MacRumors

Disney today announced the launch of MagicBand support for iPhone and Apple Watch in a service called "Disney MagicMobile," which uses the Wallet app.

Disney's MagicBand is a colorful wristband that guests can wear at Walt Disney World to enter the theme parks, unlock their hotel room, and buy food and merchandise. Disney announced the new MagicMobile service earlier this month, which brings a contactless way to access many MagicBand features using only an ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch.

Guests can create a Disney MagicMobile pass through the My Disney Experience app and add it to the Wallet app. The user's ‌iPhone‌ or Apple Watch can then be used at the same contactless access points as with a MagicBand. There is also the option to use a MagicBand alongside a MagicMobile mobile pass, so guests do not need to choose one over the other.

Guests are able to customize their MagicMobile pass by choosing from several Disney-themed designs that animate upon use, and users can also store multiple passes on a single device for families. With support for Express Mode on ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch, guests also can use their Disney MagicMobile pass without needing to wake or unlock their Apple device.

Initially, MagicMobile is exclusive to Apple devices only, but the service is expected to come to Android devices at a later date.

Apple today started accepting submissions for its annual Swift Student Challenge, a coding contest that tasks students with creating an interactive scene in the Swift Playgrounds app. Winners will receive exclusive WWDC 2021 outerwear, a customized pin set, and one year of membership in the Apple Developer Program.

To participate, students must create an interactive scene in a Swift playground that can be experienced within three minutes, and Apple encourages students to be creative. The challenge is open to students who are 13 years of age or older, or the equivalent minimum age in their jurisdiction (for example, 16 years of age in the European Union). For more information, visit the Swift Student Challenge website.

Challenge submissions are due by April 18, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, and participants will be able to check if they won by the evening of June 1, 2021 by signing in to this Apple Developer page with the Apple ID used for submission.

Apple today announced that WWDC 2021 will be held digitally from June 7 to June 11, with sessions and other content in the Apple Developer app.

Just moments after announcing that WWDC 2021 will be held digitally from June 7-11, Apple has updated its Developer app across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, making it easier to discover content such as articles, videos, and WWDC content.

"We've made improvements to the look and feel of the Developer app across iPhone, iPad, and Mac to help you enjoy articles, videos, news and announcements, and past WWDC content," said Apple. "You can browse content more easily on iPad with a new sidebar (iPadOS 14 or later), enjoy fullscreen video content on larger Mac displays, and discover content to watch and read using the new Search area."

The release notes for the iPhone and iPad app:

• Explore a new Discover tab experience on iOS 14 with improved support for larger displays.
• Navigate content using the new sidebar on iPadOS 14.
• We've improved the Search tab on iOS 14, making it easier to find the content you want to watch.
• We've extended login session duration.
• We've fixed bugs and added various other enhancements.

The Apple Developer app will be central to the digital WWDC 2021 experience.

Apple today confirmed that its 32nd annual Worldwide Developers Conference will again be a digital-only event with no in-person gathering due to the ongoing public health crisis. As with last year's event, WWDC 2021 will be held online from June 7-11.

Prior to 2020, Apple hosted WWDC at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, but at the current time, it is not safe for companies to hold large public events.

WWDC 2021 will be free to all developers, with no $1,599 attendance fee charged. Apple will provide sessions and labs for developers to learn about the new features that will be introduced at the event, plus there will be a traditional Swift Student Challenge. Developer sessions and information will be available on the Apple Developer website or the dedicated Apple Developer app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Now through April 18, students can submit their Swift playground to the Swift Student Challenge. Winners will receive exclusive WWDC21 outerwear and a pin set. More information is available on the Swift Student Challenge website.

We're expecting Apple to hold an online keynote to unveil new software including iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8. It's not known if Apple will unveil new hardware in June, but there are new Apple silicon Macs on the horizon.

Apple says it will share additional information in advance of WWDC 2021 through the Apple Developer app, on the Apple Developer website, and via email.

Google today announced several new features coming to Google Maps for iOS and Android this year, including a brand new "Live View" mode that uses AR for navigation inside malls and airports.

Live Mode aims to prevent customers from the "awkward moment when you're walking in the opposite direction of where you want to go" by providing directions in AR, right in the app. Google says the new model uses global localization, which "uses AI to scan tens of billions of Street View images to understand your orientation."

Indoor Live Mode is available on Android and iOS for a small number of malls in Chicago, Long Island, Los Angles, Newark, San Fransico, San Jose, and Seattle. In the coming months, Google says it will roll it out to airports, malls, and transit stations in Tokyo and Zurich, with other locations planned in the future.

As part of its effort to encourage users to reduce their carbon footprint, Google Maps will soon default users to a route with the lowest possible carbon footprint. Google says the new eco-friendly route mode will have roughly the same ETA as regular routes, and in cases where the ETA is drastically different, the app will allow users to compare the CO2 impact of each route, allowing them to make the final decision.

Eco-friendly routes will launch in the U.S. for iOS and Android later in the year, with a global expansion on the way. Additionally, in June, Google will begin alerting users when navigating through a low emissions zone. These zones restrict cars that include high CO2 emissions, such as diesel cars, and sometimes require specific emissions stickers. The feature will initially roll out in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and the UK.

Other features coming to Google Maps in the coming months include built-in support for curbside pickup options at grocery stores. Google will begin to include helpful shopping information within grocery stores' Business Profiles in Maps and Search, giving customers quick access to that store's shopping options.

Epic Games today said it had filed a complaint to the UK's antitrust watchdog in support of the government department's ongoing investigation into Apple's alleged anti-competitive behavior.

In September 2020, the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an initial inquiry into developers' complaints about Apple's App Store and so-called "anti-competitive" practices. The CMA is now concluding its initial inquiry to launch an official investigation under Chapter II of the 1998 Competition Act.

Chapter II relates to a specific company or organization using its domain position within a particular market or industry to limit competition and further enhance its position. In recent months, developers, motivated mainly by ‌Epic Games‌, have accused Apple of using its dominant position on its platforms and the platform to hinder competition. The CMA says that it has "reasonable grounds" to believe that Apple has broken competition law in some form under the Competition Act of 1998.

Filed in relation to the official investigation, Epic's latest complaint alleges that Apple's anticompetitive practices and rules governing the distribution of apps and payment processing constitute a "clear violation of the UK Competition Act of 1998."

Epic argues that it also illustrates Apple's monopolistic practices, which "forbid users and developers respectively from acquiring or distributing apps through marketplaces other than Apple's ‌App Store‌, while simultaneously forcing any in-app purchase to be processed through Apple's own payment system."

"By kneecapping the competition and exerting its monopoly power over app distribution and payments, Apple strips UK consumers of the right to choose how and where they get their apps, while locking developers into a single marketplace that lets Apple charge any commission rate they choose," said Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. "These harmful practices lead to artificially inflated costs for consumers, and stifle innovation among developers, many of whom are unable to compete in a digital ecosystem that is rigged against them."

The complaint follows ongoing legal proceedings filed by Epic against Apple in the U.S. and Australia. The games company has also filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union in support of its ongoing investigation into Apple's ‌App Store‌ conduct.

Epic says that it isn't seeking financial damages, but rather "regulatory remedies" that will prevent Apple's "intentional distortion and manipulation of the market," in order to ensure fair access and competition for consumers and developers in the UK and around the world.

In January, ‌Epic submitted a complaint to the United Kingdom's Competition Appeal Tribunal in an effort to get the Fortnite app back on the ‌App Store‌ in the UK. ‌Epic argued that Apple's decision to remove Fortnite was unlawful, and tried to convince the Appeal Tribunal that it was acting on behalf of consumers and developers in the UK impacted by "Apple and Google's misuse of market power."

However, the judge ruled that ‌Epic's case against Apple Inc. was better decided in the United States, but said that ‌‌Epic Games‌‌ could sue Apple (UK) Limited, a European arm of the company.

Apple and ‌‌Epic Games‌‌ will continue their legal fight in the United States, with the two companies set to face off in court in May 2021.

Apple, HP, and Honeywell are lobbying against a bill in the Nevada statehouse that would require electronic hardware manufacturers to provide device schematics, device parts, and instructions to third-party repair shops for device repairs, according to the Associated Press.

The bill being contemplated in Nevada is one of many bills that states across the US are considering to put into law. The global health crisis has placed a higher emphasis on work and learning from home, requiring increased reliance on laptops and tablets, which sometimes need repairs.

Specifically, the bill would require Apple and others to directly provide independent third-party repair shops with the parts, instructions, and schematics to repair devices less than $5,000. With that price threshold, most Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and many Macs would be subject to the bill.

The bill aims to remove the requirement for customers to go to authorized dealers for repairs by allowing them to use smaller independent repair shops as well. Apple has long faced pressure to expand accessibility to device parts and schematics, and it's previously put up battles to maintain its tight control over device repairs.

Cameron Demetre, the regional executive director of TechNet, a trading group representing Apple, HP, and Honeywell in committee hearings on the bill, says that his clients are concerned about the potential exposure that third-party repair shops will have to personal users' data when repairing devices. Demetre warns that opening up repair access and freedom could lead to "unintended consequences."

Cameron Demetre, the organization's regional executive director, said manufacturers worried about "unvetted third parties" having access to the personal information stored in consumer electronics. He said the bill had "the potential for troubling unintended consequences, including serious adverse security, privacy, and safety risks."

In a bid to ease the pressure, in 2019, Apple introduced its Independent Repair Provider program, which provides repair shops with direct access to device parts, tools, manuals, and diagnostic information for out-of-warranty devices. The program initially started in the United States and Canada, but yesterday Apple announced it would be expanding the program internationally.

The significant expansion of the program opens the door for thousands of repair shops to obtain direct resources from Apple instead of relying on other providers, which can sometimes provide non-genuine parts or incorrect device information. Given the close timing of the Nevada bill and the expansion of the independent repair provider program, it's unclear whether the international expansion will have an impact on state legislature stances.

Apple has lost a legal bid to block Swatch from registering Steve Jobs' famous "One more thing" saying as a trademark in the UK, reports The Telegraph.

Apple argued that the Swiss watchmaker had trademarked the slogan in "bad faith," as it has been associated with Apple for more than 20 years.

The late Steve Jobs often used the phrase to announce new products at the end of Apple presentations. Apple last used the slogan in reference to its Mac-focused virtual Apple event held in November 2020, when it announced the first Apple silicon Macs.

However, a High Court judge on Monday backed the Swiss watchmaker in the trademark row by overturning a previous decision that went Apple's way, despite the judge acknowledging that Swatch may have trademarked the phrase merely to irritate the tech giant.

On Monday, judge Iain Purvis overturned a previous decision that sided with Apple, saying that even if Swatch had meant to "annoy" Apple, the company could not stop it from doing so.

He added that the phrase may have originated with the 1970s television detective Columbo, a character who was known for cornering criminals by asking them "just one more thing."

This isn't the first time Apple and Swatch have faced off in court over trademark disputes. Apple had already failed to block Swatch from trademarking the phrase in Australia, and in years past the two companies have battled over other phrases commonly attributed to Apple.

In 2017, Apple filed a complaint in a Swiss court over the use of the slogan "Tick Different" in a Swatch marketing campaign, arguing that the watchmaker was unfairly referencing the Apple's 1990s "Think Different" ad campaign for its own gain.

In order to successfully win that case, Apple had to show that Swatch's use of the phrase triggered an association with Apple products in the minds of at least 50 percent of consumers.

Meanwhile, Swatch claimed its use of "Tick Different" had its origins in an 80s Swatch campaign that used the phrase "Always different, always new", and argued that any similarity with Apple was purely coincidental.

Two years later the Swiss court agreed with Swatch that Apple's "Think Different" was not known well enough in Switzerland to warrant protection, and that Apple had not produced documents that sufficiently backed up its case.

Before the Apple Watch launched, Apple and Swatch were rumored to be joining together on a smartwatch, but nothing came of it. Swatch filed an application for an "iSwatch" trademark when rumors first began swirling that Apple planned to enter the market. It later managed to block Apple's own UK trademark application for "iWatch."

In January, MacRumors reported that Apple Pay was likely to launch in South Africa sometime this year. As expected, ‌Apple Pay‌ has now started to go live in the country for customers of a select number of banks.

MacRumors readers and bank customers on Twitter report seeing prompts to add their cards to ‌Apple Pay‌. So far, it seems that only Discovery, Nedbank, and Absa customers are able to add their cards to Apple's Wallet app.

To add a card to ‌Apple Pay‌, customers should open the Wallet app, tap the plus button, and follow the on-screen instructions. It's important to note that banks must first add support for ‌Apple Pay‌. Attempting to add an unsupported bank card will result in a pop-up reading, "Your issuer does not yet offer support for this card."

Apple's South African website hasn't yet been updated to reflect ‌Apple Pay‌'s rollout in the country, which isn't unusual, as rollout seems to have just begun in the past few hours.

Apple first launched ‌Apple Pay‌ in 2014 in the United States, and in the years since, it's slowly expanded to more countries around the world. Last month, ‌Apple Pay‌ officially launched in Mexico.

(Thanks Grant, Pieter, and Ludolph!)

Apple has booked the initial production capacity of 4nm chips with long-time supplier TSMC for its next-generation Apple silicon, according to industry sources cited in a new report today from DigiTimes.

From today's report:

Apple has already booked the initial capacity of TSMC's N4 for its new-generation Mac series, the sources indicated. Apple has also contracted TSMC to make its next-generation iPhone processor dubbed A15, built using the foundry's N5 Plus or N5P process node, the sources said.

TSMC is expected to kick off production for Apple's A15 chip that will power the upcoming iPhone 13 series by the end of May, the sources noted.

The latest Apple silicon, the M1 chip, is the first of its kind in the industry based on the 5nm process. The A14 Bionic chip in the iPad Air and iPhone 12 lineup is also based on the 5nm process. According to the report, Apple is already looking to the 4nm chip process for its next-generation Apple silicon.

A timeframe for when these new 4nm chips will debut isn't provided, but ‌DigiTimes‌ does report that TSMC will move to volume production of the new process in Q4 of 2021, ahead of the previously set 2022 timeframe. Additionally, Apple plans to use an enhanced version of the 5nm process for the A15 chip in the ‌iPhone‌ 13, with production set to get underway by the end of May.

The smaller process reduces the chips' actual footprint and provides better efficiency and performance. Apple's expected to launch multiple new Macs this year with more powerful Apple silicon chips; however, there's no indication that any will be based on the 4nm process.

Rumors that Apple intends to launch a new Apple TV have been around for some time, with the headlining feature being a more powerful processor for gaming and all-round performance benefits. However, alongside a new powerful chip, new evidence is pointing towards a possible new ‌Apple TV‌ remote also shipping alongside the TV set-top box.

According to a report from 9to5Mac, citing people familiar with Apple's plans, the company has been developing a new ‌Apple TV‌ remote under the codename "B519," which differs from the current "B439" codename for the existing remote. Specifics on what to expect from the new remote aren't provided; however, 9to5Mac believes the changes will be "significant."

The last time Apple updated the remote was with the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K in 2017, when the company added a white border around the Menu button. However, the remote has remained unchanged since, while its slimline design and lack of physical navigation buttons continues to divide users.

MacRumors recently discovered that within the tvOS 14.5 beta, Apple has renamed the remote from "Siri Remote" to "‌Apple TV‌ Remote" in multiple instances across the system. The system-wide change in wording could indicate that the new remote will have less of a focus on ‌Siri‌ and instead be designed around more traditional content navigation and other TV functionality.

The United States Federal Trade Commission is abandoning its antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm, reports Bloomberg. The FTC will not seek a Supreme Court review of a 2020 federal appeals court decision that determined that Qualcomm's licensing practices are fair and not anticompetitive.

In a statement, FTC chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said that the FTC's conclusion that Qualcomm violated antitrust laws was correct, but the agency is facing "significant headwinds" attempting to get the appeals court ruling overturned.

"Given the significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter, the FTC will not petition the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm. The FTC's staff did an exceptional job presenting the case, and I continue to believe that the district court's conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise. Now more than ever, the FTC and other law enforcement agencies need to boldly enforce the antitrust laws to guard against abusive behavior by dominant firms, including in high-technology markets and those that involve intellectual property. I am particularly concerned about the potential for anticompetitive or unfair behavior in the context of standard setting and the FTC will closely monitor conduct in this arena."

The FTC originally sued Qualcomm in 2017, accusing the company of using anticompetitive tactics to remain the main supplier for baseband processors for smartphones.

In May 2019, the FTC initially won its lawsuit against Qualcomm, with Judge Lucy Koh ordering Qualcomm to renegotiate all licensing terms with its customers and make patent licenses available to rival cellular modem suppliers on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory or "FRAND" terms. Qualcomm was also told not to enter exclusive agreements for the supply of modem chips.

Qualcomm appealed the ruling and in 2020, scored a major victory. The appeals court overturned Judge Koh's decision, and vacated the order mandating that Qualcomm re-establish all of its licensing deals.

The appeals court said that Koh's ruling went "beyond the scope" of antitrust law and that Qualcomm's licensing practices were not anticompetitive because Qualcomm is "under no antitrust duty to license rival chip suppliers."

With the FTC not planning to further pursue the case after the appeals court ruling, the four-year antitrust legal battle that Qualcomm has been facing is effectively over.

The FTC's lawsuit ran concurrent with the now-resolved legal dispute between Apple and Qualcomm. Apple accused Qualcomm of unfair licensing deals and overcharging for the iPhone components that it supplied to Apple, but Apple dropped the case and reached a settlement with Qualcomm in 2019 after it became clear there were no other options for 5G modems for use in 2020 iPhones.

Apple had planned to use Intel chips, but Intel was not able to produce the chips that Apple needed and ultimately sold its modem business to Apple for $1 billion. Apple plans to use Qualcomm chips for the next few iPhones, but the company is working on manufacturing its own modem chips in house for future devices.

Apple accessories like watch bands and cases are often imitated by companies who want to make a quick buck fooling customers, and the new MagSafe charging line is no exception. There are dozens of fake ‌MagSafe‌ and ‌MagSafe‌ Duo chargers out there that consumers need to watch out for.

Over on our YouTube channel, MacRumors videographer Dan took a look at some fake ‌MagSafe‌ charging options that are floating around, comparing them to the real thing.

Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ chargers can charge an iPhone 12, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max at up to 15W, and the 12 mini at up to 12W. These charging speeds are limited to genuine Apple ‌MagSafe‌ accessories created by Apple and those that use certified ‌MagSafe‌ technology like Belkin. Any other charger, including the fake ‌MagSafe‌ Duo and fake ‌MagSafe‌ that we show off in the video, maxes out at right around 7.5W, so buying a fake charger might seem like a good idea to save some money, but you're not going to get ‌MagSafe‌ speeds.

This also goes for all of the "magnetic" charging accessories that third-party companies are introducing for the ‌iPhone‌ 12 lineup. These magnetic accessories are able to use the magnets in the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models to attach to the back of an ‌iPhone‌ quickly, but charging speeds on anything not officially ‌MagSafe‌ is limited to 7.5W so far.

There's nothing wrong with these third-party magnetic charging accessories so long as you're aware of the charging limitations, which companies don't always make clear. Magnetic accessories are basically identical to Qi-based chargers and the magnetic connection is handy, so if you don't mind slower charging speeds, you can save some money not going with ‌MagSafe‌.

What you'll want to avoid is anything that's modeled directly after a ‌MagSafe‌ charger from Apple and anything that actively uses the ‌MagSafe‌ name that's not certified, as these are fake, not going to charge at the proper ‌MagSafe‌ speeds, and could be unsafe. Make sure to watch our video to see these fakes in action, and keep an eye out for them when making a purchase so you don't get hoodwinked with slow charging speeds.

Apple today announced that it is expanding its Independent Repair Provider Program to more than 200 countries, which is nearly every country where Apple products are sold.

First introduced in 2019, the Independent Repair Provider Program is designed to provide repair shops with access to genuine parts, tools, repair manuals, and diagnostics for performing out-of-warranty repairs for Apple devices.

Repair providers of all sizes, including those who are not Authorized Apple Service Providers, are able to obtain genuine Apple parts and repair manuals to offer "safe and reliable repairs" for Apple products. Apple provides independent repair shops with the same free training and tools provided to AASPs and Apple retail locations.

According to Apple, there are more than 1,500 Independent Repair Provider locations across the United States, Canada, and Europe. There is no cost to join the program, but repair providers must have an Apple-certified technician to perform the repairs. Apple says that the certification process is "simple" and free of charge, and when an employee has become a certified technician, qualifying repair providers are able to purchase genuine Apple parts and tools at the same price as AASPs.

Starting later this week, repair providers in Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, and Vietnam can learn more and apply to become Independent Repair Providers.

Later this year, the program will launch in a range of additional countries, with a full list available in Apple's announcement.

To encourage employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Apple is offering paid time off for vaccine appointments and paid sick leave for those who experience side effects, reports Bloomberg.

Apple does not have its own supply of vaccines and is not providing shots to workers, so employees will be required to get vaccines through their state's medical facilities.

Since last spring, Apple's campuses in Cupertino, California and other cities have been largely shut down, with most employees working from home. Retail stores around the world were also shuttered for most of the year.

Vaccines will hasten Apple's campus re-openings and will get employees back to work sooner. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a March interview that he "can't wait" for employees to return to in-person work. Cook said that people need to be together because you can't plan collaboration and innovation.

"Innovation isn't always a planned activity. It's bumping into each other over the course of the day and advancing an idea that you just had. And you really need to be together to do that."

Cook in March said that Apple had no firm return to work date for employees, but in California, where Apple's two main campuses are located, all people over the age of 16 will be eligible to get vaccinated starting on April 15. Cook last year told employees that staff could return to the campuses as early as June.

Retail employees have returned to work as all Apple Stores in the United States have been reopen since March 1, but many corporate employees are still working from home.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

The App Store and Mac App Store are currently experiencing an outage, according to Apple's System Status page. Apple says that ‌App Store‌ services could be slow or unavailable for some users, with the problem starting at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.

Other services like iCloud Drive, iCloud Mail, and iMessage are also listed as experiencing issues, with some users unable to access Apple's services.

Curiously, though Apple is reporting several outages, there are few complaints on Twitter and other social networks about problems with the ‌App Store‌, iMessage, and Mail.

Update: According to Apple's System Status page, all of the outages have now been addressed and services should be up and running.