Following months of beta testing, Vizio today announced that AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are now rolling out to its 2016 and newer SmartCast TVs via an over-the-air firmware update. The rollout will continue over the coming months.
AirPlay 2 support enables users to stream videos, music, podcasts, photos, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to a compatible Vizio TV, with no Apple TV necessary. And with HomeKit, users can easily control the TV's power, volume, and more using Siri or the Home app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are rolling out to the following Vizio SmartCast TVs:
VIZIO P-Series Quantum X (2019)
VIZIO P-Series Quantum (2019 and 2018)
VIZIO P-Series (2018, 2017 and 2016)
VIZIO M-Series Quantum (2019)
VIZIO M-Series (2018, 2017 and 2016)
VIZIO E-Series (2018, 2017 and 2016 UHD models)
VIZIO V-Series (2019)
VIZIO D-Series (2018)
MacRumors demoed AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on a Vizio SmartCast TV during the beta testing period:
Apple this afternoon sent out emails reminding customers in six U.S. states about upcoming sales tax holidays, which will allow customers in these areas to purchase Macs, iPads, and other products with reduced sales tax or no sales tax.
Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Virginia all have sales tax holidays coming up in August, with Apple outlining which products are eligible for the sales tax break in each state.
Every state has different rules for products that can be purchased during the tax holiday, so customers in Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Virginia should check out Apple's tax holiday website for specifics. Dates are as follows:
Florida - August 2-6
Massachusetts - August 17-18
Missouri - August 2-4
New Mexico - August 2-4
South Carolina - August 2-4
Virginia - August 2-4
Many Apple products are eligible for the promotion in each state, including Macs, iPads, the iPod touch, and accessories like the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, though there are varying dollar value caps in each state. Virginia's tax holiday is the most limited, applicable only to cell phone batteries and chargers with a value of $60 or less.
There were also sales tax holidays in Tennessee and Alabama, but those took place in July and are now over.
During today's earnings call covering the third quarter of 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple wants to continue making the Mac Pro in the United States.
Cook made the statement in response to a question about Apple potentially moving Mac Pro production out of the United States due to looming tariffs on components imported from China.
There's been a lot of speculation around the topic of different moves and so forth. I wouldn't put a lot of stock in those. The way I view that is the vast majority of our products are kind of made everywhere.
Cook went on to explain that products and components are made in the United States, Japan, Korea, China, Europe, and other places. "That's the nature of a global supply chain," he said. "I think that will carry the day, in the future as well."
As for the Mac Pro specifically, Cook said that Apple is continuing to invest in its U.S. production facilities.
We've been making the Mac Pro in the United States and we want to continue doing that. We're working and investing currently in the capacity to do so. We want to continue to be there. That's what's behind the exclusions.
Apple has been manufacturing the current Mac Pro in Texas since its 2013 launch, but a June report from The Wall Street Journal said that the upcoming 2019 Mac Pro will be assembled by Quanta Computer in China.
In a statement at the time, Apple said that "final assembly is only one part of the manufacturing process" explaining that the Mac Pro is designed and engineered in California and includes U.S.-made components.
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.
Thanks to trade-in programs and other promotions, Apple saw significant improvement in iPhone sales in China, Apple CEO Tim Cook said today during today's earnings call covering the third fiscal quarter of 2019.
Cook said that Apple saw "great improvement" in China, returning to growth in constant currency in Greater China with improvements in year-over-year iPhone performance compared to the last two quarters.
We're happy with our performance across the board, including a return to growth in mainland China. We accomplished this despite strong headwinds from foreign exchange, which impacted the top-line growth rate by 300 points compared to a year ago, equivalent to $1.5 billion of revenue. In constant currency, our revenue grew in all five of our geographic segments.
Cook went on to say that Apple is "encouraged" by the results of the initiatives it launched earlier this year, with the company seeing a strong customer response to in-store trade-in and financing programs. iPhone in retail and online stores returned to growth on a year-over-year basis in June, said Cook, and the active installed base of iPhone users reached a new all-time high.
Despite the improvements, iPhone revenue was down during the quarter. The iPhone brought in $26 billion, down from $29.5 billion in the third quarter of 2018. For the first time, the iPhone was responsible for less than half of Apple's revenue, with services and wearables making up for the decline in sales.
Cook said that later this year, Apple has "several new products" that it can't wait to share with customers, without going into details. Apple also has multiple services on the horizon, including Apple Card (coming in August), Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+.
During today's earnings call for the third fiscal quarter of 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple plans to launch its Apple Card credit card in August.
Thousands of employees are currently testing the card, and Apple will be ready to debut it soon. Cook did not provide a specific date in August for the launch, so it could come at any time.
Created in partnership with Goldman Sachs, the Apple Card is deeply integrated with Apple Pay and the Wallet app, though there is also a physical titanium card that can be used for in-person purchases.
Apple Card can be used for both standard purchases and Apple Pay purchases, with Apple providing rewards for both. Customers will get 3 percent cash back for purchases made at an Apple Store, 2 percent cash back for all Apple Pay purchases, and 1 percent cash back for all other purchases.
Cash back is provided in the form of "Daily Cash" that, as the name suggests, is paid out to customers on a daily basis. Daily Cash is added to the Apple Cash card in Wallet and can be used for purchases, sent to friends, or transferred to a bank account.
In the Wallet app, Apple will offer spend tracking and other budgeting tools. Color-coded categories will give users an idea of how much money they're spending on food, activities, shopping, health care, entertainment, and more.
Apple Card will be limited to the United States at launch, but may expand to additional countries in the future. For more details on the Apple Card, make sure to check out our Apple Card guide.
Apple's services category, which includes iTunes, the App Store, the Mac App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, and more, has become an important revenue driver for Apple amid stagnating iPhone sales, leading Apple to focus more effort on its services category.
In the third fiscal quarter of 2019, Apple's services segment brought in $11.46 billion, up from $10.17 billion in the year-ago quarter and $11.45 billion in the second quarter of 2019.
Apple set new all-time records for AppleCare, Apple Music, App Store search ads, and more, along with a new third-quarter revenue record for the App Store. Apple saw double digit services revenue in all five geographical segments.
Apple surpassed 420 million paid subscribers in the third quarter, and Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple is well on its way to reaching its goal of reaching $14 billion in services revenue per quarter by 2020.
Apple Pay is now in 47 markets and in the June quarter, started adding more new users than PayPal and monthly transaction volume is growing 4x as fast. Apple is starting to roll out NYC transit support for Apple Pay in the United States, and Chicago will follow later this year.
Apple in March announced new services that will continue to boost services revenue in the future. Apple News+, a $9.99 per month service that provides unlimited access to more than 200 magazines, has already launched, and later this year Apple is introducing Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, and a new Apple Card credit card.
Apple's Wearables, Home, and Accessories category, which includes devices like the AirPods and Apple Watch, set a new June quarter revenue record of $5.5 billion, up from $3.7 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Sales from Apple's wearables category helped make up for weak iPhone sales this quarter. iPhone revenue came in at $26 billion, down from $29.5 billion in third quarter of 2018.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said that wearables had an "absolute "blowout" quarter with growth well over 50 percent. Apple Watch set a new June quarter revenue record and is reaching millions of new users. More than 75 percent of buyers in the June quarter were first time Apple Watch buyers.
Apple's services category, which hit a new all-time high revenue record of $11.46 billion, also helped Apple make up for the 12 percent decline in iPhone revenue.
Wearables and services combined are now the size of a Fortune 50 company according to Cook. Cook also said that Apple's wearables business is larger than 60 percent of companies in the Fortune 500.
Apple today announced financial results for the third fiscal quarter of 2019, which corresponds to the second calendar quarter of the year. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $53.8 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.0 billion, or $2.18 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $53.3 billion and net quarterly profit of $11.5 billion, or $2.34 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
The revenue figure was Apple's highest ever for the June quarter, just beating out the year-ago quarter, although profits dipped on lower margins.
Gross margin for the quarter was 37.6 percent compared to 38.3 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 59 percent of revenue. Apple also declared a quarterly dividend payment of $0.77 per share, payable on August 15 to shareholders of record as of August 12.
This is the third quarter since Apple changed the way it reports its results, with the company no longer providing unit sales data for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As a result, Apple is only providing revenue figures for its various segments, leaving analysts to estimate unit sales based on their own calculations.
“This was our biggest June quarter ever — driven by all-time record revenue from Services, accelerating growth from Wearables, strong performance from iPad and Mac and significant improvement in iPhone trends,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “These results are promising across all our geographic segments, and we’re confident about what’s ahead. The balance of calendar 2019 will be an exciting period, with major launches on all of our platforms, new services and several new products.”
Apple's guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 includes expected revenue of $61–64 billion and gross margin between 37.5 and 38.5 percent.
Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q3 2019 financial results conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Apple is developing an English-language adaptation of the Israeli TV show "False Flag" for its upcoming Apple TV+ service, reports Deadline.
The drama series first aired in Israel in 2015, sharing the story of five people who wake up one morning to find themselves implicated in a kidnapping operation after the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister. From Deadline:
As news bulletins repeatedly broadcast their names and photos, their attempts at denial are all in vain - the coverage sweeps them up in a maelstrom of publicity. At first, everyone is convinced that Mossad was behind the operation - but then the five civilians are stunned to discover that the government, which is supposed to protect them, as well as Mossad itself, denies all involvement and accuses them as suspects. Instead of helping them, the authorities persecute, investigate and point fingers, and even their loved ones begin to doubt their innocence.
"False Flag" aired in the United States on Hulu, but Apple's adaptation will be a separate project. Apple is working with Keshet Studios, which it has also teamed up with for "Nevelot," another Israeli drama series. The "Nevelot" adaptation will star Richard Gere.
Apple has more than a dozen TV shows in the works for Apple TV+, which is set to launch this fall. A list of all Apple's shows can be found in our roundup of Apple's original TV content.
Available for $1,299.95, the new LG UltraFine 5K Display offers the same 5120 x 2880 resolution as the previous UltraFine 5K Display with 14.7 million pixels and P3 wide color gamut.
The display connects to a Mac using a Thunderbolt 3 cable, and this version of the monitor can connect using USB-C, which means that it's also compatible with the iPad Pro. There are three downstream USB-C ports with speeds up to 5Gb/s, and when used with a Mac notebook, charging over TB3 is supported with up to 94W of power available.
Connect the UltraFine 5K Display to your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air via an included Thunderbolt 3 cable, which supports 5K video, audio, and data simultaneously. Connect the UltraFine 5K Display to your MacBook or iPad Pro via an included USB-C cable. The display supplies up to 94W of host charging power.
There are built-in stereo speakers, an included camera, and a microphone, along with an adjustable stand.
Apple stopped selling the original LG 5K UltraFine display earlier this year, and as of May, it was listed as "Sold Out" and was unavailable for pickup in Apple retail stores.
After Apple introduced a new version of the 4K LG UltraFine model, there was speculation that this new 5K model would also soon show up in the store, which has indeed happened.
The original 4K and 5K UltraFine Displays were designed by LG in partnership with Apple and were created to be used with the 2016 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, which supported Thunderbolt 3 for the first time.
Apple is developing its own Pro Display XDR with a 6K resolution for release later this year, but its premium $5,000 price tag makes it too pricey for use by the general population, which means Apple is likely to continue to offer the LG displays for some time.
Apple's guidance suggests it will report its second-best third quarter ever by revenue:
2014: $37.4 billion
2015: $49.6 billion
2016: $42.4 billion
2017: $45.4 billion
2018: $53.3 billion
2019: $52.5+ billion
Wall Street's revenue estimates average out to $53.39 billion, slightly below the midpoint of Apple's guidance, based on 33 analysts tracked by Yahoo Finance. Earnings per share is estimated to be $2.10.
Key Facts and What to Look For
iPhone revenue of $26.5 billion, according to a Bloomberg average.
Apple's guidance for its fourth fiscal quarter, which typically encompasses the launch of at least some new iPhone models in mid-to-late September. Wall Street expects fourth quarter revenue to be $61 billion, down around three percent year-over-year, according to Bloomberg.
Apple's revenue in Greater China and any potential commentary regarding the U.S.-China trade war. Apple reported revenue of $9.5 billion in Greater China in the year-ago quarter, which was 19 percent growth.
Apple's services revenue reached an all-time high of $11.45 billion in the second quarter, and investors will be looking for continued growth from the launch of Apple News+ six days before the third quarter began. The upcoming launches of the Apple Card later this summer and Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ in the fall could also be at least partially baked into Apple's fourth quarter guidance depending on exact launch dates.
Apple's "Wearables, Home, and Accessories" category also remains key. Last quarter, Apple said the category was the size of a Fortune 200 company, buoyed by the success of the Apple Watch and AirPods.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will discuss the company's earnings results on a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today. MacRumors will highlight key points from the one-hour call as it occurs live.
GameClub launched in March with the mission of bringing back classic iOS games that have disappeared from the App Store over time, and this week, a super popular older title has once again become available: Super Crate Box.
Introduced back in 2010, Super Crate Box is a 2D arena-style platform shoot 'em up game from Vlambeer. Gameplay involves looting crates for weapons to slay a never-ending stream of enemies, surviving as long as possible. Every time a crate is opened, you get a new random weapon, keeping gameplay fresh and dynamic.
Super Crate Box came to PCs and Macs before being ported to iOS in 2012, where it earned a five star review from our sister site TouchArcade for its "blazingly fast and chaotic" pace and "satisfyingly awesome" rewards, which made it hard to put down. Unfortunately, Super Crate Box received few updates following its launch making it defunct, but GameClub has adopted it, revived it, polished it up, and made it available once again.
Like all GameClub games, Super Crate Box is available to play for free in a beta capacity right now using Apple's TestFlight app. Sign up using this link to play.
GameClub has tons of other games available that you can play for free as it continues beta testing content (including former TouchArcadegame of the year Space Miner!), with a list below:
Space Miner Blast - A spinoff of Space Miner that's an arcade shooter
Hook Champ - Retro 8-bit side scroller with grappling hook gameplay
Super QuickHook - A Hook Champ followup with the same great gameplay and 16-bit graphics
Hook Worlds - An endless runner featuring the same grappling hook gameplay as Hook Champ
Legendary Wars - Castle vs. Castle (and one of GameClub's most popular titles to date)
Mage Gauntlet, a fun action RPG reminiscent of old Nintendo games, is one of the next games that GameClub plans to launch. A full list of all GameClub games can be found on the GameClub website.
There are updates for close to 80 games in the works at the current time, and GameClub plans to add even more in the future. There's a tentative fall launch date for GameClub, and while pricing has yet to be announced, there will be no ads or micro transations in any of the titles available through GameClub.
Right now, GameClub's creators are working on creating a rich catalog of games to play and making sure all early access testers are satisfied with the quality of the updates before details like pricing are solidified.
New GameClub games are released each Monday, and you can get a heads up on what's coming by signing up for the GameClub newsletter or visiting the GameClub Discord.
Following a four-year stint at Valve, Xbox co-creator Nat Brown has now taken on a role at Apple, announcing his new position on Twitter.
Brown said that he has an obsession with platform ecosystems and systems engineering, and he's looking forward to continuing his work in these areas at Apple. Brown says that he will be "focusing on all applications of graphics" and working with developers using graphics on Apple platforms.
Prior to joining Apple, Brown was working as a VR engineer on Valve's VR team, but Valve laid off its VR team earlier this year. Before he was at Valve, Brown was one of the first engineers to join the Xbox project back in 1999.
ohai! so today I start at apple. a little thread if you're interested...
— Nat Brown (@natbro) July 29, 2019
Back in 2013, Brown shared a blog post arguing that the Apple TV had the potential to destroy console gaming thanks to its support of third-party apps. Microsoft and other gaming platforms now support indie games, but at the time, Brown argued that Apple could have killed the Playstation and the Xbox by introducing a game ecosystem for the Apple TV. From Brown's 2013 blog post:
Apple, if it chooses to do so, will simply kill Playstation, Wii-U and xBox by introducing an open 30%-cut app/game ecosystem for Apple-TV. I already make a lot of money on iOS - I will be the first to write apps for Apple-TV when I can, and I know I'll make money. I would for xBox if I could and I knew I would make money. Maybe a "console-capable" Apple-TV isn't $99, maybe it's $199, and add another $79 for a controller.
Apple did not do so in 2013, but later did open up the Apple TV to apps and games with a dedicated Apple TV App Store. Unfortunately, the Apple TV App Store hasn't exactly been a console killer.
It's not clear what specific graphics applications Brown will be working on at Apple, and it's not known if he will be joining Apple's rumored AR/VR team.
AT&T today announced that it is rebranding DirecTV Now, its live TV streaming service, as "AT&T TV Now." The company said that existing customers will need to re-accept terms of service following the rebranding, and then their streaming plans will continue as usual.
Other than the name change, AT&T hasn't announced any other overhauls to its live TV platform, so users can expect the same prices and channel availability as before. The company said that current DirecTV Now users will see the update automatically across devices.
Secondly, AT&T announced yet another new streaming platform, called AT&T TV, which will be piloted in select markets this summer. The company described this as a "connected TV experience with no satellite needed," which sounds essentially like another live TV streaming service, but gave no details about how it would be different from AT&T TV Now.
Both AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now will be accessed through the same AT&T TV app on mobile devices and on TV apps. AT&T said that customers can expect more details about AT&T TV as the rollout begins later this summer.
Apple today released the fourth public betas of iOS 13 and iPadOS to its public beta testing group, two weeks after seeding the third public betas and a day after seeding the fifth developer beta.
Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 13 beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device.
Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas. Before installing a beta, make sure to create a full encrypted iTunes backup or an iCloud backup. It's best to install iOS 13 on a secondary device because beta software is not always stable and can include bugs.
iOS 13 is a major update to the iOS operating system that runs on the iPhone and the iPad, but this year, iOS 13 and iPadOS, the version of iOS 13 that runs on the iPad, are separate downloads as they've been split up.
iPadOS is identical to iOS 13 in almost every way, though there are some iPad-specific features such as new multitasking capabilities. For the most part, the two operating systems share the same features.
iOS 13 introduces a long list of new features. Dark Mode changes the entire look of the operating system, shifting it from light to dark, while an overhauled Photos app makes it easier to relive your memories with new Days, Months, and Years viewing options.
There's a new photo editing interface that makes it easier to edit photos than ever before, plus there are new tools to work with and options to edit the intensity of the built-in filters. You can edit video right in the Photos app for the first time, and on the newest iPhones, there's a new High-Key Mono lighting effect and an option to adjust the intensity of Portrait Lightning effects.
iOS 13 adds a less obtrusive volume HUD, a new Find My app that combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends and lets you track your devices even with they don't have an LTE or WiFi connection. A Sign In with Apple feature (not yet active) gives you a convenient and data safe way to sign into apps and websites, providing an alternative to Facebook and Google sign in options.
Maps has a new street-level "Look Around" mode and a Collections feature for making lists of places, Reminders has been entirely overhauled to make it more functional, there's a profile feature in Messages along with new Memoji and Animoji stickers, and Siri has a new voice.
The fifth developer beta, which is identical to the fourth public beta, brought new iPad Home screen options, Share Sheet updates, new Move Goals in the Activity app, updated volume controls, and more. For a full list of changes, make sure to check out our what's new in beta 5 article.
There are a ton of additional new features and changes coming in iOS 13, and for a full rundown of what you can expect, make sure to check out our iOS 13 roundup.
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to its public beta testing group, two weeks after seeding the third public beta and day after seeding the fifth developer beta of tvOS.
Public beta testers can download the new update by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under "System." "Get Public Beta Updates" will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.
tvOS 13 includes a new Home screen that's aimed at making it easier to find new content, with support for autoplaying videos to show off new TV shows, movies, and apps, similar to Netflix.
Multi-user support is new in tvOS 13, letting each member of the family have their own customized Apple TV interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists. A new Control Center lets you swap between profiles.
tvOS 13 gets the Apple TV ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the Apple TV, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. Apple Arcade will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.
Apple Arcade preparations include support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an Apple TV over Bluetooth.
Apple is also adding new under-the-sea themed screensavers made in partnership with the BBC Natural History unit, also known for "Blue Planet," and the new software brings support for a picture-in-picture mode that lets you watch TV while doing other things on the Apple TV.
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of watchOS 6, the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The new beta comes two weeks after the third beta and more than a month after Apple first unveiled the new watchOS update at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
To install the watchOS 6 beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.
Installing the software requires the Apple Watch to have 50 percent battery. It also needs to be put on a charger and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 6 is a major update that offers up a long list of new features. First and foremost, there's an App Store right on the Apple Watch, so you can find and download new Apple Watch apps on your wrist.
Apple Watch apps no longer need to have an iPhone component, which means developers can create standalone Apple Watch apps for the first time. Apps are able to take advantage of new APIs so you'll be able to do things like follow along with a workout or listen to streaming music from third-party services.
Since Apple Watch apps are now independent of apps on the iPhone, you can now remove some built-in apps from the Apple Watch, a feature that was enabled in beta 3.
There are several new watch faces in watchOS 6, including Numerals Mono and Duo with huge numbers, Modular Compact, a Gradient watch face that shifts over the course of a day, a Solar Dial watch face that visualizes the sun in a 24 hour path around the dial, and the California watch face with a mix of standard numbers and roman numerals.
A new Taptic Chimes feature provides a silent touch on the wrist at every hour, and if sound is turned on, you'll hear an audible chime. You can also hold two fingers on the Apple Watch's display to hear the time spoken out loud.
There are new Audiobooks, Voice Memos, and Calculator apps, along with a new Noise app that warns you if you're exposed to sound that's too loud and a new Cycle Tracking app for period tracking. Activity Trends, visible on the iPhone, are also available to chart your fitness progress and make sure your fitness trends are improving.
New complications are available for wind speed, chance of rain, and the new Noise app, plus there's a Voice Memos complication for recording a memo quickly, a cellular strength complication, and a complication for the Calculator that opens up the app.
Siri can now provide full web search results right on the watch when asked a question, and for Mac users, the Apple Watch can now approve Mac security prompts.
When it launches in the fall, watchOS 6 will be available on all Apple Watch models with the exception of the original Apple Watch, released in 2015. For more on what's new in watchOS 6, make sure to check out our watchOS 6 roundup.
Apple has joined the Data Transfer Project, an initiative launched in 2018 to develop an open-source service-to-service data portability platform to allow people to easily move their data between online service providers.
As The Verge notes, Apple is now listed as a contributor alongside Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and others.
Apple will build systems that will make it easy to add and remove data from iCloud, similar to Google Takeout and Facebook's Access Your Information tool, which are compatible with one another and allow data to be downloaded to your hard drive.
Data Transfer Project is an open source initiative to encourage participation of as many Providers as possible. DTP will enhance the data portability ecosystem by reducing the infrastructure burden on both service providers and users which should in turn increase the number of services offering portability. The protocols and methodology of DTP enable direct, service-to-service data transfer with streamlined engineering work.
Eventually, the Data Transfer Project hopes that data will be able to be transferred directly from service to service with no need to download the data first.
Since the Data Transfer Project launched in July 2018 with Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft on board, 18 contributors from a combination of partners and the open source community have inserted more than 42,000 lines of code and changed more than 1,500 files, and new framework features and APIs have been added.
Apple today 
