Apple has all kinds of fanciful patents for imaginative devices that will likely never come to fruition, such as an iMac-like desktop computer made entirely glass, which was shared last week in a patent published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Apple's patent describes an electronic device with an upper portion that serves as a display area, a lower portion that serves as an input area, and a transitional section that connects the two halves for a "continuous curved surface between the upper portion and the lower portion." The lower section of the device rests on the desktop and is used for holding input devices, while the larger flat area serves as the display, with a stand at the back for propping it up and holding it in place. Given the thinness of the all-glass curved design of the Mac, the stand that holds it in place would be able to house necessary components and would also be able to be positioned differently to adjust the angle of the display. The glass between the two sections of the device is described as flexible and able to change in angle between the display area and the input area. The input area is said to extend along a portion of the display area to form a "touchscreen-style display," and functionality such as wireless charging for other devices or data transfer capabilities could be included. Apple separately describes multiple embodiments of the design, including one with a detachable, removable keyboard that fits over the lower portion of the glass design, which, when in place, allows the glass to detect the

Representatives for Apple and Microsoft will be participating in a meeting with the Carin Alliance that's focused on making it easier for patients to access and share their medical information, reports CNBC. The meeting will focus on efforts to push a rule change proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services that would promote medical data interoperability. Ricky Bloomfield, a member of Apple's health team who formerly served as Duke University's Director of Mobile Strategy, will participate in the meeting by phone, according to a list of attendees published today [PDF]. Those who are in support of the change want to modernize patient access to data, as it continues to be common for medical facilities to provide health records via CD or Fax, which makes it difficult for people to switch providers and healthcare systems. From a PDF describing talking points for the meeting:It's imperative to note how important and time sensitive aggregated health information across multiple provider and health plan systems can be for patients going through catastrophic events. This information is essential for patients as they consider options such as treatment planning, consenting to surgical procedures, exploring and enrolling in clinical trials, and matters of continuity of care, examples including expediting an urgent second opinion, appealing insurance denials for standard of care treatments prescribed by patient's board-certified physicians, as well as having all pertinent information when it comes to advance care planning, palliative care, and matters of end of

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Choetech to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a 61W USB-C power adapter and accompanying USB-C cable for charging a Mac or an iPad Pro. Choetech's new 61W Wall Charger uses gallium nitride technology, which allows it to be manufactured in a smaller casing than a standard power adapter. It's 50 percent smaller than the original 61W MacBook charger. Priced at $35, the 61W power adapter is slim, portable, and perfect for use at home or travel thanks to the foldable prongs that tuck into the body of the accessory. There's a single USB-C port on the charger that can be paired with a USB-C to USB-C cable or a USB-C to Lightning cable for charging up your Apple devices. 61W is ideal for the MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it's also suitable for the more powerful 15 and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ models when not doing system intensive tasks. Choetech says that the charger is equipped with a built-in "smart identification chip" that's able to identify the voltage and current required by a device, providing the right amount of power. It can charge a 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ to full in two hours or a ‌MacBook Air‌ to full in 1.6 hours. The power adapter features a design made from a fire retardant PC material with over-current, over-voltage, and short-circuit protection for safety purposes. Along with the 61W GaN charger, Choetech also offers a $15 6-foot USB-C to USB-C cable that supports 100W high-speed charging for all USB-C devices. The cable, which is sold in a set of two, features a braided design along

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS 10.15.3 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second beta and more than a month after releasing the macOS Catalina 10.15.2 update. The new ‌‌‌macOS Catalina‌‌‌ beta can be downloaded using the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper software from the Developer Center. We don't yet know what improvements the third update to ‌macOS Catalina‌ will bring, but it will likely focus on performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be fixed in the ‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.2 update. ‌macOS Catalina‌‌ 10.15.3 has code in it that suggests a new "Pro Mode" is coming to Apple's Macs. Pro Mode appears to be an optional setting that overrides fan speed limits and energy saving restrictions to improve performance. The code says that apps "may run faster" but battery life could decrease and fan noise could increase. It's not entirely clear if Pro Mode is coming to Macs in the 10.15.3 release, but the code is there so it is a possibility. We didn't find any other major new changes in the first two betas of ‌macOS Catalina‌ 10.15.3, but we'll update this post if there's anything new in the third

The App Store is experiencing a temporary outage that started at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time, according to Apple's System Status website. Apple's site says that there's an unspecified ongoing issue that's affecting some users. Part of the problem appears to be linked to in-app purchases, based on a tweet from a Fortnite Twitter account, which says that in-app ‌App Store‌ purchases are unable to be completed at this time. Other users have complained about not being able to make purchases from the ‌App Store‌, receiving an unable to connect message. There's no word on when the ‌App Store‌ problems will be resolved, but we'll update this article when the issues have been addressed. Update: Apple is no longer listing an outage on the System Status website, suggesting the issue has been fixed.

Throwboy, known for its Iconic Pillow Collection featuring a selection of plush pillows designed to look like Apple devices, today launched a new selection of mini pillows called the "Pocket Pillows." Like their larger-sized siblings, the Pocket Pillows are modeled after Apple devices. The first palm-sized pillows are made to mimic the 1984 Classic Macintosh and the 1998 iMac G3, and they can be ordered today on Kickstarter. Depending on how the campaign goes, additional classic Apple products could be turned into little desktop plushes. Each plush is made from a soft, huggable material and is embroidered to resemble one of Apple's Macs. The detail for each pillow is impressive, with all ports, vents, drives, and other features sewn on. Inside the Pocket Pillow, there's a plush filling along with pellets to give them some heft. Unlike the couch-sized standard Iconic pillows, the smaller Pocket Pillows are designed for a desk, shelf, or nightstand. Pocket Pillows can be pre-ordered for $15 each, or $30 for two, though there are some early bird backing options that are a few dollars cheaper. We don't typically feature Kickstarter projects as many of them don't come to fruition, but Throwboy is an established manufacturer that already has a line of plushes available. Pocket Pillows are expected to ship out in May

On January 24, 1984, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the first Macintosh at Apple's annual shareholder's meeting in Cupertino, California, debuting the new computer equipped with a 9-inch black and white display, an 8MHz Motorola 68000 processor, 128KB of RAM, a 3.5-inch floppy drive, and a price tag of $2,495. The now iconic machine weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds and was advertised as offering a word processing program, a graphics package, and a mouse. At the time it was introduced, the Macintosh was seen as Apple's last chance to overcome IBM's domination of the personal computer market and remain a major player in the personal computer industry. A Computerland newspaper ad from the day the Macintosh was introduced Jobs pulled the Macintosh out of a bag at the event, powered it on, and the Mac had a little message for everyone in attendance. Hello, I'm Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of that bag. Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I'd like to share with you a maxim I thought of the first time I met an IBM mainframe: NEVER TRUST A COMPUTER YOU CAN'T LIFT! Obviously, I can talk, but right now I'd like to sit back and listen. So, it is with considerable pride that I introduce a man who's been like a father to me... STEVE JOBS.Despite the high price at the time, which was equivalent to around $6,000 today, the Macintosh sold well, with Apple hitting 70,000 units sold by May 1984. The now iconic "1984" Super Bowl ad that Apple invested in and debuted days before the Macintosh was unveiled may have helped bolster sales. After the

Apple this afternoon sent out emails advertising its latest Apple Pay promotion, which offers 10 percent off of a purchase from the StubHub app. StubHub is an online ticketing company that lets users purchase tickets for concerts, sporting events, and more. To get the 10 percent discount, customers can enter the code APPLEPAY2020 when checking out in the StubHub app and using ‌Apple Pay‌ as the payment method. Apple's promotion allows customers in the United States to get a maximum discount of $100, and the promotion will be available until January 29,

Longtime Apple supplier Broadcom today announced that it has signed two multi-year deals with Apple that cover a "range of specified high-performance wireless components and modules" that Apple will use in its products. According to Broadcom, these new agreements are in addition to a prior agreement it established with Apple in June 2019 for RF components and modules. The new agreements will last for three and a half years beginning in January 2020. Broadcom says that the two new deals combined with its existing 2019 deal could generate aggregate total future revenue of approximately $15 billion. As pointed out by Bloomberg, Broadcom's announcement allows potential purchasers to know that they're getting an established business relationship with Apple. Broadcom has been exploring a sale of its radio frequency chip unit since last

Apple is developing a podcast for Apple TV+ show "Little America," show creator Lee Eisenberg revealed today in an interview with Forbes. In the interview, Eisenberg says that the podcast will "delve more info the stories and music on the show." Apple also plans to promote the series with a playlist for every episode, and there will be a book. News of the upcoming "Little America" podcast confirms a recent rumor from Bloomberg that suggested Apple was exploring the idea of creating original podcasts to accompany ‌Apple TV‌+ shows. Apple in the summer of 2019 began asking podcast producers to pitch ideas for ‌Apple TV‌+ podcasts, and has since discussed making podcasts with some of the producers of its shows. It appears that "Little America" could be one of the first ‌Apple TV‌+ Shows to get a podcast, though there's no word on when the podcast might come out. The full first season of "Little America" was released last Friday and is available to watch now on Apple

The Wall Street Journal today published a profile of Tony Blevins, Apple's vice president of procurement, providing an inside look at Apple's corporate culture and what Blevins does for the company. As Apple's vice president of procurement, Blevins' job is to get suppliers to cut their prices, and he will apparently stop at little to score a favorable deal for Apple, which has earned him the nickname "the Blevinator." Blevins was, for example, the key driver behind encouraging Apple suppliers to deprive Qualcomm of royalty payments during Apple's ongoing dispute with the chipmaker. He negotiates with suppliers, enforces manufacturing details, and manages semiconductor suppliers. His negotiating skills are so important to Apple that Cook tapped him to manage negotiations for Apple's spaceship-shaped Apple Park campus. When getting bids for the curved glass used for the structure, he invited glass makers to Hong Kong, put them in separate conference rooms, and went from room to room to get the lowest price, ultimately saving Apple hundreds of millions of dollars. Blevins does not hesitate to drop suppliers, and in one example, after STMicroelectronics refused to lower the price of gyroscope sensors in 2013 despite Blevins' threats to find a different supplier, STM lost Apple's business. Blevins is also the go to for making sure that suppliers adhere to Apple's nondisclosure agreements, which can carry fines. In 2017, Japan Display disclosed that it had received orders for liquid crystal displays, and The Wall Street Journal subsequently confirmed that Apple

Apple today overhauled its Apple jobs website, introducing a new look and a new video in an effort to better recruit employees. The updated video on the site features the different Apple logo designs that Apple first created for its Mac-centric event in October 2018. The site displays different Apple logo designs whenever it's reloaded, and the video also features animated logo designs with a recruiting message spoken over the designs. To the constant beginners who sing off-key against the beat. To those unfamiliar with convention, unmoved by rules, and reborn with every new discovery. Those open to daydreams and night dreams and visions and mirages. Who can see the millions of shades of green in a field of grass. Whose days are filled with mysteries that cannot be solved with facts. You are more powerful than you think... and you are welcome here.As with before, the jobs site features sections outlining the different Apple teams, opportunities for students, Apple's philosophy, and jobs at retail locations, with an overview of all of the locations where Apple operates stores, as well as a section for creating a profile for job hunting. Apple's new site design is up and running now and anyone who is interested in checking it out.

Apple is preparing to release a third season of its ongoing show "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," with the new trailer shared this morning on YouTube. "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" predates Apple TV+, having first debuted in August 2017 on Apple Music. The show is based on the popular Carpool Karaoke segment made popular by "The Late Late Show With James Corden." Apple's version pairs celebrities, musicians, and athletes, putting them together in a car to sing popular songs. Season 3 of "Carpool Karaoke" will feature Kesha, Fred Armisen, Weezer, Jay Leno, Seal, the cast of "Stranger Things," and more. Episodes of "Carpool Karaoke: The Series" will be available every Thursday, with the show able to be watched in the ‌Apple TV‌ app for

"Servant," an Apple TV+ thriller produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, uses food to evoke a visceral reaction from viewers. In a new video shared on Apple's ‌Apple TV‌ YouTube channel, Shyamalan and show creator Tony Basgallop talk about the importance of food in the show and how food conveys emotion. "Servant" uses a professional chef on the set to prepare food for each scene where food is employed. Toby Kebbell, who plays Sean in the series, is also involved in the cooking. "Servant" just wrapped up its first season, which consisted of 10 episodes. The show has been renewed for a second season, and the second season will presumably premiere late in

Svalt, known for its line of docks designed for Apple's Macs, today launched a whole new collection of 2020 docks and stands designed for Apple's latest notebook and desktop Macs. The Cooling Stand S, designed for the 16-inch MacBook Pro and other Mac and PC laptops, features silent passive cooling, an ergonomic raised design, adjustable feet, and a design that hides accessories and cord clutter. There's also a Cooling Stand S Pro, a variant of the Cooling Stand S that comes equipped with a fan for active cooling to complement the passive cooling features. The fan offers dual speeds depending on whether quiet operation or maximum cooling is preferred, and it is user upgradeable. For the Mac mini, Svalt has a Cooling Stand Mini that offers both passive and active cooling with a built-in dual-speed fan and a design that hides away cords and accessories. The Svalt Cooling Stand S sells for $179, the S Pro sells for $279, and the S Mini sells for $269, with purchases available now from the Svalt website. All of the stands are modular and can be converted to accommodate other devices with additional add-on accessories. Svalt also has a new Cooling Dock Model D, which is designed to be used with a ‌MacBook Pro‌ in clamshell mode. It features a sculpted aluminum heat sink and a flexible leaning design for optimized silent passive cooling. The Svalt Dock D can be purchased from the Svalt website for $169, though adding a fan will raise the price.

Google researchers discovered multiple security flaws in Apple's Safari web browser that let users' browsing habits be tracked despite Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature. Google plans to publish details on the security flaws in the near future, and a preview of Google's discovery was seen by Financial Times, with the publication sharing information on the vulnerabilities this morning. The security flaws were first found by Google in the summer of 2019, and were disclosed to Apple in August. There were five types of potential attacks that could allow third parties to learn "sensitive private information about the user's browsing habits." Google researchers say that Safari left personal data exposed because the Intelligent Tracking Prevention List "implicitly stores information about the websites visited by the user." Malicious entities could use these flaws to create a "persistent fingerprint" that would follow a user around the web or see what individual users were searching for on search engine pages. Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which Apple began implementing in 2017, is a privacy-focused feature meant to make it harder for sites to track users across the web, preventing browsing profiles and histories from being created. Lukasz Olejnik, a security researcher who saw Google's paper, said that if exploited, the vulnerabilities "would allow unsanctioned and uncontrollable user tracking." Olejnik said that such privacy vulnerabilities are rare, and "issues in mechanisms designed to improve privacy are unexpected and highly counter-intuitive."

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1 updates to developers, one week after seeding the second betas and more than a month after the release of iOS 13.3 with Communication Limits for Screen Time. iOS and ‌iPadOS‌ 13.3.1 can be downloaded from the Apple Developer center or over the air once the proper developer profile has been installed. iOS 13.3.1 includes a "Networking & Wireless" toggle that turns off the U1 Ultra Wideband chip in the latest iPhones. The feature, located in the Privacy > Location Services section of the Settings app, turns off location for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ultra Wideband. Apple added this location toggle after it was discovered that the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max continue to track user location even when location services options are disabled. This is because there are international regulatory requirements that mandate the U1 chip be disabled in certain locations. The new toggle makes sure location tracking is off for the U1 chip at all times. Apple has also added a new "Play Again" button when replaying content that you've already watched in the TV app. Along with these features, the iOS 13.3.1 update also likely includes bug fixes for issues unable to be addressed in the iOS 13.3 update. Specifically, it could address some issues with Communication Limits, fixing a workaround with the Contacts app that allowed children text someone who contacted them from an unknown

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.1.2 update to developers, one week after releasing the second beta and more than a month after releasing the watchOS 6.1.1 update with bug fixes. Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the update, the ‌‌‌Apple Watch‌‌‌ needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌. There's no word yet on what features are included in the watchOS 6.1.2 beta, and there were no new features discovered in the first two betas, but we'll update this article should anything new be found in the third

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 13.3.1 update to developers, one week after seeding the second beta and over a month after releasing the tvOS 13.3 update. Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the new tvOS 13.3.1 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode. tvOS updates are typically minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes and improvements rather than major outward-facing changes. Apple provides little to no information on what's included in tvOS beta updates, so we may not discover anything new after installing the software. While we don't often know what's new in tvOS during the beta testing process, we let MacRumors readers know when new updates are available so those who are developers can download it upon

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced three years ago in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari. Safari Technology Preview release 99 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, Web API, Cookies, CSS, Media, WebRTC, Payment Request, Web Animations, JavaScript, Web Share API, WebDriver, and IndexedDB. Today's update also removes support for Adobe Flash. The new Safari Technology Preview update is available for both macOS Mojave and MacOS Catalina, the newest version of the Mac operating system that was released in October. The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website. Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to