After the WWDC21 keynote, Apple held the Platforms State of the Union where engineers previewed some of the new features, APIs, and SDKs available to developers with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and more. Early last week, we talked about the ability to seamlessly record game sessions with a controller in iOS 15. The new ReplayKit lets users video-capture a rolling buffer when playing a game. With this feature, it’s possible to immediately grab the last 15 seconds as a clip....

Apple has teamed up with some of the sports world’s most notable professional athletes in order to test the upcoming “iWatch’s” fitness capabilities in intense training environments, according to a source with knowledge of the testing. This source says that Apple has invited athletes from the MLB, NHL, and NBA to its Cupertino-based campus on multiple occasions over the past several weeks to brief the players on the upcoming wearable device and provide an opportunity for testing to be conducted in professional conditioning environments....

Following Greenlight’s win in court earlier today against Apple, both Greenlight and Apple have issued statements on the matter. CNBC (1, 2, 3) has tweeted bits of these statements: Apple is obviously disappointed in the ruling, but seems to accept that shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2. This proposal is for Apple shareholders to have to vote for Apple to issue preferred stock shares. -Apple says due to today’s court decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2....

Apple seems to have updated its sitemap a bit ahead of schedule, as spotted by AllThingsHow. The URLs include references to the upcoming Apple Watch models. The new Apple Series 4 models will come in new sizes: 40 mm and 44 mm. We have already got a glimpse of the new Watch thanks to our earlier leak. Apple will officially announce the new models later today. More below: Apple measures watches by the height of the case....

Update: The store is back and you can order your iPhone SE now. The Apple Store has gone offline, in preparation for iPhone SE preorders in about two hours time. The preorders for the phone open at 5 AM Pacific Time. The iPhone SE is Apple’s latest addition to the iPhone family. Apple is reinvigorating a classic design with upgraded internals, to offer a capable phone at a much cheaper price point than its flagships....

Similar to last year’s introduction of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, Apple will release three new ‘iPhone 11’ models this fall. The new iPhones will feature the Apple A13 chip, internally known by its platform codename Cebu, model T8030. According to people who’ve seen the devices, all three iPhone 11 models will still feature a Lightning port, contrary to some speculation that they would be moving to USB-C after the change on iPad Pro last year....

Dutch bank ING has confirmed that Apple Pay is coming to the Netherlands ‘soon.’ The announcement was made on the company’s website. The announcement continues … iCulture notes that there had been several earlier clues, but also some false alarms. ING introduces Apple Pay in the Netherlands We will keep you informed on this page and via social media. And when the time comes, you will receive a message in the Mobile Banking App....

Apple is continuing to promote its mobile payment service through special promotions with partners, and this week’s Apple Pay deal offers up free jukebox credit in bars and restaurants with TouchTunes. TouchTunes is an iPhone app that lets you pay to request music played in venues that use the entertainment system — it’s like a modern take on the classic jukebox experience. Customers paying with Apple Pay in the TouchTunes app will receive three free credits for song requests just for using Apple’s mobile payment service....

Apple has released the seventh beta for macOS 11.3. The software features new sorting options in Reminders, expanded support for Xbox/PlayStation controllers, autoplay in Apple Music, mentions of the first Apple Silicon Macs, and more. macOS 11.3 beta 7 is available now and the OTA should be showing up in System Preferences > Software Update if you’re enrolled in the developer or public beta program (keep checking back if you don’t see it yet)....

Tech companies in South Korea are dismissing Apple’s claim that it has created 325,000 Korean jobs, stating that the real number is just 500… Apple made the claim yesterday, admitting that it was talking about both direct and indirect jobs. Some 200,000 of the jobs are in independent app developers, while the other 125,000 are via various partners. This will include Samsung employees working on components for the iPhone and other Apple products....

Qualcomm has officially showcased benchmarks for its new flagship Snapdragon 888 processor, which is expected to power top-of-the-line Android devices in 2021. The benchmarks, while respectable, show that the Snapdragon 888 lags behind Apple’s A13 and A14 processors. As first detailed by AnandTech, the Snapdragon 888 chip earned a single-core score of 1,135 and a multi-core score of 3,794 in Geekbench 5 testing. The iPhone 12 Pro, which is powered by Apple’s A14 chip, scored 1,603 in single-core testing and 4,187 in multi-core testing....

Even with mostly positive conclusions about AirPods there are of course many reasons why buying them might not be right for you. We’ve reported on the need for improved controls and an offline mode for Siri, as well as the hassle of syncing and accessing content on your Apple Watch that AirPods highlight. We’ve discussed the potential poor fit depending on your ears and how to keep them from falling out, the Jet Black AirPods concept that hasn’t come to fruition, and long shipping times (although you can use this tool to get notified when a local store has them)....

This newly discovered FCC ID compares to the GSM iPhone 4’s “BCG-E2380A” identifier and the CDMA iPhone 4’s “BCG-E2422A” ID. MacRumors notes that Apple products typically don’t show up in the data FCC’s database until the same day the products are unveiled. This follows our report that we found references to the “N94″ in the iOS 5.0 SDK earlier this year, and leaked images of the mystery device’s back cover discovered by MacPost....

Apple today has shared a new advertisement for the iPhone X on YouTube. The ad focuses on the device’s Portrait Mode selfie feature and features narration from Muhammad Ali… The video specifically highlights Portrait Lighting, which applies lighting effects to your image. The ad is simple in nature, simply jumping between a slew of Portrait Lighting selfies. Backing up the video is a speech from Muhammad Ali, taken from his speech widely known as “I Am the Double Greatest....

Earlier today, the folks at iFixit put Apple’s latest $329 iPad through the teardown process, noting of its similarities to the iPad Air 1. The repair team also, however, expressed doubts as to Apple’s claim that the device’s screen was brighter than that of previous generations. Now, however, the iFixit team has put the new iPad through additional tests to further confirm or refute Apple’s brightness claim… iFixit stated this evening on Twitter that after more tests, it can say that the new $329 iPad features a display that is 44 percent brighter than the iPad Air 1....

An app platform where truly everyone was treated the same is simply unrealistic. Of course, Apple will always have to try and accommodate the needs of the most popular apps on its devices with technical support, elevated App Review processes and the like. Apple should be truthful about that reality. Having Tim Cook say that everyone is treated equally when it is clearly not the case is not a good look....

Following the announcement of the LTE Apple Watch earlier today, Apple is sharing more detailed information on battery life. While it still touts that the Apple Watch Series 3 gets 18 hours of battery life, there are some contingencies to that when LTE is in use… On its Battery Information webpage, Apple breaks down its testing process, as it has done for every iteration of the Apple Watch: This year, the addition of LTE brings new testing information to the table....

Apple today shared an updated official aerial shot of its under construction Campus 2 project through the City of Cupertino’s website. The new shot gives a different angle since the last time Apple checked in late last month and shows more of the earthwork and greenery of the surrounding campus. Apple’s General Project Schedule posted on the City of Cupertino’s webpage tracking the project remains the same, however, with street utilities and demolition work expected to finish this year, earthwork continuing into early 2015, and building construction into late 2016:...

Apple just updated its website following the iPad mini media event with some new videos for the device as well as specs and updated product pages for the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and other products. You can also now view a video of the keynote speech via a link from the Apple.com homepage. Apple also put its store back online with many of the new products it just unveiled, and it appears to have tweaked its online store with a slightly new design....

New disclosures filed this week reveal that Apple continues to spend less than other its competitors on Washington, D.C., lobbying. As detailed by MarketWatch, Apple’s spending hit $7.4 million on lobbying in 2019, which is a record for the company, but still considerably less than others. For comparison’s sake, Apple spent $6.7 million on lobbying in 2018 and $7.2 million in 2017. Prior to 2016, Apple had never spent more than $5 million in a calendar year of lobbying....