MacRumors

eBay today launched a sitewide savings coupon for Father's Day that takes 20 percent off "everything" on the online reseller's storefront, with a few exclusions including coins and paper money, gift cards and coupons, and real estate. Outside of these categories, you're free to apply the 20 percent off coupon to any other items today, including Apple products like the HomePod, down to a price of $252 for a refurbished model.

eBay explained that the coupon PICKDADSGIFT is valid until 7 p.m. PT tonight, June 6, and it applies to the purchase price of eligible item/items in a single transaction, not including shipping, handling, and taxes. That purchase price has to be $50 or more, and the 20 percent discount will be capped at a value of $100. You'll need to be an eBay member with a registered address located in the United States, Canada, Latin America, or the Caribbean to take advantage of the coupon as well.

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

If you meet the criteria, you can essentially shop in any category (barring exclusions) on eBay to find something that might interest you for the discount. Once you find the item you want and it exceeds $50, click "Buy it Now," and before you complete your order type in PICKDADSGIFT in the "Gift cards, coupons, eBay Bucks" section of the checkout process and hit Apply.

For Apple-related items, the Daily Deals tech section is a good place to browse, and one notable savings compatible with the coupon today is a refurbished HomePod (White and Space Gray) for $252.00, down from $315.00. Sold by VIP Outlet, the refurbished speaker has a "Grade A Fully Functional" ranking, described as "Like New, Retail Ready."

More details follow: "Condition has NO cosmetic defects, blemishes, dents, scratches or signs of age. GRADE A items have been restored to meet manufacturer quality standards." VIP Outlet provides a 90-day warranty with all refurbished devices and has a 30-day free return policy. Of course, there are also options for getting a brand new HomePod for around $280, down from the original $350 price tag.

As with any eBay reseller purchase, the savings come with the caveat of buying a device that might not be in brand new condition. Still, today's promo code is compatible across all of eBay, not just its Daily Deals section, so there are many brand new, new, or like new products that you could nab at a discounted price today. Other good browsing ideas include official eBay storefronts for Best Buy, Anker, Mophie, and similar Apple accessory and device sellers.

Head over to eBay to shop, and if you're interested make sure to place your order by tonight at 7 p.m. PT. For more sales information, be sure to visit our Deals Roundup.

Update: As Boatboy24 pointed out in the comments, Best Buy also has a good deal on an open box HomePod, available for $266.12 with the 20 percent off coupon, down from $321.99

Australia is gearing up to release new laws that will force Australian telecommunications companies and global tech companies to comply with law enforcement agencies, when such agencies ask for access to encrypted data on the smartphones of suspected criminals (via ABC News Australia). The laws are the latest in an ongoing global data battle that hit a fever pitch in the United States in early 2016 when the FBI asked Apple for a backdoor into the smartphone of one of the San Bernardino shooters.

Specifics in regards to the Australian laws have not yet been shared, but they are said to affect companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, which would face "significant fines" if they choose not to comply with encrypted data requests. Australian telecommunications companies affected under the law include Telstra and Optus.

Cyber security minister of Australia Angus Taylor was asked if the laws would allow surveillance codes to be implanted into smartphones and "avoided directly answering," stating a lack of preparation to get into technical details.

Notably, one detail Taylor did confirm is that the government would not ask companies to install a backdoor into their apps and equipment, nor would they be asked to "provide law enforcement agencies with an encryption key." Because of this, it's unclear exactly how the Australian government's demands would need to be met by companies.

"There's been ideas around for decades that you should create some kind of key that law enforcement can get access to, to access any data at any time — that's not what we're proposing here," Mr Taylor said.

"But at the same time we must ensure that law enforcement doesn't lose access to the data and the information they need to pre-empt terror attacks and crimes, and to hold criminals and terrorists to account."

Taylor explained that the new proposals are an update to antiquated laws in Australia: "Those laws should be extended to a situation where messages are being sent through an app, or via any other means, in ways that the current laws hadn't anticipated," he said. "It's not appropriate to have a world where we can do this for analogue data, analogue communication, but we can't do it in the digital world."

In the United States, last month an anti-surveillance coalition, including Apple, condemned recent proposals for backdoor access into electronic devices. The coalition previously published a core principle pledging to ensure device security through strong encryption and calling on governments to avoid taking actions that would require companies to "create any security vulnerabilities in their products and services."

The news came as law enforcement officials were said to be revisiting proposals that would require tech companies to build backdoor access into devices for better access to data in criminal investigations. Apple continued enhancing user security in the recent iOS 12 beta, where a new setting was discovered that prevents USB accessories from connecting to the iPhone when it's been more than an hour since the device was unlocked.

Law enforcement officials use USB access to iOS devices to connect accessories like the GrayKey box, a tool that plugs into the Lightning port of an iPhone and uses the data connection in an attempt to brute force a passcode. With the new setting, an iPhone's Lightning port data connection will not work with the GrayKey box if it's been more than an hour since a passcode was entered, rendering it effectively useless unless used immediately after an iPhone is obtained from a suspect.

In Australia, draft legislation of the new laws will be presented "in weeks" so more details about the plans should emerge soon. Ahead of the launch, Taylor said that the government is "very sympathetic to the concerns that the tech service providers have had" in regards to forced compliance with data gathering on electronic devices.

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.

In a renewed effort to clamp down on potentially threatening drone use, the United States Department of Homeland Security today will be urging Congress to approve new anti-drone legislation. Specifically, the proposed legislation would give the U.S. federal government new powers "to disable or destroy" any drone perceived to be "threatening" (via Reuters).

The DHS deputy general counsel Hayley Chang and undersecretary for intelligence and analysis David Glawe are set to speak on behalf of the department in an effort to seek "new authority" on the drone issue. Specifically, the DHS is looking at national security threats that can and have emerged from drone flights, as well as the use of drones by terrorist groups.

According to the prepared testimony seen by Reuters, the officials argue that drone terrorism use is a "looming threat" that the U.S. is "currently unprepared to confront" because of "outdated legal restrictions." Senate homeland security committee chairman Ron Johnson further urged action for new legislation:

“The federal government does not have the legal authorities it needs to protect the American public from these kinds of threats. The threats posed by malicious drones are too great to ignore,” Johnson said.

“It is not enough to simply tell operators of unmanned aircraft not to fly in certain areas; we must give federal law enforcement the authority to act if necessary.”

According to Johnson, the number of drone flights over sensitive areas jumped from eight in 2013 to around 1,752 in 2016. In the testimony, the DHS cites numerous recent incidents involving potentially malicious drone use, like when a Coast Guard helicopter was forced to take evasive action when a drone flew nearby in California this past March, or when a small civilian drone hit an Army helicopter and damaged a rotor blade in New York City last year.

Many high-security locations have already banned drones, like U.S. military bases and some national landmarks, and the proposed legislation is said to expand to high-profile events like the Super Bowl and presidential inaugurations, as well as federal installations and "the protection of officials." If a drone is perceived to be threatening, government officials could "disrupt communications" of the drone, seize control of it, or "destroy" it completely if needed.

While the new legislation appears to be targeted mainly towards terrorism threats, the growing popularity of drone flights have affected many tech companies, including Apple. Last summer, multiple reports emerged about Apple's first efforts at stopping drone pilots from accessing the airspace above Apple Park in Cupertino, California. In April, drone videographer Duncan Sinfield put a potential expiration date on drone flights over the site by admitting it's "only a matter of time until the campus becomes shut-off to drones completely."

Apple is likely attempting to prevent prying eyes from gaining access to its new campus and employee work going on there, following revamped anti-leak measures that emerged in a leaked memo earlier in the year. Still, the company itself is interested in drone technology as it participates in a pilot program that allows it to operate drones in ways typically restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration, reportedly focused on improving Apple Maps in North Carolina.

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.

Testers of the first watchOS 5 beta for Apple Watch are hailing a new option in the software's Settings menu that enables you to manually connect your device to nearby Wi-Fi networks.

In previous versions of watchOS, your Apple Watch is locked to the wireless network that your tethered iPhone is using, and there's no way to browse and manually connect to networks from your wrist.

But that all changes in watchOS 5, if the beta 1 seed is anything to go by. Reddit user whiskey_91 found a new option in Settings where users can search for and connect their Apple Watch directly to available Wi-Fi networks when their iPhone is out of range.

After a network is selected from the list, users are prompted to enter the Wi-Fi password via Scribble (scribbling characters one by one on the screen with their finger), while using the Digital Crown to select lowercase/uppercase and special characters. A Join button then appears for users to tap and connect to the network.

The new Wi-Fi option appears on both Apple Watch Series 2 and Series 3 models, but we've yet to confirm whether it works on Series 1 (watchOS 5 doesn't support the original Apple Watch, or Series 0).

There's plenty more to look forward to when watchOS 5 gets its official release in the fall, but eager adopters are advised to stay patient while Apple works out the kinks. Apple temporarily pulled the watchOS 5 beta 1 seed from its developer portal in the early hours of this morning after reports that the software was bricking some devices.

Apple has announced through its regional websites that Apple Watch Series 3 LTE models will be available to pre-order in Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates on Friday, June 8.

Brazilian customers hoping to pick up and Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE can expect to pay 3,119 reais (about $826) for the 38mm model and 3449 for the 42mm model. Claro will be the sole network provider.

In Mexico, the 38mm LTE model will cost 8,999 pesos (about $441), while the 42mm LTE model will cost 9699 pesos (about $475). Stainless steel variants start from 13,999 pesos (about $685). AT&T and Telcel will provide the cellular coverage (via El Universal).

Prices in South Korea start at 529,000 won (about $495) for 38mm models and rise up to 829,000 won (about $774) for 42mm stainless steel versions. The carrier will be LG Uplus.

Finally, prices in UAE will start at 1,679 dirham (about $457) and will be supported by the Etisalat network (via Gulf News). In-store availability for all three countries begins on June 15.

The moves reflect the continuing expansion of Apple's cellular smartwatch market reach around the globe. Last month, the company made LTE variants of its Apple Watch Series 3 available in Denmark, India, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Apple's Podcasts service now hosts more than 18.5 million episodes across 555,000 different "active" shows, according to a report from TechCrunch.

The podcast stats, which appears to have been sent directly to TechCrunch by Apple, include other data as well. Apple's hosted podcasts come in more than 100 languages, from 155 countries.

The podcast total is up from 525,000 back in April, and a total of fifty billion episodes have been streamed or downloaded since Podcasts launched back in 2005 (when the service had a mere 3,000 shows).

Last year, some 13.7 billion episodes were consumed, up from 10 billion in 2016. The Stuff You Should Know podcast is the most consumed, passing 500 million downloads.

TechCrunch also reports that Apple will be tightening up the rules around what podcasts can access the Podcasts Analytics service it offers, mainly around things like including Cover Art on shows and adding metadata like publication date.

Yesterday, Apple announced that a Podcasts app would be added to the Apple Watch with watchOS 5, expanding the universe of Apple devices which can consume podcasts.

Apple in 2014 introduced a Live Listen feature that's designed to allow the iPhone to pair with hearing aids and then serve as a remote microphone that beams the audio the iPhone picks up to the hearing aids.

As noted by TechCrunch, Live Listen is coming to the AirPods with the iOS 12 update, letting iPhone users position their iPhones as a directional mic and have the audio relayed through the AirPods.

With this feature, an iPhone user could, for example, put an iPhone on the table in a noisy restaurant and then have the voice of whomever is speaking routed to the AirPods as a stand-in for hearing aids for those who are hard of hearing or need a bit of extra help separating voices in a loud environment.

Live Listen with AirPods is not going to replace a traditional hearing aid and people with hearing issues should still get a checkup from a doctor, but this feature is handy for people who need something in a pinch without carrying extra hardware.

In celebration of the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference, which is taking place this week, we've teamed up with accessory maker Pad & Quill to offer a series of giveaways.

Pad & Quill is a company that makes high-quality hand-crafted leather accessories for iPhones, Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, and more.

Our first giveaway includes the Heritage Leather Men's Satchel Bag, the TechFolio Cord Organizer, and a Bella Fino iPhone X case.

Priced at $395, the Heritage Leather Satchel Bag is an all leather bag made from full grain American leather. It features a padded laptop pocket able to hold up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro, a newspaper pocket at the back, two side slip pockets, and several inner pockets for accessories and other gear including an internal zip pocket.

A rolltop design ensures that everything in the Satchel stays dry, keeping what's inside safe. As this bag is made entirely of leather, it will develop a unique patina overtime, and it's going to hold up for many years to come with UV-resistant nylon stitching and durable brass hardware.

The $90 TechFolio, which fits neatly inside the Leather Satchel Bag, is designed to keep all of your cords neatly organized in one easy-to-access place. Like all Pad & Quill products, the TechFolio is handmade from leather and able to hold a ton.

It has three cord organizer pockets, an Apple Pencil slot, a larger zipper pocket for a MacBook charger, two smaller pockets for accessories, and slots for keys or SD cards. All of this folds down into a small package that secures with a rivet closure.

Rounding out our giveaway is Pad & Quill's Bella Fino case for the iPhone X. Priced at $90, the Bella Fino is a slim wallet-style case that offers front and back protection without adding a ton of bulk.

The Bella Fino, made from full grain American leather, features a thin snap-on inner shell that keeps the iPhone X in place, and inside, there's a money pocket and four slots that are able to hold cards and a driver's license, making it a suitable wallet replacement. Wireless charging is fully supported, and all ports and the rear camera remain accessible.

We have one prize pack featuring a Bella Fino iPhone X case, a TechFolio, and a Heritage Leather Men's Satchel Bag. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (June 5) at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on June 12. The winner will be chosen randomly on June 12 and will be contacted by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before a new winner is chosen.

Apple Maps now supports transit in North Carolina, enabling users to navigate with public transportation in several metropolitan areas across the state.

The largest transit options supported include CATS buses and LYNX trains in the Charlotte area, GoTransit buses in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, GTA buses in Greensboro, and inter-city PART buses in the Piedmont Triad area.

Apple Maps also appears to support transit directions in a few additional areas of California, including Bakersfield and Fresno, complementing the previously supported areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and others.

The feature can be accessed by tapping the Transit tab or button in Apple Maps on iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.

Apple Maps has supported transit since 2015, with an initial rollout in Baltimore, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, and China. Since then, Apple has expanded the feature to dozens of additional cities around the world.

Google Maps has also supported navigation via public transportation for several years now, including in the Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greensboro areas, but Apple Maps is slowly catching up with detailed routing info.

In related news, Apple at its WWDC keynote on Monday announced that CarPlay will support Google Maps, Waze, and other third-party navigation apps with a paired iPhone running iOS 12, released in beta yesterday.

(Thanks, Ram!)