Court orders Apple to withdraw misleading statement about iPhone availability
As part of its ongoing legal battles with Qualcomm, Apple was last month banned from selling the iPhone 7 and 8 in Germany. Despite this, the company issued a press release stating that the handsets would remain available through thousands of resellers.
Now a court has ordered Apple to stop making this claim, with the ruling describing this section of the press release as "misleading" and "potentially deceptive".
Verizon gives free Apple Music to (some of) its unlimited customers
Streaming music is all the rage these days, and for good reason. It is affordable and convenient -- long gone are the days of spending $20 for a single CD. Seriously, folks, that is what many albums were selling for before Napster and other piracy offerings leveled the playing field. Nowadays, for a paltry monthly fee, you can access more music than you can possibly listen to in your lifetime. It rules.
There are many quality services from which to choose, but my favorite is Apple Music. It works well on my iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, but also, it is compatible with Windows, Android, and Amazon Alexa too. Sadly, there is no web version, but I digress. I happily give Apple $10 each month to be rewarded with a great music listening experience. If you are a Verizon unlimited customer, you may no longer need to pay for Apple's streaming service. You see, the cell provider will now be providing complimentary access to some of its customers.
Apple releases expensive battery cases for iPhone XS, XS Max and XR, with wireless Qi charging
If you're a heavy user of your iPhone, you'll be aware of the need to keep your battery topped up. You could carry around a battery pack, or you could stick your charger in your pocket in the hope that you'll be a near a power outlet. Or, you could invest in one of Apple's official charging cases.
The iPhone-maker has just launched a trio of smart battery cases -- for the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR -- which allow you to protect and charge your phone at the same time.
Privacy-centric DuckDuckGo shuns Google and turns to Apple Maps for location-based searches
With the emphasis it places on privacy, it should come as little surprise that search engine DuckDuckGo is less than keen on Google. The latest demonstration of this is the company's decision to eschew Google Maps in favor of Apple's MapKit JS framework to power its map-related searches.
DuckDuckGo says that this brings users a "valuable combination of mapping and privacy", both on the desktop and on mobile.
After its profit warning, Apple slashes iPhone production by 10 percent
It's not all that long since Apple celebrated becoming a trillion dollar company, but then just last week it issued a profit warning and its value plummeted. Hot on the heals on this comes the news that Apple is cutting production of new iPhones for the current quarter by a significant amount.
The Nikkei Asian Review reports that Apple is slashing production of its current trio of iPhone models by 10 percent in the January-March quarter.
New Apple support page addresses the issue of bent iPad Pros
A number of complaints came to light recently from iPad Pro owners who were unhappy to discover that their expensive Apple tablets were bent. Apple responded to these complaints by saying that the iPad Pro's unibody design "meets or exceeds" all of its high standards.
Now the company has gone further, publishing a support page explaining the manufacturer and testing process of the iPad Pro, and explaining that the way the tablet is made is the reason some people see a bend. Apple insists, however, that an bend should be within a tiny 400 micron tolerance.
Shares plummet following Apple's profit warning, blamed on China, lower iPhone sales and cut-price battery replacements
After Apple issued a profit warning, indicating that it believed first quarter revenue will be lower than previously expected, shares in the company dropped by as much as 9 percent in early trading, and the effects were felt by other companies as fear mounted that Apple's troubles could spread wider.
Tim Cook issued a letter to shareholders, warning that "our revenue will be lower than our original guidance for the quarter". He cites a number of reasons for the revised figures, including the timing of iPhone sales, the strength of the dollar, market saturation, and lower than expected numbers of iPhone upgrades -- this being partly blamed on the high uptake of Apple's reduced-price battery upgrade program introduced a little over a year ago.
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.