To alleviate a severe blood shortage, the American Red Cross has teamed up with Apple to offer a 4-month Apple Music trial to those who donate blood, platelets, or plasma during the month of August.
Blood donors will need to donate blood from August 1 to August 31 to get the free 4-month Apple Music special, which will be delivered by email. The trial is limited to new Apple Music subscribers who have not tried the service yet.
Those who donate before August 15 will also be entered to win a VIP journey to the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee.
Appointments to donate blood can be made through the Red Cross website.
Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces.
The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014.
This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019.
Q.ai...
Thursday July 30, 2026 3:43 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
We're less than two months out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...
Then I noticed it’s only for people who haven’t had a trial.
So actually it means absolutely nothing since Apple is already offering these 4 months to anyone. I got an advert yesterday but it was no use since I’ve used a previous trial.
I used to donate all the time when they’d come to our high school and college and everything. But sadly, they won’t accept my blood even though im Married and in a monogamous marriage. It just happens to be to another man.
oh well, maybe someday. If they’d open it up, I’d donate each chance I could.
I was coming here to make this very point. The discrimination against gay men is still going and frankly, offensive. All blood is tested. HIV isn’t a gay disease and their continued rhetoric defending this discriminatory policy is ridiculous. Apple should use their power to put an end to this practice.
I used to donate all the time when they’d come to our high school and college and everything. But sadly, they won’t accept my blood even though im Married and in a monogamous marriage. It just happens to be to another man.
oh well, maybe someday. If they’d open it up, I’d donate each chance I could.
Do you have a link? Here is a link describing the 3-month offer for new users which can be extended to a 4-month offer for any US military with an ID.me number. ('https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/13/apple-music-offering-up-to-four-months-free-for-us-military-and-veterans/') I believe the 4-month offer to all Red Cross blood donors is a new thing.
Donating now is a great idea -- even if no incentives are available to you personally. 😃 Supplies are at critical levels in many parts of the country. A friend recently noted that SoCal is giving only half-transfusions to people who need transfusions. We can address this shortage. Besides getting vaccinated and practicing distancing/masking protocols, this is a specific thing we can do to assist in this health crisis.
Even if you have burned out your free offers, your non-technical Apple users may still have them available. Please let them know that the Red Cross is hurting. Thanks!
who's going to tell the red cross that bestbuy ('https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-free-apple-music-for-6-months-new-subscribers-only/6451501.p?skuId=6451501') gives away 6 months to new subs for free no anti gay blood needed
As a gay man myself I only wanted to say that HIV/AIDS is mostly a gay disease. The hysteria in the 80’s when it was first spread and discovered made people think it can happen to anyone. But to this day it remains primarily a gay disease, one only has to check the statistics of infection rates every year to see this. It is what it is.
This is from HIV.gov:
“In 2019, the largest percentages of HIV infections were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact (66% overall and 81% among males.)”
That doesn’t make it any less discriminatory since all the blood is tested.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a ~5.5-inch outer display and a ~7.8-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
