Over the last week or two Apple Stores started stocking these new app-enabled Christmas lights from Lumenplay both online and in retail stores. Similar to other app-controlled lighting systems, Lumenplay comes as string lights perfect for Christmas trees or outdoor decorations as we move into the holiday season, opposed to the traditional lightbulbs from Philips and others. The lights work over Bluetooth 4.0 and offer customizations for light colors, timers, effects, a music visualizer, and more via a companion app from the App Store....

France has announced that it will go ahead with a so-called ‘Apple tax’ this year, whether or not an agreement is reached on an international proposal to ensure tech giants receive the same tax treatment across 137 countries. Background Macron made the accusation last August, to defend the country’s decision to impose a tax on the four tech companies. Other European countries had been debating a similar approach, leading to calls for a single policy across the European Union....

If you weren’t in the festive holiday spirit already, Apple is launching its legal challenge this week to oppose a 13 billion euro charge levied on the company in August by the EU Commission for supposed illegal tax benefits from Ireland. Apple will argue that the EU ignored tax experts and disregarded corporate law. Bruce Sewell, Apple SVP, said that the company was targeted to ‘generate lots of headlines’ in a statement....

Apple and Best Buy have agreed to begin selling both the standard AppleCare protection plan for Macs and the more premium AppleCare+ for iPhones, iPads, and the Apple Watch through Best Buy stores, according to sources. The plans call for Best Buy to begin offering the AppleCare plans in its stores at checkout around the week of September 14th, just ahead of the iPhone 6S launch. This will mark a notable expansion of the Apple and Best Buy relationship, and Best Buy will become one of the only retailers, aside from select U....

At WWDC 2019 today, Apple offered our first look at its brand new Mac Pro. Read on as we roundup all of the details about Apple’s new professional-grade machine. The new Mac Pro is a return of the cheese grater design. Apple says the new Mac Pro was designed with easy access to its components. There are stainless steel handles for modularity, all internal components mount to the frame with 360-degree components....

Apple has today shared a trailer for a new special episode of Carpool Karaoke that will be released this week. The latest installment is in promotion of the upcoming comedy film Tag that stars Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, and Jeremy Renner. The minute long trailer for the special Carpool Karaoke episode reveals some of the tracks the trio will sing in the full episode to be released this Friday, June 15th....

Apple today has released the second developer beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.2, following yesterday’s release of the second beta of iOS 13.3, tvOS 13.3 and watchOS 6.1.1. Apple does not specify what’s new in the update, but it likely focuses on performance improvements, security updates, and bug fixes. Developers can update to the latest beta through System Preferences if they’re already enrolled in the Beta Program. A public beta release should be available later this week....

Apple first showed off the next-generation software for its smartwatch earlier this year, revealing that it would allow the wearable devices to run native applications directly on the watch, vastly improving performance and allowing apps to interact with the watch hardware in new ways. Following a significant delay due to a critical bug, watchOS 2 is out now and can be downloaded for all Apple Watches through the companion app on the iPhone....

Apple has confirmed its iPhone 12 event for next Tuesday, October 13, at 10 a.m. PT. The tagline for this year’s event is “Hi, Speed,” and paired with the accompanying graphic, it’s already sparking quite a bit of speculation about what Apple could have in store for the event. The October 13 event invite is a dark blue color with orange and blue exploding circular rings around the Apple logo. The most obvious speculation can be drawn simply from the “Hi, Speed” tagline....

AnandTech is out today with its full review of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. As usual, the site’s review includes a detailed look at the performance of the new devices. This year, Apple touted that the new A13 processor would be 20% faster than the A12, a claim now corroborated by AnandTech. During its testing, AnandTech found that the A13 processor is 20% faster than the A12 processor used in the iPhone XS and iPhone XR....

First off, like previous years, Apple will limit customers to purchasing only two new iPhones per day and you can only buy two per store reservation. On the big day, Apple will once again close normal Genius Bar appointment services to dedicate as many people as possible, about 50% of specialists and Geniuses, to iPhone sales. Other initiatives like Personal Training will also be shut down for the launch period....

Just after it was revealed that Frank Ocean’s highly-anticapted album “Boys Don’t Cry” would be coming exclusively to Apple Music, another high-ticket exclusive has been revealed. Britney Spears today announced that her new album, her first in three years, will be coming exclusively to Apple Music on August 26th. The album, titled “Glory,” has been expected for an extended period of time, but only now have we gotten a release date....

Apple has seeded a new build (13D61) of the upcoming OS X 10.9.3 update to developers. The developer update comes just hours after Apple seeded a slightly newer build to its AppleCare team. 10.9.3 is expected to ship in the near future and features improved support for 4k monitors on newer MacBook pro models. The update also re-introduces the ability to sync contacts and calendar data to an iOS device from iTunes over a USB connection....

Last month, Apple unveiled a new commercial for the iPhone and always-on Siri, and now the company has shared a new video showcasing the behind-the-scenes process of making the video. “Go behind the scenes of the commercial, with Cookie Monster and everyone’s favorite personal assistant, Siri,” Apple teases. The original ad, released last month, showcased the Cookie Monster using an iPhone 6s and hands-free Siri to make cookies. The Cookie Monster used hands-free Siri to control the timer while baking the cookies....

Pro Applications Update 2009-01 is for users of Apple’s professional video- and audio-production suite, Final Cut Studio. Information on the update is available below. Server Diagnostics 3X106 is a free package of tools that test your server for hardware issues. “Apple Server Diagnostics (AXD) runs a customizable set of tests to help you diagnose issues with server components,” Apple states. Components include the Boot ROM, Ethernet controller, fan, hard drive, memory, power supply, processor, sensor, USB ports, and the video controller....

Apple has announced that its retail store on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade will close temporarily beginning September 16th. The store’s closure is set to begin just four days after Apple’s September 12th special event at Steve Jobs theater, where updated iPhone and Apple Watch models are expected to be announced. Historically, new iPhones and Apple Watches become available for purchase within a few weeks of announcement, so customers who frequent the Santa Monica store may want to plan ahead for fall shopping....

If you love using YouTube on your iDevice, there’s no need to panic, though. You’ll still be able to use the video-sharing service on your device via the Safari browser. Google is also working on an app that will be available in the AppStore (for free, most certainly) likely being available shortly after the release of iOS6 if not earlier. According to Apple as quoted by The Telegraph, its license for the Google App has expired, and more likely than not, is that Apple and Google are direct competitors now with Google’s Mobile Android Phones, it would be silly for Apple to allow Google flagship apps on its devices further building on Google’s brand and products....

As it prepares its full entry into streaming TV for later this year, Apple has quietly launched a dedicated YouTube channel for Apple TV. On the channel, Apple showcases trailers, clips, and more for popular shows and movies. The new channel was first spotted by MacStories. Over the last several weeks, Apple has seemingly been adding all sorts of content to the channel. The company has shared videos for TV shows and movies like Game of Thrones, On the Basis of Sex, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and more....

Apple just released Safari 5.1.4 through Software Update with a long list of security and stability fixes and improvements. You can download Safari 5.1.4 here or through Software Update now. The update’s release notes and a full list of fixes for Lion and Snow Leopard are below. Safari 5.1.4 contains improvements to performance, stability, compatibility, and security, including changes such as: For Lion: Improve JavaScript performance Improve responsiveness when typing into the search field after changing network configurations or with an intermittent network connection Address an issue that could cause webpages to flash white when switching between Safari windows Address issues that prevented printing U....

Apple has released the first iOS 11.2 beta for iPhone and iPad. We’re updating to see what changes are included in the latest developer software beta. We’re still awaiting iOS 11.1 which is also in beta to ship to all customers. Changes we’re expecting include Apple Pay Cash, Messages in iCloud, and AirPlay 2 support. Apple Pay Cash has been available for employees to test, but beta versions including iOS 11....