MacRumors

Just hours after Epic Games introduced a new direct payment option for Fortnite that skirts Apple's in-app purchase rules, Apple has pulled the Fortnite app from the App Store.

Fortnite is no longer available for download on the iPhone or the iPad, and Apple provided a statement to MacRumors on Fortnite's removal:

Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their Fortnite app has been removed from the store. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.

Epic has had apps on the App Store for a decade, and have benefited from the App Store ecosystem - including it's tools, testing, and distribution that Apple provides to all developers. Epic agreed to the App Store terms and guidelines freely and we're glad they've built such a successful business on the App Store. The fact that their business interests now lead them to push for a special arrangement does not change the fact that these guidelines create a level playing field for all developers and make the store safe for all users. We will make every effort to work with Epic to resolve these violations so they can return Fortnite to the App Store.

This morning, ‌Epic Games‌ began letting players purchase 1,000 V-Bucks in the Fortnite app for $7.99, with the purchases going directly to ‌Epic Games‌ rather than using Apple's in-app purchase system.

At the time, it was not known if ‌Epic Games‌ had some kind of special permission from Apple to introduce such a feature as it is a clear violation of Apple's ‌App Store‌ rules surrounding in-app purchases. Given that the app has now been pulled from the ‌App Store‌, it appears that ‌Epic Games‌ willingly violated Apple's requirements by offering the direct payment plan.

Rule 3.1.1 of Apple's ‌App Store‌ guidelines states that apps that offer in-game currencies need to use the in-app purchase mechanism. Apps are prohibited from including buttons, links, or other calls to action that ask customers to use non-Apple approved payment methods.

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
- If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

Epic Games made the direct payment option available in the in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries, and said that because apps that offer real-life goods and services like Uber and StubHub are not required to use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism, Fortnite should be entitled to the same treatment. ‌Epic Games‌ has also called Apple and Google's 30 percent commission on in-app purchases "exorbitant."

In response to Apple's statement and the removal of Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌, ‌Epic Games‌ announced a new Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short premiering at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which appears to be a riff on Apple's famous 1984 ad.

‌Epic Games‌' stand against Apple comes as Apple is facing a U.S. antitrust investigation over its ‌App Store‌ rules and policies and as Apple is recovering from another very public dispute over the "Hey" email app.

Update: ‌Epic Games‌ has filed a lawsuit against Apple for pulling Fortnite from the ‌App Store‌. [PDF]

In the filing, ‌Epic Games‌ accuses Apple of being a "the behemoth seeking to control markets, block competition, and stifle innovation" and imposing "anti-competitive restraints" and using "monopolistic practices in markets" against ‌App Store‌ developers.

Apple imposes unreasonable and unlawful restraints to completely monopolize both markets and prevent software developers from reaching the over one billion users of its mobile devices (e.g., iPhone and iPad) unless they go through a single store controlled by Apple, the App Store, where Apple exacts an oppressive 30% tax on the sale of every app. Apple also requires software developers who wish to sell digital in-app content to those consumers to use a single payment processing option offered by Apple, In-App Purchase, which likewise carries a 30% tax.

With the lawsuit, ‌Epic Games‌ says it is not aiming for a cash payout, but instead wants to secure "injunctive relief" in the iOS App distribution market and payment processing market for " hundreds of millions of consumers and tens of thousands, if not more, of third-party app developers."

Update 2: The Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite short is now available on the Fortnite YouTube channel, encouraging people to "join the fight to stop 2020 from becoming 1984." The ad is also available in Fortnite.

‌Epic Games‌ has also created an FAQ explaining the lawsuit it has filed against Apple and why ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ users can't access the Fortnite app.

As a ban on WeChat and other apps originating in China looms, companies who do business in China and iPhone users in the country are concerned about how the ban could impact device sales and daily device usage.

It's still unclear whether the ban applies to the WeChat app only in the United States or if it will result in the removal of the WeChat app from iPhones across the globe. Tencent, which owns WeChat, said it believes the ban applies only in the U.S., but it is seeking clarity. The wording in the executive order is vague, banning any transaction that is related to WeChat, and it is up to the Commerce Department to work out the details.

A WeChat ban in the United States has the potential to cause a minor drop in sales, but a WeChat ban in China would be devastating for Apple as many Chinese ‌iPhone‌ users feel their devices would be useless without the WeChat app.

In a Weibo survey highlighted by Bloomberg, for example, 95 percent of the 1.2 million people who responded said they would switch to an Android smartphone over an ‌iPhone‌ rather than give up WeChat. WeChat has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users, many of them in China.

One user in Hong Kong, Kenny Ou, told Bloomberg that a WeChat ban would turn the ‌iPhone‌ into "electronic trash," while another, Sky Ding, said WeChat is so important that most Chinese users would prefer to swap phones. "My family in China are all used to WeChat and all our communication is on the platform," said Ding.

Many U.S. companies, including Apple, Ford, Walmart, and Disney have been aiming to convince the Trump administration not to ban WeChat. According to The Wall Street Journal, more than a dozen U.S companies raised concerns in a call with White House officials on Tuesday, with Apple included in the call.

"For those who don't live in China, they don't understand how vast the implications are if American companies aren't allowed to use it," said Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council. "They are going to be held at a severe disadvantage to every competitor," he added.

In a recent note to investors, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that global ‌iPhone‌ shipments could decline by 25 to 30 percent if Apple is forced to remove WeChat from its App Store worldwide. If WeChat is only removed from the U.S. ‌App Store‌, however, ‌iPhone‌ sales could be impacted by 3 to 6 percent.

The Trump administration is aiming to ban all U.S. transactions with ByteDance (which makes TikTok) and Tencent. The ban was announced on August 7 and there are 39 days left before it goes into effect.

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.

Back in 2018, it was revealed that noted YouTuber and former NASA engineer Mark Rober had been quietly working in Apple's special projects group on several projects related to virtual reality.

While Rober has since left his position at Apple, the company has continued to pursue patent applications based on his team's work, and a newly published application today relates to the team's efforts to create VR-based solutions for motion sickness experienced by riders in vehicles.

The patent, which is titled "Immersive Virtual Display" and is a continuation of a previously filed one on the same topic, shows that Apple has made some changes to the technical claims of the patent, deleting the original 20 claims and adding 20 new ones in an ongoing attempt to protect the concepts developed by the team.

Apple's patent application describes a VR system for vehicles with multiple uses. Simply, the system would provide virtual views that match visual cues with the physical motions that a passenger experiences. The VR experience would be immersive, replacing the view of the real world with a virtual environment. In addition to the obvious opportunities for entertainment, this virtual environment would be able to adjust in real time to accommodate a passenger suffering from motion sickness.

The VR system, which could involve a headset or projection onto a window or other surface, would generate virtual content for providing a view of the virtual environment. Users would be able to select a simulated route from a different location based on the route from the real environment. To do this, the system would compare the turns and curves of the route in the other location to the turns and curves of the route in the real environment, and ensure that they at least partially match.

When this is not possible, the system would augment the simulation of the selected simulated route to ensure that it matches the real-world route. The motions and accelerations of the virtual content would therefore be synchronized with the real-world motions and accelerations of the vehicle. The vehicle itself would require a sensor to be coupled to it to facilitate this.

The filing explains that the vehicle's systems and controls could also be integrated with the VR system to provide physical effects with the virtual experience. The patent makes clear that this would include control of throttle, brakes, suspension, and steering. Furthermore, the fan speed, temperature, and direction of heating and air conditioning could also be changed to provide physical effects to the virtual experience. Plans for the inclusion of sound effects via the car's audio system are also included.

Simulated environments would be stereoscopic to create an illusion of depth, and adjust in real time to provide the illusion of the user moving within the scene. All of this would allow users to feel as if they were physically in a different environment.

The patent specifically outlines how slight changes to perceived motion in the simulated environment that differ from the motions of the real world would treat and prevent motion sickness. For example, visual cues that indicate flow past a passenger may be slowed down or sped up when compared to the actual speed or acceleration of the vehicle to mitigate sickness. In addition to adapting the mapping ratio to help prevent motion sickness, visual, sensory, and audio techniques may be used to increase the comfort passengers suffering from motion sickness.

The filing also refers to a potential mixed reality application of this technology, which may potentially indicate its use in the rumored Apple Glasses product. Alternately, the patent mentions use of this VR system in autonomous vehicles, which could refer to Apple's long-rumored vehicle project.

The patent application says that windows in vehicles are "inherently unsafe and not structurally sound, and add cost to vehicles." Providing a virtual view of the real environment or of a simulated environment would eliminate the need for windows in autonomous vehicles completely. The VR system could also provide passengers with the sensation that they are riding in a larger vehicle than its actual size, which the patent says "may provide passengers with a more pleasant and secure-feeling experience when riding in a small autonomous vehicle."

Apple files dozens of patents application weekly, but patent filings are not always indicative of Apple's immediate plans. Given the complexity and outlandish nature of this filing, it is very unlikely that any of the features outlined in it will come to market any time soon. Nonetheless, it offers insight into Apple's current areas of research and development.

Apple did not inform three large publishers about a change in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur that directs users who tap on an Apple News+ story in Safari to the ‌Apple News‌ app instead of the publisher's website, according to Ad Age. The report claims that two of the publishers are evaluating whether to terminate their relationship with Apple News+ as a result of the change, but for now are taking a "wait-and-see approach."

From the report:

Two of the executives at the publishers told Ad Age they receive decent traffic through their deal with Apple, but are now questioning how it will impact their bottom line, as they each have greater monetization opportunities through their owned properties.

In a statement shared with The Verge's Dieter Bohn earlier this week, Apple said that the change provides publishers with "increased engagement and revenue opportunities on Apple News," adding that users have the option to adjust their preference. On iOS 14, the toggle switch can be found in Settings > News > Open Web Links in News. On macOS Big Sur, open the Apple News app and click on News > Preferences… in the menu bar.

Apple is committed to creating the best experience for Apple News+ subscribers. This change offers subscribers seamless access to the content that is part of their News+ subscription right in the News app or publisher app, as well as providing publishers with increased engagement and revenue opportunities on Apple News. News+ subscribers can set their link preference in their News settings.

Publisher reception to Apple News has been mixed. In June, The New York Times pulled out of Apple News, noting that the service does not "align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers." To the contrary, The Wall Street Journal this week said that its Apple News‌ partnership provides the publication with a "significantly new audience," including more women and young people.

Epic Games today announced that it has introduced a new direct payment option in the Fortnite app for iPhone and iPad, allowing players to purchase 1000 V-Bucks for $7.99 rather than $9.99 through Apple's in-app purchase mechanism.

It is unclear how Epic Games is managing to offer this option, as Apple's App Store Review Guidelines indicate that apps offering in-game currencies must use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism. Apps are also not allowed to include buttons, links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:
- If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, etc. Apps and their metadata may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.

The direct payment option is available in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and many other countries.

In a FAQ, Epic Games described Apple's and Google's 30 percent commission on in-app purchases as "exorbitant," leading it to introduce this alternate payment system so that it can offer the same permanent discount of up to 20 percent on V-Bucks that it is now offering to players on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mac, and PC.

Epic Games notes that apps that offer real-life goods and services like Uber and StubHub are not required to use Apple's in-app purchase mechanism, and it believes that Fortnite is entitled to receive this same treatment:

Thousands of apps on the App Store approved by Apple accept direct payments, including commonly used apps like Amazon, Grubhub, Nike SNKRS, Best Buy, DoorDash, Fandango, McDonalds, Uber, Lyft, and StubHub. We think all developers should be free to support direct payments in all apps. In operating Fortnite on open platforms and operating the Epic Games Store, Epic has processed over $1,600,000,000 of direct payments successfully, and uses industry trusted encryption and security measures to protect customer transactions.

Clearly Apple and Google acknowledge that third party payment services are safe and acceptable for goods and services. Epic direct payment simply offers players the same kinds of payment options as these other apps.

The move will certainly add fuel to the fire as the App Store faces anti-trust scrutiny in both the United States and Europe.

Update: Fortnite is no longer available on the App Store as of Thursday afternoon.

Apple plans to launch a fitness subscription service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, as part of an upcoming "Apple One" subscription service bundle.

The service would offer virtual fitness and workout classes via an app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. This would rival existing virtual classes services provided by Nike and Peloton. Peloton shares reportedly dipped 4.7 percent in early Thursday trading after the report was published, while Apple was up just less than one percent. The fitness service is expected to be bundled with other Apple subscription services in Apple One.

In March, MacRumors discovered a new fitness app hidden within iOS 14 code for ‌iPhone‌, Apple Watch, and ‌Apple TV‌, titled with the codename "Seymour." The app was found to be separate from the existing Activity app. Gurman has today confirmed the identity of the "Seymour" app discovered by MacRumors as the upcoming fitness subscription service. The app may be named "Fit" or "Fitness" when released.

MacRumors found that the app will offer a wide range of activity types, including indoor running, cycling, rowing, stretching, core training, strength training, outdoor walking, dance, and yoga. The app is designed to let users download guided fitness-related videos that will walk them through various workouts and activities. Apple Watch appears to be used in the app to track progress through each workout routine, similar to how Apple Watch can track existing fitness activities through the Activity app.

The new fitness subscription service and accompanying app is likely to launch alongside ‌Apple One‌ in October.

Apple will launch a new range of subscription service bundles called "Apple One" as soon as October, according to a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The series of bundles would allow customers to subscribe to several Apple digital services together. This is expected to result in a lower monthly price than when the services are subscribed to individually. Bloomberg reports that the ‌Apple One‌ subscription bundles are planned to launch in October alongside new iPhone models.

Gurman explains that there will be different ‌Apple One‌ subscription tiers. A basic package will include just Apple Music and Apple TV+, while a more expensive variation will add Apple Arcade. The next tier up will add Apple News+, followed by a more expensive bundle featuring iCloud storage. ‌Apple One‌ is not expected to include AppleCare support.

Apple is also believed to be developing a new service for virtual fitness classes that can be used via an app for the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and ‌Apple TV‌. The fitness service will be offered in the higher-end subscription bundle. Currently codenamed "Seymour" internally, the workout service would be set to rival virtual classes offered by the likes of Nike.

‌Apple One‌ will work with Apple's Family Sharing system that provides access for as many as six people. The bundles are expected to save customers around $2 to upwards of $5 a month, depending on the specific bundle chosen.

The motivation behind bundling subscription services would be to encourage customers to subscribe to multiple Apple services, generating more recurring revenue. ‌Apple News‌+ and ‌Apple TV‌+ in particular has not seen substantial growth, so bundling subscriptions would help to drive subscriber numbers. In late 2019, Apple experimented with creating a bundle of ‌Apple Music‌ and ‌Apple TV‌+ for students, with the latter being freely included.

Files found in iOS 13.5.5 referred to a "bundle offer" and a "bundle subscription." These files were not present in earlier versions of iOS. The files were said to be related to the "management system of Apple's own services subscriptions like ‌Apple News‌+." Apple has been rumored to be working on some kind of services bundle since 2018, and most of the rumors have indicated that the company will include ‌‌Apple Music‌‌, ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+, and ‌‌Apple News‌‌+ in the bundle offering.

Apple shipped approximately 15 million iPhones in the United States in the second quarter of 2020, according to a new report shared by Canalys, setting a new domestic record.

Apple shipped 15 percent more iPhone 11 devices than last year's equivalent, ‌iPhone‌ XR. Most strikingly, iPhone SE was responsible for growing Apple's quarterly market share to 47 percent. Overall, Apple shipped 10 percent more devices compared to the same quarter of last year.

Vendors shipped 31.9 million smartphones in the United States in total. This represents a 5 percent year-on-year decline, but an 11 percent quarter-on-quarter increase. The reopening of manufacturing facilities in China at the end of March and retail stores reopening in May and June were key contributors to growth. Around 70 percent of smartphones shipped in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2020 were made in China, up 60 percent from the last quarter.

5G adoption was low in the second quarter of 2020, but is expected to increase as more 5G-connected devices come to market in the coming months. Apple is expected to contribute to this drive for 5G adoption with the release of 5G-enabled iPhones this fall.

"As the coronavirus pandemic forced consumers to stay at home, 5G adoption in the U.S. failed to take off. Store closures and virus fears limited interaction with demonstration models, tight consumer budgets further constrained spending power, and with scarce 5G network coverage in American suburbia, consumers saw plenty of reasons to buy a 4G device instead," Canalys Analyst Vincent Thielke said. "Despite the lackluster 5G roll-out so far, strong carrier marketing in coming quarters will be instrumental in catalyzing a multi-year transition period from LTE to 5G."

Canalys also noted the "perpetual state of uncertainty" hanging over smartphone vendors due to an escalation of tensions between the U.S. and China, but explained that this largely does not affect Samsung and LG.

"The worsening relationship has resulted in extreme instability that has global onlookers eagerly awaiting November's presidential election. This may guide the U.S.-China trade war into a new phase of détente – or reignite flare-ups," Thielke explained.

Apple and Samsung together account for seven out of every 10 devices sold. The average price of a smartphone in the U.S. dropped 10 percent compared to last year, down to $503. Canalys found that distributors are increasing orders for ultra-low-end Android smartphones from lesser-known brands, such as Unimax and Wiko. Google and other Android brands are increasing their exposure to the low-end and mid-range segments, and in addition to the success of ‌iPhone SE‌, it appears that the sub-$400 segment is poised to gain more prominence.

Apple last month confirmed that this year's iPhone 12 models will launch outside of their normal September timeframe and will be "available a few weeks later," which has led to speculation about when an event might be held.

Leaker Jon Prosser, who sometimes shares accurate knowledge of Apple's plans, today said that Apple will hold its ‌iPhone‌ 12 event during the week of October 12, with preorders to take place later that week and shipments to start the week after that.

If these dates are accurate, Apple could hold an event on Tuesday, October 13, accepting preorders for new the lower-cost ‌iPhone‌ 12 models on October 16, and delivering the new devices starting on October 23.

There have been multiple rumors suggesting the possibility of a staggered release that will see some models launch before other models, which Prosser also says is the case. While the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models will ship in October, Prosser claims the ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro models will not be available until an unspecified date in November.

Prosser also claims that Apple will release the Apple Watch Series 6 and an unspecified new iPad via press release during the week of September 7. It would be unusual for Apple to unveil the Apple Watch ahead of new iPhones because in past years, ‌iPhone‌ events have also included the Apple Watch.

Prosser says that this info is "in the system," but the staggered release date and the "uncertainty of final dates for the Pro models" means the dates could "slip/change." Last month, Prosser claimed that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models and new iPads would launch in October.

While Prosser has in the past correctly predicted some of Apple's launch plans, he has also shared incorrect information. In June, he inaccurately claimed that Apple was planning to rename iOS to "iPhoneOS," and he shared images of what he claimed was Apple's AirPower charging mat, with those images later turning out to be a clone device that wasn't the ‌AirPower‌ at all.

Some of Prosser's claims have also been somewhat outlandish, such as his suggestion that Apple is working on a set of Steve Jobs heritage edition Apple Glasses modeled after the glasses that Jobs wore.

The Wall Street Journal has been one of the few newspaper publishers to participate in Apple News+, and according to statements from the company's CEO, Robert Thomson, The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ has no plans to end its Apple partnership.

As relayed by The New York Post, ‌Apple News‌ has brought the newspaper a "significantly new audience" that includes more women and younger people who might not otherwise read the WSJ.

"That Apple News partnership allows us to focus on that tier of content and bring in a significantly new audience that we would hope to graduate to a paid WSJ subscription over time," Thomson said in an earnings call last week. "And it is a genuinely different audience. It's actually, of late, more women than men. For The Wall Street Journal ­itself, it's more men than women."

Thomson's comments come a little over a month after The New York Times announced that it was ending its partnership with ‌Apple News‌ because the service does not "align with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers."

Articles from The New York Times no longer show up in the ‌Apple News‌ app, and the site has accused Apple of providing it "little control over business" and "little in the way of direct relationships with readers."

Apple has struggled to score deals with newspaper publishers for ‌Apple News‌+ and so far has sites like The ‌Wall Street Journal‌ and The Los Angeles Times on board.

Apple is facing a trademark battle in Brazil as the Brazilian Supreme Court is set to determine whether Apple is allowed to use the iPhone trademark in Brazil.

The Brazilian Supreme Court will rule on the issue following a constitutional appeal by IGB Electronica, an electronics company that registered the ‌iPhone‌ trademark in Brazil in 2000.

Under the name Gradiente, IGB Electronica produced a line of IPHONE-branded Android smartphones in Brazil in 2012, and there was a period of time where the Brazilian company was given exclusive rights to the ‌iPhone‌ trademark.

There was a trademark battle and ultimately, Apple and IGB Electronica were both provided rights to use the name in the country. Since then, there's been continual back and forth fighting with each company attempting to gain exclusive rights to the trademark, but a 2018 decision upheld a 2013 ruling that gave both brands permission to use the trademark.

Earlier this year, IGB Electronica revived the dispute in an attempt to get the 2018 decision reversed by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, and the court has agreed to hear the case. IGB argues that allowing Apple to use the trademark first filed by IGB "punishes creativity."

"Allowing a company to claim a trademark submitted in good faith by another one punishes creativity, distorts free competition and runs over Brazilian intellectual property authorities," says IGB's lawyer Igor Mauler Santiago in the petition. He also alleges the violation of free initiative and of trademarks protection, principles expressly prescribed in the Brazilian Constitution.

Apple has claimed that it was inappropriate for the National Institute of Industrial Property to grant the trademark to Gradiente in 2008 even though it was filed in 2000 because at that point, the ‌iPhone‌ existed.

It's not yet clear when the Brazilian Supreme Court will hear the case and come to a decision. IGB has been struggling for years and has lost close to 1 billion Brazilian Reals since 2018, so the ultimate goal may be a payout from Apple to end the dispute. Today's press release announcing the court's decision highlights commercial deals Apple has made in other countries to acquire rights to the ‌iPhone‌ trademark.

Apple's Brazilian dispute comes just after news that Apple has opposed the trademark application for Prepear, a recipe and meal planning app that uses a pear for an Apple logo. Apple fears people who encounter the pear logo will associate it with Apple.

Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.6.1, minor updates that come a month after the release of the iOS 13.6 update with Car Keys and Audio Apple News+ stories.

The iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.6.1 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

iOS 13.6.1 addresses an issue that could cause unneeded system data files to not be automatically deleted when storage is low, and it addresses a thermal management issue that caused some iPhone displays to exhibit a green tint. It also has a fix for a bug that could cause Exposure Notifications to be disabled for some users.

Apple's full release notes for the update are below:

iOS 13.6.1 includes bug fixes for your iPhone.

- Addresses an issue where unneeded system data files might not be automatically deleted when available storage is low
- Fixes a thermal management issue that caused some displays to exhibit a green tint
- Fixes an issue where Exposure Notifications could be disabled for some users

Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

iOS 13.6.1 is likely to be one of the last updates to the iOS 13 operating system as Apple has transitioned to working on iOS 14, an update that is set to be released this fall.

Apple today released a supplemental update for macOS Catalina 10.15.6, with the update coming a month after the original launch of macOS Catalina 10.15.6.

The ‌‌macOS Catalina‌‌ 10.15.6 Supplemental Update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

According to Apple's release notes, the update fixes a problem that could cause virtualization apps like VMware to crash. It also fixes an issue that could cause the 2020 iMac to appear washed out after waking from sleep. Apple's full release notes are below:

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 supplemental update includes bug fixes for your Mac.

- Fixes a stability issue that could occur when running virtualization apps
- Resolves an issue where an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) may appear washed out after waking from sleep

macOS Catalina 10.15.6 will likely be the last update to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple transitions to macOS Big Sur, the newest version of macOS set to be released in the fall.

England is developing a contact tracing app that uses Apple and Google's Exposure Notification API, and while there are still bugs to be worked out, it's set to be trialed in a few areas in the country starting tomorrow.

According to the BBC, the app will be trialed on the Isle of Wight and in one other area with a volunteer group. The experiment is being launched quietly as there's no word on when a formal national rollout might happen.

Even as the app enters a trial period, engineers are struggling to address a problem with Bluetooth distance calculations. Apparently the app wrongly flags people of being within 6.6 feet of one another when they're not, which could lead to people quarantining when they don't need to.

Apple and Google do not provide raw Bluetooth signal strength data to app developers to better protect user privacy. Multiple countries have asked for relaxed restrictions.

Part of the problem with the Apple-Google framework is that the tech firms have decided that developers should not get access to raw attenuation data - a measure of changes in Bluetooth signal strength.

Instead, it provides a more basic set of readings that an app can use to calculate its own risk scores - the idea being that this helps preserve users' anonymity.

But one consequence of this, is that engineers have not been able to take advantage of a technique developed by researchers at the UK's Turing Institute and the University of Oxford. It filters the data to give a better indication of proximity.

England's app engineers are hoping to be able to improve accuracy to a degree that will be usable by the end of the year.

As with other ‌Exposure Notification‌ solutions, the app will use Bluetooth to determine when two people come into contact with one another to track possible coronavirus exposures. If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, the app allows them to notify all of the people they've been in contact with, cutting down on the spread of the virus.

The app England is developing will also ask users to scan a QR code when entering properties as a way to later alert them if they've visited a location linked to multiple infections.

The UK did not initially plan to use Apple and Google's ‌Exposure Notification‌ API and was instead pursuing a different approach, but a June report suggested the National Health Service had changed its mind and was working on an app using the Apple/Google API.

The original app was hobbled by restrictions that Apple imposes on Bluetooth apps, which would have prevented an app that doesn't use the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API from accessing Bluetooth in the background. Because Bluetooth was not continually available, the app that was initially in development only detected four percent of iPhones in situations where the app was asleep and the two devices involved had not been recently used.

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