PSA: As expected, ESPN+ rolling out today to sports fans for $4.99/month or $49.99/year
Disney first announced last year that it would be launching its first ever direct-to-consumer video streaming service in the form of ESPN+, with pricing confirmed in February …
Comment: Six reasons for HomePod optimism despite reports of disappointing sales
A Bloomberg report suggests that Apple has lowered sales forecasts and reduced orders for the HomePod. The report was based on data from Slice Intelligence indicating that sales were strong at launch but rapidly tailed off.
The headline number in the report did seem to support the contention that the HomePod is selling poorly.
Three weeks after the launch, weekly HomePod sales slipped to about 4 percent of the smart speaker category on average.
But that gives a rather misleading impression, for six reasons …
Chinese media reports Apple cuts HomePod orders, cheaper model rumored for end of year
With the glow of the HomePod launch now firmly behind us, focus turns to its market reception. Bloomberg reported last night that HomePod sales were a little lacklustre, and a report from the China Times today repeats a similar message.
The Chinese report says Apple cut monthly HomePod production from 500,000 units a month to around 200,000. However, it does hint at a rumor that Apple is developing a cheaper HomePod model for launch by the end of the year.
Snap testing the ability to buy products by swiping up in Snapchat Discover
Apple facing lawsuit from Korean firm alleging Touch ID infringes its patent
Plenty of unanswered questions in congressional testimony, but Zuckerberg emerges $3B richer
There were plenty of unanswered questions at the end of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s second day of testimony before Congress.
For many questions, Zuckerberg said he would need to consult with his team to provide answers – at times exhibiting a surprising lack of familiarity with the privacy debate that has sprung up around his company’s activities …
Fortnite down for over 12 hours as update launches, company says still working on a fix
The latest update to Fortnite seems to have created some major issues for Epic Games. The company announced yesterday that it was adding ‘cinematic’ instant replay, instant forts and more – and later the same day users found they were unable to login …
Bloomberg: Apple lowers HomePod forecasts & orders as early sales prove lackluster
Apple pushing 32-bit app warning live for macOS 10.13.4 as 64-bit transition continues
After previously testing in beta, Apple is pushing a new 32-bit app warning live for users on macOS 10.13.4 starting at midnight local time. The alert will appear once per app when a user launches 32-bit software for the first when running the current macOS version.
The dialogue box can be dismissed with the ‘OK’ button or users can click ‘Learn More…’ to access a newly published explainer document on 32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra.
9to5Mac Daily 062: April 11, 2018
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.