Apple has updated its Developer’s page to again waive the App Store requirement for paid online group services to use App Store in-app purchases for payments. This comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause businesses to pivot to digital services rather than in-person.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced today that it’s going to launch a COVID passport for test results and vaccine certificates for the iPhone in mid-April, reports Reuters.
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The vaccination against COVID-19 has started in several countries around the world, and we have already seen some apps that let users prove that they have taken the vaccine with just their iPhones. Now Apple is tightening the App Store rules to ensure that apps offering proof of vaccination are only submitted by health authorities.
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Using the Apple Watch to detect signs of COVID-19 infections in users is more than just a hypothetical now.
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January 16, 2021: Updated with latest states including Hawaii and Wisconsin.
Apple and Google announced plans to build COVID-19 tracing into iPhone and Android operating systems on April 10, 2020. The move marked a major partnership between the top two mobile operating system competitors in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. Platform updates to enable the COVID-19 contact tracing feature on iOS and Android were publicly released 40 days later on May 20, 2020.
So how do you participate in COVID-19 contact tracing efforts with your smartphone? In this story, 9to5Mac is tracking which U.S. states and territories are using Exposure Notifications API in iOS and Android apps.
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Apple has released iOS 12.5.1 for older iPhones and iPads today, roughly one month after the release of iOS 12.5. The update includes bug fixes for the COVID-19 exposure notification feature.
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As the COVID-19 vaccine has begun to be distributed in the United States, Los Angeles County has developed a new way to let its residents prove that they have taken the vaccine. Citizens can now add the COVID-19 vaccination proof in the Apple Wallet app and in Google Pay for Passes.
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Apple has released iOS 12.5 for older iPhone models today, bringing support for COVID-19 exposure notifications. This is a major change as it expands contact tracing to iPhones that don’t support iOS 14, including devices like the massively popular iPhone 6 series.
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After launching a pilot program for digital contact tracing last month, the state of California has made contract tracing available today, December 10. That’s about half a year after Apple/Google made the feature available on iPhone and Android. But better late than never as the support will allow the almost 40 million people living in California to stay safer amid the pandemic.
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Facebook announced today more changes in its policy against fake news on its social networks. The company will now be more aggressive in punishing users who share misleading information on Facebook and also Instagram.
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A new report from the BBC today says that many iPhone users are reporting issues with the United Kingdom National Health Service’s COVID-19 contact tracing application. The app, which uses the Apple and Google Exposure Notification API, is said to be suffering from a “blue screen glitch.”
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Apple released a new app earlier this year in the United States to inform iOS users on how to stay safe and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Apple COVID-19 app was updated today with improvements and new recommendations to prevent the virus.
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Analyst firm MBLM shared its 2020 brand intimacy study this past spring with Apple taking first place in the tech industry. However, Amazon and Disney (considered retail brands) beat Apple in the overall rankings. Now MBLM has done another brand intimacy study in the US through the lens of the pandemic, and Apple has come out on top as an overwhelming majority of US teens have been found to be iPhone users.
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Apple and Google have partnered to create a COVID-19 exposure notification technology that works on both iPhone and Android smartphones. This technology is slowly being adopted around the world, and today Scotland announced a new app based on the COVID-19 contact tracing API.
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Apple has announced that it will release iOS 13.7 to the public today, including a major expansion of the COVID-19 Exposure Notification platform. Apple and Google have unveiled a new Exposure Notifications Express system that allows public health authorities to support COVID-19 contact tracing without developing and maintaining their own application.
Update: iOS 13.7 is now available. You can update via the Settings app on your iPhone. Apple has also released iPadOS 13.7 with bug fixes.
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The Exposure Notification API developed by Apple and Google is slowly being adopted by public health agencies around the world. And now North Dakota, Wyoming, and Alabama have just announced that they’re launching new apps with Exposure Notifications to alert users and reduce the spread of COVID-19.
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Apple and Google introduced a new COVID-19 Exposure Notification API in May this year, which allows public health authorities to offer apps that can alert users when they have been exposed to the virus. The API is now getting more improvements to allow more flexibility in how the data obtained by these apps is managed and more.
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Last week Apple and Google announced a group effort to introduce a single contact-tracing system that works with both iOS and Android. The development is the latest in an ongoing effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.
The concept is simple — at least as far as contact-tracing systems go. iPhones already use Bluetooth for all sorts of features like AirDrop and streaming music to AirPods. Starting in mid-May, Bluetooth will also be used as a tool to help detect exposure to COVID-19 before symptoms are even present.
Earlier this month, four US senators formally questioned Apple in a letter over its COVID-19 screening app and website even though the company has been transparent about how it works and the privacy and security it’s built on. Now Apple has officially responded to the government request.
Apple and Google announced a collaboration to release a COVID-19 contact tracing API at the end of last week. It will enable health departments around the country to release apps to track and contain the pandemic but there are still privacy and security concerns even though Apple and Google have described how the approach will work anonymously via Bluetooth as well as questions about how it will all roll out to users. Here are a couple of ways we could see health departments across the US implement Apple and Google’s contact tracing API in iOS and Android apps to move us closer to reopening society (or at least portions of it).
Apple is responding to the COVID-19 virus in real time as the global pandemic worsens, and the latest coronavirus response is a new App Store effort to ensure the credibility of health and safety information.
Starting now, Apple is expediting approval for specific apps from reputable sources related to COVID-19. The App Store is also waiving the annual membership fee for distributing free apps for select groups. Apple will not approve apps that use COVID-19 themes for entertainment and games to limit apps that take advantage of the current health crisis.
Apple today issued a letter responding to the growing coronavirus pandemic and outlining steps the company is taking to protect the safety of customers and employees. As part of the precautions, all Apple retail stores outside of Greater China will temporarily close until March 27, effective immediately.
Apple has indefinitely closed all 11 of its retail stores in Spain amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak. The measures come on the same day Spain declared a national state of emergency.
As global efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 disease continue, Apple has temporarily suspended Today at Apple sessions at all stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. The pause in creative programming follows a steady stream of daily new health precautions at Apple Stores and regional session cancelations earlier in the week.