Charlotte Henry

Disney+ has hit the 50 million subscriber mark in just five months, The Guardian reports. While this figure is impressive, it has been boosted not only by lockdowns around the world but by a number of offers from telecoms firms.

Disney+, which launched in the UK and most major western European markets last month, with hits including the Star Wars live action spin-off The Mandalorian, has signed up 50m subscribers just five months after launch. It took its rival, Netflix, which has more than 160 million subscribers, seven years to reach the same milestone after moving from DVD rental by post to streaming in 2007. Disney, which launched in Europe with lower streaming speeds to help ease the burden on broadband networks as millions are confined to their homes, last reported subscriber numbers on 3 February. At that time, just as the coronavirus started its rapid spread in China and beyond, Disney+ had 28.6 million subscribers.

Last week, Apple quietly allowed Amazon Prime Video to start offering in-app purchases in a seeming loosening of App Store restrictions. It’s a fascinating move, one that Ben Thompson provides in-depth analysis of on Stratechery.

Both [Apple and Amazon], given their desire to be a platform for over-the-top services, are on the same side when it comes to a potential Netflix-dominated future: neither want it to happen. Netflix dominating means that shows are sold directly to Netflix; channels are pointless. Apple and Amazon both, though, want channels to exist, if only so that they can sell subscriptions to them.

A Google staffer and an Apple staffer have come together to make progress on Apple’s work to introduce one-time passcodes delivered in an SMS. AppleInsider looked into the latest developments.

Announced in an updated GitHub explainer, an initial report of Apple’s “Origin-bound one-time codes delivered via SMS” project was published by the WICG on April 2. The draft was co-edited by Theresa O’Connor from Apple and Sam Goto from Google. First proposed by Apple WebKit engineers and backed by Google in January, the initiative seeks to simplify the OTP SMS mechanism commonly used by websites, businesses and other entities to confirm login credentials as part of two-step authentication systems.

There has been some speculation about whether or not 2020 iPad Pros contain a U1 ultra-wideband chip. At Daring Fireball, John Gruber revealed that a “little birdie” has confirmed to him that no, there is no U1 chip in the device.

So the tech specs don’t mention it, Apple never mentioned it, and the U1-enabled features in iPhone 11 models aren’t there. And iFixit’s teardown found no hidden U1 chip…. I confirmed with a little birdie who would certainly know the answer: there is no U1 chip in the new iPad Pro, and if there were one, Apple would have told us so.

In a story that’s both sad and uplifting, CNN outlines how parents are seeing their newborn babies and partners are supporting women giving birth during the coronavirus outbreak. There are specialist apps, but one of the key ways contact is happening is over FaceTime.

An increasing number of hospitals are banning or limiting visitations to nurseries specializing in the care of ill or premature newborns — a demographic that is particularly vulnerable to contracting outside sicknesses. Video chat services like FaceTime have become a lifeline for many families grappling with these changes, giving them a chance to bond with their babies from afar. Julianna Grogan, a New York City-based mother who was diagnosed with COVID-19 before the birth of her daughter on April 2, told CNN Business her husband and doula cheered her on during the delivery via FaceTime, as they were not permitted into the room. “They were watching the whole time,” she said. “Luckily, I had a stand with a clip to attach my phone to the bed.”

I’ve long enjoyed reading on a Kindle (I have a PaperWhite model). I find the e-ink display a nice break from the usual screen I use. However, when 9to5 Mac‘s Bradley Chambers moved away from the Amazon device, he began reading on the iPad Mini, and soon decided Apple Books was the best service for him.

Once I sold my Kindle Oasis, I decided that the iPad mini would be the best device for reading books from Apple Books. While it’s more expensive than the 7th generation iPad, in the long run, it’ll be a more comfortable device to hold for reading. One thing I quickly noticed was that Apple Books has audiobooks built right into the app. With Kindle on iOS, you generally use the Audible app. I expected Apple’s audiobooks to be very expensive as I remembered from a few years back, but to my surprise, they were all in line with Audible’s pricing.

Some users are experiencing system crashes having updated to macOS Catalina 10.15.4. MacRumors reported that the issue mostly seems to arise when users are attempting to make large file transfers, although that’s not the only circumstances in which it happens.

The crashing issue appears to be most prominent when users attempt to make large file transfers… Other users on macOS 10.15.4 have experienced crashes after waking their Mac from sleep, with affected systems suffering a kernel panic and rebooting to the Apple logo, according to comments shared on the Apple Support Communities, MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and Twitter.