Three days after the last iOS 12 beta for developers, Apple has released an updated build. iOS 12 developer beta 10 is now available. iOS 12 public beta 8 (same build) is also available. iOS 12 includes several significant changes for iPhone and iPad including performance improvements, especially on older devices; ARKit 2.0 with shared experiences; refined search and sharing in Photos; more Siri access in third-party apps and Siri Shortcuts based on Workflow; updates to Stocks, Voice Memos, Apple Books, and Apple News; use management features including updates to Do Not Disturb, more manageable notifications, and Screen Time parental controls; Memoji in Messages; FaceTime between up to 32 users; and much more....

In order to further personalize the Apple Watch sales experience, Apple is positioning its retail employees to learn more about its customers in order to help them make an even better Apple Watch purchasing decision. Apple today sent a memo to retail employees that summarizes feedback from 16 retail store employees who helped show off the Watch during Paris Fashion Week at Parisian boutique Colette in September 2014. The most notable piece of advice:...

In a video sent directly to Apple Store employees, newly appointed Senior Vice President of Apple Retail John Browett has promised a three month advance on employee salary raises. Apple Store employees were previously scheduled to see their raises on September 30th of this year, but now these raises will come on June 30th. These raises come in addition to the Mac and iPad discounts promised by Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this year....

Two separate market share reports show that Apple increased its share of the global smartphone market year-on-year, with Samsung’s share declining. Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple grew its market share from 12.2% in Q3 2014 to 13.6% in Q3 2015, while Counterpoint has the numbers at 11.9% to 13.1% … Both agree that Samsung’s share fell in the same period, from 24.5% to 23.7% according to Strategy Analytics, while Counterpoint reports 23....

Apple’s decision to end the Xserve has attracted criticism from some of the company’s existing enterprise users — critics who’ve managed to raise their voices on CNN. What is interesting is that despite their general displeasure at being given just four months to plan the change away from Xserve, “many Xserve customers say they’re sticking with the Mac plaform.” Indeed, a survey of 1,200 Xserve customers conducted by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance found that 70% of Xserve customers say Apple’s announcement will have no impact on their organization’s decision to buy new Macs....

Due to atypical inventory shortages of white 16GB iPhone 4 replacement units, 16GB white iPhone 4 customers seeking hardware replacements at Apple Store Genius Bars may get a free upgrade to the newer iPhone 4S. According to multiple sources, Apple has notified Apple Store Genius Bars that inventory of white iPhone 4 16GB replacements units is heavily constrained, and until further notice, stores lacking white iPhone 4 16GB replacements units should upgrade customers seeking a replacement phone to an iPhone 4S....

The saga of the LG UltraFine display mystery continues. After the disappearance of the LG 4K UltraFine display from the Apple Store, and the continued lack of availability for the 5K UltraFine, the plot thickens with the discovery from TidBITS that you can now buy a new 23.7-inch LG display from Apple that is otherwise unlisted. The seemingly-unannounced display is priced at $699. This is the same price as the ‘old’ 21-inch 4K LG UltraFine, and a few hundred dollars below the sale price of the 5K sibling....

Key Apple supply chain partner Foxconn has now broken ground on its first plant in the United States. The Wisconsin factory project is estimated to cost $10 billion and create thousands of jobs. President Donald Trump attended the construction launch, who has said he hopes this project will help kickstart a wave of US manufacturing, with less reliance on Asia. When completed, the factory will manufacture LCD screen panels. Foxconn is hoping to use the plant to make ultra-high-definition televisions to sell directly into the US market....

Apple today introduced the new Apple Watch SE. The new Apple Watch SE has the same design as the Apple Watch Series 4 and later, but it comes with the S5 chip, built-in compass, and watchOS 7 preinstalled. The new Apple Watch SE will be available in 40mm and 44mm with GPS and Cellular versions. It comes with new bands and watch faces, as well as Apple Watch Series 6....

Mockup: New, thinner MacBook Pro on the left. Current model on the right. Apple is putting the finishing touches on an entirely new 15-inch MacBook Pro that is the outcome of years of research and development in ultra-thin mobile computing and super-high-resolution displays. According to trusted sources in Apple’s supply chain, who have handled prototype components and casings for the new Apple notebook, the computer is currently undergoing test production rounds....

Apple has now published the full 2-hour Gather Round keynote on YouTube. The event goes over the new Apple Watch Series 4, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, and iPhone XR. This is Apple’s first lineup that takes on the all-screen design for the iPhone, ditching the Home button (and Touch ID) in favor of gestures and Face ID. For the Apple Watch, this is a pretty substantial upgrade as we see it gain electrodiogram functionality, a larger display, brining them now to 40 and 44mm, and an all new gold stainless steel finish....

Samsung will next week demo a new LCD display technology that will put future tablets in the Retina Display realm. Developed by Samsung’s subsidiary Nouvoyance, the new WQXGA 10.1-inch display stuns with a whopping 2560-by-1600 pixel resolution. Take a deep breath – that’s more pixels than on your 27-inch iMac and double the pixel count on full HD displays. It uses PenTile RGBW technology that consumes 40 percent less power, a statement claims....

Apple has addressed approximately 225 issues in the update, which reportedly weighs in at roughly 666 MB. The company is asking developers to focus their efforts on around 90 system components. Somewhere on the Internet we picked up the seed note which warns of four unresolved known issues: – Applications may not be updated if they had been moved from the default location.– Displays Preferences may show duplicate profile entries....

Apple laid the first stages of JointVenture out to Apple Retail staff today and as West Coast employees exit the meetings we are getting our first information on the new small business program. JointVenture will be launched on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. First the price: Apple will charge $499 for up to 5 users and $99 for each additional user/year. They really want to hit the under 10-person organizations hard....

The eye-popping chart above (via Fortune) shows Apple is on course to take control of global market share for portable computers (laptops, notebooks, and tablets) in the second quarter of 2011 – but that’s only as some analysts switch to accounting iPads as computers. Deutshe Bank’s Chris Whitmore, author of the chart, describes his findings: Many will be quick to point out the spike is due to taking iPad sales into consideration, a device that many analysts debate shouldn’t be considered as a competitor to notebooks and other portable PCs....

Apple has once again retained its top spot in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index in the personal computers category – though three points down on its 2013 score. Apple has now held top billing for eleven straight years. The ASCI continues to lump computers and tablets into the same category, so the scores reflect satisfaction with both Macs and iPads. Scores reflect customer expectations pre-sale, perceived quality, perceived value, customer complaint incidents and customer loyalty … While Apple’s score has fallen, the biggest threat to its ranking comes not from the big name Windows PC manufacturers like Dell, Toshiba and HP – all of whom have seen their scores drop even further – but from the ‘Other’ category....

Apple has been pretty coy about the number of Apple TV+ subscribers, but an analytics company cited by the Wall Street Journal puts the number for the last quarter of 2019 at 33.6 million. That’s more than Hulu and, for the moment, more than Disney+… Apple hasn’t given much away, saying only that the company was ‘thrilled’ with takeup. The Hollywood Reporter and Variety said there were “millions” of viewers in the first three days, but that’s as much as we’ve heard so far....

Microsoft today announced that the Apple TV app on Xbox is receiving Dolby Vision support starting this week. With this update, Xbox One X and Xbox One S users can enjoy Apple Originals shows on the Apple TV app such as Ted Lasso, Mythic Quest, For All Mankind, See, and The Mosquito Coast in Dolby Vision. This adjusts the brightness, color, and sharpness of each frame of the video to match the display color volume....

Alongside the introduction of the current Apple TV design in fall 2010, Apple launched AirPlay. In short, AirPlay allows a user to watch a movie, listen to a song, or view a photo on an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (or Mac in some cases) and stream that content to the Apple TV. AirPlay typically works well and we have even considered it a major innovation in the living room appliances space....

Apple has released the first iOS 11 public beta for iPhone and iPad. This allows users who are not registered developers to test pre-release versions of iOS with new features for free. Prior to the public beta availability, iOS 11 has only been available to test with a $99/year developer account. In terms of stability, the same warnings apply to any pre-release software: apps may crash, battery life won’t be optimal, and expect performance to be sluggish....