Apple today updated its list of banks, credit unions and card issuers that support Apple Pay to note the addition of 17 more U.S. institutions now supporting the payments service. The full list of banks and credit unions added today includes: Enrichment Federal Credit Union First Security Bank of Arkansas Marion & Polk Schools Credit Union Merchants Bank of Indiana Northern Michigan Bank & Trust Ohnward Bank and Trust Postel Family Credit Union River Cities Bank River Town Bank Simplicity Credit Union SouthPoint Bank TexasBank The Peoples Community Bank Town & Country Bank (IL) Town & Country Bank (UT) Trius Federal Credit Union Woori America Bank Apple had just added another 30 banks and credit unions to support the service in the U....

Apple has created a new vice president of People position which will be held by Deirdre O’Brien starting this fall. Today’s announcement marks the second newly created position at Apple this week following Isabel Ge Mahe’s move to vice president and managing director of Greater China on Tuesday. According to the announcement, O’Brien will be in charge of HR tasks including “talent development, recruiting, benefits, compensation and business support” while also “overseeing Apple University....

Apple today has published its testimony proposing corporate tax reform and detailing the company’s tax practices ahead of CEO Tim Cook’s appearance at a Senate hearing on offshore tax practices scheduled for tomorrow. In the testimony, Apple proposed what it called comprehensive corporate tax reform that should: Be revenue neutral, eliminate all corporate tax expenditures, lower corporate income tax rates; and implement a reasonable tax on foreign earnings that allows free movement of capital back to the US....

Apple has released the fourth tvOS 11.4 developer beta for testing on Apple TV 4 and Apple TV 4K. tvOS 11.4 turns Apple TV into an AirPlay 2 speaker which supports multi-room AirPlay from iOS. The latest developer beta of tvOS follows the official release of tvOS 11.3 to all customers last month. The new version added support for frame rate matching to older Apple TVs and Apple Music highlighted new music video playlists....

Apple has allegedly started removing apps originating in Iran from the App Store. According to Techrasa, Apple removed the app of Digikala, the biggest Iranian e-commerce service, a few days ago. Apple has yet to comment on the procedure but it seems to stem from international trade laws (via TechCrunch). Apple started opening up the App Store to users in Iran in September of 2016, gradually lifting limitations that had previously been in place....

Yesterday, we told you the iPad 2 was discounted by $100, as announced by Apple during the new iPad unveiling, through a number of retailers including BestBuy and RadioShack. According to one tipster, Apple retail stores are also offering the discounted iPad 2. However, in the case of the West Farms Apple Store in Connecticut, Apple discounted at least one Wi-Fi + 3G 32GB iPad 2 (White, AT&T) by $200. As you can see from the receipt above, store employees mistakenly added an extra $100 discount to the already discounted iPad 2....

While most of the numbers announced yesterday were broadly in line with analyst expectations, there was one particularly disappointing element: revenue from China. This was down 29% on the previous quarter, and a full 33% year-on-year – from $13.2B in Q3 2015 to $8.8B the same quarter this year. CEO Tim Cook pointed to slowing growth in the Chinese economy as a factor, but there are two other factors at play …...

Update: The chart above was updated to reflect Sprint’s just announced iPhone Forever upgrade plan pricing. Sprint is offering $22/month regular pricing ($15 for those that trade-in a device) through its iPhone Forever Upgrade program. Customers can upgrade every time there is a new iPhone, but they’ll have to pay off the remainder of the retail price to keep it. Yearly cost for all plans added. With the launch of its new iPhone 6s lineup this week, Apple is competing directly with its carrier partners by introducing an iPhone Upgrade Program that aims to rival similar offers from T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, and others....

Just like other modern store locations, Apple Burlingame features an entirely glass facade with floor to ceiling windows running the entire width of the building. Large slabs of stone wrap the side of the building, interrupted only for a large Apple logo and rear windows. The store originally opened in 2003 and occupied the same location, but you’ll find little reminder of the old architecture now. Every surface has been redone....

Apple has today shared a handful of new ads, focusing on security, ease of use, and environment. The series of ads have a tagline that read switch to iPhone, showcasing features that are better on the iPhone compared to its competitors. The videos are 15 seconds in length and are titled Environment, Safe, Ease, and Apple Support. The ads are pretty self-explanatory, and are meant to be lighthearted. Apple has mainly been focusing on iPhone X in its most recent ads, so seeing these are a breath of fresh air....

Apple is the target of yet another patent infringement suit. According to a new report from Reuters, Israeli start-up Corephotonics has filed a patent suit against Apple alleging that the dual-camera technology used in the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus infringe on its patented technology… Corephotonics CEO David Mendlovic claims that he approached Apple about a partnership but with little success. Apple reportedly praised the company’s technology and even said that “it could infringe” on the patent “with little consequence....

Apple’s enthusiasm for its retail expansion in Japan hasn’t been tempered. First in Shinjuku and later Kyoto, the company celebrated each of this year’s store openings with custom graphics and promotional videos. 2018’s new stores were even teased ahead of an official announcement to build excitement. Apple’s visual spectacle continues for its October 26th store reopening in Shibuya, which was announced yesterday evening. For the first time, a new store for 2019 has also been teased....

Most keyboards have a function row, which includes function keys that enable quick adjustments like screen brightness, media controls, and more. As iPad keyboards are generally more compact, they don’t have these function keys — which can be a downside of Apple’s Smart Keyboard and Magic Keyboard. We’ve found evidence in code that suggests the existence of new keyboard shortcuts to change the brightness of the iPad screen or even the backlight of the keyboard....

Apple TV+ is an upcoming subscription video on-demand service provided by Apple Inc. Since we’re on the cusp of Apple TV+’s launch, we can’t help but look at all they have in store for audiences and potential subscribers. Right now, the service has original programming starring the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carrell, Jason Momoa, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon. But something worth paying attention to as well is Apple TV+’s inclusion of some youth-oriented programming....

We’re heading into the weekend with all of today’s best deals, headlined by some of the first discounts on the all-new Apple TV 4K/HD with Siri Remote from $139. That’s alongside a new Apple shopping event at B&H and Anker iPhone accessories starting at $13. Hit the jump for all that and more in the latest 9to5Toys Lunch Break. All-new Apple TV 4K/HD deals from $139 Apple authorized retailer Expercom is ending the week by offering some of the very first discounts on the all-new Apple TV with Siri Remote....

[Update: As first noted by Mac Generation, Apple has also recently overhauled the Movies and TV show web interfaces with designs similar to the new Podcasts interface.] Apple this week has overhauled the web interface for Apple Podcasts. The new design is much cleaner and easier to navigate, while also offering support for playback, individual episode details, and more. The old Apple Podcasts web interface was akin to the iTunes web design that was dropped back in 2017....

Software developers have been given access to a new OS X 10.11.2 build in preparation for the update’s public release. This is the third beta of the 10.11.2 update that has been published. The first two software betas didn’t bring any notable user-facing changes to the desktop OS, but Apple encourages developers to continue testing in areas like Wi-Fi connectivity, graphics capabilities, and built-in apps like Mail and Notes. The new beta is available through the Updates tab of the Mac App Store for users already on the developer release channel, and through Apple’s developer website for those who are on a retail build....

Apple had previously announced that developers of new apps must support 64-bit architectures (to take full advantage of the A7 and A8 technology) by February 1st, 2015. Today, Apple has reminded developers of this deadline as well as clarifying the situation for existing apps. Updates to existing apps must be made 64-bit compatible by June 1, 2015. After that date, any submissions of only 32-bit apps will be rejected by App Review....

While Apple officially announced via a sign at the location that the mega Apple Store in New York’s Grand Central Terminal will open its doors for the first time on December 9th, Apple has now noted this on its website. The new retail webpage for the Grand Central Terminal Apple Store, notes the 10 AM Grand Opening on that Friday. The new retail store’s official address is marked as 45 Grand Central Terminal New York, NY 10017....

Apple is adding a new “Movement Disorder API” to its open-source ResearchKit framework that will allow Apple Watch to continuously monitor Parkinson’s disease symptoms. The new API will provide app developers using ResearchKit the ability to offer passive, all-day monitoring via an Apple Watch running watchOS 5. To achieve this the API will monitor two very common symptoms of Parkinson’s including Tremors, indicated by shaking and quivering detected by the Apple Watch, and Dyskinesia, a side-effect of treatments for Parkinson’s that causes fidgeting and swaying motions in patients....