MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook is today participating in an antitrust hearing with the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee alongside Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The hearing was supposed to kick off at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time or 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, but it was delayed for a half hour to an hour. It can be watched live through the YouTube stream above.

Cook is expected to be grilled about Apple's App Store policies in regard to app rejection and competition, disputes with the FBI over encryption and law enforcement access to locked devices, Apple's relationship with China, and its ‌App Store‌ fees and subscription policies.

Cook was initially reluctant to participate in the hearing because he does not believe Apple should be grouped with Facebook, Amazon, and Google as an antitrust violator, but he was not able to avoid testifying after a threat of a subpoena from subcommittee chairman David Cicilline, who publicly criticized Apple's ‌App Store‌ fees.

Over the course of the last month, Cook has been preparing for the hearing, and Apple last week commissioned a third-party study on the ‌App Store‌ that found ‌App Store‌ fees to be in line with those charged by other digital marketplaces, which Cook is likely to cite. Cook's opening statement was shared yesterday, and can be read here.

We'll share highlights from the antitrust hearing covering what Cook has to say, but those interested in a complete picture of what happens at the hearing can watch live.

Mac OS 8 is now available as an app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, reports The Verge.

Slack developer Felix Rieseberg has transformed Mac OS 8 into a single downloadable app for modern macOS, Windows, and Linux devices. Having previously transformed Windows 95 into an app in 2018, Rieseberg turned his attention to transforming an entire 1991 Macintosh Quadra with Mac OS 8.1 into a single Electron app.

The app, titled "macintosh.js," is written entirely in JavaScript, and uses a virtual machine to emulate a Macintosh Quadra 900 with a Motorola CPU that Apple used before its transition to IBM's PowerPC architecture. The project has not been approved by Apple and is provided for educational purposes only.

The macintosh.js app includes a number of apps and games from a 1997 MacWorld demo CD, and includes Photoshop 3, Premiere 4, Illustrator 5.5, StuffIt Expander, and Apple’s Web Page Construction Kit. The app can also run classic games such as Duke Nukem 3D, Civilization II, Dungeons & Dragons, Namely, Oregon Trail, Alley 19 Bowling, and Damage Incorporated. Although Internet Explorer and Netscape are preinstalled, Rieseberg says the versions are so old that "you wouldn't be able to open even Google."

Originally released in 1997, Mac OS 8 represented a significant overhaul of classic Mac OS software, and integrated many of the technologies developed for Apple's cancelled Copland OS. Mired by delays, missed deadlines, and dysfunctional management, Copland was never commercially released and is regarded as one of the biggest IT project failures in history. Mac OS 8 was the remnant of Copland OS, and is credited with helping to modernize Mac OS while Apple developed Mac OS X.

Hobbyists have set about making classic versions of macOS available on modern devices in the past, such as the Internet Archive's collection of classic Macintosh software that can be emulated in a browser.

Instagram is offering financial incentives to prominent TikTok users in an attempt to persuade them to use Instagram's upcoming "Reels" feature, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Instagram is seeking to kickstart its new Reels service by making lucrative offers to popular TikTok creators with millions of followers. Set to launch next month, Reels is Instagram's answer to TikTok's short-form video clips.

Incentive payments for some are reported to be in the "hundreds of thousands of dollars," with the highest payouts for creators who commit to posting their videos exclusively to Reels. For creators who refuse to post exclusively to Reels, Instagram has asked that they post their videos to Reels before posting them to other platforms. Popular TikTok creators have been known to be the subject of payments from large companies to use specific songs, wear branded clothing, and promote products in their videos, in order to reach large audiences.

Instagram has "approached a diverse range of creators about Reels in several of the countries where it's currently being tested," a company spokesperson said. "We remain committed to investing in both our creators and their experience." Instagram is offering to cover the costs of producing their videos, and has reportedly used nondisclosure agreements to dissuade creators from sharing the terms of the potential deals.

Last week, TikTok announced a $200 million fund to counter Instagram's push, intended to help creators on the platform to "realize additional earnings that help reward the care and dedication they put into creatively connecting with an audience that's inspired by their ideas."

Following the announcement of Reels earlier this month, news of financial incentives for creators is confirmation that Instagram is gearing up to directly compete with TikTok. In April, YouTube announced "Shorts," a new service that will also replicate the short video format to compete with TikTok.

TikTok, owned by parent company ByteDance, has faced increasing global scrutiny in recent weeks over security and privacy concerns related to its Chinese roots.

Reels is scheduled to launch in the U.S. and several other countries next month, with numerous "exclusive posts" from prominent creators.

WhatsApp appears to be testing the ability to use the same user account on multiple devices.

According to WABetaInfo, the latest version of the WhatsApp beta for Android includes hints that WhatsApp is testing the possibility for up to four devices, including additional Mac computers.

The tipster adds that WhatsApp could also eventually let users send verification codes to log into their account on an additional phone, although it's not clear how this would work from a security perspective.

As it stands, WhatsApp requires a phone number to link to an iPhone, and while it's possible to use that device to link to one desktop app or the web, you can't use the same account on another phone without transferring the number – so if you lose your number, you lose your WhatsApp account.

That could soon be about to change though, based on screenshots shared by WABetaInfo, which show that the Linked Devices interface being tested is similar to the way users currently link their account to WhatsApp for Web.

Currently the feature is hidden in the beta, so no one can use it. Whether or not it gets revealed in a future beta or eventually makes it to a public release on ‌iPhone‌ is another matter, and it could be the case that WhatsApp decides after testing that it isn't feasible.

That said, WhatsApp developers have been working hard on new features under the hood recently. Earlier this month, WhatsApp began rolling out a number of new features across its mobile, web, and desktop variants, including a QR code scanning option for contacts and a new Dark mode theme that extends to computers.

There's still no word on the iPad app that was rumored to be in development over 16 months ago, but it's possible we could see one in the not too distant future if WhatsApp manages to get its multi-device support off the ground.

Spotify Premium subscribers can now simultaneously listen to music playlists and podcasts with their friends, wherever they are in the world.

The new feature is the latest evolution of Spotify's Group Session beta, which launched back in May and allowed Premium users in the "same space" to share and control music together in real time. Spotify's newsroom post explains:

In our latest innovation, we're taking Group Session one step further with brand-new functionality that allows Spotify Premium users around the world to tune into the same playlist or podcast simultaneously. So no matter the distance—whether six feet apart or a thousand miles away—you and the members of your squad can now each listen to the same content at the same time on your own devices (as well as control playback).

Groups of two to five people can use the new feature at once by sharing a "join" link shared via messaging apps or over social media.

All you have to do is click or tap the Connect menu in the bottom-left corner of the play screen and scroll down to "Start a group Session." There you should find the invite link to share with your guests, or they can scan the Spotify code to join the session.

From there, both host and guests can pause, play, skip, and select tracks on the queue as well as add in choices of their own using the standard controls. If one person makes a change, it will immediately be reflected on all participant devices.

Spotify says that while Group Session is still in beta, it's committed to evolving and improving the experience over time.

Apple's iPhone was the fastest-growing smartphone brand in China in the second quarter, according to data published by Counterpoint Research.

Bouncing back from the decline in the market in Q1 following the global health crisis, Apple grew 32% year on year thanks to the continued popularity of its ‌iPhone‌ 11 lineup and heavy discounting at an annual shopping festival that Apple doesn't usually participate in.

This year's new iPhone SE also entered into the top three best-selling iPhones in the quarter, mirroring the more affordable device's performance in the United States in the same quarter.

Apple's reversal of fortunes in China are particularly impressive given that it saw an almost 60 percent slump in iPhone sales in February compared to the previous year, shifting fewer than 500,000 handsets across the country.

The surge in ‌iPhone‌ sales in Q2 comes amid a 17% year-on-year decline in overall smartphone sales in China. In addition, one third of total smartphone sales during the quarter were 5G devices, which is the highest adoption of 5G in the world and bodes well for Apple's 5G "‌iPhone‌ 12" lineup, expected this fall.

Apple has officially announced the opening of its Apple Central World store on Friday with a press release that includes several new images of the interior of the building.

Apple Central World is nestled in the heart of Ratchaprasong, Bangkok's iconic intersection, and it joins Apple's existing store in Thailand, Apple Iconsiam, which opened in November 2018.

Apple Central World’s distinctive architecture is brought to life with the first-ever all-glass design, housed under a cantilevered Tree Canopy roof. Once inside, customers can travel between two levels via a spiral staircase that wraps around a timber core, or riding a unique cylindrical elevator clad in mirror-polished stainless steel. Guests can enter from the ground or upper level, which provides a direct connection to the Skytrain and the city’s largest shopping center. The outdoor plaza offers a place for the community to gather, with benches and large Terminalia trees surrounding the space.

Apple Central World opens Friday, July 31 at 10 a.m. ICT in Bangkok, and more than 130 new team members speaking 17 languages will be in attendance to welcome customers.

Apple says the new store will open with the same health and safety measures seen across all Apple Store locations for both employees and visitors, including a mask requirement, temperature checks, and social distancing.

Apple notes that visits to Apple Central World on Friday will be by appointment only. Customers can visit apple.com/th/centralworld to choose from available times, and each non-transferable reservation admits one person.

As Apple CEO Tim Cook prepares to speak in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee tomorrow, his opening statement has been made available. [PDF]

Cook will say that Apple does "not have a dominant market share" in any market where it does business, and that consumers have many other choices when it comes to smartphones. "As much as we believe the iPhone provides the best user experience, we know it is far from the only choice available to consumers," reads Cook's testimony.

The smartphone market is fiercely competitive and companies like Samsung, LG, Huawei, and Google have built very successful smartphone businesses offering different approaches.

Apple does not have a dominant market share in any market where we do business. That is not just true for iPhone; it is true for any product category.

Cook will "make no concession on the facts" and plans to dispute claims that Apple is anti-competitive. Apple's App Store, Cook says has opened the "gate wider" for developers and the fees that are charged provide access to Apple APIs and other benefits.

I am here today because scrutiny is reasonable and appropriate. We approach this process with respect and humility. But we make no concession on the facts.

After beginning with 500 apps, today the App Store hosts more than 1.7 million--only 60 of which are Apple software. Clearly if Apple is a gatekeeper, what we have done is open the gate wider. We want to get every app we can on the Store, not keep them off.

As for high ‌App Store‌ commissions, Cook will argue that Apple's 15 to 30 percent cut is competitive with alternatives, and that Apple offers a better option than what was available for software developers prior to when the ‌App Store‌ launched in 2008.

App Store developers set prices for their apps and never pay for "shelf space." Apple continuously improves, and provides every developer with cutting-edge tools like compilers, programming languages, operating systems, frameworks, and more than 150,000 essential software building blocks called APIs. These are not only powerful, but so simple to use that students in elementary schools can and do make apps.

The App Store guidelines ensure a high-quality, reliable, and secure user experience. They are transparent and applied equally to developers of all sizes and in all categories. They are not set in stone. Rather, they have changed as the world has changed, and we work with developers to apply them fairly.

Cook plans to explain that Apple has not raised commissions or added fees since the ‌App Store‌ debuted, and has, in fact, reduced fees for subscriptions and added exemptions for certain app categories.

For the vast majority of apps on the App Store, developers keep 100% of the money they make. The only apps that are subject to a commission are those where the developer acquires a customer on an Apple device and where the features or services would be experienced and consumed on an Apple device.

Apple's commissions are comparable to or lower than commissions charged by the majority of our competitors. And they are vastly lower than the 50 to 70 percent software developers paid to distribute their work before we launched the App Store.

The antitrust hearing will kick off tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with a live stream to be provided. It will also feature testimony from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Google/Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Cook's full statement can be read here.

Apple is sold out of the $1,300 LG UltraFine 5K Display, which is listed as "Currently Unavailable" from the online Apple Store and is unavailable for pickup from Apple retail stores.

The LG UltraFine 5K Display is not available for purchase in the United States, the UK, Canada, and Brazil, as noted by 9to5Mac. Prior to when the monitor was listed as unavailable, there were long shipping times after purchase, which suggests there could be possible supply issues.

If supply issues are indeed at fault (and supply problems have also caused long shipping times for other Apple products like the iMac), the display's unavailability is likely to be temporary. Apple has not provided details on whether the monitor is temporarily sold out or no longer being sold, however.

Last May, the 5K LG UltraFine Display was also listed as unavailable from the ‌Apple Store‌ prior to a refresh in late July 2019, which is the model that was purchasable up until recently. Apple is continuing to offer the Pro Display XDR, but that is a much more expensive display option at $5,000. The 4K LG UltraFine model is also available for purchase.

The Thunderbolt 3 LG UltraFine 5K Display offers a 5120 x 2880 resolution with 14.7 million pixels and P3 wide color gamut, plus built-in stereo speakers, a camera, a microphone, and an adjustable stand at a $1,300 price point.

Future movies from Universal Pictures will come to online platforms like iTunes and Apple TV just 17 days after a theatrical release following a deal between Universal and AMC Theaters, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Under the terms of the deal, the theatrical window for new movies will be shortened to 17 days from the current 75 days, so viewers will be able to watch new titles online as soon as 2.5 weeks after they first appear in theaters.

During the pandemic, Universal had been experimenting with offering movies online while they're still in theaters, which AMC was not happy with. Universal's digital release of "Trolls World Tour" in the early months of the coronavirus was a success, earning more than $100 million in three weeks, and spurring the company to further experiment with digital releases.

Movie theaters have been closed, but AMC said that if Universal released new movies direct to digital platforms, it would not show new Universal releases. With the new 17-day theatrical release window, however, the dispute between the two companies has been settled.

According to The Wall Street Journal, this deal for shorter theatrical releases between AMC and Universal Pictures could put pressure on rivals of both companies to establish similar online release timelines.

AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said that AMC will have an opportunity to generate additional revenue by offering new Universal films on its AMC Theaters on Demand platform. New Universal titles will also be released on digital platforms like ‌Apple TV‌ and Amazon.

While theaters are shut down due to the coronavirus, movie studios have been delaying releases. "Tenet," "The Quiet Place 2," "Mulan," and countless other titles have seen continual delays. Some other movies have been released directly online, which more studios may be forced to do if the movie theater shutdowns continue.

As rumors of the iPhone 12 have continued to build over the past few months, the one model that has the most excitement around it is the smallest 5.4" model. The iPhone 12 is believed to be coming in 5.4", 6.7", and 6.1" sizes.

Dummy models have shown how much smaller the 5.4" is compared to the rest of the iPhone lineup. The upcoming 5.4" iPhone falls in-between the size of the original iPhone SE and the 2020 iPhone SE, representing the smallest iPhone from Apple in years.

While Apple once advertised the relatively small form factor of the 4" iPhone 5 as being the perfect size for one handed use, there has been a steady growth in device sizes from the original 3.5" size to the largest 6.5" size. The smallest iPhone you can presently purchase is the 2020 iPhone SE which uses the 4.7" screen size of the iPhone 7/8.

While the rumored 5.4" screen size is larger than the 4.7" screen size of the iPhone 7/8, the removal of the Home Button from the body allows the overall device size to be smaller.

To see how much smaller, we've created these images that will let existing full screen Face ID iPhone owners see exactly how a 5.4" iPhone will feel in hand. Simply, open the corresponding image on your iPhone to see. Left and right aligned images are provided.

• iPhone 11, XR: Left Handed, Right Handed
• iPhone 11 Pro, XS, X: Left Handed, Right Handed
• iPhone 11 Pro Max, XS Max: Left Handed, Right Handed

For the full effect, save the image to your camera roll and view in full screen. The iPhone 12 is expected to be released in September or October of this year.

Oct 15, 2020 Update: Images have been updated to reflect final iPhone 12 Mini design

Many of Apple's retail stores in the United States remain closed at this time due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, and in others, social distancing policies are in place, which has necessitated the suspension of in-person programs like Today at Apple and Field Trip.

Apple recently announced that it is ending the Apple Field Trip program, which was designed to allow K-12 students and youth groups to visit Apple retail stores for hands-on group sessions led by an Apple employee. As 9to5Mac points out, Apple's website for the Field Trip experience now confirms that Apple Field Trip has been canceled.

A "new educational experience" is coming soon to take the place of Apple Field trip, and it's likely to be a digital offering that will provide activities and video lessons for children. Apple has already launched an Apple Camp at Home program that provides digital programs focused on video, art, design, and coding, along with a self-guided activity book and live sessions with Apple Creative Pros hosted over Webex.

Today at Apple has also been replaced with a digital-based offering at the current time, so Field Trip could potentially be similar to both Apple Camp and the virtual Today at Apple sessions that Apple has begun offering.

An updated MacBook Air could be coming in the not too distant future, according to certifications for a new ‌MacBook Air‌ battery recently filed in China and Denmark.

A 49.9Wh battery with a capacity of 4380mAh was spotted by a MySmartPrice contributor in certification filings with UL Demko and the China Certification Corporation, regulatory bodies that must approve and test new hardware used by Apple and other companies.

The battery appears to be destined for a future ‌MacBook Air‌, given the capacity. The current ‌MacBook Air‌ has a 49.9Wh battery as this model does, though Apple is using a new A2389 model number that is different from the A1965 model number used in the last few ‌MacBook Air‌ generations.

There's no word on when a new ‌MacBook Air‌ might launch, and these kinds of filings can sometimes happen months ahead of when a new product comes out. Multiple rumors have suggested that the ‌MacBook Air‌ will be one of the first Macs to get an Apple Silicon chip, and the new Arm-based machine could come before the end of 2020.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes a refreshed MacBook Air with an ‌Apple Silicon‌ chip could come in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021, while DigiTimes has said that a new Arm-based ‌MacBook Air‌ will be released in 2020.

Apple has confirmed that the first ‌Apple Silicon‌ Macs are expected before the end of the year, but has not provided details on which machines will be upgraded first. Apple already upgraded the ‌MacBook Air‌ in 2020 with 10th-generation Intel processors and a scissor switch keyboard, but it's not out of the question that a second update could come in 2020 given the swap to ‌Apple Silicon‌ chips.

The 49.9Wh battery in the current ‌MacBook Air‌ provides up to 11 hours of battery life when browsing the web and up to 12 hours when using the Apple TV app for watching movies.

If the next ‌MacBook Air‌ set to receive this new 49.9Wh battery is an ‌Apple Silicon‌ Mac, there could be some potential gains in battery life even if the battery size isn't increasing.

‌Apple Silicon‌ chips are expected to be much more power efficient than the current Intel chips used in the ‌MacBook Air‌ lineup, so in addition to performance improvements, battery life could be bumped up as well.

For more on what we're expecting for the next ‌MacBook Air‌, check out our MacBook Air roundup, and for details on Apple's transition to ‌Apple Silicon‌ chips, read our in-depth guide.

Ahead of Apple CEO Tim Cook's testimony before U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday at an antitrust hearing, senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller has defended App Store policies, in an interview with Reuters.

Schiller explained that the ‌App Store‌ was initially viewed at Apple as an experiment in offering "compellingly low commission" to attract developers. Small developers would otherwise face struggling to sell software into physical stores at the time.

"One of the things we came up with is, we're going to treat all apps in the App Store the same - one set of rules for everybody, no special deals, no special terms, no special code, everything applies to all developers the same. That was not the case in PC software. Nobody thought like that. It was a complete flip around of how the whole system was going to work," Schiller said.

He asserted that the review process and ‌App Store‌ rules were necessary since apps are purchased by customers through Apple's own billing system. According to Schiller, when launching the ‌App Store‌, Apple executives believed users would feel more confident purchasing apps if they felt their payment was secure and via a trustworthy vendor. "We think our customers' privacy is protected that way. Imagine if you had to enter credit cards and payments to every app you've ever used," he said.

Apple has been known to make exceptions to its own ‌App Store‌ rules, such as in 2018 with Microsoft, to allow users to log into Minecraft accounts that were purchased externally.

"As we were talking to some of the biggest game developers, for example, Minecraft, they said, 'I totally get why you want the user to be able to pay for it on device. But we have a lot of users coming who bought their subscription or their account somewhere else - on an Xbox, on a PC, on the web. And it's a big barrier to getting onto your store,'" Schiller said. "So we created this exception to our own rule."

Apple's 30 percent commission on sales via the ‌App Store‌ has been criticized by developers. Airbnb and ClassPass have, for example, recently claimed that Apple's demand to take a cut of all online sales through their apps was wrong. Schiller argued that Apple's commission helps to fund an extensive system for developers and that thousands of Apple engineers maintain secure servers to deliver apps and develop the tools to create and test them.

Apple has come under fire for its ‌App Store‌ rules and rate of commission, and there is increasing concern that Apple and Google have now established a "duopoly" on mobile app stores. Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies and commission on in-app purchases have now become part of the ongoing inquiry by U.S. antitrust regulators, and a similar investigation has begun in the EU.