Heading into the weekend, all of today’s best deals are kicking off with $119 Apple Watch Series 7 discounts. That’s alongside a 1-day Beats Studio Buds discount to $115 and a new all-time low on iPad Air 4 at $200 off. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

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The post Friday’s best deals: Apple Watch Series 7 $119 off, iPad Air 4 $399, Beats Studio Buds $115, more appeared first on 9to5Mac.

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.

Sponsored by Jamf: Get complete management and security solutions for your organization that are enterprise secure, consumer simple, and protect personal privacy with Jamf. Learn more at jamf.com/9to5mac.

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If you’re a developer who’s ever dreamed of hitting the top of the App Store rankings, the good news is that a new analysis shows roughly how many daily downloads it takes.

The bad news is that the number is always increasing and Apple applies additional criteria, which means that downloads alone won’t do it. There are six other things to worry about …

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Mark Bozon, one of Apple’s top gaming executives, has left the company after 12 years to work for Disney. His new role will be senior creative leader for cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling initiatives, which includes Disney’s “metaverse” ambitions.

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Satechi is out today with a sharp new dock for the M1 iMac. The aluminum USB-C Slim Dock brings USB-C, USB-A, and SD card readers within reach while also offering a tool-free slot to easily expand your iMac’s storage.

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Three of the Swift Student Challenge winners have been named by Apple, for demonstrating their ability to create problem-solving apps in Swift Playgrounds. We heard yesterday from some other winners who shared photos of their awards and swag.

Apple has now highlighted three of the winners. Aged 16, 17, and 19, all are first-time entrants. One of the apps helps gardeners identify invasive weeds, another teaches the basics of CPR, while the third helps those who are exploring their gender identity …

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There have been so many OLED iPad reports that it’s hard to even count, and the latest one suggests that Samsung is making plans to build an advanced OLED production line designed specifically for Apple panels for “tablets and PC line-ups.”

The plan is to begin production in 2024, but one interpretation might suggest the first OLED iPads launching as soon as next year …

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AppleTogether, a solidarity group that grew out of the #AppleToo campaign, has taken issue with Bloomberg’s characterization of what happened at the Cumberland Mall store in Atlanta.

The news organization variously said that Apple Store staff in Atlanta had “withdrawn” or “canceled” its bid to unionize …

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Next, the popular Apple Music client that creates smart playlists, has just received an important feature with its latest update. With version 1.6.3, it now syncs Magic Djs and preferences across all your devices by using the iCloud.

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Who could have imagined five years ago that we’d all be swabbing our throats and noses at home to find out whether we have become the latest pandemic victim? But that’s life now, and while everyone knows about lateral flow and PCR tests, few know about the third option available: molecular COVID-19 tests …

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European lawmakers are going to meet on June 7 as they look to finalize an agreement to enforce a single universal charging port law, which would see all mobile devices sold in the EU be required to offer USB-C ports for charging.

This idea has been circling in the minds of EU regulators for almost a decade, citing environmental e-waste benefits. The plans have previously drawn strong pushback from Apple, who intimated it would stifle innovation.

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WWDC 2022 begins next week with the opening keynote on Monday, and we’ll finally get to see the next versions of Apple’s operating systems. Among all the rumors for watchOS 9, there’s one that caught my attention – a new low power mode for the Apple Watch. And in fact, I do think that the Apple Watch should have a smart low power mode.

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Apple Retail employees have been planning to unionize in search of better working conditions. Although Apple has taken a stand against its employees unionizing, the company has now agreed to make work schedules more flexible at its retail stores amid union efforts.

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Apple is continuing to imagine what a future MacBook would look like with Apple Pencil support. The tech giant has applied to revamp a patent today regarding an Apple Pencil that is removably mounted above the MacBook’s keyboard.

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As part of the WWDC 2022 event, Apple has launched another edition of the Swift Student Challenge so that young developers can be awarded due to their projects created with Apple’s Swift Playgrounds 4. After being notified last week, the winning students are now receiving AirPods Pro and WWDC 2022 outerwear as a gift.

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Podcast creators who use Apple Podcasts won’t be able to manage their content on a specific date later this month. That’s because Apple has just warned creators that Apple Podcasts Connect will go offline for a scheduled maintenance.

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A new study in Australia is working to validate the use of ECGs for children undergoing cancer therapy. Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) is one of the top child health research institutes in the world and is the organization performing this study.

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The next major update for iPhone is iOS 16 and it comes with a ton of new features and changes like Lock Screen customization, valuable updates to Messages, Mail, and Photos, the ability to use iPhone as your Mac webcam, and much more. Now that we’re nearing the end of beta testing, here’s when to expect the official iOS 16 release date.

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Starting today, there are some nice new features coming to Instagram Reels, the TikTok competitor. One of the most important functions being made available is that Reels can last as long as 90 seconds now.

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The post Instagram wants Reels to stop originating from TikTok with new creator tools and longer clips appeared first on 9to5Mac.

“The music lives on” was how Apple discontinued the iPod touch. A few weeks later, the company is bringing very strong iPod-ad vibes by promoting the Spatial Audio feature on AirPods with the new Harry Style album that’s just been released.

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We’re just days away from WWDC 2022, where Apple will unveil its next round of operating system updates. The announcements will be headlined by iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. A new report from Bloomberg today sheds more light on what to expect, saying that Apple is planning “major changes” for the iPadOS experience to “satisfy pro users.”

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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.

Sponsored by Jamf: Get complete management and security solutions for your organization that are enterprise secure, consumer simple, and protect personal privacy with Jamf. Learn more at jamf.com/9to5mac.

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The post 9to5Mac Daily: June 2, 2022 – iPhone 14 delays, MacBook Air rumors appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Square announced today that it is signing on to support Apple’s new Tap to Pay on iPhone feature. The feature, which was announced by Apple in February, allows businesses to use an iPhone to accept contactless payments without the need for any additional hardware.

Square says that it will roll out support for Tap to Pay on iPhone through its existing Square Point of Sale app.

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