Apple reportedly looking to subsidize Watch with Medicare plans

If nothing else, the addition of ECG/EKG reinforced Apple’s commitment to evolving the Watch into a serious medical device. The company has long looked to bring its best selling wearable to various health insurance platforms, and according to a new report, it’s reaching out to multiple private Medicare plans in hopes of subsidizing the product.

If Medicare companies bite, the move would make the $279+ tracker much more successful for older users. Along with electrocardiograph functionality, last year’s Series 4 also features fall detection, an addition that could make it even more appealing to the elderly and health care providers.

The new report cites at least three providers who have been in discussions with the company. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on hearing back until the ink is dry on those deals. For Apple, however, such a a partnership would help increase the target audience for a product that’s been a rare bright spot in the wearable category.

Apple’s not alone in the serious health push, of course. Fitbit has also been aggressively pursuing the space. Today the company announced its inclusion in the National Institutes of Health’s new All of Us health initiative.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2AMJLj6

Sprint customers can now use Apple Business Chat to reach an agent

Sprint today announced it will support Apple’s Business Chat – the new platform that allows businesses and customers to interact over iMessage. According to the carrier, customers can now message a Sprint customer service agent, get info about plans and other services, as well as look up store information in Maps, Safari and with Siri during a chat session.

The support from Sprint comes after two other launches on the platform this week.

TD Ameritrade said it will allow customers to fund their brokerage accounts using Apple Pay on Apple Business Chat. And Gubagoo said it will connect car dealerships with customers through Business Chat for viewing inventory, plus scheduling test drives and service appointments.

Apple has been steadily growing its list of supported Business Chat partners, and today has a number of big brands on its platform, which is still in beta. These include names like 1-800-Contacts, DISH, Overstock.com, Quicken Loans, Kimpton Hotels, West Elm, Burberry, Vodafone, Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse, Jos A. Bank, Men’s Warehouse, The Home Depot, Hilton, Four Seasons, American Express, Harry & David, and several others.

The platform also supports integrations with customer service platforms LivePerson, Salesforce, Nuance, Genesys, InTheChat, Zendesk, Quiq, Cisco, Kipsu, Lithium, eGain, [24]7.ai, ContactAtOnce, Dimelo, Brand Embassy, ASAPP, IMImobile, and MessengerPeople, according to Apple’s website.

Business Chat was officially introduced at WWDC 2017, and is Apple’s entry into the business messaging and chatbot space.

Before its arrival, customers would generally reach out to businesses through social media sites like Facebook (e.g. Pages and Messenger; WhatsApp and Instagram) and Twitter. But Apple’s product gets the businesses even closer to the customer, as their chats can live alongside those from family and friends. Plus, they don’t have to share their data with a third-party.

For consumers, reaching a business through iMessage is also a bit easier at times.

A company’s Business Chat profile is highlighted across Apple’s iOS platform in areas like Safari, Maps, Spotlight, and via Siri. This makes it more seamless to move from one Apple app to an iMessage chat, compared with having to seek out the business’s social media profile.

It’s also less painful than having to dial a customer service phone number, in many cases – as Sprint today pointed out.

“More consumers are embracing quick and easy self-service and digital assistance versus calling customer service through an 800 line,” said Rob Roy, Sprint chief digital officer, in a statement about the launch. “Apple Business Chat is an amazing tool for our customers that makes communicating with Sprint fast, easy and stress-free.”

Business Chat has come at a time when the “phone” part of our smartphones is turning into just another “app” – and increasingly, a spammy and bothersome one thanks to spam calls. Apple’s solution makes it easier for customers and businesses to move away from phone lines, while Google is leveraging AI to handle spammers – and even place calls for customers through its Google Duplex technology.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2De5B0r

Sofia Coppola and Bill Murray will reunite for Apple and A24

The director and star of “Lost in Translation” are working together again, with Bill Murray starring alongside Rashida Jones in “On The Rocks,” a new film directed by Sofia Coppola.

The movie will tell the story of a young mother who reconnects with her playboy father in New York City. Production is supposed to begin this spring.

“On the Rocks” is the first film to come out of the partnership between Apple and A24, which will see A24 (the studio behind “Moonlight,” “Lady Bird,” “Hereditary” and other indie hits) producing several titles for Apple. The deal will help Apple’s yet-to-launch streaming service offer high-profile original films alongside shows like its star-studded morning news drama and an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” novels.

It’s been nearly 16 years since the release of “Lost in Translation,” which was a financial and critical hit — it remains the highest-grossing film of Coppola’s directing career, and it cemented Murray’s shift to more serious roles. It also won Coppola the Academy Award for best screenplay, and it nabbed Murray his only Oscar nomination thus far. (How is that possible??)

Since then, Coppola has only directed Murray once, in the idiosyncratic Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas.”

Apple reportedly plans to give away its TV content, because that worked well with U2

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2st6jAN

Twitter’s de-algorithmizing ‘sparkle button’ rolls out on Android

After launching on iOS, Twitter is giving Android users the ability to easily switch between seeing the reverse-chronological “latest tweets” and the algorithmic “top tweets” feeds on their home page. The company announced the rollout at a media event in New York.

The “sparkle button” is a way for Twitter to appease long-time power tweeters while also shifting more of its user base to the algorithmic feed which the company says has served to increase the number of conversations happening on the platform.

You can read more about the company’s algorithmic feed thinking here:

Twitter rolls out ‘sparkle button’ to let users hide the algorithmic feed

from Android – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2TRBpO5
via IFTTT

Apple’s battery cases return for the iPhone XS and XR

There’s no shortage of iPhone cases out there, of course. But for those who absolutely must have Apple’s stamp on their accessories, the company just dropped a couple of official charging cases for its latest round of handsets — the XS,  XS Max and XR.

The cases, first spotted by MacRumors, maintain a similar design language as their predecessor, marking its return for the first time since the iPhone 7. The familiar battery bump is back, but it now encompasses the whole of the rear, which should make holding it a little less awkward — and at the very least is a bit better looking.

This time out, the silicone covers are available in black and white and will work with Qi chargers, without having to pull the case off. 

The new smart charging cases are priced at $129, regardless of model, and should add between 33 (for the XS) and 39 (for the XR) hours of additional talk time. As Apple notes, there are some marked advantages with going first party on this one, including intelligent battery status, which is displayed in the notification center and on the phone’s lock screen.

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2ClUP6S

Apple’s battery cases return for the iPhone XS and XR

There’s no shortage of iPhone cases out there, of course. But for those who absolutely must have Apple’s stamp on their accessories, the company just dropped a couple of official charging cases for its latest round of handsets — the XS,  XS Max and XR.

The cases, first spotted by MacRumors, maintain a similar design language as their predecessor, marking its return for the first time since the iPhone 7. The familiar battery bump is back, but it now encompasses the whole of the rear, which should make holding it a little less awkward — and at the very least is a bit better looking.

This time out, the silicone covers are available in black and white and will work with Qi chargers, without having to pull the case off. 

The new smart charging cases are priced at $129, regardless of model, and should add between 33 (for the XS) and 39 (for the XR) hours of additional talk time. As Apple notes, there are some marked advantages with going first party on this one, including intelligent battery status, which is displayed in the notification center and on the phone’s lock screen.

from iPhone – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2ClUP6S

DuckDuckGo debuts map search results using Apple Maps

DuckDuckGo has a new, unlikely partner in search: Apple.

The privacy-focused search engine that promises to never track its users said Tuesday it’s now using data provided by Apple Maps to power its map-based search results. Although DuckDuckGo had provided limited mapping results for a while using data from open-source service OpenStreetMap, it never scaled its features to those of its search engine rivals, notably Google and Bing.

Now, DuckDuckGo will return addresses, businesses, geographical locations, and nearby places using Apple Maps by default. (When we tested, directions and transit times open up in Apple Maps on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad — but on non-Apple devices, the directions defaults to and opens in Bing.)

In using Apple’s mapping data, DuckDuckGo will become one of the biggest users of Apple Maps to date, six months after Apple said it would open up Apple Maps, long only available on Macs, iPhones and iPads, to the web.

“We’re excited to work closely with Apple to set a new standard of trust online, and we hope you’ll enjoy this update,” said the search engine in a blog post.

DuckDuckGo in the Tor browser, using the new Apple Maps feature. (Screenshot: TechCrunch)

In reality, the partnership isn’t that unsurprising at all.

Apple faced flak for ditching Google Maps in iOS and rushing its overhauled Maps service out to the market, prompting a rare mea culpa from chief executive Tim Cook, apologizing for the disastrous rollout. At its most recent Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple promised a do-over, offering reliability and stability — but more importantly, privacy.

Where Google tracks everything you do, where you go and what you search for, Apple has long said it doesn’t want to know. Any data that Apple collects is anonymous, said Eddy Cue, Apple internet software and services chief, in an interview with TechCrunch last year. “We specifically don’t collect data, even from point A to point B,” said Cue. By anonymizing the data, Apple doesn’t know where you came from or where you went, or even who took the trip.

DuckDuckGo finally brings a much-needed feature to the search engine, while keeping true to its privacy-focused roots as a non-tracking search rival to Google.

“At DuckDuckGo, we believe getting the privacy you deserve online should be as simple as closing the blinds,” the company said. “Naturally, our strict privacy policy of not collecting or sharing any personal information extends to this integration.”

“You are still anonymous when you perform map and address-related searches on DuckDuckGo,” the search engine said.

In a separate note, DuckDuckGo said users can turn on their location for better “nearby” search results, but promises to not store the data or use it for any purposes. “Even if you opt-in to sharing a more accurate location, your searches will still be completely anonymous,” said DuckDuckGo.

“We do not send any personally identifiable information such as IP address to Apple or other third parties,” the company said.

DuckDuckGo processes 30 million daily searches, up by more than 50 percent year-over-year, the company said last year.

Pro-privacy search engine DuckDuckGo hits 30M daily searches, up 50% in a year

from Apple – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2QQ9oVb