This week in Apple: News about the 'Apple Car', Free Fortnite campaign, and more

This week in Apple news, we heard quite a bit about the rumored “Apple Car.” Not only did we hear about how the design and production of the supposed new product are coming along, but we heard about a notable car company Apple allegedly had no interest in buying.

In other Apple news, we heard about Apple re-closing a ton of stores, notable new apps for M1 silicon, some new drama surrounding the Free Fortnite campaign, and more.

See the Apple news roundup below for all the latest.

The top Apple news stories of the past week:

• “Apple Car” is supposedly on the road to happening: There have been plenty of rumors over the years related to Apple developing its own automobile. This past week, we saw multiple news stories land related to the supposed new product. According to a report from Reuters, Apple is confident enough in the car’s development that it’s aiming to begin production of the self-driving electric vehicle in 2024.
• Elon Musk says Apple had no interest in Tesla: Earlier this week, Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk claimed that he once tried to sell Tesla to Apple. According to his tweet on the matter, he tried to get a meeting with Tim Cook to discuss the possibility of a sale during the “darkest days” of the company. According to Musk, Cook refused to even take the meeting. After Musk tweeted this out, commenters started to speculate what the auto industry would look like now if Apple had bought Tesla back when its value was about 1/10 what it is today.
• More rumors related to new Apple TV hardware: At this point, it’s pretty much a given that Apple will release a new streaming set-top box in 2021. The long-overdue update to the Apple TV hardware could include an updated remote, a faster chip, and a bigger focus on gaming, according to Bloomberg. What we want to know, though, is why there isn’t an Apple TV Stick in the works. Most people can afford an Apple TV Plus subscription, but not everyone can afford (or wants) Apple TV hardware.
• Apple closes nearly 100 stores — again: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Apple closed dozens of its iconic Apple Store locations this week. The closures included every single shop in the state of California, which is seeing a new wave of COVID cases. There is no indication yet of when those stores will re-re-open.
• Native Zoom and Adobe apps make their way to M1 Macs: The list of apps that work on Apple’s new Arm-based M1 chipset just keeps getting longer. This week, the popular video conferencing app Zoom joined the party. Additionally, three major apps in the Adobe Creative Suite launched in beta form on M1 silicon, including Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Audition.
• Influencers get cheeky “Free Fortnite” gifts: If you’re unaware, Apple is in a huge fight with Epic Games, the company behind the smash-hit game Fortnite. The legal battle between the two has left iOS and iPad OS users out in the cold, as they can no longer access the game through the official App Store. To raise awareness for the cause, Epic and partner Samsung — which still has Fortnite available through the Galaxy Store — sent out “Free Fortnite” gift boxes to several influencers. The boxes included a jacket and a Samsung tablet, with the jacket and box art made to look like the iconic “Think Different” slogan Apple used for a time.

Thinking about making the switch?

If you are reading this Apple news article on an iOS device and thinking about making the switch to Android, we have multiple articles and guides that can help you with that process. Despite how it might seem, moving from iOS to Android is easier than ever, and many of the services and systems on iOS have similar or even the same counterparts on Android.

The best place to start would be our guide on how to switch from iPhone to Android, which goes over all the basics. We also have more specific guides, such as how to transfer your calendar from iPhone to Android. We also have app guides that will give you the best alternatives to iOS staples, such as our list of best alternatives to FaceTime on Android.

If you’re looking for a great Android device to replace your iPhone, consult our list of the best Android smartphones available now.