Benjamin Mayo

Apple and Amazon have partnered up to offer three months free Apple TV+, when you subscribe to any streamer on Twitch. The promotion kicks off on July 30, and runs through August 19.

You can sub or gift a sub to someone else, and qualify for the promotion. Separately, the Amazon Appstore is also running a promo for a three 3-months TV+ trial on compatible Fire TV sets.

Apple has joined other tech giants like OpenAI, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft in agreeing to a set of voluntary AI safety rules established by the Biden administration (via Bloomberg).

The safeguards are a first step in the US government having oversight of how artificial intelligence technology develops. Apple’s cooperation comes ahead of the launch of its suite of Apple Intelligence features, starting with iOS 18 this fall.

Apple today premieres its new original series Time Bandits, inspired by the 1980s movie of the same name. Taika Waititi produced and stars in this latest incarnation, also featuring Lisa Kudrow as Penelope, leading a squad across time and space to help save the world.

Eleven-year-old Kevin is the Time Bandits’ newest recruit, a history nerd who is a key aide on the time-travelling missions. This fun, light-hearted, series is designed for the whole family to enjoy. Watch with an Apple TV+ subscription.

In a report from Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg, we are hearing yet again that Apple is trying to tighten the purse strings on Apple TV+, if only slightly. The company seemingly wants to shed the image in the industry that it will pay more than rivals, simply because it is cash-rich.

In contrast to the prior streaming boom frenzy, like other streamers, Bloomberg says Apple is being more particular about what projects it greenlights and is exercising more scrutiny over the budgets of its shows. However, the company is still willing to splash out on big titles, and hunts deals with star-studded actors attached. For just one example, cast salaries for The Morning Show season four will reportedly exceed $50 million, with stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon earning more than $2 million per episode, each.

The new limited series Lady in the Lake, based on the book of the same name, debuts today on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes.

The show stars Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram in the lead roles, as Apple continues to invest in star power with big-budget streaming productions. The seven-episode TV show premieres today, and runs through August 23.

Apple’s acclaimed Apple at Work comedy ad series continues with the return of ‘The Underdogs’, in a new video entitled OOO (Out of Office).

The Underdogs series kicked off during the pandemic summer of 2020, and the company has released a new instalment almost annually ever since, given the popularity of the shorts.

In a bizarre mid-July announcement, Apple has today updated the HomePod mini. Not with any new features or upgrades, however, but with a new (or more precisely, different) choice of color.

You can now order the HomePod mini in a new Midnight colorway. This joins the previous collection of White, Blue, Yellow, and Orange color options. The very similar ‘space gray’ color option has been replaced by the new Midnight option.

Apple’s TV show and movies streaming service, Apple TV+, today announced that it has renewed the limited series Presumed Innocent for a second season.

The first season of the show stars Jake Gyllenhaal in a story based off the popular novel of the same name. The first season is set to wrap up its eight-episode run with a finale on July 24. The renewal announcement is a bit of a shock given the show was originally set up as a limited series …

The tetraprism camera available in the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to 5x optical zoom for the telephoto lens. The smaller 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro did not get this upgrade, retaining its 3x zoom.

However, both the upcoming 2024 iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the same 5x telephoto lens. Ming-Chi Kuo says this camera will have identical specifications as what debuted in the 15 Pro Max. The analyst indicates more significant upgrades are coming in future years …

Way back in January, Apple announced policy changes that would allow Apple Pay rivals to get the same access to the NFC contactless chip inside the iPhone. This includes allowing banking and alternative wallets apps to present themselves when the phone is held near a NFC terminal, or when the user double-clicks the side button.

Following some amendments, the EU has finally announced today that it is satisfied with these concessions, and is closing a four-year investigation into Apple’s alleged anti-competitive practices regarding Apple Pay.

The MLS Season Pass subscription has lowered its price to $49, for access to watch the remainder of the 2024 season. The 50% cut compared to its original $99 price, as of February, reflects the fact that we are now about halfway through this year’s season.

For Apple TV+ subscribers, the additional discount sees MLS Season Pass now available for $39. The monthly subscription price remains unchanged, and the season pass will automatically renew at the standard $99 price in 2025, unless cancelled.

The special EU App Store rules were rolled out earlier this year in response to the Digital Markets Act, which forced Apple to open up the iPhone software ecosystem to include alternatives to the App Store.

So far, not many have taken up the opportunity, in part because of the hefty associated fees and compliance requirements enforced by Apple. Epic Games may be about to make a big splash, however. The company says it is has submitted both the game Fortnite, and the Epic Games Store, to Apple for notarization, as they near a launch.

Apple TV+ today premieres its latest original film, Fancy Dance, which has garnered much critical praise in early reviews. The film stars Lily Gladstone, hot off her Academy Award nominated performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, a prior Apple release.

In Fancy Dance, Gladstone plays Jax, who is caring for her niece Roki since her sister’s mysterious disappearance. The pair set off on a road trip to try and find her sister, Roki’s mother. Meanwhile, Roki’s grandfather invokes a custody battle over Jax. Here’s how to watch …

Via schematics published by 91mobiles, we may have our first look at the upcoming Apple Watch Series 10. It is perhaps not the drastic ‘Apple Watch X’ redesign that has been rumored over the last year, but a straightforward revision from Apple Watch Series 9.

The big change is the inclusion of a larger 2-inch display, which is even bigger than the Ultra’s 1.93-inch display. However, to house the bigger screen, the body of the Watch has also grown, compared to the Series 9 …

Apple has been commissioning original podcasts for a while, but this new one is a bit different. Previously, Apple’s podcasts have all been released via open public RSS feeds, free to all.

However, Apple’s new podcast series, ‘My Divo’, will be released first behind a paywall, accessible via the Apple Podcasts app when the user connects their Apple TV+ subscription. For non-subscribers, the episodes will be released on a weekly basis.

Update: Apple has provided this statement in response to the preliminary findings, saying that it is confident that its rules complies with the law:

“Throughout the past several months, Apple has made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission. We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99% of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created. All developers doing business in the EU on the App Store have the opportunity to utilize the capabilities that we have introduced, including the ability to direct app users to the web to complete purchases at a very competitive rate. As we have done routinely, we will continue to listen and engage with the European Commission.”

From earlier today: The European Commission has formally announced today its preliminary view that Apple is in breach of the Digital Markets Act, surrounding App Store anti-steering rules.

Additionally, the commission is also officially investigating Apple’s ‘alternative business terms’ that allow app developers to release apps outside of the App Store. This includes whether the Core Technology Fee per-install payment structure, and how many steps it takes to allow and install an app marketplace, are in compliance with the DMA rules.

Apple and Meta (nee Facebook) have never been the best of friends, and that relationship has only soured in recent years as the tech giants clash on issues of privacy, app store policy, and much more. Respective CEOs Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg have similarly never talked too kindly about each other, in interviews over the years.

But the AI boom has meant some unlikely partnerships have bloomed. And it seems that Apple and Meta may be able to come to terms on this one specific thing …

Apple announced Friday that three major features for its upcoming operating systems will not be available in the European Union, when iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia ship later this year in the fall.

Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring to macOS Sequoia, and SharePlay Screen Sharing, are impacted and won’t be available, via Bloomberg. In fact, due to regulatory concerns relating to compliance with the Digital Markets Act, Apple signaled that these features won’t be available to European Union customers at all this year.

Apple today announced a new ‘Catch Up’ feature as part of MLS Season Pass. When joining a live stream for a game in progress, viewers can catch up on the action by watching a series of clips of highlights that have already happened during the game.

The Key Plays carousel is offered when you select a game in progress from the TV app main menu. You can also access it any time later, from the video player controls menu.

Earlier this year, it was reported by The New York Times that Apple was nearing a deal to exclusively stream the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup tournament.

However, months have gone by with no official news, perhaps hinting that the companies weren’t close to signing on the dotted line as it first seemed. And today, Bloomberg reports that talks between Apple and FIFA have in fact stalled, with the league exploring different distribution options.