Apple plans to produce six small-budget movies a year with an eye toward stories that could win Academy Awards, according to The New York Post.


The Post's sources claim Apple wants to spend between $5-$30 million on each movie, and that it has already approached "elevated" directors and other film talent about bankrolling projects with Oscar-winning potential.

Apple is looking to spend $5 million to $30 million per project, sources said, adding that the company is being driven by Netflix’s recent spate of Oscar nominations and win for Best Foreign Film with "Roma" — legitimizing Netflix head Reed Hastings' standing in Hollywood.

"They are taking meetings and hiring," one agency source said of Apple, adding that the meetings are being generated by the company's original feature films unit, headed by Matt Dentler, formerly of iTunes Movies.

According to the report, Apple's search for six small-budget movies is not related to its multiyear agreement to make films with A23, the studio that produced the Oscar-winning "Moonlight."

Apple is working on dozens of original TV shows and movies with high-profile directors, producers, and actors, with all of that content set to be available through a new Apple TV+ app that's going to be released this fall. Check out our dedicated roundup to learn everything that we know so far about Apple's new streaming TV service.

Israel-based software developer Cellebrite, known for breaking into mobile devices like the iPhone to obtain sensitive data, has announced that it can now unlock any iOS device running up to iOS 12.3, which was released only a month ago.


The firm revealed the capability in a tweet posted late Friday advertising UFED Premium, the latest version of its Universal Forensic Extraction Device.

On its UFED web page, Cellebrite describes the tool's ability to glean forensic data from any iOS device dating back to iOS 7, as well as from Android devices made by Samsung, Huawei, LG, and Xiaomi.

The Israel firm describes UFED Premium as "the only on-premise solution for law enforcement agencies to unlock and extract crucial mobile phone evidence from all iOS and high-end Android devices."

If the claims are accurate, Cellebrite's tool will enable authorities to potentially crack the vast majority of smartphones currently available on the market. As Wired notes, no other law enforcement contractor has made such broad claims about a single product, at least not publicly.

Apple continually introduces improvements to the security of its operating systems in order to keep ahead of companies like Cellebrite that are always searching for flaws and vulnerabilities to exploit in order to access the data on locked iOS devices.

For example, in October 2018 Apple's successfully thwarted the "GrayKey" iPhone passcode hack, sold by Atlanta-based company Grayshift, which had also been in use by U.S. law enforcement.

Cellebrite first garnered significant attention in 2016, when it was believed the company was enlisted to help the FBI break into the iPhone 5c of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook after Apple refused to provide the FBI with tools to unlock the device.

The FBI did not use Cellebrite's services for that particular case, but several United States government agencies do regularly work with Cellebrite to unlock iOS devices.

According to Wired's sources, Grayshift has developed tools to unlock at least some versions of iOS 12. If true, the firm is still keeping its cards close to its chest, but probably not for much longer.

Even as Apple works to increase the security of its iOS devices, Cellebrite's brazen announcement suggests the cat-and-mouse game of exploiting vulnerabilities in mobile device software will only become more competitive, as rival companies attempt to grab a bigger share of the market.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

When iOS 13 arrives, iPhones will be able to read a wider range of Near Field Communication (NFC) tags, including the NFC tags often used in official documentation. Last week, The Verge reported that Japan had confirmed its national identity cards would support iPhone through a government-developed app, and now we're hearing that German authorities are also gearing up to make several forms of ID compatible with iPhone NFC interfaces.

Image via iphone-ticker.de
First spotted by tech blog iphone-ticker.de, Germany's interior ministry has announced that iOS 13 will soon allow Apple users to load national ID cards, residence permits, and biometric passports onto their iPhones. At the same time, the federal government's AusweisApp2 will be updated for iOS 13 to support the digital ID function.

In current and earlier versions of iOS, Apple has restricted the NFC reader in iPhones to Apple Pay. iOS 13 removes that technical limitation so that iPhones can scan more NFC chips, but developers must gain approval from Apple before their apps can implement the feature.

In another example of Apple opening up NFC access, the U.K. government recently confirmed that it had reached a deal with Apple to make its Brexit app for EU citizens' residency rights work on iPhones via the NFC chip. According to the German ministry, it and many other states have been in contact with Apple for a long time to negotiate NFC access, so users can expect other countries to announce official documentation support in the run-up to iOS 13's release in the fall.

(Thanks, Chris!)

Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered the commencement address at Stanford University today, sharing his thoughts on privacy, the need to always "be a builder," and how the loss of Steve Jobs made him learn the "real, visceral difference between preparation and readiness."

On the subject of privacy, Cook acknowledged that so many of our modern technological inventions have come out of Silicon Valley, but that recent years have seen "a less noble innovation: the belief that you can claim credit without accepting responsibility."

Cook stressed the importance of not accepting that we must give up privacy in order to enjoy advances in technology, arguing that there's much more at stake than just our data.

If we accept as normal and unavoidable that everything in our lives can be aggregated, sold, or even leaked in the event of a hack, then we lose so much more than data.

We lose the freedom to be human.

Think about what’s at stake. Everything you write, everything you say, every topic of curiosity, every stray thought, every impulsive purchase, every moment of frustration or weakness, every gripe or complaint, every secret shared in confidence.

In a world without digital privacy, even if you have done nothing wrong other than think differently, you begin to censor yourself. Not entirely at first. Just a little, bit by bit. To risk less, to hope less, to imagine less, to dare less, to create less, to try less, to talk less, to think less. The chilling effect of digital surveillance is profound, and it touches everything.

What a small, unimaginative world we would end up with. Not entirely at first. Just a little, bit by bit. Ironically, it’s the kind of environment that would have stopped Silicon Valley before it had even gotten started.

We deserve better. You deserve better.

Image credit: L.A. Cicero/Stanford University
Shifting focus to the aspirations of today's graduates, Cook encouraged each of them to "be a builder," regardless of their chosen occupation.

You don’t have to start from scratch to build something monumental. And, conversely, the best founders – the ones whose creations last and whose reputations grow rather than shrink with passing time – they spend most of their time building, piece by piece.

Builders are comfortable in the belief that their life’s work will one day be bigger than them – bigger than any one person. They’re mindful that its effects will span generations. That’s not an accident. In a way, it’s the whole point. [...]

Graduates, being a builder is about believing that you cannot possibly be the greatest cause on this Earth, because you aren’t built to last. It’s about making peace with the fact that you won’t be there for the end of the story.

Finally, Cook turned his speech to the topic of Steve Jobs, who famously stood on the same stage 14 years ago to give the commencement address.

Cook related the story of his conviction that Jobs would recover from his cancer, even as he handed the reins of Apple over to Cook. Drawing from what he learned in those dark days, Cook emphasized that "your mentors may leave you prepared, but they can't leave you ready."

Calling it the "loneliest I've ever felt in my life," Cook reflected on feeling the heavy expectations of those around him, noting that he eventually he realized he needed "be the best version" of himself and not let those around him and their expectations dictate his life.

Graduates, the fact is, when your time comes, and it will, you’ll never be ready.

But you’re not supposed to be. Find the hope in the unexpected. Find the courage in the challenge. Find your vision on the solitary road.

Don’t get distracted.

There are too many people who want credit without responsibility.

Too many who show up for the ribbon cutting without building anything worth a damn.

Be different. Leave something worthy.

And always remember that you can’t take it with you. You’re going to have to pass it on.

Today's speech at Stanford was just one of several commenencement addresses Cook has given in recent years, including Tulane University just last month, as well as his graduate alma mater Duke University last year, MIT in 2017, George Washington University in 2015, and his undergraduate alma mater Auburn University in 2010.

Apple last week unveiled Project Catalyst, an initiative designed to allow developers to port their iPad apps to the Mac.

At the time, Apple named several partners, including Twitter, and today, Twitter provided more detail on its upcoming Mac app.


Twitter says that it will leverage its existing iOS codebase to bring Twitter to the Mac, but will add native Mac features on top of its existing iPad experience to make the app better suited for the Mac.

We are excited that Project Catalyst will enable us to bring Twitter back to the Mac by leveraging our existing iOS codebase. We'll also be able to add native Mac features on top of our existing iPad experience, while keeping our maintenance efficient as we continue to improve this shared codebase in the years to come.

Twitter previously had a Twitter for Mac app that was discontinued in February 2018 with Twitter directing Mac users to instead use the Twitter for web experience.

The prior Twitter for Mac app never received much attention for Twitter. In 2015, the company said that it would refocus its efforts on building new features into the Mac app, but even after new features were added, the app didn't catch on and earned largely negative reviews in the App Store.

According to Twitter, the prior version of the Mac app was discontinued because it was not sustainable to maintain two separate codebases. Twitter wanted to focus on web and mobile instead of Mac, but with the new Twitter for Mac able to use the existing iOS codebase, there's less work to be done to make a Mac app available.

The new Twitter for Mac app will use our existing iOS codebase, rather than being built from a separate codebase, following the same successful strategy we've used with Web to expand our supported clients. By supporting key Mac-specific behaviors on top of our iOS code, we will be able to maintain feature parity across our iOS and Mac apps with relatively low long term maintenance costs.

Twitter says the upcoming Mac app will have full feature parity with other Twitter platforms plus additional changes like resizable windows with dynamic content, multiple windows support, native notifications, drag and drop, and keyboard support.

Apple retail stores and the Apple online store are now carrying the Activ5, a fitness device designed by Activbody.

Described as a portable isometric-based strength training device with digital coaching, the Activ5 coaches users through each isometric exercise, measures maximum strength for each exercise, and communicates this to an iPhone.


The device itself is a small pad that's outfitted with a number of pressure sensors inside.

The Activ5 is personalized to each user to create a challenging but achievable workout. Each workout pose is demonstrated in the app, and the device itself is able to tell users to push harder or less hard throughout the workout. Every detail of the workout is tracked via the app, providing fitness stats for each exercise.


There are more than 100 full body workouts available based on isometric exercises, which are designed around contractions of a specific muscle or group of muscles. Activbody says that the average strength gain for Activ5 users is 30 percent.

Because the Activ5 is portable, it can be taken to work, used at home, used in a bar, a plane seat, or anywhere else with workouts provided for different situations. Exercise is gamified through various games you can play in the app.


The Activ5 has an Apple Watch app to untether workouts from the iPhone, and it integrates with Apple's HealthKit so workout information is uploaded to the Health app. The Apple Watch app offers up exercise and heart rate tracking as well as calculating calories burned.

The Activ5 can be purchased from the Apple online store and Apple retail stores starting today for $130.

Apple and Madonna have teamed up to launch new Today at Apple Music Lab classes where attendees will go hands-on with Crave, a track from Madonna's latest album, and will be able to remix it.

The Today at Apple session will also walk students through deconstructing the song, and there will be details on what inspired her.

Go behind the making of a hit song featuring your favorite Apple Music artists in this series of Music Lab: Remix sessions. Exclusively in Apple Stores, you'll get hands-on with a track direct from the artist. In this session, you'll deconstruct Madonna's song Crave, find out what inspired her, and create your own version of the song using GarageBand on iPhone. Devices will be provided.

Madonna shared the news on her Twitter account this morning, and Today at Apple classes for the Music Lab: Remix Madonna are now available. Attendees can book starting now, with classes kicking off a bit later in June.

The Remix Madonna classes are available at Apple Stores in the United States as well as other Apple retail locations around the world.

Madame X ’s exclusive Music Lab is here! Remix #Crave at Apple Stores around the world. 🔥 🎧 Starting now, you can reserve your spot for an upcoming #todayatapple session here: https://t.co/NZ0rnqxF8F @applemusic #remixmadonna pic.twitter.com/XH8nyO91bk

— Madonna (@Madonna) June 14, 2019

Apple has also teamed up with other well-known musicians to create Today at Apple Music Lab curricula. There's a Beat Making class co-created with Swizz Beatz, for example.

Mattel's Hot Wheels brand is getting a major digital upgrade with the launch of the Hot Wheels Smart Track Kit, Race Portal, and Hot Wheels id vehicles, all of which are available exclusively from Apple starting today.

With the Hot Wheels Smart Track Kit, Hot Wheels id vehicles can be raced on a track that incorporates digital tracking elements through an app on the iPhone or iPad. The system allows users to keep track of speed, count laps, build a digital garage, and more, providing a mix of physical and digital play.


The new Hot Wheels id setup includes 51 die-cast cars with NFC tags that are going to be released in six mini collections throughout 2019, with each vehicle to be priced at $6.99. Each car can be leveled up digitally, with challenges available to break race records.


Launch vehicles include the Corvette C7R, SRT Viper GTS-R, 2016 Mercedes AMG GT, Aston Martin One-77, Howlin Heat, Motosaurus, Shark Hammer 2.0, and Arachnorod.


There's a Hot Wheels Race Portal ($39.99) for connecting classic Hot Wheels track and scanning Hot Wheels id vehicles to measure speed and count laps via infrared sensors, and then there's a Hot Wheels Smart Track ($179.99), which provides a whole kit so kids can jump right into racing.


The Smart Track has been designed to boost speed and enhance racing, jumping, and crashing, while also keeping track of total distance traveled by each car. Mattel says the track includes the most powerful booster the Hot Wheels brand has ever made for maximum speed.


Each component can be purchased separately, but the Race Portal includes two id cars (and can be used with existing Hot Wheels track you might have), while the Smart Track is a set that includes the track, a Race Portal, and two exclusive id cars.


You can use the Hot Wheels id system with the free Hot Wheels id app, which provides a virtual garage and features for racing, collecting, and more. Gameplay modes include Collection, Portal play, Smart Track play, and digital racing.

Hot Wheels id vehicles, the Race Portal, and the Smart Track Kit can be purchased today from the Apple online store and from Apple retail locations. Vehicles are priced at $6.99, the Race Portal is $39.99, and the Smart Track Kit is $179.99.

Huawei today confirmed it is delaying the launch of its Mate X foldable smartphone from June to September for quality assurance purposes.

Huawei's Mate X
A spokesperson for Huawei said the Chinese smartphone maker is being more "cautious" after some reviewers experienced embarrassing display issues with Samsung's foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold. "We don't want to launch a product to destroy our reputation," the spokesperson told CNBC.

Samsung delayed the launch of the Galaxy Fold back in April and plans to announce a new release date "in the coming weeks," according to CNET.

Last month, the Trump administration added Huawei to a trade blacklist over alleged national security concerns, effectively forbidding U.S. companies from doing business with the Chinese smartphone and telecom giant, but a Huawei executive said that supply chain issues are not behind the delay.

Huawei is instead postponing sales of the Mate X in part to improve the quality of the device's folding screen, said Vincent Peng, a senior vice president at Huawei, on the sidelines of a Wall Street Journal tech conference in Hong Kong.

Adhering to the ban, Google parent company Alphabet previously said it will no longer license Android to Huawei for its smartphones after a 90-day reprieve granted by the U.S. government expires in August. In this event, Peng said Huawei could have its own Hongmeng operating system ready by early next year.

"Our preference will of course be Google and Android as we have been partners for many years," said Peng, according to Reuters. "But if the circumstances force us to, we can roll out Hongmeng in six to nine months."

It is unclear if Apple will ever release a folding iPhone, but it has certainly explored the idea in patents. The technology is not cheap, with Huawei's Mate X expected to start at $2,600 in the United States, and clearly is not without its issues either as evidenced by Huawei's and Samsung's struggles.

As part of the deal allowing cable companies Comcast and Charter to sell iPhones for their respective mobile services, Apple has required them to also sell large numbers of other devices, reports CNBC.

Both Comcast and Charter have wireless services as part of an MVNO agreement with Verizon. Comcast offers Xfinity Mobile with approximately 1.5 million subscribers, while Charter offers Spectrum Mobile with approximately 300,000 subscribers.


The two cable companies wanted to be able to offer the iPhone in an effort to better compete with the four major carriers in the United States -- Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile -- and as part of the deal allowing Comcast and Charter to sell iPhones, Apple made them agree to sell other devices too.

The iPhone's popularity made it impossible for Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile to compete without offering it, according to CNBC's sources, which meant Apple had "ample leverage" in deal negotiations.

Specific terms of the two deals are not known, but Comcast is required to sell a certain number of iPads, which CNBC says is in the thousands, at a subsidized cost. Comcast is required to pay the difference between the discounted price and the retail price.

Comcast offers the cellular 6th-generation iPad for $422.99, a discount from the standard $459 price. Comcast also sells cellular versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, the 10.5-inch iPad Air, and the 7.9-inch iPad mini, all at discounted prices.

Subscribers are promised a $15 per month credit applied to their monthly statement for any iPad purchased.

Charter's deal is different and involves the Apple TV, which Charter offers as an alternative to a traditional cable box.

Charter sells Apple TVs at $7.50 per month for 24 months - or $180, the retail cost of an Apple TV. Alternatively, a customer can lease a Charter set-top box for $7.50 per month. In other words, Charter offers an Apple TV at the same price as a Charter set-top box, but a customer ends up owning the Apple TV and returning the Charter box. Charter has become the largest third-party seller of Apple TVs because of the agreement, two of the people said.

According to CNBC, there are benefits in these deals for Comcast and Charter beyond being able to offer the iPhone. iPads and Apple Watches "enhance the value" of the Comcast wireless service, and the Apple TV offers a better navigation interface for Charter customers.

Many of Apple's carrier partners around the world also sell Apple devices other the iPhone, much like Charter and Comcast.

Apple at the 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference introduced watchOS 6, the latest version of the software designed for the Apple Watch. watchOS 6 brings some notable improvements to watchOS, including new apps, a dedicated App Store, new watch faces, updated health features, and tons more.

watchOS 6 is limited to developers and won't be available as a public beta ahead of its fall launch, so we thought we'd take a look at the software to give MacRumors readers a hands-on look at what's coming to the watch later this year.

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For the first time, watchOS 6 brings a dedicated App Store to the Apple Watch, letting you search for, browse, and download apps right on your wrist even when an iPhone isn't available. The update also further untethers the watch from the iPhone, as it allows developers to create apps that are just for the Apple Watch and don't need to be tied to a companion iPhone app.


There are also some exciting new APIs that will bring new functionality to third-party apps, including a new runtime API for accessing sensor data for a longer period of time. The longer runtime API will lead to apps that can, as an example, guide you through a meditation or a workout.

A new streaming audio API will let third-party apps stream audio for the first time, so you can listen to streaming content with just your watch. Streaming audio support was previously limited to Apple Music.

There are quite a few new watch faces in watchOS 6, including Numerals Mono and Numerals Duo, focusing on huge numbers; Modular Compact, which puts an analog watch face next to larger complications; a gradient watch face that shifts over the course of the day; a Solar Dial watch face that visualizes the sun in a 24 hour path around the dial; and the California watch face, which offers standard analog dials and a mix of regular numbers and roman numerals.


With the exception of the Numerals Mono and Numerals Duo watch faces, the new watch face options are designed for the larger display of the Series 4 and are limited to the Series 4 devices. Though not part of watchOS 6, Apple in June also debuted new Pride watch face options.

Apple added a Taptic Chimes feature in watchOS 6, designed to provide a silent touch on your wrist at every hour. If sound is turned on, you'll hear an audible chime. Another new feature, holding two fingers on the watch face, lets you hear the time spoken out loud.

There are several new apps on the Apple Watch, including Audiobooks, Voice Memos, and Calculator, which lets you do calculations right on your wrist and even calculate tips and bill splits. There's also a new Noise app for tracking the decibel levels of environmental sound or music you're listening to on your earbuds to make sure you're not accidentally damaging your hearing health.


The Noise app is designed to send you a notification if it detects a decibel level over 90 decibels, which can impact hearing over time. Noise is a feature limited to Series 4 Apple Watch models.


Reminders has an iOS 13-style redesign, Messages supports Animoji stickers, and there's also a new Cycle Tracking app designed to let women track their menstrual cycles.


Activity Trends, viewable on the iPhone, is a new watchOS 6 feature that compares various fitness metrics from the last 90 days to the last 365 days to chart your progress and to make sure your overall fitness trends are improving.


There are new complications, many of which are related to new apps and features. You can see a measurement of the current wind speed or the chance of rain, and a Noise complication provides a meter of the current decibel level. Voice Memos lets you quickly record a memo, cellular strength provides a readout of the current signal level on an LTE Apple Watch, and Calculator opens up the Calculator app.


Siri can provide full web search results when asked a question, and Siri is also able to identify songs via Shazam even when an iPhone isn't nearby. For Mac users, the Apple Watch can now approve security prompts when the side button is tapped, and it will also now display Apple ID verification codes when logging into an Apple account on a new device or browser.


When it launches in the fall, watchOS 6 will be available on all Apple Watch models with the exception of the original Apple Watch, released in 2015. For more on what's new in watchOS 6, make sure to check out our watchOS 6 roundup.