Apple Music is celebrating Pride this year with a new space that's designed to highlight the LGBTQ+ community both in June and year-round. For Pride month, Apple plans to release new content each Sunday that focuses on Equality, Resilience and Community.
Content will include Pride Talks, which are short original videos that include conversations with Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Ben Platt, MNEK, girl in red, and more, plus guest-curated playlists featuring music selected by Hayley Kiyoko (taking over Love Her, Lover), Mykki Blanco (RESIST!), Troye Sivan (Strike a Pose), Tayla Parx (Here 'n' Queer), and Claud (Thrive).
Apple also plans to feature exclusive DJ mixes and Apple Music radio shows and specials that will air on Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits, and Apple Music Country. There will be Apple Music TV 24-hour takeovers on June 6, 13, 20, and 27 as well.
Apple now has a dedicated Apple Music Pride page where users can find all of the videos, playlists, and interviews celebrating Pride. The page will be available year-round.
Pride month is a major celebratory month for Apple, and each year the company celebrates in various ways. This year, Apple has released new Apple Watch Pride bands and watch faces, and there will also likely be features for the App Store and Apple TV+ in the coming weeks.
In past years, Apple has marched in the annual San Francisco Pride parade, which is one of the biggest Pride events in the United States. The parade was canceled last year and it has also been canceled this year, but Apple will likely return to the parade if it's reinstated in 2022.
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Apple today updated its suite of iWork apps, including Pages, Keynotes, and Numbers for iOS and macOS, with new features related to Schoolwork and the ability to link web pages, email addresses, and phone numbers to different shapes and objects.
For Pages and Numbers on iOS and macOS, the updates include the ability for users to link different elements, such as a link to a web page, an email address, and phone number to different shapes, objects, lines, and text boxes.
Pages, Numbers, and Keynote also now enable teachers using Apple's Schoolwork feature to "view student progress, including word count and time spent." The updates are available for free via the App Store on iOS and macOS.
WWDC 2021 kicks off in six days, and ahead of time, Apple has announced the 36 finalists for this year's Apple Design Awards. The awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design.
Apple will announce the winners of this year's Apple Design Awards on Thursday, June 10 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. The awards show will be streamed via the Apple Developer app and the Apple Developer website.
Registration is now open for WWDC's "Digital Lounges," a digital space where developers can join Apple engineers throughout the entirety of the conference to ask questions, conduct activities, and take deep dives into a range of developer tools such as SwiftUI, machine learning, and accessibility.
This year will be the second all-digital Worldwide Developers Conference, and alongside improving the Apple Developer forum and the launch of new Pavilions features, Digital Lounges serve as another avenue for developers and the community to interact with Apple engineers through text-based activities.
"Digital Lounges" are open to all developers as part of the Apple Developer Program and WWDC 2021 Swift Student Challenge winners. Developers and winners of the challenge, who will begin being notified this week, can go to Apple's developer website to sign-up. Capacity is limited and only available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Spotify executive Horacio Gutierrez has explained in a wide-reaching interview with The Verge why the company believes Apple is a "ruthless bully" and what it would like to see change.
Last month, Gutierrez penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that chastised Apple and some of its business practices. Now, Spotify's head of global affairs and chief legal officer has expanded on the logic behind the company's antitrust dispute with Apple.
Gutierrez's main justification underpinning the argument that Apple's App Store payment system is not a necessary part of its business is that it "wasn't part of the App Store in the beginning."
Concretely, when it comes to the App Store, it is very clear that the choice to tie Apple's proprietary payment system to the App Store was an arbitrary choice. It wasn't part of the App Store in the beginning, just as the 30 percent Apple tax wasn't a requirement when we made it into the App Store. They bolted that on later in the process and in doing that, they created this environment in which competing apps really have to contend with Apple's own music streaming service as well as other competing products on what's not really a level playing field.
Apple's 30 percent commission on App Store sales and in-app purchases was also raised as an "arbitrary rate," and Gutierrez explained that it is not merely a reduction in commission that Spotify is looking to achieve.
The issue is not whether the rate is 30 or 15 or 10 percent, the issue is that the rate is arbitrary and they get to set it unilaterally because they've insulated themselves from competition. What should happen is Apple should be able to charge 30, or 50 percent, if they can convince users in a market economy that the value that they provide justifies the 30 percent, or the 15 percent, or the 50 percent. What we're saying is they actually prevent competitors from coming in and offering alternative payment systems, and therefore there is no market.
Gutierrez explained that Spotify would like to see Apple return to its previous approach with the App Store and loosen its grip on rules and penalties.
We want Apple to go back to the situation that existed at the time when we joined the App Store. We want them to undo the tying of their proprietary payment system to the App Store and all of the other anti-steering provisions, which is a fancy way of saying punishments and penalties that they've created for those people who do not want to use their proprietary payment system. Basically, restore the situation to the way it was before their anti-competitive abuse started.
Specifically, Gutierrez said that the market should be able to choose from a selection of payment systems on the App Store, and that Apple should be able to contend with other payment technology in a more competitive environment.
There is a monopoly on payment systems, which is why they can afford to impose the 30 percent. Let the market decide. Enable PayPal and Mastercard and other new payment systems to come in and then let users decide, vote with their dollars on whether Apple's technology is so superior when it comes to payment and all these other things that they’re willing to pay 30 percent more.
Addressing criticisms that Apple's rules and fees are valid given it built and maintains the App Store and the devices apps run on, Gutierrez explained that Spotify believes this should not be a reason to allow anticompetitive conduct.
There is no reason why a platform provider that's supposed to be a neutral platform provider like Apple would be allowed to create conditions that would force companies like ours to have to make that choice. They say, "Well, but we built it." Yeah, you built it. But when you built it it wasn't like that. It was significantly built on the backs of the work of many app developers that came to the App Store that you touted as the reason why people should come and use your platform. And whether you built it or not, it really doesn't matter from an antitrust perspective. The railroad companies built the railroads, the steel companies built the steel mills, and the telephone companies built the telephone lines… The biggest cases in the history of antitrust enforcement in the U.S. had to do with companies that had built that infrastructure and then used the power that that control gave them to hurt competitors.
Starting today, the Apple TV app is available on the Nvidia Shield, a streaming device powered by the Android TV platform.
With the addition of the Apple TV app, Nvidia Shield users can access the Apple TV+ streaming service with a subscription, TV shows and movies purchased or rented from the iTunes Store, and content from Apple TV Channels.
The Apple TV app works with the built-in Google Assistant on the Nvidia Shield, allowing users to use "OK Google" voice commands to navigate directly to specific Apple TV+ shows or movies, control playback, and more.
The Apple TV app has been rolling out to a wide variety of platforms in recent months, including the PlayStation, Xbox, and Roku. The app is also available on the "Chromecast with Google TV" dongle, which is also powered by the Android TV platform.
Popular cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase today announced that the Coinbase Card now supports Apple Pay and Google Pay. Select customers will be invited from the Coinbase Card waitlist starting this week.
Coinbase Card is a debit card, so signing up will not impact your credit score, and there are no application fees. Once you are approved for the card, you can immediately begin spending with Apple Pay and Google Pay, even before the physical card arrives in the mail. Coinbase is offering up to 4% in "crypto rewards" for purchases made with the card.
Keep in mind that the card will not allow you to spend cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin directly. Coinbase will automatically convert the cryptocurrency that you wish to spend to U.S. dollars and transfer the funds to your Coinbase Card for Apple Pay purchases and ATM withdrawals. Conversion fees will apply, as outlined on Coinbase's website.
A new rumor from Weibo, shared on Twitter by credible leaker l0vetodream, alleges to be the battery capacities for the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup, revealing that all of the 2021 iPhones will feature larger batteries.
According to the rumor, the iPhone 13 Pro Max will feature a 4352mAh battery, compared to the current iPhone 12 Pro Max's 3687mAh battery. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro will share a battery of 3095mAh, compared to 2815mAh. The smallest model of the lineup, the iPhone 13 mini, will feature a 2406mAh battery, compared to the iPhone 12 mini's 2227mAh.
With iPhone devices, the size of the battery only tells a portion of a device's battery story. The other half comes down to the efficiency of the A-series chip and other components. The A15 chip, expected in the iPhone 13, will improve energy efficiency on top of the larger battery. While the higher-end models of the 2021 iPhone lineup will feature larger batteries, so will the smallest iPhone 13 mini, according to this rumor.
The iPhone 12 mini, which is the smallest iPhone Apple has made to date, has performed poorly in sales compared to the other models. One reason may be the smaller battery in the device, leading to struggling all-day battery life. However, Apple seems to be set to address those concerns if this rumor proves to be true.
Schematics of the upcoming iPhone 13 lineup seen by MacRumors indicated that the 2021 iPhones will be thicker in design. Thanks to this rumor, the increase in thickness seem to be due to the larger battery capacities.
Today we're tracking a pair of deals on the Apple Watch Series 6 that are left over from Amazon's Memorial Day deals this past weekend. To start, you can get the 40mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6 for $329.00, down from $399.00, in the (Product)RED color option.
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While not an all-time low price, this is the most consistent deal on this model and the best online currently. While a few retailers were offering this deal for Memorial Day, Amazon is the only one that is still marking down the Apple Watch as of now.
Only the (Product)RED color is on sale at this price, and historically it's been one of the more popular discounts on the Apple Watch Series 6 line. Similarly, the 44mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6 in (Product)RED is on sale for $359.00, down from $429.00.
Following the release of iOS and iPadOS 14.6 last week, some users have taken to social media and online forums to note that their devices have been experiencing excessive battery drain since installing the software updates.
The Apple Support Community and MacRumors forums are riddled with posts from users stating their device now drains faster following the update. One user on the Apple support forums notes their experience with their iPhone 11 Pro and Apple Smart Cover draining faster than normal following the update:
iPhone 11Pro did the same after update. I have had an Apple Smart Cover on it since day 2 of being new. Never had to remove it. Today, after yesterday’s update, it wiped out my phone to 2% and ran my cover down to 15%. Normally the phone stays at 100% and the cover might get as low as 20% after a 15 hour day with no plugging in. Battery health has maintained 100% for over a year. Must be part of the health recalibration. The Smart Cover battery icon is no longer on the lock or Home Screen when plugging or unplugging it.
It is worth noting that many factors contribute to a device's battery life, including its battery health. Users with degraded batteries can expect shorter battery life. According to the forums, however, the issue seems to be impacting all devices, regardless of specific battery health.
On the MacRumors forums, one user notes that their iPhone 12 Pro not only drained faster than normal but also began to overheat while simply browsing Safari. An accompanying post recalls a similar experience with an iPhone 12 mini:
Yes I updated my 12 mini from 14.2 to 14.6 a couple days ago, and in the proceeding last 2 mornings when I woke up i used my phone for a few minutes looking at messages and checking Macrumours, and battery dropped suddenly with the back of phone warming up just like others have reported. School boy mistake on my part, I always check reports of battery drains before updating IOS versions, but didnt this time
With iOS 14.5, Apple introduced a new battery health recalibration feature for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The new feature allows the system to recalibrate the battery health of the device in order to address possibly inaccurate battery health readings. Following the update released last month, users have noticed that their iPhone 11 battery health has changed following the recalibration process.
After any iOS update, users can expect normal battery drain in the days following due to the system reindexing Spotlight and conducting other housekeeping tasks. However, iOS 14.6 was released more than a week ago, and users continue to note the battery drain on their devices. If the issue is indeed software related, Apple may decide to address it in a subsequent update to iOS 14.6 or provide a patch in iOS 14.7, currently in beta testing.
Apple CEO Tim Cook's 14 million dollar pay in 2020 was relatively modest, compared to other S&P 500 CEOs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In its annual ranking of CEO pay and compensation, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Tim Cook earned $14,769,259 last year, which is only slightly more than the median $13.4 million pay across the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500) index. The Wall Street Journal also noted that Apple's median employee pay is $57,783.
Apple tops the entire S&P 500 with its value exceeding more than two trillion dollars, so it is surprising that Cook's pay is comparatively modest. Cook's pay rank is the 171st highest out of the S&P 500 CEOs, even though Apple makes up six percent of the entire index.
An increasing number of CEO compensation packages are tied to stocks as boards look to tie executive pay to the fortunes of company shareholders. Although Apple's one-year return for shareholders was 109 percent in 2020, Cook's pay only increased by 28 percent.
Over the course of 2020, Cook's net worth climbed to over one billion dollars, according to calculations from Bloomberg.
The highest-paid CEO was Paycom Software's Chad Richison, who earned more than $200 million. Seven CEOs were given compensation valued at more than $50 million last year, compared with just two in 2019 and three in 2018. Twenty-four S&P 500 CEOs made less than five million dollars last year, including Tesla's Elon Musk, who reported zero pay, and Twitter's Jack Dorsey, who earned just $1.40.
Apple today highlighted some winners of this year's Swift Student Challenge, which gives young developers a chance to win special attire and apparel for the annual developer conference. This year, more than 350 winners from more than 35 countries around the world have been selected.
Apple highlights a few developers who have won this year's challenge, including Abinaya Dinesh, who created an app that gives users with gastrointestinal disorders an easy way to access resources and information. Dinesh, at the age of 15, plans to launch her app later this summer.
Gianna Yan, another winner of this year's challenge, created Feed Fleet, an app that makes it easy for farmers to share their food surplus with food banks and those in need. In just the year since the app and project launched, more than 30 million pounds of food have been shared with food banks and those in need.
Lastly, Damilola Awofisayo, at 17 years old, is the developer behind TecHacks, a non-profit organization that aims to create a "supportive environment for girls everywhere to create, problem-solve, and showcase their talents alongside like-minded females to compete and work with."
WWDC will kick off this year on June 7 and run until June 11. The main keynote which will include the reveal of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, tvOS 12, and watchOS 8 will take place on June 7 at 10 a.m PT. With less than a week away left until the annual conference begins, be sure to visit our roundup for everything we can expect.
Apple Maps has begun surveying Poland for its "Look Around" feature, which offers users a 360-degree immersive panoramic look of a city or location.
Apple maintains an updated list of countries, cities, and territories of where it is conducting ground surveys for Look Around. That list was recently updated with the addition of Poland. Additionally, a photo shared on Facebook shows an Apple Maps image collection vehicle in Poland. Apple says that the "vehicle ground-based research" of Poland will continue until August of this year.
Last month Apple began surveying Hong Kong for Apple Maps as it contuines its ambition to widen the availability of Apple Maps features to more locations. A full list of where Apple Maps is currently surveying can be found on Apple's website.
We're just one week away from WWDC 2021, which kicks off next Monday, June 7 and runs through Friday, June 11. Apple's annual developers conference will be an all-digital affair for the second year in a row due to public health measures, but it will still be an exciting week, with Apple expected to unveil iOS 15 and other new software updates.
Ahead of WWDC, we've put together five steps to prepare for the conference.
1. Set Siri Reminders
During the course of WWDC, there are a few presentations that have broader appeal:
Keynote on Monday, June 7 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple is expected to unveil iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15, and there is always a chance of a hardware surprise or two, with a new MacBook Pro rumored.
Platforms State of the Union on Monday, June 7 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time: Apple will provide a deeper dive into the new developer tools, technologies, and advances across its software platforms.
Apple Design Awards on Thursday, June 10 at 2 p.m. Pacific Time: The awards celebrate the creative artistry, craftsmanship, and technical achievement of Apple developers, according to Apple.
One handy way to remember these dates and times is to set Siri reminders using an iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, or other Apple device. For example: "Hey Siri, remind me to watch the WWDC Keynote on June 7 at 10 a.m."
Available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV, the free Apple Developer app is central to the WWDC experience, complete with a full schedule once available. Beginning June 8, session videos will be posted to the app each day, providing a deep dive into new features and frameworks being added across Apple's software platforms. The WWDC Keynote will also be available in the app with on-demand playback after the conclusion of the live stream.
New for WWDC 2021, "Pavilions" will provide an easy way for developers to explore relevant sessions, labs, and special activities for a given topic, like SwiftUI. Pavilions will be found exclusively within the Apple Developer app.
In line with previous years, Apple will likely seed the first betas of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15 to registered developers for testing within an hour or two after the WWDC Keynote concludes.
Those interested in installing the betas on their devices on an official basis will need to sign up for an Apple Developer Program membership, which costs $99 per year in the United States. Individuals who are 18 years or older or have reached the equivalent age of majority in their country can enroll in the Apple Developer Program, even if they do not plan on distributing any apps on the App Store.
It's important to keep in mind that Apple's beta software typically has some bugs or other issues that may affect performance or usability to some extent. For this reason, it's always recommended that beta software be installed on a secondary device that isn't relied on for daily use. It's equally important to back up your devices to a Mac or iCloud before installing beta software to avoid the risk of data loss.
Those who do not want to pay for an Apple Developer Program membership can join Apple's free Beta Software Program, but the first public betas of major new software versions are typically not released until late June or early July.
4. Sign Up for Digital Lounges
Apple will be hosting Digital Lounges at WWDC 2021. Apple Developer Program or WWDC 2021 Swift Student Challenge winners will be able to join Apple engineers and designers throughout the week as they host text-based Q&As and special activities related to developer tools, SwiftUI, accessibility, and machine learning, according to Apple.
Sign-ups open tomorrow, June 1, with limited availability on a first come, first served basis. Visit the Digital Lounges page for more details.
5. Follow MacRumors
Stay tuned to MacRumors.com for complete coverage of WWDC week, including a live blog of the Keynote. If you are unable to watch the stream, be sure to follow @MacRumorsLive on Twitter, where we'll be live tweeting the Keynote as well. Also follow MacRumors on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and RSS for WWDC news, videos, and more.
Our in-depth WWDC roundup is also a helpful resource, and worth adding to your browser's bookmark bar for the next few weeks.
Apple plans to adopt OLED display technology in "some" iPad models next year, following the recent adoption of mini-LED technology in its highest-end 12.9-inch iPad Pro, according to a report from Korea's ETNews.
The report, citing industry sources, claims that Apple will use OLED displays instead of LCDs in some iPad models starting in 2022. The report doesn't specify which iPad models would make the switch from LCD to OLED technology, but credible Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported that the mid-range iPad Air will be updated with an OLED display next year at a minimum.
Apple currently uses OLED displays for higher-end iPhones and all Apple Watch models, while the remaining product families continue to use LCD technology. OLED displays in Apple products are currently supplied by Samsung and LG, and ETNews believes that the two suppliers will also provide OLED displays for future iPads.
Last month, Apple introduced a brand new 12.9-inch iPad Pro with mini-LED technology, which, compared to LCD, offers deeper blacks, improved contrast, and higher brightness. Apple is expected to continue the adoption of mini-LED display technology with new models of the MacBook Pro as early as this year.
Apple supplier Global Lighting Technologies will begin shipments of keyboard-related components for next-generation MacBook Pro models in the third quarter of 2021, according to DigiTimes, which cited industry sources.
The industry sources indicated that Apple is likely to release new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with mini-LED displays in the second half of 2021, followed by more devices with mini-LED backlighting in 2022.
In line with the new iPad Pro, mini-LED backlighting would allow for higher brightness and improved contrast ratio on the new MacBook Pro models.
Multiple sources have claimed that the new MacBook Pro models will be introduced in the second half of 2021, but leaker Jon Prosser recently suggested that at least one new MacBook Pro model will be announced at WWDC next week.
This post has been updated following publication of the full DigiTimes story.
While announcing its latest chips yesterday, Intel launched another aggressive public attack on Mac devices, focusing on the experience of gaming (via PC Gamer).
Intel yesterday announced two new 11th Generation H-series laptop processors, featuring clock speeds up to 5GHz, Intel Wi-Fi 6/6E, and 1080p gameplay on popular titles, in high-volume, thin designs. Following the announcement, the company took the opportunity to launch another broadside against Apple.
In a press call with Intel's chief performance strategist Ryan Shrout about the new chips, Intel outlined an argument claiming that it is the supposedly poor gaming experience on Mac devices that makes Intel-based Windows devices superior. Intel derided Apple's M1 chip and boasted that most popular video games do not run on macOS.
The company highlighted a poor gaming experience on the Mac when using an emulator or virtual machine, showing a video of the game "Valheim" running poorly in Parallels on a Mac.
Intel further evidenced its claims with a chart showing an Intel-based 16-inch MacBook Pro, using a Core i9 9980HK processor with a AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, compared to a PC with a Core i5 11400H processor with a GeForce RTX 3060. The Intel-branded PC did better in each of the company's selected tests. This led to the claim that Intel-based PCs offer a "better gaming experience than 100% of Mac laptops."
The company then argued that there is a significant overlap between creators and gamers, suggesting that a large proportion of the Mac user base is not sufficiently accommodated for due to limited gaming options on their system.
Intel now appears to be making gaming a key buttress in its argument to persuade customers that its chips in Windows machines present a much better option for consumers than Macs with Apple silicon.
PC Gamer's Alan Dexter asked Shrout during the call if Intel was "burning its bridges with Apple." Shrout responded that "Apple has been very public about moving to its own silicon" and that "it is now a competitor," justifying the company's aggressive marketing campaign.
Apple has published its annual supplier responsibility report, which outlines the progress it and its suppliers are making towards improving the rights of workers, furthering environmental protection goals, the response to the global health crisis, and more.
The report contains detailed information ranging from how Apple addresses reports of violations within its supply chain to how the company has assisted its suppliers in handling the challenges throughout the past year. The company's senior vice president of operations, Sabih Khan, opens the report by extending a special thanks to Apple employees, partners, and suppliers worldwide for their resilience throughout the past year.
I want to start with a message of gratitude to our teams and to the global network of Apple suppliers. You set an example of care for one another's health, innovating through every challenge, and helping bring technology to our users at a time when we've never relied on it more.
Regarding labor and human rights, Apple says that since 2008, more than 21.5 million workers have been taught their rights from suppliers and that more than 55,000 supplier employees have been interviewed as part of regular supplier assessments. Apple also says that it has found no evidence of forced labor within its supply chain.
Focusing on environmental goals, Apple says that it's working hard and in close cooperation with suppliers to ensure that they meet the goal of being fully carbon neutral by 2030. Apple provides a few environmental statistics, including the fact that it's saved more than 41 billion gallons of water since 2013 thanks to its Clean Water Program. In addition, in 2020, the company diverted more than 400,000 metric tons of waste from landfills and more than 1.65 million metrics tons of waste from landfills since 2015.
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