Thursday Morning News

Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2018/04/thursday-morning-news120418/

The Verge has hands-on photos of the Prouduct(RED) iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, and the device looks great. The glossy red from the glass back of the iPhone 8 looks just as good as the matte versions did when iPhones had aluminium backs, although there’s some trick of the light in some of the shots where the Apple logo and iPhone/Product(RED) text looks black when it’s silver. Which is kind of a shame, as a black icon and text would have matched the front of the device. It still looks stunning.

The Apple Music subscriber count has hit 40 million users, up two million from about a month ago. The updated subscriber count number also comes with the news of a new leadership announcement at Apple, with Oliver Schusser promoted to VP of Apple Music and International Content from his previous role managing international App Store content. Apple still has some way to go to catch up to Spotify’s 70 million subscribers, but they’re getting there.

Apple now runs on 100% renewable energy for all of its operations worldwide, which is a pretty impressive feat in an of itself. Fast Company has the story of how they got there, and it’s mostly about Apple’s vast solar farms that power its data centres, as well as solar panels covering the majority of the roof of Apple Park. There’s more to the story, but when you’re buying renewable power from a supplier is where it starts to get complicated.

AppleInsider says there’s a bunch of low-hanging Siri fruit that we could see in the next round of software updates. While their suggestions aren’t too outlandish, WWDC is just around the corner, so it’s possible that some of the things on their list could make it on stage.

The latest Apple Watch activity challenge is for Earth Day on April 22. A workout of any kind for 30 minutes will be enough to earn your the sticker pack in iMessages and the updated version of the Earth Day activity challenge medal.

A new report says Apple will be producing a TV series based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, a novel about humans living on planets throughout the galaxy. It’s said the show will be a drama, with both David Goyer and Josh Friedman working on the show. It’s said Foundation has been the basis for a number of sci-fi shows, including Star Wars.

A court in Texas has ruled Apple infringed on four patents owned by non-practicing entity VirnetX, and now must pay US $502.6 million in damages. The patents relate to FaceTime, VPN, and iMessage, and the CEO of VirnetX was reported as saying that the damages were fair based on sales of 400 million devices. Interestingly, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has ruled the patents invalid, so we’ll have to see whether Apple will need to pay half a billion, given previous damages rulings against the company have been appealed.

Israel has become the latest country to investigate iPhone slowdowns. While it’s still too early to tell if Apple will be fined in Israel for intentionally affecting performance of older devices, the Israeli Consumer Protection on Fair Trade authority hasn’t ruled that out as a possibility.

Macworld’s list of the best note-taking apps for iPad and Apple Pencil is timely, given the latest and cheapest regular-sized iPad now works with the Apple Pencil. If you don’t have many requirements for a note-taking app then the built-in Notes might work for you, otherwise if you’re willing to give up tapping your Apple Pencil from the lock screen to create a note, there are some great third-party alternatives.

Apple’s ad for the Product(RED) iPhone 8 and 8 Plus is a short video that emphasises the bright, vivid red colour of the device.

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I can’t wait for this. I love that series, including the Forward the Foundation later ones. Psychohistory ftw.

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I pre-ordered a red 8 for my wife, as soon as it arrives I’ll gush about how pretty it is.

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Oh my goodness this thing is beautiful. Photos don’t do the colour justice.

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Ooh, pretty. The most important question: what colour are the stickers?

White stickers.
Aside from the phone itself, the only other differences are a red card inside the sleeve which explains that Apple will donate a portion to the cause, and the red text/image on the box.

Oh, cool. Come to think of it, I don’t think any other Product(RED) device from Apple has ever come with red stickers, so I’m not sure why I expected this one too. Hoped, perhaps.

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