
Apple TV+ scoops up rights to ‘Fingernails’ drama
Apple TV+ has landed “Fingernails,” a sci-fi love story to star Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”) and Riz Ahmed (The Sound of Metal). It marks the English language debut of Apples director Christos Nikou. Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini and Andrew Upton of Dirty...

It’s getting even more crowded in Apple TV+’s ‘Crowded Room’
Henry Eikenberry (“Euphoria”), Henry Zaga (“Beyond the Universe”), Thomas Sadoski (“Life in Pieces”), Will Chase (“Dopesick”), Laila Robins (“The Walking Dead”), Sam Vartholomeos (“Bridge and Tunnel”) and Levon Thurman-Hawk have joined Tom Holland in Apple TV+s “The...

News items you should check out: May 21
Since I can’t cover everything, I’ll often direct your attention to articles of interest. To wit: ° From MacRumors: The European Union is pressing ahead with legislation to heavily regulate companies like Apple, setting plans to force “gatekeepers” to open up access...

Jony Ive reportedly still involved with work on ‘Apple Glasses’ (which will incorporate 14 cameras)
The “Apple Glasses” — the rumored augmented reality/virtual reality headset —will incorporate 14 cameras and other features, according to a new report from The Information. The article says Jony Ive, Apple’s former head of design, is still involved in the project,...

‘Wandavision’ helmer to direct live action Godzilla series for Apple TV+
Matt Shakman will to direct the first two episodes of Apple TV+s upcoming live-action “Godzilla and the Titans” series based on Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise, from Legendary Television, reports Deadline. He most recently helmed the Disney+/Marvel series...

Warped Kart Racers rolls onto Apple Arcade
Warped Kart Racers is now available on Apple Arcade, Apple’s U.S.$4.99/month or $49.99/year game streaming service that has over 200 games. Apple Arcade is also available as part of the Apple One bundle. The game is available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the Apple...

Apple defeats attempts to review the ‘flexgate’ lawsuit involving Mac laptops
Apple defeated an appeal to revive a would-be class action over allegedly defective MacBook Pro displays, after the Ninth Circuit said Thursday that the company had no duty to disclose the flaw, reports Patently Apple. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the...

Pixelmator Pro for Mac gets an improved Photos Browser, more
The Pixelmator Team has released Pixelmator Pro 2.4.3, an update of its image editor designed exclusively for the Mac. It sports an improved Photos Browser, syncing improvements, and more. The Pixelmator Team says the revamped Photo Browser has been “redesigned from...

Apple quits accepting credit, debit card payments in India
As noted by The Mac Observer, Apple has stopped accepting credit and debit card payments for app purchases and subscriptions made by users in India. The company’s change its policy comes to adhere to new banking laws set to take effect starting June 1, 2022. From an...

Analysts: iPhone demand for quarter one has remained ‘surprisingly resilient’
In a note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — Wedbush analysts Daniel Ives and John Katsingris say that iPhone demand for the quarter has remained “surprisingly resilient.” They write: The albatross for the June quarter in our investor conversations over the past...

Apple supplier BOE still has gotten the green light to make OLED displays for the iPhone 14
Apple supplier BOE hasn’t yet gotten approval from Apple to manufacture OLED displays for the upcoming iPhone 14, according to The Elec. Why? “The most likely reason is that the panel maker likely changed the design of the OLED panels, such as expanding the circuit...

There’s a ‘nasty’ iPhone, @TMobile bug involving iMessage and FaceTime
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tweets that there’s “a very nasty iPhone and @TMobile bug where iMessage and FaceTime for a device’s phone number will randomly deactivate and there is no way to reactivate it.” He says the only solution that worked for him is...

Peeblebee introduces two tracking products compatible with Apple’s Find My app
Pebblebee, which makes smart tracking devices, has introduced two newly enhanced, rechargeable tracking products that are now compatible with the Apple Find My app: Pebblebee Clip and Pebblebee Card. They’re also compatible with the Apple Find My app, and...

Aqara’s new D100 Zigbee smart lock is Apple HomeKit compatible
Aqara, a provider of smart home products, has expanded its smart door lock portfolio by releasing a new mortise-style lock, the D100 Zigbee, which is the brand’s third smart lock for the global market. Unlike the previous N100 Zigbee and A100 Zigbee which are...

Season three of ‘Trying’ to debut July 22 on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ has unveiled a first look and the premiere date for the third season of the comedy series “Trying,” which will make its global debut exclusively with the first episode on Friday, July 22, 2022 with new episodes every Friday through September 9, 2022. About...

Biliginual thriller, ’Now and Then,’ premieres today on Apple TV+
The Miami-set bilingual thriller, “Now and Then,” premieres today on Apple TV+, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday. It’s an eight-episode series shot in Spanish and English. About ‘Now and Then’ Here’s how the series is described: “Now and Then” is a...

Global smartphone quarter one revenues cross $110 billion led by Apple’s record first quarter
Apple led the global smartphone market in revenue terms in quarter one of 2022 with revenue of over US$50 billion, according to Counterpoint Research. The top five smartphone brands contributed more than 80% of the total revenue. Global smartphone market revenue...

Apple TV+s ‘Essex Serpent,’ ‘Severance’ among the top 10 most streamed shows last week
Apple TV+ ’s “The Essex Serpent” and “Severance” were two of the top 10 most popular streaming shows of last week according to numbers shared by JustWatch, an international streaming guide. The former was in ninth place on the list; the latter in 10 place. Also, in...

Apple releases first public betas of macOS 12.5, iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6
Apple has released the first public betas of macOS 12.5, iOS 15.6, and iPadOS 15.6. Public betas are available on Apple’s Beta Software Program website. Just remember that beta software is unfinished software, so proceed with care. Apple does public betas in...

iPhone sales in North America grow 19% to achieve a 51% market share
North American smartphone shipments reached 39 million units in the first quarter of 2022, up 3.7% year on year, according to Canalys. The research group says Apple grew 19% to achieve a 51% market share, powered by the strong performance of the iPhone 13. ...

Apple responds to video editing pro’s request to ‘publicly stand by Final Cut Pro’
Last month a group of over 100 people in TV and film production worldwide sent an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook about Final Cut Pro, the company’s professional video editing software. Now Apple has responded. The letter asked Apple to “publicly stand by the use of...

Apple accused (again) of violating the National Labor Relations Act
For the second time this week, Apple is being accused of illegal union-busting tactics, reports Bloomberg. The tech giant violated federal labor law by interrogating staff, restricting the posting of union fliers and requiring employees to attend mandatory anti-union...

Patent trollin’: Apple must pay PanOptis $300 in damages
Apple’s attempt to get a new trial against PanOptis — which I consider to be a “patent troll” — has been rejected, so the tech giant will have to fork out US$300 million in damages, reports Reuters. In February 2019, a group of firms operating under the name Optis...

Audi adds Apple Music to a wide range of its models
Audi says it’s integrating Apple Music directly into select models of its luxury vehicles, giving users the ability to access their subscription directly and intuitively from the Multi-Media Interface (MMI) screen using in-car Internet data, says Christiane Zorn, head...

James D’Arcy joins cast of Apple TV+’s ‘Constellation’
James D’Arcy will star as Jo’s husband Magnus in the upcoming Apple TV+ thriller “Constellation,” reports Variety. Additionally, Oliver Hirschbiegel and Joseph Cedar have been set to direct three episodes each of the eight-episode series. D’arcy’s credits include...

Apple posts iTunes 12.12.4 with security updates for Windows users
Apple has released iTunes 12.12.4 update for Windows with security fixes to address vulnerabilities. It’s available for Windows 10 and later. More info can be found here. iTunes for Windows can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store or from Apple’s website.

FORMER HEAD OF DESIGN FOR THE ‘APPLE CAR’ JOINS Foretllix BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Foretllix, a provider of Verification & Validation (V&V) platform for automated driving systems, has announced that Alexander Hitzinger, who was once part of the “Apple Car” project, has joined as a member of its Board of Directors. Hitzinger is a German...

Hatch Kids is an iPad-compatible AR/VR creation tool for kids 5-18
Camp K12, an ed-tech startup building a global online school for 21st century skills for kids aged 5-18, has launched Hatch Kids, its very own Metaverse and AR/VR creation platform for young learners. And it’s iPad compatible. Hatch Kids is a free online creation...

Former Director of Trust & Safety for Services at Apple joins GoFundMe
Margaret Richardson, former director of Trust & Safety for Services at Apple, has joined GoFundMe, the online fundraising site, as chief corporate affairs office. She will be responsible for building and leading GoFundMe’s corporate affairs team consisting...

News items you should check out: May 19
Since I can’t cover everything, I’ll often direct your attention to articles of interest. To wit: ° From Macworld: Researchers have found a way to install malware on a shut-down iPhone—and it can’t be fixed with an iOS update. ° From DigiTimes: Apple supplier...