Ahead of the iPad mini landing this Friday in the hands of those who pre-ordered, the Smart Cover for the iPad mini has been delivered to a number of customers already. Apple made the covers available to customers last Friday for $39—available in red, dark gray, light gray, pink, green, and blue. The Smart Cover attaches magnetically to the side of the iPad and folds over to cover the front. It can be folded three times for different viewing angles....

In the wake of the new 13-inch and 15-inch Touch Bar models today, Apple has stopped selling the much-beloved 2015 MacBook Pro. For people who despised butterfly keys, or mourned the lack of legacy ports on the 2016 and later MacBook Pro, until today Apple Store stocked a 15-inch 2015 model as an alternative. It may not have been as fast or as svelte as the latest models, but for people who had become disenchanted with Apple’s latest direction, it was their favorite computer....

Today, Apple introduced two new MacBook Air Laptops, as listed below. These new models feature a slimmer, unibody frame (0.68″ at its thickest point), LED-backlit displays, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 320m graphics, 802.11n wireless, full-size keyboard, Multi-Touch trackpad, FaceTime camera, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and up to 7 hours of battery life. The new models, which are available today: 2.3-lb. MacBook Air 11.6″ Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz 64GB SSD for $999 2....

Apple will begin allowing prospective customers to test out in-ear headphones prior to purchase within Apple Stores, according to several employees. Due to sanitation concerns, Apple has been reluctant to allowing customers to try out in-ear headphones, but a new solution called Demo Kits will solve this problem. Beginning this week, when a customer is interested in purchasing in-ear headphones, an Apple Store employee will have the ability to create a custom Demo Kit that holds up to six different models of in-ear headphones....

[tweet https://twitter.com/CharlieRoseShow/status/403659673699905536] The Charlie Rose Show has tweeted that Jony Ive and Marc Newson are interviewed on the show, which aired last night in some markets and is shown tonight in others. [ooyala code=”NnaG1raDqtQJgUvvrjx6fWautfqKsifC” player_id=”null”] The two previously appeared in a five-minute video talking about the items they designed for tomorrow’s charity RED auction, which include special editions of the Mac Pro and Leica M camera, and an aluminum desk … Product RED was an initiative created by U2 musician Bono as a way or raising both funds and awareness for fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa through The Gobal Fund....

Apple has decided to disable one of the features of the Health application, specifically the blood glucose tracking capability, until it can issue a fix for issues reported by users in the UK and Australia, CNET reported tonight. The feature will apparently be removed through an incoming software update (perhaps iOS 8.1, or possibly 8.0.3) while the company prepares a patch to remedy the problem. Apple has also provided a longer explanation on its support website:...

Apple is investigating ways to enhance its Siri voice assistant for users with atypical speech patterns, the company confirms to the Wall Street Journal. According to the report, Apple is leveraging its podcast library for speech samples that could train Siri to adapt to users who speak with a stutter. Here’s the news from the Wall Street Journal report: For now, Apple relies on its Hold to Talk feature as a method for interacting with Siri without the voice assistant cutting off users with slower speech patterns than its tuned for, but physically interacting with a device isn’t always convenient....

The latest Apple TV+ original series Little America has been one of the best-received shows on the platform so far, holding steady at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. In a new interview this week, the team behind the anthology series has offered new details on why they picked Apple for the show, and what’s coming next. Kumail Nanjiani, one of the creators and producers of Little America, explained that he pitched the show to a “bunch of different places....

Apple unveiled all new new versions of its iWork productivity apps: Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. Today’s software updates are most notable as iWork previously hasn’t received an update since 2009, save for iCloud support and bug fixes. Starting with the icons, Apple redesigned its iWork applications to be more familiar across devices and supports better file compatibility. Both versions on iOS and OS X previously featured heavy elements of linen, leather, and wood, all of which are now absent....

Apple Pay is now an accepted form of payment for donations made through Elbi. The philanthropic app created by model Natalia Vodianova lets users “love” charities and causes which prompts micro donations. In return, users receive LoveCoins that can be redeemed for items including Beats by Dre products. Elbi officially announced Apple Pay support today alongside a new ElbiDrop feature following an initial rollout a few weeks ago. Apple Pay in apps makes transactions super simple and secure on supported iPhones and iPads....

Apple’s latest court battle with Qualcomm kicked off yesterday, with Qualcomm arguing during opening statements that its chip technology is instrumental in the smartphone industry. Today, Apple argued that for one of the patents in question, one of its engineers should be credited. Qualcomm is suing Apple over three patents, upon which it alleges the iPhone infringed. As reported by CNET, Apple today argued that a former Apple engineer should be credited on one of those patents....

While this could turn out to be nothing at all, there’s an interesting detail on Apple’s system status page: the Apple Online Store is scheduled to go down tomorrow from 12:00 am to 5:30 am PT. Apple’s online store typically goes offline for several hours ahead of product refreshes. Apple cites scheduled maintenance for the offline period, as MacRumors first pointed out, but the page specifies that the Apple Online Store “will be updated” which could mean either backend components or new product pages....

In its ongoing second major patent trial against Samsung, Apple yesterday filed a statement with the US District Court in California claiming that after examining the recently released Galaxy S4 it has “concluded that it is an infringing device and accordingly intends to move for leave to add the Galaxy S4” to its long list of 22 infringing products. Apple is hoping Judge Lucy Koh allows the S4 to be added, but in line with the court’s request to reduce the number of infringing devices ahead of a trial scheduled for spring 2014, Apple has also agreed to remove without prejudice one of the other 22 infringing devices from Samsung it currently has listed....

Apple has had some interesting retail storefront displays for the iPhone, iPad and Mac in the past, but its latest effort all but tops the cake. At the iconic Apple Store on Regent Street in London, the Cupertino-based company now has a row of iPads on display with colorful Smart Covers that automatically open and close. This video (from Vid.Me) does not explain how the Smart Covers are able to move on their own, although magnets underneath the shelf are almost certainly involved....

Jonny Ive, the design mastermind behind all of Apple’s decade plus of hit products, often gives some credit for being inspired by Dieter Rams. Now, it appears that Ive has ventured into the writing world by penning the foreword to Rams’ latest book called As Little Design As Possible: The Work of Dieter Rams Rams conversely has stated that he has profound respect for the work Ive has done at Apple....

The Washington Post reports that Apple is one of several tech companies planning change the way it handles government requests for customer information in the near future. According to the Post, Apple will begin notifying any customer whose information is requested by law enforcement later this month. Microsoft, Facebook, and Google are also adjusting their own policies accordingly. The companies say that users have a right to know when their data is being turned over to officials....

Apple’s original content efforts have been ramping up for quite some time, with more and more news breaking that the company is adding more to its catalog every week. Today, Variety has confirmed that Apple is adding yet another series to its unreleased catalog. The report says Apple has gained rights to develop a series based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko. Soo Hugh will serve as showrunner, and will write and be executive producer for the series, with Lee also serving as an executive producer....

Apple hopes that its Apple Pay mobile payment platform can help ease the process of buying drinks at concert festivals everywhere. According to a new report from TechCrunch, Apple Pay powered an “order ahead” feature at last week’s BottleRock music festival near San Francisco… The feature allowed Apple Pay users to skip the lines when it came time to order a drink. Instead of having to wait in a long and slow-moving line, and miss the show, users could use the BottleRock festival application to place their drink order from their iPhone and checkout with Apple Pay....

Back in 2016, it was reported that Apple planned to create a new UK campus in the iconic Battersea Power Station along the Thames. Now, The Times reports that Apple has started to make contingency plans out of fear its new British headquarters could be delayed. Currently, Apple houses roughly 1,400 employees across eight different sites across London. With its new Battersea Power Station headquarters, however, the company will be able to put everyone at the same location....

Apple has reached a deal to lease a new office in the South of Ireland, more specifically in Cork city. With over 36,000 square feet, the building will have enough space for another 350 to 400 additional employees in the country. As reported by the Irish Examiner, the high-spec, energy-efficient building is ready for occupation and overlooks the River Lee: If Apple wants, the company has options for further space if and when required, as the building will have 300,000 square feet of offices in all....