Apple is once again ramping up its COVID-19 testing policies, specifically for unvaccinated workers. According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple will soon start requiring that unvaccinated employees get tested for COVID-19 “each time they want to enter an office.” The requirement will also apply to corporate workers who opt out of reporting their vaccination status to Apple. “Vaccinated staff will be required to take rapid tests once per week,” the report adds....

The Olympics are set to kick off this Friday, July 23 in Tokyo, and very notably, this year is the first time that skateboarding will be included in the games. To celebrate the occasion, Snowman’s popular Skate City will launch its biggest update yet. Coinciding with the start of the Olympic Games on July 23, Skate City will debut its huge expansion on Friday with a “diverse range of neighbourhoods and famous skate spots to experience Tokyo’s unique identity....

Apple Car antitrust concerns are already being voiced, despite the fact that it doesn’t yet exist, and may never exist. Indeed, the potential for antitrust action could be greater if Apple doesn’t ever sell its own car … Similar concerns are being expressed about Google partnerships with car makers, with some accusing the two companies of preparing to create a duopoly when it comes to in-car operating systems. Politico reports that eyebrows were raised over a recent Ford announcement....

For Apple, revenue from Services like the App Store and iCloud are as important for the business as selling iPhones and Macs. Today, Apple is providing a status update on services milestones for Apple Pay, TV+, Fitness+, and more. Apple’s services guru Eddy Cue provided this comment as part of the report: App Store Included in the report are these numbers for the App Store: Apple’s world-class portfolio of services proved essential in 2021, as people worldwide sought new ways to keep entertained, informed, connected, and inspired....

Except for the trackpad on MacBooks, Apple has all but discontinued Force Touch (also known as 3D Touch) technology from its products. However, it seems that the company still has plans to somehow bring Force Touch back, as new patents reveal next-generation force sensors for Apple Watch, MacBook, and even iPhone. US Patent & Trademark Office published on Thursday (via Patently Apple) multiple Apple patents related to force-pressure sensors. These patents cover how these sensors can be used for different purposes in Apple devices....

In addition to the new MagSafe Battery Pack for iPhone 12, Apple has also released two new colors for the AirTag leather key ring and the AirTag leather loop. Both are now available in California poppy and forest green. The leather key rings are priced at $35 while the the leather loops are priced at $39. You can purchase them now from Apple.com. Apple had previously leaked the California poppy leather key ring on the online store and one appeared on eBay at one point....

Following the release of iOS 15.4 last week, Apple on Wednesday stopped signing iOS 15.3.1 for all iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad models. This means that users can no longer downgrade their devices to iOS 15.3.1. iOS 15.4 was released on March 14 with significant new features such as Face ID unlock while wearing a mask, Universal Control for iPads, new emojis, enhancements to iCloud Keychain, and more. The update also adds a new Siri voice for US users and Tap to Pay, which turns the iPhone into a payment terminal for contactless credit and debit cards....

According to multiple recent rumors, Apple is expected to introduce a more expensive Apple Watch “Pro” this year in addition to the regular new Series 8 models. And as we’re only a month away from Apple’s new product announcements, the current Apple Watch Series 7 Edition is now sold out in the US and a few other countries. Based on Apple’s website, most models of the Apple Watch Series 7 Edition are now sold out....

Arrow has seen the show return to its street-based roots in season 5, focusing less on dangers that impact the world at large and more on localized enemies like the newly introduced Prometheus. Mix this in with The CW’s upcoming crossover event that encompasses all of the network’s DC shows (The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow) and mostly positive critical reception, and Arrow could be in the midst of a comeback season....

Sponsored by Kolide: With Kolide, you can make your team into your biggest allies for endpoint security. Solve problems, right within Slack. Learn more here. Stories discussed in this episode: 10th-generation iPad depicted in new CAD schematics leak Apple planning to expands its ads business iPadOS 16 delay pushes release date to October Enjoy the podcast? Follow Chance: Twitter: @ChanceHMiller Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Overcast RSS Stitcher TuneIn Google Play Don’t miss out on our other daily podcasts:...

Avengers: Endgame is close to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time, as it needs to earn just under $100 million more to have made more money than Avatar at the box office. Avatar has been the highest-grossing film of all time since 2009, where it pulled in a worldwide gross of $2,697,553,784 and became the first movie to make over two billion dollars at the box office. Avatar stole the top spot away from Titanic, which was the highest-grossing film for twelve years before then....

The first trailer for Avengers: Endgame contains several callbacks to past movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Featuring each of the original six Avengers, with snippets of Nebula, Ant-Man, and the mighty Thanos for good measure, the first footage from Avengers: Endgame sets up a massive climax for the MCU, with some subtle nods to the road that led viewers here. Indeed, audiences can be sure that Avengers 4 will honor the MCU’s 10+ years so far with a cavalcade of references and Easter eggs, in addition to the arcs and story threads that are tied up as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes square off with the Mad Titan in one last battle....

Batman fans have been waiting for an animated film version of the Alan Moore comic, The Killing Joke, that pits The Dark Knight against the formidable Joker - and reveals who the latter was, before he became the iconic, insane villain synonymous as DC’s most famous bad guy. Fortunately, U.S. admirers of the story - a one-shot comic book story that had only ever been told on the pages of the 1988 publication - don’t have to wait much longer for the adults-only tale, which hits shelves in August after a premiere at San Diego Comic-Con 2016....

Alongside a dramatic expansion of end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, Apple has two other major security announcements today. The company says that it will add support for using Security Keys to further enhance your Apple ID and iCloud account security. There’s also a new feature for iMessage in particular, which the company is called iMessage Contact Key Verification. Security Keys First and foremost, Apple has announced that starting in 2023, users will be able to enhance their Apple ID and iCloud account protection using hardware Security Keys....

Last year in the US, Apple overhauled its gift cards taking them from two separate products to a single one that works with the App Store/iTunes Store and Apple Stores. Now the new Apple Gift Cards have launched in Canada and Australia. We previously noted the trouble with the old approach of two separate types of Apple gift cards: Like the Apple Gift Card in the US, the launch in Canada and Australia means you can buy and send physical or digital versions of the unified gift cards with a variety of designs to choose from....

Do you remember tvOS 16? Apparently, neither does Apple. The company talked during the WWDC 2022 keynote all about iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13 Ventura, and watchOS 9, but not a single word about tvOS 16. OK, you might have heard about new “Home” features, but, once again, Apple completely forgot about the Apple TV and HomePod’s operating system. Luckily, we have not. Apple is making it very tricky to gather information about tvOS 16....

Apple introduced with iOS 14 last year a new ratings and photo system for points of interest in Apple Maps that was built entirely by the company without relying on third-party services. Now these features are being rolled out to US users. Apple Maps has always relied on third-party platforms like Foursquare, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to show reviews of a place on the map. While this came with the benefit of having thousands of reviews from these partners’ databases, users had to download other apps to submit their own reviews....

Apple Pay could be readying its launch in Central America as bank BAC Credomatic is testing support for this feature in Costa Rica. As of now, Central America is the only part of the Americas that doesn’t have a country supporting Apple Pay. With this feature available in more than 60 regions all over the world, there is still plenty of space to expand. One of the aspects that shows whether a bank will start to support Apple Pay is when its app shows that it supports the Apple Wallet on its page....

As we covered in-depth yesterday, the Dark Sky weather app that Apple acquired in 2020 is set to officially shut down in less than two weeks. While there are a number of popular alternatives out there, Apple has published a new support document detailing why it thinks Dark Sky users should make the jump to the stock Weather app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Dark Sky shutdown looms In the support document, Apple touts that many of Dark Sky’s features “have been integrated into Apple Weather....

iOS 16 was released to all users on Monday. However, as reported this week, iPhone 14 models are shipping with a version of iOS 16.0 that predates the official build (20A362). Now the company has made iOS 16.0.1 available exclusively for the new iPhones as the update comes with even more bug fixes for the 14 and 14 Pro models. Previously, iPhone 14 owners would get the same iOS 16.0 build released to the public earlier this week available as an update once they set up the device for the first time....