What is an AirTag? Traditionally, Apple is very good at keeping secrets when it comes to new products. In the case of its AirTag tracker, the secret was never whether they’d arrive, but rather, when. Rumors about Apple entering the item tracking business go back many years, as did the likelihood the new products would receive the AirTag name. And yet, each new Apple event came and went, and the trackers were nowhere to be seen....
Le Figaro, a well-respected 186-year-old French daily newspaper, just reported that Apple’s Vice President and General Manager for Europe, Middle East, and Africa Pascal Cagni resigned yesterday. During his 12 years at Apple, according to Le Figaro, the French executive stimulated Apple’s sales in hundreds of countries. He also engaged in the development of the iPod, iPhone, and the AppStore platform, while helping to expand Apple Stores. Cagni joined Apple as the Vice President of Europe in 2000, according to Apple’s website, and before that he worked at NEC/Packard Bell Europe as the Vice President of Consumer Products....
Yesterday, a bunch of people noticed that iCloud sharing links to their shortcuts were no longer working, instead reporting a ‘Shortcut Not Found’ error message. For people that have built up archives of hundreds of hundreds of shortcuts online, this was pretty concerning. Apple was not immediately responsive to the community and the issue persisted through all of yesterday with no official comment on the matter, leaving a few people to worry that the links would be broken indefinitely....
Apple has begun running two new television commercials for the iPad mini. The new ads build out a series that started with Apple’s iPad mini Garageband ad; a commercial that demonstrates the iPad mini’s equal software capabilities to the full-sized iPad. The new ads focus on iBooks and iPhoto. The first ad shows the iBooks application and reading on the iPad mini, and the second ad shows the iPad mini’s photo viewing capabilities and advanced editing functions via the iPhoto App Store app....
There’s a growing number of Apple Store workers around the world pushing to unionize, and one store in Maryland has already made the jump. Now, a group of Apple retail workers in Australia has voted to strike next week as they battle with Apple to get the company to agree to a deal and endorse their unionization. In a similar vein, a new report from Bloomberg today says that Apple will “withhold its latest employee perks” from the unionized retail store in Maryland....
Update: Apple has added some the iMac Pro short films to its YouTube channel, as well. View them here. To promote the powerful iMac Pro, Apple today has released a series of short films created by filmmakers and CG artists using the all-in-one machine. Each film was put together primarily with the iMac Pro, though some of the 3D graphic renderings required “additional equipment.” Among the creators involved are designers from Buck, Erin Sarofsky of Sarofsky Inc, motion graphics artist Esteban Diácono, 3D artist Luigi Honorat, design and motion studio ManvsMachine, and Imaginary Forces director and designer Michelle Dougherty....
While it may sound like a useless feature at first, setting a passcode on Apple Watch does add a level of security and also adds some nifty features. Unlike the iPhone or iPad, you only have options for a numeric passcode on Apple Watch, since watchOS has no native keyboard support. However, you do have options for a 4 or up to 10 digit passcode for Apple Watch. Follow along as we walk you through how to enable a passcode on Apple Watch....
Update: Yet another story has now emerged of the Apple Watch saving a man’s life. This time, Men’s Journal has the full story. Time and time again, Apple Watch has been credited with warning users of severe health problems. Now, a new story out of New York shows yet another case where a person’s Apple Watch was first to tell them to seek medical attention… As reported by NBC New York, William Monzidelis was working at his family business when he became dizzy and went to the bathroom....
Market research firm IHS Markit says that LG became the world’s largest supplier of OLED smartwatch displays thanks to its lead over Samsung in Apple Watch orders … Business Korea has the numbers. Although Samsung makes its own range of smartwatches, they don’t come anywhere close to Apple Watch sales, and LG is the Cupertino company’s lead supplier. Samsung, however, still appears poised to pick up the bulk of orders for this year’s OLED iPhone screens....
A bit of legal news this evening: U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh issued a preliminary injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States late this evening, according to Reuters. Apple has fought worldwide for close to a year to get an injunction against a slew of Samsung products, claiming Samsung “slavishly” copies its products. The folks in Cupertino are most likely celebrating this evening, after working hard to protect the hot-selling iPad....
Jason Momoa has a purple suit for the Joker movie premiere. With only a matter of days left to go before Todd Phillip’s Joker movie finally hits theaters, it can perhaps seem hard to believe that to date, despite how much has been written and said about the film, it still hasn’t been officially released. Although there’s been ample anticipation for Joker by DC fans ever since it was revealed that Joaquin Phoenix would take on the challenging role of Arthur Fleck and his villainous alter ego of the Joker, the intense buzz around the film didn’t really get going until late this summer when it took the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival....
Just like other modern store locations, Apple Burlingame features an entirely glass facade with floor to ceiling windows running the entire width of the building. Large slabs of stone wrap the side of the building, interrupted only for a large Apple logo and rear windows. The store originally opened in 2003 and occupied the same location, but you’ll find little reminder of the old architecture now. Every surface has been redone....
Apple has been pushing hard for users to upgrade to the iPhone 13 line, but the company doesn’t think Android phones are worth a big value, even when trading in for a new iPhone. As spotted by MacRumors, Apple has changed the estimated trade-in value for users that want to turn in their Android phones for a brand-new iPhone. Previously, you could get up to a $545 discount at Apple Store, and now the maximum you can get is $405....
Apple has today shared a handful of new ads, focusing on security, ease of use, and environment. The series of ads have a tagline that read switch to iPhone, showcasing features that are better on the iPhone compared to its competitors. The videos are 15 seconds in length and are titled Environment, Safe, Ease, and Apple Support. The ads are pretty self-explanatory, and are meant to be lighthearted. Apple has mainly been focusing on iPhone X in its most recent ads, so seeing these are a breath of fresh air....
Apple is the target of yet another patent infringement suit. According to a new report from Reuters, Israeli start-up Corephotonics has filed a patent suit against Apple alleging that the dual-camera technology used in the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus infringe on its patented technology… Corephotonics CEO David Mendlovic claims that he approached Apple about a partnership but with little success. Apple reportedly praised the company’s technology and even said that “it could infringe” on the patent “with little consequence....
During Apple’s Q4 earnings call, CFO Luca Maestri shared more details about the company’s growth when it comes to paid services. Moving close to the one billion mark, Apple now has more than 900 million paid subscribers. For its fiscal Q4 performance, Apple saw its Services revenue up 5% YoY to $19.19 billion. An important part of that is the number of customers subscribed to products like iCloud storage, Apple Music, Apple TV+, the Apple One Bundle, and more....
Apple’s enthusiasm for its retail expansion in Japan hasn’t been tempered. First in Shinjuku and later Kyoto, the company celebrated each of this year’s store openings with custom graphics and promotional videos. 2018’s new stores were even teased ahead of an official announcement to build excitement. Apple’s visual spectacle continues for its October 26th store reopening in Shibuya, which was announced yesterday evening. For the first time, a new store for 2019 has also been teased....
Most keyboards have a function row, which includes function keys that enable quick adjustments like screen brightness, media controls, and more. As iPad keyboards are generally more compact, they don’t have these function keys — which can be a downside of Apple’s Smart Keyboard and Magic Keyboard. We’ve found evidence in code that suggests the existence of new keyboard shortcuts to change the brightness of the iPad screen or even the backlight of the keyboard....
Apple TV+ is an upcoming subscription video on-demand service provided by Apple Inc. Since we’re on the cusp of Apple TV+’s launch, we can’t help but look at all they have in store for audiences and potential subscribers. Right now, the service has original programming starring the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carrell, Jason Momoa, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon. But something worth paying attention to as well is Apple TV+’s inclusion of some youth-oriented programming....
We’re heading into the weekend with all of today’s best deals, headlined by some of the first discounts on the all-new Apple TV 4K/HD with Siri Remote from $139. That’s alongside a new Apple shopping event at B&H and Anker iPhone accessories starting at $13. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. All-new Apple TV 4K/HD deals from $139 Apple authorized retailer Expercom is ending the week by offering some of the very first discounts on the all-new Apple TV with Siri Remote....
