News items you should check out: Jan. 30

Since I can’t cover everything, I like to offer a daily roundup of must-read articles from some other great websites:

° From Apple TV+’s YouTube channel: The Apple TV+ ad campaign starring actor Timothée Chalamet has a second spot in which Chalamet praises Apple’s taste and is sad that the streaming service is “missing someone” (namely, himself).

° From MacRumors: Apple Music subscribers can now listen to their “Replay 2023” playlist as of today. As in previous years, this playlist ranks all of the music you’ve been listening to on Apple Music from 1 to 100, updating weekly so you can keep track of your most-streamed songs of the year as 2023 progresses.

° From AppleInsider: The Apple Support app is now usable by even more Apple users, with three new languages and an expansion into 118 new regions bringing the software tool to a wider audience.

° From 9to5Mac: The 2023 Back to School promo has launched in a number of countries in the southern hemisphere, and Apple is offering a pair of AirPods, plus the usual additional discount on AppleCare+. 

° From Macworld: If you’ve ever noticed your battery draining abnormally fast while using the Facebook or Messenger app on your iPhone, it might not be a coincidence. According to a former Meta data scientist, the company has the ability to secretly drain users’ Android and iPhone batteries as part of its internal app testing.

° From The Wall Street Journal (a subscription is required to read the article): Using AirTags for tracking your pets offers certain dangers. 

° From The Japan News: Local fire departments near skiing areas are struggling with a spate of unnecessary emergency calls that are being made automatically by people’s smartphones when they fall down on the slopes. According to the agency, most of these calls come from models belonging to Apple Inc.’s iPhone 14 series, which has an automatic emergency function based on the scenario of a vehicle collision.