Production for the upcoming Apple TV+ "Metropolis" adaptation has been permanently shut down, with insiders citing costs and the writers' strike as the cause.'Metropolis' production shuts downApple TV+ secured rights to a series adaptation of "Metropolis" in 2022 and production was set to begin in Australia soon. However, an ongoing writers' strike has created enough of an impact for Apple to back out of the project entirely. Read more...

Macworld While the $3,499 Vision Pro won’t be available for sale until next year, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple is already working on a cheaper version. The news isn’t exactly surprising—Gurman himself previously reported on Apple’s plans to initially introduce the pricey mixed reality headset meant for developers, with a device meant for the masses released sometime later. Gurman covers some of the ways Apple could cut costs—lower-quality screens, an older chip, and fewer cameras among them—though much of the core Vision Pro features, including the EyeSight eye tracking, will likely remain. The projected release date for this other headset is late 2025, only two and a half years from now. Gurman doesn’t mention a smaller design, but…

Apple IDs now support passkeys, but only in betas for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. | Illustration: The Verge It appears that passkeys are now supported for Apple IDs, but only if you have the first beta for iOS 17 (or iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma). Beta users of Apple’s operating systems then have the ability to sign in anywhere that supports signing in with your Apple ID — covering not only Apple.com and icloud.com, but also anywhere else your Apple account is linked to — sans passwords, using just the biometrics on their iPhone or MacBook and a dream. It works anywhere that supports signing in with your Apple ID. For example, if I want to sign…

Production for the upcoming Apple TV+ "Metropolis" adaptation has been permanently shut down, with insiders citing costs and the writers' strike as the cause.'Metropolis' production shuts downApple TV+ secured rights to a series adaptation of "Metropolis" in 2022 and production was set to begin in Australia soon. However, an ongoing writers' strike has created enough of an impact for Apple to back out of the project entirely. Read more...

Google today outlined several new features available for or coming to the Chrome app for the iPhone and iPad, including deeper integration with Google Maps, Google Calendar, and Google Lens. Chrome for iOS now uses AI to detect addresses on webpages and show a location directly on a mini version of the Google Maps app in Chrome, so there's no need to swap apps to see map-related information about a search term. Google Calendar events can be created directly in Chrome without needing to swap apps. Chrome users can press and hold on a detected date and choose the option to add it to Google Calendar. The Chrome app will automatically create and populate the calendar event with time, location,…

When Apple releases iOS 17 in the fall, anyone who tends to use their iPhone's camera to scan QR codes can expect to find the process a little easier, thanks to a small but significant change coming in Apple's latest mobile operating system. Apple first introduced iPhone Camera app support for QR code scanning in iOS 11. Back then, the URL link that the QR code generated would appear as though it was a push notification at the top of the screen. Perhaps because this implementation was inelegant or confusing for some users, Apple in iOS 13 decided to redesign QR code scanning so that the link appeared as a yellow button within the camera viewfinder itself. However, in doing…