MacRumors

Apple's Face ID feature that allows a device to be unlocked with a facial scan is limited to the iPhone and the iPad at the current time, but code found in macOS Big Sur suggests that ‌Face ID‌ may come to Macs in the future.

Adding a TrueDepth camera system and ‌Face ID‌ to the Mac would be a logical next step for the feature, and 9to5Mac located ‌Face ID‌ references in the latest Big Sur beta, including an extension with code to support a "PearlCamera" function.

"Pearl" is the codename that Apple has used for ‌Face ID‌ and the TrueDepth camera system since the feature first launched in the iPhone X.

There are "FaceDetect" and "BioCapture" references inside the extension, and those names certainly suggest a TrueDepth camera feature for Mac.

Right now, Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models use Touch ID, and have a ‌Touch ID‌ button built into the keyboard that's powered by the T2 chips in the machines. Apple's Macs have supported ‌Touch ID‌ since 2016 when the Touch Bar was first introduced in ‌MacBook Pro‌ models.

There's no word on when Macs might get ‌Face ID‌ support or which Macs will be first to get it, but there are some major design tweaks rumored for machines like the iMac, the ‌MacBook Air‌, and the ‌MacBook Pro‌ with the transition to mini-LED and Apple Silicon chips, so ‌Face ID‌ could be rolled out alongside of these updates.

It could also be a feature that will take longer to implement, and we've thus far heard no confirmed rumors on when Apple might make the transition.

Apple is donating proceeds that it receives from the "John Lewis: Good Trouble" documentary to museums that honor his legacy, Apple announced today.

Funds from the documentary, which was released on July 3, will be provided to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

"Representative John Lewis's life and example compel each of us to continue the fight for racial equity and justice," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. "This film celebrates his undeniable legacy, and we felt it fitting to support two cultural institutions that continue his mission of educating people everywhere about the ongoing quest for equal rights."

US Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis passed away on July 17. Apple over the weekend had a full page tribute on its website, and Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a commemorative tweet. Apple has also created a Spotlight collection of curated articles that remember Lewis and celebrate his legacy, plus there's a collection of episodes that honor his life available on Apple Podcasts.

Apple customers in the United States and Canada can rent "John Lewis: Good Trouble" through the Apple TV app on Phone, iPad, ‌Apple TV‌, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung and LG smart TVs, and Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices. "Good Trouble" takes audiences through Lewis's more than 60 years of civil rights activism.

In her intimate account of legendary US Representative John Lewis's life and legacy, director Dawn Porter takes audiences through his more than 60 years of extraordinary activism -- from the bold teenager on the front lines of the civil rights movement to the legislative powerhouse he was throughout his career. After Lewis petitioned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help integrate a segregated school in his hometown of Troy, Alabama, King sent "the boy from Troy" a roundtrip bus ticket to meet with him.

From that meeting onward, Lewis became one of King's closest allies. Lewis organized Freedom Rides, which left him bloodied or jailed, and stood at the front lines in the historic marches on Washington and Selma. Lewis continued to protect civil rights as a member of Congress. He never lost the spirit of "the boy from Troy" and had called on his fellow Americans to get into "good trouble" until his passing on July 17, 2020. "John Lewis: Good Trouble" is a moving tribute to the real-life hero at the forefront of many hard-won battles for lasting change.

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.

This week's addition to the Apple Arcade subscription gaming service is "The Lullaby of Life," a new title from developer 1 Simple Game that explores the origins of life through a relaxing, immersive, sonic experience.

In The Lullaby of Life you are the catalyst for change in a universe currently inert but filled with potential.

Explore this amazing world that combines relaxation, dexterity and agility, and help it reach its maximum splendor using the power of music to make life bloom.

This adventure has no textual elements, and wearing headphones is highly recommended. Let’s write together a new story about the origin of life!

"The Lullaby of Life" is available to ‌Apple Arcade‌ subscribers on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, as well as in the Mac App Store. ‌Apple Arcade‌ 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 after a free one-month trial.

I often work away from home, and occasionally abroad, so I'm always looking for ways to slim down the number of chargers and cables I need to pack alongside my 13-inch MacBook Pro to see me through the trip. I've used global travel adapters with USB ports in the past, but nothing quite like Zendure's just-launched Passport II Pro, which I've been trying out at home for a few weeks now.

This 61-watt GaN USB-C travel adapter is an evolution of Zendure's popular Passport, the world's first travel adapter with an auto-resetting fuse. That device was followed by the 30-watt Passport Pro, which introduced GaN technology and the ability to charge a tablet and an additional four devices.

The Passport II Pro goes one better, however, as it's the world's first 61-watt GaN travel adapter with 5-USB ports and an auto-resetting fuse. Judging by Zendure's highly successful Kickstarter campaign, this adapter is drawing a lot of interest, so let's take a closer look at what it can do.

Features

The first thing that caught my eye about the Passport II Pro was the side-mounted 61-watt USB-C port, which packs enough power to charge a 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. Apple's charging plugs have never been particularly compact, but the UK variant that comes with the 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ is particularly bulky and not a great shape to pack.

By contrast, the Passport II Pro is more compact and several grams lighter than the Apple UK plug (170 grams versus 225 grams). That's thanks to Zendure's use of GaN technology, which means the adapter can deliver enough power to a notebook without increasing bulk. (Zendure claims a 20 percent reduction in size compared to the Passport GO, although it is a few grams heavier.)

Aside from the 61-watt USB-C port, there are 3x USB-A ports (12 watts) and an additional USB-C port (also 12 watts) on the bottom of the adapter, so that's five ports in all. When all the ports are used together, the 61-watt USB-C port drops to 45-watts output, and the other USB ports drop to 12 watts in total.

The adapter's slot-loading plug is compatible with sockets in over 200 countries, including the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Asia, the Middle East, and more.

Meanwhile the adapter's front-facing plug slots offer the same compatibility and let you charge a sixth device. They're also protected by a child-proof shield to prevent them from sticking stuff into the socket. You can insert three-prong plugs into the PassPort Pro II, but the middle plug won't be grounded. It also works with polarized plugs, but Zendure says to make sure the device is double-insulated before doing so.

The Passport II Pro doesn't convert voltages up or down, but most modern electronics have no problems running between 100V and 250V, and I had no issues with anything I plugged into it. That said, always check before connecting something.

The auto-resetting fuse cuts power to connected devices in the event of a power surge, and then reactivates within a minute to continue charging. The fuse has also been increased to 10 amps, where previous adapters had just 6 amps, so it's able to power many high-power devices like hairdryers and electric kettles.

Design and Performance

The build quality of the Passport II Pro is nice and solid, and feels like it would stand up well to knocks when stowed. I also found the sliders that switch out the slot-loading plug pins easy to use.

Extending more than one combination of pins out is impossible by design, as you can't move the sliders if one set of pins is already protruding. You also have to press down on the sliders slightly to get them moving, so they stay securely stowed inside the adapter chassis when not in use.

The front-facing socket holes accepted all the plug types I tried inserting, and I didn't have to force any of them in to get past the child-proof shield, which isn't something that can be said for other universal plug adapters I've used.

The size and shape of the adapter makes it easy to plug and remove from sockets, and it's much more amenable to packing than the Apple 13-inch MacBook charger, which I think is a big win.

It's a shame the same can't be said for the row of USB ports on the bottom of the chassis. When used with a U.K. socket, the location of these ports can make plugging in USB cables difficult without completely unplugging the adapter, and the tiny LED that indicates USB charging status isn't really visible. Other travel adapters mount USB ports along the top, making them easier to work with, at least when I've used them at home. Your experience may differ depending on the region and socket standard.

Using the Power Delivery port on its own, I was able to fully charge my 2020 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ in a little over two hours, which is the same speed I can get from Apple's charger. This time increased to just over three hours when I also plugged in a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones and an iPhone 11 Pro all at the same time, which is pretty impressive. When I stopped using the Power Delivery port, the surplus power was redistributed to the other USB ports and all the accessories I had plugged in got an expected charging boost.

Summing Up

The Passport II Pro is a well-engineered evolution of Zendure's earlier products, and charged everything I threw at it at home, 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ included, without breaking a sweat. Apart from the underside location of four of the available five USB ports, there's very little not to like here.

The GaN charging is a boon, the "Press and Slide" one-handed operation works well, the mix of USB-C and USB-A ports offers flexibility, and it's all housed in a compact and ergonomic industrial design. Altogether, the Zendure Passport is the best travel adapter I've used so far, and I'm looking forward to taking it abroad with me when that becomes possible again.

How to Buy

The Zendure Passport II Pro is already being mass produced and scheduled to ship next month. The adapter is available in black or white, and can be pre-ordered on the Kickstarter page for $45, which includes a 35 percent discount off the retail price, after which it will be available to buy on the Zendure website for $69 with worldwide shipping.

Note: Zendure provided the Passport II Pro for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received.

Apple last month introduced the new "Find My" Network Accessory Program, built to allow third-party products to work with Apple's own ‌Find My‌ app. While Apple's AirTags have yet to be formally announced, this program was seen as a way for Apple to level the playing field with competing Bluetooth location trackers, like Tile, and avoid accusations of Apple monopolizing the market.

In a new report today by The Washington Post, there are more aspects to this program that haven't been previously detailed, including far stricter rules for third-party companies using the ‌Find My‌ app. According to an anonymous developer who shared a secret 50-page PDF from Apple about ‌Find My‌, customers who use Apple's app to locate a device will be barred from using third-party services simultaneously.

Although the details remain sparse, this suggests that while you will be able to link a Tile tracker to ‌Find My‌ and use Apple's app to locate a lost wallet, for example, you would then be prevented from using Tile's own app to do the same. Additionally, because of Apple's restrictions to "always allow" location access, every outside company will have to ask each Apple user for permission to obtain their location, which is a notable hindrance for item location apps.

Another issue pointed out by developers is their limited access to the iPhone's Bluetooth antenna and other Apple hardware. While the ‌Find My‌ app can use these pieces of hardware whenever it needs to, third-party software can only use the Bluetooth antenna within certain thresholds, and if the developers go beyond that Apple cuts their access off and prevents the software from working. Notably, according to these developers, Apple does not inform them what the specific threshold is.

Following the announcement of Apple's ‌Find My‌ app and amid the rumors swirling of Apple's own Bluetooth tracking hardware, Tile began taking action against Apple. The company accused Apple of abuse of power and of illegally favoring its own products in a letter sent to the European Union in May. Tile said that Apple was making it more difficult for users to operate the Tile Bluetooth trackers on iOS devices, "by selectively disabling features that allow for seamless user experience."

Despite the claims made by developers in The Washington Post today, Apple spokesman Alex Kirschner said that the company sees its Find My Network Accessory Program as helpful to smaller companies that lack resources to build a location-finding service: "If you were a smaller player interested in getting into the finding space and you haven’t built a finding network, this allows you to do that." Apple has denied that its policies are anticompetitive.

Garmin has been hit by a ransomware attack that encrypted the smartwatch maker's internal servers, forcing it to shut down its call centers, website, and the Garmin Connect service, which users rely on to sync their activity via the mobile app.

In messages shared on Twitter, the company apologized to users and gave details on the extent of the forced shutdown.

The attack also affected Garmin's aviation database service, flyGarmin, which supports aviation navigational equipment, and some production lines in Asia, according to ZDnet.com.

Officially, Garmin has not referred to the outage as the result of a ransomware attack, but company employees have since taken to Twitter and described it as such.

Taiwanese tech news site IThome published an internal memo from Garmin's IT department to its Taiwan-based factories announcing two days of maintenance on Friday and Saturday, which sources told the website was down to a "virus."

(Via The Guardian.)

Apple Maps appears to have started alerting users of self-isolation guidance for international travelers if they've recently been at an airport.

Kyle Seth Gray shared on Twitter an alert he received on his iPhone after being at an airport, suggesting the notifications are targeted geo-location based alerts, rather than being linked to any personal details about international travel.

The linked CDC guidance advises recent travelers to take their temperature with a thermometer twice a day to check for fever, to stay at home and avoid contact with others, not to take public transport, and to stay 2 meters away from other people.

‌Apple Maps‌ started displaying COVID-19 testing locations within ‌Apple Maps‌ in April.

(Via 9to5Mac.)

Apple's iPhone 11 is now being made in India, the first time a top-of-the-line model has been manufactured in the country, according to a report by the The Economic Times.

The flagship smartphone is being manufactured at a Foxconn plant near Chennai, and Apple is planning to increase production in phases and may even consider exporting iPhone 11 handsets made in India, reducing its dependence on China.

Apple also sells China-made iPhone 11 handsets in India, so stepping up local production is a way to make the most of the government's Made in India initiative, which could see Apple save 22 percent on import duties and give it the option to potentially reduce prices.

A previous ET report said Apple could be planning to produce up to $40 billion worth of smartphones in India through contract manufacturers Wistron and Foxconn. Foxconn is also planning to invest $1 billion in the country to expand a local iPhone assembly plant, according Reuters.

Apple is rumored to be expanding its presence in India by introducing an online Apple Store in the third quarter of 2020. The company is also reportedly working on opening retail locations in the country beginning with a store in Mumbai.

An antitrust hearing held by the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee where Apple chief Tim Cook was set to join other big tech CEOs is likely to be postponed, according to a report on Thursday.

The hearing involving Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was supposed to happen next Monday, but two sources told CNBC that it was now unlikely to take place due to a conflict with the memorial service for the late representative John Lewis.

The hearing is meant to be the culmination of a more than year-long investigation into the four tech giants. After the hearing, lawmakers plan to publish a report based on their findings and propose legislation to bring antitrust laws up to date to deal with issues unique to digital marketplaces.

A recent report by The Information underlined Cook's initial reluctance to take part in the hearing, and how under the pressure of a potential subpoena, Cook ultimately agreed to participate.

Cook is said to have spent the better part of a month preparing for the hearing, which may touch on a wide range of subjects from App Store policies to Apple's disputes with the FBI over providing methods for law enforcement to access locked devices to Apple's relationships with China.

Update: The antitrust hearing with Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ and other tech CEOs has been officially postponed. A new date has not been announced.

During its second quarter earnings announcement, Intel today said that it has delayed the rollout of its 7-nanometer chips by six months, which pushes the release date to late 2022 or early 2023 (via Tom's Hardware).

Intel's yields for its 7nm process are now twelve months behind its internal target. From Intel's earnings release:

The company's 7nm-based CPU product timing is shifting approximately six months relative to prior expectations. The primary driver is the yield of Intel's 7nm process, which based on recent data, is now trending approximately twelve months behind the company's internal target.

Intel CEO Bob Swan in the Q2 2020 earnings call said that Intel identified a "defect mode" in the 7nm process and has invested in "contingency plans" that include external third-party foundries. At the end of the call, Swan said that he's "not happy" with Intel's 7nm performance. Intel was originally aiming to release 7nm chips in 2021.

While the new 7nm process is in development, Intel plans to launch 10nm-based "Tiger Lake" chips in the near future, and the company's 10nm-based server CPU "Ice Lake" is on track for launch later this year. A new line of client CPUs codenamed "Alder Lake" will launch in the second half of 2021, which will include its first 10nm-based desktop CPU.

Intel has struggled with multiple yield issues over the years, which has led to chip delays and roadmap changes. Intel's issues are perhaps one of the reasons that Apple has decided to ditch Intel chips in favor of its own Arm-based chip technology for Macs. Apple has in the past been forced to delay updates or use older chips because of delays in Intel's production plans.

Starting this year, Apple is transitioning the Mac lineup to its own Apple Silicon chips, with the first Mac processors to be based on the 5-nanometer A14 chips in the works for the 2020 iPhone lineup.

Apple hasn't provided details on which Macs will get Apple Silicon chips first, but rumors suggest the 13-inch MacBook Pro and 13-inch MacBook Air models could be updated with the new chips before the end of the year. Apple says it will take two years to transition away from Intel chips entirely.

Apple designed iOS 14 with several new features that improve how the AirPods and the AirPods Pro work with iPhones and iPads, including spatial audio, better device switching, battery notifications, and Headphone Accommodations for those who need help with sounds and frequencies.

This guide covers all of the new features that Apple added for the AirPods in iOS 14.

Spatial Audio (AirPods Pro Only)

When Apple announced spatial audio during the Worldwide Developers Conference, it was a feature that was a major surprise and one that sounded like something out of a science fiction movie. Spatial audio makes audio sound like it's coming right from your device rather than coming from headphones, providing a unique listening experience.

With spatial audio, Apple uses dynamic head tracking and iPhone positioning to bring a movie theater surround sound experience to the AirPods Pro. Using directional audio filters and subtle adjustments to the frequencies that each ear receives, spatial audio is able to put sounds anywhere in space for a more immersive audio experience when watching TV shows and movies.

Spatial audio is able to take advantage of the gyroscope and accelerometer in the AirPods Pro and iPhone to track head movement and device location, comparing motion data and remapping the sound field on the fly so it stays anchored to the iPhone even as your head moves around.

Spatial audio was enabled through a firmware update that was released in September, and using the feature requires the firmware update along with the iOS or iPadOS 14 update. On iPhone, spatial audio works with the iPhone 7 and later.

On iPad, spatial audio works with the iPad Pro 12.9‑inch (3rd generation) and later, the ‌iPad Pro‌ 11‑inch, the iPad Air (3rd generation), the ‌iPad‌ (6th generation) and later, and the iPad mini (5th generation).

• How to Use Spatial Audio on AirPods Pro
• All the Apps That Support Spatial Audio

Automatic Device Switching

AirPods and AirPods Pro already feature quick and easy device switching for devices where you're signed in with your iCloud account, but iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, watchOS 7, and macOS Big Sur make device switching even easier.

With the updates installed, AirPods and AirPods Pro automatically switch between your devices that are paired to the same ‌iCloud‌ account. So if you're listening to music on your iPhone but switch over to watching a video on your Mac, your AirPods will seamlessly connect to the Mac.

Right now, you can swap quickly, but on most devices it requires accessing the Bluetooth settings for your secondary device if the AirPods are already paired to a primary device.

Automatic device switching requires an ‌iCloud‌ account and it works on iPhone, ‌iPad‌, iPod touch, Mac, and Apple Watch with the latest software versions installed. Automatic switching works with the AirPods Pro and the second-generation AirPods, and it is not compatible with the original AirPods. It also works with Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, and Beats Solo Pro.

• AirPods: How to Automatically Switch Between Devices

Battery Notifications

If your AirPods are getting low on battery and need to be charged, your iPhone or ‌iPad‌ will let you know with a notification so you can charge them up before they die completely.

Optimized Charging

To maximize the longevity of the AirPods, Apple added a new Optimized Battery Charging feature in iOS 14. Optimized Battery Charging lets the AirPods learn your daily charging routine and will wait to finish charging past 80 percent until they're needed.

Apple uses a similar battery optimization feature for iPhones and Macs to extend the total battery life of the devices. Avoiding having a lithium ion battery at max charge continually can better preserve battery health over time.

Headphones Accommodations

Headphones Accommodations is an Accessibility feature for those who are hard of hearing, and it's able to amplify soft sounds and adjust frequencies to make music, movies, calls, and more sound more crisp and clear.

You can get to the Headphones Accommodations functionality in the Accessibility section of the Settings app by tapping on AirPods > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations.

From there, you can get access to all of the different options available such as tuning audio for Balanced Tone, Vocal Range, or Brightness or adjusting the volume of soft sounds to be louder.

There's also a Custom Audio Setup that walks through a test with soft speaking and different music to determine whether you have specific audio preferences that should be compensated for with the Headphone Accommodations feature.

Headphone Accommodations works with the Transparency mode on AirPods Pro too, making quiet voices louder and tuning the sounds of the environment around you to meet your audio needs.

• iOS 14: How to Enhance Speech, Movies, and Music When Listening on AirPods and Beats

Hearing Health

Apple expanded Hearing Health protections in iOS 14 and watchOS 7 and the iPhone now sends notifications to the Apple Watch when you're listening to music too loud and can reduce your headphones volume to a safe level once you've hit the World Health Organization's recommended safe weekly listening dose.

Reduce Loud Sounds, a new feature under Sounds & Haptics, can be enabled to analyze headphone audio and reduce any sound that is over a certain decibel level, which you can set yourself. These features work with the AirPods and AirPods Pro, along with other headphone options.

• iOS 14: How to Reduce Loud Sounds When Listening Over Headphones

Control Center Volume Monitor

If you have the "Hearing" feature added to Control Center when you listen to music with the AirPods or other headphones, you can see a live meter of the volume level to make sure the decibel level is safe.

Just swipe down from Control Center and tap on the ear icon (after it's been added to Control Center) to see the live reading.

• iOS 14: How to Check Headphone Audio Level in Real Time

AirPods Pro Motion API

Apple designed a Motion API for the AirPods Pro that developers can take advantage of. The Motion API lets developers access orientation, user acceleration, and rotational rates, which is useful for fitness apps and games.

Developers can build the API into apps that AirPods Pro owners will be able to download.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about the new iOS 14 AirPods capabilities, know of a feature we left out, or or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Apple partner Corning today unveiled its latest product, which it is calling Gorilla Glass Victus. Gorilla Glass Victus is more scratch resistant than previous versions of Gorilla Glass, and Corning says that manufacturers who use it for their devices will see significant gains in drop and scratch performance.

Corning shared a video showing off Gorilla Glass Victus surviving a series of tests, including drops of up to two meters. In a Knoop Diamond Scratch Test, the Victus glass was able to withstand an 8 Newton Load, beating out competing products that were tested alongside it, and it was also able to withstand more pressure and more drops before succumbing to breakage.

Corning regularly comes out with new versions of Gorilla Glass that are more impact resistant, but improved scratch resistance has been harder for the company to improve upon in a significant way.

Devices made with Victus glass should be able to better withstand scratches, but they still won't be invulnerable. When The Verge asked Corning VP Jaymin Amin if bits of dirt, sand, metal, and other materials could still cause a scratch, Amin said that kind of caveat would likely apply to "any glass material." Gorilla Glass Victus, though is able to "reduce those instances quite dramatically."

Corning has been a longtime Apple supplier, with Gorilla Glass used in devices across Apple's product lineup. Apple in 2017 provided Corning with $200 million for research, development, and new equipment as part of Apple's Advanced Manufacturing Fund. Apple provided another $250 million in late 2019.

Corning told The Verge that at least one smartphone manufacturer found Victus to be so much better than Gorilla Glass 6 that it has decided to put a thinner layer of the new glass on its devices instead of maximizing durability, but there's no word on which manufacturer this was.

Samsung will be the first manufacturer to introduce a product with Victus glass in the coming months, and other unspecified manufacturers are also working on devices with Victus Glass.

Following a drop in ad revenue, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey today told analysts that the social media company is exploring additional ways to make money, which could include some kind of subscription service.

According to CNN, Dorsey said Twitter is likely planning some tests this year of different approaches, but there is a "a really high bar" for when Twitter would ask customers to "pay for aspects of Twitter." The comments were made as part of Twitter's second quarter earnings report.

Twitter is in the "very, very early phases" of exploring different options, and the comments come following a Twitter job opening earlier this month that sought someone to work on a subscription platform codenamed "Gryphon."

Like most other social networks, Twitter is a free service that currently makes money from ad revenue, but Dorsey said there "is a world" where Twitter could also have a complementary subscription service.

"We want to make sure any new line of revenue is complementary to our advertising business," Dorsey said. "We do think there is a world where subscription is complementary, where commerce is complementary, where helping people manage paywalls ... we think is complementary."

Spending on advertising has dropped amid the ongoing public health crisis, which has impacted social networks and other services and sites that rely on ad revenue. Twitter's second quarter ad revenues came in at $562 million, down 23 percent from Q2 2019.

Twitter's earnings report comes following the major Twitter hack last week that saw bitcoin scammers manipulating Twitter employees to gain access to Twitter's internal systems. The scammers were able to access the accounts of many high-profile companies and individuals, including Apple, and Twitter is still working on managing the aftermath of that attack.

Verizon today announced the launch of a new feature called Silence Junk Callers, which is designed to recognize calls identified by Verizon as potential spam or fraud and then automatically send them to voicemail.

Verizon says that this feature is available to Verizon customers who have upgraded to the Call Filter Plus service and who are running the iOS 14 beta.

Call Filter Plus costs $2.99 per month for a single line and it provides services like spam detection, spam filtering, caller ID, spam look up, and a personal block list.

There is a free Call Filter service that Verizon offers, but it does not work with the new Silence Junk Callers feature at this time and it is limited to spam detection and spam filtering. Later this year, Verizon plans to provide the Silence Junk Callers option to all customers with Call Filter for free, so it won't always be limited to the premium subscription plan.