Let’s Talk Apple — Ep. 79 (March 2020)

Panel:

• Bart Busschots (host) – @bbusschots
• Simon Parnell from the Essential Apple Podcast – @serenak

The show starts with a few followup stories (including the virus-shaped elephant in every room these days), two notable numbers, one legal story, a few Apple staffing changes and acquisitions (including Darkskies), and a quick overview of news related to Apple’s original content. The four main stories are forced Uyghur Labour labour in Apple’s supply chain, new hardware, iOS 13.4 with its trackpad support, and Apple and Amazon’s compromise enabling in-app purchases in the Amazon Prime Video apps. The show ends with a quick rundown of some smaller Apple-related stories that made the news in March.

You’ll find detailed show notes below the fold, and if you enjoy this free show, please consider clicking on the donate button at the top of the left side bar – the show is free for you to listen to, but not for Bart to Produce!

Followup

• COVID–19 becomes an epidemic, and continues to affect all of us, Apple included:
  • LG Innotek, supplier of iPhone cameras, closes its factory after coronavirus case — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Sends Care Packages to Employees Stranded in China’s Wenzhou City and Hubei Province by Coronavirus — www.macrumors.com/…
  • Foxconn expects to have its Chinese factories back to normal this month — www.imore.com/…
  • Coronavirus forces Apple to restrict employee travel to Italy and Korea — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple forced to close store in Bergamo, Italy temporarily — www.imore.com/…
  • Santa Clara County asks Apple and others to cancel events over coronavirus concerns — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple is rejecting coronavirus apps that are not from health organizations — www.imore.com/…
  • The App Store is fast-tracking approval of coronavirus apps from reputable sources — www.imore.com/…
  • Coronavirus forces cancellation of all Today At Apple sessions in Italy — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Encourages Employees to Work From Home — www.macobserver.com/…
  • All Chinese Apple Stores are now open but with limited hours — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple suspends filming for all Apple TV+ projects from outside studios — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple announces WWDC 2020, and it’s all going to be online — www.imore.com/…
    • Related: AltConf 2020, the popular alternative to WWDC, has also been canceled — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple to close all retail stores until March 27 — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple is now saying its stores are closed ‘until further notice’ — www.imore.com/…
    • Related: Apple’s FAQ on their store closures — www.apple.com/…
  • Select Apple stores remain open, but only for in-store pickup — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Extends Device Return Period Over Store Closures — www.macobserver.com/… & Once open, Apple Stores are giving us 14 days to return things — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Card customers can skip their March payments interest free because of the coronavirus — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple and Goldman Sachs allowing Apple Card holders to defer April payments too — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple updates its remote learning guide for schools — www.imore.com/… & Apple releases new videos to help educators teach students from home — www.imore.com/… & Apple offering free online learning consultations to US teachers — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple enforcing purchase limits online worldwide [Update] — www.imore.com/…
  • You can now buy as many items as you want at Apple Stores outside of China — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple releases COVID-related content of various forms:
    • Apple updates Podcasts app with Coronavirus content from trusted sources — www.imore.com/…
    • Siri update brings coronavirus screening options, here’s how to use them — www.imore.com/…
    • Oprah Winfrey launches COVID–19 interview series on Apple TV+ — www.loopinsight.com/…
    • Apple Launches COVID–19 Screening Tool — tidbits.com/…
    • 🇬🇧 Coronavirus advice added to UK App Store — www.imore.com/…
    • Apple featuring government coronavirus guidance on its website homepage in UK and France — www.imore.com/…
    • Apple Podcasts Adds ‘COVID–19: Essential Listening’ Section — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple is donating two million masks to help fight coronavirus pandemic — www.imore.com/…
  • Tim Cook announces Apple is donating 10 million masks to fight COVID–19 — www.imore.com/…
  • 100,000 of Apple’s N95 masks land in Tim Cook’s home state of Alabama amid the coronavirus pandemic — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Books Gives Out Free Books and Audiobooks — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple is no longer a $1 trillion company thanks to coronavirus fears — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple TV+ Throttling Video Streaming to Help Reduce Strain on European Broadband — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Panic over – Foxconn says it now has enough workers to deal with iPhone 12 demand — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Music’s Beats 1 now broadcasting remotely — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple plans to begin reopening its retail stores in the first half of April — www.imore.com/…
  • iPhone factories in India grind to a halt thanks to coronavirus lockdown — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Music launches “Come Together” collection of uplifting music — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple supplier Foxconn records third consecutive fall in yearly profit — www.imore.com/…
  • Russia Postponing Introduction of Rules Forcing iPhones to Have State-Approved Apps — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple Store employees asked to take on tech support roles from home — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple Extends App Store Deadlines Like Sign In with Apple — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple to Pay Contract Workers Previously Told They’d Lose Work — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple doubles China donation in the fight against COVID–19 — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple offering subsidies to repair partners who practice social distancing — www.imore.com/…
  • New York Gov. Cuomo thanks Apple for its donation of 1.9 million masks — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Laurene Powell Jobs Launch ‘America’s Food Fund’ — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Opinion: Innovation, kindness, persistence: How Apple is setting an example in the darkest of times — www.imore.com/…
• Throttle-gate cases continue to be resolved in courts around the world:
  • 🇺🇸 Apple agreed to a settlement in which they admit no wrong-doing, but will pay eligible US consumers an estimated $25 for slowing down their phone — www.imore.com/…
    • How to tell if you qualify for Apple’s $500 million iPhone settlement — www.imore.com/…
  • 🇧🇷 Brazil court rules in favor of Apple over iPhone slowing — www.imore.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Apple’s attempt to invalidate the patent at the root of last month’s $1.1Bn judgement against it an Broadcom has failed in the Federal Appeals court in CA. It’s expected Apple will now appeal that judgement — www.imore.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Apple’s application to have the AppleWatch excepted from US tarrifs on imports from China has been approved — www.imore.com/…
• Apple continues to slowly and incrementally improve AppleCard
  • iOS 13.4 includes more detailed information on purchases of Apple services in the AppleCard interface — www.imore.com/…
  • Apple have updated their agreement with Goldman Sachs and their privacy policy to address recent criticism on how rates were calculated – www.imore.com/…

Notable Numbers

• Android flagship phones depreciate nearly twice as fast as iPhones — www.imore.com/…
• Apple takes the top five spots in US smartphone sales — www.imore.com/…

Legal Latest

• 🇫🇷 Apple is fined €1.1Bn for anti-trust violations in France. The French competition state that Apple entered into agreements with their two biggest French wholesalers that they would not compete with each other, and would not under-cut Apple’s own prices. The two whole salers Tech Data and Ingram Micro were also fined, but much less than Apple, just €76M & €63M respectively — www.imore.com/…, arstechnica.com/… & venturebeat.com/…

Apple HR & Acquisition News

• Rubén Caballero, one of Apple’s Vice Presidents of Engineering, is leaving Apple to join Humane, a company set up by two former Apple employees — www.imore.com/…
• Apple Looking for Maps Writer/Editor — www.macobserver.com/…
• Indoor AR navigation specialist Dent Reality joins Apple’s Indoor Maps Program — www.imore.com/…
• Apple buys popular weather app, Dark Sky — Android app will shut down — www.imore.com/…

Apple Original Content Update

• Apple TV+ Exec Michelle Mendelovitz Leaves for 20th Century Fox — www.macobserver.com/…
• Criticism of ‘American Dirt’ book review causes Oprah to re-think her March pick for ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ — www.imore.com/…
• Apple finally premieres ‘The Banker’ in Tennessee — www.imore.com/…
• Apple announces International Women’s Day collection on Apple TV — www.imore.com/…
• Apple TV+ will not be attending SXSW over coronavirus concerns — www.imore.com/…
• Steven Spielberg’s ‘Amazing Stories’ is now available on Apple TV+ — www.imore.com/…
• Apple renews award-winning ‘Truth Be Told’ for a second season — www.imore.com/…
• ‘The Banker’ is finally available on Apple TV+ — www.imore.com/…
• Apple TV+ British Comedy ‘Trying’ Arriving May 1 — www.macobserver.com/…
• Analysis: Apple TV+ has the widest gap between audience and critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes — www.loopinsight.com/…

Main Stories

1. Forced Uyghur Labour
   • A report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has found evidence that a number of Chinese companies in Apple’s supply chain are or have used forced labour from Uyghur Muslims:
   • Nike, Apple among dozens of major brands implicated in report on forced labour — www.loopinsight.com/…
   • New Report Outlines Allegations of Abuse Against Uyghur Muslims Working in Apple Supply Chain — www.macobserver.com/…
   • More Details of How Uyghur Muslims Are Exploited in Tech Supply Chains Emerge — www.macobserver.com/…
2. New and Updated Hardware
   • New 13" Retina Macbook Airs:
     • New Magic Keyboard, base storage increased to 256GB, better performance, and a starting price of $999 ($899 for students)
     • Apple announces new MacBook Air with new Magic Keyboard — www.imore.com/…
     • The new MacBook Air benchmarks are 75% faster than its predecessor — www.imore.com/…
     • iFixit’s teardown of the 2020 MacBook Air reveals it is easier to repair — www.imore.com/…
     • Here’s a roundup of reviews for Apple’s new MacBook Air — www.imore.com/…
     • Review: The 2020 MacBook Air — daringfireball.net/…
   • Apple updated the MacMini with double the storage and a performance boost — www.imore.com/… & www.macobserver.com/…
   • New iPad Pro (with optional Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, more on that later)
     • A12Z Chip (A12X with one more graphics core), a LiDAR scanner & an improved camera
     • Apple announces new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard with trackpad — www.imore.com/…
     • Every new iPad Pro model now features 6GB of RAM, U11 chip, and Wi-Fi 6 — www.imore.com/…
     • Latest iPad Pro May Not Have the U1 Chip in it — www.macobserver.com/…
     • The Apple A12Z Bionic SoC is just a renamed A12X with an enabled GPU core — www.notebookcheck.net/…
     • More new iPad Pro benchmarks show minimal gains on 2018 model — www.imore.com/…
     • What is LiDAR, and why do I want it in my iPad? — www.imore.com/…
     • This is what iPad Pro’s LiDAR Scanner sees when it’s mapping your home — www.imore.com/…
     • iFixit cracks open the new 2020 iPad Pro in its latest teardown — www.imore.com/…
     • Apple automatically upgrades customer’s iPad Pro purchase to new model — www.imore.com/…
     • Review: iPad Pro (2020) review: The ultimate 2-in–1 for everyone — www.imore.com/…
     • Review: The 2020 iPad Pros — daringfireball.net/…
     • Here’s a roundup of all the latest iPad Pro reviews! — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple released the PowerBeats 4 with 15 hours battery life for $149 — www.imore.com/… & arstechnica.com/…
   • Apple releases new Watch bands and iPhone cases — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple Releases Mac Pro Afterburner Card as Separate Purchase — www.macobserver.com/…
3. iOS & iPadOS 13.4 & a Magic Keyboard with Trackpad for the iPad Pro
   • iCloud folder sync (at last), and mouse and trackpad support on iPadOS — www.macobserver.com/… & tidbits.com/…
   • Anyone can use a trackpad with their iPad when iPadOS 13.4 arrives on 3/24 — www.imore.com/…
   • 🎦 Here’s how the iPad’s new trackpad actually works — www.theverge.com/…
   • Opinion: Who Would Have Thought an iPad Cursor Could Be So Much Fun? — www.wired.com/…
   • Apple updates iWork and iMovie iPad apps with mouse and trackpad support — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple’s new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro works with your 2018 model, too — www.imore.com/…
   • Logitech launches new keyboard case with trackpad for iPad — www.imore.com/…
   • This is Logitech’s first-ever mouse … for iPad — www.imore.com/…
4. Apple and Amazon strike a deal that allows Amazon Prime users to buy movies and even subscribe within Amazon’s iOS & tvOS apps. In return, Amazon have provided full support for Apple’s features including the TV app and AirPlay 2:
   • You can finally rent and purchase movies on Amazon Prime Video for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV — www.imore.com/…
   • Apple lets some streaming services bypass its 30% App Store fee — www.imore.com/…
   • Why is Apple favoring Amazon’s ‘premium’ video content? — www.imore.com/…
   • Amazon and Apple Strike Deal for Prime Video In-App Purchases and Subscriptions — daringfireball.net/…

Quick Stories

• Some other OS & Software Tweaks form Apple
  • Apple rolls out new business support features with its latest software — www.imore.com/…
  • iOS 13.4 enables third-party maps in CarPlay — www.imore.com/…
  • iWork for Mac Updated With iCloud Folder Sharing — www.macobserver.com/…
  • Apple Music Shows New Music From Artists in Your Library — www.macobserver.com/…
• Apple have tweaked the App Store rules and features
  • Developers can now use push notifications for ‘direct marketing’ (AKA ads!), but only if the user has explicitly opted in — www.imore.com/… & arstechnica.com/…
  • Developers can now sell universal versions of their apps that work on all Apple’s platforms — www.imore.com/…
• Apple launches repair program for blank screen issue affecting 3rd generation iPad Air — www.imore.com/…
• Apple Says MacBook Air With Retina Display Can Exhibit Anti-Reflective Coating Issues, Unclear if Eligible for Free Repairs — www.macrumors.com/…
• Apple Releases ProRes RAW Beta for Windows — www.macobserver.com/…
• Google Podcasts is now available on iOS — www.imore.com/…
• Dell Mobile Connect App Now Lets You Mirror Your iPhone on Windows — www.macobserver.com/…
• 🇺🇸 Movies Anywhere now lets you share your iTunes movies with friends — www.imore.com/…
• Apple dominates ‘100 greatest designs of modern times’ list — appleinsider.com/…

Legend

Note: When the textual description of a link is part of the link it is the title of the page being linked to, when the text describing a link is not part of the link it is a description written by Bart.