News items you should check out: June 11

Since Steve and I can’t cover everything, occasionally we’ll direct your attention to articles from various other sources worth your time.

° At some point in the near future, Apple will start releasing AirPods Pro firmware betas to developers.

° Apple has debuted a promotion in Canada that offers a $75 Apple Store gift card with the purchase of a new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini through June 28. However, the offer doesn’t apply to the iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 12 Pro Max.

° Globant, a business consultancy company, has launched its BeHealthy program with a new tool Globant developed with the help of Apple.

° House Democrats are set to introduce a package of five bills as soon as this week that would prohibit tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google from discriminating against rivals or buying potential competitors, according to Politico.

° In an interview with Kara Swisher on the “Sway” podcast, Margrethe Vestager, chief of the European anti-trust commission, says she wants to see a second non-Apple controller app store.

° In the second part of the WWDC wrap-up on MacVoices Live!, David Ginsburg, Kelly Guimont, Jay Miller, Frank Petrie, Jim Rea, Guy Serle, Jeff Gamet, Brittany Smith, and Patrice Brend’amour join host Chuck Joiner to go on and off the rails on discussions of the health care initiatives and what they do and don’t address (yet), and cover the perceived lack of M1 iPad pro apps. 

° Microsoft has announced that Xbox Game Pass is coming soon to the Safari, Edge, and Chrome web browsers.