In an internal memo to Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that its network of authorized repair shops will receive maximum payouts for qualifying product repairs for the months of March and April, regardless of performance metrics. Apple is making this move to ensure that its authorized technicians are financially supported amid the challenging COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple also told its technicians that it supports their decisions and encourages them to be thoughtful regarding the safety of its employees and the operations of their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a week to go before Disney+ launches in the U.K., the streaming giant has partnered with mobile provider O2 to offer two exclusive deals to customers on the network.
New and upgrading O2 monthly customers can get six months of free access to Disney+ when it launches in the U.K. on March 24. The offer is open to anyone who orders a new (or upgrades to a new) handset, tablet, or SIM-only contract through the mobile network.
Meanwhile, existing O2 customers who aren't ready to upgrade can get a £2 discount on the normal £5.99 asking price for Disney+ when it launches by adding the new streaming platform as an extra.
O2 customers that take advantage of the deal will be able to watch Disney+ content across mobile devices, online, smart TVs, and streaming boxes, just like other Disney+ subscribers.
Anyone in the United Kingdom can get a year of Disney+ for £49.99 instead of the standard £59.99 annual subscription rate if they sign up between now and March 23.
Over 500 feature films and over 7,500 shows will be available on the service including new original content like the critically acclaimed "The Mandalorian" and "The World According To Jeff Goldblum," along with timeless classics like "Lady and the Tramp" and the entire Pixar library.
Apple's Beats subsidiary today announced an updated version of its Powerbeats 3 headphones, with the new version simply called "Powerbeats" with no number. Version wise, though, these are the rumored Powerbeats 4 headphones that we've been seeing in iOS 13 for the last few months, and they'll be officially available to purchase this Wednesday, March 18.
Design wise, the Powerbeats look similar to the Powerbeats 3, but have an angled earpiece that's closer in design to the Powerbeats Pro and a cord that trails down from the earhook rather than the opposite side. Apple says this makes for a natural, ergonomic contour around the neck.
Like the Powerbeats Pro, the new Powerbeats have an angled in-ear fit and wraparound earhooks, but there is a wire between the Powerbeats that connects the two earbuds to one another. Apple ships the Powerbeats with eartips in four sizes for optimal sound and comfort for each user.
Physical playback controls are included on each earbud for doing things like adjusting the volume, skipping songs, declining or accepting incoming calls, and playing and pausing music.
Apple has included an H1 chip in the Powerbeats for faster pairing with iOS devices, quick switching between devices that are signed into the same iCloud account, and hands-free "Hey Siri" support. Powerbeats work with Apple's audio sharing feature that lets two sets of Apple-designed headphones connect to one iPhone or iPad.
When it comes to sound, Powerbeats deliver the same rich audio as the Powerbeats Pro with pistonic drivers that offer clean sound reproduction with low distortion across the frequency curve and enhanced clarity and dynamic range.
The Powerbeats have an IPX4 water resistance rating, which is the same water resistance rating as the Powerbeats Pro. IPX4 means the new Powerbeats will be able to hold up to sweat and splashes of water, though keeping them as dry as possible is always preferable.
There are dual beamforming microphones inside of the Powerbeats for enhanced call quality along with Class 1 Bluetooth for extended range and fewer dropouts. Powerbeats will last for 15 hours on a single charge (3 hours longer than Powerbeats 3), plus there's a 5-minute Fast Fuel feature that provides an hour of listening time after a five-minute charge.
Unlike the Powerbeats Pro and the AirPods, the standard Powerbeats do not have a charging case and will need to be charged using a Lightning cable.
Powerbeats are a significant upgrade over the existing Powerbeats 3, but Apple is also dropping the price. While the Powerbeats 3 were priced at $199.95, Apple is charging $149.95 for the new Powerbeats.
France's competition watchdog on Monday fined Apple 1.1 billion euros ($1.23 billion) for anti-competitive behavior in its distribution network and an abuse of economic dependence on its resellers, reports Reuters.
France's L’Autorité de la concurrence also levied fines of $84.7 million and $69 million against Apple premium resellers Tech Data and Ingram Micro for their roles in the anti-competitive practices. In Announcing the its largest ever fine, the agency's president, Isabelle de Silva, gave the following statement [machine language translation]:
“During this case, the Authority deciphered the very specific practices that had been implemented by Apple for the distribution of its products in France (excluding iPhones), such as the iPad. First, Apple and its two wholesalers agreed not to compete and prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products. Secondly, so-called Premium distributors could not risk promoting or lowering prices without risk, which led to an alignment of retail prices between Apple's integrated distributors and independent Premium distributors.
Finally, Apple has abused the economic dependence of these Premium distributors on it, by subjecting them to unfair and unfavorable commercial conditions compared to its network of integrated distributors. In view of the strong impact of these practices on competition in the distribution of Apple products via Apple premium resellers, the Authority has imposed the highest penalty ever pronounced in a case (1.24 billion euros). It is also the heaviest sanction pronounced against an economic player, in this case Apple (1.1 billion euros), whose extraordinary dimension has been duly taken into account. Finally, the Authority considered that, in the present case, Apple had committed an abuse of economic dependence on its premium retailers, a practice which the Authority considers to be particularly serious ”.
"Apple and its two wholesalers have agreed not to compete with each other and to prevent distributors from competing with each other, thereby sterilizing the wholesale market for Apple products," it said.
Apple in its October earnings call said that France's competition authority had alleged that some aspects of its sales and distribution practices were in violation of French law, but did not provide details on which aspects of its business were under investigation.
According to the French anti-trust agency, the case originally opened after a dispute between Apple and one of its leading French wholesalers, eBizcuss. The premium reseller accused Apple of abusing its position and in 2012 it shut down in France as a result of what it claimed was unfair competition.
Apple earlier this year was fined 25 million euros by French consumer fraud group DGCCRF for intentionally slowing down iPhone 6, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 models with the power management software that was meant to prevent older iPhones with degraded batteries from shutting down during times of peak power usage.
Popular photo editing app Darkroom received a significant update over the weekend, introducing major under-the-hood changes to the rendering engine that should bring dramatically improved performance, stability, and reliability.
The substantial rebuild has touched over 50 percent of the app's code, so while the update doesn't bring any new features, the developers say that every existing feature is better and feaster as a result of the changes.
First up, the new depth engine should provide much more accurate blur rendering results that are on a par with Apple's Photos app.
Now when you open a Portrait photo, we match the simulated aperture that the photo was captured by, and when available, we use the same blend of available depth images to provide a very high quality editable Portrait image that the system camera does.
In addition, a year-long reworking of the entire RAW editing feature has also been undertaken that should provide a faster, smoother, and more stable experience across all platforms.
The revamp has also made the transition into and out-of RAW images much lighter and more smooth, improved the performance of all editing operations, and added support for pixel-level zoom on all RAW images.
Other improvements in this update include a 5x increase in the zoom range that enables more efficient spot checking of smaller image regions, improved photo grid performance including the use of higher quality thumbnails, and an altogether more responsive app interface.
Darkroom is available on the App Store for the iPhone and iPad. The app's subscription-based model is set at $3.99 per month or $19.99 per year. A one-time $49.99 purchase option is also available.
