It’s no secret Apple likes using its own chips in products like the iPhone and iPad, and Imagination Technologies is learning that in a painful way. Apple currently uses Imagination’s GPU chips in its mobile devices, but that’s changing within two years when they move to in house designs—and that could lead to a patent fight.
News
Apple Scheming for HBO, Showtime, Starz Streaming Bundle
Apple has a new plan for selling us a streaming TV package: premium channels. A new report says Apple is trying to bring together a deal to offer HBO, Showtime, and Starz without requiring viewers to sign up for a base-level channel package first.
Verizon Ready to Launch its Own Streaming TV Service this Summer
AT&T offers streaming television through DirecTV Now, and soon Verizon will be on board with its own service this summer. The company has been hard at work lining up content deals and plans to offer its streaming service through set top boxes, smartphones, and tablets.
Apple Hires YouTube Exec to Refine Apple Music Video Strategy
Apple beefed up its original video content team by hiring former YouTube and Spotify executive Shiva Rajaraman. He will reportedly help refine the company’s video strategy for Apple Music.
Twitter Drops User Names from Counting Against 140 Character Limit
Twitter has been quietly changing how replies work for some users over the past few days, but now it’s official for everyone: user names no longer count towards the 140 character limit. The change means you tweets don’t have to be as short when several people are included in your replies.
iFixit Teardown Shows New iPad is a Repackaged First-gen iPad Air
iFixit got ahold of Apple’s brand new 9.7-inch iPad and did what they do best: strip it down to the frame so we can see what’s inside. Turns out it’s pretty much just the first generation iPad Air with a Touch ID Home button.
Apple's USB-C Adapter Discounts End Friday
If you’ve been procrastinating on buying those USB-C adapters for your new Touch Bar MacBook Pro it’s time to get motivated because Apple’s discounts are about to end. The discounts are available through March 31st, which means you need to buy yours today or Friday before the prices go up.
Head of Apple Mail Terry Blanchard Leaves for Rival Email App
Terry Blanchard, who led the engineering and QA teams for Apple Mail since 2011, is moving on. He’s not going far though. Terry will still manage an email team, but it’s for the Spark email app owned by Readdle. Andrew Orr tells us what this could mean for the future of Apple Mail.
Weak Report Claims Touch ID Sensor Moving to the Back of iPhone 8
A new report claims Apple is taking away the Home button on the iPhone 8 and moving the Touch ID fingerprint scanner to the back of the device. That’s something we’re already seeing on some Android phones, but that’s not the path Apple will take despite what we’re hearing from this new report.
Apple Gives Developers First iOS 10.3.2 Beta
That didn’t take long: Apple has already released iOS 10.3.2 and watchOS 3.2.2 developer betas. The developer-only updates rolled out only a day after iOS 10.3 and watchOS 3.2 were released to the public.
Developer Comments Go Live on App Store, Mac App Store
Good news, developers, you can finally respond to user comments on Apple’s App Store. The promised feature rolled out quietly on Monday while the company was pushing out operating system updates for pretty much everything they make.
Samsung Plans to Refurbish and Sell the Recalled Note 7
Now that Samsung has collected all those Note 7 explode-a-phones, what to do with them? How about put them back out on the market as refurbished. That’s exactly what Samsung is doing thanks to pressure in part from the environmental activist group Greenpeace.
watchOS 3.2 Adds Theater Mode, SiriKit
Apple was busy, busy, busy on Monday rolling out operating system updates for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, Apple TV, and also the Apple Watch. watchOS 3.2 is a welcome update because it adds Theater Mode and SiriKit to everyone’s favorite smartwatch.
Password Protection Comes To Pages, Numbers, Keynotes on iOS, Mac, iCloud
Apple updated its suite of iWork apps across iOS, macOS and iCloud web apps. The feature that stands out the most is the ability to add password protection to your documents using Touch ID. Andrew Orr takes us through the features.
Apple TV Remote Update Adds iPad Support, More
Apple’s slew of updates on Monday also included Apple TV Remote 1.1, which finally adds iPad support to the Apple TV remote control app. Previously, the app was limited to the iPhone and iPod touch.
Apple Releases macOS 10.12.4 with Night Shift, Cricket Scores, Enterprise Features
Apple released macOS 10.12.4 Monday, an update that adds a couple of new features and some other minor improvements. The biggest new feature is Night Shift, technology that shifts your Mac’s display towards the red at the end of your day. The update also adds cricket scores for Indian Premier League and the International Cricket Council to Siri. Apple also added a slew of enterprise-specific features.
Apple Releases tvOS 10.2 with Watch Anywhere Video Rental Support
Along with iOS 10.3, Apple released tvOS 10.2 on Monday. The update for the fourth generation Apple TV added support for renting an iTunes movie on one device and watching it on another.
Apple Ships iOS 10.3 with Find My AirPods, More Siri, Apple File System, More
Apple shipped iOS 10.3 Monday, a significant update to the company’s mobile operating system. Major features include the ability to find your AirPods under Find My iPhone; new Siri integration with third party apps; new CarPlay features, including daily curated playlists from Apple Music; and perhaps most importantly, the official rollout of Apple File System.
Developers: WWDC 2017 Ticket Lottery Opens Today
If you’re a registered Apple Developer Program member and want to go to this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose, today is the day to toss your name into the ticket lottery. Apple is opening the ticket lottery at 10 AM pacific time, and it’s the only way to get a conference ticket.
Steve Wozniak Accepts Award from Startup World Cup, Says 'This One's for Apple'
Steve Wozniak spoke at the Startup World Cup Finale Friday, where he talked about Apple’s early days, his own even earlier days, startup value, and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way. At the end of his keynote, he was presented with a miniature version of the Startup World Cup itself, which he accepted saying, “This one’s for Apple.”
A Robotics Competition You Should Totally Check Out
If you love robots, there are a bunch of robotics competitions happening across the United States right now. Jeff Butts has all of the details about this steamworks-themed event pitting high school students against the clock and their opponents.
Coming Soon To Your iPhone: Over 70 New Unicode 10 Emojis
Unicode 10 will be launched in June and it will include a bunch of new, awesome emojis. There are 69 new emojis in total, and some or all of them may eventually make their way into iOS 11. Someone made mockups on Emojipedia in Apple’s style, let’s check them out.
If You Haven't Changed Your iCloud Password in the Past Two Years do it Now
Trying to extort money out of Apple by threatening to wipe out iCloud accounts and reset iPhones is a business model the Turkish Crime Family hacker team will likely learn is flawed at best, but there it is a great reminder to change your online passwords regularly. The list of iCloud logins the group has looks to be at least two years old, so if you haven’t changed your password more recently than that, it’s time right now.
Apple Store Online, (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7, New 9.7-inch iPad Available Now
As expected, Apple’s online store is back up and running, and you can buy the new (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and 9.7-inch iPad today. That doesn’t, however, mean you can get one in your hands today—unless you’re looking for the red iPhone and can get to your local Apple retail store.