In an internal memo last week, obtained by MacRumors, Apple has indicated that it will assist its third-party repair partners around the world with COVID-19-related expenses, such as cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment.
All eligible Apple Authorized Service Providers will receive a subsidy from Apple by way of increased payouts for each completed repair. The subsidy is retroactive and the length it is offered will depend on stay-at-home guidelines in each country. Service providers are encouraged to contact their Apple representatives for more details.
To find an Apple Authorized Service Provider in your local area, visit the Get Support page on Apple's website and follow the steps to initiate a repair.
According to multiple ads I’ve seen, we are in this thing together. “Together we will prevail,” the ads say. You lay there—alone, in a shirt stained with who can say what—and think: nothing. What is there to think? If you were going to have an interesting thought, you would’ve had it weeks ago. Better to wreck…
The latest update focuses on improving the viewing of media. For example GIFs can now be paused and videos play inline with the feed, so users no longer have to tap them in order to see what's going on at a glance.
Users can also save and share GIFs, while sharing in general has been streamlined and improved within the app. For example, sharing the video file for Reddit videos now automatically merges the video and audio stream.
In addition, users can now share a comment or a post as an image by tapping Share as Image, which will stitch together as many screens as necessary. The option also supports sharing image posts, which is useful for posts that would benefit from having the title merged with the image for context.
Apollo's latest update also adds iPadOS 13.4 cursor support, and plays nice with the new Reddit awards system and Reddit Polls.
Elsewhere, there are five new app icons to check out, bug fixes, improvements to viewing comments, and more.
Apollo is available for iPhone and iPad on the App Store [Direct Link] as a free download without ads, with optional in-app purchases available to unlock enhanced features such as multiple accounts, gestures, Touch ID or Face ID authentication, and GIF scrubbing.
Apple is set to start reopening its retail stores in Japan this week after having been closed for months because of the global health crisis.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman notes that Apple's website says stores in Fukuoka and Nagoya Sakae will reopen on May 27. Reopening dates for the country's eight other Apple stores have not yet been posted.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has lifted the country's nationwide state of emergency, ending restrictions in the remaining areas where the order was still in effect, one week ahead of schedule.
Apple has reopened stores in Australia, Germany, Austria, South Korea, Switzerland and some stores in Italy and the U.S.
The company is taking safety measures as it gradually re-opens stores across the globe. These include temperature checks conducted at the door, limited occupancy, and a renewed emphasis on one-to-one service. As an alternative to entering some physical stores, customers can also expect to see curb-side pickup and drop off options.
Former Apple intern 
