Apple shareholders are the latest to jump into the fray of a lawsuit against Apple over its anti-poaching agreements with a number of other tech companies. As we’ve previously reported, Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, and a laundry list of other companies allegedly created illegal pacts to avoid hiring each others’ engineers, allowing each employer to keep its wages low without running the risk of a competitor snatching up its competition with a better deal....

As it usually does, Apple showcased a handful of videos during its keynote address at WWDC earlier today and now the company has uploaded the videos to YouTube, including product videos for the HomePod, new iPad Pro, and new iMac Pro… Apple today made a handful of announcements, including a few new hardware products. The company also opened its keynote address with a humorous video imagining an app apocalypse. On YouTube, there are a pair of videos teasing the upcoming iMac Pro, which will be released in December starting at $4999....

Apple has been slammed by Chinese environmental campaigners, who have ranked it last among 29 tech firms in terms of “responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns” in China. The Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs (IPE) said Apple had refused to confirm if suspected polluters were among the suppliers it used, and is also accused of avoiding taking responsibility for environmental problems associated with its products. Apple counters that it has an extensive accreditation scheme for its suppliers and that it has a host of environmental information carried on its website....

Bloomberg‘s Adam Satariano has an interesting profile out this morning regarding the usage of wearable fitness devices in work environments. The report says that some companies are offering devices, such as the FitBit, in order to track the fitness of its employees. With that information, companies are able to slice costs off of insurance plans if employees hit certain fitness data thresholds: The companies, of course, have to partner up with insurance providers to make this happen....

More restaurants will soon be offering the option to pay table side with Apple Pay as EMV terminal maker E la Carte announces its newest product that introduces the functionality. You might have noticed the company’s pay-at-table Presto touchscreen terminals at some restaurants already— its two big customers are Outback Steakhouse and Applebee’s— but its new Presto Prime terminal announced today offers a number of enhancements with Apple Pay among them:...

As it does every year, Apple today has put together its end-of-the-year “Best of” sections on the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store. The sections are meant to highlight the best content of the year across various categories. For instance, Apple has named photo editing app “Prisma” as the iPhone App of the Year. Moving down the list, Apple has named “Clash Royale” iPhone Game of the Year, while “Severed” has been named iPad Game of the Year....

Apple’s latest Mac OS X 10.7.3 release is a pain for some users due to its bugs surrounding CUI issues and the crashing of applications. Apple has already been investigating the issues with test groups, and it has apparently decided that the best thing to do at this point is remove the standard 10.7.3 update from its servers and provide users with the ability to only download the combined installation. This combo installer is not riddled with the CUI and app crashing errors as explained in our report from yesterday....

Apple puts a big emphasis on the accessibility of its products, ranging from iPhone and Apple Watch to AirPods and more. In a new interview, Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s global head of accessibility, offers more details about Apple’s focus on accessibility. Speaking to the Evening Standard, Herrlinger explained that Apple’s central goal is to level the playing field and give everyone the ability to be productive members of society. When it comes to developing new accessibility features, Herrlinger said that one of key resources for Apple is emails from customers....

After launching a new Pro Apps Bundle earlier this month that includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro X, and Apple’s other pro apps at a discounted price for education customers, the offer is now available in additional countries outside of the US. Apple confirmed on Twitter that the Pro Apps Bundle is now available in 35 countries after initially launching in the US late last week. The bundle, which offers 5 apps in total for quite a significant discount, appears to be available in most markets where Apple runs an education discount program with some of the notable larger markets including Canada, Australia, China, Japan, the UK, and South Korea....

[UPDATE: Two more ads rolled out on Friday.] Earlier this month Apple kicked off a new whimsical iPad Pro advertising campaign based on real tweets complaining about PC problems that iPads can solve. Now Apple is out with the latest addition highlighting Apple Pencil. The new ad spot highlights how users can rely on the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to easily sign and send off PDF files with handwritten signatures to avoid printing completely....

Apple’s plan to ramp up AirPods production could be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Nikkei Asian Review reports today that Apple’s three primary AirPods manufacturers, Luxshare, Goertek, and Inventec, have all halted AirPods production. The coronavirus outbreak has forced suppliers in China to halt production, but even if work resumes on Monday as planned, sources told Nikkei that there will be a shortage of components. The three AirPods assemblers are scheduled to resume work on Monday, but “production utilization rates may reach just 50% at best in the first week given the current conditions,” the report says....

Apple has shared its latest Shot on iPhone feature, this time with a holiday twist. Titled Holiday cheer, winter landscapes and more, the new collection of images highlights impressive seasonal shots from iPhone XR and XS users from around the world. The images in this feature include sharp portraits of people and pets, nature, and more. Here are all the images shared in today’s Newsroom post: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrLK2Xflvw9/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet погодка подсобила конечно 😏 ....

Apple has released the Apple TV app on many different platforms, and is adding Sony and Vizio smart TVs later this summer, but the exact feature compatibility varies widely across each version of the TV app. This week, the Apple TV app for LG smart TVs has addressed one of its shortcomings. The TV app for LG smart TVs can now play back content with complete sound fidelity thanks to the addition of Dolby Atmos audio support....

Update: Here’s the full letter, which we received following the original report and confirmed is legit. It appears to be an email sent out to Apple’s education partners: In iPad one-to-one environments, schools are seeing more engaged students, better attendance, and higher test results. You can see this happening in districts and schools like Prince George’s County, and Essa Academy. We understand that some schools are not able to give every student an iPad and are sharing devices across classes and students....

Apple is looking to hire a new Head of Social Media and Content that will lead and expand on its current social media strategy. The job will be based out of Culver City, which could hint at Apple’s plans to align its overall social media strategy closer with its recently acquired Beats Electronics division which is located there. The West LA office is also in close proximity to its lead global Ad/Marketing agency Media Arts Lab....

After today’s jam-packed event, Apple has published the full keynote video from this year’s WWDC. Apple has also released the promo videos used during the keynote showing off iOS 10’s newest features and a video dedicated to developers. On the same page with the full keynote page, Apple lists the preview pages showcasing what we’ll be seeing in the official software releases later this fall. Today’s keynote saw Mac OS X being renamed to macOS and its next iteration being called Sierra....

While not as major, Apple is today releasing the second developer builds for iOS 11.4.1, tvOS 11.4.1 and macOS 10.13.6. Being a bug fix update to the earlier release, we aren’t expecting any new user facing features. If you’re looking for some major changes, take a look at iOS 12, tvOS 12, watchOS 12, and macOS 10.14 Mojave. For more information on those releases, check out our coverage: Apple announces tvOS 12 with immersive Dolby Atmos audio, iTunes content upgraded for free, more Apple unveils macOS 10....

Following the release of macOS Big Sur 11.2 RC 2 earlier this week, Apple is today releasing the third RC build of macOS Big Sur 11.2 to developers and public beta users. This update comes with fixes for M1 Macs, plus Bluetooth improvements, and more. As a reminder, Apple has moved away from the previously-used golden master naming for near-final beta releases. Instead, going forward, the company will use the term “Release Candidate,” or RC, to reference a near-final beta release....

As we reported earlier this month, Apple today has updated its online website with deeper integration with its appointment scheduling services for the Genius Bar and in-store workshops. This change comes not far after the Apple Online Store was heavily integrated throughout the entire online site, continuing Apple’s efforts to consolidate its physical retail stores, online store, and main website. Apple’s combined appointment scheduling service is being referred to as the “Concierge” and is deeply integrated into individual Apple Retail Store pages with today’s update, versus it previously being its own website....

As noted by MacRumors, Apple has removed its recent Genius-related TV ads from both its website and YouTube channel. The ads have been the source of controversy due to their departure from Apple’s past ad campaigns. The ads stopped airing on television earlier this month. Speaking of Geniuses, Gizmodo has some confessions from Geniuses at “the most corrupt Apple Stores in America” which reads more like a “Fear and Loathing at the Apple Store”....