac features a 17-inch flat CRT and a powerful G4 processor, while preserving the all-in-one compact enclosure that educators love."

Relay FM co-founder Stephen Hackett today shared a great video about the eMac's history:

The original eMac shipped with Mac OS X version 10.1.4, known as "Puma," and it came preinstalled with Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Apple's own web browser Safari was announced in early 2003, months after the eMac launched.

Citing strong consumer demand, Apple made the eMac available to all customers in June 2002.

"Consumers have pounded on the table demanding to buy the eMac, and we agree," said Jobs. "The eMac's production ramp is ahead of schedule, so we'll have enough eMacs this quarter to satisfy both our education and non-education customers."

Apple went on to release additional eMac configurations with upgraded specs and a SuperDrive. In October 2005, the eMac became limited to educational institutions only again, and the eMac was replaced by a low-end 17-inch iMac in July 2006.