Apple takes great pride in its Accessibility features, promotes them heavily, and has won awards for them. For someone living with a disability, the right technology can literally be life-changing. Apple’s technology helps many people live a more independent life. There is, though, still room for improvement. To better understand the differences Apple technology makes, and the gaps that still exist, I interviewed Colin Hughes, a 55-year-old Brit who has severe muscular dystrophy – a muscle-wasting disease which leaves him effectively quadriplegic, unable to use either arms or legs …...

Apple today announced that it will release its Q2 2018 earnings call on May 1st. Apple made the announcement on its Investor Relations website, noting it will hold a call with investors at 2PM PT/5PM ET on the same day. As a refresher, Apple announced its Q1 2018 earnings in February. The company reported revenue of $88.3 billion with a profit of $20.1 billion on sales of 77.3m iPhones, 13.2m iPads, and 5....

Apple and Nokia today announced that they have agreed a settlement to a patent lawsuit that began in December. The companies said they have moved from adversaries to business partners, settling all litigation. Nokia will provide network infrastructure services to Apple, Apple will stock Nokia’s Withings products once again in Apple Stores and pay ongoing license fees to use Nokia’s intellectual property. The original lawsuit allegedly covered many elements of smartphone handset design and functionality, with Nokia’s patent portfolio spanning display technology, antennas, chipset, user interface and more....

Apple today has shared a revised version of its iOS Security Guide, dated January 2018. The new document, which comes in at 78 pages long includes new details on Apple Pay Cash, Face ID, and more… Apple releases new versions of its iOS Security Guide a few times per year, often in conjunction with major new features. The goal of the guide is to offer a thorough look at the security parameters implemented in the latest iOS versions....

While Apple did release a dedicated Apple Store app for iPad last November, it has yet to include any promotion or giveaway within that app. You will want to be sure you’re using the standard Apple Store app for iPhone (and yes, you can run it on iPad to redeem the promotional content). The first view of the app features a list view of categories and featured sections, and U.S. customers should find Apple’s free music promotion toward the bottom of the list....

Update: Apple confirmed with an official press release (below) the store is launching in not only seven, but twelve new countries including: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. A new rumor claims Apple will host an event tomorrow for the launch of iTunes Store content in seven Asian regions. e27 just published a report, which cited a “trusted source in the industry,” about Apple planning to host a launch event in Hong Kong for iTunes Store video content going live in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong....

Apple has always attempted to respect historic landmarks in planning its various real estate expansions, and as the San Jose Mercury News reported today, two buildings with a full century of history between them will coexist as the company continues its trend by preserving a 100-year-old barn to remain on the campus of its new headquarters. The Glendenning Barn was built in 1916, exactly 100 years before construction on Apple’s new facility is expected to be completed....

Apple TV+ pricing is still an unknown at this point. Apple itself has been silent on price, but a recent Bloomberg report suggested that Apple is considering charging $10 per month. That pricing doesn’t look completely impossible … Apple itself has not yet offered any details on price, and this Bloomberg report is the first we’ve heard of a $9.99 price point. We know Apple likes $9.99 as a price point for services....

The hit Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso was officially renewed for season two back in August, and now Apple has officially given the series an early renewal for a third season. Deadline also has new statistics on the popularity of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Ted Lasso, which comes from Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis, has been a major hit for Apple TV+. Deadline reports that the show is Apple’s number one comedy in all top 50 countries, and it has drawn 25% new viewers to Apple TV+ since its debut on August 14....

TechCrunch notes that Apple has quietly made some changes to the App Store Top Charts by reducing the top 300 apps previously listed across Paid, Free and Top Grossing categories to just 150. It’s what I expect will be a welcomed change that shows Apple is attempting to clean up the App Store ranking system, but it’s not one that most users are likely to notice. As noted by app tracking company Appsfire in the report, “most users don’t even get to that part of the ranking – except industry watchers....

Update: Apple also added 30 more U.S. banks and credit unions for Apple Pay today. Full list after the break. Apple today updated its list of banks, credit unions and cards that offer Apple Pay to add 14 new Chinese institutions that now support the service. While Apple originally launched Apple Pay in China last February with a handful of partners, it’s been slowly adding support for more banks and credit unions in recent months, much the same way the company has rolled out the service gradually in other markets....

AP sources a local Swiss publication. The Mondaine clock is an O.K. design, but I think Apple could have done a better job on its own and probably could have saved a few million bucks in the process. The $21 million figure represents about 10 cents per device if you figure 210 million devices going to iOS 6. The exact terms of the deal weren’t given. A SBB rep said at the time that SBB was more interested in bringing clarity to where and how Apple could use the logo than in raking in cash....

As promised, Apple has released GarageBand 10.1 through the Mac App Store. The update includes previously highlighted new features including 10 new Drummers, new synths and a ‘Transform Pad’ feature. The update also includes support for Apple’s new Force Touch trackpads from the 12-inch MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro. For artists publishing to Apple Music, its new streaming music service launched today, GarageBand 10.1 adds the ability to publish directly to Apple Music Connect....

Nearly one month following the initial iOS 7.1 beta, Apple has released a second beta to developers. The beta is available via the online developer center portal, and has also just begun hitting devices over-the-air. New versions of Xcode 5.1 beta and software for Apple TV are also available. The previous iOS 7.1 beta brought various, minor interface tweaks and new accessibility options. If you find anything new, you can let us know at tips@9to5mac....

What’s inside iOS 8.2? iOS 8.2 is packed full of updates, bug fixes and security fixes. Oh, and of course a new app which you won’t be able to remove – the Apple Watch. Specifically, the update includes improvements to the Health App, Stability enhancements for the Music, Mail and Maps apps and fairly significant bug fixes in the Mail, Maps and Calendar apps. Let’s take a deeper look at the details....

Last month, Apple announced changes to its iTunes Affiliate program, saying that the rates that users would receive per app sale would fall. While at the time, it was stated that the app affiliate rate would be slashed from 7 percent to 2.5 percent, it appears now that might not actually be the case… According to MacGamer HQ, Apple is reducing in-app iOS and Mac commission to 2.5 percent, but the rate for apps themselves, both iOS and Mac, will remain at 7 percent....

According to a report from The New York Times, Apple is facing issues in China that have led the California tech giant to delay the launch of its latest devices in that country. While many countries will be getting the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus on September 19th, Chinese carriers have been told not to expect it on that date. Last year’s iPhone 5s and 5c were the first iPhones to hit China the same day as the United States, whereas previous devices had been made available several months after their initial launches....

Following backlash aimed at Apple’s new Maps from the media and customers over the past 24 hours, Apple PR representative Trudy Miller told AllThingsD in a statement: Here are some alternatives (while Google gets the… yes or no) Customers around the world are upgrading to iOS 6 with over 200 new features including Apple Maps, our first map service. We are excited to offer this service with innovative new features like Flyover, turn by turn navigation, and Siri integration....

Apple is once again kicking off an Apple Pay promotion in its own retail stores that will see it offer $5/£5 iTunes gift cards to customers that use the iPhone and Apple Watch based payments service (via Macrumors). For the new promo starting this week, retail employees will encourage customers to pay with Apple Pay and for those that do not want the service, offer a walkthrough of getting set up in exchange for the iTunes credit....

. The Wall Street Journal today shows that the value of Apple’s brand varies greatly depending on who is taking the survey. Apple’s brand may be worth as much as $183 billion, according to an earlier Millward Brown study. The study’s results greatly vary from a separate Interbrand study, which valued the company at less than a fifth of that value and half of the value of Microsoft’s brand. Why such a big difference?...