Apple launches new transparency report website showing government data requests from around the world
In recent years, technology companies have been under increasing pressure to be more transparent about the requests for data they receive from global governments. Firms such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook publish regular transparency reports, and Apple is no different.
Now the company has launched a new transparency report website which makes it even easier to trawl through its twice-yearly publication and see how many data requests have been issued by different governments.
Apple stands by its bent iPad Pro
Earlier this week, we wrote about the growing number of people who have complained that their iPad Pro is bent. This is not something that has developed over time, but a problem that was present out of the box.
Apple responded to complaints by saying that the bend that has been noticed in some iPad Pro chassis was not a defect. Now the company has issued a further statement indicating that it believes the tablet's "unibody design meets or exceeds all of Apple's high quality standards of design and precision manufacturing". This is not something an owner of a bent iPad Pro would probably agree with.
Apple now lets you gift in-app purchases
While it has been possible for some time to give iOS apps to others as a gift, you have not been able to do the same with in-app purchases.
Now, however, if you want to buy in-app content as a Christmas present for friends or family (what greater sign of affection, eh?!) you can do so. Apple has changed its App Store Review Guidelines giving developers the option to enable the gifting of in-app purchases.
Your iPad Pro may be bent -- and Apple says it's not a defect
iPhone and iPad have long been subjected to bend tests to see how they hold up to abuse. But what about if your iPad Pro arrived with a bend in the casing? You'd send it back and ask for a replacement or a refund, right? But Apple does not believe that an iPad Pro that arrives bent is defective.
The company has confirmed that a number of 2018 iPad Pro tablets have a "slight bend" in their aluminum casing, blaming the defect on the manufacturing process. Only it's not a defect, remember?
Satechi launches elegant USB Type-C Aluminum Monitor Stand Hub for Apple iMac
Apple's iMac computers are elegant and powerful. The all-in-one macOS desktop computers are used by both home users and professionals alike. In fact, last year, the company even launched the iMac Pro -- a version of the computer with more power and a space gray exterior (the non-Pro models are silver).
Popular company Satechi makes many accessories for Apple products, including the aforementioned iMac Pro. Today, it launches yet another -- a USB Type-C Aluminum Monitor Stand Hub. It will work with both iMac and iMac Pro. This includes older iMac computers without USB-C -- a Type-A adapter is included at no extra charge. Since Apple's all-in-one desktops cannot be adjusted vertically, this product from Satechi allows you to lift it up a bit. In addition, it serves as a hub, bringing ports to the front of the computer for easier access.
Apple hit with lawsuit for hiding iPhone XS notch and making misleading claims in advertising
A lawsuit has been filed with the District Court of the Northern District of California accusing Apple of misleading advertising for the iPhone XS.
The lawsuit claims that not only does Apple disguise the fact that the iPhone XS has a notch, but also that the company made false claims about the pixel count of the handset's screen. The class action lawsuit, Sponchiado & Davis vs Apple, runs to some 55 pages and it makes observations that have been made by fans and critics of Apple alike.
These are the best apps, games, music, movies and more of 2018... according to Apple
The end of the year approaches and so the "best of" lists start to emerge. Jumping on the bandwagon is Apple, providing us with a lengthy list of the best apps, games, music, podcasts, TV shows, and just about everything else digital you can think of.
The charts have not been compiled by simply calculating which apps have proved most popular with user. Apple describes it as "an invariable list of the who's who and what's what from the past year" which is a combination of both "top charts and selects from our editors". Are your favorites featured?
Microsoft says the iPad is fine for six-year-olds, but Surface Go is a 'real computer'
The iPad remains by far and away the most popular tablet, with Apple securing 34.9 percent market share this year, up from 29.9 percent in 2017. The iPad is one of the few tablets to enjoy any kind of growth this year -- the market as a whole was down 13.5 percent during the second quarter of 2018.
Apple’s tablet is therefore the obvious target for any rival companies to aim for, and Microsoft has really gone on the attack with a new holiday ad for Surface Go.
Your iPhone is worth more than it used to be
iPhones have a tendency to hold their value more than other phones -- and it's a similar story with other Apple products. If you were thinking of upgrading your handset to one of the latest models and you're considering trading it in with Apple, you'll be pleased to hear that your old iPhone just became more valuable.
Apple is running a time-limited promotion which means you could bag yourself up to $100 extra credit when you take advantage of the Apple GiveBack program. You could earn up to $300 to put towards your next Apple device.
Apple iCloud working once again in Windows 10 October 2018 Update
The latest feature update for Windows 10 -- the October 2018 Update, aka Windows 10 1809 -- has resulted in chaos for a lot of users. The list of problems with the OS is very long, and diverse.
One of the issues was to do with Apple iCloud, and caused updating and syncing issues with shared albums, as well as preventing new installations. If that’s a problem you’ve experienced, there’s some good news -- it’s now been fixed.
Microsoft market capitalization (briefly) tops Apple (again)
In May 2010, I wrote about Apple's market cap passing top-valued Microsoft; it's only fitting to follow up with an analysis about the unbelievable turnabout that, like the first, marks a changing of technological vanguards. Briefly today, the software and services giant nudged past the stock market's fruit-logo darling. A few minutes after 1 p.m. EST, the pair's respective market caps hovered in the $812 billion range, with Microsoft cresting Apple by about $300 million. By the stock market close, a rally for Apple put distance from its rival: $828.64 billion to $817.29 billion, respectively (Bloomberg says $822.9 billion, BTW). Consider this: As recently as October, Apple's valuation touched $1.1 trillion. But since the company announced arguably record fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on November 1st, investors have punished shares, which currently are down about 21 percent.
Apple has long been a perception stock, even when under the tutelage of CEO Tim Cook company fundamentals deserved recognition. But perhaps Wall Street finally realizes the problem of iPhone accounting for too much of total revenues at a time when smartphone saturation saps sales and Apple pushes up selling prices to retain margins. More significantly: Apple has adopted a policy of fiscal corporate secrecy by stepping away from a longstanding accounting metric. I started writing news stories about the fruit-logo company in late 1999. Every earnings report, Apple disclosed number of units shipped for products contributing significantly to the bottom line. No more. Given current market dynamics, everyone should ask: What is Cook and his leadership team trying to hide?
Apple has some Black Friday deals... but don't get too excited
Apple has a four-day shopping event running from today until Monday, promising shoppers "special offers when you buy select products". Running from the day that is a celebration of commercialism and capitalism, Black Friday, through the weekend and up to Cyber Monday, the Apple Shopping Event is -- unfortunately -- nothing to get excited about.
This is not entirely unexpected. Apple has form when it comes to disappointing Black Friday offers. If you were hoping for massive discounts, prepare to feel let down.
Apple knows 5G is about infrastructure, NOT mobile phones
With Apple shares down more than 20 percent from their all-time highs of only a few weeks ago, writers are piling-on about what’s wrong in Cupertino. But sometimes writers looking for a story don’t fully understand what they are talking about. And that seems to me to be the case with complaints that Apple is too far behind in adopting 5G networking technology in future iPhones. For all the legitimate stories about how Apple should have done this or that, 5G doesn’t belong on the list. And that’s because 5G isn’t really about mobile phones at all.
Just to get this out of the way, I see Apple shares currently presenting a huge buying opportunity. A good Christmas quarter will regain that lost 20 percent, and I don’t see any reason why Apple shouldn’t have a good Christmas quarter.
Now you can use Siri to launch Google Assistant on your iPhone
If you have an iPhone, you use Siri; if you have an Android phone, you use Google Assistant. Right? Thanks to Siri Shortcuts -- and an update from Google -- it's now easier than ever to access Google Assistant on your iPhone with a voice command.
With iOS 12, Apple introduced Siri Shortcuts giving users the opportunity to record their own voice triggers that can then be used to perform different actions. Now Google Assistant supports Siri Shortcuts, so you can access it via Siri.
Surface Pro 6 beats iPad Pro in bend test
Last week, Apple's latest iPad Pro was put through its paces by JerryRigEverything. We're not talking benchmarks of speed here, we're talking durability tests -- the iPad Pro was scratched, burned and bent to see what sort of punishment it could take.
In short, Apple's tablet was found to be extremely bendy. Actually, scratch that… it basically folded like a wet tissue. Now JerryRigEverything has turned its attention to the Surface Pro 6, finding that it is far more durable and able to withstand a bend test much more impressively.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.