Two weeks after launching the first public beta of macOS Big Sur, Apple has released the second iteration today. The update comes just one day after beta 5 of Big Sur arrived for developers. macOS Big Sur includes a big refresh to the UI that’s inspired by iOS. Other new features include Control Center, Safari improvements, new Messages app features like pinned messages, customizable widgets, and much more. If you’re already enrolled in the public beta, you can check to see if the macOS Big Sur beta 2 is available on your Mac by heading to System Preferences > Software Update....

Apple has released the third watchOS 3.1.1 beta for developers testing the pre-release software update for Apple Watch. watchOS 3.1.1 includes support for new Unicode 9.0 emoji as well as the ability to change skin tones when picking certain emoji characters. watchOS 3.1.1 is a minor release that follows the major release of watchOS 3.0 in September. watchOS 3 is a major speed boost to Apple Watch with a simplified navigation structure and new, faster apps....

The BBC reports that Apple has removed the phrase ‘impact resistant’ from its description of the Apple Watch after losing a UK court case over a cracked screen. The owner said that he had been influenced by the description as he is “prone to knocking things about a bit.” Cross says that he still plans to buy a replacement Watch. Gareth Cross, 32, from Aberystwyth, [bought] his Apple Watch Sport, but spotted a crack in the glass face 10 days later....

If it went through with the idea, it would represent a pretty big shakeup to its set-top TV offerings, as its current Apple TV lineup is anything but ‘low-cost’. Apple introduced the tvOS based Apple TV in 2015 for $149. In 2017, it released the Apple TV 4K. Rather than dropping the price of the previous generation, it simply added the 4K Apple TV above it at $179 and kept the aging 2015 model around at the exact same price point....

Apple is reportedly working with Chinese server vendor Inspur as it seeks to bring the infrastructure for its cloud services in-house. While part of the motivation will be cost, it was also recently reported that security is another significant consideration, Apple being concerned that servers received from third-parties may have been tampered with prior to delivery … The Digitimes report is lacking in detail, but the report has credibility given that Inspur has more than a 60% share of the Chinese server market and its client base includes many big players....

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC4gPxc89Wg] Apple has a new 12W charger shipping with the iPad 4, and it is available online and compatible with a number of other iOS devices. Apple already told us the 12W adapter would indeed charge your iPad faster than the old 10W adapters, but it couldn’t give us an estimate on how much faster. Insanely Great Mac posted the video above today that shows the iPad drawing more power from the new adapter and claimed it was able to shave about 30 minutes to 45 minutes off the charge time....

Almost all the reports to date on the headset project commonly dubbed Apple Glasses have pointed to an augmented reality (AR) device, rather than a virtual reality (VR) one. But a new Bloomberg report suggests that Apple’s first headset will primarily be a VR device, with limited AR capabilities. It goes on to suggest that it will be the Mac Pro of VR devices. A VR focus would be surprising, as Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly said that AR is of far greater interest to the company …...

As has been widely reported, it is all but confirmed that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will not feature a 3.5mm headphone jack. This means buyers of the new iPhone will have to search for alternative types of headphones, whether that be via wireless Bluetooth or Apple’s Lightning cable. Right now, Apple bundles EarPods with every iPhone. It obviously makes no sense for Apple to continue bundling 3.5mm headphones with the headphone-jack-less iPhone 7....

After a few fits and starts, Safari 5 is ready for download here. We’re not exactly sure what happened but the image we captured above might have something to do with the delay. Press release below: SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today released Safari(R) 5, the latest version of the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser, featuring the new Safari Reader for reading articles on the web without distraction, a 30 percent performance increase over Safari 4,* and the ability to choose Google, Yahoo!...

To celebrate and promote the release of his new single “No Brainer,” DJ Khaled is appearing in a new advertisement from Apple. In the ad, Apple shows off Apple Music, while the HomePod also makes a few appearances… In the ad, DJ Khaled’s son Asahd is seemingly plotting to overthrow Khaled’s reign in the music industry. Asahd is voiced by Kevin Hart. Throughout the ad, the two can be seen and heard using ‘Hey, Siri’ to control a HomePod and play music....

The Apple Store is down today, although it’s still several hours before the new products go on sale. The teaser message from Apple has actually been tweaked with new fonts and new text. It notes to look out for the 8.01 AM PDT time, when the PRODUCT(RED) iPhone 7 and the new cheaper iPad go on sale. On Tuesday, Apple announced the launch of a new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus color, in red....

Apple will stop selling its current Mac Pro professional desktop computer in Europe on March 1st, according to our sources. While the Mac Pro has been seen as an Apple product nearing discontinuation because of its small user-base, lack of significant promotion by Apple, Apple’s strategy of moving into the “post-PC” era, and, perhaps, most controversially, the lack of a notable update in a few years, none of these are seemingly the reason for the imminent discontinuation....

Update: Apple has added 28 new banks and credit unions in the U.S. too. Full list below. Apple today updated its list of Apple Pay banks to add new banks and credit unions supported in the U.S., Mainland China, Russia, and Australia. The additions include twenty eight new banks and credit unions in the U.S., nine in China, four in Russia, and over thirty in Australia. The newly added banks include:...

The availability of Apple Pay has slowly expanded throughout New York City as the MTA has rolled out its new OMNY tap-and-ride readers. In a new report today, the New York Post says that some users are being charged for MTA travel every time they walk by the OMNY readers. According to the report, some transit riders in New York City have been charged a fare through Apple Pay, even when they don’t tap their Apple Watch or iPhone on the OMNY reader....

More details continue to emerge this weekend about the behind-the-scenes drama of Apple’s dealings with Intel and Qualcomm. According to a report from The Telegraph, Apple poached Intel’s lead 5G modem developer earlier this year. According to the report, which cites a leaked email, Apple hired Umashankar Thyagarajan from Intel in February. Thyagarajan also confirmed the change on his LinkedIn profile, where he lists that he works on chip architecture at Apple....

After a few YouTube videos hit the web claiming that the iPhone 6 Plus could be easily bent out shape in a user’s pocket, Apple addressed the issue by stating that the device was designed to meet its quality requirements and that only a handful of owners had complained about any issues. To further prove its commitment to building solid devices, Apple gave journalists access to the lab where it tests the build quality of its iPhones....

Apple has published a new support guide this week that offers users an in-depth guide at managing their data and information on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. The new document is entitled “Device and Data Access when Personal Safety is At Risk.” Apple says that the goal of this new manual is to “help you identify risks, and walk you through the steps to help make the technology you rely on as private and secure as you want it to be....

The Everyone Can Create curriculum is now available as a free download in the App Store, after initially being announced at the March education event. The series is made up of four main interactive books, spanning photography, music, video production and drawing. All the activities revolve around creation on the iPad itself. There is also a teacher guide to aid with learning. Apple pitches these as complete set of digital materials for schools to teach in lessons to kids and are offered for free online....

Apple has released the third OS X 10.11.4 beta today to testers. The latest developer preview can be found in the Updates section of the Mac App Store. Previous versions have added new features to the Mac including the ability to view and share Live Photos shot on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus using Messages, and the ability to password protect Notes. We’ll check out the latest beta version of the upcoming release and highlight any changes below....

A judge in the United States dismissed Proview’s suit two days ago against Apple in the U.S., and it seems the dispute may be wrapping up soon, because the companies have been discussing a settlement amount. A report by Sina (via the Beijing Times/TNW) claims that Apple offered $16 million as a settlement for the iPad trademark in China, which Apple was duped out of prior to the product’s 2010 launch....