A new report today from CNBC takes a thorough look at the app review process at Apple, it’s growing workload and team, the executive review board led by Phil Schiller that calls the big shots, the most common reasons for apps being rejected, and much more. Read on for an in-depth look at the app review process at Apple. Last month we got a behind the scenes look at the app review process from the man who was the App Store approval chief up until 2016 in an interview with Bloomberg....

Tim Cook and Apple have had a very public relationship with President Trump during his term thus far. Cook has had several meetings with Trump and various members of his administration, and new numbers revealed late last night show that Apple has spent a record amount of money lobbying Trump… As reported by Recode, Apple spent $2.2 million between April 1st and June 30th lobbying Trump. That number is nearly double the amount the company spent lobbying President Obama during the same period last year, during which it spent $1....

Apple’s Director of iBooks Store Keith Moerer appeared at the Digital Book World Conference today to talk iBooks, and during the interview offered some updates on stats and insights into how Apple’s book business is going. Of note, Moerer said Apple has added about 1 million new iBooks users a week, which he said is in part thanks to Apple’s decision to preinstall iBooks on devices with its iOS 8 release in September....

Apple today shared a new iPhone 7 ad called “Dive” through its official YouTube channel, this time around focusing on the device’s new louder stereo speakers and waterproof features. The ad shows off the improved water-resistance features of the iPhone 7 with a scene in which an iPhone is left to get splashed with water poolside. The new iPhone 7 is IP67 rated making it splash-, water- and dust-resistant. Apple uses the opportunity to also highlight the much improved stereo speakers on the new iPhones....

Apple has shared some photos of the first customers to get their hands on the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 … The photos were are from three countries in time zones where stores open ahead of Europe and the US: Australia, Japan and Singapore. We saw customers waiting in line at Apple stores around the world (some of them getting free gifts), though fewer of them than last year, as you’d expect in an S-model year....

An Apple Silicon Mac Pro concept provides an unusual take on one of the most controversial aspects of the two most recent designs – should expansion units sit inside or outside the machine? The trashcan design dismayed many when it offered little scope for internal expansion, and required most accessories to sit outside the casing. Apple fixed that in the current model, but in a possible nod to Steve Jobs’ idea that the inside of a machine should look neat even if no one would ever see it, Apple opted for some of the expansion units – like GPUs – to get their own sleek-looking enclosures....

It’s not just Apple Stores closed to limit the spread of the coronavirus: more than 30 other major retail chains have made the same decision … Apple originally said it would be closing all stores outside of Greater China until March 27, but readers noticed today that the closure has now been made indefinite. Business Insider has a roundup of other major chains which have also decided to close: Abercrombie & Fitch Allbirds Anthropologie Artizia Away Calvin Klein Everlane Free People Fossil Gilly Hicks Glossier Hollister IZOD J....

Beginning tomorrow, Apple stores across Europe will offer an increased number of Today at Apple sessions focused on programming with Swift. The initiative is in celebration of EU Code Week, an annual program celebrating the importance of learning how to code. Apple stores across the world already offer Today at Apple content based around Swift and Swift Playgrounds. Perhaps most notable is a Kids Hour session where participants learn how to guide a Sphero Robot through a maze....

After releasing iOS 6.1 with support for more LTE carriers, Siri movie-ticket purchasing, and more, Apple also released an update to Apple TV that brings Bluetooth keyboard support (as previously discovered), Up Next, and an enhanced iTunes in the Cloud service. As highlighted in the image above, Apple added the Up Next feature it first introduced in iTunes 11, along with the previously discovered Bluetooth keyboard support and the ability to browse and play purchased iTunes music from iCloud....

Just in case there hadn’t already been enough evidence of Apple Pay support coming to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the iOS 8.1 update, the second beta of the operating system, which was released earlier today, contains the setup screen for the system. The change isn’t visible to most users right now, but Hamad Sood been able to make it appear: [tweet https://twitter.com/hamzasood/status/519675092867899392 align=’center’] Sood has also found the Apple Pay setup screens that will show during the initial setup of a new device running iOS 8....

A day after releasing macOS 10.13.2 beta 4, Apple has released the fourth beta version of iOS 11.2 beta for developers. tvOS 11.2 beta and watchOS 4.2 beta are also available for testing. iOS 11.2 will likely include AirPlay 2 and Apple Pay Cash support in addition to SiriKit for HomePod which was detailed at the end of October. iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X marketing still wallpapers now available on older iPhones (download here) Feedback app included during beta No sign of Messages in iCloud yet, some level of AirPlay 2 present Calculator bug caused by slow animation fixed Some emoji are tweaked Additional Live wallpapers for iPhone X (see here) Apple Pay Cash beta for testing New introductory pricing option for subscription apps New Control Center explainer for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth behaviors New Control Center indicator on iPhone X (previously spotted from Apple but not in prior iOS versions) tvOS 11....

Apple is reportedly gearing up to release its own augmented reality ‘headset’ as early as 2020, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The device would feature an independent screen and integrated chipsets. Bloomberg says the device could ship by 2020, but the plan is ‘very aggressive’ and timelines can always slip back. Apple is engineering its own system-on-a-package for the headset, similar to the Apple Watch S1 chip. The product would run a new ‘rOS’ operating system, based off of an iOS core....

Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has begun a search to find senior-level executives for their cloud services. According to the report, Apple already has one Internet entrepreneur in their sights, but it hasn’t been disclosed who. To assist with their search, Apple is also reportedly looking into hiring out a recruiting firm to find solid talent. The hopes in finding new leadership for their cloud products is undoubtedly to strengthen Apple’s already existent iCloud, but to also build new web-based applications....

During this week’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook answered a question on virtual reality by saying “I don’t think VR is a niche…It’s really cool and has some interesting applications.” It looks like Cook’s statements have some background to them. According to a new Financial Times report, Apple had reportedly been prototyping VR headsets in the past under Steve Jobs in the mid-2000s, but the project was eventually abandoned once the technology was found to still be immature....

The Moscow News reports that Apple plans to begin direct sales of its own products in Russia in 2013. Apparently, Apple’s own in-house stores will come to Russia in the future, but that time frame appears unclear. Apple executives reportedly looked for Apple retail real estate in Russia last year, but came up empty handed. IFOAppleStore reported last year that Apple retail executives (including former retail SVP Ron Johnson) and Bob Bridger were scouting Russian land....

A report in November claimed that Apple was considering the possibility of entering the digital glasses market, as Snapchat recently did. Now, Robert Scoble, a popular blogger, claims that Apple is working with German optics company Carl Zeiss on its digital glasses. Scoble cites an unnamed Zeiss employee as his source, noting that the two companies are working on a “light pair of augmented reality/mixed reality glasses.” The timeline for release is still foggy....

Apple just announced its second quarter results for 2014 with revenue for the quarter coming in at $45.6 billion. That’s compared to the guidance it previously provided of $42 – $44 billion and estimates by analysts averaging approximately $43.5B. Apple’s $45.6 billion in revenue reported today is also up from the $43.6 billion in revenue in the year ago quarter. Break down of device sales for Q2 2014 include 43.7m million iPhones, 16....

From Chinese search engine Baidu: Microsoft recently boasted that it passed Apple in China with Windows Phone 7, which is likely on top of Nokia’s past success in the Mainland and that the iPhone is not offered by the largest Chinese carrier, China Telecom. Although Nokia still remains one of the biggest mobile brands by market share, it is faces a dire future if it does not innovate in an industry that is gradually gravitating towards smart phones....

As is typical with an Apple keynote day, the company has halted business from the Apple Online Store with its usual “Please check back soon” message. Apple takes down its website to build hype for imminent product launches. At 10 AM PST, Apple will kickoff its fall media event where it is expected to unveil its new iPhone 7 and a second-generation Apple Watch. The site says: ‘We’ve got something special in store for you....

One of the Apple TV+ standouts has been Ted Lasso and fans will get to dive deeper into the series as the creators and cast of the show will be at PaleyFest this spring. The Ted Lasso team will be part of a panel discussion for the long-running LA event on April 1. Reported by Variety, Ted Lasso was announced today as alongside five other shows as participating in the 2021 PaleyFest in LA....