MacRumors

Apple this week added futuristic trash cleanup game "Scrappers" to its Apple Arcade subscription gaming service, making the game available across iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac.

In Scrappers, up to 4 players can team up to clean up the streets of a futuristic city teeming with garbage -- and trash anyone who gets in their way!

You take on the role of the Scrappers, a squad of robot garbage collectors working to clean up a grimy city of the not-so-distant future. Time is money in Junktown, and team tactics like stacking trash and passing it to teammates -- much like in basketball -- can boost your efficiency for bigger rewards!

But garbage collection is only part of the job. Rival teams will attack and interfere, and it’s up to you to dispose of them while staying on schedule!

Teamwork is key to maximizing efficiency and achieving high scores, which in turn unlocks new characters and customization options!

"Scrappers" can be found in the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, as well as the Mac App Store, and is available to all Apple Arcade subscribers. The service provides iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac users with access to over 100 games with no in-app purchases or ads for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Apple yesterday added the 2019 Mac Pro to its online store for refurbished products in the United States, offering customers the ability to save approximately 15 percent compared to equivalent brand-new models.

The cheapest currently available refurbished model is a base configuration upgraded from 32 GB to 48 GB of RAM. That model retails for $6,299 new, but is available refurbished for $5,349.

At the high end is a 16-core model with 192 GB of RAM, a pair of Radeon Pro Vega II Duo graphics cards, 8 TB of storage, and an Afterburner card, now available refurbished for $22,439. That's a savings of nearly $4,000 compared to a brand-new model.

All of Apple's refurbished products go through a rigorous refurbishment process before being offered for sale, which includes inspection, repairs, cleaning, and repackaging. Like new purchases, refurbished Macs come with a one-year warranty that can be extended with an AppleCare+ purchase.

For tips on purchasing a refurbished product, make sure to check out our guide.

(Thanks, Ralph!)

Apple's education team today debuted 30 activities for kids and families to do as part of an ongoing effort to support at-home learning while many schoolchildren are completing classes remotely.

Available as a PDF that can be downloaded or printed, the suggestions include a wide range of activities that can be done using the built-in features of an iPad or iPhone.

Some of the activities include capturing a time-lapse video, going on a photo walk, recording a news interview, personalizing a portrait, seeing color in slo-mo video, and emojifying a mood. The PDF features a different activity for each number, each of which can be clicked for an activity description. For the photo walk activity, for example:

Pick a color or letter of the day and take photos around the house and yard of things that are that color or start with that letter. Then put them together in a collage or video. Try to make a rainbow or complete the alphabet!

Get started: Add the photos of each color or letter to a slide in the Keynote app. Or add each photo to Clips and record your voice saying the colors or letters.

According to Apple, these activities are aimed at children from pre-kindergarten to second grade, but can be tailored to suit the whole family.

Apple has also been supporting at-home education with a series of remote learning videos that are designed to help schools and educators use the built-in features of their devices to enable remote learning.

Apple today introduced new features for its COVID-19 screening app, which is designed to help people stay informed and take the proper steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.The 2.0 version of the app adds a feature for selecting a state of residence to see specific guidance information from that state's health department, and it provides tips for keeping physically and mentally healthy.

Apple has also updated its accompanying COVID-19 website to provide the same information to users.

With the new state feature, users can choose their state to be directed to coronavirus guidelines offered by the state health department, and available information and guidelines will vary by location. In California, for example, Apple directs users to covid19.ca.gov, a website that provides dos and don'ts, symptoms to watch out for, emotional health resources, information about financial help, and more.

The update adds many self-care tips to both the app and website, such as staying hydrated, exercising for 30 minutes a day, getting adequate sleep, taking breaks for fun and relaxing activities, stimulating the brain through books, puzzles, or painting, talking to people, and journaling.

It provides shopping tips like purchasing two weeks of groceries at a time, stocking up on long-lasting foods, buying extra household items, and taking precautions such as wearing gloves and wiping down shopping carts.

Apple's site and app also offer tips on working from home, creating a household emergency plan, and what to do if you get sick.

Apple designed its COVID-19 app and website in partnership with the CDC, White House Coronavirus Task Force, and FEMA. Along with the features introduced today, the tools provided by Apple let users answer a series of questions on risk factors, recent exposure, and symptoms to receive CDC recommendations on the next steps that they need to take.

The screening tool is available to anyone who is 18 years or older in the United States. Data provided in the COVID-19 app and on the website is not shared with Apple, the CDC, or other government agencies.

Apple is developing a new feature that would allow users to interact with select content and experiences in third-party apps without needing to have the apps installed, according to an early build of iOS 14 obtained by 9to5Mac.

The report claims a new API referred to as "Clips" in iOS 14 code would enable users to scan a QR code linked to an app and then interact with content from that app via a floating card on the screen. The card would display options to download the full version of the app from the App Store or to open the content in the app if it is already installed.

Android has a similar feature named "Slices":

Slices are UI templates that can display rich, dynamic, and interactive content from your app from within the Google Search app and later in other places like the Google Assistant. Slices can help users perform tasks faster by enabling engagement outside of the fullscreen app experience.

Apple is said to be testing the new feature with OpenTable, Yelp, DoorDash, YouTube, and Sony's PS4 Second Screen app.

LG today announced pricing and availability for its 2020 NanoCell TVs with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support in the United States.

The first 4K models are rolling out now, with pricing starting at $599 for a 55-inch model. The entire 4K lineup will be released by September, including up to an 86-inch model for $3,299. 8K models will also be rolling out in May and June, including 65-inch and 75-inch models for $3,499 and $4,999 respectively.

AirPlay 2 will enable users to stream videos, music, podcasts, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to a compatible LG smart TV, with no Apple TV necessary. And with HomeKit support, users can easily control the TV's power, volume, source, and more using Siri or the Home app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

LG's 2020 NanoCell TVs also include the Apple TV app, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Disney+, Netflix, LG Channels, and Movies Anywhere, complete with Dolby Vision or HDR10 video and Dolby Atmos sound where available.

Last week, in a support document, LG indicated that it would roll out AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to some of its 2018 smart TVs by October 2020. However, since our report, LG has removed all mentions of this.

Stanford University and Apple have partnered on a new iPhone app that provides police officers, firefighters, and paramedics in the Bay Area with up-to-date information and safety practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as noted by CNBC.

The app includes a screening questionnaire to help first responders determine if they should be tested for the coronavirus, based on their symptoms, medical history, and exposure. If the app recommends testing, the first responder can schedule a high-priority appointment for drive-through testing at seven Stanford Health Care locations.

The app, which uses Apple's ResearchKit and CareKit frameworks, also includes up-to-date information about COVID-19 from Stanford experts, including a list of frequently-asked questions, a guide with best practices to stay protected, and weekly videos with the latest information on the pandemic and its implications.

In the future, Stanford hopes to expand high-priority testing to frontline essential service workers, such as grocery store clerks and public service personnel.

The new First Responder COVID-19 Guide app is available on the App Store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook will hold a company-wide virtual meeting later this month for employees to ask questions about working-from-home arrangements that have been put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple sent a note to staff on Wednesday advising them of the plan.

It asked that questions be submitted by end of day on Saturday and also encouraged workers to share their experiences of working through the disruption to daily life that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about. The specific date of the meeting has not yet been disclosed.

Apple last week informed employees that its retail stores in the United States will remain closed until early May, and Apple employees will continue to work from home until then.

In Santa Clara County, where Apple Park, Infinite Loop, and many other corporate offices and retail stores are located, there is a shelter in place order that will remain in effect until May 3.

The order prevents all nonessential businesses from being open and requires employees to work from home. Apple's corporate offices will not be able to reopen until that order is lifted.

Apple continues to review its flexible work arrangements in light of the latest guidance from local governments and public health experts.

In an earlier memo to employees, Apple said it was particularly focused on ensuring parents have the flexibility to adjust their schedules as necessary, with many children no longer able to attend school.

Five months after launching, and with millions of people stuck at home, Disney's streaming service Disney+ now has 50 million subscribers, reports Deadline.

Disney+ in early February had 28.6 million subscribers, which means the streaming service has grown by 21.4 million subscribers in the last two months. Much of the boost can be attributed to recent launches of the service in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, France, Switzerland, and India.

50 million subscribers is ahead of Disney's own figures. When unveiling the service, Disney estimated that it would garner 60 to 90 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2024, and if growth keeps up, Disney will hit that goal this year.

Apple has not released subscriber numbers, which means there's no direct comparison to Disney+. Since September, Apple has been providing a free year of service to everyone who purchases a new Apple device, so it will take over a year until Apple has large numbers of paying subscribers.

At launch, Disney+ ran promotions for discounted service for multiple years, marking the service down to the equivalent of $3.99, and has provided free Disney+ access to Verizon subscribers. Wit the exception of free trial members and Verizon users, customers with access to Disney+ are paying for it, unlike most ‌Apple TV‌+ subscribers at this time.

Disney+ has a significant edge over ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+ because Disney+ has an established catalog of content along with many popular Star Wars and Marvel franchises. "The Mandalorian," the key show Disney+ premiered with, received more attention than any of ‌‌Apple TV‌‌+'s launch shows, including "The Morning Show," "Dickinson," "See," and "For All Mankind."

Apple could catch up in the future given its huge subscriber base and the large number of people who own an Apple device, but it will be quite some time before Apple can match Disney's content offerings.

Foxconn and other factories in China have implemented stringent measures to prevent the another viral outbreak in the country, according to an overview of the practices shared today by The Washington Post.

Apple iPhone supplier Foxconn, for example, has organized workers into teams of 20 who stick together day and night for health tracking purposes. "The same group of employees work, travel, live, and eat together to ensure that employees' personal trajectories are fully traced," reads a notice from the Zhengzhou government where Foxconn is located.

A Foxconn employee told The Washington Post that workers are provided with a face mask and have their temperatures checked regularly, plus there are infrared cameras to check people for fevers as they walk by. Foxconn said that it is also using nucleic acid tests and chest x-rays when required, and it has produced 10 million surgical masks for employees.

At lunchtime, Foxconn workers eat at cafeteria tables separated from one another by tall dividers. Cafeteria seats even have QR codes that workers can scan so Foxconn has a record of who sat where and when for meals. In the dormitories where they sleep, employees leave their coats and bags in a designated spot for disinfection.

Foxconn and other Apple factories were shut down for much of February due to the outbreak, which has now largely resolved in China. China is mandating that employers check temperatures and provide face masks to employees, as well as submitting daily reports on workers' health statuses. Many businesses in the United States may need to take similar steps when stay at home orders around the country begin lifting.

Other companies in China have implemented similar measures, including preventing employees from leaving factories and going home in some cases, with additional details available in The Washington Post's full report.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News 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.

The Unicode Consortium today announced that it is delaying version 14 of the Unicode Standard by six months, and the delay will affect emoji that were scheduled to be included as part of the update.

"Under the current circumstances we've heard that our contributors have a lot on their plates at the moment and decided it was in the best interests of our volunteers and the organizations that depend on the standard to push out our release date," said Mark Davis, President of the Consortium. "This year we simply can't commit to the same schedule we've adhered to in the past."

The delay will not impact the Unicode 13 update that includes the Emoji 13 characters that were announced earlier this year. There are 62 new emoji coming in Unicode 13, such as smiling face with tear, polar bear, seal, bubble tea, pickup truck, fondue, teapot, magic wand, beetle, and piñata.

Unicode 13 characters are expected to be adopted by Apple starting this fall, perhaps in an update to iOS 14. It typically takes Apple several months to design new artwork for emoji characters that are approved with each new iteration.

The Unicode Consortium is also considering whether it is feasible to release new emoji sequences in a smaller Emoji 13.1 release as these emoji use combinations of existing emoji and can be implemented on a separate schedule.

The Consortium is considering whether it is feasible to release emoji sequences in an Emoji 13.1 release. These sequences make use of existing characters. An example from Emoji 13.0 is the black cat, which is internally a combination of the cat emoji and black large square emoji. Since sequences rely only on combinations of existing characters in the Unicode Standard, they can be implemented on a separate schedule, and don't require a new version of Unicode or the encoding of new characters. Such an Emoji 13.1 release would be in time for release on mobile phones in 2021.

The Unicode 14 delay means that emoji characters we might have expected Apple to adopt in the fall of 2021 will be pushed back for six months. Because of the delay, the Unicode Consortium is accepting new emoji character proposals for the Emoji 14 update until September 2020.

After Emoji 13 characters are implemented this fall, there will be no new additional emoji on the iPhone until 2022.

Apple today released a supplemental update to macOS Catalina 10.15.4, two weeks after releasing the macOS Catalina 10.15.4 update with Screen Time Communication Limits and Real-Time Apple Music lyrics.

The macOS Catalina 10.15.4 Supplemental Update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for free using the Update feature in the System Preferences app.

The new software introduces a fix that caused Mac computers running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 to be unable to participate in FaceTime calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and earlier.

Apple says it also addresses an issue with Office 365 accounts, fixes a bug that could cause a USB-C port to become unresponsive, and addresses a problem that caused the 2020 MacBook Air to hang during Setup Assistant or when connecting or disconnecting a 4K or 5K display. Full release notes for the update are below:

macOS Catalina 10.15.4 supplemental update improves the stability and security of your Mac.

- Fixes an issue where Mac computers running macOS Catalina 10.15.4 could not participate in FaceTime calls with devices running iOS 9.3.6 and earlier or OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 and earlier
- Resolves an issue where you may repeatedly receive a password prompt for an Office 365 account
- Fixes an issue where MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) may hang in Setup Assistant or when disconnecting and reconnecting a 4K or 5K external display
- Resolves an issue where a USB-C port in your Mac may become unresponsive

macOS Catalina 10.15.4 could be one of the last updates to the macOS Catalina operating system as Apple transitions to working on macOS 10.16, which is unnamed as of yet.