HiTechEdge

Category: Apple

All news related to Apple.

  • Spotify Cancels Plans to Support AirPlay 2

    Spotify Cancels Plans to Support AirPlay 2

    Spotify has cancelled its plans to support AirPlay 2, disappointing Apple fans who use the service.

    AirPlay is Apple’s protocol to stream music or video from an Apple device to a compatible speaker, TV or streaming device. AirPlay 2 has a number of advantages over the original version, including Siri integration, lower latency and multi-room support.

    Unfortunately, despite being available for more than three years, Spotify has no intentions of supporting it anytime soon. In a message posted to the company’s community boards, one of the moderators said the company was looking to support AirPlay 2, but decided not to at this time.

    Hello everyone,

    We’ve discussed this Idea internally and while we are working on supporting AirPlay2 in a proper way, we have decided to close it for now.

    The reason for this is that due to audio driver compatibility issues, this seems like a bigger project that we won’t be able to complete in the foreseeable future.

    Please keep adding your votes and comments here and as soon as we have anything new to share, we’ll check back with an update.

    Despite the competition between the two companies, it’s hard to imagine Spotify is hurting anyone but itself. There are many Apple customers that prefer Spotify, but a lack of integration with the rest of the Apple ecosystem is a deal-breaker for some.

  • Apple Makes Its First NAB Appearance in a Decade

    Apple Makes Its First NAB Appearance in a Decade

    Apple is attending the National Association of Broadcasters NAB Show, the first such appearance in a decade.

    The NAB is a trade association involving broadcasters from around the country. The NAB Show conference involves not only broadcasters, but many of the supporting and complimentary industries, including tech.

    Apple’s last appearance was a decade ago, when it announced the release of Final Cut Pro X at NAB 2011. According to Apple Scoop, Apple is set to make an appearance at NAB 2022.

    There are no details as to why Apple is suddenly attending NAB again. Nor is there any indication what, if any, products Apple may unveil. Nonetheless, the company’s return to the conference is certainly an interesting development.

  • Apple Risks Angering Users With Push Notifications About Emmys

    Apple Risks Angering Users With Push Notifications About Emmys

    Apple has risked drawing the ire of some users with unsolicited push notifications regarding the Emmys.

    Ted Lasso, an Apple TV+ exclusive, has racked up an impressive number of Emmy nominations. Not surprisingly, Apple wants people to know and issued a press release for that purpose.

    As AppleInsider points out, however, the company followed that up a day later with push notifications alerting users. The notifications included invitations “to see why Ted Lasso and more Apple Originals are up for awards.”

    Given Apple’s focus on privacy and protecting user rights, it’s not a good look for the company to send unsolicited, and potentially unwanted, push notifications — even for the purpose of celebrating a major accomplishment.

  • Apple Increasing 2021 iPhone Production by 20%

    Apple Increasing 2021 iPhone Production by 20%

    Apple appears to be gearing up for a significant increase in iPhone sales, raising its 2021 production by 20%.

    According to Bloomberg, Apple has been fairly steady in recent years, ordering 75 million units a year for the period between a launch and the end of the year. With its next phone, however, the company is asking suppliers to build an initial run of up to 90 million.

    The next version of the iPhone is not expected to be a revolutionary upgrade, but a rather modest evolutionary improvement. Nonetheless, Bloomberg reports that Apple expect post-pandemic demand to drive increased sales.

    Apple is notoriously cautious about estimates and projections, and demand often outstrips supply. For the company to order 90 million units is a testament to how popular Apple expects the next iPhone to be.

  • iCloud Outage Impacting Users

    iCloud Outage Impacting Users

    Apple has confirmed an issue with iCloud, following reports of people not being able to log in or retrieve email.

    iCloud is Apple’s suite of cloud-based tools that includes email. Monday morning, reports of issues started spiking on Downdector.com, with users reporting issues logging into iCloud and checking email.

    Apple System Status Page

    Apple’s System Status page confirms there are issues with iCloud email, although the issues do not seem to be impacting all users. It appears mitigation efforts are already working, as Downdetector reports are also dropping.

    Downdetector iCloud Issues
  • Apple Making a Play for NFL Sunday Ticket

    Apple Making a Play for NFL Sunday Ticket

    Apple may be preparing to enter the the streaming TV big leagues, with a play for the NFL Sunday Ticket.

    In the battle for the streaming TV market, sports is one of the most important keys to success. A strong emphasis on sports has allowed fuboTV to quickly go from a small upstart to one of the major competitors at the top of the streaming food chain.

    Apple appears ready to get in on the action, and is in early talks for the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket, according to The Information, via The Verge. The NFL Sunday Ticket would give Apple the ability to broadcast all football games not available on local stations.

    Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand says the negotiations have not officially begun, but the NFL has had preliminary talks with companies, including Apple.

    If Apple is able to secure NFL Sunday Ticket, it would be a game-changer for the company’s Apple TV+ service.

  • Parallels Plans to Bring Windows 11 to macOS

    Parallels Plans to Bring Windows 11 to macOS

    Parallels is already working on supporting Windows 11 on Apple’s macOS, although no release date has been set.

    Parallels is one of the leading virtualization companies and has been a stalwart on the Mac platform for years. The software allows Mac users to run Windows and Linux from within macOS.

    The company recently updated its software to support Apple’s M1 processors, based on the same processor the company uses in its iPhone and iPad. The company confirmed to iMore that it is now working to support Windows 11 as well.

    “Since Windows 11 has just been announced recently, the Parallels Engineering team is waiting for the official Windows 11 Insider Preview build to start studying changes introduced in the new OS to deliver full compatibility in future Parallels Desktop updates,” Nick Dobrovolskiy, SVP of Engineering and Support told iMore.

    Parallels did not give a release date, or even a window, but did say it “will surely do everything that’s possible to make it happen.”

  • Apple Extends Trade-In Program to Include LG Smartphones

    Apple Extends Trade-In Program to Include LG Smartphones

    Apple is expanding its trade-in program to include four LG smartphones at a time when the latter is shutting down its smartphone business.

    LG announced in April it would shut down its smartphone business by July 31. Once one of the leading smartphone manufacturers, the company fell behind Apple, Samsung, Huawei and others. LG explored a number of options before finally settling on shutting the division down.

    First spotted by AppleInsider, Apple has added four additional LG smartphones to the trade-in program.

    • LG V60 ThinQ 5G, up to $180
    • LG V50 ThinQ 5G, up to $125
    • LG V40 ThinQ, up to $65
    • LG G8 ThinQ, up to $70

    Apple is clearly looking to capitalize on LG’s exit from the smartphone business. The trade-in deals may help the company pick up some LG customers.

  • Apple Watch May Call 911 While You’re Sleeping

    Apple Watch May Call 911 While You’re Sleeping

    If the police and ambulances suddenly show up at your house and wake you from slumber…you may have your Apple Watch to blame.

    The Apple Watch has an Emergency SOS function, whereby holding the Watch’s side button can automatically call 911. The feature is similar to the one on the iPhone and iPad, where holding the power and volume button can do the same thing.

    Unfortunately, it appears some Apple Watch users are sleeping on their Watch in such a way that the Emergency SOS feature is being activated in their sleep.

    “What happens is while people are moving around in their sleep or exercising, they’ll get the Apple Watch into the emergency mode. Without knowing it, the watch will actually call 911,” Overland Park Police Captain Jim Sutterby said told Fox Kansas City.

    Fortunately, the feature has to be enabled in the Watch app on your iPhone first, so not everyone will be impacted. Of course, another easy way to avoid the problem is to simply to take the Watch off and put it on the charger before going to bed.

    If, however, you choose to wear your Apple Watch to bed and the police and paramedics show up in the middle of the night…don’t say we didn’t warn you…

  • WWDC: iPadOS Home Screen, Multitasking and Notes

    WWDC: iPadOS Home Screen, Multitasking and Notes

    Apple’s Craig Federighi highlighted the flexibility of iPadOS and the new features we can expect in iOS 15.

    Home Screen

    iPadOS Widgets

    The Home Screen is getting a big update, with the ability to include Widgets mixed in with app icons. To take advantage of the iPad’s larger screen, Widgets have been updated to allow for bigger sizes, perfect for TV widgets.

    Multitasking

    Multitasking gets its biggest update since the feature’s introduction, and adds a number of abilities people have been clamoring for.

    iPadOS now includes a new multitasking menu at the top of the screen. Tapping the new menu makes it much easier to open another app and add it to Split Screen or Slide Over.

    iPadOS Multitasking and Shelf

    The new multitasking features also include the ability to minimize apps or app windows into a new Shelf at the bottom of the screen. The Shelf stays visible, even when switching to new apps.

    Swiping down on an app in Split View makes it much easier to change the active app.

    Notes

    Notes have received a big update, adding Mentions. When tagging a person with a Mention, they’re automatically notified. A built-in tag browser provides a way to see all the different tags associated with a given note.

    iPadOS Quick Note

    iOS 15 also includes Quick Note, a way to create a note from any app. Simply swipe up from the bottom right corner to create a new app. The feature is also app-aware, adding specific functionality based on the app currently in the background.