As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has been requiring all customers to wear a mask in its retail stores, a policy the company unsuccessfully tried to discontinue last year. However, it seems that the company once again wants to drop the mask mandate for Apple Stores in the United States. As reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday, the company told its employees in a memo that customers will no longer be required to wear a mask in “eligible stores....

Apple continues to make moves into the arena of scripted television with news that the company plans to turn Terry Gilliam’s 1981 fantasy-adventure film Time Bandits into a TV series. The technology company reportedly has acquired the rights to the film, making it another potential offering in Apple’s soon-to-be available original content, along with projects from Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, Ron D. Moore, Damien Chazelle, and M. Night Shyamalan. And that’s in addition to the proposed Amazing Stories reboot that Bryan Fuller recently dropped out of, as well as Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V....

One month after Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 Pro, the company continues to promote the camera capabilities by showing how some users can stretch to the limit of these cameras and create beautiful images. This time, Apple commissioned an experiment with photographer Dong Hoon Jun and visual artist James Thorton for a sci-fi short. The video called “Movie Magic” shows that with the iPhone 13 Pro, users can shoot “practical special effects that look just like the movies....

Almost two years ago, Apple acquired Mobile Device Management platform Fleetsmith. This partnership gave customers a first-party MDM solution for their business. Now the tech giant has announced that it is discontinuing further service through Fleetsmith. New signups for Fleetsmith are discontinued as of April 21. Apple states that existing customers can use the Fleetsmith service until October 21, 2022. After that, customers can no longer log in on fleetsmith.com. Additionally, devices running on the Fleetsmith server will no longer receive configuration profiles....

Starting off the week, all of today’s best deals are headlined by an Apple Watch and iPhone sale at Woot. That’s alongside HomePod mini dropping to $80 and Apple’s M1 MacBook Air at $199 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. Woot launches Apple Watch and iPhone sale from $140 To start off the week, Woot is now launching a one-day refurbished Apple sale, discounting a selection of iPhones and Apple Watch models starting at $140....

We’ve seen some incredibly extreme Apple Watch Ultra tests, but nothing comes close to this one. Reddit user suburbandad1999 endured the workout that we all dread: mowing the lawn. The results are actually fascinating for seeing how the new GPS in Apple Watch Ultra performs. Apple Watch Ultra GPS Apple Watch Ultra is the first version to feature what Apple calls a precision dual-frequency GPS. This powers greater accuracy for tracking distance, pace, and workout routes....

After adding AppleCare+ with Theft & Loss to the United Kingdom and Australia, Apple is expanding its concierge plan, but only as additional coverage of accidents, to France, Italy, and Spain. Apple announced this change after updating a support document (via AppleInsider) showing that users in France, Italy, and Spain are now able to purchase additional coverage with an AppleCare+ for iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Previously, AppleCare+ was only available in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, UK, and the US....

Recently announced Shazam! cast member Djimon Hounsou has another DC role in Aquaman as the Fisherman King. It is a busy time for Warner Bros. and the DC Universe. In just over a week they’ll be sharing several DC-related pieces of news at San Diego Comic-Con. The biggest and most anticipated drop is that of the first trailer for DC’s lone 2018 live-action theatrical release, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. There hasn’t been much from a marketing perspective for the film to this point despite its December release date, but that’s due to the film’s heavy VFX....

In an entertainment industry that is packed full of superhero crossovers and tie-ins – where bigger team-ups and shared universe stories are becoming the norm – it’s ever more important that superhero films do more than simply increase the amount of CGI mayhem on screen. Long before they were all the rage in Hollywood, superhero stories were allegorical reflections of our world at pivotal points in time. They might be fun and colorful but many comics are also layered with powerful messages of inspiration - tales of everyday people overcoming the odds....

As Electronic Arts prepares to launch Battlefield V, the game’s developers are defending their decision to place a focus on female characters in the WWII shooter title, something that has drawn a considerable amount of ire from the fan base. Battlefield V’s diverse roster of characters includes a variety of different races but also features women prominently in its marketing campaign. While many didn’t bat an eyelid at the inclusion of woman in the game (and on the cover), a group of angry fans started a #NotMyBattlefield campaign on Twitter....

Shared movie universes are currently all the rage, with many a comic book mega-blockbuster taking up space at the local multiplex and in the minds and hearts of those viewers most in tune to the mythologies set up by such monolith staples of the genre as Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Considering that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been chugging along for quiet some time now, and with Warner Bros. Pictures not far behind with their own slate of DCU films, it would appear as though viewers are not only willing to entertain the idea of certain films coexisting within a shared reality, but may be demanding such narratives....

Jess from Wrecked is now on Marvel television. American actor Ally Maki has guest starred on shows like 2 Broke Girls, New Girl, and Dear White People. Now Ally is playing Mina Hess on Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger television show. About Cloak and Dagger Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger is a cable television series created for the Freeform network. It is about two teenagers, Tandy and Tyrone, who gain superpowers and must learn to rely on each other....

Almost half of EA’s units sold in the first quarter of its financial year were sold digitally. EA recently launched its digital game subscription service on PlayStation 4, bringing a library of games to the console with EA Access PS4. While the subscription is most likely not counted in EA’s digital sales numbers, EA Access is one example of the industry’s move to digital and service-based sales models. EA is perhaps one of the most controversial companies in video games....

Evangline Lilly explains why she’s so miffed by the staggered international release date of Ant-Man and The Wasp Starring Paul Rudd and Lilly as the title characters, the film is the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2015 summer blockbuster that introduced fans to one of Marvel’s lesser known comic book properties. The film developed a huge following thanks to Rudd’s whimsical portrayal of Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Lilly’s spunky turn as Hope van Dyne, who we learn in one of the end credit scenes would inherit her mother’s mantle as The Wasp....

Apple doesn’t appear to have officially announced this promotion anywhere, but it comes ahead of the holiday shopping season. Apple ran a similar 6% Daily Cash promotion for Apple Store purchases two years ago for the holiday shopping season. Notably, many people are seeing this 6% Daily Cash promotion be applied in time for their new MacBook Pro orders. Getting 6% back on those purchases is certainly a nice bonus given the high price of the new machines....

Apple today announced an expansion to the content offering of its video workout service Apple Fitness+. Beginning from Monday, Fitness+ adds kickboxing as a new workout type. Kickboxing workouts will be led by Fitness+ trainers Jamie-Ray Hartshorne and new team member Nez Dally. Apple announced a new season of Time to Walk guests, and a new category of meditation sessions – sleep. Kickboxing sessions will be available in ten, twenty, and thirty minute durations....

Apple announced yesterday that it would add replacement parts for its M1 MacBook Air and Pro laptops. Now, the store is back online after a brief period of maintenance, and now it offers replacement trackpads, displays, batteries, and more parts to fix your own computer. This creation of the Self Service repair store has been a long time coming. Apple’s repair program was announced late last year, and the store officially opened earlier this year with replacement parts for recent iPhone models....

Apple is rolling out some changes to the web app for Apple Music in beta form. For the first time, Apple Music on the web now supports the popular time-synced lyrics feature that first launched on iPhone and iPad in 2019, followed by the Mac in 2020. Now, you can use the feature from anywhere, right in your web browser… With this change to Apple Music on the web, you can now use the time-synced lyrics feature from your web browser on any machine....

Apple last year released the long-awaited Swift Playgrounds 4, which let developers submit their projects directly from the iPad to the App Store for the first time. Now the company is inviting developers to try out the new Swift Playgrounds 4.1 beta, which brings new features to the iPad app and especially the Mac app. For those unfamiliar, Swift Playgrounds is an Apple app to help developers and students learn the company’s Swift programming language....

The announcement yesterday of Apple’s child protection measures confirmed an earlier report that the company would begin scanning for child abuse photos on iPhones. The news has seen mixed reactions from experts in both cybersecurity and child safety. Four concerns had already been raised before the details were known, and Apple’s announcement addressed two of them … CSAM scanning concerns The original concerns included the fact that digital signatures for child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) are deliberately fuzzy, to allow for things like crops and other image adjustments....