At first, it appeared the iOS 14.5 public beta arrived without the watchOS 7.4 this afternoon. However, the latest watchOS beta is now available, it’s just slightly hidden as it only shows up after first upgrading to iOS 14.5. watchOS 7.4 brings the handy Apple Watch Unlock feature for iPhone when wearing a mask. watchOS 7.4 public beta 1 arrives after the developer beta was seeded this past Monday. Funny enough, while we didn’t see it as available alongside iOS 14....

The iPhone XR isn’t even out yet, but supply chain sources are claiming that Apple is ramping up manufacturing orders for the device in anticipation of higher sales than it initially forecast … Digitimes says that shipments of the cheaper of the three new iPhone models is expected to ramp up to 20M units in October, and that Apple is adjusting its production mix into December. As the iPhone XR isn’t yet available for pre-order, Apple won’t have any model-specific data – but will know how iPhone XS and XS Max pre-orders are going, and will be able to extrapolate from that likely demand for the XR....

Like we do with every major Apple event, we’ve condensed the keynote to an easily digestible format that allows you to view all of the important announcements in quick fashion. Watch the less-than-12-minute condensed version of the iPhone X keynote inside. The big news during today’s event was the launch of the long-rumored bezel-free iPhone X. The iPhone X looks very much like the leaks we’ve seen up until this point, but it’s still quite something to see the real, working device in action....

Update: Some customers report being able to purchase the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar at some locations as of Wedneday, November 15th. Other stores will officially start selling stock of the new device tomorrow, as detailed in our original story below. The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar will be available at Apple retail stores later this week alongside demo units for customers to try, according to sources familiar with Apple’s plans....

These reports confirm our earlier “Apple plots iPhone diversity roadmap” story, which claimed Apple plans to diversify its iPhone product range in order to widen its reach in the mobile phone market. The latest leak comes from the Taiwan Economic News, which claims three models of the iPhone may appear. The first will be a smaller, lighter handset with a plastic rather than aluminium magnesium case. This device will weigh just 110-120g, less than the 135g weight of the current model....

Apple has just begun seeding OS X Lion 10.7.2 Beta 3 to developers this afternoon. Along with 10.7.2B3 (11C43), Apple has released iCloud Beta 9 and iPhoto Beta 3, all of which are available on Apple’s Developer site. Focus areas include: AirPort, AppKit, GraphicsDrivers, iCal, iChat, Mac App Store, Mail, Spotlight and Time Machine. There are no known issues. Seed note follows: OS X Lion 10.7.2 build 11C43 Seed Note...

We’ve gotten word that Apple has slightly tweaked its Thunderbolt Display SKU, and these units have begun shipping to Apple Stores and Apple Official Resellers worldwide. The change was first noticed by our sources when Apple retired the Thunderbolt Display‘s MC914LL/A part code and replaced it with MC914LL/B just a couple of days ago. It was not immediately clear what the very minor part number change entails, but we speculate that it could point to the inclusion of a MagSafe to MagSafe 2 adapter in Thunderbolt Display shipments:...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBDFILJ8tkM&feature=youtu.be] UPDATE: On Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and National Iranian American Council called upon Apple to change its policy and take appropriate steps to guarantee further enforcement of the policy will not impede on Iranian’s rights in the United States. An Apple Store in Georgia apparently refused to sell iOS devices to an Alpharetta woman and her uncle, because they spoke Farsi to each other. The press releases:...

Apple has added another market for its Apple Store iPhone “reuse and recycle” trade-in program: Italy. This is indicated by a new panel inside of the Italy Apple Store listings within the official Apple Store app. The app indicates that Apple is offering trade-ins of older iPhones models for up to €220. This converts to roughly 300 U.S. dollars. According to a source, Apple is also planning to rollout the same program in Australia as soon as this upcoming week....

Announced at the 2019 Blue Button Developers Conference today, Apple will begin testing an API from CARIN that will allow it to integrate patient health claim data into software like its Health app. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched Blue Button 2.0 last year to offer “44 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries digital access to their historical claims information through an application of their choice.” Now the initiative is expanding through a private company, CARIN, that will offer APIs to health insurers and companies like Apple to offer digital claim data to patients (via Christina Farr)....

The second wave of the month for new banks and credit unions supporting Apple Pay is happening now adding to the more than 60 institutions already supporting Apple’s mobile payment service. The mid-February wave includes 19 additional banks and credit unions bringing the total to more than 80 institutions. Here are the new banks listed as supporting Apple Pay as of today: Affinity Federal Credit Union Cabela’s CLUB Central Bank Credit Union of Southern California Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach First National Bank of Omaha First Sentry Bank FirstBank Grow Financial Federal Credit Union Ideal Credit Union Morgan Stanley Redwood Credit Union State Department Federal Credit Union Teachers Credit Union Technology Credit Union The Northern Trust Company TIB-The Independent BankersBank United Federal Credit Union Utah First Federal Credit Union...

Hong Kong residents have waited a long time for Apple Pay Octopus support to go live, but it’s finally happened. The rollout began yesterday, and officially launches today … The company made the announcement on its website. Octopus supports Express Transit, so you don’t need to unlock your iPhone or double-press the side button on an Apple Watch: just hold your device close to the reader. Octopus on iPhone or Apple Watch simplifies the way you ride transit and shop....

Apple’s interest in exclusive video programming is stretching beyond its original content TV show efforts. Digiday reports that Apple paid Buzzfeed to show the first three episodes of its ‘Future History’ video series on Apple News, a week ahead of Buzzfeed’s other distribution platforms. Apple gave Buzzfeed a cut of the ads shown on the videos, in addition to upfront payment. Apple has highlighted video stories more prominently in Apple News since iOS 11....

After more than three months in beta, iOS 8 brings actionable notifications, improved group chat support, new picture and voice messaging features in Messages, Continuity and Handoff, third-party Today widgets in Notification Center, sharing extensions and much more. Apple has released iOS 8 for almost all of its devices that run iOS 7. The full list of supported devices is as follows: iPhone 4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad with Retina Display, iPad mini, iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina Display iPod touch, fifth-generation iOS 8 is now available as an over-the-air update or through iTunes....

Apple has released Xcode 7.3 for developers, following a lengthy beta period, with several new features, enhancements and bug fixes. First and foremost, Xcode 7.3 includes the latest SDKs for iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, OS X 10.11.4. It also bundles the latest release of Swift version 2.2. Xcode 7.3 include several new features, including more intelligent code completion so developers can more quickly write their programs. It also lets developers more easily handle developing for Apple Watch, with quick switching between paired Watches....

Apple is preparing its supply chain for the onslaught of next-generation iPhone sales in the fall, expected to be a bumper year with much anticipation for the radical ‘iPhone 8’ redesign. According to ETNews, via Digitimes, Apple has agreed a two year contract with Samsung Display to supply curved iPhone OLED panels. Samsung is apparently upping capacity to as much as 92 million units in 2017, as demand from Apple rises....

Apple’s rollout of iPhone 7 continues early next month as the company today confirms a November 4 launch date for four additional countries. iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will arrive in Armenia, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and Central African Republic on November 4. Apple still has over 30 countries that it has yet to confirm a launch date for, including much of Latin America and the Caribbean. It has, however, already launched the device or confirmed launch dates for over 75+ countries....

I love iCloud Drive. I love how integrated it is into macOS and iOS, and I long ago moved most of my documents away from Dropbox (except for Shared Folders). I am always looking for new ways to back up my photos, though. Since I keep an active Microsoft Office subscription, I thought I would use the 1TB of storage as another place to upload my photos. When I was using the OneDrive app, I noticed it had a Personal Vault section that I thought would be a great addition to iCloud Drive for storing sensitive files....

Employees throughout Apple were surprised this week with hoodies and some departments were even given personalized notes from higher-level staff. The hoodies are a nice holiday gesture from Apple to employees as a “thank you” for a great year of work. This thank you is, of course, in addition to the extra vacation time during the Thanksgiving holiday. Update: It looks like one of the hoodies has made its way onto eBay....

Apple today is further expanding its legal battle against chipmaker Qualcomm. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has filed petitions with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to challenge four of Qualcomm’s patents… For Apple, the end goal of this move is to have the patent office cancel the four Qualcomm patents in question. All four are involved in the patent infringement lawsuit Qualcomm levied against Apple last year....