Apple Card launching super soon!

According to the news around the Apple Tree,  Apple Card is will launch in the U.S. in just a few weeks, coming in live in the first couple of weeks in August.

You’ll be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app, which will have built-in Apple Card support as part of the latest iOS 12.4 update.

Apple Card will be optimized for Apple Pay but will still work like a traditional credit card for all of your transactions. You can also get a super sleek physical titanium card for use at stores that don’t accept Apple Pay.

Goldman Sachs is responsible for the underlying infrastructure, managing payment disputes, handling transaction data and collating information for monthly statements.

The card comes with some extra perks, too, such as 3% cash back on Apple purchases, 2% cash back on all Apple Pay transactions, and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You needed another credit card, right?

Spring / T-Mobile merger is closer to happening!

The U.S. Department of Justice just announced that it has approved the $26 BILLION merger of T-Mobile and Sprint… with conditions attached.

T-Mobile and Sprint will become “New T-Mobile” and have committed to building a nationwide 5G network covering 97 percent of the U.S. population within three years and 99 percent within six years.

So what are the conditions?

T-Mobile and Sprint must divest a substantial package of assets to Dish Network, including Sprint’s prepaid subsidiaries Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile and some 800MHz spectrum. Dish will also gain access to at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations.

From the Sauce, FCC chairman Ajit Pai:

“I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with T-Mobile and Sprint. The commitments made to the FCC by T-Mobile and Sprint to deploy a 5G network that would cover 99% of the American people, along with the measures outlined in the Department’s consent decree, will advance U.S. leadership in 5G and protect competition.”

And from T-Mobile CEO John Legere:

“The T-Mobile and Sprint merger we announced last April will create a bigger and bolder competitor than ever before — one that will deliver the most transformative 5G network in the country, lower prices, better quality, unmatched value and thousands of jobs, while unlocking an unprecedented $43B net present value in synergies. We are pleased that our previously announced target synergies, profitability and long-term cash generation have not changed.”

The merger remains subject to remaining regulatory approvals and the getting through the barrier of an antitrust lawsuit in U.S. federal court which a number of States filed in June to block the proposed transaction.

Regardless, those in the know believe that T-Mobile and Sprint will expect to see the merger being permitted to close by the end of the year.

iPhone Photo Awards!

The winners of the 12th annual iPhone Photography Awards were just unveiled!

There were thousands of entries from over 140 countries around the world – were you one of them?

The grand prize winner is “Big Sister” shot on an iPhone X by Gabriella Cigliano of Italy.

The photo itself was taken in Zanzibar, Africa.

From the photographer:

“Last year I spent a month in Wasa, Tanzania, teaching a class of young, curious and amazing guys. Before heading back to Italy we stopped in Zanzibar, where this photo was taken. I still wonder how could I capture that exact moment in all its beauty. I was just observing, a few meters from them, but they were probably more curious about me than I was about them, and that’s probably why the girl was looking at me. We couldn’t talk much, except for a few words in Swahili I had learned in the previous weeks, but those kids could definitely talk with their eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life, and I’ll keep it in my memories forever. The best part was showing them and their mums the photos, for some it was the first time they were seeing their faces, and their excitement was unexplainable, unfortunately my iPhone was in their hands and I couldn’t capture that!”

The rest of the winning entrants are from categories like Abstract, Animals, Architecture, Children, Floral, Landscape, Lifestyle, Nature,  News-Events, Panorama, People,  Portrait,  Series, Still Life, Sunset,  Travel,  and Trees.

You can see the rest of the winning photos here. And if this inspires you, you can already enter into next year’s competition here. The deadline is 03/31/2020.

New MacBooks!

The rumors swirling around the Valley today focus on new MacBooks.

Apparently, Apple will release a new 16-inch MacBook Pro (possibly with an all new design), as well as a refresh of the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air in October.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that a new MacBook Air with a scissor keyboard would launch in the second half of 2019, and a new MacBook Pro with a scissor keyboard in 2020.

This would be roughly a month after the new iPhones are launched, so seems like we’ve only got exciting things to come from Apple!

2 Apple ads score Emmy nominations

The Emmy nominations were just announced and two of Apple’s ads are in the running to receive the 2019 Outstanding Commercial Emmy, which is pretty damn cool.

Both of the ads were created by Apple’s longtime advertising partner, TBWA/Media Arts Lab.

See below the two ads that are in the running:

 “Make Something Wonderful” 

 “Don’t Mess With Mother,” from Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” campaign. 

Apple Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission leaving earth for the moon, and this coming Saturday will commemorate that mission landing on the Moon.

To celebrate, Apple has shared a video with clips from its upcoming Apple TV+ show “For All Mankind” along with commentary from people who have worked on the series. The show is about an alternate history that explores what might have happened had the global space race never ended and had the USSR landed the first humans on the moon.

See below:

“For All Mankind” will be included in Apple’s upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service, set to launch this fall.