MacRumors

Developers who have been invited to attend the June 6 WWDC viewing event at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California will need to adhere to stricter COVID prevention rules that Apple has recently implemented.

In emails sent out today, Apple informed developers that they will need to wear N95 masks while indoors, and that a negative FDA-approved COVID antigen test is required the day before. Attendees will need to upload their negative test results to Apple's portal before arriving at ‌Apple Park‌.

This is an updated guideline that reflects an increasing number of COVID cases in California and other states. Prior to today, Apple's website said that developers would be required to test three days before the event and that masks would be optional, but that wording has since been removed.

There was some speculation that Apple could cancel the event because the company recently delayed plans to have corporate employees working in the office three days a week amid rising COVID cases, but it appears Apple is instead opting for more stringent protections.

On its website, Apple says that attendees are required to follow its health and safety protocols, which take into account the latest guidance from public health authorities. Apple has assured developers that hand sanitizer stations will be available and surfaces and high-traffic areas will be cleaned regularly throughout the event.

Apple today reminded developers that all apps that support account creation need to have functionality for account deletion starting on June 30, 2022. That means if an app allows a person to sign up for an account, there must be an in-app way to delete said account later on.

The account deletion rule was implemented as part of App Store changes that were introduced in June 2021, and Apple initially planned to require developers to support account deletion by January 31, 2022. That deadline has now been pushed back to give developers more time to make changes, and the rule will officially be enforced at the end of June.

According to Apple's guidelines, apps must make it easy for users to find the account deletion option, and it is insufficient for an app to offer to temporarily disable or deactivate an account. An account must be able to be deleted, along with all personal data.

Apple says that some apps in highly regulated industries can use customer service flows for confirming the account deletion, but apps outside of those industries should not require people to make a call, send an email, or otherwise jump through hoops to delete an account.

Developers can find more information about the account deletion requirements on Apple's website.

Apple today confirmed that the keynote event for the Worldwide Developers Conference will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 6, the first day of WWDC. The keynote will be an online-only event, though a select number of developers have been invited to the Apple Park campus for a viewing event.

In addition to confirming the keynote date and time, Apple has shared the full WWDC 2022 schedule. Following the keynote, the Platforms State of the Union for developers will take place on June 6 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

The Apple Design Awards will follow on June 6 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, and starting on June 7, Apple will provide session videos on all of the new features that are coming to iOS 16, iPadOS 16, tvOS 16, macOS 13, and watchOS 9.

Apple engineers and designers will also be hosting activities in Digital Lounges during WWDC week, allowing developers to engage in technical discussions, get answers to questions, and connect with the community.

Apple recommends that developers download the Apple Developer app to experience WWDC22 and keep up with all of the announcements.

Apple Music is now available directly within Google-owned Waze, offering Waze users easier and safer access to enjoy the ‌Apple Music‌ catalog as they commute from within the Waze app on iOS.

Google announced the new integration in a blog post, saying "with a direct connection between the apps, you can now access ‌Apple Music‌ content directly from the Waze Audio Player." Users should make sure they are updated to the latest version of the Waze app and have an active ‌‌Apple Music‌‌ subscription to integrate the two services.

Two weeks ahead of WWDC, Apple has started notifying winners of this year's Swift Student Challenge, with applicants able to check their status via Apple's website. The lucky winners receive exclusive WWDC 2022 outerwear, a customized WWDC 2022 pin set, and a one-year membership in the Apple Developer Program. As an unexpected bonus, Apple is also providing winners with free AirPods Pro.

WWDC 2022 will be held online from June 6 through June 10, with sessions and other content to be made available on Apple's website and in the Apple Developer app free of charge. During the opening keynote, Apple is expected to announce its latest software platforms, including iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16, and there is always a chance of a hardware announcement or two at the event.

There will be one in-person component of WWDC 2022, as Apple is hosting a special day at Apple Park on June 6 for selected students/developers watch the Keynote and State of the Union videos. Attendees were selected through a lottery.

Linksys today announced the launch of two new WiFi 6 mesh systems for those who are looking for WiFi options that support the fastest wireless speeds. The Linksys Atlas 6 and the Linksys Hydra 6 are the company's two most affordable WiFi 6 mesh systems to date.

The Linksys Atlas 6 is a whole-home mesh wireless system that Linksys says is ideal for hybrid work, online gaming, 4K TV streaming, and more, and that the router is designed to be used with internet service plans that offer up to gigabit speeds.

Each node has three 1GBbE Ethernet ports for connecting to devices, and the system comes in three configurations. The Atlas 6 can be managed with the Linksys app, and it is a mesh system so it can be adjusted with a different number of nodes.

The Linksys Atlas 6 is launching in early summer and will be priced starting at $150. 1-pack supports up to 25 devices and covers 2,000 square feet, the two pack supports up to 50 devices and covers 4,000 square feet, and the three pack supports up to 75 devices and covers 6,000 square feet.

The Hydra 6 is slightly more expensive at $180, and it is a WiFi 6 dual-band mesh router that is aimed at delivering faster, more robust, and more reliable connections, according to Linksys.

It too is designed for service plans up to a gigabit, and nodes have four 1GbE Ethernet ports for wired connections. Linksys also plans to begin selling the Hydra 6 in early summer, and both systems will be available from the Linksys website.

Last year's iPhone 13 Pro models were the first of Apple's smartphones to come with 120Hz ProMotion displays, and while the two iPhone 14 Pro models will continue to feature the technology, their screens could well boast expanded refresh rate variability this time round.

To bring ProMotion displays to the ‌iPhone 13 Pro models‌, Apple adopted LTPO panel technology with variable refresh rates, allowing for a more power-efficient backplane – the part responsible for turning individual pixels on and off. In this way, ProMotion is capable of dynamically producing fast frame rates when users need them, while preserving battery life when they don't.

On the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, however, Apple's ProMotion displays are limited to dialing screen refresh rates between 10Hz and 120Hz. This contrasts with LPTO panels used by the likes of Oppo and Samsung that can drop to as low as 1Hz when viewing a static image or when the device is inactive.

Well-connected display analyst Ross Young says he is "expecting" the ProMotion displays used in the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to be capable of dropping to the same 1Hz low. Depending on how Apple decides to take things, the technology could pave the way for longer battery life or always-on display elements.

As an example, Apple Watch Series 7 models use LTPO displays, which enables them to have the same up-to-18-hour battery life as earlier Apple Watch models despite having an always-on display. Similar to LTPO-equipped Android phones, the same technology on iPhone could display the time, date, and any notifications on-screen at all times without needing to unlock the handset.

Last year, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman suggested Apple could bring similar functionality to the iPhone 13, but that didn't happen. Currently, there are no credible leaks pointing to the iPhone 14 Pro models coming with always-on display features. However, that doesn’t mean Apple won't surprise us. Indeed, if Apple expands the refresh rate variability of its ProMotion displays, there will be no technical limitations to prevent it.

Amazon is offering a few models of the M1 iMac at all-time low prices today. Only select colors are available in each configuration, but all models shared in this article are in stock and ready to ship out today from Amazon.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Starting with the 7-core GPU/256GB iMac, this device is available at $1,199.00, down from $1,299.00. This sale is only available in Blue, and it's a second-best price on this version of the 24-inch iMac.

Next, the 8-core GPU/256GB iMac is down to $1,349.00 in Silver and Orange, from $1,499.00. Shoppers should note that the Silver color requires an automatic coupon to be applied at the checkout screen in order to see this discount price.

Compared to previous sales, this is a match of the record low price on this version of the 24-inch iMac. At this time we aren't tracking any discounts on the 512GB version of the new iMacs, but be sure to keep an eye on our Best iMac Deals guide. There, we keep track of the best iMac offers from Amazon, Adorama, B&H Photo, and other retailers, so be sure to check back often if you're shopping for an iMac for the first time, or thinking of upgrading.

After the last iPod touch was officially discontinued earlier this month, the entire range of iPod models have seen a slight uptick in value, but devices in used condition continue to experience heavy depreciation.

According to trade-in pricing data from over 40 U.S. independent tech resale companies gathered by SellCell, iPods have depreciated by 89 percent on average since their launch, ranging from 98 percent depreciation for some models from 2003, to 71 percent for seventh-generation iPod touch models.

As is to be expected for the last two iPods to be released, the sixth- and seventh-generation iPod touch models are still worth the most, especially in higher storage configurations. The 256GB seventh-generation iPod touch has the best resale value, with owners able to get around $100 for the device providing it is in good condition, while slightly older models with smaller storage configurations sell for just upwards of $60. Older iPod models from 2012 or earlier are worth just $28 on average, with the most valuable model being the 160GB seventh-generation iPod Classic at $61. These iPods have depreciated by around 90 percent owing to their age.

While the average resale value of iPods has remained fairly static over the past six months, there has been a marginal recovery in value of 2.9 percent since Apple's announcement that the final iPod was to be discontinued. Tracked iPod prices show an average depreciation rate of 86.3 percent on May 1, dropping to 83.4 percent on May 16. Most noticeably, the 16GB seventh-generation iPod Nano has seen value recovery of 13.4 since Apple's announcement earlier this month. There may be further improvement for some models over time.

Overall, the data suggests that despite their cult status, most used iPods will continue to depreciate over time. This means that now is likely a good time to sell a used iPod, especially amid heightened interest in the device that has led to some value recovery, and potential further gains in the coming weeks. iPods in new condition, and especially ones that are still sealed, are much more likely to appreciate as collectors' items in the future. The exact impact of Apple's decision to discontinue the iPod on used device resale value will become clearer in the coming months.

Apple today announced new Pride bands for the Apple Watch, with new Pride Edition Sport Loop and Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop options available.

The new Pride Edition bands are available to order today for $49 on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app, and will be available at Apple Store locations starting May 26. The Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop is also coming soon to Nike.com.

This year's Pride Edition Sport Loop features the word "pride" woven directly into the band. The band's color gradient includes both rainbow colors and colors drawn from various pride flags, including light blue, pink, white, black, and brown.

The new Pride Edition Nike Sport Loop "celebrates the full spectrum of the rainbow" and features a matching rainbow-colored Nike Bounce face.

A new Pride watch face is also available today for the Apple Watch Series 4 or later running watchOS 8.6, and iPhone 6s or later running iOS 15.5. Inspired by multiple pride flags, Apple said this new watch face "combines colors to represent the strength and mutual support of the LGBTQ+ movement." The watch face's colorful threads move as the Digital Crown on Apple Watch is rotated, the display is tapped, or the wearer's wrist is raised.

Apple is also launching a new "Shot on iPhone" campaign on Instagram that "captures the essence of artists and figures within the global LGBTQ+ community."

Apple today announced that its in-store "Creative Studios" initiative will be expanding to seven additional cities around the world this year, including Nashville, Miami, Berlin, Milan, Taipei, Tokyo, and Sydney. The program will also return for its second year in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City, London, Paris, Bangkok, and Beijing.

Apple said the initiative is designed to "support young people who face barriers to receiving a quality creative education." The free sessions will connect participants with mentors from Apple and more than 30 nonprofit community partners who specialize in areas such as books, app design, radio, podcasts, photography, film, TV, and music.

"Creative Studios" sessions open to the public will also be hosted at select Apple Store locations, with free registration available on the "Today at Apple" website.

"Our stores have long provided a platform to showcase the great talent of local artists, and our retail teams are proud to play a role in supporting creativity within their communities and creating a place where everyone is welcome," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail and People. "We're enormously grateful to our Apple Creative Pros, our retail team members, and local partners, who together make it possible for us to expand access to free arts education and mentorship to even more communities."

Update: Since this story was published, Mark Gurman has clarified that he was referring only to new Apple Watch Pride bands, not a new "Pride" version of Apple Watch. The story headline has been revised to reflect the clarification.

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Apple will soon announce the launch of a new "Pride" edition of the Apple Watch Series 7, along with a selection of new bands to celebrate Pride Month, based on information shared by Bloomberg journalist ‌Mark Gurman‌.

Over the last four years, Apple has debuted new Apple Watch Pride bands in the month of May, and last year on May 25 the company launched a "Pride Edition" Braided Solo Loop and Nike Sport Loop Apple Watch band, alongside a new Pride watch face.

This year, however, Apple could add something new to the mix by unveiling an actual "Pride version" of its latest Apple Watch alongside the new bands, assuming Gurman's choice of words is accurate.

According to the journalist's sources, updated marketing materials have already been sent to Apple's retail stores including images of the new Pride edition Apple Watch, and they'll be followed by new Pride bands, although they are set to arrive later this week.

In the meantime, Apple's existing Pride variants of its Braided Solo Loop and Nike Sport Loop can still be found exclusively on Apple's online store.

Google Maps' Street View is 15 years old today, and to celebrate, Google is rolling out the ability to view historical imagery when using the service on iOS and Android.

When in Street View mode, users can access the historical imagery by first tapping anywhere on the photo to see information about the location, and then selecting "see more dates" to access the current location's historical imagery.

Google says the feature can show imagery dating all the way back to the launch of Street View in 2007, albeit in locations where it was available at the time. The ability to display historical imagery has been available on the desktop version of Google Maps since 2014, but this is its debut on the mobile app.

Coinciding with Street View's 15th anniversary, Google has also announced that it will deploy a new camera next year to capture more high-quality images in harder to reach places.

In addition to our Street View car and trekker, we're piloting a new camera that will fully roll out next year to help us collect high-quality images in more places. This new camera takes all the power, resolution and processing capabilities that we've built into an entire Street View car, and shrinks it down into an ultra-transportable camera system that's roughly the size of a house cat. But unlike house cats, it's ready to be taken to remote islands, up to the tops of mountains or on a stroll through your local town square.

Google says the new camera weighs less than 15 pounds, allowing it to be shipped anywhere, and it's designed to be modular so that components like lidar can be added to collect imagery with even more helpful details, like lane markings or potholes. The camera can also be attached to any vehicle with a roof rack and operated via a mobile device. "You'll start seeing our new camera in fun Google colors alongside our iconic Street View cars and trekkers next year," says Google.

Google is also taking the anniversary of Street View to again highlight its upcoming new Immersive view for cities. Immersive view uses artificial intelligence and high-quality 3D rendering to simulate real-time data, and the feature is set to launch later this year.

As Apple reportedly plans to switch the iPhone 15 and a number of its accessories to USB-C in the coming years, the upcoming second-generation AirPods Pro charging case will continue to feature a Lightning port, reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.

In a series of tweets, Kuo reiterated his past remarks that the second-generation AirPods Pro will launch in the second half of this year. In the last few weeks, information has emerged that Apple is testing USB-C for the iPhone 15 and its accessories, including AirPods, the MagSafe Battery Pack, and Mac keyboards/trackpads, which still feature the Lightning connector.

The upcoming ‌AirPods Pro‌ will not, however, mark the start of the transition towards USB-C for the AirPods line. "I predict the charging case of ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will still support Lightning, not USB-C," Kuo said in a tweet. All of Apple's AirPods, including the high-end $550 AirPods Max, feature a Lightning connector for charging.

The second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌ will be the first update to the ‌AirPods Pro‌ since their launch in 2019. The new models are expected to feature a new design that gets rid of the stem for an all-ear design, similar to the Beats Fit Pro. Health tracking capabilities, as well as an improved charging case and audio quality, are also expected. For everything we know about the upcoming ‌AirPods Pro‌, see our guide.

Following the May 16 launch of iOS 15.5, Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.4.1, the previously available version of iOS that came out in late March. Because iOS 15.4.1 is no longer being signed, it is not possible to downgrade to that version of iOS after installing iOS 15.5.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date, so it is not unusual that iOS 15.4.1 is no longer being signed.

iOS 15.4.1 was a minor update that addressed an issue that could cause the iPhone's battery to drain more quickly following the iOS 15.4 launch. It also addressed an AppleAVD issue that could allow an application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, which Apple said was actively exploited.

iOS 15.5 added an Apple Cash feature for requesting and sending money, along with new features for Podcasts and a fix for an issue with home automations. It also included several security updates, and those who have not already upgraded to iOS 15.5 should do so for that reason.

Popular Reddit client Apollo today received a notable update that overhauls the notification experience. The app now features custom subreddit watchers that provide alerts when content you're interested in is posted, plus it supports alerts for trending posts in your preferred subreddits.

For those who often use the Reddit Remind Me bots, Apollo now has an option to schedule a notification for a post you want to revisit for an update. The app includes a rebuilt inbox notifications experience, plus there are customizable notification sounds.

In addition, there are 10 new icons to choose from, plus a number of other smaller tweaks and bug fixes. The entire set of notes for the update are available below.

- Brand new, completely redesigned notification experience
- Introducing custom subreddit watchers. Incredibly powerful, you can now create filters and have Apollo watch for interesting content in your favorite subreddits, and get a notification as soon as a matching post exists. So you'll never again miss out on a fascinating discussion about your favorite character Mark in your favorite TV show subreddit, or about PS5 or Xbox sightings in your city's subreddit, or about the squirrels being posted in r/aww. It's so unbelievably handy.
- Trending subreddit posts. With a tap you can turn on trending post notifications for subreddits of your choosing, so when a post in your favorite subreddit does super well, Apollo will send you a little notification to brighten your day
- Remind Me In... tired of summoning "remind me bots" in comments? Apollo can now easily schedule a notification for a post you want an update on, so you can know to come back when OP posts the juicy update they promised
- Completely rebuilt inbox notifications (post replies, comment replies, messages, mentions)
- Probably the best set of icons ever added to Apollo. An absurdly talented crew of designers created some of Apollo's best icons for this update, and guess what, there's like literally 10 of them, ready to make your home screen shine
- A bunch of new custom notification sounds. You can even have A-P-O-L-L-O being typed on a mechanical keyboard as your notification sound!
- Added Video Deblurinator feature/setting which helps with videos not appearing blurry for the first few seconds
- Added option to hide media controls by default when opening media viewer
- Improved album/gallery loading speed
- On profiles can sort user comments and post by time period now
- Greatly improved efficiency with enormous images
- Added option to paste Reddit URL into Search tab search bar to open that link
- Fixed issue where users could be sorted incorrectly in subreddits list
- Option to share watchers via a URL
- Can long-press on Search tab to quickly go to the search bar
- Can long-press on Posts tab to quickly jump to the Jump Bar
- Tweaked Apollo logo for Safari extension
- Fixed bug where it looked like you could edit the text of what you were replying to
- Playback speed options for YouTube videos using API
- Fixed bug where sometimes titles weren't selectable in Select Mode
- Added option to completely hide blocked users
- Fixed missing "Open in YouTube" setting
- Fixed Markdown formatting for long lists of subreddits in comments
- Added pretty icons for long-pressing notification actions
- Underscores can italicize/bold in Markdown editor now
- Fixed bug with favorited users
- Fixed bug where some URLs wouldn't open properly
- Fixed linking of some strange subreddit shortlinks
- Fixed bug where underscores in links could load weirdly in Apollo
- Fixed Open in Apollo redirect loop
- Improved some icons in comment composer
- Fixed weird animation when upvoting a comment with a Wikipedia link
- Fixed bug where custom gestures and Markdown tables could conflict
- Fixed bug where some table-heavy posts could crash (mostly in r/LeagueOfLegends)
- Keyboard opens faster when commenting
- Fixed bug with Face ID/Touch ID
- Fixed bug where the pulsing "live sort" icon for comments would stop animating
- Fixed bug with some Reddit shortlinks
- A ton of other small little improvements

Apollo is free to download from the App Store, but more functionality can be unlocked through Apollo Pro or Apollo Ultra purchases. Apollo Pro is priced at $4.99 as a one time purchase, and Apollo Ultra is priced starting at $0.99 per month.

Apple today started sending out additional invites to developers who applied to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference viewing event at Apple Park, filling the spots of previous invitees who did not respond or who were unable to attend.

The viewing event is set to take place on Monday, June 6, and developers who are invited can attend an all-day ‌Apple Park‌ experience that will include a viewing party for both the WWDC keynote and the Platforms State of the Union discussion.

Developers will also be able to explore the all new Developer Center that Apple built at the ‌Apple Park‌ campus, which will be a special experience as no one knows much about it at this point in time.

Apple took applications for the viewing event through Wednesday, May 11, and informed developers about their status on Thursday, May 12. Developers were required to RSVP by May 18, and clearly there were some chosen who were unable to attend.

The event is limited to a small number of developers, with attendees selected using a lottery system. All members of the Apple Developer Program and Apple Developer Enterprise Program were initially invited to apply, and while the event is free, those picked must travel to Cupertino, California and secure accommodations.

There was some concern that Apple might cancel the viewing party event because of a rise in COVID cases that necessitated pushing back the full return of corporate employees to ‌Apple Park‌, but that Apple is inviting additional developers suggests canceling is not in the cards at this time.

The Worldwide Developers Conference is an online event with the exception of the small viewing party. The keynote is set to begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, June 6.

Apple is one of several companies that have held talks with Electronic Arts (EA) about a potential purchase, according to a new report from Puck.

EA has spoken to several "potential suitors," including Apple, Amazon, and Disney as it looks for a merger arrangement. Apple and the other companies declined to comment, and the status of the talks is not known at this time, but Apple does have an interest in gaming due to its Apple Arcade service.

Disney was a first pick for EA, and the gaming company approached Disney in March to establish a "more meaningful relationship" than licensing deals, but Disney decided not to pursue a purchase. EA also spoke with NBCUniversal and was close to a deal, but the talks dissolved due to disagreements over pricing and structure. EA CEO Andrew Wilson wants to remain at the head of the company following a merger, which could cause issues should Apple opt to purchase the company.

EA is a major game publisher and is known for gaming franchises that include "The Sims," "Battlefield," "Apex Legends," "SimCity," "DragonAge," "FIFA," and more.

There have been some questionable rumors about Apple aiming to compete in the AAA gaming space, releasing titles that rival those available on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but so far the company has stuck to simpler games designed for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Since 2019, Apple has offered the $4.99 per month ‌Apple Arcade‌ gaming service, which has been steadily growing with new titles on a monthly basis. An EA acquisition could give Apple access to a higher caliber of game and a number of highly popular gaming franchises, but it remains to be seen if Apple is serious about getting into gaming in a bigger way.

There is a notable amount of consolidation going on in the gaming world right now, with Microsoft recently purchasing Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion, and Sony purchasing Bungie for $3.6 billion.