The little-used COVID-19 exposure notification system built into iOS is being shut down. It's a shame that it wasn't adopted broadly enough to make a more significant difference in the infection numbers and death toll to date.

Peloton exercise bikes are expensive and lock users into the company’s exercise service. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tried a less expensive alternative, Bowflex’s C6 bike. It gives users the flexibility to use a range of fitness services with an iPhone or iPad, an Apple TV, or a Mac.

More research from the Scripps Research DETECT study suggests that wearables like the Apple Watch show promise in both detecting COVID-19 infections and tracking long-COVID symptoms.

After suffering from uncontrollable shivers and a fever, Adam Engst (and his family) worried that he might have been infected with COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. He was able to use the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test—a rapid antigen test—to set everyone’s mind at ease. And the technology involved was a geek’s delight.

The FCC has launched a new program to help struggling families pay for broadband. Meanwhile, New York is setting strict limits on basic broadband costs.

Apple Maps now lists COVID-19 vaccination sites, but it’s currently of questionable utility since you must be both eligible and have an appointment anyway.

Posting record results for the last quarter, Apple enjoyed double-digit sales growth for all its product categories and tallied increased revenues in every geographic sector.

We’re drowning in data about COVID-19—infection rates, hospitalizations, and fatalities. But none of that data can answer the question of what your personal risk of infection is. With the NOVID app—and sufficient uptake in your community—you can know just how close infections are to you.

Apple has released a pair of surprise updates to a pair of older operating systems, iOS 12.5 and watchOS 6.3, to bring COVID-19 exposure notification capabilities and an important security fix to older devices.

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We’re taking the next email issue of TidBITS off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday—without traveling!—in the United States, although we’ll continue to publish articles on our Web site. You can look forward to the next email issue on 7 December 2020.

Adam Engst stumbled on New York State’s COVID Alert NY app before it was officially announced, and he takes you on a tour of the app, which is clear, clean, and polished. It’s a good example of an official app that relies on the exposure notification technology from Apple and Google.

Is the Apple Watch even more attractive than normal during the pandemic? Julio Ojeda-Zapata has been pondering its utility in the coronavirus context, and he’s increasingly using his watch so he doesn’t have to keep digging out—and later disinfecting—his iPhone. He’s trying to talk his wife into doing the same—we’ll see how that goes.

Apple has released iOS 13.7 with a new built-in COVID-19 exposure notification system that it co-developed with Google. The company also pushed out iPadOS 13.7 with unspecified bug fixes.

Looking for something for your kids to do this summer with in-person camps limited or canceled? Apple is offering a free online camp this summer for kids to learn about art, coding, design, and video.