Apple’s flagship retail store in Sydney’s central business district was evacuated earlier today in what was described only as a ‘police operation.’ While no official explanation was available at the time of writing, it has been reported that the evacuation was in response to a bomb scare, with surrounding streets closed and a police sniffer dog seen entering the store. SBS reported a shopper at the store specifically referencing a bomb scare....

The legal battle between Apple supplier TSMC and chipmaker Global Foundries is heating up. TSMC was first sued by Global Foundries back in August over patent infringement, but now it is fighting back with its own countersuit, as first reported by Reuters. As noted last month, Apple was named a defendant in the patent infringement case against TSMC. The lawsuit aims to ban the import of Apple devices from both the United States and Germany....

Apple is telling employees to work from home this week if their job allows for it. Workers at Apple Park were told not to come to work on Friday, and now this policy has been expanded to cover Apple offices in California, Seattle, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. This represents most — but not all — of Apple’s corporate locations. The new policy was first reported by Bloomberg, and has now been confirmed by Apple itself....

Apple TV+ is just about to celebrate its one-year anniversary and today it has joined the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a group whose main goal is to fight media piracy. Reported by Variety, Apple joining the anti-piracy group is a notable move in Apple TV+ more deeply integrating into the media industry. And Apple isn’t just joining as a regular member of the alliance: The move represents a strengthening bond between Apple and the major studios, and draws the company deeply into industry efforts to check the flow of pirated content....

FX NOW is the streaming app for 21st Century Fox’s network cable channels FX, FXX, and FXM – it’s been available on iOS, Xbox One and Windows 8 for a while now. The FX Now app has already been available for iOS devices like iPhone and iPad. The channel offers content from FX, FXX, and FXM networks. FX is known for the popular TV shows Sons of Anarchy, American Horror Story, Fargo, and more, including the Simpsons....

Apple’s “hobby” is less of a hobby these days, with in excess of one million sales the Apple TV is now accounting for more Netflix viewing hours than the iPad, Netflix announced this week. That’s noteworthy because while Apple has sold millions of iPads it has only shifted a million Netflix-happy Apple TVs, and with a substantial slice of those sold outside of the US of A, you can bet your dollar this represents tacit proof that people are making active use of the Apple TV....

After releasing a tweaked beta of Mountain Lion 10.8.2 just last week and the public release of iOS 6 this morning, Apple just released 10.8.2 through Software Update. As we previously detailed, the update’s big feature is Facebook integration including single sign on, Facebook sharing options for links and photos, and Facebook notifications in Notification Center. Game Center also received some nice enhancements while the MacBook Air (late 2010) gained Power Nap....

We just got the macOS 11.3 release candidate shortly after Apple’s Spring Loaded event. And ahead of the 11.3 public launch that could coincide with iOS 14.5 next week, Apple has seeded developers with the first beta for macOS 11.4 that comes with support for new AMD GPUs. Update 4/22: Now available for public beta testers. The OTA for the macOS 11.4 beta should start showing up in System Preferences > Software Update if you’re enrolled in the developer or public beta program (keep refreshing if you don’t see it yet)....

Apple has begun seeding the third watchOS 3.2.3 beta for Apple Watch. The update is only available to registered developers for testing. watchOS 3.2.3 beta follows the release of watchOS 3.2.2 for all users. Both updates focus on bug fixes and performance improvements. watchOS 3.2.3 is only available to registered developers. Apple features a public beta program for iOS and macOS while watchOS and tvOS are developer only. We’ll update if any changes or release notes are discovered or shared....

Apple appears to be rolling out an update to Apple TV users in Germany that brings access to a TV shows section in the main UI. According to tips from readers and local reports from iFun, it is unclear if the new UI is a mistake. Apple could very well be in the midst of rolling out the update to all users. Oddly, reports also claim the Movies icon has been removed from the main section....

Right around this time, March or April, Apple usually updates the Apple Store with a bunch of new iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands. On a fairly regular basis, the company updates its accessory collections in spring and fall with new color choices. Update: more pics below … Via DuanRui, Apple is apparently readying new blue, purple, green and burnt orange cases for the iPhone 12 MagSafe leather case range....

As expected, Apple today shared a special ‘Shot on iPhone’ video in celebration of the Chinese New Year. After being teased earlier this week, the video is now live on Apple’s YouTube channel. Watch it below. The moving 6-minute video is directed by Jia Zhangke and tells a story about family and home visits during the Chinese New Year holiday. Entitled “The Bucket,” the short film was shot with an iPhone XS:...

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZDaIUN4p7Y&feature=youtu.be”] We are all familiar with Apple’s well-produced product ads, but Apple released a new ad today that is not exactly aimed to the masses. First spotted by TechCrunch, Apple posted a video showing how it has benefited auto manufacturer Land Rover through its iAd campaign. The video is an attempt to hook potential advertisers to its iAd network that is currently deployed throughout many iOS apps as a way for developers (and Apple) to earn some cash from apps....

This weekend, Apple seems to have updated the OS X Mavericks Golden Master (GM) version to a new build. The new build is 13A603 while the original GM seed was 13A598. It’s not common for Apple to change the GM build for a Mac OS, but it is not without precedent. Apple has altered GM iOS seeds before they shipped to customers on a few occasions in the past. Users of the new build have not reported any noticeable user-facing alterations…...

An internal Apple sales document clarifies the possible uses of the Apple SIM, which is included in cellular versions of the iPad mini 3 and Apple iPad Air 2. The Apple SIM launched with several supported carriers: T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint in the US and EE in the UK. Given that EE is the only available carrier in the UK, the purpose of its existence in the region was unclear. However, this document confirms that customers travelling between the US and the UK can benefit from the deal....

According to a new tag discovered on iOS App Store pages by iFun, it would appear that Apple is testing a new label for applications that work with the upcoming Family Sharing feature in iOS 8. The feature, which was announced at WWDC, allows a family to share a single list of purchased music, movies, and iOS apps, all charged to a single credit card. It also includes parental controls so that purchases require permission from the card holder....

Near the end of each year Apple thanks its employees for their hard work with a nice souvenir. This year some employees are being given a black Incase backpack featuring a bright white Apple logo. At least one employee has already put the gift up on eBay with a starting bid of $49.99 and a Buy It Now of $99.99. From the images we’ve received, it appears that the bag is a customized version of the Incase Staple Backpack....

With Apple Pay now up and running in the UK, Apple is continuing to roll out additional banks and credit unions in waves across the US for its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch-based mobile payment service. The latest round includes 34 more institutions now supporting Apple Pay. Here are the latest to join in the US as well as the full list to date: 1st Source Bank Allegacy Federal Credit Union Amarillo National Bank American National Bank and Trust Cambridge Trust Bank CASE Credit Union CME FCU Coast Line Credit Union Columbia Bank Community Financial Credit Union Eagle Federal Credit Union Earlham Savings Bank Eastern Bank Evergreen Credit Union Fidelity Bank Federal Savings Bank First Financial Bank First National Bank and Trust FNB Community Bank Heritage Family Federal Credit Union Meritrust Credit Union NuMark Credit Union Pittsford Federal Credit Union Premier Federal Credit Union Quail Creek Bank Reliabank Dakota Reliant Federal Credit Union Renasant Bank SESLOC Federal Credit Union Stanford FCU The Summit Federal Credit Union Umpqua Bank VisionBank Y-12 Federal Credit Union...

Apple Pay has today launched in Belgium. Just like everywhere else in the world, Apple Pay enables you to make transactions at retail stores using the contactless NFC chip inside the iPhone and Apple Watch. You can also pay using Apple Pay on the web in Safari for iOS or Safari for Mac. The Belgium local launch partners include Fortis, Fintro and Hello Bank. Get started with Apple Pay now using the Wallet app on your iPhone....

[UPDATE April 7: iOS 9.3.2 is now available as a public beta update as well.] Shortly after the recent iOS 9.3.1 update to fix a link issue and the major iOS 9.3 update with new features, Apple has released a new iOS 9.3.2 update for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple has also released the first watchOS 2.2.1 betas for developers to test with Apple Watch following the recent watchOS 2....