The stakes are high: Apple holds 70 per cent of the US MP3 player market with its iPod range. We believe Cupertino plans to upgrade its digital music players within weeks. One band that may not appear at the new iPod launch this time around may be U2. The only band to have had an official iPod model made in its honour has now dropped the DRM from its music catalogue – but only through Real’s Rhapsody service – a snub to iTunes....

While Apple may spend less than half that of Microsoft and a quarter that of Google on Washington D.C. lobbying, the company under Tim Cook is investing an increasing amount of its cash in its influence around the United States capital. As Bloomberg reports, data from OpenSecrets.org puts Apple’s spending on Washington lobbyists from January through September last year at $2.9 million (a number which doesn’t include the last quarter of 2014) and almost $3....

Last year, Apple was hit with dozens of lawsuits over its performance management features in iOS. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Committee last week, Apple said that it is setting aside the money necessary to resolve these cases. In December of 2017 and January of 2018, Apple faced dozens of lawsuits after it confirmed that it throttled older iPhones suffering from battery wear. In general, the lawsuits made allegations of planned obsolescence and said Apple should have given users the option to choose between performance and potential reliability issues – which it eventually did....

Apple has issued a statement advising that it has completely sold out of the Jet Black iPhone 7 and all versions of the iPhone 7 Plus, thanks to pre-orders. It adds that ‘limited quantities’ of other finishes of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 will be available to walk-in customers tomorrow. In Australia, staff have been breaking the news to those waiting in line at Apple Stores, informing them that not even those at the head of the line would be able to buy a 7 Plus....

A week following the previous beta, Apple has seeded a new version of OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 to developers. The update is available via Software Update in the Mac App Store and Apple’s online developer portal. It is labeled as build 13C44, and that’s a small increase over last week’s 13C39 build. Last week’s build brought blocking for iMessage and FaceTime, while the original 10.9.2 beta introduced FaceTime Audio in the Mac’s FaceTime and Messages apps....

One of the standout features of the 2021 iPad Pro is the Liquid Retina XDR display, but it’s only found on the 12.9-inch model. Now in a new interview, Scott Broderick of worldwide iPad product marketing and Vincent Gu of the display engineering team have shared more about the challenges of the new mini-LED XDR display, why it didn’t land on the 11-inch iPad Pro, and much more. Brian Tong sat down with Broderick and Gu for a wide-ranging interview focused on the 2021 M1 iPad Pro....

Just two days before the first Apple TV 4K arrives to customers, Apple is showcasing 4K HDR content in iTunes. While the company first started rolling out 4K TV and movies last week, you can now view some of the top choices in a dedicated featured section… If you head to the Movies section of iTunes, you’ll see a new featured banner along the top touting 4K HDR content that is “Crisp....

Apple started a countdown to its 25 billionth app download on the App Store. A promotional page at the company’s website reads: A special section on the App Store, and the official rules, state that a person lucky enough to download the 25 billionth app will take home a $10,000 App Store Gift Card. You can also fill out an entry form here to take part in the contest. Hat tip to @Crossingman....

Apple has reportedly abandoned plans to open an Apple Store in Israel after no mall owner in the country was willing to agree to the company’s terms. The proposed location was in the Azrieli Sarona Tower, a 61-storey skyscraper in Tel Aviv. Apple is known to make significant demands when it comes to opening new retail stores … The company knows that the presence of an Apple Store in a mall or other location will attract lots of customers....

Update: Apple has issued a statement to BuzzFeed News regarding this incident: The manager of an Apple Store in Australia has apologised after six teenagers aged 15 and 16 were asked to leave the store when a member of staff expressed concerns than they might steal something. The youths allege that their ejection from the store in Melbourne’s Highpoint Shopping Centre (pictured above at its grand opening) was due to the color of their skin....

Each Earth Day, Apple spotlights its commitment to environmental protection with a new Sustainability Report, recycling program updates, and events designed to heighten awareness of the fragile environment around us. Last year, special Earth Day Today at Apple sessions were held in San Francisco. This year, Apple is taking its educational initiatives to the next level with special activities in every store and a program of exclusive events in top flagship locations....

Apple now asks you to try resetting the iPhone before making a reservation at the Genius Bar to fix your iPhone notes a Reddit user. Interestingly, they don’t offer the same helpful hint to iPad or iPod users (or for Macs for that matter) though the move would probably save them billions in Genius bar hours per year. Perhaps one last Browett strategy slipped through? . Reports out of Asia: New iPhone 5S, iPad & Apple TV to launch in 1st half of 2013, Samsung hiking prices on Apple processors

It’s undeniable that one of the best characteristics of every Apple product is its display. Apple ships computers – from iPads to iMacs – with great quality, well calibrated displays that can be used for professional work which requires a great level of fidelity. Now, it appears Apple is working a new Mac and iPad display feature to launch with macOS 10.15. Previously, Astro HQ came up with a solution, Luna Display, that allows Mac users to use their iPad as an external display....

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vslQm7IYME4] Apple has just published a new YouTube video that goes behind-the-scenes of the ad released earlier today. Video teams in 10 countries across the world were given an iPhone 5s (or several) and lead by the U.S.-based director Jake Scott via FaceTime to film the entire globe-spanning video in just one day. The video was created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Mac, though it does have some focus on iOS devices....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu1jHtf_oUc Apple just uploaded a new television ad to their YouTube channel and website titled “FaceTime Every Day,” following their popular “Photos Every Day” and “Music Every Day” ads. Like previous ads, Apple’s newest offering demonstrates the many ways iPhone users enjoy FaceTime on their devices. The minute-longs spot, which is reminiscent of Apple’s original FaceTime ads, details people communicating with sign language, showing a new house to their family, watching the fireworks, and more....

Following the release of two new iPhone ads earlier this week, Apple has put out yet another commercial for the iPhone 6. Like the others, “Voice Text” features Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and pop star Justin Timberlake discussing the newest features on Apple’s smartphone. In this ad, Fallon and Timberlake demonstrate the many uses for the new voice messaging feature included in iOS 8, such as including sarcasm or difficult-to-spell words in a reply....

Just a few days later after Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed his thoughts about the NSA and data collection transparency, Apple has posted an update to its website with new information regarding account data requests. The company’s press release comes as US Department of Justice comes to a settlement with technology companies over how they are allowed to disclose information about government data requests. A statement from the DOJ explains the agreement will allow “detailed disclosures about the number of national security orders and requests issued to communications providers, and the number of customer accounts targeted under those orders and requests including the underlying legal authorities....

Apple today released the first Public Beta of the upcoming OS X Yosemite 10.10.3. The new release includes the iCloud-based Photos application for the Mac, new Emojis across the system, and simpler login to Google accounts for profiles with two-factor authentication enabled. This beta is labeled as build 14D87, which is the same as the second 10.10.3 beta for developers, which was released a week ago. The Public Beta is available in the Mac App Store Software Update tab for registered beta users....

Apple has released iOS 10.2.1 beta 2 for developers. The update follows the public release of iOS 10.2 last week and the first iOS 10.2.1 beta as well. iOS 10.2 included new redesigned emojis, the TV app for US users, a couple of new screen effects in Messages, amongst other enhancements. Apple seeded the iOS 10.2.1 beta for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch today to developers with build number 14D15, up from 14D10....

Apple has released an updated build of the pre-release OS X 10.10.2 software update. The new build, 14C94b, continues to focus on fixes for WiFi, Mail, and VoiceOver. The update is available through the Updates tab of the Mac App Store for users on the pre-release version of OS X Yosemite; as with previous pre-release builds, the update does require a reboot and comes in at 561MB. We’ll check out the new build and update with any notable changes....