Articles about Apple

Apple has confirmed that its long-awaited wireless AirPower charging mat is not going to be released. The company says quality issues are to blame for the decision.

The product was originally announced back in 2017 and was destined to be a convenient way to wirelessly charge iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods. Its release had been repeatedly pushed back, but now it has been canceled completely

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Apple has done very well financially under Tim Cook, but the company's hardware is starting to lose its luster. iPhone sales are down, and the Mac line continues to be a confused mess -- "Flexgate" and an unreliable keyboard plague the once great MacBook Pro. We still don't have the promised new Mac Pro, and AirPower is missing in action too. While Apple Watch and AirPods are successful, I still hate them both -- the former has a terrible user interface, while the latter can hurt some users' ears (including mine). Quite frankly, I suspect most folks simply use Airpods and Watch as status symbols and for fashion -- their staying power may be limited.

So now, Apple is trying to pivot to services, and that's a very good idea. The problem? Its News+ service is lacking key news sources, such as The New York Times, for instance. Apple TV+ is a Netflix-like video service with exclusive Apple original content, which, let’s be honest, will probably be lame. Ultimately, I don't envision News+ or TV+ being successful. Thankfully, Tim Cook and company seemingly got one thing right today, Apple Arcade -- an upcoming video game subscription service for iOS, macOS, and Apple TV which will offer access to more than 100 premium games.

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Earlier today, at a special event hosted at its the Cupertino campus, Apple took the wraps of its paid news subscription service, but it was really the tech giant’s rumored TV service that everyone was waiting to hear about. And that wait is finally over.

Apple’s new TV and movie steaming service goes by the name Apple TV+ and it will be home to a wide selection of original Apple content.

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At a special event at its Cupertino campus, Apple today lifted the wraps of its revamped Apple News app, which comes with a new premium subscription service called Apple News+. This offers readers access to over 300 magazines and newspapers for a flat rate of $9.99 a month.

Available in the US and Canada to begin with, publications offered by Apple News+ include Vogue, National Geographic, People, ELLE, The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

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Apple had a pretty busy week last week, unveiling new iPads, new iMacs, and updated AirPods.

Today things get even busier for the tech giant as it’s holding a special keynote at its Cupertino campus where it is expected to unveil several new services, including one that aims to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

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Security firm Kaspersky has reported Apple to Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service. The complaint comes after Apple rejected the Kaspersky Safe Kids parental control app from the App Store, saying that the implementation of two "essential" features contravened store policies.

Kaspersky was surprised at the removal of the app as it had been sitting happily in the App Store for some three years. The company believes that Apple has forced the app out of the store because iOS 12 introduced its own Screen Time parental controls -- something Kaspersky views as restrictive and monopolistic behaviour.

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Apple’s AirPods are quite funny looking things, especially when being worn, but despite this the iPhone maker's wireless headphones have proven to be wildly popular.

Following on from rolling out new iPads and refreshing its iMac range earlier in the week, Apple today announces the second generation of its AirPods with a new Apple-designed H1 chip that promises better performance, faster connections, and up to 50 percent more talk time.

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Apple has announced that it is to support initiatives in the US and Europe that seek to improve media literacy. The aim is to "encourage critical thinking and empower students to be better informed" by teaching people how to find reliable sources and avoid fake news.

In the US, Apple is throwing its support behind the News Literacy Project (NLP) and Common Sense, while in Europe it is Osservatorio that will reap the benefits of the company's backing. All three are non-profit organizations that provide nonpartisan, independent media literacy programs.

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Just a day after launching new iPad Air and iPad mini models, Apple has announced the latest updates to its iMac range. The update has been a long time coming; it is well over a year since there were any changes made to the iMac line.

But good things come to those who wait. Apple's updates bring the humble iMac closer to the iMac Pro thanks to the addition of 9th-generation Intel processors and Radeon Pro Vega graphics -- which Apple says doubles performance. Despite the boost, Apple has made the pleasing decision of keeping pricing the same as before.

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Apple’s online store partially closed down earlier today, suggesting new products were about to be released, even though no one was really expecting anything, given there’s a big Apple event happening next week.

It turns out that Apple does indeed have new hardware to share -- refreshed versions of both its 10.5-inch iPad Air and the 7.9-inch iPad mini.

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The battle between Apple and Spotify continues, with the streaming music company labelling the iPhone-maker a "monopolist".

The spat started when Spotify filed a complaint against Apple, saying that the company is stifling competition and limiting user choice with rules it puts in place. Apple responded, poo-pooing the claims, and now Spotify has responded in turn not only accusing Apple of having a monopoly, but also saying that the company's response to the complaint was "entirely in line" with what it expected.

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A couple of days ago, Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission (EC), the regulatory body responsible for keeping competition fair and nondiscriminatory. It claimed the tech giant has, over the past few years, "introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience -- essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers".

Understandably, Apple is none too happy with Spotify’s claims, and today hits back, addressing the music streaming service's key grievances.

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If you opted to replace your iPhone battery on the cheap -- avoiding Apple and opting for a third-party instead -- on a subsequent trip to your nearest Genius Bar you will have found that you were ineligible for repairs.

It did not matter if your problem was in no way related to the battery, Apple took a hard line: if you had replaced the battery yourself, you were getting no further help. But leaked internal documents show that the company is softening. Genius Bar and Apple Authorized Service Provider technicians are now permitted to carry out work on phones with non-Apple batteries.

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Google's Project Zero has gone public about a "high severity" flaw in the macOS kernel after Apple failed to patch it 90 days after being told about the problem.

A security researcher discovered a problem in XNU that means it is possible to perform malicious activities. The security bug related to copy-on-write (COW) behavior, enabling an attacker to manipulate filesystem images without the operating system being notified. Apple was informed of the vulnerability back in November, but has failed to release a patch.

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iPhones are renown for their security -- to the point that even law enforcement agencies have trouble accessing their contents. An Israeli firm, Cellebrite, became well-known when it transpired that hacking tools it made were used by the US government to crack locked iPhones… and now its hacking tools are available to buy on eBay.

For as little as $100-$1000, you can get your hands on a second-hand piece of Cellebrite equipment (a fraction of its usual selling price). For just a few Benjamins, you could get a Cellebrite UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device) and use it for whatever you might fancy.

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