MacRumors.com needs your permission to enable desktop notifications when new articles are published. X

New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

Porsche Taycan EV to Include Integrated Apple Music App

Tuesday August 20, 2019 3:27 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Porsche has partnered with Apple to integrate Apple Music into its forthcoming Taycan EV, the German car manufacturer revealed on Monday (via TechCrunch).


The announcement means owners of the all-electric sports car will be able to access Apple's music streaming service via the car's touchscreen infotainment display without having to connect a smartphone.

This is the first time Apple Music will be available as a native app in any vehicle. Previously the only way to access the service was by pairing a phone via Apple's proprietary CarPlay dash interface.

Porsche says CarPlay will also be included in the Taycan EV, but customers will get direct access to Apple Music's library of songs, curated playlists, and Beats 1 radio station through the car's built-in cellular connection.

All they'll need to do is link their Apple ID with their Porsche account, after which they'll be able to control Apple Music using the Taycan's voice assistant system.

Porsche says users will also be able to create a custom Apple Music station from any song they hear while listening to broadcast radio. The German car manufacturer also plans to release exclusive playlists that will only be available through Apple Music.

Porsche intends to give new and existing customers free access to Apple Music for six months. TechCrunch reports that it also eventually plans to add the Apple Music app to all of its new vehicles that can support the service.

Apple Music costs $9.99 a month for an individual membership. The streaming service recently surpassed 60 million subscribers, and making it available natively in cars makes sense given Apple's increasing reliance on services as a source of revenue.

The partnership arguably mirrors the deal Apple has with Samsung to integrate iTunes movies and TV shows, as well as AirPlay 2 support, into its latest smart TVs.

The all-electric Porsche Taycan is set to be unveiled in early September, and should be on sale before the end of the year.

Tags: Porsche, Apple Music Guide
Show Full Article
1 comments

Alexa to Support Apple Music Streaming in Germany From Today

Tuesday August 20, 2019 2:04 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple Music will be available to stream on German Echo devices via Alexa from today, reports regional tech blog ifun.de.


We've not received official confirmation, but if Germany's Alexa rollout follows a similar pattern to other countries, it should mean Apple Music subscribers who own an Echo device, Amazon Fire TV, or Alexa-enabled Sonos speaker will soon be able ask Alexa to play songs, artists, playlists, and more from Apple Music.

This functionality first launched in the United States in December of last year before expanding to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Read our guide on how to set up Apple Music in the Alexa app, including how to make it the default music service so that you don't have to say "on Apple Music" each time you ask Alexa to play something.

Tags: Apple Music Guide, Germany, Alexa
Show Full Article
7 comments

Apple Spending $6 Billion on Original Content for Apple TV+ [Update: Launch Coming in Nov., Price Could Be $9.99/Month]

Monday August 19, 2019 3:46 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple has spent over $6 billion for original TV shows and movies for its upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service, set to launch later this year.

Apple originally set a budget of $1 billion for Apple TV+ execs Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, who head up the project, but according to a source that spoke to The Financial Times, that budget has now grown to more than $6 billion.


Hundreds of millions of dollars alone have been spent on "The Morning Show," one of the most high-profile shows that will be a part of Apple TV+. "The Morning Show" stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell. Previous rumors have suggested that Aniston and Witherspoon earn $1.15 million per episode alone.


The cost for "The Morning Show" has apparently exceeded the $15 million per episode that HBO spent on the final season of "Game of Thrones."

Previous rumors have suggested that Apple is spending similar amounts on "See," an upcoming futuristic drama where much of the world's population has been wiped out by a virus, and the rest of the population is blind. "See," which stars Jason Momoa, is said to have a budget of $15 million per episode.


At $6 billion, Apple's spending doesn't quite match the $15 billion that Netflix is expected to shell out in 2019, but Apple is rumored to be offering more generous payment terms to help it win deals for appealing content. Apple is paying out earlier in the production process, "once certain milestones are hit."

Apple has said that its upcoming Apple TV+ series is set to launch in the fall, and the source that spoke to The Financial Times says Apple is aiming to launch it "within the next two months" to pre-empt the November 12 launch of Disney Plus.

There's no word yet on pricing for Apple TV+, nor details on which shows will be ready, but several have finished filming and appear to be in the final stages of production.

Apple has dozens of TV shows and movies in the works for Apple TV+, with a full list of everything that's known to be in development available in our Apple TV+ content guide.

Update: A separate report from Bloomberg suggests Apple is considering charging $9.99 per month for the service, which will include a free trial.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is aiming to launch Apple TV+ in November, and is still deciding how shows will be released. Apple is considering releasing three episodes of TV shows at once followed by weekly installments.

"The Morning Show," "See," "Amazing Stories" and "Truth Be Told" are said to be some of the first shows that will be available at launch, with Apple planning to continue to release content on a regular basis going forward.

Tags: Apple TV Guide, Apple's original content Guide
Show Full Article
238 comments

Apple Celebrating National Parks in August With Donations, Apple Watch Challenge, Apple Music Collections and More

Monday August 19, 2019 10:36 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today announced that it is celebrating America's national parks in August ahead of the 103rd anniversary of the US National Park Service, introducing new parks-related content to encourage park attendance.

"The beauty in our parks is obvious to all observers but their most profound contribution is to our spirit," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We are proud to support them."
As announced over the weekend, from August 17 to August 25, Apple is making a $10 donation to the National Park Foundation for each purchase made with Apple Pay at an Apple Store, Apple.com, or the Apple Store app in the United States.


Apple says that its donations will help support programs across the United States designed to help connect young people who wouldn't otherwise have the means with "transformative park experiences" ranging from classroom field trips to immersive multi-day experiences and multi-week service corps for young adults.

During August, Apple is also encouraging people to explore their national parks through several special collections coming to Apple's services.

In the Apple TV app, there's a collection of park-related content such as "Free Solo," and the Smithsonian's "National Parks Exploration Series," while Apple Music has a new "Nature Awaits" playlist inspired by the "extraordinary beauty of the country's parks."


Apple Podcasts will feature a collection of shows focused on national parks, and Apple Books will feature an "Our National Parks" themed collection guiding readers through notable parks in the United States. The App Store will also highlight essential apps to help users plan for their next national park visit.


Apple on August 25 will challenge Apple Watch owners to participate in a walk, run, hike, or wheelchair workout of at least three miles to earn an activity award and animated stickers inspired by Grand Canyon National Park's 100th anniversary.

Show Full Article
20 comments

Apple Seeds Sixth Beta of macOS Catalina to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

Monday August 19, 2019 10:14 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the sixth beta of macOS 10.15 Catalina for testing purposes, more than two weeks after seeding the fifth macOS Catalina beta and over a month after the new Mac operating system update was first unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The new macOS Catalina beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences. As with all new betas, macOS Catalina should not be installed on a primary machine because it is early release software and has bugs.


macOS Catalina eliminates the iTunes app, splitting it into Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. The Apple Music and Apple Podcasts apps are available now, while the Apple TV app is coming later this year.

The three new apps offer similar functionality to iTunes, but are split up by feature. iOS device management is still available on the Mac, but it's now done through the Finder rather than iTunes.

With a new Sidecar feature, you can turn your iPad into a second display for your Mac with just the click of a button. The Apple Pencil works with Sidecar, so you can turn your iPad into a drawing tablet in apps like Photoshop and Illustrator.

Your Apple Watch can be used to approve security prompts for passwords and other info in macOS Catalina, and Macs with a T2 chip now support Activation Lock, making them more secure. There's a new Find My that brings the Find My Mac app to the Mac for the first time and even lets you track your devices when they're offline, or, in the case of notebooks, closed.

Screen Time is available on the Mac as well as iOS devices, and Project Catalyst, a new Apple initiative, will let developers easily port their iPad apps over to the Mac to increase the number of Mac apps available.

There's a new Photos interface that surfaces your best photos organized by day, month, or year, there's a new start page in Safari, Mail has new tools for muting email threads and blocking senders, and the Reminders app has been overhauled. 32-bit apps no longer work in macOS Catalina, which is something to be aware of before installing the beta.

For more details on macOS Catalina, make sure to check out our macOS Catalina roundup.

Update: Apple has also made a new public beta of macOS Catalina available to public beta testers.

Related Roundup: macOS Catalina
Show Full Article
156 comments

Powerbeats Pro in Ivory, Moss, and Navy Available for Pre-order on August 22

Monday August 19, 2019 10:03 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple plans to start selling Powerbeats Pro in Ivory, Moss, and Navy starting starting on August 22 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time from the online Apple Store.

After orders for the new colors open on August 22, Apple plans to ship the headphones out on August 30, the same day the Powerbeats Pro will be available in retail stores.


Apple started selling Powerbeats Pro in May after introducing them in April, but only the black color was available at launch. Apple said that it would make the other colors available at a later date.


Powerbeats Pro are a wire-free version of Apple's popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds. Like the AirPods, Powerbeats Pro feature a dedicated charging case that offers 24 hours of battery life and an H1 chip for fast connectivity to your devices, device switching, and Hey Siri support.


Apple's Powerbeats Pro are priced at $249.95 in the United States. For more on the Powerbeats Pro features, make sure to check out our guide.

Show Full Article
56 comments

Apple to Charge $4.99 Per Month for Apple Arcade

Monday August 19, 2019 9:37 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is going to charge $4.99 per month, according to details about the service discovered by 9to5Mac. Screenshots of an early Apple Arcade test were found over the weekend, and now prospective pricing has also been leaked.

The $4.99 price point is apparently listed in one of the APIs used in the App Store app. A promotional message says that Apple Arcade will cost $4.99 per month, with one-month free trial available.


Apple previously said that the monthly subscription price for Apple Arcade will provide access to all members of the family who participate in Family Sharing, which means that up to six people will be able to play games for the $4.99 fee.

$4.99 per month is very affordable for a subscription service that provides access to dozens of games. Apple has said there will be somewhere around 100 games available at launch, with no ads or additional in-app purchases.

Apple hasn't officially announced Apple Arcade pricing, so the price could be changed ahead of when it becomes available. Apple Arcade games will be available on iOS devices, Macs, and the Apple TV.

There's no word just yet on when Apple Arcade will launch, but an ongoing employee internal test is set to end when iOS 13 launches, so that could be when Apple plans on rolling out the service.

Tag: Apple Arcade
Show Full Article
122 comments

Apple Accidentally Unpatches Vulnerability, Leading to New iOS 12.4 Jailbreak

Monday August 19, 2019 9:25 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple in iOS 12.4 mistakenly unpatched a vulnerability that was fixed in the iOS 12.3 update, leading to a new jailbreak available for iOS 12.4 devices, reports Motherboard.

Hackers discovered the vulnerability over the weekend and Pwn20wnd created a publicly available, free jailbreak that works on devices running the latest version of iOS or any version of iOS below iOS 12.3.


Most jailbreak code is kept private to keep Apple from patching it, so this is the first time that a public jailbreak has been available in a while. It was apparently discovered when a user tested an older jailbreak on iOS 12.4 and found the patch had been reverted.

Security researcher Jonathan Levin told Motherboard that the accidental vulnerability also once again makes iPhone users vulnerable to a "100+ day exploit," referring to how long the bug has been around.

Ned Williamson from Google Project Zero said that the bug could be exploited to install spyware on a target iPhone.
The researcher told Motherboard that "somebody could make a perfect spyware" taking advantage of Apple's mistake. For example, he said, a malicious app could include an exploit for this bug that allows it to escape the usual iOS sandbox--a mechanism that prevents apps from reaching data of other apps or the system--and steal user data.

Another scenario is a hacker including the exploit in a malicious webpage, and pairing it with a browser exploit, according to the researcher.
A third security researcher, Stefan Esser said that people should be careful what apps they download from the App Store right now. "Any such app could have a copy of the jailbreak in it," he wrote on Twitter.

Multiple users have confirmed that the jailbreak works and that their devices have been jailbroken using the new software. Apple has not commented on how or why the vulnerability was unpatched, but the company will likely have a fix available soon.

Tag: jailbreak
Show Full Article
85 comments

Apple Shares First Full Trailer For 'The Morning Show'

Monday August 19, 2019 6:51 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
After posting a brief teaser last week, Apple today shared the first official trailer for "The Morning Show" starring Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell.

The trailer provides the first glimpse at each character on the show, which centers around a struggle for power behind the scenes of a network news show.


Aniston plays one of the anchors of The Morning Show, while Carell plays a former anchor who was fired following accusations made against him on the show. The trailer also reveals that Witherspoon will play a reporter who begins rising up the ranks, potentially threatening Aniston's job.

"The Morning Show" will launch this fall on Apple TV+, but Apple hasn't yet provided a release date for its new streaming service. There are quite a few other shows that will be coming out on the platform, all of which we've rounded up here.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12, tvOS 13
Tags: Apple's Hollywood ambitions, Apple TV Guide
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Show Full Article
141 comments

Apple Has 500 Employees in Korea, Supports 325,000 Jobs in Country

Monday August 19, 2019 5:40 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple today revealed job creation figures in South Korea for the first time since entering the country two decades ago, as noted by The Korea Herald.


In a new page on its website, Apple says it has created and supports 325,000 jobs in South Korea, including 500 direct employees, 125,000 jobs through partners in the country like component manufacturers and product distributors, and 200,000 jobs through the App Store ecosystem.

Apple's direct employees in the country include designers, customer service representatives, marketing specialists, hardware and software engineers, and retail staff at its Garosugil store in Seoul.

Apple adds that Korean developers have earned 4.7 trillion won in worldwide revenue through the App Store since 2008.

Last week, Apple claimed that it now supports 2.4 million jobs in the United States.

Tag: South Korea
Show Full Article
36 comments

Trump Says Tim Cook Made 'Good Case' That Tariffs Would Put Apple at Disadvantage With Rivals Like Samsung

Sunday August 18, 2019 4:14 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple CEO Tim Cook and U.S. President Donald Trump met for dinner on Friday evening, and Trump has since told reporters that the two discussed the impact of U.S. tariffs on Apple products imported from China.

Melania Trump, Donald Trump, and Tim Cook in August 2018

Trump said Cook "made a good case" that tariffs could put Apple at a disadvantage given that rival Samsung's products would be less impacted by the tariffs, according to Reuters. "I thought he made a very compelling argument, so I'm thinking about it," Trump said, speaking at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey.

The U.S. plans to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on approximately $300 billion of Chinese imports on September 1, but last week it delayed the tariff to December 15 for products including the iPhone, iPad, and MacBooks. Other products like the Apple Watch, AirPods, and HomePod are still set to be impacted September 1.

In a letter to the Trump administration in June, Apple urged against the tariffs, claiming that they would reduce the company's contribution to the U.S. economy and weigh on its global competitiveness.

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.

Tags: China, Donald Trump
Show Full Article
229 comments

Apple Employees Testing Apple Arcade Ahead of Launch

Saturday August 17, 2019 10:40 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple Arcade, Apple's upcoming subscription-based gaming service, was first introduced in March and is set to launch this fall.

Ahead of the upcoming launch, Apple has debuted an early access program for its employees, with screenshots and details shared by 9to5Mac this morning. Apple employees are able to access Apple Arcade for $0.49 per month, with a one month free trial available.


Apple Arcade games will be available on the Mac, iOS App Store, and Apple TV, with the screenshots shared today sourced from the Mac App Store. The Apple Arcade tab in Apple's App Stores will feature a selection of highlighted games and different game categories.

Many of the games in development for Apple Arcade have been previously announced, but here are a few Apple is highlighting, along with their descriptions:
Way of the Turtle: "Play as two curious turtles lost on a cursed island in the middle of nowhere. Obtain shells containing special powers such as dash and attack to defeat enemies and overcome different challenges."

Down in Bermuda: "Adventurous aviator Milton left his loving wife and daughter to voyage across the Atlantic on the journey of a lifetime."

Hot Lava: "Hot Lava transports you back to your childhood imagination. Relive those moments of excitement, joy and chaos. Run, jump, climb and surf in first person across nostalgia-packed environments flooded with hot molten lava."
According to 9to5Mac, most of the games right now are still in-development builds, and other titles available to employees include "Sneaky Sasquatch", "Kings of the Castle", "Frogger in Toy Town" and "Lame Game 2."


Apple hasn't shared details on what Apple Arcade will be priced at when it debuts, but it looks like there may be a one-month free trial available for those who would like to try it out.

Apple has said there will be somewhere around 100 games at launch, with no ads and no additional in-app purchases. A single subscription will also allow for up to six family members to access games.

There's no word on when Apple Arcade will launch, but the internal employee test is set to end when iOS 13 launches, so that could potentially be when Apple Arcade will be made available.

For more on Apple Arcade, make sure to check out our Apple Arcade guide.

Tag: Apple Arcade
Show Full Article
202 comments