Category: Apple Insider

In the ad, which is succinctly titled “Chocolate,” a man begins to eat a candy bar before realizing that he doesn’t have his wallet on him. After frantically checking his pockets, he eventually pulls out his iPhone while in line, applies for an Apple Card, and is able to use the payment method before checkout.

“Get the simplicity of Apple in a credit card. Apply in minutes and use right away,” Apple wrote. “No fees, unlimited Daily Cash back, and you can share with whoever you call family.”

While the Apple Card offers an actual physical titanium card, it emphasizes the use of Apple Pay when paying for goods and services. For example, the card offers 2% cash back on Apple Pay purchases, compared to 1% when paying with the physical card or on other purchases.

The Apple Card, provided by Apple and Goldman Sachs, is available in the Wallet app. Currently, it is exclusive to the U.S.

On Thursday, Musk made his first non-tweet comments about the potential deal since the saga began at a TED event. He explained that “Twitter has become kind of the de-facto town square,” and he believes people should be able to “speak freely within the bounds of the law.”

Speaking of specific changes he would make, Musk said that Twitter should take a hands-off approach to moderating content.

“Any changes to people’s tweets — if they’re emphasized or de-emphasized — that action should be made apparent,” Musk said. “So anyone can see that that action has been taken so there’s no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually.”

Additionally, he says the platform should open-source its algorithms. The platform’s code should be posted to GitHub so users can examine it themselves, he added.

On content moderation, Musk said there there should be little of it.

“I think we would want to err on the side of, if in doubt, let the speech exist,” he said. “I’m not saying that I have all the answers here.”

The outspoken billionaire also noted that he dislikes permanent bans, stating that he thinks “timeouts” are better than any permanent removals from a platform.

Twitter has since confirmed Musk’s bid to purchase the company, and says it will “carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”

According to The New York Times, many Twitter employees are “dismayed” at Musk’s potential acquisition of the platform.

Musk has also recently been sued by Twitter shareholders over a delay in reporting his investment to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If you don’t do anything about it, and if you aren’t using your iPhone at the time, your Apple Watch will tap you with notifications. They will be at least the same notifications that your iPhone provides.

Typically, it will do more, too, as Fitness badges and details of how well your friends are doing with their exercise workout regime usually come to the Watch on its own.

But as long as it’s your own Apple Watch, and not one you set up and manage for a family member, you can change and fine-tune what notifications you get. It’s a quick job to change some or all of the settings. It’s a slower job to determine just what you do and what you don’t want to be notified of.

So expect to spend some time fine-tuning what the notifications are, how you get them, and also when. Here’s what you do on your iPhone to set this up, and then what you can do directly on your Apple Watch.

1. On the iPhone that’s paired to the Apple Watch, open the Watch app
2. On the My Watch section, tap Notifications
3. Scroll down to the list of apps and pick one
4. Choose between Mirror my iPhone and Custom

Depending in the app, that option to Mirror my iPhone may be at the top of the screen or much lower down. But it will always be there, and by default it will usually be switched to Mirror.

Beyond that, each app can offer different options, but they fall into two main categories. There are the general settings, and then more app-specific ones.

As long as Custom is selected, apps should always present at least three options.

• Allow Notifications
• Send to Notification Center
• Notifications Off

If you choose anything except Notifications Off, you then get more options to do with how and when you receive the notifications. By default, you’ll hear a sound and also feel a haptic tap on your wrist, but you can turn either or both off.

There’s then also Notification Grouping. This has three flavors:

• Off
• Automatically
• By App

Since you’ve already chosen whether to allow notifications or not, the real choice here is between Automatically and By App. If you choose By App, then every notification from the app will appear in a list.

You’ve probably seen this. A Reminders notification pops up, for example, but you can see that you can scroll back through several recent ones.

The reason you’ve probably seen this, though, is that the default is Automatically, and it will present your most-often used notifications in this way. Machine Learning tells it when you look at Reminders notifications, for instance, and it figures out what you most want.

All of this is true if an app developer uses all of the options that Apple offers. If they do not, for any reason, then you can find that it’s worse than them just not including all the custom options.

It will mean that you seemingly can’t switch off the notifications at all. That isn’t true, though, it’s only that there isn’t an Off section in that app’s settings.

And instead there are two alternatives. You can choose to Mirror my iPhone and switch off notifications on the phone.

Or on the Watch app on iPhone, you can come back up out of an app’s settings to the main Notifications page. Scroll further down toward the bottom of the screen and you’ll find a section headed Mirror my iPhone.

Each app listed there has an on/off toggle. Just turn any you don’t want off.

Apps should allow you to customize settings, but if they don’t then (far left) you can still turn them off

Just because you’ve allowed notifications to be shown on your Apple Watch, it doesn’t mean that you’ll necessarily see them. For one thing, if you are on your iPhone at the time the notification arrives, it will only display on the phone.

Then for another, you could be in a Focus or Do Not Disturb mode. The Watch and your iPhone might be disconnected, the Watch might be locked.

Or you could just not have time to see what the haptic tap is about.

Now that we’ve had always-on screens since Apple Watch Series 5, there is also the issue that you might want to see a notification — but not have anyone else be able to spot it.

For that reason, by default when you do see a notification, you will now just see a summary of it. Lift your wrist when you feel the haptic tap, or hear the sound, and what you see on screen is a short notification summary.

You can then choose to tap on the short summary to instead get the full detail. If you know you always want the full notification, though, you can say so.

1. On Apple Watch, open Settings
2. Tap Notifications
3. Scroll down and tap to turn off Tap to Show Full Notification

Similarly, when your Watch is locked, it may still show a notification summary. In the same Settings section, you can turn off Show Summary When Locked.

If you don’t look at your Watch notifications when the come in, they don’t stay on screen. Instead, you get a red dot at the top of the screen to indicate that there are notifications waiting.

It could mean one notification or it could be dozens. Swipe down from that red dot and all of them will be displayed as a series of overlapping notifications that you can swipe through.

Irritatingly, they don’t go away. Even if you swipe through and read the lot now, at least a large number of them will be there next time you swipe down to reveal them.

To dismiss the lot, you have to swipe upwards on the list until you get a button marked

Clear All

.

You can also adjust many settings directly on the Apple Watch

It would be great if every app had to offer customizable notifications. And it would be great if there were one switch that changed them all at the same time.

Yet if it takes a while to fine tune what notifications you get, it’s worth it because ultimately you’re just making sure that only the ones you care about get through.

“Loot” is a 10-episode comedy about the downfall of billionaire Molly Novak, who sees her life spiraling out of control after her husband betrays her. After the public downfall, Novak discovers she has a charity foundation, which leads to a journey of self-discovery.

Rudolf, known from “Bridesmaids” and “Saturday Night Live,” will be joined by Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Ron Funches, Nat Faxon, and Joel Kim Booster on the cast.

The show is created, written, and executive produced by Emmy Award-winning creators Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, known for “Master of None” and “30 Rock” respectively. Rudolph is an executive producer, along with Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Renfrew Behrens via Animal Pictures, as well as Dave Becky of 3 Arts. Universal Television will be making the show for Apple.

The first three episodes will debut on Apple TV+ globally on June 24, with one new episode released weekly every Friday.

Back in March, Apple set an April 11 return deadline for its following several delays in its return timeline due to changes in the Covid-19 situation.

The April return deadline was set after a drop in Covid-19 cases and an easing of mask mandates and other pandemic-era restrictions across the U.S.

Although many technology companies and other firms have embraced a hybrid or remote work model, Apple has made it clear that it sees in-office collaboration as a necessary part of working at the iPhone maker.

Apple’s workers won’t be expected to stay in-office every day of the week — at least initially. The Cupertino tech giant is opting for a gradual return strategy that includes working in-office at least one day a week by April 11.

On May 2, staffers will need to work at least two days a week. By May 23, the number of in-person days rises to three. At that point, employees will need to head into the office on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with Wednesdays and Fridays set aside for potential remote work.

Not everyone at Apple is happy with the arrangement, however. Apple employees have attempted to lobby for a permanent hybrid or remote work option. However, Apple has pushed forward with its plans despite those requests.

The Apple Studio Display is unusual for a monitor, as it uses iOS as its operating system to function. Like other Apple hardware, it can be updated with new firmware, but some users are encountering issues when trying to do so.

Posts on the Apple support forum reveal a number of people who cannot perform an update of the firmware. In some cases, users see the message “Apple Studio Display firmware update could not be completed. Try again in an hour. If the problem persists, contact an authorized Apple service provider.”

Others have also seen that the firmware installation is attempted, but it only completes the “Preparing” phase partway, and not concluding.

In one instance where a user attempted to contact Apple for support, they were informed to take the monitor to their local Genius Bar to try and force the update. However, they were quoted a turnaround time of between 24 and 48 hours for the fix, rather than an expected quicker resolution.

Some posts on the Macrumors forums discussing the issue believe the problem could be a server-side issue, since it relates to failed downloads of the software. One user claimed an attempt by a Genius Bar employee to update a demo Studio Display in their local Apple Store also failed to update.

Apple has yet to officially comment on the problem, but a server-side issue would presumably be one that could be fixed without any further intervention by users.

The ability to update the monitor is important, as new firmware can be used to fine-tune features, fix bugs, and add new elements. For example, the webcam quality of the Studio Display have been attributed to a software bug, which could be fixed as part of a software update.

The initial streams of “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV+ took place on Friday, with the New York Mets taking on the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros versus the Los Angeles Angels. However, fans are complaining on Twitter that the inaugural event was subpar.

Complaints covered a number of areas of the broadcast, with arguably the biggest being connectivity. Some fans tuning in to watch the games couldn’t start watching the stream, or had it interrupted.

As well as social media complaints, as reported by iMore, the status website DownDetector reportedly saw a surge of reports during the Nationals-Mets game.

Beyond connection problems, the complaints also extended to the broadcast itself.

Apple’s decision to use clean and minimalist graphics in line with the tech giant’s typical design language was largely welcomed by fans, partly for being free from distracting on-screen advertising. However, the graphics package was also the source of online mockery, due to their seemingly simplistic nature at times.

The commentary team was also under fire from the social media critics, with many saying the announcers were terrible. Complaints included how the announcers talked about subjects other than the baseball game itself, as well as a seeming lack of enthusiasm for on-field events.

While the issues could be put down to “first-night nerves” for the broadcast, it is highly likely that Apple’s broadcast and technical teams will be learning from the experience for the next stream.

The next “Friday Night Baseball” is on April 15, and is scheduled to involve the Tampa Bay Rays against the Chicago White Sox, as well as the Cincinnati Reds versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The support document described a new Apple 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter, noting that users could plug a USB-C cable into “either port on the power adapter.” Additionally, it noted that the adapter has extendable prongs akin to Apple’s current wall plugs.

According to 9to5Mac, which first spotted the document, the support article was removed quickly after being published.

A 35W charger would have enough power output to charge multiple devices simultaneously, including iPhones and Apple Watch. Additionally, the support document indicated that the charger could support USB-C Power Delivery.

Apple has been rumored to be working on more efficient GaN-based power adapters for release sometime in 2022. GaN technology is an alternative to traditional silicon-based power adapters, and are generally smaller, more power efficient, and less heat conductive.

It isn’t clear, of course, if the power adapter mentioned in the support document will be GaN-based — the document made no claims about the technology. In a prediction back in March, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, said that the first of Apple’s 2022 GaN-based chargers would be “about 30W.”

“The White Darkness” is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by David Grann. Apple says the series will be inspired by the true story of Antarctic adventurer Henry Worsley, who will be played by Hiddleston.

Worsley is described as a “a devoted husband and father, a former soldier, a man of deep honor and sacrifice, but also a man deeply obsessed with adventure, manifesting in an epic journey crossing Antarctica on foot.”

Apple says the series will tell “a spellbinding story of courage, love, family and the extremes of human capacity.”

Apple Studios and UCP will produce the show, while Hiddleston will also serve as an executive producer. Soo Hugh and Mark Heyman will co-showrun and serve as executive producers. Theresa Kang-Lowe will also executive produce.

The series marks the second partnership between Hugh, Kang-Lowe’s Blue Marble Pictures, and Apple TV+. Blue Marble Pictures is currently in an overall deal with the Apple streaming service.

“The White Darkness” will join a growing slate of limited series on Apple TV+, which also includes “WeCrashed” and “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.”

The new feature was first discovered by App Store users who noticed that Disney+ was simply informing them of a recent price hike, instead of asking for them to agree to it. Developer Max Seelemann first noticed the change in App Store policy.

The new price hike alert is positioned as a notification, with a prominent “OK” button to dismiss it. If users want to change their subscription, they would need to tap the smaller “review your subscription” button above it.

It isn’t clear if users need to actually press the “OK” button for the new pricing to take effect. Seelemann said he also received an email from Disney+ that essentially told him the price was raising and he was automatically being opted in at the higher rate.

In other words, the new system seems to automatically opt in users to a higher price unless they explicitly opt out.

That’s different from how Apple’s official development guidelines describe how subscriptions are supposed to work. Under current policy, a notification alerting users to a price hike are supposed to have a prominent “Agree to New Price” button.

Seelemann isn’t the only one to notice the updated notifications. Other users also chimed in to say that they’ve seen similar behavior from other streaming apps.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple did not dispute the news. Instead, Apple said that it is currently pilot testing a “new commerce feature we plan to launch very soon.”

“The pilot includes developers across various app categories, organization sizes and regions to help test an upcoming enhancement that we believe will be great for both developers and users, and we’ll have more details to share in the coming weeks,” an Apple spokesperson said.

The pilot test appears to be limited to a select handful of companies like Disney+. According to the report, other developers weren’t able to enable the automatic price hikes on their own apps.