The latest update to the Spotify app means that it will now work with Siri on an Apple Watch running watchOS 6.
App Store Spending Predicted to Hit $115 Billion in 2024
Spending in the Apple App store is forecast to hit $115 billion in 2024, with non-game revenue overtaking that generated by mobile games.
Intel Releases 10th Generation H-Series Chips
Intel released new 10th-generation processors designed for high-end computers, Comet Lake chips built on Intel’s 14 nanometer architecture.
New Versions of macOS, Stewart Brand – TMO Daily Observations 2020-04-02
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join host Kelly Guimont to discuss what the new version of macOS could look like (and when we’ll see it), and an interesting documentary about an interesting guy, Stewart Brand.
WireGuard VPN Gets Added to the Next Linux Kernel
I briefly mentioned WireGuard when I wrote of Cloudflare’s WARP beta. I think it’s something to add to your technology watch lists. It’s just not any old VPN app, it’s a VPN protocol that could very well replace current protocols like IPsec and OpenVPN, or at least be offered as an alternative. You can read the technical whitepaper here [PDF], along with this write up from Ars Technica.
WireGuard will now operate as either a Loadable Kernel Module (LKM) or built statically into the kernel itself. But whether static or loadable, it will be “in-tree”—which means it’s provided ready to go with the vanilla kernel itself, with no need for repackaging by the various distros. This puts it on the same footing as other supported drivers.
Apple Podcasts Adds ‘COVID-19: Essential Listening’ Section
Apple added a special section in Apple Podcasts called COVID-19: Essential Listening. It features podcasts to keep you informed of the latest news and updates.
YouTube Kids Gets the Watch Time, While Netflix Gets The Installs
Netflix was installed 59 million times in the first quarter of 2020. However, it was YouTube Kids that had the most usage, according to AppTopia and Blaze data reported on by Reuters.
Netflix Inc led rivals YouTube, Amazon Prime and Disney+ with over 59 million installs in the first quarter of 2020, but more time was spent on YouTube’s Kids service as usage boomed following the shutdown of thousands of schools in March. YouTube, owned by Alphabet Inc’s Google, collected $110 million in in-app spending during the same time period, the highest among major streaming apps globally, according to a report by analytics firms Apptopia and Braze. The report did not give actual hours of usage, but ranked YouTube Kids first, followed by Netflix. YouTube itself was in third place.
Tile: Apple’s Anticompetitive Behavior Has Gotten Worse
On Wednesday, Tile told a congressional panel that Apple didn’t live up to its promises to resolve a dispute between the two companies.
Tile had objected to Apple requiring its users to repeatedly agree to allow Tile to operate in the background, which is crucial to Tile’s service…Tile also said that there were indications that Apple planned to update its Find My product, adding hardware, so it would be a competitor to Tile.
Those are Tile’s two arguments. One – They’re mad that Apple cracked down on apps collecting location data in the background. No sympathy there from me. Two – Apple allegedly plans to compete with Tile with its own hardware Bluetooth device, rumored “AirTag.” Tile is acting as if Apple specifically aimed its location crackdown at them, to set itself up for AirTag, but I’m not sure if that’s right. Tile certainly wasn’t the only one doing that.
Latest iPad Pro May Not Have the U1 Chip in it
When the 2020 iPad Pro launched there was discussion about whether or not had U1 chip in it. The chip, present in the iPhone 11 series, provides Ultra Wideband support. It is not mentioned in the iPad Pro tech specs but is referred to in the iPhones’ specs. While MacRumors noted that the U1 could still be present and that Apple is waiting until it is useful to highlight it, it has compiled evidence that that is not the case.
The biggest clue of all is that FCC filings for all iPhone 11 models list operating frequencies in the 6GHz range and the 7-8GHz range, and the rules for these frequencies points to “Subpart F — Ultra-Wideband Operation.” TechInsights last year reported that the U1 chip in iPhone 11 models transmits on two different frequencies, 6.24GHz and 8.23GHz. By comparison, FCC filings indicate that all 2020 iPad Pro models operate within a max frequency range of 5GHz for Wi-Fi.
U.S. Census Goes Digital With The iPhone 8
It’s census year in the U.S., but this time around it’s going to be different. Each enumerator tasked with getting the data is to be handed an iPhone 8 instead of a pen and paper. CNet looked into how it is all going to work, and the risks involved.
In an effort to make the door-to-door process, which is the most laborious and expensive part of the census, faster and more efficient, the bureau is arming 500,000 enumerators with the Apple iPhone 8. But as the census goes mobile, instantaneously beaming respondents’ answers to data centers and cloud servers, it opens itself up to those who may want to access or manipulate such valuable information. The stakes to pull off a census have always been high, but with this year’s adoption of new technological methods, the pressure to succeed is even higher.