Apple and architecture firm Foster + Partners were honored alongside sixteen other groups from eleven countries last night during the annual awards ceremony held by the International Association of Lighting Designers in Chicago. The IALD is a prominent organization operating with a goal of setting the global standard for lighting design excellence. Earning an Award of Merit was Apple’s Michigan Avenue retail store, a stunning feat of architectural design and engineering on the Chicago River....

Going away from the constant rumors that Apple is building its own TV set, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday evening that Apple is in talks with cable television operators to use an Apple TV device as a set-top-box. Adding to yesterday’s report, the publication shared another note today with more details of Apple’s vision for the new device. This evening’s report mentions that Apple is looking to introduce a feature that will allow users to view a TV show at any time—even minutes after it started....

We were curious, now we’re convinced Apple has some big, big plans for Apple TV – the company this morning dumped the 40GB model of the product and slashed the cost of the 160GB version of its TV set-top box. (or it might just be component price drops) This price discount follows hot on the heels of revelations the company’s new iTunes LP/Extras format supports the resolution output by the Apple TV so closely we’re becoming convinced at some future plan for the product....

Earlier this year, before the announcement of the iPhone 12, Apple surveyed some users about how they use the USB power adapter that used to come in the iPhone box. The company is once again asking for the opinion of its consumers, this time to find out if iPhone users are unsatisfied with Face ID and if they use the USB cable that comes with every iPhone. Among multiple questions, the survey asks if the user is not satisfied with Face ID — and if the answer is no, there are some alternatives to share details with Apple....

tvOS 10 updates have included new user features like smarter Siri, HomeKit support, dark mode, and the new TV app with Single Sign-on so far. With tvOS 10.0.1, first released back in October as a minor bug fix and security improvement, Apple quietly included support for a handful of new features to improve accessories. The features, which include App Launch, new accessibility features and more, aren’t documented publicly, but specs were recently made available to accessory makers in Apple’s Made-for-iPhone/iPad/Apple TV licensing program....

Apple is rolling out the second watchOS 3.2.2 beta for developer testing on Apple Watch. The update likely includes bug fixes and security improvements ahead of a more feature-packed watchOS 4 announcement later this year. watchOS 3.2 for Apple Watch brought new features including Theater Mode which mutes alerts and disables raise-to-wake plus SiriKit so third-party apps can work with Siri. The latest Apple Watch software update also includes new watch face colors including Nike custom colors, although previous developer betas have not yet included these....

Update: iOS 13.2 beta 2, iPadOS 13.2 beta 2, watchOS 6.1 beta 3, and tvOS 13.2 beta 2 now available. iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 public beta 2 also now available. Apple today is releasing the second developer beta of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Today’s release comes just over a week after the release of the first iOS 13.2 with Deep Fusion camera technology. Deep Fusion is Apple’s new camera processing technology that works in the background to improve image quality for iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro users....

Apple yesterday made the fifth public and developer betas of iOS 13.4 available to testers, and now it is releasing watchOS 6.2 beta 5 to developers as well. watchOS 6.2 doesn’t include any major user-facing changes. Instead, the update focuses on performance improvements and under-the-hood bug fixes. Apple doesn’t offer a public beta of watchOS because there is no way to revert back to a previous version if there are bugs....

Following this morning’s Tim Cook interview with Kara Swisher that focused on privacy, Apple has reminded developers to update their apps with the new AppTrackingTransparency framework before the release of iOS 14.5. AppTrackingTransparency, or ATT, is a new tool Apple is introducing to protect users’ data and prevent unwanted apps from tracking you across other websites and apps. During Tim Cook’s interview with Kara Swisher, he noted that ATT is “several weeks” away....

In the last day or so, Apple has updated its list of HomeKit accessories with some seemingly bad news: all references to HomeKit doorbells have been removed. The page previously featured the August Doorbell Cam as ‘coming soon’. Infamously, August first promised HomeKit support in 2016, and the Ring Video Doorbell has said that it has been ‘testing’ HomeKit integration for many months. It’s not clear what has caused Apple to remove the listings....

We shared some of our own photos from yesterday’s event, and now Apple has put together its own set of shots to give a sense of the day. These show attendees arriving at the Steve Jobs Theater, the main speakers presenting and the hands-on demos following the presentation … The iPhone 8 surprisingly gets equal billing in the photos, even if all eyes at the event were on the iPhone X....

Apple took an iMac Pro to the Final Cut Pro X Creative Summit to demo its power to the professional video editors attending the conference. Whilst we still don’t know exactly when the computer will be available, Apple has promised a December launch and photos of the iMac Pro in the flesh certainly help to build the hype. Gallery of photos after the break … The conference attendees were allowed to share photos of the unit, so we can see the Space Gray iMac chassis and its exclusive accessories in their full glory since the WWDC unveiling....

Although Apple has said that the Apple Watch will need to be charged nightly, the company has not disclosed any details on how long the wearable’s battery will last. For the first time, people with knowledge of the Apple Watch’s development have provided us with the specific performance targets Apple wants to achieve for the Apple Watch battery, but the actual numbers may fall short of those targets. According to our sources, Apple opted to use a relatively powerful processor and high-quality screen for the Apple Watch, both of which contribute to significant power drain....

Three years ago, Apple was found guilty of anticompetitive behavior centered around ebook pricing and price-fixing. The case was in limbo for years as Apple appealed and tried to fight the ruling, but earlier this year the Supreme Court declined to hear the company’s appeal, putting Apple on the hook for $450 million. Law firm Hagens Berman today issued a press release revealing that payouts will begin being sent to affected customers tomorrow, June 21st....

Apple will be celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd in its retail stores and on its Cupertino, California campus, according to multiple Apple employees. Earth Day is an annual day of focus on environmental protection and initiatives that has taken place in several countries since 1970… Each year, the Earth Day organization focuses the April 22nd celebrations on certain environmental topics. 2014’s topic is known as “Green Cities,” and this is a focus on more environmentally efficient buildings, transportation, and cities....

Apple’s summer “Apple Camp” program for students will expand to become a year-round program beginning in September, according to a message from Apple Retail head Angela Ahrendts to employees this week. Ahrendts also noted that field trips and programs for teachers will also become year-round. Here’s Ahrendts message to employees on the matter, per Apple Retail employees: Apple’s retail website for students still lists Apple Camp as returning during the summer of 2016, but this page will likely be updated in the coming weeks to reflect the new strategy....

Over the last several years, Apple has gradually been expanding the ways people can tune into its various keynotes. This year, Apple is further expanding its efforts and will stream the September 10th iPhone 11 event on YouTube. This marks the first time that Apple has live streamed one of its keynotes on YouTube, and it dramatically expands the availability of the stream across all platforms. With the iPhone XS event last year, Apple offered live video on Twitter, but as of now, it’s unclear whether that will be the case this year for this year’s iPhone 11 event....

Apple usually comes up with creative ways to celebrate Earth Day each spring and this year, it’s going to release an original animated film starring the voice of Meryl Streep based on the children’s book, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers. Apple has also signed Julia Louis-Dreyfus to a content deal for upcoming TV+ properties. Louis-Dreyfus agreement Streep project Streep is set to narrate the film and here are the other talented actors involved in the project:...

The base line 11.6-incher includes a 1.6 GHz processor, 2GB RAM and 64GB of flash storage and the pricier model doubles RAM and storage. Note: Because the memory is soldered onto the motherboard, you must decide on RAM at purchase time. The same goes for storage, configurable only at the online Apple Store. The entry-level 13-incher sports a 1.7 GHz processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB of flash storage while the more expensive 13-inch MacBook Air doubles the storage to 256GB....

Apple has come under considerable criticism following its decision to agree to a Chinese government request to remove VPN apps from its local App Store. Virtual private networks allow people in China to access sites blocked by the government, and to ensure that authorities cannot track the sites they visit. App-tracking site ASO100.com says that the company has so far removed more than 400 VPN apps. But while Apple is trying to maintain good relationships with China by complying with such requests, analysts and tech commentators believe that its troubles with the country ‘have just started’ …...