Tim Cook Reminds Employees ‘Apple Is Open’ After Australian Retail Store Employee Bars Black Teens
Earlier this week, a group of black teenagers were asked to leave an Apple Store in Australia by employees who were concerned about theft. The exchange was caught on video and has since gone viral, leading to a series of apologies, from the store’s senior manager and from Apple.
Image via The Sydney Morning Herald
Apple has released two statements on the matter, one from Apple CEO Tim Cook who said he wants “every customer visiting our stores or calling for support to feel welcome,” and a second general statement clarifying Apple’s core values.
“Inclusion and diversity are among Apple’s core values. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions. We’ve looked into the details of the situation and we apologize to the customers involved. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be.”
Following the public apology, Tim Cook has now sent an internal memo to its employees, which has been shared by BuzzFeed. In the letter, Cook calls what happened “unacceptable” and says the video “does not represent our values.”
He goes on to remind employees that “Apple is open” to people from “all walks of life” regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, income, language, or point of view.
I’m sure you are all aware of the unacceptable incident which took place at our store at the Highpoint shopping center in Melbourne, Australia, on Tuesday. Several young men, who are students at a nearby school, had been asked by a security guard to leave the store. In an attempt to address the situation, one of our store employees gave an answer which shocked many of us.
What people have seen and heard from watching the video on the web does not represent our values. It is not a message we would ever want to deliver to a customer or hear ourselves. Our employee immediately expressed his regret and apologized to the students.
None of us are happy with the way this was handled. But we can all be proud of Kate, one of the senior managers at the Highpoint store.
On Wednesday, she greeted the same group of students to express a heartfelt apology on behalf of our store and our company. She reassured these young men that they and their fellow classmates would always be welcome at our store. The school’s principal later told a reporter that she delivered her message “with good grace,” and one of the students said, “It feels like we have justice now.”
Her words that day echoed a message you’ve heard many times from me and from Angela. It’s a simple pledge we all make to our customers and to ourselves:
Apple is open.
Our stores and our hearts are open to people from all walks of life, regardless of race or religion, gender or sexual orientation, age, disability, income, language or point of view. All across our company, being inclusive and embracing our differences makes our products better and our stores stronger.
The Apple Store Highpoint is staffed by people who share these values and illustrate our commitment to diversity. The team is made up of coworkers from Australia, as well as Egypt, Italy, India and five other nations. Collectively they speak 15 languages, including Urdu, Portuguese, Arabic and Mandarin.
While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow. Our store leadership teams around the world, starting in Australia, will be refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement. These are concepts and practices they know well, but can always stand to reinforce.
Respect for our customers is the foundation of everything we do at Apple. It’s the reason we put so much care into the design of our products. It’s the reason we make our stores beautiful and inviting, and extend their reach to benefit the communities around them. It’s the reason we commit ourselves to enriching people’s lives.
Thank you all for your dedication to Apple, to our values, and to the customers we are so very fortunate to serve.
Following the incident, the senior manager at the Apple Store where the teens were ousted invited them back along with their school principal to make a formal apology and to make it clear they are welcome in the store any time. Following the apology, one of the teens said “She apologized to us and told us that we are welcome here anytime. It feels like we have justice now.”
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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F.lux for iOS No Longer Available After Apple Says Side-Loading Violates Developer Agreement
F.lux, a popular app for the Mac that allows users to adjust the color of their screen based on the time of day, yesterday expanded to iOS with a beta app, but as of today, the app is no longer available.
Because iOS does not have the necessary documented APIs to allow f.lux to function, f.lux was skirting the App Store with private APIs and asking users to install its iOS app through Xcode, using a technique called side-loading. Apple has now informed f.lux that asking people to side-load apps onto their iOS devices violates the Developer Program Agreement, so f.lux can no longer be installed on iOS devices using Xcode.
Apple has contacted us to say that the f.lux for iOS download (previously available on this page) is in violation of the Developer Program Agreement, so this method of install is no longer available.
We understood that the new Xcode signing was designed to allow such use, but Apple has indicated that this should not continue.
For those unfamiliar with f.lux, it’s an app that adjusts the blue light of a screen based on the time of day to avoid interfering with the body’s circadian rhythm. During the day, f.lux mimics natural daylight, but at as the sun sets, it cuts down on the amount of blue light and makes the screen more yellow, which is said to encourage better sleep.
F.lux is a popular Mac app that’s been downloaded 15 million times, but with side-loading no longer available, f.lux for iOS is non-existant. F.lux’s developers are urging customers who want f.lux for iOS to send feedback to Apple, as the company would need new documented APIs to introduce the app through official channels.
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YouTube Launches New YouTube Music Service and iOS App
YouTube today unveiled YouTube Music, a streaming music service and app designed to compete with existing streaming music offerings like Apple Music and Spotify. YouTube Music is part of YouTube Red, the ad-free subscription service YouTube announced last month.
The new YouTube Music app is available for both iOS and Android devices, bringing the YouTube Music service to a wide range of smartphones and tablets. YouTube Music, which offers both songs and accompanying music videos, includes both an ad-supported free tier and a paid ad-free version that’s tied to a user’s YouTube Red subscription. YouTube Red costs $9.99 per month (or $12.99 in the iOS app to account for Apple’s 30 percent cut), but users can sign up for a free14-day YouTube Music trial when downloading the app.
Paying for YouTube Music via YouTube Red allows listeners to and stream songs on-demand, create playlists, and listen without ads. Music can also be saved and listened to offline. Without a subscription, users can still listen to songs and watch videos, but the service will include ads.
Like other streaming music services, YouTube Music lets users search for content, but it also includes curated lists of the top songs of the week and a section on music that’s trending. It also has dedicated artist pages with additional album recommendations as a way to discover content, and it offers a music library that includes classic videos, concert footage, live recordings, and other content that’s not available on other services.
The YouTube Music app for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Native Instruments uses 3D Touch for better mobile beat making
Native Instruments is a huge player in the music production and DJ world. Its Traktor DJ software and (myriad) hardware controllers are a favorite with digital crate diggers. The company also manages to squeeze Traktor (and Maschine) into surprisingly comprehensive iOS apps — but there’s obviously a trade off. That gap in functionality shrinks a little today with iMaschine 2, which has the ability to make complete songs (not just loops), and puts Apple’s 3D Touch — a feature that’s ripe for music making apps such as these — to clever use.
Firefox finally comes to iOS
While Mozilla wants Firefox to be all things to all people, the browser has been noticeably missing from Apple’s App Store. The software company put that down to the iPhone maker’s software policy, namely that it’d have to use iOS’ default browser engine instead of its own. Mozilla slowly came around to the idea and announced it would bring Firefox to iOS at the end of last year and now, after performing some localized testing in New Zealand, the browser is now finally available to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users.
Via: Steve Troughton-Smith (Twitter)
Source: Mozilla Firefox (App Store)
Logitech’s iPad Pro keyboard case is relatively affordable
Apple’s iPad Pro is pricey even before you add in the $169 official keyboard case, but Logitech may have a way to make the whole package a little more palatable. It’s now shipping its promised Create Keyboard Case for the gigantic tablet, and the add-on will sell for a slightly more frugal $150. It only works at two angles, but you’ll get perks like backlit keys, automatic pairing (thanks to the Smart Connector) and a raft of iOS shortcuts. And if you don’t want to turn your iPad into a makeshift laptop, there’s an $80 Create Protective case that ditches the keyboard in return for a more flexible stand. Either shell is available in black, blue or red, so you’re not stuck with somber colors on your giant slate. Slideshow-340125
Source: Logitech
Apple Raises TestFlight Beta Tester Limit to 2,000, Extends Build Expiration to 60 Days
Apple today announced it is now allowing developers to invite up to 2,000 individuals to beta test iOS and tvOS apps using the TestFlight beta testing platform, an increase from the former 1,000 participant limit.
Since its 2014 launch, Apple has capped TestFlight beta testers at 1,000, but announced plans to expand that number at the June Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple has now made good on that promise, boosting the number of people who can install a beta app.
Apple has also increased the period of time before a TestFlight beta expires from 30 days to 60 days, another change that was first announced at WWDC.
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Apple Shares ‘A Great Big Universe’ iPad Pro Ad Ahead of Launch
Apple today launched a new ad for the iPad Pro, entitled “A Great Big Universe.” The ad depicts a gorgeous and detailed close up of the solar system, which zooms out to show that it’s actually being displayed on the iPad Pro’s Retina display. According to The Verge, the ad will premiere on TV tonight during Monday Night Football.
There’s a great big universe in the new iPad Pro. It’s the largest iPad ever and takes your creativity and productivity to an epic scale.
The new iPad Pro ad comes just two days before Apple will began accepting orders for the device. This morning, Apple announced orders would begin online on Wednesday, November 11, with the iPad Pro available in stores later in the week.
Pricing for the iPad Pro starts at $799 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model is available for $949, and a 128GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model is available for $1,079. The iPad Pro is available in the three signature iPad colors: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.
Apple will also be allowing customers to order the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard, the two accessories that are designed to be used with the iPad Pro. The Apple Pencil, a pressure-sensitive stylus, will be available for $99 while the Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.
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Apple’s iPad Pro goes on sale on November 11th
Two months ago, Apple announced the impending arrival of its gigantopad iPad Pro, but wouldn’t be drawn on when we could actually buy it. After some pushing, a mumbled hint of November was coaxed out of reps, and rumors began to circulate that the device would ship on November 11th. Now the company has confirmed that the rumors were true, and so the first-generation iPad Pro is ready for the big stage as of this Wednesday. For the first 24 hours or so, the device will be an online-only affair, with product reaching stores “later in the week,” which is a euphemism for Apple not knowing if the delivery van will arrive on Thursday or Friday.
Apple Sends ‘Shot on iPhone 6’ Photographers Special Photo Books
The photographers who had their photos featured in an assortment of billboards and TV ads for the “Shot on iPhone 6” ad campaign Apple ran to promote its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have begun receiving a set of special coffee table photo books that include their artwork.
Image via Brendan Ó Sé
Cult of Mac spoke to photographer Brendan Ó Sé, one of the lucky few to receive one of the books after having his photo featured as part of the campaign. He said the cloth-covered high-quality books came as a surprise and were even shipped with a set of white gloves for viewing.
Image via Brendan Ó Sé
“It was totally out of the blue,” photographer Brendan Ó Sé, of Cork, Ireland, told Cult of Mac. “Naturally, I looked for my own photo, but seeing those of the friends I’ve made over this campaign added to the surprise and thrill.”
One of the books, “The Photographs” includes the photos that were used in the ad campaign, while the other, “The Gallery,” features shots of the photographs on billboards around the world. With the billboards now largely replaced with new content for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the photo books serve as a memento for those who had their iPhone 6 images included in the campaign.
http://imgur.com/a/tsb8J/embedAn Imgur album of some of the photos. Click this link to view the images on mobile devices.
Ó Sé’s photograph was taken in Berlin, but the ads that went up around the world featured a wide assortment of images from places like United States, Canada, Japan, Iceland, South Korea, China, Scotland, Indonesia, Thailand and New Zealand. In total, more than 77 photographers across 70 cities and 40 countries were featured.
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