LG today expanded on last week's announcement of new 8K OLED TVs with new details on the full lineup of 13 new OLED models, including a new 48-inch size. Most notably for Apple fans, LG says the new lineup of OLED TVs will include an Apple TV app, letting users access ‌Apple TV‌+, ‌Apple TV‌ channels, and iTunes video content. In addition to the new 2020 models, LG says the app will also be coming to 2019 and 2018 models later this year, although exact details on which models will be getting the app have yet to be shared.New for 2020, the ‌Apple TV‌ app allows customers to subscribe and watch ‌Apple TV‌+ and ‌Apple TV‌ channels as well as access their iTunes video library and buy or rent more than 100,000 films and TV shows. Customers with 2018 and 2019 LG TV models will also be able to enjoy the ‌Apple TV‌ app this year.While AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support have rolled out to a number of TV models from LG, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio, the ‌Apple TV‌ app has until now been exclusive to certain 2018 and 2019 Samsung models. The ‌Apple TV‌ app is also available on certain Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, providing owners of non-Samsung TVs with some alternatives beyond the ‌Apple TV‌ set-top box, but native integration with ‌Apple TV‌ on additional TV brands will be a welcome

Apple today sent out an email advertising its latest Apple Pay promotion, which includes 20 percent off delivery orders from Grubhub through January 1. The deal is valid when paying via ‌Apple Pay‌ through the Grubhub app and website with promo code CELEBRATE20. The code is one-time use for personal Grubhub accounts and offers a maximum value of $10 on order subtotals before taxes, tips, and fees. In addition to Grubhub, Apple's email also promotes other ways to use ‌Apple Pay‌ to "ring in the new year," including movie tickets on Fandango, hotel deals on HotelTonight, and car rentals through Turo. Finally, Apple notes that it's the last chance to receive 6 percent back on Apple Store and apple.com purchases when paying with Apple Card through December

If you're perhaps looking for an accessory to go with a new holiday gift, a couple of Apple's more popular ones have received price cuts today to the lowest levels we've ever seen in our tracking. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Apple Pencil 2 While we saw the Apple Pencil 2 drop to as low as $104.99 for My Best Buy members ahead of the holidays, the iPad Pro accessory has hit a new low of $99.00 at both Amazon and Best Buy, a roughly 25 percent discount from its regular $129.00 price. The Apple Pencil 2 works with Apple's latest iPad Pro models introduced in 2018, including the new 11-inch size and the third-generation 12.9-inch model. It magnetically attaches to the side of the iPad Pro, charges wirelessly, and supports customizable double-tap gestures such as switching between drawing tools and bringing up a color palette. AirPods Wireless Charging Case Amazon has also discounted the AirPods Wireless Charging Case to just $46.33, an over 40 percent discount compared to the regular price of $79.00. Compatible with both the first- and second-generation AirPods, the standalone case accessory lets you upgrade from the standard case that charges only over a wired Lightning connection to one that also charges wirelessly via a Qi charging

Earlier this year, I spent some time in a 2019 Nissan Altima, checking out how CarPlay interfaces with the native NissanConnect infotainment system, and I came away fairly impressed with the flexibility and ease-of-use of NissanConnect and the carmaker's decision to make ‌CarPlay‌ standard across all trims. Looking to show off more of its technology and how some of it integrates with iPhones, Nissan recently asked me to take a look at the 2019 Leaf, specifically the Leaf Plus, a new-for-2019 extended-range version of the popular electric vehicle that's been on the market for nearly a decade. The base Leaf starts at $30,000 before tax credits that can knock $7,500 off the price, and it comes with a 40 kWh battery that delivers up to 150 miles of range. There are three trims of the regular Leaf, with only the entry-level S model lacking ‌CarPlay‌ support. In fact, that base model comes with a basic 5-inch non-touchscreen display for the infotainment system, so most technology-heavy users will want to step up to at least the second-level SV trim on the regular Leaf. The Leaf Plus begins at $36,550 before tax credits and upgrades to a 62 kWh battery that offers up to 226 miles of range. The extended-range Plus lineup also comes in three trims, all of which include ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto support. My test vehicle was the top-of-the-line Leaf SL Plus, which checks in at an MSRP of $42,550 before tax credits, with a couple of minor add-ons like floor mats and splash guards pushing my vehicle's sticker price to just under $44,000. For those looking to squeeze out

CalDigit is a popular maker of docks, external storage, and other accessories that work well with Apple's ecosystem, and the company recently released a new Tuff nano external solid-state drive that packs blazing-fast transfer speeds into a tiny package. I don't have a huge need for external storage with my MacBook Pro, but when I have needed it I've used CalDigit's previous Tuff SSD, which I reviewed a couple of years ago. The original Tuff was available in both SSD and traditional hard disk versions, with the hard disks offering greater capacity at slower speeds while the SSDs offered faster speeds but with lower capacities and higher prices. The cost of SSDs has come down over the past couple of years as the drive modules have also gotten smaller, and CalDigit has taken advantage of those advances to create the Tuff nano. The Tuff nano is currently available only in a 512 GB version priced at $150, and while it's big enough to back up my entire ‌MacBook Pro‌, some power users may want more. Regardless, when you need speedy data transfers in a compact form factor, it's a great option, and CalDigit is planning to launch a 1 TB version late in the first quarter of next year (pricing to be announced closer to launch), so you might want to hold out for that if you need a bit more storage space. The Tuff nano is built for the road, with the compact size easily fitting in a pocket or bag and the SSD offering great shock protection. The drive casing is made of aluminum to help dissipate heat, but the whole thing is wrapped in a silicone bumper to protect

A year to the day after Apple announced plans to spend $1 billion on a new corporate campus in Austin, Texas, to initially support 5,000 employees with the potential to grow to 15,000, television station WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina, has shared an update and a few new details related to North Carolina's attempts to attract the new campus. Rendering of Apple's upcoming Austin campus While it didn't conduct a public competition like Amazon, Apple was open about its plans to construct a new corporate campus, announcing its intentions in January 2018. A number of cities emerged as top contenders to land Apple's new campus, but by May 2018, sources were reporting that it was all but a "done deal" that the new campus would be located in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park (RTP) near Raleigh and Durham, with a temporary location for up to 1,000 employees planned for an existing office building in nearby Cary. Months went by without an official announcement from Apple, and with Apple ultimately revealing the campus would be built in Austin, many have wondered what went wrong in what appeared to be late-stage negotiations between Apple and North Carolina.The December announcement seemed to surprise the governor and state legislative leaders, who hours later released a joint statement touting economic growth in North Carolina and pledging to "keep doing everything we can" to attract jobs. [...] Since then, there's been little explanation about how or why the deal dissolved by year's end. But given the company's notorious penchant for secrecy, [North Carolina

AT&T today announced that it has launched its 5G network in its first ten markets: Birmingham, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rochester, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. AT&T has PDF maps of coverage areas within these cities in its press release, and the carrier is aiming for nationwide 5G coverage in the first half of next year. For the time being, customers with the new Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G will be able to access AT&T's 5G network, with more devices coming in the future. Apple is expected to launch its first 5G iPhones next year, likely in its usual September timeframe. The 5G network AT&T is launching today is for the sub-6GHz spectrum, which offers broad coverage at speeds that are a step up from LTE. A separate flavor of 5G operates on the mmWave spectrum and offers even faster speeds but with shorter range, and is thus best suited for very dense, highly trafficked areas. AT&T refers to its mmWave 5G service as 5G+, and it launched in pockets of 12 markets almost exactly a year ago. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes there will be four flagship 2020 iPhones next September, with all of them capable of supporting both sub-6Hz and mmWave 5G technology in select markets such the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Other countries will see only sub-6Hz support, while 5G may be disabled entirely in other countries where 5G isn't widely available, in order to reduce Apple's costs. AT&T was of course notorious for branding some of its enhanced 4G LTE network as "5G Evolution" or "5GE,"

Over the past few years, Thunderbolt 3 docks have become nearly ubiquitous, with a variety of different docks offering varying sets of ports in a few different body styles. Similar docks, albeit with more limited capabilities, exist for connecting over USB-C to machines that lack the more powerful Thunderbolt 3 standard, even in some cases including the iPad Pro. Since the introduction of Thunderbolt 3 docks, users have typically had to choose either a Thunderbolt 3 or a USB-C dock to provide additional connectivity for their devices. Thunderbolt 3 docks offer more capabilities, but they lacked backward compatibility with machines that only offer USB-C. A new generation of docks has started hitting the market, however, offering both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C support for compatibility with a wider range of devices. I've had some time to test out CalDigit's recently launched USB-C Pro Dock, which does exactly that. Using both a 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3, a 2015 MacBook with USB-C, and an 11-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, I've tested the capabilities of CalDigit's dock and come away impressed with the versatility and performance that come at a rather reasonable price compared to similar docks from other manufacturers. I'll start by noting that I've long been a fan of CalDigit, and the company's TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock has been my favorite for everyday use with my ‌MacBook Pro‌ among all of the many Thunderbolt 3 docks I've tested. It offers the perfect set of ports for my needs, 85-watt charging to fully support my 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, and a compact form

Back in 2004, then-Wired editor Leander Kahney published The Cult of Mac, a photo-filled book containing an array of anecdotes about fans, collectors, and others with special connections to Apple and the Mac. While Kahney took the opportunity to add a chapter on the iPod when the book was published as a paperback edition a couple of years later, the book remains an interesting look at a time when Apple had only recently surfaced from its near-death experience of the 1990s. As outlined by Kahney in The Cult of Mac, Apple may even have been saved by those devotees to the Mac, some of whom became an army of essentially unpaid evangelists seeking to convert over to Mac anyone and everyone who would listen. Some even went as far as to stake out CompUSA stores to educate or counteract clueless salespeople who only wanted to sell Windows machines and were uninterested in directing customers to the Mac section of the stores, while others shared their love for the Mac with the world through tattoos, stickers, vanity license plates, and more. "The Cult of Mac" first edition (left) and new second edition (right) Much has changed for Apple in the fifteen years since the original release of The Cult of Mac, with the iPhone launching Apple to its current position as a consumer electronics and lifestyle behemoth. No longer the underdog, Apple has attracted millions upon millions of loyal customers into its ever-expanding ecosystem of devices and services. So now with 2020 right around the corner, Kahney has teamed up with David Pierini, a writer for Kahney's independent Cult of

Wireless CarPlay has yet to take off with car manufacturers, with BMW (as well its MINI brand) being the first major car manufacturer to support the feature several years ago. As we recently covered, Porsche is in the process rolling out wireless ‌CarPlay‌ to its lineup, but there's at least one other notable manufacturer adopting the technology, and that's VW's luxury brand Audi. Audi's latest "MMI touch response" infotainment system replaces nearly all center stack controls with a pair of touchscreens that offer haptic feedback when you touch on icons and other user interface elements. I've had a chance to test out a 2019 Audi A7 to see how the MMI touch response system works both on its own and in conjunction with ‌CarPlay‌, so read on for all of the details. Audi MMI Touch Response The A7's dual center display setup consists of an 8.8-inch upper screen that serves as a traditional infotainment display and an 8.6-inch lower screen that supports climate controls, a few other vehicle functions, and customizable shortcuts that allow for one-touch access to items on the main infotainment screen like favorite radio stations, destinations, and more. Audi's MMI main home screen On the Premium Plus trim and higher, the upper display is upgraded to a 10.1-inch widescreen display, which is what my test vehicle came equipped with. Regardless of screen size, both the top and bottom displays include the haptic feedback system that lets you know that your touch has been registered. Lower MMI screen with climate controls and shortcuts The haptic feedback system is an

Apple today posted a new support document outlining troubleshooting steps for users experiencing problems with unexpected shutdowns on the entry-level 2019 13-inch MacBook Pro with two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which was introduced back in July. Apple's troubleshooting steps involve making sure the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has its battery level run down to below 90 percent, connecting it to a charger, quitting all open applications, and letting it sleep and charge for at least eight hours. Once the ‌MacBook Pro‌ has been charged for at least eight hours, users should make sure they are running the latest version of macOS, and if the shutdown issue persists after following these steps, users should contact Apple for service. There is a fairly lengthy thread in our forums where some users experiencing the issue have gathered to try to diagnose and troubleshoot their machines, and there are scattered reports of the issue in other discussion forums, including Apple's support forums.

Five years after the launch of CarPlay, there are still very few car manufacturers supporting Apple's in-car platform wirelessly. The main benefit of wireless ‌CarPlay‌ is a nearly seamless experience of having much of your phone's core functionality available just a fingertip or voice command away on your car's infotainment system while your phone remains in your pocket. So far, wireless ‌CarPlay‌ support is largely limited to some premium brands, and Porsche is one of those brands that recently rolled out support for it. For a taste of that experience, Porsche invited me down to Atlanta for a day to take a look at how wireless ‌CarPlay‌ works hand-in-hand with the native infotainment system on the 2019 Macan S crossover. I also got to spend some time behind the wheel of the Macan S on the track at the Porsche Experience Center and check out the Heritage Gallery, a frequently changing display of some of the most important and collectible vehicles in Porsche's storied history. Porsche 914 display in Heritage Gallery While the Macan is certainly a fun crossover to drive and I had a great time putting it through its paces on the track and the other elements in the Porsche Experience Center, the primary purpose of my trip was to check out the infotainment system and how it works with ‌CarPlay‌. 2019 Porsche Macan S in Mamba Green Metallic Porsche's infotainment system is known as Porsche Communication Management (PCM), and as on most cars, it's the hub for much of the technology you need to interact with on a regular basis. The Macan comes with a 10.9-inch widescreen

Apple may have just released Smart Battery Cases for the iPhone 11 lineup, but there are plenty of people still using last year's devices. If you're an iPhone XS Max owner looking to boost your battery life, Amazon has just dropped the price of Apple's Smart Battery Case in black to $59, more than 50 percent off of Apple's $129 list price. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The case is currently listed as in stock, but supplies may run out quickly so be sure to take advantage of the deal while it's available. For more deals, check out Amazon's discount on the new AirPods Pro and stay on top of our Deals Roundup and Black Friday Roundup as we hit the holiday shopping season. Update Nov 23: The ‌iPhone XS‌ Max case has sold out, but Amazon now has the ‌iPhone XS‌ ‌Smart Battery Case‌ in white on sale at the same $59 price

A legal battle between Apple and VirnetX that dates back nine years has seen a new development today, with a $503 million judgment from 2018 against Apple for patent infringement vacated by an appeals court and the case sent back to a lower court for reconsideration, reports Reuters. The result is a mixed one for Apple at this point, with the appeals court finding only a partial reversal in affirming infringement by Apple on two counts and reversing on two other counts. The appeals court is sending the case back to district court to determine whether revised damages against Apple can be calculated or if a new damages trial will have to be held. The case in question is just one of two involving Apple and VirnetX over communications security patents related to VPN, iMessage, and FaceTime. Apple is currently on the hook for $440 million in the other case, but appeals remain in

Shipments of Apple's popular AirPods lineup are projected to double to 60 million in 2019, according to Bloomberg. The strong growth is due in part to "much higher" early demand for AirPods Pro than Apple had expected. The $249 ‌AirPods Pro‌ -- which offer noise cancellation and water resistance -- have surpassed expectations and demand for them is pushing Apple’s assembly partners against capacity and technical constraints, a person familiar with the matter said. Multiple suppliers are competing for the business of manufacturing the Pro earphones, though some are still building up the technical proficiency.After a ramp-up in popularity of the original ‌AirPods‌, which debuted in late 2016, Apple has released two updates to the lineup this year, with second-generation ‌AirPods‌ in March and the new ‌AirPods Pro‌ just a few weeks ago. Apple Watch and ‌AirPods‌ are the two cornerstones of Apple's push into wearables so far, and both have seen strong growth over the past few years. ‌AirPods‌ are the market leader in true wireless earphones, which are proving popular with consumers. While there are some competitors like Sony and Google already in the market, the launch of Microsoft's Surface Earbuds has been pushed back until at least

Following a report from The Information this morning summarizing a recent internal Apple meeting that pegged the release of Apple's augmented reality headsets for the 2022–23 timeframe rather than the more aggressive 2020 window that has previously been rumored, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has shared additional information on the company's AR roadmap that will initially focus on the iPad and iPhone before the glasses come to fruition. "Apple Glasses" concept Gurman says Apple is working on "a range of augmented and virtual-reality devices" based around a new 3D sensor system, which will arrive first on a new iPad Pro slated for release in the first half of next year, and followed by the 2020 iPhones later in the year.A new ‌iPad Pro‌ for release as early as the first half of 2020 will feature a new module with two camera sensors, up from one on the current model, and a small hole for the 3-D system, letting people create three-dimensional reconstructions of rooms, objects and people. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant also plans to add the sensor to new high-end iPhones later in 2020, along with 5G networking capabilities, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing unannounced products.Moving beyond existing devices, Apple is said to be targeting 2021 or 2022 for the release of a combination VR and AR headset focused on "gaming, watching video and virtual meetings." A lighter weight set of AR glasses could follow as soon as 2023. The 3D sensor system to be used in the upcoming is said to be a more advanced version of the current Face ID

Goldman Sachs and Apple have become involved in a controversy over credit decisions for Apple Card, amid complaints that those decisions appear in some cases to have been made in a discriminatory manner on the basis of gender, reports The New York Times. The firestorm kicked off late last week when Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson indicated on Twitter that his ‌Apple Card‌ credit limit was twenty times that offered to his wife, even though the couple has been married for many years, file joint tax returns, and live in a community property state where all income and assets acquired while married are considered jointly owned. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also weighed in, reporting that his ‌Apple Card‌ credit limit was ten times that offered to his wife, with the Wozniaks in a similar financial situation where all assets are jointly owned. In response, New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell has announced that her office will be looking into the situation, and she offered additional information in a Medium post today.I responded, announcing that the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) would examine whether the algorithm used to make these credit limit decisions violates state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. For the rest of the day, numerous Twitter users responded to David’s initial tweet, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (who indicated his credit limit is ten times higher than that of his wife), describing similar instances where men received higher credit limits

European Union Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager today acknowledged that her department has received "many concerns" over Apple Pay and potential anticompetitive issues, noting that "people see it becomes increasingly difficult to compete in the market for easy payments," reports Reuters. Vestager's comments come after the European Commission sent a questionnaire to a number of companies in August seeking information on whether Apple was restricting online payment options.The questionnaire asked if companies were under a contractual obligation to enable a certain payment method and also if such contracts included conditions for integrating ‌Apple Pay‌ in their apps and websites. Regulators wanted to know if Apple has rejected merchant apps as incompatible with the terms and conditions for integrating ‌Apple Pay‌ in their apps.Apple touts the safety and security of ‌Apple Pay‌, but critics have claimed that Apple stifles competition by locking down the NFC chip in iOS devices to only work with ‌Apple Pay‌, making it difficult for other payment services to compete. Antitrust concerns over ‌Apple Pay‌ are not the only issue for Apple and the EU at the moment, as the European Commission is also still dealing with Spotify's complaint that Apple's App Store unfairly disadvantages third-party app developers in favor of its own apps and services. 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

Apple today announced that its partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to roll out access to the Health Records feature for iPhone has launched, with veterans who receive care through the VA now able to access their information right in the Health app on iOS. “Helping veterans gain a better understanding of their health is our chance to show our gratitude for their service,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “By working with the VA to offer Health Records on ‌iPhone‌, we hope to help those who served have greater peace of mind that their health care is in good hands.”Apple announced the initiative back in February, but it's taken a number of months to get everything in place to launch it to country's largest medical system covering over 9 million veterans at over 1,200 medical

Popular Mac accessory company OWC today introduced its latest Thunderbolt 3 docking solution, the Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock. OWC's Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock is targeted at professional users and includes several features not commonly found on other docks such as an eSATA port and CFast and SD card readers. The dock also includes a 10 gigabit Ethernet port, three USB 3.1 ports, a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports to allow for daisy chaining, and a DisplayPort 1.2 port. There's also a locking power connection to help ensure the dock doesn't come unplugged if it's moved during use. For pro users who need some of the more specialized features included in the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock, this might be a good option, as we've been impressed with the company's previous dock offerings. It does, however, only offer 60 watts of charging power, so if you've got a 15-inch MacBook Pro you likely want to use your regular power adapter and not rely on the dock to power your Mac. The dock also includes a switch to turn off the internal fan if you need a quiet environment, although OWC warns this should only be done for short periods of time to limit the risk of overheating. The OWC Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock is available as of today and is priced at $328.99. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with OWC. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.