Apple has released the first public beta version of macOS 10.12.4 which includes Night Shift for Mac. macOS 10.12.4 public beta 1 follows two days after the first developer version of the upcoming software update. These are the new features included in macOS 10.12.4 beta: Night Shift now available on the Mac. Dictation support for Shanghainese. Ask Siri about cricket scores, schedules and player rosters. Siri knows about statistics and data from the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council....

After years of considering removing Game Center from iOS, it appears Apple has decided to officially pull it as evidenced with today’s first iOS 10 beta. As this is a first beta, there is a possibility we could see the application’s return before this fall when iOS 10 is officially released to the public. As stock apps have hit the App Store, and users can now delete most of them on iOS 10, it’s entirely possible Apple falls back to allowing Game Center as an App Store download....

We told you a couple weeks ago about the possibility Apple was testing 3G MacBook Pro designs back in 2007 after a prototype popped up on Ebay recently. After reaching nearly $70,000 in bids, it looks like Apple is stepping in and requesting the device be returned. A report from CNET today sheds a little more light on the current situation of the seller, who was allegedly contacted by Apple to return the machine to local Apple employees after the company had the eBay listing removed citing copyright, trademark, and IP infringement....

Over the weekend, iOS security hacker Jonathan Zdziarski released a presentation claiming to show how Apple had purposefully made backdoor access points for a variety of system and user data on iOS devices, that would usually be locked and encrypted via the passcode. The legitimacy of the claims is still questionable. Apple has now commented on the matter, unsurprisingly denying any misconduct. Apple reiterates its previous statement: ‘Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services’....

Looks like we’re going to have to keep waiting for an Netflix-killer from Apple… Rumors were floating around last week that claimed Apple was on the verge of launching a new “iTunes Replay” service, which would allow users to re-download and/or stream TV shows and movies. Unfortunately, a new report from CNET claims Apple does not have the agreements in place to offer content from the big film studios via the cloud....

Apple has been working on new ways to let users know more about the battery life of their devices, and it seems that the company plans to add even more related features to iOS. The US Patent & Trademark Office this week granted Apple a patent for a new system that can predict and warn the user when the iPhone battery is expected to run out. As noted by Apple Insider, the patent is described as a “smart advice to charge notification....

Apple remains the most valuable brand in the world, in an annual ranking by market intelligence company Millward Brown, reported in Marketing Week. The Millward Brown Brandz rankings take into account both financial strength and brand equity, a measure of the value consumers place in a brand. Despite Apple’s share-price woes, the brand is regarded by consumers as the ‘gold standard’, says the report … An interesting way to look at the numbers is if the brand is worth $185b, and you add Apple’s cash hoard of $150b, you get pretty much to the company’s current market capitalisation – before factoring in anything else, like its product pipeline....

Apple impressed investors last night with strong quarterly earnings, reporting its best June quarter ever, despite the global economic uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt daily life worldwide. AAPL stock opened today at ~$409, a new all-time high for the company, and up 6.5% from market close yesterday. Apple made headlines in August 2018 for becoming the first public company to hit $1 trillion market cap, and it is now well on its way to becoming the first public company to cross the $2 trillion mark....

What does this mean? Actually it means nothing but it isn’t hard for the mind to wonder on this one. Remember Steve Jobs was one of the people who said the Segway (known as the Ginger project back then) was as big a deal as the PC. (As a side note, here is an interesting little jaunt through the first Jobs meeting with the Segway team) So who is Doug Field and why is Apple interested in him?...

You may notice a new look on those digital receipts you get in your email inbox after you buy something from iTunes, iBooks, or the App Store. Apple has refreshed its invoices with a new design, friendlier subject line, and cover art images that are clearer on Retina displays. You can see the old and new designs below: Apple’s subject on receipts read out a lengthy order number such as “Your receipt No....

Fire up your Apple TV folks, there is a new update waiting for you. Not to leave the Apple TV out in the cold after a huge week with other iOS devices, the hardworking group in Cupertino has released its latest update to the second- and third-generation Apple TVs. Surprisingly still not called ‘iOS 6’, Apple released build 10A406e to the masses with a slew of new features. The Apple TV now features shared photo streams, and the ability to switch between iTunes accounts, re-order icons on the second page by holding the select button on the remote, and send audio from the Apple TV to Airplay-enabled speakers and devices....

Apple has just released the first developer beta of iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 following the public release of iOS 14.0 this week. It’s uncertain what has changed in this update, but probably Apple is working on improvements and some new features. In addition to iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2, Apple has also released the first developer betas of tvOS 14.2 and watchOS 7.1. Earlier today, the company released macOS Big Sur beta 7 and an update for Xcode 12....

Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 4 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below. Beta 1 New Privacy explainer included in macOS 32-bit app warning starting now New ‘Ink Cloud’ wallpaper on all Macs, previously iMac Pro only Messages in the Cloud is opt-in on High Sierra, requires checking a box Beta 2-3 iBooks Mac app renamed Books to match iOS (iBooks Author is a Mac App Store app so it likely won’t change until the beta cycle ends ) Refresh for updates....

Apple has just released Xcode 11.3.1 for developers — the tool used to create iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps. This week’s update features overall improvements and bug fixes, including enhancements to compile Swift files. According to Apple, Xcode 11.3.1 addresses a bug in the storyboard canvas that could cause Xcode to crash and fixes an issue that would cause Xcode to time out waiting for Simulator.app to become ready when multiple copies of Xcode are installed....

[slideshow] Along with Apple’s refreshed Apple TV capable of 1080p video output, iTunes movies also got a bump up to 1080p with the introduction of iTunes 10.6. While there were some concerns over increased file sizes, iTunes users for the most part seem to be quite pleased with the quality of iTunes movies encoded in 1080p compared to the 720p they were stuck with before. On that note, Ars Technica decided to find out exactly how the 1080p movies compare to the same content on a Blu-ray....

Who Can Update to iOS 13.1? iOS 13.1 doesn’t support iPads. Instead, iPad users now use iPadOS. The iOS 13.1 update is specific to the iPhone and is compatible with the recently released iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Additionally, you can install the update on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, and iPod touch (7th generation)....

On a brighter timeline, Apple Stores around the world are stocked with the brand new LiDAR-equipped iPad Pro and updated MacBook Air. In reality, every Apple Store outside of Greater China is closed indefinitely. The 52 stores that remain open now give a rare look into a global product launch that could have been. China’s Apple Stores were refreshed with the spring product lineup on Saturday morning following displays at Apple Authorized Resellers on the 25th....

Apple is teasing the launch of a new Apple Business Manager device management solution for ‘late spring’ of this year. In a document outlining new enterprise features, Apple explains that Apple Business Manger is a web-based portal for IT managers to manage people and devices… Apple seemingly started beta testing its new Business Manager platform last month, as evident by this extensive document outlining the features of the platform. The beta testing period, however, began with little coverage from Apple itself or the press....

Apple TV Channels launched in beta last month with support from a limited number of providers. Ahead of the feature’s public launch later this month, Apple TV Channels has today picked up HBO – with a nice added bonus. HBO currently exists in two forms: HBO Now and HBO Go. The former is a standalone package that HBO sells for $15 per month, while the latter allows you to sign in with your cable provider login and access HBO content on the go....

On stage during its “It’s Show Time” event, Apple announced a partnership with Goldman Sachs to introduce its own credit card, integrated with the Wallet app. We first heard about this project on a report from WSJ in late February, we also found evidence in code from an iOS 12.2 beta. Apple’s start in the payments business began with the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, more recently, the company rolled out Apple Pay Cash in the US, which allows users to send payments to each other and also to pay businesses directly from the Messages app....