MacRumors

A partial Apple Card outage impacting the ability of some customers to make in-store purchases using their ‌Apple Card‌ with Apple Pay is facing its second day in a row of issues, according to Apple's system status page.

On Monday, Apple said that some customers would be unable to make in-store purchases with their ‌Apple Card‌, and two days later, the issue continues to persist. These new issues follow a widespread Apple Card outage earlier this month that lasted several hours, impacting all ‌Apple Card‌ customers. The current issue facing some ‌Apple Card‌ customers is limited to in-store purchases, but online purchases seem to be working as normal.

‌Apple Card‌ launched in 2019 as a tightly integrated financial service into Apple's products and services. Apple has partnered with Goldman Sachs to be the issuing bank for the card, meaning it's currently limited to just the United States. ‌Apple Card‌ features are integrated into the Wallet app with color-coded spending summaries, no fees, and up to three percent cashback on purchases, paid out daily.

Update: Apple's system status page now says that the issue is resolved and ‌Apple Card‌ is working as normal.

In 2016, Apple considered an "audacious" plan to launch its own healthcare service, based on a subscription, with "Apple doctors" at clinics for customers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The project, which has since stalled due to internal concerns, was to offer customers an all-encompassing healthcare service that would integrate data collected from the iPhone and Apple Watch. On the project's heels, an internal team studied how data collected from the Apple Watch could improve healthcare service.

One of its most ambitious healthcare ideas was a plan to offer primary-care medicine, conceived in 2016, according to documents and the people familiar with the plan. An Apple team spent months trying to figure out how the flood of health and wellness data collected from users of its smartwatch, first released in 2015, might be used to improve healthcare, the people said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said one of Apple's greatest contributions to humanity will be in health, and at one point, its biggest idea of that contribution would be its own healthcare service.

One of its most ambitious healthcare ideas was a plan to offer primary-care medicine, conceived in 2016, according to documents and the people familiar with the plan. An Apple team spent months trying to figure out how the flood of health and wellness data collected from users of its smartwatch, first released in 2015, might be used to improve healthcare, the people said.

The team decided one of the best ways to realize that vision was to provide a medical service of its own, said people familiar with the plan, linking data generated by Apple devices with virtual and in-person care provided by Apple doctors. Apple would offer primary care, but also continuous health monitoring as part of a subscription-based personalized health program, according to these people and the documents.

In 2017, a year after the idea was first conceived, Apple took over health clinics near Apple Park to set up testbeds for the new health service. Dr Sumbul Desai, of Stanford University, manages the project. The testing at those clinics continues to this day, however, they have yet to move past "a preliminary stage."

Dr Desai's project and team have faced pushback from Apple employees. Some employees, including midlevel managers, have been critical of the way Dr Desai's unit "discourages critical feedback," including allegations that the unit provided inaccurate data about the performance of the test clinics, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Employees concerned about the culture pointed to a 2019 meeting during which a midlevel manager raised questions about data, according to people familiar with the meeting and the documents. Dr. Desai responded angrily, leading some present to conclude that critical questions were unwelcome, according to the people and the documents. The manager left Apple weeks later, and the episode contributed to her departure, documents show.

One initiative driven by Dr. Desai's team was an app being tested among Apple employees called HealthHabit. According to the report, it was meant to "connect people with clinicians via chat and encourages them to set health challenges." The app struggled with low downloads and enrollment, with half of the users who had downloaded the app in May not enrolling. The app's struggle has caused concerns over the accuracy of the data being collected.

Data supporting the app's hypertension program has caused new concerns among employees about the integrity of internal data and analysis, some of the people said.

During a presentation for all Apple health employees in March, Mr. Williams praised the clinics' results in treating hypertension and pointed to them as evidence supporting the HealthHabit app's potential, according to people who saw the presentation. He suggested that the company may have wider ambitions for the app if it is successful, they said.

At the same meeting, Apple's COO, Jeff Williams, also reportedly presented data that showed that "91% of patients in Apple's clinics with more severe stage-two hypertension improved to healthier stages or normal." An Apple spokesperson responded, saying that the statistic cited by Williams was for an internal program and not a product.

Apple's idea of launching its own healthcare service has stalled internally, and the company is likely keen on first building up its health infrastructure through more robust and meaningful health features for the Apple Watch, ‌iPhone‌, and various health studies. For example, Apple is reportedly considering and studying ways to include a blood-sugar sensor and temperature sensor in future iterations of the Apple Watch.

Twitter is considering offering users the ability to "unmention" themselves in other people's tweets as part of a wider privacy drive for the social media platform.

The early concept has been shared by Twitter designed Dominic Camozzi, who says the idea behind it is to help users control unwanted attention.

An example image shows a notification when the user has been mentioned in a tweet, with an option to "Unmention yourself" (i.e. remove your Twitter handle from it) without the author of the tweet being notified of the change.

In another related option currently being weighed up, Twitter could send you a notification when someone you don't follow mentions you, allowing you to review the tweet, unmention yourself from it, and block that user from mentioning you again.

Additionally, Camozzi is toying with the idea of giving users the ability to "control mass mentions" by preventing anyone on the platform from mentioning them for one day, three days, or seven days, thereby providing respite for anyone inundated with activity related to their account.

As with all early concepts, these changes may or may not be implemented by Twitter, and the company is actively looking for feedback from users regarding the ideas.

(Via Engadget.)

With the popularity of Disney+ showing no signs of abating, Disney is satisfied with its paid subscriber model and has no plans to introduce a cheaper ad-supported tier anytime soon.

That was the take-home message from Disney CEO Bob Chapek when asked about the possibility of a cheaper plan offering for its video streaming service, according to The Verge. Speaking at the Credit Suisse 23rd Annual Communications Conference on Tuesday, Chapek said:

"We're always re-evaluating how we go to market across the world, but we've got no such plans now to do that. We're happy with the models that we've got right now. We won't limit ourselves and say no to anything. But right now, we have no such plans for that."

Discounted plans for ad-supported streaming have become increasingly popular with other services such as Hulu (which is owned by Disney) and HBO Max, which introduced an ads tier in May which cut its rate by $5. However, when it looks at the upward curve of its subscriber figures graph, Disney clearly sees no need for an alternative to its paid-for subscription.

Indeed, Disney in March raised the price of its subscription streaming service by a dollar, from $6.99 to $7.99, with the yearly subscription also increasing. Despite the price hike, Disney+ continues to increase its subscriber base. In May the company said it had reached over 103 million global paid subscribers and that it expected to more than double that number by 2024, potentially surpassing Netflix.

Disney+ launched at the same time as Apple TV+, but it has grown much more rapidly given the available back catalog of Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars content, along with new TV shows like "The Mandalorian," "WandaVision," and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."

Apple has never provided details on ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌ subscribers so there's no direct comparison to be made, but Apple's subscriber numbers are nowhere near Disney's because Apple still has many people who are on free trials that have been continually extended.

That's set to change soon, however. From July 1, Apple is reducing its one year free trial of ‌Apple TV‌+ with eligible Apple device purchases to just three months, which will truly test the staying power of its audience.

Apple is working hard to bolster its selection of original movies and TV shows, but it will be several years yet before ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌ has a catalog that can compete with Disney+. Going forward, Disney has set a target of 100+ new titles per year across Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.

Sonos is today participating in an antitrust hearing on the smart home, where Sonos legal chief Eddie Lazarus had some commentary to share on the smart home market and the dominance of companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple.

Headed up by Amy Klobuchar, the Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights is today hosting a hearing on "Protecting Competition and Innovation in Home Technologies." Most of Sonos' complaints relayed by Lazarus are focused on Amazon and Google, but he did have a few comments about Apple.

In particular, Sonos has taken issue with the way that Apple is implementing Siri support for third-party companies. Apple at WWDC announced that third-party companies are able to integrate ‌Siri‌ voice control into their HomeKit devices, but "Hey ‌Siri‌" commands are relayed through a HomePod or HomePod mini, making an Apple device a requirement.

Take Apple's announcement that it will now license Siri to third parties in the smart home. As reported in The Verge, Apple will only license Siri to companies that utilize the HomePod as a central hub to connect with Siri Thus, Apple is conditioning interoperability with Siri on companies placing a competitive Apple product alongside their own.

Lazarus also said that while Google, Apple, and other companies are working on interoperability through initiatives like Matter, he's skeptical that this will lead to consumer choice or foster genuine interoperability between different smart home platforms. He also warns that because Apple and Google control the standard, they have control over the "pace of innovation."

No doubt the dominant companies will suggest that new legislation is unnecessary in light of the initiatives they have underway -- like the "Matter" alliance -- that are working towards a degree of smart home standardization to facilitate interoperability. It may well be that these efforts will yield some positive results for the makers of back-end devices, such as light bulbs, garage door openers, and the like by enabling them to interoperate with any of the three major ecosystems (Alexa, Assistant, Siri) using a uniform code base. But count me a skeptic that these types of initiatives will foster consumer choice at the front-end -- where consumers control their smart home devices -- or do much, if anything, to foster genuine interoperability across the siloed ecosystems of gatekeepers. From the user's perspective, the choices among a very few walled gardens will likely remain the same. One could imagine, furthermore, a Trojan Horse aspect to all this. Those who control the standard and its evolution effectively control the nature and pace of innovation, including the innovations dreamed up by their competitors. The standard Matter is working on, as I understand it, is basically a creature of Google and Apple code. That is hardly a formula for fair competition or more creative invention. It's a formula for further entrenching the dominance of the very few.

Because Amazon and Google dominate the smart speaker market, most of what Lazarus had to say focused on those two companies. He complained that as a condition of allowing Google Assistant on Sonos speakers, Sonos had to agree to allow just one voice assistant at a time, even though it supports multiple.

But Google demanded as a condition of having Google Assistant in our products that we never allow concurrency with another general voice assistant. As a result, today Sonos customers must open an application and manually choose which single voice assistant will be configured on their device. This forced choice degrades the consumer experience, but it is arguably good for Google, which is betting that most users will choose Google Assistant as the default voice assistant and then stick to the Google ecosystem.

He said that Google and Amazon have a history of taking on competitors by producing copycat products sold at subsidized prices, which is something that Sonos and other smart speaker companies aren't able to compete with.

Amazon and Google have now come to control roughly 85% of the U.S. smart speaker market. This is terrible for innovative dynamics because it hamstrings those companies that have better products that cannot be sold at a loss and consumers lose. In addition to protecting the future profits of their dominant products and services, cross-subsidization ultimately will result in the same anticompetitive effects as "traditional" below-cost predatory pricing; prices are sure to go up once these dominant companies have driven the other companies out of the market and reduced competition.

Google and Amazon have also allegedly copied Sonos advertising initiatives to confuse consumers.

If things don't change, Lazarus warns that in the future, every smart home will be controlled by a few dominant companies.

We see two possible futures for the smart home. In the first scenario -- resulting from the current trajectory we're on -- every smart home will be controlled by one of a few dominant companies, Google, Amazon, or perhaps Apple or Facebook will squeeze in too. These behemoths will exert overwhelming control over the direction of innovation and what new ideas make it to market, ultimately replicating a market structure that history tells us inhibits innovation and competition. Consumer choice will also wither. Consumers will find themselves channeled into the siloed ecosystems of a Google or an Amazon in a self-reinforcing dynamic of network fueled dominance.

With revamped antitrust law and enforcement level, the U.S. government could "broaden the playing field," according to Lazarus, allowing Sonos and other companies to "innovate and bring novel experiences to customers," with multiple companies competing based on product and services merit.

The Mayo Clinic today debuted support for the Apple Health records feature available on the iPhone, allowing Mayo Clinic patients to add their medical records to the Health app.

Health Records is a feature that's designed to allow patients to view and aggregate all of their health data in one easy-to-access spot on the ‌iPhone‌. More than 700 institutions and 12,000 care locations now offer support for Health Records in the United States, Canada, and the UK.

Mayo Clinic patients who have a Patient Services Account can access that data through the Health app using their Patient Services username and password. The feature is opt-in and available as an option for Mayo Clinic patients with an ‌iPhone‌.

"There are more ways than ever for patients to be actively engaged in their health care, and smartphone apps can be helpful for accessing records and tracking daily fitness and diet," says Steve Ommen, M.D., medical director of Experience Products for Mayo Clinic's Center for Digital Health. "We want patients who are interested in these apps to be able to use them securely and enhance their health care at Mayo Clinic."

Health Records are downloaded onto the ‌iPhone‌ using an encrypted connection, with the data stored on the user's device and encrypted with a passcode to ensure everything is kept private. Health Records data is not available to Apple.

With macOS Monterey, Apple has introduced expanded AirPlay 2 support, so you can ‌AirPlay‌ content from an iPhone, iPad, or even another Mac to your main Mac. We thought we'd do a quick demo of this handy new feature in our latest YouTube video.

With ‌AirPlay‌ to Mac, you can extend or mirror an Apple device's display to a Mac, and since two Macs are supported, a Mac can use another Mac as an external display, which is a kind of substitute for the Target Display Mode that used to exist for Macs.

‌AirPlay‌ to Mac works wirelessly or using an appropriate cable, and the wired connection is useful for cutting down on latency.

You can also turn your Mac into a speaker that can be used for multiroom audio alongside other ‌AirPlay‌ 2 devices.

‌AirPlay‌ to Mac works with the 2018 or later MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, 2019 or later iMac or Mac Pro, the ‌iMac‌ Pro, and the 2020 or later Mac mini.

Apple has also added a useful new Universal Control feature that lets you control multiple Macs and iPads with a single keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, but ‌Universal Control‌ does not appear to be functional in the initial macOS Monterey beta.

Apple Music Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and ‌Apple Music‌ Lossless quality started rolling out to ‌Apple Music‌ users last week, but customers in India have noticed that the two new features are not yet available.

On Twitter, ‌Apple Music‌ users in India have been questioning why Spatial Audio is not available and when it might be launching, especially because the feature has been coming and going for some users. Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio has not yet officially launched in India, but Apple has not forgotten about the country and has confirmed that spatial audio is debuting soon.

The Apple Music website in India has a "coming soon" tag for Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio. There is no specific launch date available as of yet, but because some users have been seeing the options appear and disappear, it's likely ‌Apple Music‌ subscribers in India won't have too much longer to wait.

Apple in April began adding classic games to its Apple Arcade catalog, and today, Apple announced three new games that are coming in the near future: Angry Birds Reloaded, Doodle God Universe, and Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City.

Apple announced the new games on Twitter today, and those interested in playing them when they launch on ‌Apple Arcade‌ can sign up to be notified. The three games will be available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Angry Birds Reloaded builds on the original Angry Birds game, introducing new characters from the Angry Birds movie universe, a new game mode, new power ups, and all new levels.

Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City is an endless runner set in the desert, where the goal is to sail across dunes, canyons, and temples to unearth the secrets of the Lost City. The game offers simple tap controls that are easy to learn but tough to master, and players are tasked with building up combos and meeting goals.

In Doodle God Universe, players start out on an empty planet with four elements, and the goal is to combine these different elements to create hundreds of new elements to make the planet thrive and grow.

There's no word yet on exactly when these new games are launching, but as with all ‌Apple Arcade‌ titles, they will be available to ‌Apple Arcade‌ subscribers with no additional in-app purchases or fees. ‌Apple Arcade‌ is priced at $4.99 per month.

Other classic games that are now available on ‌Apple Arcade‌ include Fruit Ninja, Monument Valley, Threes, Mini Metro, The Oregon Trail, Cut the Rope, and more.

Twelve South today launched the "SurfacePad for iPhone 12," a new MagSafe-compatible wallet folio case for the iPhone 12, ‌iPhone‌ 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 mini. The $49.99 leather case comes in brown cognac, black, and plum colors.

The SurfacePad for ‌iPhone‌ 12 was designed to protect the front and back of the ‌iPhone‌ 12, and includes two interior pockets for ID and bank cards. Since the cards are on the front portion of the folio, you'll also be able to wirelessly charge your ‌iPhone‌ 12 with the SurfacePad on, unlike Apple's first party wallet accessory.

To attach SurfacePad to an ‌iPhone‌ 12, there's a "SurfaceGrip 2.0" adhesive on the back of the accessory, which sticks to the back of your ‌iPhone‌. Twelve South says this adhesive is reusable and super secure and it leaves no trace of sticky residue when removed.

You can purchase SurfacePad for ‌iPhone‌ 12 on Twelve South's website today for $49.99.

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

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced an investigation into the "duopoly" of Apple and Google on mobile ecosystems, just one day after a similar investigation was initiated in Japan.

The CMA will be taking a closer look at Apple and Google's "effective duopoly" on the supply of operating systems, including iOS and Android, the App Store and Google Play Store, and web browsers such as Safari and Chrome. The CMA defines "mobile ecosystems" as "gateways through which consumers can access a variety of products, content and services," meaning that the investigation will cover a range of services and products, from fitness tracking to smart home devices.

The CMA says that consumers could be "losing out across a wide range of areas" as a result of the purported duopoly, leading to "reduced innovation" and "consumers paying higher prices." The investigation will also examine the effect of the companies' market power on other businesses, such as app developers and advertisers.

The CMA was already investigating Apple's ‌App Store‌ policies, but this investigation into mobile ecosystems is set to be broader. Even so, the CMA will present a joined-up approach across all of its related cases. Market investigations can make recommendations to the government or other bodies in the UK, issue guidance to businesses and consumers, and more.

The UK is also in the process of establishing a new "pro-competition" regulatory authority for digital markets called the Digital Markets Unit.

Yesterday, the Japan Times reported that there will be a similar investigation starting this month into Apple and Google's duopoly in Japan, which could result in increased antitrust regulations.

Apple in iPadOS 15 has added the ability to access NTFS-formatted media from within the Files app. The additional support for the Windows-related format, first discovered by YouTuber Steven Fjordstrøm, is read-only, so like on macOS you can't modify files stored on NTFS devices, but you can at least copy any data on them for working on elsewhere on your iPad.

The Files app has also gotten a new circular progress indicator to indicate the transfer of data when moving or copying files. Tapping the graphic opens a larger progress bar showing further details on the data transferred/remaining, the estimated time remaining, and the ability to cancel the transfer.

In another notable addition to the Files app, if you're using a mouse or trackpad, it's now possible to click-hold and drag a selection box over multiple files and folders to perform batch actions, such as compress, move, copy, and so on. Lastly, you can also now use Groups as a view option, so that files and folders are arranged on the screen in separate sections according to kind.

What do you think about the new additions to the Files app? Let us know in the comments. iPadOS 15 is currently going through beta testing with developers, with a public beta due out next month and an official release in the fall.

Apple last month announced that the HomePod mini would be made available in several new countries in June. Now, less than a month later, the ‌HomePod mini‌ has officially launched in Austria and Ireland, and is listed as "available in June" in New Zealand, suggesting availability in the next couple of weeks.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ is the follow-up to the original HomePod released in 2018. The full-sized ‌HomePod‌ failed to become a mainstream hit, leading to its discontinuation. The $99 ‌HomePod mini‌ features a significantly smaller design than the original ‌HomePod‌ but offers the same functionality enabled by Siri.

The ‌HomePod mini‌ first launched in October of 2020 in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Spain, and the UK. Both the ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ will gain support for Apple Music's recently launched lossless audio feature via a software update later this year. Additionally, the ‌HomePod mini‌ will be able to be set as the default output speaker for Apple TV 4K starting later this year.

Apple has published a new video to its official regional YouTube channels for European countries that focuses specifically on the new privacy features coming with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.

The video, simply titled "Privacy," opens with CEO Tim Cook speaking to the camera and explaining Apple's long-standing stance on the topic:

At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right. We work relentlessly to build it into everything we make, and it's fundamental to how we design and engineer every product and service that we put out into the world.

While others have focused on making customers the product, collecting ever-growing amounts of personal information, we've kept the lens focused on how technology can work for people. And that's meant introducing countless features that give users transparency and choice over how their data is collected, used, and shared. You see that with new tools like Privacy Nutrition Labels and App Tracking Transparency, which gives users more information, more choice, and greater transparency about how their data is used.

We know that privacy is a priority for our users in Europe and around the world. It's why we're always striving to set a higher bar, with new tools that put people in the driver's seat when it comes to managing your own data.

The video then cuts to segments taken from last week's WWDC keynote, where Apple executives and engineers explain new features including Mail Privacy Protection, App Privacy Report, Offline Siri support, and more. Cook then sees out the video with the following comments:

These big privacy features are the latest in a long string of innovations our teams have developed to improve transparency and put users in control of their data. They're features that will help give users peace of mind by strengthening that control and the freedom to use their technology without worrying about who is looking over their shoulder. At Apple, our commitment is to give users choice over how their data is used and to build privacy and security into everything we make.

iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are currently in developer beta, with a public beta coming next month and the official version set to release in the fall.

For a while now, Apple has been running a promotion that offers a free one-year trial of Apple TV+ with any iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch purchase. That promotion ends on June 30, and Apple has today updated its website to show that from July 1 the included free trial shrinks to three months with eligible device purchases.

Apple has frequently offered promotions or credit for users to stay subscribed to the still relatively new service. Launched in 2019, ‌Apple TV‌+ continues to grow into a more mainstream streaming service; however, it still has some ways before catching up to Netflix and others. Apple offers original shows such as "Ted Lasso," "The Morning Show," and "See" on the platform.

The new three-month trial will go into effect on July 1, so customers wanting to maximize their free ‌Apple TV‌+ subscription should purchase their product before the beginning of next month. Devices purchased before then will continue to be eligible for a one-year trial.

The offer of a generous year-long free trial for ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌ has been an important part of Apple's strategy to lure in long-term subscribers by giving unfettered access to the full roster of content on the streaming service. ‌‌Apple TV‌+‌ launched with a small amount of content compared with other rival services, so it has been crucial for Apple to build goodwill and interest about the service's shows without expecting immediate returns. The company now appears to feel that the content offering has grown enough that a shorter trial will suffice going forward.

The new extension comes ahead of a busy fall season for ‌Apple TV‌+, where several hit shows, such as "Ted Lasso" and "The Morning Show," will see their second seasons debut.

Update: Apple has now announced that Apple Podcast Subscriptions for shows and channels is rolling out worldwide, showcasing a large number of new shows, groups of podcasts, and channels.

When listeners purchase a subscription to a show, they automatically follow the show and the page is updated with a Subscriber Edition label so it is clear that they have access to the premium experience. As listeners subscribe to more channels, the Listen Now tab expands with new rows to provide easy access to all subscription content. Listeners who subscribe to two or more channels will also see a My Channels row in the Listen Now tab.

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As expected, Apple Podcasts has officially rolled out Apple Podcast Subscriptions, offering content creators and podcasters an opportunity to receive support through monthly subscriptions from their fans and listeners.

Apple announced the new service during its April event and ultimately had planned to launch it soon after. The company, however, then decided to delay its launch to ensure that the "best experience" is being given. Now, listeners can decide to subscribe to a monthly subscription for their favorite show, and by doing so, receive an ad-free listening experience with bonus content.

All subscriptions made through the platform are subject to Apple's 30% commission rule, meaning creators only get 70% of the subscriptions that users pay. Additionally, if users subscribe to a podcast but wish to use a thrid party podcast client, the benefits of the purchase are not accessible. Apple Podcast Subscriptions also include the ability for podcast creators and users to create Channels, which are a collection of different shows on a single page.