MacRumors

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and Apple plans to mark the occasion in several ways, including a dedicated section in the App Store and retail field trips.

According to Steven Aquino, a journalist who covers accessibility topics, Apple will offer field trips to retail stores that will host music events designed to include children with disabilities.

Kids will be able to participate in the events using the Skoogmusic Skoog 2.0 Tactile Musical Interface, one of the many accessibility-oriented accessories Apple sells in its online store. Skoog is a tactile cube that lets children with disabilities control sound through touch.

Some of the apps included are Proloquo2Go, :prose, Keeble Accessible Keyboard, Assistive Express, TouchChat HD, RocketKeys, and more.

Accessibility has always been hugely important to Apple, and the company has aimed to make its devices accessible for everyone, with in-depth accessibility settings to meet a range of needs. Back in October, Apple launched a new Accessibility website that highlights accessibility features across all of its products.

Twitter today announced that it is doing away with the egg profile photo that was used for any Twitter account that did not upload its own profile picture.

Over time, the egg, which has been around for many years, has come to be associated with accounts created to harass others, giving the egg a negative connotation that Twitter wanted to do away with.

Instead of the egg, Twitter is introducing a new default photo profile that's designed to encourage people to upload their own photos "for more personal expression." Twitter aimed to create something that was generic, universal, serious, unbranded, temporary, and inclusive, and which felt more like a placeholder than the egg.

The company went through many profile photo iterations before landing on a simple gender neutral line-based figure in a generic shade of gray.

Twitter's new default profile photo has already rolled out and people should be seeing the figure instead of an egg on any account without a user-uploaded profile picture.

Twitter can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Earlier this year, the CareKit-supported One Drop Blood Glucose Monitor launched on Apple.com, allowing users to get pain-free results in just seconds, with data easily displayed on the compatible iOS app. After a few months on the market, One Drop has today released new findings and is reporting that its kit has catalyzed "a substantial improvement in glycemic control." In total, the study accounts for 3,500,000 app log-ins and over 200,000,000 primary health data points entered by its users over a period lasting between 2 months to 1 year.

The data comes from One Drop mobile app users on both iOS and Android who have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and who have consistently followed the company's app guidelines by entering two glycated hemoglobin (A1C) values at least sixty days (but not more than one year) apart. In June 2016, prior to One Drop's wide release, initial analysis showed a 0.7 percentage point reduction in A1C for One Drop app users, going down from 7.8 percent to 7.1 percent.

Now, One Drop has repeated its analysis "on a much larger sample" of users, and discovered a 1.0 percent point reduction in A1C among app users, decreasing from 8.2 percent to 7.2 percent. Diabetics are encouraged to take A1C tests at least twice a year, in order to measure their average blood glucose level during the previous 3 month period. The American Diabetes Association encourages those with diabetes to aim for an A1C test result of less than 7 percent; people without diabetes typically range between 4 and 6 percent, so the lower the result the better.

As One Drop pointed out, the more that its users visited the app and tracked their blood glucose and food intake, the more their A1C improved. At the same time, inflated results from the glut of new users post-launch also factor into the .30 percent increase between the findings last June and this month. The company mentioned that, although the findings might appear small, "this is just the tip of the iceberg" in terms of testing and improvements coming to One Drop.

"The improvement in A1c we've seen among our users is often achieved with drugs, but rarely, if ever, seen with self-care interventions," said Jeff Dachis, Founder and CEO of One Drop. "With One Drop, we are delivering a well-designed, evidence-based diabetes solution that provides cost-effective, comprehensive care to anyone, anywhere in the United States and, soon, anywhere in the world.

The company's app also has an on-demand coaching service called "One Drop Experts" -- available in the Premium plan -- which gives users 24/7 in-app diabetes support from Certified Diabetes Educators, and even a digital therapeutics program to keep every aspect of their program on track. One Drop has additionally tracked activity from this specific section of the app as well, and discovered the following took place over a four week period.

Participants using the One Drop app and One Drop Experts:

• reduced average blood glucose by 27 mg/dL;
• reduced average blood glucose from 185 mg/dL (A1c 8.1%) to 158 (A1c 7.1%);
• reduced average percentage of high blood glucose readings from 19% to 4%;
• nearly doubled the percentage of in-range blood glucose readings;
• consistently tracked food and blood glucose over time.

For those interested, the One Drop Blood Glucose Monitoring Kit sells for $99.95 on Apple.com, while the One Drop for Diabetes Management app is free to download on the iOS App Store, and includes Apple Watch support [Direct Link]. One Drop's advantages include a lancing device that has custom depth settings to ensure that each user can discover the right amount of pressure and get "a perfect drop every time." The Premium subscription plan ensures users never run out of test strips, in addition to access to One Drop Experts.

In 2016 One Drop was one of four apps that launched with Apple's CareKit platform, which allows app developers to design and launch integrated software to facilitate better communication and information gathering among doctors and their patients. The other three apps were fertility tracker Glow Nurture [Direct Link], maternity app Glow Baby [Direct Link], and depression medication tracker Start [Direct Link].

For One Drop, Founder and CEO Jeff Dachis said that the company intends to continue its expansion and encourage the spread of diabetic knowledge in the process: "As we expand, we will maintain our focus, empowering everyone with diabetes today to make better choices and lead fuller lives."

Verizon Communications is gearing up to enter the ever-growing online streaming TV market, alongside competitors like DirecTV Now, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, as well as soon-to-launch bundles from Hulu and YouTube. Verizon is currently securing streaming rights from TV networks ahead of a nationwide launch of its cord-cutting service, which is said to show up for customers as soon as this summer, according to people familiar with the company's plans (via Bloomberg).

"Dozens" of channels will be on offer, and the service will act as a separate entity from Verizon's own teen-based go90 video app and FiOS Home TV offering. In terms of cost, the sources said that Verizon will enter the market with a bundle that runs somewhere between Sling TV's basic $20/month package and DirecTV Now's $35/month starting price. Specific channel offerings, and the amount that will be available, were not divulged.

Verizon’s preparations highlight the growing pressure to provide a cheaper, smaller package of TV networks to viewers who are turned off by a glut of programming available on traditional cable packages. Dish Network Corp. introduced a similar service, Sling TV, two years ago, and AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV Now came out late last year. Sling’s basic package costs $20 a month, while DirecTV Now starts at $35 for 60 channels. Verizon’s will probably be similarly priced, the people said.

It's expected for Verizon's bundle to follow the usual availability on platforms like iOS, Apple TV, and other set-top streaming boxes including Roku devices. According to the people familiar with Verizon's plans, it's currently "unclear" whether or not customers will have to be tied into Verizon's phone services to access the TV bundle. AT&T's DirecTV Now doesn't have such a restriction, but customers do get a discount if they sign up for both phone and TV services.

Although there are already plenty of cord-cutting options for users to choose from at present, more are coming down the line this year, including an anticipated launch this spring of Hulu's online TV service. At one point Apple was hoping to become a competitor in the live-streaming service field with its own dedicated cord-cutting bundle, but rumors of that service died down after news came out that the company was "frustrated" by its repeated inability to reach mutually beneficial terms with network programmers.

Apple has officially opened its new App Accelerator in Bangalore as part of an effort to support engineering talent and boost growth in India's iOS developer community (via Mashable).

At the center, experts will lead briefings and provide one-to-one app reviews for developers. Apple is calling the facility "the first of its kind" in the country, and says it will provide specialized support to developers as well as tools to help them push the boundaries.

"We are impressed by the great entrepreneurial spirit in India, and are excited to provide a platform for these developers to share their innovations with customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Apple. 

"In just the first few weeks, we've already seen some incredible developers here at the App Accelerator Bengaluru, including Practo and Reliance Games, create innovative apps that can meet the needs of customers in India and around the world."

Apple first announced its plans for the App Accelerator back in May 2016, during CEO Tim Cook's high profile visit to India, when he met with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Since then, the company has been steadily ramping up its presence in the country, negotiating terms with Modi regarding manufacturing and development, seeking tax concessions for locally manufactured iPhones, and setting up a local distribution center.

Apple is currently offering popular minimalist puzzler Blyss as its Free App of the Week on the App Store.

Blyss combines a unique puzzle mechanic with serene and calming aesthetics, some of which have a Monument Valley-style vibe. The game itself involves white blocks laid in a formation against varied backgrounds and themes, with each block presenting a certain number of dots.

These dots indicate how many times they must be covered with a swipe along the game field, and all of the squares must be eliminated to complete the puzzle, but a danger lurks in removing a square that is vital to completing the level. The App Store Editor's notes are as follows.

Some dots take one swipe, some take two. But one thing's for certain: If you want to clear every puzzle, you have to think through your moves. Failure's inevitable in the high-stakes Endless mode – but trust us – you won't mind restarting.

Blyss launched in July 2016 as Apple Editor's Choice on the App Store in 78 countries. According to MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, "Blyss appears to achieve that sweet spot of being complex and in-depth, while still having a zen-like vibe".

Usually $1.99, the game can be downloaded for free on iPad and iPhone over on the App Store. [Direct Link]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today issued a determination that again denies authorization for the major banks in the country to work together to negotiate with Apple to gain access to the NFC chip within iOS devices.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank, and Bendigo and Adelaide bank had asked for permission to collectively bargain with Apple and boycott Apple Pay. According to the ACCC, the request was denied because the potential benefits do not outweigh the detriments, and there were concerns that the collective bargaining could reduce or distort competition in a number of markets.

The Australian banks have been aiming to get access to the NFC chip in the iPhone, which would allow their own payments services to work on iOS devices alongside Apple Pay. Apple does not allow third-party access to the NFC chip because of security concerns, leading Apple to urge the ACCC to deny the request.

The banks argued that access to the NFC chip in the iPhone would allow them to offer competing wallets, which would lead to increased competition and consumer choice in digital wallets and increased innovation and investment in digital wallets.

"This is currently a finely balanced decision. The ACCC is not currently satisfied that the likely benefits from the proposed conduct outweigh the likely detriments," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

With the request for collective negotiations shut down, Australian banks that are holding out against Apple Pay will each need to negotiate individually with Apple. Following the ACCC's statement, the banks released a joint statement calling the decision disappointing.

Thus far, the banks involved in the dispute have resisted implementing Apple Pay, and it's not clear if today's decision will result in a meaningful change. While Apple Pay has been available in Australia for quite some time through partnerships with American Express and ANZ, the many Australians who bank with the three major banks involved in the dispute do not have access to Apple Pay.

Back at Mobile World Congress in February, Apple and enterprise application software company SAP, which first teamed up in 2016 announced plans to launch the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS in March, and as of today, the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS has been made available.

The platform features a toolset that is designed to help developers quickly and effortlessly build "enterprise-grade" apps for iOS devices. It uses Apple's Swift programming language to present developers and designers with a collection of pre-built UI components and easy access iPhone features for accelerated app development.

Apple announced the launch of the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS on its developer website.

Apple and SAP are working together to make it easier than ever to reinvent business processes and workflows everywhere. With the new SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS, you can build powerful native iOS apps that integrate seamlessly with the SAP Cloud Platform.

Apple's dedicated SAP page better explains the partnership between the two companies and the benefits of the SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS for enterprise customers.