Daily Apple News: Media invites for March 25 event, iOS 12.2 Beta 5 out, company loses witness in court, and more

It’s a new day and another chance to tune in to your daily installment of Apple news.

To ease it in, here’s a brief overview of what’s in store for you today. Apple has released the fifth beta of iOS 12.2 and has also sent out media invites for its event on March 25. The battle continues with Qualcomm with Apple losing its only ray of hope.

Apple has always been at the top of its game when it comes to software updates. Just a week after the release of the fourth beta of iOS 12.2, the company has released the fifth beta of iOS 12.2 for developers. As usual, the update will be available over the air and even from the Developer Center.

Since this updated has landed, it’s clear that the fifth beta versions of watchOS 5.2, tvOS 12.2, and macOS 10.14.4 can’t be far away. In all probability, they will arrive today as well. Unfortunately, unlike the previous beta, the fifth beta doesn’t bring a ton of changes to the operating system.

Most likely, Apple is planning to geofence ECG functionality and restrain it to the periphery of the U.S. This is suggested by the new Apple Watch setup contained in iOS 12.2 Beta 5 which now relies upon location to use the ECG feature in a particular region.

This means that customers who have purchased an Apple Watch in the U.S but reside in a different country cannot use the ECG feature. As of now, there’s no workaround since the location is verified via SIM.

Moving on to legal matters, the on-going feud between Apple and Qualcomm continues to explode. Remember Apple’s hope of making its key witness take the stand?

Well, the company can say goodbye to that as Siva, the former Apple engineer, took the stand but had a very different take on the matter. Thanks to CNET, we have the entire scoop.

He claims that he did play an instrumental role in blossoming the idea which Qualcomm later filed as a patent. He testified to contributing ideas towards the patent but not inventing it himself.

Instead of trying to steal credit, he expresses his happiness at the time when he found out that part of his idea actually got converted into a finished technology.

However, Apple cannot let go of the matter as it will involve a hefty fine. So, Apple’s only game plan is to charge Qualcomm with the negligent and reckless filing of patents. Do you think Apple still has a ray of hope to emerge victorious?

In other and more exciting news, Apple has finally sent out invites for its media event which is scheduled to take place on March 25. The venue for the event is the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park Campus.

As usual, the event will commence at 10:00 a.m Pacific Time. The images below are courtesy of TechCrunch.

Going by the tagline of the media invite which is “It’s show time”, the event is more likely to focus on services than product launches. The company is speculated to use this as a platform to unveil its Apple News service as well as streaming TV service.

Apple’s News Service will limit content unless users subscribe to its paywalled options for a monthly fee of $9.99. At this price, users can enjoy access to magazines and also content from renowned websites like The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and The New York Times.

https://twitter.com/reneritchie/status/1105188156503179264

There have been a ton of rumors regarding a few hardware launches during this Spring. Some of these devices include the upcoming seventh-generation iPad, iPad mini 5, and AirPods 2. However, the likelihood of this coming to fruition seems rather bleak ever since Apple sent out its media invites.

Speaking of releases, here’s one which will titillate your senses. The author, Leander Kahney, is back with a bang as his new book has hit the shelves. This time, the author has chosen Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, as the subject for his biography.

Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level is currently on sale. The book entails the life of Tim Cook ever since he stepped into the shoes of Steve Jobs at Apple.

The demise of Steve Jobs was a rather major blow to the company but Tim Cook has managed to keep the most innovative of all companies ahead of its times.

Leander Kahney gained his information from reliable sources, with most of it being obtained from several Apple insiders. It’s clear that the author has nothing but admiration for the man who has almost single-handedly raised Apple to its current pedestal.

Thanks to a reliable source known to MacRumours, we have gathered some pretty crucial information. Roku is finally going to have AirPlay 2 support. This integration is likely to happen through a software update on the platform.

This will enable Roku users to make the most of their Apple media devices by gaining the ability to stream video and audio content from iPhones, iPads, Macs and even smart TVs.

Last but not least, Apple’s upcoming “Time Bandits” series is going to be directed by Taika Waititi, best known for his direction of the movie, “Thor: Ragnarok”. Apple acquired the series a year back and is looking to rehash the show, keeping in mind its storyline and essence.

This doesn’t seem to come as a surprise as Apple is concentrating on sourcing revenue from its services rather than completely relying on its products. Let’s hope we see new Apple services and iTunes discounts to go along with them.

That’s all for now folks! Don’t forget to leave a like and comment. Come back tomorrow for your latest dose of Apple daily news!

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