Enter our new international giveaway for a chance to win the brand new iPhone 16 Pro.
Robert Downey Jr. Heads to Apple TV+ With New Drama
Apple has given a straight-to-series order for a drama from Adam Perlman and Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey’s Team Downey production company.
Tivoo-Max Pixel Art Alarm Clock and Speaker: $149.99
We have a deal on the Tivoo-Max pixel art speaker from Divoom. It features a 2.1 speaker setup with an active sub-woofer, and the front of the device is a pixel art display you can control with the Divoom Smart app on your iPhone (or Android device). It also has alarm clock features built in, making it an all around device that is fun, too. The Tivoo-Max is $149.99 through our deal.
Arrest Made Following $629K Apple Watch Theft
The Dutch authorities have arrested a second man in connection with a major Apple Watch theft, AppleInsider reported. The haul was estimated to be worth close to $629,000.
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, a branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces, arrested a 37-year-old man from Bulgaria on suspicion of theft of 4,400 Apple Watches. The theft occurred on May 16, when six pallets of Apple’s popular wearable were purloined from the warehouse of a transport company at Schiphol East and driven off-site. The six pallets are said to be worth roughly 530,000 euros — almost $629,000. The authorities identified the suspect based on tips after the case was discussed on “Opsporing Verzocht,” a Dutch television program that details unsolved crimes and asks its viewers for help.
iPad Dominant as Tablet Shipments Grow
The iPad continues to dominate tablet shipments and helped drive growth in the overall tablet market during the last quarter.
Digital Security Is Simplified With Clario for iOS
If you’re not worried about digital security, you should be. Clario, one of the simplest solutions to identity theft, might be just for you..
Lady Gaga to Host Apple Music ‘GAGA RADIO’ Show Every Friday
Starting Friday, August 7, at 2PM ET, Lady Gaga will host GAGA RADIO on Apple Music and every Friday thereafter.
Apple-Owned Dark Sky Shut Down on Android and Wear OS
Dark Sky, the weather app purchased by Apple in March, is no longer available on Android or Wear OS, with users getting full refunds.
Apple Acquisition, Phil Schiller Transition – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-05
Bryan Chaffin and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple’s latest company acquisition, and Phil Schiller’s new role.
What is Instagram Reels?
Instagram Reels is the app’s response to Tik Tok – allowing users to both create and discover short videos on the platform.
Readdle’s PDF Expert for Mac is 50% Off, Normally $80
PDF Expert for Mac by Readdle is a powerful tool and it’s on sale for US$40 (normal price is US$80) until August 12.
Disney+ Subscribers Need to Pay $30 For New Mulan Movie
It was originally scheduled for March 27 but, with cinemas still mostly closed, the live-action remake of Mulan is going to launch on Disney+. However, subscribers will have to pay an additional $30 to get the film, The Verge reported. So far, Apple TV+ subscribers have not had to pay extra for blockbuster movies like Greyhound.
Disney executives walked through the new plan for Mulan’s release during an earnings call with analysts today. The $30 fee will be on top of the $6.99 subscriber fee for Disney Plus customers. The company told Insider that the $30 acts as a purchase — as long as people subscribe to Disney Plus, they’ll be able to access the film. Chapek also made it seem like non-subscribers can pay $30 for the film as well, but The Verge has emailed Disney to confirm.
What is an Apple Fellow? Who Has Held The Role Before?
On Tuesday, Apple announced that Phil Schiller will leave his role as senior vice president of worldwide marketing and become an Apple Fellow. Many people, myself included, have been wondering exactly what such a role might entail. Cult of Mac has a good rundown of what it means and profiles those who have held it before.
This honorary position is one that Apple recognizes for a person’s outstanding contribution to the company in some capacity. But while many newer Apple fans may not be familiar with the role, it’s one that’s been part of Apple dating back to the 1980s — even if this is the first time in more than 20 years that Apple has inducted someone into the club.
This Photographer Shot a Wedding With an iPhone 11 Pro
Jennifer Van Elk wrote a review of the iPhone 11 Pro as a professional camera, using it to shoot a wedding, and the results are stunning.
The best part by far though was that during downtime at the wedding and after the wedding during the ride home we were able to cull and edit the wedding. It was a 45 minute ride home from the wedding. In that time I was able to cull the wedding and edit all the photos in Lightroom on the iPhone 11 Pro. By the time we were home, I was already uploading the gallery.
LastPass Dark Web Monitoring, Security Dashboard Here
LogMeIn announced on Wednesday the arrival of LastPass dark web monitoring, as well as a security dashboard for the password manager.
The new LastPass dark web monitoring feature proactively checks email addresses against a 3rd party database of breached credentials. If that email address has been found in the database, the user will be immediately notified by email and with a message directly in their LastPass Security Dashboard. From there, users will be prompted to update the password for that compromised account.
Apple, UCLA Launch 3 Year Depression Study
Apple is partnering with the University of California, Los Angeles on a three-year depression study.
T-Mobile Launches Standalone 5G Network
In an announcement on Tuesday, T-Mobile said it had launched the world’s first standalone 5G network. It even celebrated the landmark with drone-powered light display.
To celebrate the milestone and the arrival of 5G for the first time in hundreds of small towns across America, T-Mobile used drones to light up the sky over Lisbon, ND, letting people in the small town know “5G is here”. The Un-carrier plans similar celebrations in the future… “Since Sprint became part of T-Mobile, we’ve been rapidly combining networks for a supercharged Un-carrier while expanding our nationwide 5G footprint, and today we take a massive step into the future with standalone 5G architecture,” said Neville Ray, President of Technology at T-Mobile. “This is where it gets interesting, opening the door for massive innovation in this country — and while the other guys continue to play catch up, we’ll keep growing the world’s most advanced 5G network.”
Apple Releases iOS 14 Developer Beta 4
On Tuesday Apple released the iPadOS 14 and iOS 14 developer beta 4. Download the beta profile from the Apple Developer Center.
StarFinder Now Available Via Alexa
Amazon’s sci-fi game StarFinder is now available over Alexa devices, reported CNet. All you have to do is set up the skill and say “Alexa, play Starfinder.”
Starfinder is an exciting example of more experimental game and story formats made possible by voice assistants like Alexa. We’ve seen examples like The Wayne Investigation — a Batman-themed choose-your-own-adventure Alexa skill from 2016 — but Starfinder brings higher production values and a bigger budget to the structure, although Amazon won’t share the exact numbers. Actors like Laura Bailey (The Last of Us, Part II) and Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) voice characters in a cast of 13, selected and recorded by Audible Studios. The acting, sound and music are excellent across the board. Unlike a simple choose-your-own-adventure, Starfinder allows you to select from five characters to play, gives you an inventory of items and checks your stats for performing different actions (say, schmoozing an alien or disarming a bomb).
Apple is Not Discussing Purchasing TikTok
Apple is not currently conducting talks with TikTok, nor does it have any plans to make such a purchase, company sources have said.
New iMac Updates – TMO Daily Observations 2020-08-04
John Martellaro joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss the updates to the iMac and iMac Pro, and whether John might be in the market for one.
NSA Publishes Guide to Limit Location Data Exposure
The NSA recently published a guide on how to limit location data exposure on your devices. Direct link to the PDF here.
The guidelines are geared more for government officials, but the advice itself can be useful for those hoping to stop sending so much location data to tech companies, ad firms, or apps that may then expose it later.
It’s a useful guide, albeit strict.
WhatsApp Linking to Web To Stop Spread of Misinformation
WhatsApp began to pilot a magnifying glass button in chats which guides users to search for information in forwarded messages.
As Phil Schiller Becomes Apple Fellow, Greg Joswiak Becomes VP
Apple announced today that Phil Schiller is becoming an Apple Fellow while Greg Joswiak will become the new senior VP of Worldwide Marketing.
Is This The Last Intel-Based iMac?
Today, Apple unveiled an updated 27-inch iMac. Over on Six Colors, Jason Snell asks the question many of us are undoubtedly pondering – is this the last Intel-based iMac. (I agree with Jason that the answer is probably yes.)
As for the future, is this the last Intel Mac we’ll see? There’s no way to tell, though reading between the lines, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were some more Intel-based Mac releases as Apple progresses through its two-year-long processor transition. But I’d wager good money that the next time we see an iMac update, there won’t be an Intel processor at its heart. And perhaps it will look appreciably different, too.