JCPenney is following the lead set by Kohl’s and testing Apple Pay support for its store credit cards, according to a new report. JCP shoppers in Texas are being added to a pilot program that allows them to set up their store cards on their mobile devices for use in stores. The program seems to be limited to only one store at the moment, with a full rollout planned for spring 2016....

A San Jose Mercury News report reveals that Apple is planning to expand its operations to a new Sunnyvale, CA campus. At 290,000 square feet, the Sunnyvale Crossing is a bit smaller than Apple’s previous 350,000 square foot Sunnyvale expansion (though it has one more building than the previous expansion). Apple is currently in the process of constructing its new “spaceship” headquarters, which is expected to be completed by 2016 and will help alleviate some of the need for these external campuses and allow the company to bring more of its corporate team together in one place....

Following today’s WWDC 2020 opening keynote, Apple has just released the first developer beta versions of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS 11 Big Sur, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14. These updates are available through the Apple Developer portal, for members of the Apple Developer Program. We don’t recommend that you install beta software on your main devices, as these versions often have bugs that may cause the system and installed apps to not work properly....

Apple has released iOS 12.5 for older iPhone models today, bringing support for COVID-19 exposure notifications. This is a major change as it expands contact tracing to iPhones that don’t support iOS 14, including devices like the massively popular iPhone 6 series. Here’s what Apple says about the release of iOS 12.5: Apple also adds that iOS 12.5 includes additional “security updates” and that the release is recommended for all users....

Apple has just released a new beta seed of the upcoming OS X 10.10.4 update. Users who are part of the company’s AppleSeed beta program and registered Mac developers can download the operating system from the Updates tab of the App Store or the Mac Developer Center. This is the fourth developer seed that has been released. It comes with a build number of 14E26a. The previous build was released on May 11th with a build number of 14E17e....

Well, what do you know, it looks like Apple’s ambitious messaging service unveiled Monday as part of the iOS 5 software is seen as a threat to Research In Motion’s popular BlackBerry Messenger instant messaging protocol for BlackBerry devices. According to TechRadar, investors punished the BlackBerry maker’s stock Tuesday as they digested Apple’s iMessage: Why are investors worried about iMessage affecting RIM’s chat service? Well, as author Kate Solomon pointed out, “until Monday, BlackBerry Messenger was the only IM service of its kind and had proven very popular with the teenage market”....

Earlier this week, we reported that the iPhone 5 (codenamed N42) will share the stage with a string of new iPod announcements on September 12th. At that time, we believed Apple would introduce two-to-three iPod refreshes next week, and now, we’ve received some more information on the matter. Based on the information we’ve received, Apple will be introducing a tweaked iPod shuffle, new iPod nano, and new iPod touches. iPod shuffle:...

There’s no single factor that explains Apple’s record earnings in the holiday quarter. The reality with a company of Apple’s size will always involve multiple elements, some of which will be rather mundane. Services revenue, for example. Sure, the story Apple would like to point to is the glitz of its latest high-profile launch, Apple TV+, but there’s almost nobody paying for it at this point. The largest single contributor of Services cash will likely be the billions that Google pays to be the default search engine on iOS devices....

Strategic Analytics released its latest report today that depicted global smartphone shipments growing to 162 million in Q3 2012, and Apple managed to grab second place with 16.6-percent global share. “(Apple) shipped 26.9 million smartphones worldwide for 17 percent market share, up from 14 percent recorded a year earlier,” said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston in a press release. “Apple had a solid quarter in the important United States market and this helped to strengthen its global performance....

Apple is lending its support to a British government initiative designed to help fill the skills gap of around 20,000 engineers. The Year of Engineering project is designed to introduce schoolchildren to some of the work done by engineers, and encourage more of them to plan it as a career. Apple is introducing students to a number of its teams, including one that normally keeps a low profile … The Independent reports that it has taken children to meet engineers from its chip design team at a base close to Imagination Tech in St Albans....

Apple has published a new support document detailing its plans to revamp the existing two-factor authentication system that it first launched last year. The document is careful to differentiate the two systems, referring to the existing one as “two-step verification” and the newer one as “two-factor authentication.” The latest update to the iOS 9 beta has introduced initial support for the new system, but most users, including those running the beta, will need to wait until later this year to gain access to it....

Alongside the release of iOS 14 beta 4, Apple today has also released watchOS 7 beta 4 to developers. watchOS 7 includes new features such as sleep tracking, new watch face features, fitness improvements, and more. Update: watchOS 7 beta 4 is now rolling out via an over-the-air update to developers. watchOS 7 beta 4 can be installed by developers through the companion Apple Watch app on iPhone or by heading to the Settings app on the Apple Watch itself....

iTunes Match launched yesterday, two weeks after the deadline Apple set in their Let’s Talk iPhone event in early October. Available via iTunes 10.5.1, you can purchase the Match service for an annual Subscription of $24.99. Once purchased, iTunes Match will take you through a three-step process. First, the service will review the music in your library and match your music with songs from the iTunes store and upload artwork and any remaining songs that couldn’t be found in the iTunes music store....

Apple has released the fourth macOS 10.12.3 developer beta for testing, the second in a week. New features haven’t been discovered in previous macOS 10.12.3 betas, suggesting the software update is focused on bug fixes and performance improvements. We’ll update with any notable changes below: macOS 10.12.3 first entered developer beta on December 14 and saw a second beta on December 20 before the holiday break. The third macOS 10.12.3 beta released earlier this week still contained bugs for MacBook Pro Touch Bar users so hopefully these have been sorted out in this release....

While these updates aren’t major, Apple has released new versions of several of its own iOS and Mac apps with various performance improvements. If you’ve experienced issues with any of these apps, you may find that your issue has been resolved with these new versions. Included in today’s round of maintenance updates is: Beats Music: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements iTunes Connect: iTunes Connect 3.0.2 includes minor fixes Pages for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Numbers for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Keynote for iOS: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements Pages for Mac: This update includes minor stability and performance improvements You can find the new version of each app on the App Store and Mac App Store....

Apple today has announced that its general counsel and SVP Bruce Sewell will be retiring at the end of the year and that Katherine Adams will be stepping into the role. In a press release, Apple shared the news that Sewell would be retiring after working at Apple in his current role since 2009. Tim Cook shared the following about Sewell’s exit. As for Sewell’s replacement, Katherine Adams comes to Apple after serving as general counsel and SVP at Honeywell since 2003....

Apple today has shared a new ad for the iPhone 7 Plus on its YouTube channel. The ad focuses on the device’s dual-camera design and the Portrait Mode feature that comes along with it.. The ad starts with one person having their photo taken with Portrait Mode, causing a domino effect of everyone realizing how professional the image looks and asking for their own picture to be taken. The portraits are shown full-screen in the ad once they are taken, though it’s unclear if there was any post-processing done to the images on Apple’s part....

Apple has now shared a lengthy The Morning Show trailer after the frustratingly short and choppy teaser video last week. The upcoming drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell will be streamed on Apple TV+, the company’s original content video service set to launch in the fall… Variety spotted it. The trailer makes it look very much in the vein of the award-winning Sorkin drama The Newsroom, with the same ‘show within a show’ format and similar off-screen dramas among the lead characters....

Earlier this week, we reported that Apple acquired sleep platform Beddit as sleep tracking remains an oft-requested feature for Apple Watch. Simultaneously, Apple has also lost one of its top sleep experts. According to a report from MobiHealthNews, Apple sleep scientist Roy J.E.M Raymann has departed the company… According to his LinkedIn profile, Raymann worked on Apple’s Night Shift display technology, which adjusts the color temperature of displays based on the time of day....

Apple has designed and manufactured custom face masks for employees, as first reported by Bloomberg. The company has created what it calls the ‘Apple Face Mask’, which uses three layers of material to filter particles.. Apple has also purchased special clear masks from a third-party distributor; the first completely clear surgical mask to be approved by the FDA. The clear mask will allow someone who is deaf or hard of hearing to be able to lipread what an employee is saying....