By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) The Japanese Parliament is debating a proposed law that would effectively emulate the EU’s Digital Markets Act and require Apple to open up the App Store.An Apple Store in JapanOriginally proposed in 2023, the new bill is now being officially deliberated by Parliament. According to The Japan Times, the bill is expected to be passed by both chambers of the country’s Parliament.If the bill passes into law, the intention is that it will facilitate competition and reduce app prices. Japan’s government reportedly believes that Apple and Google are a duopoly, and that they charge developers high fees that are then passed on to users. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Charles Martin) In addition to initiating phone calls, you can use Siri to answer incoming phone and FaceTime calls. When the call is over, you can also use Siri to end the call as well — with an important caveat.Use Siri to accept, make, and end phone calls.By leveraging some lesser-used features of Siri, you can use it to make calls, answer incoming calls, and end phone calls as well. This can be done hands-free using the speaker, or with headphones.It’s worth noting that these features will work on the iPhone 11 or newer, as well as the Apple Watch. Some features will only work with older iPhones if you are using either AirPods or Beats headphones that have Siri functionality. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Amber Neely) Marvel fans can step into the MCU and help save the day with an exclusive, immersive experience, available on Apple Vision Pro.Marvel Studios ‘What If…’ “What If…? — An Immersive Story,” will feature elements from the original Disney+ animated series of the same name. The show reimagines how different characters within the Marvel universe would behave if their situations were altered.The experience will last about an hour. It requires fans to participate in the universe alongside the show’s heroes, both in virtual and augmented reality. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) The new Shazam version 17.11 can keep continuously listening for music to identify, and will now display the results via Live Activities on the iPhone.Shazam shown in the Dynamic Island on an iPhoneShazam has always been able to identify music by listening to it, although it now listens longer than it used before giving up, and it will also recognize classical music. But unless users stayed in the Shazam app, it had to be launched and re-launched every time it’s wanted.Now with Shazam 17.11, instead of starting and stopping Shazam each time, users can now run it while working in other apps. While it’s running, the music-recognition software showing that it is listening using the Dynamic Island. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Andrew Orr) While nearly every user gets rid of their old iPhone when they get a new one, iPad owners are more likely to repurposes older devices for uses beyond their original intended function.Many Apple users keep their old iPads despite new releasesIn the twelve months ending March 2024, 67% of repeat iPad buyers retained their old iPads, compared to only 41% of iPhone buyers who kept or handed down their previous iPhones. The behavior highlights unique aspects of iPad usage and customer loyalty.Many old iPads find new life with family members or friends. Approximately one-third of old iPads are handed down, compared to about 10% of old iPhones. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Malcolm Owen) Apple added the Action button to the iPhone 15 Pro, but more could be on the way for the iPhone 16. This is what the rumor mill believes is on the way.A render of the iPhone 16 Pro showing the rumored Capture button on the sideThe iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max made a big change to its selection of buttons in 2023. After years of use, the mute toggle was removed in favor of a new Action button.That action button that could be used to perform various functions on an iPhone, not just muting the ringer. While the iPhone 15 kept the toggle, it may not be that way for long. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) Apple Music has revealed its entire list of what its staff, music experts, and stars, say are the top 100 albums of all time — and like all best album lists, it’s controversial.”The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” is the best album ever made — says AppleEven as the list was announced on May 13, 2024, Apple acknowledged — and even welcomed — the inevitably controversy it was going to cause.”Putting this list together was a true labor of love, both in that it was incredibly difficult to do and in that we are all so passionate about it,” said Zane Lowe, Apple Music’s global creative director and lead anchor for Apple Music 1 at the time . “We were tasked with selecting the 100 best — that’s practically mission impossible.” Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (Wesley Hilliard) Apple Vision Pro is a scary combination of expensive and fragile, so the Waterfield Shield Case is here to protect the device while remaining stylish and compact.Waterfield Shield Case review: compact for travelApple did release a Travel Case for Apple Vision Pro, but it proved too impractically large and ostentatious for the job. Thankfully, the designers at Waterfield showed up with the much more practical Shield Case.I made a distinction in the Travel Case review I’d like to make here. There is a difference between a travel case and a storage case, and sometimes a case can be both. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) Lawyers for the Congo government say that Apple has not responded to its requests over the use of conflict minerals in the iPhone and other devices — and that it has new evidence against the company.Apple has been asked to verify that it doesn’t use “conflict minerals” in the iPhoneIn April 2024, lawyers representing the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wrote to Tim Cook asking for proof that the company is not using minerals mined from areas that profit militant groups. Apple has previously stated that it does not, but the lawyers said that its claims were inadequate.The law firm Amsterdam & Partners gave Apple three weeks to respond. But according to Reuters, four weeks after the letter, the lawyers are saying that Apple has “has remained silent and neither answered nor even acknowledged receipt of the questions.” Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
By news@appleinsider.com (William Gallagher) Following sightings of an as-yet unannounced Beats Pill speaker, details have appeared in the FCC’s regulatory database, suggesting a launch is imminent.LeBron James with a Beats PillFor a speaker that Beats and Apple discontinued in 2022 — after seven years on sale — the Beats Pill keeps briefly coming back in various special editions. Now it looks certain that the speaker will return to the Beats lineup, and most probably soon.The latest evidence of this is the listing on the Federal Communications Commission’s regulatory website. The database lists very many of the reports typically produced during FCC testing, although Apple has requested confidentiality over other documents, probably including ones showing diagrams or full technical descriptions. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
