The Apple TV app was promised for Sony TVs early last year, but the rollout hasn’t exactly been swift. Aside from a false-start a year ago, it wasn’t until last month that the app came to just one series: the X900H line. That has now changed, with the app beginning its rollout to all 2020 Android TV models, most 2019 ones and a few high-end 2018 models … FlatPanelsHD has the details....

New Apple TV Channels With the addition of the AOL and ABC news channels, you’ll have even more video content for free, but it is ad-supported. Both channels will provide original programs, some live and on-demand news feeds, and live hourly updates. The ABC News channel will offer highlight of ACB New shows like Good Morning America, and Nightline too. But don’t confuse this with WatchABC which was added several months ago – for that you will need a cable subscription....

Apple has released its first update and second release to its Safari Technology Preview browser. The browser puts an emphasis on releasing stable, technology preview ready builds. With updates coming every two weeks, Apple is showing a commitment to bringing stability to developers on the cutting edge of web technologies. The browser can be installed alongside current builds of Safari, allowing developers to jump back and forth and compare differences as needed....

Apple is increasing the prices of its iPhone lineup in India due to a rise in customs duties this year. LiveMint reports that the affected iPhones include the iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus. Apple has explained to customers in India that the price increases are due to an increase in the basic customs duty rate; Following the price increases, here are the starting prices for each of the iPhone models in India:...

Two days after Apple seeded developers with the first beta of macOS Big Sur 11.3, the public beta has arrived. macOS 11.3 comes with a number of new changes including sorting in the Reminders app, new Safari customization like expanded extensions, support for HomePod Stereo as the default output, and more. macOS 11.2 brought some notable improvements to Bluetooth and more, that arrived to the public at the beginning of the week....

Apple just released iOS 5.1.1 (build number 9B206) for iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone. As you can see from the release notes above, the 54.4 MB update includes: improved reliability for the HDR option when accessing the camera app from the lock screen and a number of other fixes for bugs affecting AirPlay video playback; the ability to switch between 2G and 3G networks on third-gen iPad; and, an “Unable to purchase” alert....

Apple has released an official iOS update for all users with iOS 8.4.1 now available. The update follows the major iOS 8.4 release which included an all-new Music app with Apple Music, the new subscription music service, plus Beats 1, Apple’s Internet-based radio station with live DJs. Apple initially started testing the changes in iOS 8.4.1 with developers in mid-July. The maintenance update includes several issue fixes for Apple Music and Beats 1....

Re/code is reporting that Apple is currently seeing about a day’s worth of battery life. The company was notably sheepish to mention anything specific, but internally Re/code says Apple’s current marketing strategy is that users charge it over night to get full use during daylight hours. Interestingly, the report notes that Apple is unhappy with current performance and the situation is very much still in flux. Apparently, Apple is doing many different things to improve battery longevity, by the time the device launches in ‘early 2015’....

In July, a 10K filing showed that Apple acquired security company AuthenTec for $356 million. At the time, we noted Apple was presumably after the company’s various fingerprint-related technologies, while companies such as Samsung, Motorola, and others entered in deals with AuthenTec for its secure VPNs, encryption algorithms, and security-related products. Today, NFCWorld (via TechCrunch) reported Authentec has now sold its embedded security solutions division to NFC company Inside Secure. The sale would seem to indicate that Apple was indeed specifically after the company’s fingerprint and NFC solutions:...

Over this past holiday weekend, T-Mobile opened a new Signature Store in the heart of downtown San Francisco. While the shop’s bright magenta signage doesn’t betray the building’s past, Apple fans may remember the site at the corner of Stockton and Ellis streets as the former home of Apple’s flagship San Francisco store. After nearly 17 years operating their own retail stores, many of Apple’s older locations have been remodeled and expanded as the company outgrows smaller spaces and changing technology commands an ever-evolving store layout....

Best Quarterly Revenue and Earnings in Apple History iPod Sales Set New Record CUPERTINO, California—January 21, 2009—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 first quarter ended December 27, 2008. The Company posted record revenue of $10.17 billion and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter....

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhamo3pNlqY] Apple executives don’t often make appearances at tech industry events, but the company’s Global Human Resources Chief Denise Young Smith this week sat down for a discussion at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference. During the interview, Smith talked mostly about diversity at Apple and noted the company would release its second report disclosing data on the subject later this year. Smith’s role expanded to head of human resources for the whole company back in February last year after previously leading HR for Apple’s retail operations, and since has been the face of many of Apple’s diversity related initiatives and announcements....

A new page on Apple’s Japanese retail website and accompanying neon banner have announced the opening of a new Apple store in Tokyo’s retail district of Shinjuku. The brand new location will begin welcoming customers on April 7th at 10:00 a.m. Apple Shinjuku will be the company’s 8th retail location in Japan, but not the first in the Shinjuku district. In 2015, Apple opened a special Apple Watch shop at the Isetan Department Store across the street, a luxury shopping destination filled with other high-end watch brands....

Apple this evening has shared six new video advertisements for Apple Watch. All six of the ads have different focuses, but all of them center around what Apple Watch is useful for and in what instances it can be used effectively. The first ad is called “Sprinkle” and focuses on Apple Watch’s support for Apple Pay, which is the company’s contactless payment solution. The second ad is entitled “Date” and showcases how notifications are handled with Apple Watch, including the light vibration your wrist feels whenever you receive a message....

Apple TV+ today announced a multi-year deal with activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. The company said Malala will create original content for the service — under her production company Extracurricular — across all genres; documentary, drama, kids series and animation. This is the latest in a long line of overall deals Apple has signed with high-profile celebrities and creators. Yousafzai joins names such as Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and Alfonso Cuaron, as part of the Apple TV+ umbrella....

We’re all aware that the system can now generate Genius playlists based on a selected track – that feature’s been widely-reported. But it doesn’t stop there – system handling of music videos has at last been improved, in order that users can simply hit a button and the music videos will play one after another. That’s significant because until now you had to initiate playback on each music video manually....

Mac App Store users browsing the software shop tonight are starting to notice a few aesthetic changes, as seen in the screenshots above and below. Like the recent iTunes Store facelift, the Mac App Store redesign features lighter fonts, a sparse white background, and thin gray separators. The updated design is currently showing up every few minutes on the throughout the store, though it still shows the old design on many pages just as much as the new....

Apple has today been granted a patent for using hand gestures to control a Mac. The inventors named in the patent are from PrimeSense, the company that developed Microsoft’s Kinect sensor, and which Apple acquired back in 2013. PrimeSense was also involved in developing some of the technology behind Face ID, and the patent here appears to rely on a similar TrueDepth camera in a Mac … The patent specifically addresses the issue of how gesture mode might be activated, describing the use of a ‘focus’ gesture....

Apple has promoted recent hire John Giannandrea to its executive team with a new role: senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Giannandrea joined Apple earlier this year after leaving his role of search and AI chief at Google. Apple formally announced his promotion today: Apple CEO Tim Cook added this: Giannandrea is credited with pushing AI features through Google products including search, assistant, and Gmail prior to joining Apple in April....

Following reports that Apple would utilize its large retail staff to report issues with the new controversial Maps app, and a promise from CEO Tim Cook that Maps would get better the more it’s used, Apple is quickly responding to corrections submitted by users. We received several tips from iOS 6 users that have noticed Apple fixing problems promptly after reporting them. One user in New Zealand north of Auckland noticed Apple fixed a problem with a highway exit, as highlighted in the image above....